TF2 emo QQ

I’m afraid I need a long TF2 break, at least this intention started 3 weeks ago. Obviously valve is busy with L4D (I still don’t read anything about this game… =P), which is fine to me, that’s how business works.
But even if the next content update will be released, I don’t think I’ll get hooked again that fast.
Not that the Scout is a bad class, but to me it’s basically like the Heavy, and we all know how that might turn out (it’s situational, and I don’t mean Medics by that, I mean this just doesn’t raise population at all in the longrun). Compared to the Pyro update the last one wasn’t that great either (even though it was Heavy ;])…

The Arena matches just suck in my eyes, using Natasha is a waste of ammo (well alright, the silent noise is a blessing when using TS, at the cost of 25% less damage =P), and the best map ever (being Badwater Basin) is hated by the community.
Maybe the Scout update will bring some fine maps too, I personally would get intrigued by an alpine pl/ctf/cp setting. Just stay away from any arena content valve… that would be a waste of resources.
Are there even people who are that serious to play arena? I mean, yes TF2 does involve skill, but if you think about it, it’s not really about surviving at all (“HAI CRIT”, “sup…” *splatter*).
Basically, the second you attack, you just reserved yourself a warm place in the spawn room, regardless of any skill. Oh wait, in observer mode, awesome!
To be honest, I only tried it… maybe twice? No idea, I do know that I was drunk though, otherwise I would have played it only once. ;]

Well, yeah basically to me TF2 fun seems to drop, which is a shame, I really miss those voice commands.
How could it be raised again? I’m not sure if new maps are enough. Hell, I don’t even know if the Spy update drags me back…
The gameplay itself just seems to wear out… :/
Those 20 bucks were worth it though (and I bet I’m not done with squeezing them out more).

QQ

And what the hell is wrong with Spam these days? Akismet blocked like 70 comments in the last week…

Naval stuff

I wanted to post that two days ago, but I really thought we finally will see T3 subs… I was wrong. What’s taking them so long? I can tell you, I’m pissed off when they take so long, just to release those crap submarines from the Korean servers… they better have some awesome ideas what to change. ^^
Anyway, I updated the NF KM SS Type VIIA guide as promised. The changes can be seen in the new AWESOME changelog! It’s not that much, but some stuff got obsolete, which finally found its way into the trash-bin. For whatever reason the word count raised though… ;]

Now to Battlestations: Pacific! There is another useful preview present from TeamXBox which reveals the new multiplayer modes, along with a nice gameplay-video.
The more I read about it, the more I believe it will be one of the most underrated games in 2009. The devs pretty much worked on every aspect which made the predecessor only a good game (instead of being awesome).
Most notably you can play everything on your own, resulting in a lot of singleplayer content. Yes, this also includes multiplayer! Not that this is better than playing with other people, but if there is one thing Battlesations: Midway (BSM) lacked, it’s singleplayer content. And filling some slots with AI opponents in multiplayer sounds great too.
Speaking of that, it’s still capped at 8 players, which sounds fine. Finally all those information start popping up.
I personally would love some submarine gameplay though… all I know so far is that there really is underwater terrain now, making some manoeuvres (who the hell came up with this word anyway) harder than in BSM. Maybe there are really sharks… =P

Time passes quickly

Wow, it really does. I just had a *small* break, and the blog missed like… 8 days worth of (AWESOME) posts.
Enough of this! Time to push those hits now a bit, they fell pretty quickly for whatever reason. =P

Let me first clarify my last post regarding Battlestations: Pacific. I mentioned a release somewhere in February. Sounds good huh? Well, it was a lie! I even believed it myself, which is quite interesting… anyway, the last weekend there had been held an event by Eidos on the USS Hornet, a WW2 US CV (Aircraft Carrier). Nice idea, the fact that it was all about Battlestations: Pacific is even better though. Quite some impressions start popping up on the net. Mostly they cry about complex controls, so… guess what, l2p! They still have some information on multiplayer though, and before this ends in a wall of text, a release date, which gives the hint we will see it in December 2038. Actually it’s the 29th April 2009 where we can get our hands on it.
I’m going into some more detail about the game in some days too, but for now you better head to Kotaku, Destructoid, and worthplaying to get filled in!
Feel free to flame my comments for more links you come across. ;]

Speaking of events, The Sims 3 also had one last week. I’m still struggling if I should get it, but this post isn’t about me, it’s about the event. So EA held a Creator’s camp the last week (sup echo?), where some (THE!) community modders had the opportunity to go through the game in 5 days. They all were impressed, and a lot of new (quite detailed) information popped up! Check the SnootySims for a good summary.

The next days will see some more posts here for sure, I’ll update my NavyField Submarine Guide (Type VII), as it is outdated by now, report bad news about my relationship with TF2 (!), feed you in why I’m struggling to get The Sims 3, and some other stuff which is about PC games. =P

I nearly forgot!

I mentioned Battlestations: Pacific, in my list of games I want in 2009, even if I hardly have any idea how great it will be. The graphics really look awesome, but since when do I care about that? What about the gameplay? There are only a few videos related to that, but the following teaser really can shine in that regard. It gives you quite a good feeling how planes get controlled.

Good job here, but sadly there aren’t any other information present. This game is stated to be released in early February, yet you don’t have any information about vital things like controls (for ships), and also very important, multiplayer.
Why is that?
Do you control a whole fleet against another player, or do you take control of a single unit like in BF1942? Yes, in Battlestations: Midway it was a hybrid of both, pitting two teams with up to 4 players per side against each other.
I’m really fine with that, but where are the official information for a game which gets released in some weeks? Saying it has twice the size of Midway is just not enough in my eyes…
Don’t get me wrong, this game looks promising, but why would I buy something I have no idea of? They clearly don’t want to hype it, but they could at least give some hints, how I control turrets of a ship while parking it onto a reef or something like that. Also very important, are there really Hammerhead Sharks? Well, I’m kidding here, but still a nice feature. =P
I guess we will see a demo very soon anyway…
Quite an interesting policy I have to admit, it’s better than hyping it.

For some more screenshots you can also check the official site, I have linked already anyway.
Oh and… no, there won’t be a PS3 version.

I played SC2…

… for about 30 minutes, and looked over some people’s shoulders even longer. Yes, this means I’m a SC2 pro!

Whatever, I visited the esl Pro Series in Vienna, as a friend wanted to check the WoW arena games. At first I laughed at him because of his idea, as everyone knows how awful WoW PvP is, but he mentioned something which made me want to go there the next second.
Of course it’s Starcraft 2! They had about 12 terminals to duke it out in short multiplayer sessions. I couldn’t really believe it when he told me, but when we arrived I camped about 2 hours there, so I guess it was the truth. =P
Now to the real stuff, my “impressions”. I have by no means any idea how awesome the game will be of course, but I can tell you, if you loved Starcraft you will buy it.
SC2 exactly feels like its predecessor. Even most units got ported over, they do have some new abilities however. That’s what the hardcore community asked for, which is fine.
Anyway, about my multiplayer session, which failed horribly. All three races were available to choose from, which may be a good sign that we will see it in 2009, and I chose the terrans to rip something to shreds.
I really thought that no one on this planet would be stupid enough to try any rush tactics this time, as most people seem to try learning the game/tech tree, but well…
The game loaded the second I clicked start and I found myself on a 8 player map, it looked similar to a Starcraft one I don’t remember, as I just played Lost Temple back in my Starcraft days. =P
You start with 6 SCVs though, and as you might have guessed I sent them all to harvest minerals. I really didn’t bother to scout with one, as I preferred to look at all the new things, the map had some rubble blocking an entrance to your base on one side, with a lot of hitpoints, so you’ll get quite some opportunities to surprise someone in late game, and the Supply Depot got an ability to level it down, so your units can pass through it, allowing quite some nice blockades without the need of the barracks. Which on a sidenote didn’t help me, as I already had blocked the only (open) entrance anyway with two depots and the barracks. When I started to build the first bunkers, I got attacked by some zerglings, who started tearing through my blockade. The bad thing was I only had about 2 marines this time, as I really thought I had more time to test even more things… so I pushed some more out, but the second I had enough I got overwhelmed by a flood of zerglings, ending my session… wow. How stupid can some people be? Anyway, I had plenty of time to look over some people’s shoulders to get more impressions… but no one really had the time to scout for anything new, as they only had in mind to rush their opponent with low tech stuff. All I saw were Berserkers and Immortals (Dragoner) on the Protoss side. Zerglings, Hydralisks and Lurkers for the Zerg. And Marines, Reapers, Marauders (replaces the Firebat), Siegetanks, with Medivacs (a flying medical support) for the Terrans. The latter race being quite strange, I really saw a broad unit diversion here, but in a very low quantity… like a siege tank in the base and about 1 marauder with 2 marines and 2 medivacs on the front. So I guess he managed to do the same I wanted to achieve, looking at new units.
The graphics seem to look fine, nothing special, allowing the game to be run on nearly every computer when it gets released…
In short SC2 won’t invent anything new it seems, but that doesn’t mean it will suck, actually it’s quite the opposite, that’s what the community wanted.
Very likely that we will see it this year.

And yes, I visited the esl only to play SC2, I’m an asshat, the next time the moderaters better shut up when I play!
Oh, there also were some e-sport matches… but… SC2! I want SC2!