I'm not a fan of the Degreaser. I like that it has a faster quick-change, but -25% burn damage sucks. You have to chase people for so long. I'm already back to using the regular flame thrower. I do like the Powerjack though.

Originally Posted by Clak I'm kind of sick of TF2, it seems to be getting harder and harder for people who don't play constantly. I've got other shit to do besides playing for hours hoping to get something to drop. It's just changed too much for my liking.

Most of the non-default weapons suck anyways so you're not missing much. There are very few things that aren't default that I actually use. The sniper is really the only class that has shitty default weapons. Regardless, things are pretty balanced though, so it shouldn't be getting harder.

Originally Posted by Hydro2Oxide As with anything, you have to let it sit for a bit and get used to it. The ShortStop has a lower DPS overall compared to the Scattergun, the spy knife is totally denied by sentries but I'll definitely agree the Degreaser is a straight up upgrade. I don't know about overpowered though.

Sentries don't do shit to that new spy knife if the spy is good. The amount of times I was stabbed and the spy just breezily sapped all of my shit is sad.

I just started to play again recently and I've had no problems with the store update until I found out you have to pay for a key to unlock this crate I found. The hell!

Originally Posted by Hostile I just started to play again recently and I've had no problems with the store update until I found out you have to pay for a key to unlock this crate I found. The hell!

Yeah, keys appear to be the only items that are store-bought only, which means if you've got a crate and you aren't into microtransactions, crates are trade fodder (i.e. worthless if you don't give a shit about trading).

They made the polycount hats craftable after the community whined, so maybe they'll also allow some keys to drop. IMO it's the fair thing to do if they want to hold to the idea that every item is available through store and item drops. As it stands, no dropped keys means "regular" players (those who get items through drops exclusively) don't have a chance at the unusual hats.

Not that it really matters, I'm just sayin'. I'd like to have key drops as I've picked up crates and would like to open for the items inside. Every little bit helps. It'll be forever before I get enough items/metal to craft up the two or three polycount hats to match my item sets. I realize the stat bonuses aren't supposed to be that great, but I'd still like to try them out.

The formula for crate drops are actually different and independent from regular item drops. Taking that into account, crates are just an added bonus if you choose to pay for the keys or trade them for other weapons.

Anyone have a pair of Earbuds they'd want to trade? I've got an Old Guadalajara I want to get rid of.

i want

http://store.valvesoftware.com/product.php?i=S0225

Originally Posted by Sporadic i want http://store.valvesoftware.com/product.php?i=S0225

Damn, didn't know they added so much cool swag. Shame the shipping is still a shit deal, I'm just going to wait until there's $50 worth of stuff I want to get on the free shipping they offer.

Anyone else been having trouble getting items since the last reset? I hadn't gotten a single thing. =\

Originally Posted by halfbent Anyone else been having trouble getting items since the last reset? I hadn't gotten a single thing. =\

Thought it was only me. Prior to the update I'd find 7-9 items in a week; now, I'm lucky if I find four things. Since Wednesday (when they reset the item cap), I've found three things, and the last time I found something was Thursday. It's really annoying.

Anyone wanna trade a whiskered gentleman for a sombrero (Old guadalajara)?

If you are a professional hat trader this isn't a good deal since whiskered gentlemen have more supposed value than sombreros, but if you'd prefer trading hat for hat with a CAG then it would make me happy since I've been wanting one.

Originally Posted by Sporadic I doubt it. I've already seen people running around with new stuff. They must be making it rain at Valve.

Jesus , looks like I wasn't off the mark when I posted that.

When Valve Software announced the results of Polycount's Team Fortress 2 item-modding contest, the winners were just excited that their creations would be in the popular mulitplayer shooter. But with the recent introduction of the game's user-created virtual item marketplace, the Mann Co. Store, the winners' items went on sale to the Team Fortress 2 community -- and a 25 percent revenue share to the modders led to a surprising payoff. Today, Valve said that community content creators Rob Laro, Shawn Spetch, Steven Skidmore, Spencer Kern and Shaylyn Hamm took home initial royalty payments ranging from $39,000 to $47,000 each from the first round of Team Fortress 2 content creation. And these are just the checks from the first few weeks of operation. Kern told Gamasutra, "By having [user-generated content] implemented in the way that Steam has it, where people are getting monetary gains for the items they put in, it rewards people who put in the good items, who listen to the community and put in the stuff that everyone wants to see in the game. ... It'll bring out the quality artists to do the work." He added, "It was completely mind-blowing, the size of the return that we're getting on these things." Skidmore said, "I feel like this is going to open up a whole new level for everyone in general that plays these games who has an interest [in game design]. .. It'll ultimately be better for the industry, attaching the community to the game developer." Valve said it was going to deposit the royalties in the modders' PayPal accounts, but the revenue from the sales was so high that it exceeded some of the service's limits on deposit size. Valve flew Kern and Skidmore to the developer's Kirkland, WA headquarters to give them the payments in person. (...) To Valve boss Gabe Newell, giving content creators a cut of the sales benefits Valve, the modders and the community as a whole. Newell noted that about half of the 250 people currently working at Valve came directly out of the gaming community. He explained that typically, when gamers in a community have an idea or want to contribute something to the industry in a professional capacity, the path would be to create something interesting and get hired by a game company. "I think this sort of short circuits that process," he said. "Once people ... realize this is about their community, and that the right people are getting the benefits, ... after a while, they'll say 'this is really how these kinds of communities need to work.'" He added, "It benefits us because it grows the community, right? These [content creators] benefit, but we benefit too. Team Fortress 2 is a better product because we have community contributions in it. They're going to go off and listen to what the community says about how they can do that better, and we can draft along, as we both benefit."

http://gamasutra.com/view/news/31109...re_Payoffs.php

Damn, I've got to work on my modeling skills and make me a good 40 grand.

Originally Posted by Hydro2Oxide Damn, I've got to work on my modeling skills and make me a good 40 grand.

That 40K is just after two weeks. I'm sure there will be plenty more rolling in. It really is crazy and makes me wish I had any clue how to create/model weapons and hats.

Big update just dropped. Added a bunch of hats and stuff along with this year's special event for Halloween.

Originally Posted by Sporadic Big update just dropped. Added a bunch of hats and stuff along with this year's special event for Halloween.

I wonder if those hats in the store are event drops or store only...

They can be crafted. If you melee kill the raid boss you'll get an unusual scrap metal. If you craft that with 4 refined you'll get 1 of the 4 halloween hats (Which can be used outside of halloween). Or you can craft it with 2 refined and a scotman's skullcutter to get "An unusual horseless headless horseman's axe" or whatever it's called, which is a new model for the eyelander. With PURPLE TEXT.

Plus if you had a ghastly gibus before this patch, it's an even ghastlier gibus now. And there are random presents that spawn which give new bag masks.

I got the metal and crafted it with four refined to get the Voodoo Juju hat. I'm glad I wound up getting one of the hats only being offered for a short amount of time. I may have to buy that cleaver hat though since it looks awesome.

My friend and I have also been playing for like the past two hours trying to get all the masks to make the Sackston Hale mask. So far we've combined to get five of the nine.

Also, anyone collect all 20 pumpkins but not get the hat? I completed the achievement, as did my friend and multiple others in the server we were in, but nobody got the hat drop that it says it gives.

Those gifts are a bastard to get. Played for a few hours myself this night and only managed to get one mask. What locations have you seen gifts spawn in, SEH? The one I found was under the ladder leading up to the roof on CP #2. I also THINK I saw a dude grab one right behind CP #1, up on that raised platform where the defenders can drop down.

Also hope that the unusual metal remains in your inventory and can be crafted with after the Halloween event, because I just barely have 2 refined now and I'd rather make a hat with it when I get up to 4. Assuming I manage to get unusual metal before the event ends.

Had the mask for 20 pumpkins from last year's Halloween so I dunno if it's working properly this year or not.

Apparently you can spawn the headless horseless boss via console commands, if I don't get 5 special medals by the end of the event I think I'm just gonna do that :/