April 2016 – Page 2 – The Daily SPUF

On the molasses-like progress of League of Legends lore

April 22, 2016 Medic 0 Comments league of legends, lol, lore, non-tf2, story

Hi everyone! Today, I’ll be talking about the lore of League of Legends. Around the time of the Shurima update, the League of Legends was abruptly removed from the lore of League of Legends. At the time, Riot’s Lore team said that the League and the Institute of War were holding them back creatively, as they had to give each champion reasons to be there. They promised that, with the League gone, they’d be able to expand into new territories, improve their writing and be able to come out with more content. At the same time, the Lore team removed… [Continue Reading]

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On Community Updates

April 22, 2016 Medic 0 Comments analysis, community, cosmetics, crates, criticism, end of the line, invasion, update

Community updates have always had some sort of sparkle to them. You get a ton of great content-creators gathering and making something as a team. Right now, we have two communities working together on two very different but rather complimentary updates – the Iron Gauntlet, which features Mann VS Machine maps and robotic cosmetics, and the Mayann Project, which is more of an Indiana Jones themed update. Both look very promising and some cool themes behind them. And of course, more Mann VS Machine stuff is always good for me. Thing is though, despite the fact that community updates bring… [Continue Reading]

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Why TF2 Wouldn’t Make a Very Good eSport

April 21, 2016 aabicus 2 Comments comparison, competitive, CSGO

I have over 3300 hours in TF2, and it’s been my favorite game for years ever since I started playing it. I’ve written hundreds of articles about it, recorded videos, organized community events and have watched numerous competitive tournaments on Twitch and Source TV. In contrast, I’ve barely started playing Counter-Strike Global Offensive in 2016 and I only passably enjoy my time playing it. I doubt I’ll ever be getting serious about it to the same extent I love everything about TF2. I’m saying all this to qualify the stance I’m about to take, because I have a confession. I watched… [Continue Reading]

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Medic, Oh Medic, Please Rescue Me

April 20, 2016 disguisedcyclone 0 Comments archimedes, comedy, Filler, fun, medic, poem, scout, story

Medic, oh Medic, please rescue me I don’t like it here; I long to be free Medic, oh Medic, will you not save me? Save me from his antics (and misery) Medic, oh Medic, am I forgotten As I’m right next to a heart quite rotten? Medic, oh Medic, I hate it in here His brain is just full of chicken and fear Medic, oh Medic, how he tires me Despite warning, he dies to a sentry Medic, oh Medic, tell him not to taunt When he kills spies whose Dead Ringers they flaunt Medic, oh Medic, will he ever… [Continue Reading]

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Differentiating Maps Through Gameplay

April 19, 2016 aabicus 0 Comments design, gameplay, left 4 dead, Left 4 Dead 2

Previously I used Left 4 Dead 2 to show an example of well-distinguished enemy units in a video game. I thought I could also take the chance to look at a little-known element of map design called “thematic gameplay”, and this time compare it to the original game, Left 4 Dead. While the first game’s initial four campaigns have a unifying vision of atmosphere and incredibly strong visual themes separating their design, they are almost completely lacking in gameplay alterations. They all involve forward progression through linear zombie-infested environments, eventually surviving a holdout finale and rushing the escape vehicle as soon as… [Continue Reading]

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How I Learned To Play TF2 By Starting Out As A Medic

April 18, 2016 disguisedcyclone 0 Comments medic, newbie

At this point, I have so far sunk a couple hundred hours in Team Fortress 2, a game I started to enjoy playing since 2015. While I can earn a few dominations and topscore on the Valve public servers nowadays, it sure wasn’t like that when I first started out. As a matter of fact, in the very first game I ever played, I did so poorly, I nearly quit the game altogether. (I talk a little bit about my experience in that first game in another article.) So what did I do to git gud? I did what most people… [Continue Reading]

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On Medics and Machines

April 17, 2016 Medic 0 Comments lack, MvM, two cities, updates, video, youtube

Hi everyone, Phovos here. Today, I’d like to discuss Mann VS Machine. If you ever played Mann VS Machine before the Two Cities update, you might remember how bad playing Medic was. Medics were essentially useless, which was a stark opposite to normal gameplay. The only vaguely effective loadout relied on getting Kritzkrieg Ubers as fast as possible, but even then, people would prefer another Heavy or Demoman instead. Thankfully, the Two Cities update made it so Medics were actually useful again. The ability to reanimate people and bring them back to life speeds up otherwise quite slow gameplay, and… [Continue Reading]

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Daedra and Artifacts – Medic in Skyrim Bonus Time Part 2

April 17, 2016 Medic 0 Comments fun, medic, medic in skyrim, Skyrim, yay

Oh? Sorry, were you talking to me? I was busy talking to a statue. Last time you were here, I had started a quest to gather a bunch of Deitic artifacts, because secretly I am a very evil person. I’m being accompanied by Cicero, the guy whose cart breaks down outside some guy’s farm outside Whiterun. Just an FYI before we start, there ARE Skyrim spoilers ahead. Of course. Although the game is like 4 years old now, so eh, you should probably play it. Anyway, back to adventuring. A statue of an angel just spoke to me. I think… [Continue Reading]

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Daedra and Artifacts – Medic in Skyrim Bonus Time Part 1

April 16, 2016 Medic 0 Comments fun, medic, non-tf2, Skyrim

Don’t tell Sniper, but while he’s been busy killing vampires, I’ve been sneaking around Skyrim collecting things, which makes a nice change from saving the place. You see, I’ve recently found two things: the first being UESP.net, which has so much really good information on all the Elder Scrolls games. The second thing I found was some guy drinking in the Bannered Mare in Whiterun. This guy, turns out, is the start of a so-called daedric quest. So here I am, on a bonus little two-part adventure. A quick note before we start. I WAS going to do the Dark… [Continue Reading]

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Dem Choppas continued

April 15, 2016July 22, 2017 aabicus 0 Comments dem choppas, mod, modding, sniper, weapon

It’s been a long time since I wrote about my favorite custom model in TF2, the choppa. I’ve changed a lot as a person and my tastes have grown more refined, but nowadays if I again had to pick a favorite custom model, I’d still have to go with the choppa. It’s just the best. Hell, it’s even better than it was before! In late 2013 creator Bl8demast3r made some tweaks that included working killstreak sheens and a new golden model for owners of the Australium SMG: And while he didn’t add anything for weapon skins (how the hell would he?), that turned… [Continue Reading]