Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

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trilobite
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Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by trilobite » Fri Nov 30, 2012 1:34 pm

I have observed that something strange and maybe a little disturbing has been happening on the ville TF2 servers lately. Most remarkably, the absence of players during prime time.

Warpath. For months, evening activity on TV VIII Warpath steadily declined and finally completely evaporated. I was never a regular on Warpath but was lucky enough to play some matches there last week. But soon it was over for us. A rapid evacuation from the map left only a few lingering optimists who waited in vain for an invasion of warriors that never came. somedude and others have migrated to Dustbowl in an effort to console their grieving spirits and perhaps discover renewed glory and gratification in this alternative map. But alas…

Dustbowl. Used to be that TV VI Dustbowl was one of the reliable foundations of any TF2 organization. Busy, interesting, exciting, long wait times to connect. A year ago, I would often wait as long as 30 minutes to join before finally using the reserve slot to bump into the map. But lately, the wait is less than 5 minutes during prime time. Dustbowl used to be crowded day and night, weekdays and weekends. But things have changed. The last two evenings on TV VI, I witnessed a sudden emptying of the server, and the remaining 6-8 of us entertained ourselves with crazy melee matches. As we pummeled each other, I struggled to suppress the image of a dead horse that flashed into view with each blow.

And so I am left with the following questions:

Where has everyone gone? Are there shiny new games that people are flocking to? I know that I will disappear for a while after I get a new game, like Skyrim or Dead Island, for example. I know some former regulars are now playing more BF2 and Planetside 2. Is that where everyone is going? I’ve tried those games and they don’t appeal to me. Might as well be playing Quake Wars.

Is this low activity level a short-term consequence of final exams? That would be a good thing actually. Students really should be preparing for exams right now instead of playing online games like TF2.

Here is the question that disturbs me the most – but I have to ask it: Is TF2 finally dying? It has been around for a long time. Many of us agree that it cannot really be improved. It’s about as good as it can get. But maybe it’s not what people want anymore. Maybe cartoon characters fighting in a cartoon world… maybe it just isn’t seen as cool or fun anymore. With time, changing demographics (particularly the movements of players through age groups) may see TF2 as not-so-special. It is heartbreaking to consider this possibility, and it is depressing to dwell on it especially since I have little power to do anything about it.

Perhaps my worries are premature. Perhaps this recent anomaly is temporary. Maybe a new map can restore interest, or a new hat. And maybe not.

In the meantime, how do we (meaning the ville community) plan for the future? If TF2 dries up, then all the friendships fostered by hundreds of hours of killing here at the ville – all those friendships could be scattered to the winds. Given that we may not be able to save TF2, what can we do to save the rich community that has grown up around it?
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Re: Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by El_Hefe » Fri Nov 30, 2012 2:31 pm

Call of Duty FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!








/s

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Re: Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by Will T. » Fri Nov 30, 2012 2:37 pm

I think the biggest killing factor was Mann Vs. Machine mode, which drew everyone away when it came out. It lost its novelty as all new game modes do (although many do still play it regularly), and nobody's really gone back to the "normal" game since then for whatever reason. Too many other cool games coming out, maybe? Borderlands 2 is another major culprit I think.

That, and a lot of people are in school, which is ramping up to finals right now. Doesn't give a whole lot of time for TF2-ing.

I'd hate to see TV8 die. It's the server that got me into TF2, and I want to go back someday when I'm not devoting my every waking moment to other things!

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Re: Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by Peahats » Fri Nov 30, 2012 3:20 pm

Really, I think that an influx of new games is to blame. When TV8 was at its peak, barely any new stuff was coming out that anybody here played regularly.

It's also entirely possible that school is to blame.

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Re: Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by Jesus_Faction » Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:00 pm

TF2 is an OLD game. Many people, myself included, have moved on to newer pastures.

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Re: Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by YoullNeverWalkAlone » Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:01 pm

It would be interesting to see if overall play on TF2 has dropped Steam wide, or just on the two servers you mention. In order to keep any game relevant, there has to be something that keeps people playing, draws new people in and somehow manages to keep the interest of the public. Was TF2 starting to decline before it went F2P? For all the complaints of those who played before, I'm sure that drew in large numbers who had never played [raising hand].

It is quite possible that we are just seeing the natural decline a game faces as it gets old. It is hard to find new people to draw in at this point, and many regulars are going to drift to other games, and even if they do return, it probably won't be as often. Every game has to find a way to keep regulars and bring in new people, think of WoW or any other long running game. perhaps what TF2 needs is TF3? At some point I would imagine they will go that route.
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Re: Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by Hucares808 » Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:27 pm

I think people just don't want to wait to play. Instead of joining TV8 and waiting, everyone goes somewhere else. I've been going to TV6, but even if there are people playing they only stick around until they lose. If we want to get TV8 back up and running, we need everyone to be willing to join the server when it's empty and wait for a bit for people to show.

TV2 has custom map night on Wednesdays. Maybe if we try setting a time for people to show up? I'll bet a few of the Borderlands and Left for Dead players will come back to Warpath for at least a couple rounds if they know the server will be full.

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Re: Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by Boss Llama » Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:37 pm

TF2 is antiquated, and seems to get worse with nearly every patch. Many of the folks who we have around here who formed our core are no longer interested in the game in its changed state, and many of the folks who play the game now are not present around here. It's disheartening to play much of the time, because 50% of the server is made up of folks who don't have a clue how to play, and aren't interested in learning. It's still got that magic when we can get a server full of regulars, but that's fairly rare. The most fun I've had in TF2 in the last couple years were a couple of Vanilla events, where regs played with just the stock gear. That was a joy I hope we can recreate soon. My honest-to-goodness dream server would be a populated stock rotation with only vanilla weapons, and a mod blocking non-premium accounts. I'm told that's very anti-social/elitist/mean and I should be ashamed, but it's what I enjoy.

I'm sure the game still has some life to it, but all good things will eventually come to an end. TFC did, DOD did, TF2 will as well. I've been trying to figure out what's next for well over a year, but with CS:GO not seeming to draw folks, I'm not sure what's on the horizon.
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Re: Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by TTHREAZ » Fri Nov 30, 2012 5:17 pm

I still enjoy TF2 a lot. There are 9 classes to learn and I've been spending a lot more time working on Spy. I'm learning and having a lot of fun.

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Re: Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by Crusty Juggler » Fri Nov 30, 2012 5:47 pm

After tasting organized TF2 in The Ville Cup, I don't ever want to go back to TV6 in it's current state. Without regulars, TV6 is one the most frustrating gaming experiences you are likely to witness.

I'm glad that TV7 hasn't suffered the same fate. I see the TV6 regulars migrating over to 7 in the future, some have already made the move. I hope the 7 crowd welcomes us to their server with open arms.
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Re: Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by The Domer » Fri Nov 30, 2012 6:43 pm

Crusty Juggler wrote:After tasting organized TF2 in The Ville Cup, I don't ever want to go back to TV6 in it's current state. Without regulars, TV6 is one the most frustrating gaming experiences you are likely to witness.

I'm glad that TV7 hasn't suffered the same fate. I see the TV6 regulars migrating over to 7 in the future, some have already made the move. I hope the 7 crowd welcomes us to their server with open arms.

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Re: Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by El_Hefe » Fri Nov 30, 2012 6:55 pm

Crusty Juggler wrote:After tasting organized TF2 in The Ville Cup, I don't ever want to go back to TV6 in it's current state. Without regulars, TV6 is one the most frustrating gaming experiences you are likely to witness.

I'm glad that TV7 hasn't suffered the same fate. I see the TV6 regulars migrating over to 7 in the future, some have already made the move. I hope the 7 crowd welcomes us to their server with open arms.
i always welcome you Crusty!

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Re: Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by darklin0 » Fri Nov 30, 2012 7:24 pm

I know I have not been playing as much because of both school and new games. There are so many GOOD games coming out that I have to play! School is school, does not help I have had an exam almost every week this semester.
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Re: Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by The Spanish Inquisition » Fri Nov 30, 2012 7:31 pm

As more servers lose their critical mass of players to maintain a full server, the ones that remain will be looking for a new place to play. Whether or not the ville gets proactive to get these people onto tv6 and tv7 will be the deciding factor of whether it's own player base becomes part of the leaving crowd.

Like I've been saying, we need more admins. We need admins that are 'ambassadors of game flow.'
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Re: Something strange and troubling is happening with TF2

Post by YoullNeverWalkAlone » Fri Nov 30, 2012 7:42 pm

Alizée Fan wrote:TF2 is antiquated, and seems to get worse with nearly every patch. Many of the folks who we have around here who formed our core are no longer interested in the game in its changed state, and many of the folks who play the game now are not present around here. It's disheartening to play much of the time, because 50% of the server is made up of folks who don't have a clue how to play, and aren't interested in learning. It's still got that magic when we can get a server full of regulars, but that's fairly rare. The most fun I've had in TF2 in the last couple years were a couple of Vanilla events, where regs played with just the stock gear. That was a joy I hope we can recreate soon. My honest-to-goodness dream server would be a populated stock rotation with only vanilla weapons, and a mod blocking non-premium accounts. I'm told that's very anti-social/elitist/mean and I should be ashamed, but it's what I enjoy.

Sure, but we let Mateo on anyway.

While stock, vanilla might appeal to certain vets like yourself, I get frustrated as a pretty new player when the item server connection is lost. I do think some vanilla nights would be fun, and a good way for me to improve at some basic skills. By the same token, I do like playing some of the stock maps that I haven't been on in a while. I don't mind playing Warpath (I like warhammer better) and I'll jump on dustbowl, but I like the variety of maps, so I find myself on tv7 most of the time.
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