cosmetics

You Shouldn’t Rely on Glitches

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It seems like SPUF is always in two minds when it comes to glitches within our expansive game of TF2. Whether it’s high-fiving someone into the enemy spawn or staying invincible as a Medic, we’ve certainly seen our fair share of bugs that Valve has accidentally exposed over the years.

Of course, the latest one on the public mind (but not a recent one, dating back to just after last Halloween when it occurred) was the persistence of Halloween spells on items beyond when they were supposed to expire. This glitch was patched during and after this year’s update, with all spell items expiring but all items with spells applied to them allowed to keep the spell (with the caveat that the spells would only be visible during Halloween/full moon). This recent action has caused quite the outpouring, with a thread gaining steam on SPUF and a blog post on this very site, showing how much SPUF is in two minds about every issue.

Since every stance has a counterstance, I’m here to offer the opposing point of view: to all those complaining, deal with it.

You can still rock your stuff on full moons! Picture by FeelGoodInc.
You can still rock your glowy paints on full moons! Picture by FeelGoodInc.

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RIP Permanent Color-Shifting Spell Paint (2012-2013)

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Today, we mourn the loss of our beloved hue-changing beauties, as the TF2 community is forced to return to the world of monochromatic monotony that is normal paint. Spell enthusiasts new and old have had their favorite cosmetic toy taken from them in what could be considered the worst possible way to handle the entire situation (explained further below).

My losses include my once painstakingly-perfected Goldier, pictured below, as well as his Festive and Haunted variants meant for such illustrious occasions as the Christmas season (or infrequent snow map), Halloween, and Full Moons.

Picture by iGamr
Picture by iGamr

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A New Comic!

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Valve has released Grave Matters! It’s not the sequel to the bi-monthy comic (even though its been exactly two months since the last one), but a Halloween teaser for the upcoming Scream Fortress. Read the Comic here! SPUF is abuzz with excitement and speculation over the contents of the update, but all we know is that it’ll involve community-contributed cosmetics and they’ll all be Halloween/Full moon-restricted. There are so many unanswered questions. What TF2 map will be spookified this year? (Something payload race would be a safe bet, while others are suggesting Teufort!) Will Halloween Spells be released, allowing enterprising… [Continue Reading]

A Flood of Hats

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Too many hats?
Too many hats?

This year, we have been flooded by hats. Literally, flooded. Do you know how many new hats we’ve had this year? Do you know how many hats there are in TF2? According to the Team Fortress 2 wiki, there are 380 hats. And there are 306 miscellaneous items. Plus the 25 items from the recent update. That’s 701 items.

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Unusuals – A Thought

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A while ago, when the Robocrates first came out, I was playing Team Fortress with my sibling, and he unboxed an unusual. A Disco Beat Down Whoopee Cap. A pretty effect on an average Scout hat. I’d seen quite a few people unboxing unusuals that day, and a lot more people trying their luck, unboxing a million Strange Bottles and Fireaxes.  I was among the people who didn’t unbox an unusual, although I managed to get a white paint from a #4 crate.

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Wonderful Fall Crates…

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Yet more hats, really? Picture by Medic
Yet more hats, really? Picture by Medic

As everyone probably saw yesterday, the Fall Acorn and Gourd keys are now available to buy, to compliment the crates that started dropping not long ago. But what’s in these crates and is it worth it?

Well, the answer is always “no, it’s not worth it”, but oh well.

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The Winners of the Twenty-Nine Pipes!

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Gentlemannly Stovepipes... Picture by The Medic
Gentlemannly Stovepipes… Picture by The Medic

Dear Laddies and Lassies,

Me butler Samson has shown me the arts and crafts ye all have made for me pipes, and I’m astounded by the high quality of the submissions! Though I’m a wee bit sad that not every Pipe will go to a new home, the others will remain with me for the time being! Now, I have to go strangle a Leviathan to death!

-Sir Donald Demoman

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A Comparison of Scout Secondaries

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If you were to ask me what I thought the most versatile weapon slot in TF2 is, I’d say Scout secondary. Unlocks in that section vary from pistols to drinkables, to throwables that either deal damage or leave status effects. (If Valve ever releases the Scout and Medic Grordbort sets, that’ll add a laser weapon to the list). Of all the classes, scout is the one I have the most different loadouts for. Most classes it’s more like “Every so often my Pain Train isn’t needed, so I equip Caber,” or “If I’m using the Quick-Fix, I might as well equip Syringe Gun over crossbow because I’m committed to mediocrity” but with Scout the whole loadout changes with the secondary. Today I’m going to go over the diverse selection of Scout secondaries and what I like to equip with them. (Including cosmetics! I always try to grab cosmetics that match the secondary for scout, mainly because the game has decided that every cosmetic that drops for aabicus must be scout-equippable.)

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Some tips on posting successful trades on TF2 Outpost

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While I wouldn’t consider myself a “hardcore trader”, I certainly do it. Most TF2 players enjoy making at least one of the classes look as cool as they can afford, or grabbing strange versions of weapons they truly enjoy.

This pretty much requires using a significant amount of TF2 Outpost, which can be a great experience if you find a good trader. Unfortunately, the percentage of users who seem interested in making things fast, easy, and simple are vanishing every day. As a frequent buyer, my usual strategy is to search for something, open a bunch of tabs of online people offering a certain item, and then instantly close anyone who breaks the following rules:

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Sir Donald Demoman’s Twenty-Nine Pipes of Gentlemannly Adventure!

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Ho, there, ye wee SPUFers, it is I, Sir Donald Demoman, and I’m postin’ on this here blog aboot a competition ah’m holdin’- a celebration of both the arts and the best hat in the game, the Scotsman’s Stove Pipe. Ye see, the Stove Pipe has defined me world fer as long as I can remember. Me mum says I was born with a band of ribbon in me mouth, hoho!

Anyways, I’m soon to be off on a grand adventure to find the mysterious land of Hydro! The scientists say that it doesn’t exist, that the legends of its past population are simply myth, but what do they know? So, it’s up to ye, the SPUFers, to hang onto my most cherished Stove Pipes until I return, if I do!

Picture by Gen. DeGroot
Picture by Gen. DeGroot

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