(thanks to Bakphoon for the modified logo)
History of this thread: OT1 | OT2
Trading Thread - head here if you're looking to trade with other GAF members.
Servers & Steam Groups
- NA - Steam Group | NeoGAF Janky Ass Server 4.0 | Live Free or Jank Hard (Chicago) | SourceTV | Stats | Map Downloads
EU - Steam Group | NeoGAF EU || Bomba Town
http://cache.[url]www.gametracker.com/server_info/85.236.101.20:30615/banner_560x95.png[/url][IMG][/s]
Seems to be dead.
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[B]Free to Play[/B]
On June 23rd, 2011 TF2 officially went [URL="http://www.teamfortress.com/freetoplay/"]free to play forever[/URL] on [B]PC[/B] and [B]MAC[/B]. That means all you need is a Steam account and you can play as much as you want. There are some minor restrictions imposed which you can read about [URL="http://www.teamfortress.com/freetoplay/faq.php"]here[/URL].
[B]For New Players[/B]
There are in game tutorials that will teach you the basics of gameplay as well as some of the nuances of the more intricate classes. There's also an offline practice mode which lets you test your mettle against bots.
The "Play Now" button will put you into matchmaking for your selected mode. For the first 20 hours or so of playtime you should be matched to the Valve server which are generally full of other new players.
The most invaluable source for all-things TF2 is going to be the [URL="http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Main_Page"]Official Wiki[/URL]. Learn It. love it.
[B]Items[/B]
In addition to the standard items there are tons and tons of weapons and cosmetic items. May weapons can be gained by completing [URL="http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Achievements"]achievement[/URL] milestones for each class. Most items can be found randomly via the [URL="http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Drop_system"]drop system[/URL] and ALL weapons and most hats can be [URL="http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Crafting"]crafted[/URL]. And, of course, virtually everything can be [URL="http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Trading"]traded[/URL]. Most items can also be purchased with real money in the [URL="http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Store"]Mann Co. Store[/URL]. Any purchase from the store will upgrade your account from free to premium. Store-bought items cannot be traded or used for crafting. The important thing to remember is that the vast majority of weapons are designed to be balanced with one another. That is, unlockable weapons aren't upgrades to standard weapons, but rather 'sidegrades' that allow for different play styles, but at a cost.
There are many sites that allow you to check other players' inventory and also setup trades. The most popular three are:
[URL="http://www.tf2b.com/"]TF2B.com[/URL] (inventory)
[URL="http://www.tf2items.com/"]TF2items.com[/URL] (inventory and trading)
[URL="http://tf2tp.com/"]TF2tp.com[/URL] (trading)
Don't forget to visit the [URL="http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=439227"][B]NeoGAF Trading Thread[/B][/URL] as well!
[B]Classes & Subclasses[/B]
--- [B][URL="http://teamfortress.com/classes.php?class=scout"]Scout[/URL][/B] ---
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/bABNO.png
The Scout is all about speed and quick kills. He's the fastest class and also has a double jump. Getting in close allows him to do massive damage with his scattergun before the enemy can react. he also has a pistol to finish off enemies if his primary weapon needs to be reloaded. Because of his low health he's easily dispatched if the enemy can manage to hit him.
Subclass: Special Delivery Scout
Requires: The Milkman, The Shortstop, Mad milk & The Holy Mackrel
The special delivery scout plays a bit differently than the standard scout. His new primary, the shortstop works better at mid range than close range. He also has higher max HP as well as a weapon (Mad Milk) that allows him to leech health from enemies. This gives him more survivability at the cost of fewer options for attacking.
--- Soldier ---
The Soldier is the bread-and-butter class of TF2. He has a rocket launcher which puts out lots of damage and a shotgun that's great at finishing off wounded stragglers. He has the second highest HP after the Heavy. Rocket jumping also affords him great mobility, but at the cost of health.
--- Pyro ---
The Pyro is designed for close-quarters combat. Pyro has a large amount of health and Pyro's flamethrower will ignite enemies causing them to take extra damage over time even if they escape. The flamethrower can also fire off a compression blast that can reflect projectiles (such as rockets and grenades) back at enemies, push enemies away, as well as douse teammates that are on fire. Like many classes, Pyro carries a shotgun to finish of those that get out of Pyro's range.
--- Demoman ---
The Demoman is the explosives expert of the team. He carries a grenade launcher that fires grenades that will explode on contact if they hit an enemy before they bounce. If his grenades should miss an enemy then they will explode on a 3 second fuse for reduced damage. He also wields the much-lauded Stickybomb launcher which allows him to place up to 8 stickybombs (remote mines) that he can detonate at will. Because all of the Demoman's weapons are projectiles he generally has a hard time in close quarters combat. Of course, as a demolitions expert he is the go-to class when dealing with sentry guns.
Subclass: Demoknight
Requires: The Chargin' Targe or The Splendid Screen
The demoknight tosses his stickybomb launcher aside for a shield that allows him to charge at high speeds and do massive melee damage. This is incredibly useful in medieval modes, but not nearly as potent (though still amusing) in regular game modes.
--- Heavy Weapons Guy ---
The Heavy is the lumbering hulk of the group. He has the highest health and the slowest movement speed, but his minigun allows him to put out enough damage to make short work of anyone in close or medium range. Because of his high health and high damage capacity he tends to be the favored healing target amongst many medics.
--- Engineer ---
The Engineer prefers to keep enemies at bay rather than fighting them face to face. He does this by building sentry guns that will automatically target and attack any enemy that gets within their range. He also acts as a great support for teammates by building teleporters that help get his team back into battle more quickly, and dispensers which refill allies' health and ammo. The Engineer carries a shotgun and a pistol to defend himself should he not have a sentry to rely on.
Subclass: Gunslinger Engineer
Requires: Gunslinger
Gunslinger Engineers eschew the normal behind-the-lines role of the standard Engineer and fight on the front lines alongside the other classes. The gunslinger increases the Engineer's max health and allows him to construct quick-building mini-sentries which deal decreased damage and cannot be repaired or upgraded. By building a mini sentry while also attacking with his shotgun the engineer forces his opponents to deal with two targets at once.
--- Medic ---
The Medic is the chief support class in TF2. His medigun allows him to not only heal damage to teammates, but also to 'overheal' them, increasing their maximum health by 50%. Overheal will drain on its own over 20 seconds, so it's a good idea to top off allies before they go into battle. As the medic heals his teammates his medigun builds an 'ubercharge.' When the ubercharge is full the medic can use it to make himself and his patient invulnerable for 8 seconds. The Medic also carries a syringe gun to defend himself should he find himself without a teammate to heal.
--- Sniper ---
The Sniper is exactly what you'd expect. He wields a sniper rifle that can deal critical damage on a headshot when scoped in. The longer he remains scoped in the more damage his shots will do. he also carries an SMG to help out with close range combat should the enemy manage to make it that far.
--- Spy ---
The Spy is different from every other class because he relies on subterfuge and knowledge to deal with enemies. The spy carries an invisibility watch that makes him invisible for a few seconds. While cloaked he cannot attack and if he takes damage or bumps into an enemy he will become visible again for a split second. The Spy can also disguise as an enemy to fool opponents into thinking they're safe. Attacking while disguised will instnatly drop the disguise.
Using his knife the spy can stab an enemy in the back, instantly killing them. He also carries a sapper which allows him to disabled and slowly drain the health of engineer buildings. using a sapper does not drop a Spy's disguise.
If all else fails, the spy carries a revolver with which he can dispatch his foes. Since the spy can see enemy health at all times he can quickly assess if it's better to attack or flee.
Game Modes
- Atack / Defend - One team attacks and the other defends. The attackers try to capture the control points in order while the defends try to hold them off until the timer runs out.
- Arena - Elimination mode. most Arena maps will have no health pickups, so engineers and medics are vital. Once you're dead you don't respawn until the next round. Killing all members of the opposing team is the goal. To prevent stalemates and camping after a couple of minutes a central control point is activated and the team to capture it wins.
- Control Points - Also called Push or 5cp, control point maps are symmetrical and have either team vying to capture all of the control points in order.
- Capture The Flag - Plays just as you'd expect. Each team tries to bring the enemy intelligence briefcase back to their base while preventing the other team from doing the same.
- King Of The Hill - Symmetrical maps with a single control point in the center. Each team has a countdown timer. As long as a team holds the control point their timer will countdown. First to empty their timer is the winner.
- Payload - Likely the most popular game mode, in Payload maps there is a cart with a bomb on it. The attackers try to move the cart to the end of the track by standing near it as though it were a control point. The defenders try to hold them off until the time runs out.
- Payload Race - Similar to payload, but each team has their own cart. The goal is to push your team's cart to the end while preventing the other team form doing the same.
- Territorial Control - The least popular game mode. TC work similarly to Push maps. Each time a point is captured the map layout changes dramatically and a new round is triggered.
- Medieval - not a game mode, but rather a setting, medieval mode restricts which weapons are available to melee weapons and time-era appropriate weapons such as the bow & arrow and crossbows.
- The are also many custom modes created by the community. The most prominent is likely the Vs. Saxton Hale mode which puts all but one player on one team while the lone player plays a super-powered boss character. The rules are the same as Arena.
- Valve has confirmed that they're working on at least one new game mode, speculation and leaks point to them working on two modes: one called "Raid" and the other "Specialty."
Cosmetics
There are many, many cosmetic items in TF2. hats and other cosmetic items can be modified with custom names and descriptions with name tags and description tags respectively. Many items can also be painted to further customize them. Cosmetic items have no effect on gameplay with the single exception of the Polycount set hats: The Milkman, The Grenadier's Softcap, The Attendant, Ol' Snaggletooth and The Familiar Fez. Valve has since realized that giving hats gameplay stats was a bad idea and hasn't done it since.
Competitive TF2
Competitive league play is a bit different from standard play. The most common format for competitive is 6v6. In 6v6 each classes is limited to 2 per team with the exception of Medic and Demoman which are both limited to 1 per team. There are also restrictions, depending on the league, on which weapons are allowed to be used.
Another format used in some competitive leagues is "Highlander." Highlander games are 9v9 with each team limited to 1 of each class.
For more information on competitive play check the wiki page here: http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Competitive
Contribute & Mann Co. Store
As you may or may not be aware, much of the content in TF2 has been created by the community. Weapons, hats and maps from everyday player have been made official and added to the game on numerous occasions. All community members with items available in the Mann. Co. store get a portion of the profits when those items are purchased. Creators of items also get self-made versions of the items for in-game use. When community items are added to the game Valve is only looking for models, they decide all gameplay stats themselves.
In October 2011, Valve introduced the Steam Workshop, an easy way for community members to display their custom creations and get feedback. There's also a brief FAQ that talks about recommended software, tutorials and how to test your items in-game before submitting them.
If you're interested in modeling items this is a good place to start: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X5QGx2TP_8&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_834563
If you're interested in mapping check out these places:
tf2maps.net
3kliksphilip tutorials
Valve Developer Community
