TF2 Mann Conn update live - Trading, Custom Items, New Items!

[Grooveriding]

http://www.teamfortress.com/mannconomy/

Awww yeah!

Edit: They want real money for in game items ? Meh.

 

[KeithTalent]

Damn it, can't view that link here. Anyone feel like pasting some more details in the thread? ^_^

KT

 

[swerus]

The steam update patch notes won't load for me, but here is the shack news article.
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/65823

Basically an update for all classes, and a store to buy stuff.





ABOUT THE STORE
Q: What's a Mann Co. Store?
A: Accessible from inside TF2, the Mann Co. Store will now let players buy, trade and customize the largest addition of inventory items in the game's history, using their Steam Wallets.

Q: What's a Steam Wallet?
A: Steam now has a feature called the Steam Wallet. It allows you to put money into it, which can then be spent either on in-game items, such as the ones offered in TF2’s Mann Co. Store, or on full products like games in the Steam store.

Q: Are store items priced in points, or some other weird currency?
A: No, the Steam Wallet uses the same real-world currency Steam currently supports (USD/GBP/Euros).

Q: Can I put whatever amount I want into my wallet?
A: Yes. We won't force you to buy “bundles” of currency. You can put the exact amount you need to buy the specific items you're interested in. However, each time you fund your wallet, the minimum amount of funds that you can put in your Steam Wallet is $5 / £4 / 5€ to keep transactions and payment service provider fees to a minimum.

Q: Can I trade or craft items I've purchased?
A: In the short term, no. You can only trade or craft items you have earned or found through gameplay (see Trading & Customization below). We have adopted this policy for the time being, until we can see what effect trading purchased items may have on the Mann-conomy.

Q: Is my “TF2” money good elsewhere in Steam?
A: Yes. The money in your Steam Wallet can be used to purchase anything on Steam.

Q: Will you only sell Valve-crafted items? What about community-made items?
A: The Store will sell both. Additionally, community contributors will receive a percentage of sales on items they've created! We’ll be releasing more information soon about exactly how this will work.

Q: I'm a community member who contributed an item that's been put in the game. Why isn't it in the Mann Co. Store?
A: Initially, we will only be selling the Polycount Pack community items, as this will let us work out the kinks with a small number of contributors. Once we've mastered contributor payments, we'll be expanding the store to include all the community contributions. We plan to do this as soon as possible.
WHAT WILL CHANGE? (AND WHAT WILL STAY THE SAME?)
Q: Does this mean the updates are over? Are you going to stop releasing free content now?
A: No. Our plan is to continue updating TF2 just like we always have, adding free maps, game modes, new features, and more. The Mann Co. Store is simply an alternative way of obtaining items that other players can earn during gameplay.

Q: Are you going to start charging for other kinds of content, like maps?
A: No, we have no plans to do this. Segregating players into groups that can't play together, based on who bought what, is something we'd like to avoid.

Q: Will I have to spend money to remain competitive?
A: No. Any items affecting gameplay, and even most purely cosmetic items, will still be obtainable simply by playing the game.

Q: Did you adjust the drop rates for existing items?
A: No. We haven't made it any harder to obtain existing items through gameplay.

Q: Why have all my items switched to "Vintage" items?
A: Some items that used to be rare will become more common when they are available for purchase. We wanted to give players this option, but still recognize people who obtained those items “the old-fashioned way” in the past. So we decided to perform a one-time conversion of all the old items into "Vintage" versions, which will never be attainable in the future. This way, those older rare items remain rare (in fact, they're even rarer, because they're limited editions now).

Q: What about items I earn in the future? How will others tell them apart from purchased items?
A: There are not currently any plans to make this distinction visible to other players. However, purchased items are not currently tradeable or craftable, so there's still a benefit to earning your items "the old fashioned way".

TRADING & CUSTOMIZATION
Q: Will I be able to trade items?
A: Yes. We've added the long-requested Trading feature, so you can swap items with friends.

Q: Are all items tradeable?
A: No, not all items are tradeable. Some limited-availability items are not tradeable. Purchased items are also not tradeable at the moment (see About the Store).

Q: Can I customize my items?
A: Yes. In addition to our existing item customization, we have created new kinds of items that will enable a greater amount of customization than we've had in the past, like the ability to name items and even change their color scheme. The Mann Co. Catalog will let you find out which items are customizable and how you can customize them. We've also doubled the amount of backpack space available to you, so that you’ll have room to store all this new stuff.

Q: Can I just give items to someone? Or do they have to give me something back?
A: Yes, you can "gift" items to others. They do not have to give you anything back.

Q: Can I craft the Polycount weapons? Do they have recipes like the other community items?
A: Yes, they're craftable. They have the same recipe style (combine two weapons) as the other community-contributed items.

 

[micaturbo]

Buying seems optional. As far as I understand it, all the items you can purchase are obtainable ingame as well.

 

[KeithTalent]

Thanks for posting that.

Sounds pretty interesting and I'm fine with it as long as they stick to all of this:

Q: Does this mean the updates are over? Are you going to stop releasing free content now?
A: No. Our plan is to continue updating TF2 just like we always have, adding free maps, game modes, new features, and more. The Mann Co. Store is simply an alternative way of obtaining items that other players can earn during gameplay.

Q: Are you going to start charging for other kinds of content, like maps?
A: No, we have no plans to do this. Segregating players into groups that can't play together, based on who bought what, is something we'd like to avoid.

Q: Will I have to spend money to remain competitive?
A: No. Any items affecting gameplay, and even most purely cosmetic items, will still be obtainable simply by playing the game.

I also thought this was pretty damn interesting:

Q: Will you only sell Valve-crafted items? What about community-made items?
A: The Store will sell both. Additionally, community contributors will receive a percentage of sales on items they've created! We’ll be releasing more information soon about exactly how this will work.

:hmm:

KT

 

[RiDE]

Great... the one hat that I've been playing and crafting for months for isn't even for sale. D:

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Every time I launch TF2 (couple of times a month) they have added some new layer of complexity. It's getting ridiculous, the game was elegant and fun because of its simplicity, not despite it. All of the changes have really thrown off the balance. Last time I played there seemed to be a sentry with unlimited range and laser targeting or something, it was completely OP. The game used to be perfect for casual play, now it's nearly impossible to keep up with all of the new items and abilities unless you sink a ton of time into it.

 

[zerocool84]

I checkout out the prices and the new stuff is all ridiculously priced. Especially hats.

 

[blastingcap]

Every time I launch TF2 (couple of times a month) they have added some new layer of complexity. It's getting ridiculous, the game was elegant and fun because of its simplicity, not despite it. All of the changes have really thrown off the balance. Last time I played there seemed to be a sentry with unlimited range and laser targeting or something, it was completely OP. The game used to be perfect for casual play, now it's nearly impossible to keep up with all of the new items and abilities unless you sink a ton of time into it.

I don't agree with the sentry gun part of it (it's the wrangler and not that much better than the regular sentry, if you like to multitask as an engy), but I agree with everything else you wrote. Every time you introduce a new element, it requires rebalancing, and that's hard to do after so many updates to appease the masses.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

I don't agree with the sentry gun part of it (it's the wrangler and not that much better than the regular sentry, if you like to multitask as an engy), but I agree with everything else you wrote. Every time you introduce a new element, it requires rebalancing, and that's hard to do after so many updates to appease the masses.

I honestly don't know what the drawback to that sentry was so I probably don't know the counter to it, but yeah the point still stands. All I know is I was getting raped on my own battlements in 2Fort by a sentry on the other side.

 

[blastingcap]

I honestly don't know what the drawback to that sentry was so I probably don't know the counter to it, but yeah the point still stands. All I know is I was getting raped on my own battlements in 2Fort by a sentry on the other side.

Wrangler is a remote controlled sentry gun with infinite range and a shield that reduces the damage the gun takes by 66%. The engy points the laser at the target and can fire bullets and/or rockets; double fire rate of guns and increased missile launch rate (compared to regular sentry). Gun does not auto-aim-and-fire like a regular sentry. Engy can't reload it while controlling it (though an allied engy can!). When the engy switches from the remote control, there is a 3-second period of vulnerability where the sentry powers down.

http://www.teamfortress.com/engineerupdate/

 

[khansolo]

The hat store idea is causing so much rage on their forums (and various other forums). Everyone's gone out of their way to find classy old quotes which have Valve members stating they'd never release DLC stuff for money. I'm quite amused by it all.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Despite the obnoxious tone and annoying text formatting this guy makes an excellent point. If you want set bonuses you either pay the $18(!!!!!) for the hat or you win the lottery (chances of finding specific hats are absurdly small).

 

[tokie]

TF2 sucks already, this just makes it worse. Why they decided to turn a perfectly fine team-based FPS into a RPG is beyond me.

 

[Nebor]

I can't believe how freaking complicated TF2 is. I'm a soldier, but I can get "critted" by a Scout and die in one shot? TFC used to be casual fun. TF2 is just ridiculous.

 

[hellotyler]

I love TF2 to death, but this is pretty weak to offer bonuses to people with fat wallets.

 

[zerocool84]

I can't believe how freaking complicated TF2 is. I'm a soldier, but I can get "critted" by a Scout and die in one shot? TFC used to be casual fun. TF2 is just ridiculous.

Well likewise you can do the same to them. TF2 really isn't that complicated. It's the same as any modern fps with different classes and such.

 

[blastingcap]

Despite the obnoxious tone and annoying text formatting this guy makes an excellent point. If you want set bonuses you either pay the $18(!!!!!) for the hat or you win the lottery (chances of finding specific hats are absurdly small).

Um, no.

Don't forget the trading system! I have over 1000 hours logged into TF2. I could probably trade one of my many, many hats for the hat I really wanted, if I gave a crap and played the game anymore.

 

[Dankk]

Valve did say that Team Fortress 2 was their "on-going experiment" for trying new things, so I guess you can't blame them too much.

I agree though that the game has become more intimidating for new players than it was when it came out three years ago. I've always recommended this as a great online FPS for casual players, but nowadays I can understand why a new user would become confused with all the new hats, drops, crafting etc...

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Valve did say that Team Fortress 2 was their "on-going experiment" for trying new things, so I guess you can't blame them too much.

I didn't pay for an "experiment" and I don't want to be part of it. Give me the nice simple TF2 back

 

[blastingcap]

I didn't pay for an "experiment" and I don't want to be part of it. Give me the nice simple TF2 back

The xbox360 is still running the original TF2

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

The xbox360 is still running the original TF2

I'd rather cut my balls off than play an FPS with a controller

 

[blastingcap]

I'd rather cut my balls off than play an FPS with a controller

I feel the same way, hence the ""

 

[Ancalagon44]

TF2 now has drops and crafting?? When did this happen?

And why?

 

[zerocool84]

TF2 now has drops and crafting?? When did this happen?

And why?

Yea I think they really f'd up the game with stuff like that as it's random and no matter how long you've played the game you still have a chance of not getting stuff on a drop. TF2 was perfect until they did the new random weapon drop thing.