analysis – Page 4 – The Daily SPUF

Mirror’s Edge and Me

July 23, 2016 SilverWolf 0 Comments analysis, criticism, non-tf2

When I first saw Mirror’s Edge I thought it looked incredible. I downloaded and played the demo on the 360 repeatedly and it was mind-blowing to me to see and play something so fresh. Then eventually through the sweet, sweet nectar to a high school student that is birthday money, I bought the full game. And I loved every moment of it… Except for some bits, BUT FOR THE MOST PART I loved it! The clean and stylish aesthetics, the focus on momentum and flow, no HUD, no screen clutter. Just you, your ability as a Runner and the world… [Continue Reading]

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New PASS Time updates!

July 19, 2016 aabicus 0 Comments analysis, pass time, scout, update

The recent update is finally live, and there are so many new changes I don’t even know where to start! So for lack of better ideas, I decided to begin with PASS Time, in part because I know it’s not super popular, and I want to encourage people again to try it out. It’s really really not a bad mode, certainly it’s better than capture-the-flag, and the new update pushed a lot of very cool changes I can totally get behind. One of the major problems affecting PASS Time was the extreme emphasis it placed on a single player. Whoever… [Continue Reading]

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Meet Your Match Weapon Rebalances!

July 17, 2016 aabicus 1 Comment analysis, balance, update, weapons

There are so many new weapon changes that came out with Meet Your Match, and for the most part I’d say the changes are a net positive. I’m not even sure where to begin, so I’m just going to go through the list and highlight the weapons I care about, and say my piece. First of all, the Sydney Sleeper is awesome! Two huge changes that buffed this weapon while raising its skill ceiling and its support capabilities, now it can extinguish teammates with scoped friendly-fire and deal area-of-effect jarate splash on scoped headshots. The former ties in with the… [Continue Reading]

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Concepts

June 29, 2016 General_B 0 Comments analysis, balance, melee, suggestion, Team Fortress 2, theory, update, weapon

Valve doesn’t like adding new concepts to the game, which is why there are so many +/- weapons, even the ones that don’t look like they are. The Airstrike for instance, is entirely +/- but the description doesn’t show it as such. Anyways Valve occasionally figures out they can change around a concept for new weapons and balancing, and then do it to a bunch of weapons (cough, switch speeds in tough break getting added to like 30% of melee weapons, cough). This seems like a new thing but switch speed has been around for ages in the Degreaser and… [Continue Reading]

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Organ Trail and Me

June 13, 2016 SilverWolf 1 Comment analysis, criticism, non-tf2

I remember picking up the original version of this game. I thought it looked like a laugh and had some interesting (and unforgiving) mechanics. I’d installed it nearing midnight and had work at 8 in the morning. “Screw it,” I thought “five minutes.” The next time I looked at a clock it was 3, nearing 4am. my heart pounding against its cage as I dragged my final survivor into the safe zone alongside his wounded leader who’d become incapacitated at the final hurdle. Everyone else was dead. I felt an elation like nothing I’d felt before in a game, after… [Continue Reading]

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Little-Known TF2 Mechanics

May 30, 2016December 5, 2016 aabicus 0 Comments analysis, chat, glitches, mechanics, pyro, sniper, spy

In order to make this list, said TF2 mechanic needs to (1) heavily affect some aspect of playing the game normally, (2) be completely unexplained or hidden, and (3) be something I somehow only learned in 2016 despite my pathological addiction to analyzing every facet of this game. I’ve divided the list into three “major” and three “minor” mechanics. Major 1: Projectile Models on some weapons affect aerodynamics. Several of the projectiles in TF2 actually care about the drag on the fired projectile, which means that, for example, most of the grenade launchers fire even more differently than their stats… [Continue Reading]

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TF2’s Shorts are Better Written Than Overwatch’s

May 27, 2016 OrangeyBlueInk 0 Comments analysis, comparison, criticism, overwatch, writing

Uh, hi. Aabicus and I were discussing elements of writing in both Overwatch and TF2, specifically in terms of the two Overwatch shorts focusing on Winston and on Widowmaker in comparison to Expiration Date. I suggest you watch them and take a look at how the action interacts with their respective narratives, which is what I will focus on here. These are pulled directly from a Skype discussion, so no examples are currently cited. In Expiration Date, the action is tied in with the character’s deep insecurities, their impending mortality, their desire for human connection, and their hopes for better… [Continue Reading]

Now for Something Completely Different

Pharah – Overwatch’s Soldier Wannabe

May 20, 2016 Medic 0 Comments analysis, comparison, overwatch, soldier

During the brief time that I played Overwatch, I tended to drift towards two characters: Pharah and Reinhardt. While I liked Reinhardt for his personality, giant shield and huge mace, I tended to play Pharah because I understood her. She plays very, very similarly to our beloved, overly patriotic Soldier. Like Soldier, Pharah uses a rocket launcher, jumps high into the air and has 200 health. Unlike Soldier, Fareeha Amari did actually get accepted into the military. And there’s a few differences here and there. But she’s essentially the same character, but easier. Much easier. The main ‘thing’ with playing… [Continue Reading]

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MeeM’s random SPUF article

May 16, 2016 MysticTheMeeM 1 Comment 6v6, analysis, comparison, theory

Now, I get that as a medic main I meet a bunch of friends (perhaps more than any other class main) just from playing the game. Indeed, many of them I become really good friends with and we get along great. But, as with most friendships, eventually people drift apart. (And yes, mopey post ahead.) Now my steam friends list is full of people I’ve met from a bunch of different games. From guys I spent hundreds of hours to guys who randomly decided to help me through the first part of that game I got yesterday and spent a… [Continue Reading]

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Overwatch’s Widowmaker

May 14, 2016 aabicus 0 Comments analysis, overwatch, sniper, widowmaker

I’ve already mentioned that Overwatch did not escape the “if one team has a healer, they win” syndrome, and they are likewise still suffering from ” chronic Sniper-itis”. Even the subreddit has noticed the amount of bloody snipers limping around in the back not being particularly useful or fun to fight against. Which is a shame, because played well Widowmaker can be so much more than a sniper. When not scoped in, her rifle becomes a bullet hose that Soldier 76 would be jealous of. Her E-attack is a poison mine (the only non-Ultimate DoT attack in the game) which serves… [Continue Reading]