I’ve been waiting with regard to this news item, partly because the TF 2 updates are handled on a day-by-day basis… and partly because I’ve spent the last several days visiting my sister and her new baby at the hospital.
Anyway, the Sniper update is closer then ever. With it we are finding a new game mode, a new weapon for the sniper, a new defense for the sniper, and some new maps.
Here is, in a nut shell, day’s 1 through 3 of the pre-release press.
Day 1 featured a new weapon alternative for our snipers. The Huntsman longbow.
Do you remember Half-Life 2… the crossbow. Well… this is sort of similar. The longbow is a weapon designed to decrease accuracy over distance. But the arrows you fire will stick in your targets and pin their dead bodies to the wall.
It also has a shorter charge time [ 1 second ] and will probably look more interesting then the standard rifle.
Day 2 revealed two new arena maps and the new payload race game mode. The new maps are both arena maps.
Sawmill is a hillside lumber camp with a spy base hidden beneath it. Active saw blades are located around the cap point. Rain makes its TF 2 debut in this map, adding a soggy theme to the new environ. Sounds fun.
Nucleus is a modern day doomsday device. Access points are thin catwalks above a chasm. Surrounding the device and prevalent throughout the map, is a bottomless and/or radioactive pit. Let the time run down and you’ll find the catwalks retracted.
The new game mode, payload race, is exactly what it sounds like. The map is Pipeline. The mission, to beat the other team to their payload target. With an upload battle side by side, teams must work quickly to replenish pushers or the cart will quickly roll back down the hill.
Day 3 revealed a new defense for Snipers. The Razorback is a “hand-carved tribal shield” equipped with a car battery. It’s heavy, so you will move slower. It also brakes after one use. However, it also pumps 10,000 volts into the first spy that attempts to back-stab you. And if they survive to try again, they’ll have to wait for their blade to cool down.
Expect the sniper update on the 19th. I’ll update this post as more info becomes available in the next few days.
Update:
Day 4 brought us a pair of upgrades for spies rather then snipers. This is sure to result in mixed opinions.
First, the dead ringer is a pocket watch which hopes to recreate the old feign death concept. Basically, when your spy takes a non-lethal hit, your cloak instantly activates for 8 seconds. A replica of your body is dropped on the ground.
Second, the cloak and dagger is a wristwatch that interfaces with your cloaking device. With this device, your spy will be able to stay cloaked indefinitely, as long as they stop moving from time to time. You must remain still to regenerate your cloak.
So… why do I say this may have mixed reception. Well, on the one hand, the old feign death trick was better then a cloak as far as game-play is concerned. And making this new dead ringer watch is probably going to be fun. But I know a great many players who will likely dislike the cloak and dagger or both devices.
Why? Because well-played spy characters can become a nuisance in any round without new advantages.
Simply put, the cloak is good for an experienced spy and bad for anybody else. I don’t play the spy much myself because I have never successfully back-stabbed anyone… even when standing idly behind them… not ever.
A spy check can cut through any disguise, but a cloak has the effect of hiding the player entirely… as long as they know how to use it. There are tutorials, but…
More often then not, a novice like myself will cloak and stand somewhere only to have someone invariably start shooting that corner for no reason and naturally realize I am present. This is a fact that has been discouraging. But experienced players tend to use their cloak with unparalleled accuracy. In big games it’s not so bad, but in smaller games fewer spies make a better game.
Now, some are going to dislike the dead ringer because it makes killing a spy a harder task. Getting back-stabbed by the player you just killed could feel like the game is cheating.
Personally, I think the dead ringer will be fun. I remember the old feign death concept and it was useful… especially to a novice spy.
The cloak and dagger is a little different. The biggest complaint from players that I hear is about how bad the cloak device makes the game. An experienced player can use it and make trouble for an entire team if its small enough. And a novice can’t use it worth spit.
Personally, I like the idea of the cloak and dagger as a novice. It will make playing a spy more interesting for me. It reminds me of AvP 2. I love cloaking and staying cloaked for a long while only to emerge when ready to kill. I could see this giving me my first back stab.
But… that’s part of the problem. Some experienced players will say this makes the cloak too easy. And many, many players will dislike the use of the cloak by novice players. Even a complete newbie should be able use the cloak effectively.
Which means an 8-year-old with a fowl mouth, no self-control, and no skill will be stabbing you in the back even though you usually would see them coming. And, of course, the more experienced players will simply find the spy a bit easier to hide.
As a result, I find myself of two minds on this subject. I’ll be more able to learn the spy trade and certainly this will revive some old memories. But at the same time, spies are going to be that much more annoying. Especially if these new goodies are based on achievements.
I don’t achievement farm so I wouldn’t get the new goodies for a long time. Meanwhile, a horde of llamas will farm away and walk into the game with all the latest goodies. I guess I like these new spy ideas, so long as they aren’t achievement based.
UPDATE:
Okay, so Day 5 was pretty basic.
The meet the spy video, which you’ve all seen already because it was “leaked” and therefore a “must see” for each and every one of you.
Admit it! You heard about it and had see the leaked video. It couldn’t load fast enough on YouTube. Maybe you saw it mentioned on PHL or on Chris Livingston’s blog or linked on some forum thread somewhere. All you knew was it was leaked and you had to see it.
You’re a sad, sad person…
Anyway, there is also a list of spy achievements available plus the icon pack. Achievement descriptions aren’t up yet… just corny puns based on Bond Movie Titles. But they look pretty standard. Which means you’ll either farm for them all or you won’t get more then a few of them. Good luck anyway. >:)
By the way, the release is now the 21st and not the 19th.
UPDATE:
Day 6 brings a replacement weapon for the spy. The Ambassador.
This is a replacement for the old pistol… designed with a detailed skin featuring the likeness of your foe’s mother carved into the barrel. This new gun is supposed to be as accurate as the sniper rifle at range and has the same revolver ammo count.
But, it must “cool off” after each shot, meaning a longer delay between rounds.
UPDATE:
Day 7 confirmed a possibility shown in the Meet the Spy video. It also affirmed the April Fool “joke” posted on the TF 2 blog. Jarate… also known as “eeeeeewwww!”
Yep… Snipers now have jars they’ve… *sigh*… peed in.
This proves that snipers are the missing link.
Apes throw their on dung…
Snipers throw their own pee…
Humans throw their own…
I dunno…
let’s say…
no… that would be for a mature audiance…
You know what…
I can’t think of anything without it turning into a bad dirty joke…
so never mind.
Anyway, Jarate is a jar of pee that snipers will have in game. Toss it on an alie that is burning… you’ll put them out. Toss it on an enemy, they’ll take more damage. Toss it on or near a cloaked spy and break their cloak.
Further, it splashes when it hits… so toss it into a crowd and make half a team 35 % more vulnerable, or something like that… I guess. But they can jump into water to wash it off.
And finally, the sniper achievement icons and names were revealed. Including one that apparently means hitting 5 people with pee… or something like that. And I shudder to consider the “rain on their parade” achievement.
Anyway today’s the day… the new update should be coming soon.
