Pass Time and other update and community stuff

I’m supposed to be working right now, even though I’m supposed to be on holiday too, but oh well. I want to write articles. Work can go fuck itself. Anyway, there’s a TF2 update that’s appeared out of nowhere. Apparently, Valve have been hanging out with with Bad Robot, who do films and stuff, and working with Escalation Studios (some other gaming company), and they’ve basically made TF2 Rugby. I’d call it Football or Soccer, but they are both lame sports. Rugby is what Saxton Hale would play, after ultimate fighting and hockey. This new Pass Time game mode (who… [Continue Reading]

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Sharks and Minnows (aka You)

Unless you play on tc_meridian, TF2 has a depressing absence of sharks. This holds true for the rest of my Steam library as well. Luckily, Depth recently had a free weekend, and I got to fill this void, just like the sharks in that game got to fill themselves up with me. I’ve always had an intense fascination with underwater combat in video games, partly because I’m mildly terrified of water in real life. I dedicated a whole article to what little of it exists in TF2, I can’t resist leaping into bodies of water whenever my gameplay crosses them, and… [Continue Reading]

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MvM at Odoroki’s place

“Hey, Medic? Wanna play MvM?” Every Sunday, I get sent this message. It’s generally from Odoroki. If I don’t reply, there’s often a follow up message from Reima. They send me a request to join their game. Clicking on that request is a scary thing to do. Very scary. You never know what’s going to happen. All you know is that the game mode will be MvM. Somewhat. You see, Odoroki has his own little server. On it, he does a lot of strange things. Then he invites poor saps like me to test them. And Reima tries to record… [Continue Reading]

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On Accuracy

Hitscan guns in shooters often have two major qualities that people care about; how much damage they do and how accurate they are. (How quickly they fire is also relevant but in this article I’m focusing on the first two.) Which seems simple enough, because at the end of the day you want to know how fast your guns can kill things. But lots of shooters have been making the question a bit more difficult by introducing accuracy-affecting mechanics. Ways for a player to use positioning, modifications, skills, or game mechanics to manipulate the likelihood of a fired bullet hitting the… [Continue Reading]

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Can we update the bots now please?

Your internet connection is broken. You’re bored. You don’t know what to do with yourself. You open up TF2 in the vague hope that it’ll somehow fix your internet connection. You’re wrong. So you play a bot game. And you realise how ooooold and tired they are. The first problem that’s immediately obvious is that bots don’t work on every single map. Actually, most of the new maps don’t seem to work with bots at all. Why is this? TF2’s bots work because they’re told where they can and can’t go by a navigation mesh. The game can automatically create… [Continue Reading]

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The Best Battle Medic Set

I’m sure you’ve been in my boots before. You’re playing with a team of complete morons. They’re not listening. You’ve tried everything. They just shoot walls and ignore both you and the objective. You’re sick and tired and you want to kill someone in the most humiliating and painful way possible. You want to go Battle Medicing. Yes, I use the term Battle Medic as a verb sometimes. It amuses me. Big problem though, Battle Medics are pretty much useless. We’re looking at a class completely not designed for fighting, picking him up by the scruff of his fancy lab… [Continue Reading]

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I’m sick of all you Crossbow overlords…

I’m tired of it. “Medic, use the Crusader’s Crossbow! It’s better!” everyone says to me. Yes, I know it’s better. But it’s only better if you can actually hot anything with the damn thing. Friend or ally. There’s no point equipping it if you’re going to miss almost every shot, and the ones you do land happen to be on enemies that your team mates would have killed anyway. You can’t avoid it. Every newbie Medic who comes along to SPUF always ends up asking what the best primary weapon is, and all everyone says is the Crossbow. There’s no… [Continue Reading]

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Neglect and Negotiations – Medic in Skyrim part 6

I’m still here in Skyrim, with an Elder Scroll and the blood of a dragon. It only took me an hour or so of walking to get this damn scroll (see last time round)  so let’s get on with this. From where I appear out in the wilderness, I find this place. Never known what it’s used for. I take a blessing of Talos and leave for the Throat of the World. I think. On my way there, I stumble across this jester, Cicero. Shrill voice aside, he needs help and the person in the mill nearby seems unwilling to… [Continue Reading]

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The Hammer of Change draws closer…

Greetings citizens. I come to you with glum news. It seems as though the Riot Summoners have chosen me to be sacrificed to the Lords of Balance. The Hammer of Change is near, hovering above me dangerously, with a hideous squint in its bearer’s eyes. Yes, you heard me correctly, I am about to be nerfed into the ground. Or possibly not. You see, Riot has no idea what to do with one of the faces of League of Legends. As I stand, I am a glorious tank. I will soak up all the damage, spin around a bit, make… [Continue Reading]

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Crossbows and Colleges – Medic in Skyrim part 5

Oh hello again! I’ve just got back from visiting Paarthunax. Nice guy. Taught me a shout. Then told me that I needed an Elder Scroll. I suppose the name of the series would appear at some point to bite me in the backside. I’ve been asking around. Everyone’s clueless. Someone suggests that I ask Esbern, but I’m on the Throat of the World, I’ll be damned if I’m walking back to their lame fortress to ask a question I’m certain no one knows the answer to. But the Greybeards suggest I go to the college of Winterhold. So I do… [Continue Reading]

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