Team Fortress 2 Adds Microtransactions

[automatron]

I don't mind this really.
You can still get the items, and all the items are kinda balanced anyway, so it's not like they're gonna be at a huge advantage.
As long as they don't start getting things for only people who pay, I'm fine with it.

 

[Superior Mind]

I think it's a good system. No-longer will people be furious that they can't get X item or that they have no hats. I mean I've never scored a hat item drop so yeah I might buy myself a little head-decoration.

 

[Squeaky]

The internet has gone crazy without doing its research properly, the Team Fortress 2 facebook page is going mad.

OMG VALVE ARE THE NEW ACTIVISION.

Firstly, updates have been free for 3 years.

Secondly, items still drop.

The internet is full of ungrateful swines. And idiots.

yeh idiots reading the title rather than the article I might just buy some hats (depending on price) I to show surrport with all the free stuff they have given. Hopfully we hear more about the guard dog class soon ^ ^.

 

[dochmbi]

"We added grind, but for a small fee, we can take it away."

Yup. Sounds like several MMOs I know. At least these items are absolutely non-essential.

If this was implemented in WoW it would cause a huge uproar.

 

[tendo82]

League of Legends uses microtransactions and that game is plenty fun whether you spend or not. The real question, raised by some knowledged industry folk, is if there is room left for another $15 a month subscription fee game.

Now I know TF2 was never based on that model, but it, along with games like League of Legends, may prove that microtransactions are the new black of online gaming pricing structures. And these games may also prove that beyond WoW, profitable online gaming will have to be a more focused affair. Because how many more ATB's will developers be willing to risk? Only the eventual fate of The Old Republic knows for sure.

 

[Atmos Duality]

"We added grind, but for a small fee, we can take it away."

Yup. Sounds like several MMOs I know. At least these items are absolutely non-essential.

If this was implemented in WoW it would cause a huge uproar.

It's similar to the difference between Eastern (Asian) and Western MMOs (US, and Europe).
In Eastern MMOs, the trend is that the client is free to download, and thus free to play, but you pay for the important features with microtransactions.
With Western MMOs, you essentially get access to everything but you pay a monthly subscription for it.

WoW falls into the latter category; this TF2 content falls into the former category, or at least, the logic behind it does.

 

[PrototypeC]

I think this is a great idea. If this was their plan all along, not only am I not angry, I am laughing out loud.

I mean, people turned the fun extras in the game into an achievement harvest, desperately trying to 'farm' items rather than enjoy the awesome FPS they bought. If you get a cool hat while playing the game with buddies, then you win. If you spend hours only doing certain things over and over on special servers bored out of your mind hoping you'll get a pointless hat that multiple people already have... then entire team is babies.

Don't buy it if you like your money and have self-respect. I have neither, but I still won't partake of the hat orgy, thanks.

 

[subject_87]

There'll probably be a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth over this, but those people should remember that the point of new weapons is that they're situational, a matter of personal preference and-except for a few-are not 'upgrades' over the original.

 

[Scout Tactical]

Q: Did you adjust the drop rates for existing items?
A: No. We haven't made it any harder to obtain existing items through gameplay.

Coming from a lot of companies I would call horse-shit, but it's not Valve's style to lie about something like that.

I will note that TF2 has a spading community (a community of players who study drop rates and limits), and they would definitely notice the change. Valve is smart enough to avoid directly lying about something that would be so obvious.

 

[insanelich]

TF2 being ruined... ain't an exaggeration this time.

They've added major, gameplay-changing items via microtransactions... and the chances of getting those items through drops are vanishingly small. The biggest offenders are the set hats, but any items that aren't purely cosmetic and can't be gotten through achievements count.

This is a slippery slope towards microtransactions to stay competetive... and they've already jumped down the slope.

 

[Crystal Cuckoo]

That's actually pretty good, given that Valve were always going to implement trading drops. It means that everyone will be on the same playing field, and Valve gets to make money instead of having players buy their drops through eBay at much higher prices.

Oh, and for those who think it might give an advantage for paying players: the exclusive-to-buy stuff is cosmetic, meaning that you can still find those different weapons everyone else is buying.

And the drop rate's the same, as well.

 

[insanelich]

That's actually pretty good, given that Valve were always going to implement trading drops. It means that everyone will be on the same playing field, and Valve gets to make money instead of having players buy their drops through eBay at much higher prices.

Oh, and for those who think it might give an advantage for paying players: the exclusive-to-buy stuff is cosmetic, meaning that you can still find those different weapons everyone else is buying.

And the drop rate's the same, as well.

The drop rate's the same - as someone with 500 hours, I've got six hats. And now hats give gameplay benefits.

 

[Sneaklemming]

So lets see... I pay for a game, and then I'm asked to pay more money. So it's like a good demo. GTFO

Valve has ruined TF2!

Please actually read what is going on before making assumptions. Valve has not taken anything away from the current TF2 model. You can still get all the stuff and all the future stuff they are going to be adding for free anyway via the current drop system. Literally the only change is that people who don't have hours to spend grinding can get things at their convenience.

Besides, stuff you buy cannot be traded or crafted and anything already dropped that is currently owned will now be a whole load rarer since it'll be "Vintage" so there are plenty o' benefits for playing the old fashioned way.

Not to mention the fact that no TF2 weapon (to my knowledge, although if there is there are literally only one or two if memory serves) is a 100% benefit thing, meaning there will always be a trade-off such as "Sure, you'll do more damage. But you now have a lot less health" or "Sure, you can have more accuracy. But no more random crits for you!".

People who choose not to pay aren't going to be losing out at all by this new system. And next time, please actually read stuff before you say something's been ruined.

I am really disheartened to see valve use micro-transactions. They unbalance and upset games, making them trashy.

I still don't see how it could unbalance the game when everyone gets access to exactly the same things whether they pay money or not. =s

I am really disheartened to see valve use micro-transactions. They unbalance and upset games, making them trashy.

I still don't see how it could unbalance the game when everyone gets access to exactly the same things whether they pay money or not. =s

Its not really such a big deal if you can buy the items or not. Everything can still be found through random drops, and excluding a few cases, none of the weapons are really "better" than any other weapons. Its more based on personal preference.

So lets see... I pay for a game, and then I'm asked to pay more money. So it's like a good demo. GTFO

Valve has ruined TF2!

Or it's like an MMO. Or any other game with DLC...oh wait, it's optional...
And it's also able to be crafted, picked up or bought.

And all the stuff you've had originally is now worth the equivalent to money...

Oh how terrible.

So lets see... I pay for a game, and then I'm asked to pay more money. So it's like a good demo. GTFO

Valve has ruined TF2!

Man, I really hope some of you people are being sarcastic with this shit...

Instead of responding one by one, I'm going to tell you why this is bad.
It has monetised TF2 - meaning that people with the hard cash get the advantage, and that it wants you to continually spend more and more cash. This isn't just new items.

Yes it is an advantage. I have TF2 I know that there are trade-off's between weapons, but I also know that they are specialised to certain scenarios - so if you don't have the cash - get in line and maybe in a couple of months of playing constantly and grinding away you'll have all the stuff you want. Saying that you can get it all eventually, is the same as justifying paying for exp in wow.

It encourages Microtransactions in other games. Game become unbalanced once you monetise them ingame. If I can get all the items before you - I have the advantage.

DLC is like an expansion - maybe smaller in some cases. Paying for ingame items to have the upper hand over your buddies who don't think that spy watch no.455 is worth 4.99, is a bad trend, and it encourages to spend money not based on the art or effort it took to code the item, simply the stat next to it.

A free update is a free update - thats a given. This is not a free update - this is an update that most people will have to pay for - or spend months getting it the free way. It's sneaky and elitist.

How about the less hardcore people? Lets say I don't play TF2 too often, and I like to jump in and have fun. I jump in and everyone else in the server is using weapons I don't have... I feel like they have an unfair advantage of variety and options. I don't play TF2 enough to justify spending money for ingame items... and I don't play enough to get the items to craft with. I paid for the game in full, and now I find that it prejudices me for not playing enough. I didn't buy wow, or an MMO I bought an FPS.

This move by valve is a clear testing of the waters. Sure it's all optional now - and technically all the new stuff is balanced, even if it does create an imbalance of diversity. I feel this is a sneaky and sly way to introduce micro-transactions, by including it in a "free" update.

 

[Blue_vision]

And now hats give gameplay benefits.

That's the big thing I'm worried about. If you ask me, hats were a silly and bad addition to the game anyways, but now they're basically giving straight upgrades basically to people that are willing to pay. And it usually takes weeks just getting a hat, while getting the hat you want is almost a godsend.
TF2 is supposed to be a strategic game, and the update weapons are supposed to elaborate on class strategies to allow them to be played in new and interesting ways. Because of that, unlockable weapons needed to be easy to get, so the playing field wasn't skewed by those with a tactical advantage over people who were less flexible without weapons. Now, it's just turning into an all out slog where you invest mindless man hours to be able to get your advantage, rather than actually improve your skill to do it.

Really, this looks like the last straw for me. TF2's style and playing has just gotten worse and more cluttered since around the scout update, and they've barely done anything to improve. Valve is free to do whatever they want with their game though. If they want to turn it into an FPS-RPG kind of thing, then fine by me, I've found greener pastures. That doesn't mean that it'll be any good though, or that it's the right thing to do with what was an awesome game that they bogged down with bad and silly design choices.

 

[El_Teodoro]

It's always been pathetically easy to acquire weapons anyway, this doesn't really seem like it will cause that much of a change

 

[londelen]

And then on /v/, trolls. Trolls everywhere.

 

[Rutskarn]

The Suckers will-Grind for it legit
The kids will-pay for it
The Average person will use a hack to unlock everything

Actually, I'd wager the average person just doesn't give a toss.

 

[insanelich]

And now hats give gameplay benefits.

That's the big thing I'm worried about. If you ask me, hats were a silly and bad addition to the game anyways, but now they're basically giving straight upgrades basically to people that are willing to pay. And it usually takes weeks just getting a hat, while getting the hat you want is almost a godsend.
TF2 is supposed to be a strategic game, and the update weapons are supposed to elaborate on class strategies to allow them to be played in new and interesting ways. Because of that, unlockable weapons needed to be easy to get, so the playing field wasn't skewed by those with a tactical advantage over people who were less flexible without weapons. Now, it's just turning into an all out slog where you invest mindless man hours to be able to get your advantage, rather than actually improve your skill to do it.

Really, this looks like the last straw for me. TF2's style and playing has just gotten worse and more cluttered since around the scout update, and they've barely done anything to improve. Valve is free to do whatever they want with their game though. If they want to turn it into an FPS-RPG kind of thing, then fine by me, I've found greener pastures. That doesn't mean that it'll be any good though, or that it's the right thing to do with what was an awesome game that they bogged down with bad and silly design choices.

Also, we don't have a choice about using this "free update".

I bet that there would be a hundred servers at the version just before this from now to forever. I know I sure as heck would be, if they ain't gonna reveal this as some horrible misguided joke.

... and an another hundred at the version before any unlocks whatsoever.

 

[lacktheknack]

I don't want to sound like a defeatist or nothin'...But this will ruin Team Fortress 2 beyond all measure, and i don't feel like elaborating why.

Elaborate anyway, because I don't see how profiting off of impatience is so game-ruining.