Posts by Thrik

As well as the name of the UK's military satellite system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skynet_(satellites)

If you look at the Heavy update, the fifth item was an actual update. This is irregular so I think you're right about the map having problems or something at the last minute.

[attachment=0]logitech-g9.jpg[/attachment]

I was really weirded out when the G9 first came out, but with my old G5 finally starting to creak I decided to give it a go. And I must say, I'm extremely surprised — this is the most comfortable and ergonomic mouse I've ever used, including my old Microsoft Intellimouse, Logitech MX510, and Logitech G5.

It doesn't look nearly as weird in the flesh, either. It's made very well, the materials feel good, and in regular lighting it looks pretty slick. I think the pictures can be a bit misleading because it's actually a very small mouse that lies very low to the desk, and for people who primarily move their mouse with their fingertips like me the shorter grip (it has two) is a godsend.

I guess it's a case of don't judge a book by its cover. A Thrik approved product.

Quote from MJ

how exactly does the spy changing weapon works..

When you press 'last disguise', it'll switch to showing the weapon of whatever the equivalent is for the Spy's current weapon. For example, the Spy's slot 1 will show the Pyro's slot 1 (fire axe), etc.

It always says in the corner which one is currently armed.

I think it being short is kind of the point. I'd have fallen asleep if it were any longer.

Good, though.

I think Valve do that on purpose. Kind of like how the Sniper is neither Australian nor British, but some weird mix of both.

Seems to me like the skill is around the right mark, but more relevant experience is needed so you can build up a portfolio of the kind of things game developers want to see. As suggested above, working on mods or independent games is a superb way to build up material, and it'll give you a great understanding of the process of making a game.

Note that you don't have to necessarily be on the development team of a mod. As you can see from our Work Release forum, plenty of people regularly produce excellent custom maps and such for existing games such as Team Fortress 2. I'd go so far as to say most Mapcorians in the games industry mostly did this before getting their foot in the door.

Just be prepared to give up a good chunk of your personal time doing it. That's kind of a prerequisite for any job related to art/design.

I think Warby meant the zooming, because L1 is the shoulder button that games like Call of Duty use to zoom in — not the left stick.

But seeing as you can change the controls between a whole bunch of formats, surely one is OK?

Lol, wtf. This creator must be on something.

I heartily endorse everything revealed in this update thus far.

I suppose that makes sense. I did notice the other day (haven't had a 360 for long) that the D-pad isn't actually a D-pad at all, but is an analogue stick with a D-pad cover.

Not a bad idea on paper, but typically D-pads are used for the directional accuracy they have. In practice it just makes it finicky to use because of the potential of going at intermediate angles and stuff; quite a few times in Fable 2 I accidentally hit the wrong expression because of that damn thing.

Someone pointed these achievements out to me earlier:

[Blocked Image: http://www.teamfortress.com/scoutupdate/images/AchievementIcons/triple_play.png]

[Blocked Image: http://www.teamfortress.com/scoutupdate/images/AchievementIcons/a_year_to_remember.png]

Looks like some kind of new flag capture mode.

The second unlockable weapon is an energy drink:

http://www.teamfortress.com/scoutupdate/energydrink.htm

The mechanic of the energy drink seems to be that you get a few seconds of super speed in exchange for some very slow speed afterwards, which'll let you evade sentry bullets and such. This is a particularly important addition IMO, as the Scout is pretty much useless on offence in maps such as Dustbowl, Goldrush, and Badwater due to the inevitable sentries, etc that're going to be defending the points — and you end up with nobody playing as him.

Also, check out the background. Looks like there's a new payload map coming, and in fact there seem to be two payload rails there?

Sony do a pretty good and varied range. I'd check theirs out.

Is the PS3 the better controller for this like people were speculating, then? I don't know which version to get.

Also, let's not forget that this thing is going to be a small projectile that presumably falls in an arc — a bit like the Pyro's flare gun. I'm guessing the number of Scouts that'll have to skill to hit you at significant distances (ie: too far away for you to kill) will be slim.

I don't think it'll be as useful as people think for offence because I suspect the stun time will be less than everyone's expecting, meaning that if you're close enough to do any real damage you'll have a very short amount of time to do so, and if you're further away (which makes the stun time last longer) it'll have worn off by the time you get to the enemy.

I think this will primarily be a way of getting around enemies rather than directly tackling them, and that would be very useful considering how utterly useless the Scout is on certain maps (ie: Dustbowl, Goldrush, Badwater).

I trust Valve to not do something crazy that'll ruin the balance — every unlock so far has slotted into the game pretty nicely. Valve has been working on the Scout upgrades for ages, so they've probably thought very carefully about the gameplay implications.

Spy is still ridiculously effective in the right hands. What's wrong with it?