We will never get a game this beautiful, with so much work put into its design and readability, ever again.

What's funny is that I have 3 videos using 3 independent methods showing that TF2 is massively botted, especially during updates, and averages maybe 25k-30k concurrent players daily. That peak playercount of 250k isn't real. So passing TF2's true peak playercount (whatever that actually was) is a low bar. But a game in closed alpha that's already hitting these numbers? It's going to make Valve so much money once they start monetizing it.

yeah just pull the fucking plug

if you want me to give up tf2 then you need to make a game better then tf2 otherwise I'm still gonna complain that the billion dollar company isn't touching it as it continues making them money

so what I'm getting from this is that you like big green gassy fart clouds

Seriously? This strawman again? Practically no one is demanding for TF2 to receive the same level of attention as Deadlock. What we are demanding is that it receive the same level of attention as any other game that generates tens of millions of dollars in revenue each year. You're misinterpreting the (rightfully) embittered fans of TF2 and CS as demanding equal treatment, when we just want SOMETHING meaningful beyond more money makers. As for TF2, a game that earns this much money should not be neglected to the extent it has been. I don't think need to remind everyone of the bullshit this game has been through and continues to go through. Cheaters, mediocre to outright broken content selections, broken matchmaking, a hilariously bloated map pool with practically zero quality control, a laundry list of long-standing bugs that for whatever reason never get addressed, should I keep going? Yet despite all of this, Valve keeps earning from TF2 an amount of money ANY developer would be begging to make annually from a live service title. It's funny how the "game old, move on" argument only applies to Valve, and practically no other company with old, profitable titles that are 10+ years old. The lengths some go to shield Valve from rightfully deserved criticism never ceases to amaze me. It's like saying Coca Cola could just ignore if Sprite Cherry Lime started tasting like rancid meat because that product earns a fraction of what normal Coca Cola does, and complaining about this would somehow make you the unreasonable one.

Scream Fortress XVIII is here... I won't belabor my usual thoughts on cosmetics...but I will say the highlight is Scaredy Cat. This would have made for a charming centerpiece for an old school update. The map plays well, aesthetically it hits that that comfy Halloween TF2 feel, there's no spell spam, and the pumpkin gimmick is actually pretty funny/fun and not super obnoxious. I'm aware of the heavy exploit, hopefully that's fixed fast. But trainsawlaser? What the fuck were they thinking? The constant 20 FPS makes it unplayable.

I hate revisionism from newgen players that weren't around to experience TF2 prior to 2016. I can pinpoint the golden age perfectly: before valve implemented a fundamentally flawed matchmaking system that does not work, and has never worked, since day 1. Back when queueing for a server wasn't a gamble with your free time. Back when I could play with (or against!) as many of my friends whenever I wanted to, and wasn't subject to an awful party system. Back when I could directly join my friends server via adhoc instead of using said party system. Back when we had thriving community servers, of all kinds, that weren't killed off by the matchmaking system. Back when updates were actually exciting, meaningful, instead of Valve dumping piles of lame cosmetics into the game and taking our money, all while ignoring waves of cheating bots for 8 fucking years and muting free to plays, requiring not 1 but 2 massive community outcries to get them to squirt out ONE tweet, and allow a single contractor to deal with the bots 2 years later. Valve killed off player agency, countless communities and their servers, the flow of gameplay, and lost the trust of their players, all for their failed matchmaking experiment to shove TF2 into the esports hole to compete with overwatch. It's failed for 10 years. Leaving the game in indefinite maintenance mode as they milk what's left for tens of millions a year. Yeah, we had a golden era, you missed it. I wish you hadn't so you wouldn't say stupid shit like this. It wasn't perfect, but in comparison to where the game is today? It might as well have been.

Knowing nothing about the source material reflects most of my interactions with cosplayers/con goers in general these days.

Austria, I was not familiar with your game.

Valve just manually game banned MARI members, and their alts. MARI (an offshoot of the now defunct tacobot group) being the group of cheaters, bot hosters, and all around troublemakers within TF2's MvM game mode. Seems like this was done in preparation for the upcoming MvM update. Good riddance.