TF2: The Scout Update next week!!!

[Chalex4]

February 17, 2008 — Valve, creators of award-winning games and leading technologies, today announced a set of new releases for Team Fortress 2, the title named Editor's Favorite Game of All Time by PC Gamer (UK). The releases are headline by the Scout Update and will be made available Tuesday, February 24. Between now and then, folks can learn more about what's coming by checking www.tf2.com/scoutupdate each day.

The moment has arrived, here is the one revealed today:

The Sandman:

You Scouts are gonna love this highly collectible bat that smacks baseballs at the other team, stunning the living crap outta anybody dumb, slow, drunk, mute or Australian enough to get in the way. The farther the ball flies before ricocheting offa some chucklehead's skull, the longer he's gonna be stunned. And guys who think they're tough because they're invulnerable? It works on them too. Now the bad news: You can't double jump when you're carrying this little beauty. On the other hand, double jumping never put anybody in a coma.
http://www.teamfortress.com/scoutupdate/images/01_ABC.jpg
A. Hit a guy with the ball to stun him. The farther the ball travels, the longer he’s gonna be out.
B. Now laugh at the guy because he ain’t doin’ nothin for a while but gettin’ beat on.
C. Get in there and take some cheap shots! You deserve it. So does he. Batter SWING!
_________________________________

It looks like another awesome update to me, and this is only the first part of it!

Whoever sees the next part first should post it here as well :D.

[Calneon]

Awesoooommeee.

Thwack!

[Trigger]

Awesome idea, but not being able to double jump is waaaaay to crippling for a scout to make this usefull at any other point than a mess around :(

[Calneon]

Double jump is indeed important, but with this a scout is able to stun ubercharges, making them useless. Don't know how hard it is to hit somebody with one though, i guess it would be like hitting them full on with a rocket (but a faster rocket), no easy job.

[Trigger]

Nah its gonna be more like the Flare gun and u cant hit jack shit with that thing or at least i cant

[ez64]

Nah its gonna be more like the Flare gun and u cant hit jack shit with that thing or at least i cant

It is a bit hard but Ive killed plenty with it and most of all ive got spys that were cloaked and they just set on fire just by firing into blank areas :D

[Calneon]

I'd like to know how many balls he has.

[Trigger]

or what size they are?

Cmon someone else carry this on plz :D

[Chalex4]

Update #2 it out, and it's 2 new maps!!


An Arena map that plays unlike any of Valve’s Arena maps, with a heavy focus on vertical space and long, open sight lines. Control of the central building is a key decision that teams must wrestle over. More Sniper friendly than most Arena maps, it’s a perfect complement to the Scout update. Batter up!

http://www.teamfortress.com/scoutupdate/images/02_top.jpg


A Gravel-Pit style map that the community has been heckling us to include for months. Junction is a sharp contrast to Watchtower. It’s full of tight spaces and short sight lines, which create combat opportunities dominated by ambushes and explosive weaponry.

http://www.teamfortress.com/scoutupdate/images/02_bottom.jpg

more screenshots are here (http://www.teamfortress.com/scoutupdate/watchtower_and_junction.htm)

I've never played these maps before, are they any good?

[Calneon]

Nope, never played either before. Can't wait!

[spawnofebil]

Apparently watchtower is pretty sniper friendly.

Also junction is one massive spamfest of demomen/solder/heavy, so perfect for the average pub server.

[Chalex4]

Update #3 is here!!

http://www.teamfortress.com/scoutupdate/images/03_background.jpg



Runnin’ rings around all them molasses-slow dummies out there on the battle- field is thirsty frickin’ work. But when it comes to quenchin’ that thirst, only one thermonuclear thirst detonator packs all the “Atomic Punch” you’ll ever need. Bonk! is fulla radiation, which as we all know is pretty great for givin’ people superpowers. Just one can’ll blast ya into a few-second rush of radioactive energy so powerful you’ll be dodgin’ bullets like they ain’t even there!

Note: Bonk! contains several hundred times the daily recommended allowance of sugar. After the beneficial effects of the radiation wear off, drinkers have reported experiencing feelings of lethargy that can last several seconds. Reading this sentence absolves Bonk! of any liability for killing sprees inspired by or deaths resulting from the ingestion of Bonk! Enjoy Bonk! responsibly… Or by the case!


Looks like a fun unlock and considering the scout is already damn fast, this will be insane!!! Maybe Valve added it to compensate for the lack of speed when using the sandman?

Oh yeah, there are 35 unlocks, see them here (http://www.teamfortress.com/scoutupdate/energydrink.htm).

[Isphera]

Since I play MLB 08 The Show on PSP quite a bit, I think I will be able to get quite a few 'home run headshots' quite quickly :D Should be some good fun.

[Trigger]

Was just checking on the updates and theres a further 4 new maps though some are just retweaking of the old ones and i read this:

"A Dustbowl-style control point map, Egypt is visually striking, full of great combat spaces, and features some really interesting uses of vertical space. Classes with the ability to ascend rapidly (Soldiers, Demomen, and Scouts using the new scattergun unlockable ) have lots of options for traversing the arenas. In addition, the ruins provide Engineers with a large number of potential sentrygun locations."

So looks like the new scout gun will be able to give the scout some sort of rocket like boost to make up for the lack of double jump?

Link for those who wants it:http://www.tf2.com/scoutupdate/egypt.htm

[Deri]

The Sandman only restricts the doublejump when you have it equipped in hand AFAIK.

[Vicious Horizon]

(My God! He Posts!)

I think It would be awesome if the balls bounce off walls and stuff, though I guess they already do..

[D_K_Head]

I don't think that'd be good for TF2 combat... it's nicely balanced at the moment, but if you can curve it like that, it'd become a bit balls to the wall for my taste...

[Trigger]

The Sandman only restricts the doublejump when you have it equipped in hand AFAIK.


What makes you say that?
It only says "carrying" on the website so im inclinded to beleive that means if you have it equipped and not neccesarily out you wont have double jump otherwise the double jump absence is gonna be pretty irrelevant as you can just easily switch weapons and jump

[Chalex4]

The Sandman only restricts the doublejump when you have it equipped in hand AFAIK.

Are you sure about that? I would have thought it would affect you whatever weapon you are using, although I would probably prefer it the way you described.


I don't think that'd be good for TF2 combat... it's nicely balanced at the moment, but if you can curve it like that, it'd become a bit balls to the wall for my taste...

You wouldn't believe the heated discussion over matters like this on the Steam forums. Many are claiming that Valve is actually going to release a Spy update instead because of the "disappointing" updates to the scout along with:


One of the weirdest things to me is that the Scout update site is hosted on teamfortress.com, instead of steamgames.com.
SteamGames is the 'main' games site, and, apparently, everything hosted their that's about TF2 belongs to their editor (EA). So, they probably didn't host the scout site there because it was some sort of joke, or anything else not serious enough to be put on steamgames.

Also, you can see some sort of double payload map in the background of the latest update here (http://i39.tinypic.com/2dbos4h.jpg) and the scout also appears to be holding a different shotgun (upon very close inspection). Could these be the new gamemode and weapon? The crazy discussions are here (http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=80).

[Calneon]

I can't see that happening, it would be so easy to press 'Q' just before double jumping, and then 'Q' again after.

[D_K_Head]

...I noticed the different shotgun, but not the double payload... well spotted chalex.

EDIT: Oh, and we're talking fanboys and low to mid skill pubbers here... they're bound to complain about the tiniest detail

[Trigger]

Hah i just read through that lot and some it does make sense but the rest is mindless conspiricy theorys

Though i like the idea of this could be the spy update, with the spy using the scout as a disguise.
That made me chuckle :D

[Calneon]

After reading that thead it seems that things aren't as they seem :).

[Chalex4]

I rarely play as scout, so a spy update would be 1337.

Anyone want to place bets on what will be released today?

[Vicious Horizon]

A porn movie involving midgets.

[Isphera]

I'm not saying it...

Back on topic, I might actually play TF2 a bit more, and stop trying to get ubers as I charge in like an ass as a heavy, and try out a scout.

[Calneon]

None of those upgrades are melee only... All other class updates have replaced melee weapons with different melee weapons.

I guess the Sandman replaces the bat, in which case how does it know when to "fire" a ball rather than smack somebody on the head (BOINK!)?

[D_K_Head]

inbefore RMB alt fire

[Calneon]

Huh? 9

[Chalex4]

I guess you've all seen the latest one?

http://www.teamfortress.com/scoutupdate/images/05_top.jpg
see it here (http://www.teamfortress.com/scoutupdate/force-a-nature.htm)

Looks cool to me :).

[Calneon]

Of course. Can't wait.

[Zealous]

The scout update is out now!

[Calneon]

Woooooooooooooooooo!

[VoX]

No "Meet the..." video...... yet.

[Calneon]

Finally got the 'kill 50 scouts with natasha' achievement in about 15 minutes :). I haven't played Scout much actually, because being a heavy is so much fun.

[D_K_Head]

...and within a day of the update coming out, both of the dark's and vox are statpadding for their achivements. Way to play the game, guys.

[ez64]

Meh to be honest, as soon as others do it all those acheivments are worth nothing.

I prefer to play the game instead of turn a fun quick game into WoW.

[D_K_Head]

"Get 2004 Lifetime kills"

Ok lads, jump into the private server, and lets get these unlocks!

[Calneon]

I'll kill you 2004 times first DK.

[D_K_Head]

like fuck you will.

[VoX]

DK, as much as we would play it normally, with the scout spam over the next few days, maybe week it will be a bitch to actually get them.

[Trigger]

I should probably make an effort and get them seeing as i play as the scout, the ball stun thing on ubers is insane!

But then again i dont want to cheat like some people and do it...

[spawnofebil]

The new scout unlocks are bad.

That is all.

[Isphera]

I just saw the new scout achievements and was surprised at how many of them related to baseball (in lieu of the scout's new weapons). I know no-one cares, but I am posting them up anyway. From now on, I only play as a scout.

A Year To Remember (2004 Kills) - In 2004, Boston Red Sox win the world series for the first time since 1918. Also, the picture for the achievement is an adaption of the World Series trophy.

Beanball - Pitch thrown with the intention of hitting the player at-bat in the head.

Blocking the plate - Catcher/Backstop technique to prevent a run from scoring and buying time for the incoming throw.

Brushback - Type of pitch thrown close to batter, usually used to unnerve.

Caught Napping - Base runner tagged out because he had no idea what the fielders were doing.

Closer - More likely used as your closing portals, but a closer is a type of pitcher, who typically only comes in at the end of games.

Doctoring The Ball - Tampering with the ball for benefit.

Fall Classic - Another name for the World Series.

Foul Territory - Most should know what this is.

Gun Down - A play on the phrase Run Down in which a runner is stranded between two bases, and runs back and forth to try to avoid fielders with the ball. The fielders (usually basemen) toss the ball back and forth, to prevent the runner from getting to a base, and typically close in on him and tag him.

If You Build It - Line from the baseball movie 'Field of Dreams'

Round Tripper - Home run.

Side Retired - Three outs, you switch over.

The Big Hurt - Frank Thomas, DH from the 1990's.

The Cycle - Hitting a single (hit to First Base), a double (Hit to Second Base), a triple (Hit to Third Base) and a Home run in one game.

NB - I haven't finished the list, I just decided to stop for now and will add the rest later.

[VoX]

Giving TF2 a long break for a while, even on class-limited servers they are bloody annoying.

[Calneon]

The Force of nature is absolutely god-awful. The worst thing is the jump effect it gives you which means you effectively can't fire while in the air without being thrown completely off course. Also, it only allows you one extra 'jump' per jump, so you can fire it twice and only the first will propel you, which doesn't feel right.

[D_K_Head]

give them some time to balance it out.

[Calneon]

How would they do that?

I'd just remove the jump mechanic.

[VoX]

The Force of nature is absolutely god-awful. The worst thing is the jump effect it gives you which means you effectively can't fire while in the air without being thrown completely off course. Also, it only allows you one extra 'jump' per jump, so you can fire it twice and only the first will propel you, which doesn't feel right.

Jump, look up and fire, you go up instead of down. There's some messed up physics lol.