TF2 : The Unlockables Thread

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Forerunner
I found this really interesting interview of ROBIN WALKER [ OutBy5 fame ] .

“As in everything else we do, we want to iterate, so this is really the first step towards our desired implementation. We also think we have bugs in the system as well, since we’re seeing some players not finding any items after a few hours of play, which is not at all how it’s tuned. We want unlockable drops to be a pretty regular occurrence for players, with the cosmetic hats being the rare finds.â€
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Source : http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/05/22/the-tf2-unlock-teacup-storm/

Bottom LINE : It is a bug, it will get fixed.

Also Found this interesting take of the whole system on the steam forums :
This system -

a) Further builds anticipation.
b) Allows counter strategies to be developed quicker and earlier on.
c) 'Trains' players by allowing to actively watch the unlock in action before using it.
d) Limits the number of unlocks being used at one time, trying to maintaining normal (or at least not broken) gameplay.

IMO it's a successfully designed system, except for one major flaw - Valve's miscalculation of the player community.

Valve's Intentions:
People realize that because there is nothing they can do to improve their chances of getting these unlocks, people will stop trying to get them and accept that they will be 'found' sooner or later.

Reality:
People feel 'robbed' that they can't get their new toys when they want it, and how they want it.
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So as Morpheus said -

" I do not believe it to be a matter of Hope , i believe it to be a matter of TIME"

Lets just "HOPE" that TIME is on our side .
 
i haven't played tf2 since the update but i've heard that people are getting multiples of the same unlock. that surely has to be a bug as well right?
 
Just give everyone everything from the get-go and be done with it.
What's the deal with this lame unlock crap from the land of consoles.
 
saumilsingh said:
Just give everyone everything from the get-go and be done with it.
What's the deal with this lame unlock crap from the land of consoles.
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Just something to look forward to IMHO !

Look at the sheer amount of servers that are running full now ! Partially because of the newbies @ free weekend, but more so because of regular player playing out of curiosity :)
 
saumilsingh said:
Just give everyone everything from the get-go and be done with it.

What's the deal with this lame unlock crap from the land of consoles.
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from consoles :huh: random drops are more like mmo games than anything else.

in any case, i just played for a little while and unlocked the blutsauger (how do you spell that :P ). another guy on my team got the sandman twice inside 10 minutes wtf... and the new pl race map is total chaos. not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing :bleh:
 
^ I was referring to the previous system of having to gain achievements to unlock new content which is how most console games work.

How do these item drops work anyway?
You can get items you already unlocked in the earlier updates? If so, then what about your existing unlocks, are they gone for good and the whole exercise has been pointless?

And what if you get item drops that don't belong to your class?
Lastly what happens when you drop an item, do you lose it or just spawn a copy of it?
 
saumilsingh said:
^ I was referring to the previous system of having to gain achievements to unlock new content which is how most console games work.

How do these item drops work anyway?
You can get items you already unlocked in the earlier updates? If so, then what about your existing unlocks, are they gone for good and the whole exercise has been pointless?

And what if you get item drops that don't belong to your class?
Lastly what happens when you drop an item, do you lose it or just spawn a copy of it?
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1. Item drops are random , the system is currently bugged so once it is fixed we should receive more weapons.

2. If you get a weapon you already pose , you get two of those. And it is not pointless. Robin has quoted saying that HATS n all would be pretty RARE. So these weapons are gonna become like trading cards. You will be able to trade in your weapons for something that the other guy has. Considerably a more rare item will have a higher value , while these old unlockables may seem common place to you. . imagine a guy who just bot TF2 getting that cool HAT that you have always been wanting, you will be able to give him 1 or maybe more weapons ( since you have spare) to trade in for that.

Then the system works on a very large scale and propells the game to another LEVEL all together.

Oh and you cannot pick up dropped unlockables from the ground , if that was what you were referring to :P
 
^ Thanks. That cleared most of the confusion.

! 0 t A said:
Oh and you cannot pick up dropped unlockables from the ground , if that was what you were referring to :P
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Then how do you get new items? I was under the impression that random drops are in and achievement farming is out.
 
^ Don't take the term random drops too seriously. :D

I killed atleast 5-10 snipers who had the bow and arrow and ran over their dead bodies more than once, but that did not get me the weapon. It really doesn't work like that. It's quite buggy at the moment, which is a good thing since my exams are about to start and I will play once the damn thing is sorted out :P
 
VALVE :

Some of the next things we have planned are:

- Item trading. This is why you're finding duplicates.

- Giving players a method to influence the system so they can work directly toward getting specific items.

- Adding more rare items like the hats.

We're going to be working on and rolling these out while we're also working on the next class pack, with the goal being to get it all released before then.
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AHA !

I was right. And they are working on the update :)

http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2535
 
Sei said:
^ Don't take the term random drops too seriously. :D

I killed atleast 5-10 snipers who had the bow and arrow and ran over their dead bodies more than once, but that did not get me the weapon. It really doesn't work like that. It's quite buggy at the moment, which is a good thing since my exams are about to start and I will play once the damn thing is sorted out :P
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yea it's not actually a 'drop'... the item unlocks itself randomly and the only indication you get is that you get a fullscreen image of the weapon with the option to equip it instantly. basically, the same screen one used to get after unlocking a weapon with achievements.
 
IMHO it would have been better if players could unlock the items themselves as oppposed to finding them. Getting the unlocks by playing with friends also helped in coordination between players.

But then again I am averse to drastic changes to things I love , LOL.
 
LOOK wat the new Drop system has done.

VALVE made the system to prevent grinding so that everyone could just enjoy the game and randomly get weapons . . . BUT !!!

greatjobvalve.jpg


VALVE new SYSTEM = Fail [For the TIME being at least ]
 
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