A resource for all news, strategies, media, and events pertaining to Team Fortress 2, for PC, coming this fall from Valve - bundled with Half-Life Episode 2 and Portal


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7.31.2006

The Basics

While I don't have a ton of free time right now, it would be a good idea to get the basics out of the way for people unfamiliar with Team Fortress. Why people would stumble across this page (which is still under heavy construction, and has not been "marketed" around my forums and regular sites yet) is beyond me. But hey, I have to do something to keep this new project of mine feeling sexy to me, so let us make with the consistent content creation. Mmkay?

Wikipedia's article on Team Fortress is excellent - as usual. A great starting point.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_Fortress_Classic

Since the main Team Fortress article did not have a list of classes or rule variations, this is the one I advise people to read first.

If you are too lazy to read that, or what a little synopsis first, here goes. First off, the main format is like Capture the Flag. In fact, it is pretty much as old as Internet based Capture the Flag - it was the first major project to liven up the old CTF formula.

Two teams of players try to take the opponent flag while maintaining their own. For gamers today, this concept is ubiquitous (except in Battlefield, but my bone to pick with them is too large an affair for this entry). What else is different about it?

CLASSES.

I cannot do justice to the wikipedia entry, in this area, but suffice to day, class based play is really what gives TF a wealth of depth that CTF does not have. The specialization, and intricate differences between the types of weapons, items, armor levels, and other miscellaneous abilities makes a simple game more complex, more interesting, more strategic, and more fun. If CTF is soccer (or Association/World Football), then Team Fortress is like American Football. You have your linemen, who are totally built for one role in the team, and your quarterbacks, and your receivers. All these different sizes, speeds, and toughness make for a gaming experience where you can focus on particular facets of the teamplay if you wish, or f you don't, there are classes that are pretty good at everything, but great at nothing.

In the coming weeks, I will certainly cover all areas of all classes. But while the class system is the foundation of Team Fortress, it isn't the only thing. The cool variations of grenades, the charging bases sniper system, the variations of victory conditions and flag behavior, and the team oriented online community where all things I miss greatly from Team Fortress that no other first-person shooter I've ever played has surpassed.


7.30.2006

This is what this blog is all about

This essay is the absolute epitome of what this blog is going to be all about. Well, comedically anyway. I also have useful stuff too.

From gamespy.com

PlanetFargo: Fortress Fanatic

By Dave 'Fargo' Kosak | July 21, 2006

-----------

For many of us, TeamFortess for QuakeWorld was the class-based team game that we cut our chops on. The year was 1997, and I would snipe from the upper deck of the 2Fort4 map until my eyes bled. In fact, I would go so far as to say:

If you were shot in the head anytime between December of 1996 and March 1998, I was probably on the other end of the rifle.
Sorry.

Recently there was a lot of hubbub about the new Team Fortress 2 trailer that was unveiled last week. The word "ZOMG" was used. Indiscriminately.

Now, there are some who might have expressed disappointment that the new look and feel of TF would be exaggerated and cartoony, instead of the serious hardcore simulation look of Valve's abandoned TF2 Project. I am not among them.

Look guys: TeamFortress was never a serious game. In the original Quake version, snipers could cause a man to explode in a shower of entrails with a single charged-up bullet. And of course I've already examined how ridiculous capturing the flag is as a military tactic. Then there's the Medic, who would walk around giving people mysterious tropical diseases. More importantly, said Medic would heal you by hitting you with an axe. Let's think about THAT for a second:

Man: Doctor, I have a cold.
Medic [Sharpening enormous double-headed axe]: I'm afraid it'll have to come off.
Man: It'll have to -- what? Wait, WHAT will have to come off?
Medic [Spitting on axe blade]: All of it.

And how about that Spy? My favorite part of the Spy in the original TeamFortress was that he would walk around wearing a tuxedo that, judging by the player model, he was clearly wearing over a suit of reinforced heavy plate powered armor. This would be totally smooth in practice:

[The Spy waddles up with his arms hanging out from his sides and his elbows locked at a 45-degree angle.]

Spy: Bartender, give me a martini. Shaken, not stirred.

[The Bartender does so. The Spy, however, cannot lift his arms high enough to reach the bar.]

Spy: Just pour it in my mouth.

[An immensely hot blonde walks up in a sequined evening gown.]

Blonde: Hello, sailor. What's your name?

[The Spy turns to her, his torso whirring with the sound of metal grinding on metal. He knocks his martini onto the floor.]

Spy: The name's Bond, Jim Bond.

Blonde: You're ... spurting ... on my leg.

Spy: That's just hydraulic fluid.

Blonde: Oh.

Spy: ... For now.


So I, for one, am thrilled at the corny new look and feel of Team Fortress 2. Flinging Scouts across the map with a concussion grenade won't just look plausible - it'll be damn well encouraged. So will shooting them in the head.... Although I doubt they'll explode into chunky bits that resemble watermelon anymore.


7.22.2006

Ok. Here is the deal with this page.

Eventually, I'm am going to try to use this blog as a resource. I will scour the net, trying to find as much info on Team Fortress 2 - The HalfLife 2 game for your PC - and make this blog an invaluble resource to the gaming community.

The problem is that I need to learn some CSS, and until we're ready to launch, this page is under HEAVY construction. I mean heavy. Lots of experimenting. You're probably noticing how disgusting this page is now.

Do NOT assume that's how it's going to remain. Visit back sometime. See if I got anything good. You won't regret it.Capt. Jack Sparrow and WWE Champ John Cena VS Blade and Paris Hilton. Tkae that search engines.


7.19.2006

This is the ultimate test post

of ultimate destiny. :)

TOASTY!



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