Team Fortress 2 Idler Program Banned, It's Official

[Diablini]

Stand back!

 

[Booze Zombie]

You're a worldly chap, aren't you?

Valve have admitted that the current achievement system is flawed, but, what's the point of easy achievements? Given enough bitching (by people like your fine self) they'll change it back. So unless you are doing the bitching to people who can actually do something, I wouldn't complain too much.

Did the achievements, got the weapons, now I want the god damn hats.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Seriously man, take a good calm look at what you just said.

You admit to using a cheat program to get free stuff early and now you're furious because Valve may be doing something about it (which is actually in their EULA). And now you're annoyed because you might have to spend a minute finding another cheat server just so you can get more free stuff. Which doesn't change anything, and you won't see for 95% of your playtime.

At any point, don't you think you're being just a tad unreasonable?

Cheat? I'm sorry, I'm somehow "cheating" by attempting to gain a simple cosmetic item, which should not be that damn hard to get, anyways?

Enlighten me more, oh great one!

 

[The Great JT]

This wouldn't happen IF THEY WOULDN'T BE SO TIGHT-FISTED WITH THE HATS.

 

[Radelaide]

You're a worldly chap, aren't you?

Valve have admitted that the current achievement system is flawed, but, what's the point of easy achievements? Given enough bitching (by people like your fine self) they'll change it back. So unless you are doing the bitching to people who can actually do something, I wouldn't complain too much.

Did the achievements, got the weapons, now I want the god damn hats.

Then you're a sad individual who really needs a life. It's a (as you say) a god damn hat. Who gives a crap? Just play the game and stop bitching. Jesus H. Christ...

 

[JC175]

Seriously man, take a good calm look at what you just said.

You admit to using a cheat program to get free stuff early and now you're furious because Valve may be doing something about it (which is actually in their EULA). And now you're annoyed because you might have to spend a minute finding another cheat server just so you can get more free stuff. Which doesn't change anything, and you won't see for 95% of your playtime.

At any point, don't you think you're being just a tad unreasonable?

Cheat? I'm sorry, I'm somehow "cheating" by attempting to gain a simple cosmetic item, which should not be that damn hard to get, anyways?

Enlighten me more, oh great one!

If you don't like it, don't play the game. Hats serve absolutely no purpose other than a cosmetic one, and for that to be worthwhile then there's no reason they shouldn't be rare, it's Valve's perogative.

If you're putting that much importance upon the hats, then perhaps you need to re-evaluate your priorities.

 

[Wilbot666]

I've had Team Fortress 2 for about a year and a half now...perhaps I should play it if it's good enough to start all this ranting! (I think I've only started the program twice ever hahaha.)

 

[Booze Zombie]

hen you're a sad individual who really needs a life. It's a (as you say) a god damn hat. Who gives a crap? Just play the game and stop bitching. Jesus H. Christ...

Played the game, for quite an exceptionaly long time.
I am still playing it, in fact.

I give a shit, people make this big deal out of these god damn hats and you know what? I would like one, after the ages I played the game, I think I might just have earned one, you know?

So, 3 days I started idling because I was tired of seeing all these other pricks going around with hats, saying how they used idles, bragging about it.

It annoys me that something as trvial as a hat is a bragging right, I just wanna have one so I can go "so".

If you don't like it, don't play the game. Hats serve absolutely no purpose other than a cosmetic one, and for that to be worthwhile then there's no reason they shouldn't be rare, it's Valve's perogative.

If you're putting that much importance upon the hats, then perhaps you need to re-evaluate your priorities.

I shall continue to do what I want, but I don't have to like Valve's crappy tweaks to an other wise perfectly fine game.

 

[FROGGEman2]

Valve, ye are stupid.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Enlighten me more, oh great one!

Sure, let's see what we can find.

2a (ii) you must not modify the Steam Installer in any way nor integrate or combine it with another software program;

Except as otherwise permitted under Section 2(C) with regard to the SDK, you may not, in whole or in part, copy, photocopy, reproduce, translate, reverse engineer, derive source code, modify, disassemble, decompile, create derivative works based on, or remove any proprietary notices or labels from the Steam Software or any software accessed via Steam without the prior consent, in writing, of Valve.

You are entitled to use the Steam Software for your own use, but you are not entitled to: (i) sell, grant a security interest in or transfer reproductions of the Steam Software to other parties in any way, nor to rent, lease or license the Steam Software to others without the prior written consent of Valve; (ii) host or provide matchmaking services for the Steam Software or emulate or redirect the communication protocols used by Valve in any network feature of the Steam Software, through protocol emulation, tunneling, modifying or adding components to the Steam Software, use of a utility program or any other techniques now known or hereafter developed, for any purpose including, but not limited to network play over the Internet, network play utilizing commercial or non-commercial gaming networks or as part of content aggregation networks, without the prior written consent of Valve; or (iii) exploit the Steam Software or any of its parts for any commercial purpose.

Here's the biggy though

5. ONLINE CONDUCT, CHEATING AND ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR

You agree that you will be personally responsible for the use of your Account and for all of the communication and activity on Steam that results from use of your Account. Your online conduct and interaction with other subscribers should be guided by common sense and basic etiquette. Specific requirements may also be found in the Steam Online Conduct rules at http://steampowered.com/index.php?area=online_conduct, other Rules of Use, the Subscription Terms, or in terms of use required by third parties who host particular games or other services.

Steam and the Steam Software may include functionality designed to identify software or hardware processes or functionality that may give a player an unfair competitive advantage when playing multiplayer versions of any Steam Software, other Valve products, or modifications thereof ("Cheats"). You agree that you will not create or assist third parties in any way to create Cheats. You agree that you will not directly or indirectly disable, circumvent, or otherwise interfere with the operation of software designed to prevent or report the use of Cheats. You acknowledge and agree that either Valve or any online multiplayer host may refuse to allow you to participate in certain online multiplayer games if you use Cheats in connection with Steam or the Steam Software. Further, you acknowledge and agree that an online multiplayer host may report your use of Cheats to Valve, and Valve may communicate your history of use of Cheats to other online multiplayer hosts for Valve products. Valve may terminate your Account or a particular Subscription for any conduct or activity that Valve believes is illegal, constitutes a Cheat, or which otherwise negatively affects the enjoyment of Steam by other Subscribers. You acknowledge that Valve is not required to provide you notice before terminating your Subscriptions(s) and/or Account, but it may choose to do so.

Now, given they've already said they can banzor you instantly and all they've done is include a piece of code that will warn you against cheating, I really think that there's a little too much crying here.

 

[God Worm]

The only "hat" worth it...Camera Beard.

 

[Radelaide]

hen you're a sad individual who really needs a life. It's a (as you say) a god damn hat. Who gives a crap? Just play the game and stop bitching. Jesus H. Christ...

Played the game, for quite an exceptionaly long time.
I am still playing it, in fact.

I give a shit, people make this big deal out of these god damn hats and you know what? I would like one, after the ages I played the game, I think I might just have earned one, you know?

So, 3 days I started idling because I was tired of seeing all these other pricks going around with hats, saying how they used idles, bragging about it.

It annoys me that something as trvial as a hat is a bragging right, I just wanna have one so I can go "so".

Then you sir, are an idiot. You want a hat so you can say "Well, I have a hat and I don't care." And you're as bad as everyone else who idles, it's friggin' pointless. Get over yourself.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Now, given they've already said they can banzor you instantly and all they've done is include a piece of code that will warn you against cheating, I really think that there's a little too much crying here.

I have well gone past having earned a god damn hat, I basically end up having to leave the game on whilst I sleep to get an item to shut other people up and just go "YES, I, TOO, HAVE A HAT" and that's somehow my fault that I have to do that?

Random drops are not an effective system, the fact that I'm talking with you right now should at least hint at that.

Then you sir, are an idiot. You want a hat so you can say "Well, I have a hat and I don't care." And you're as bad as everyone else who idles, it's friggin' pointless. Get over yourself.

I'm not under myself, I just want this ultra-rare item after I, like many others I know, have played a game for quite a sizeable amount of time, but for some reason, maths has deemed me unworthy of an item.

Why did Valve even add these items if they weren't at least meant to symbolise that you've played a long time? The fact that they're pointless and that I have to pray to earn them just makes it seem like I'm being taunted by Valve.

"We did an update, but you'd never know that, because you're unlucky and you suck, sir, for you don't have a hat! That's what we put in the update, hats. You don't have one, ha, ha, ha."

Thank you for the personal insults, by the way. I like being called sad, told I have no life and then further more being told I have sub-par intelligence.

Thank you very much.

 

[Harlemura]

Looks like I'm going after my 10 gallon hat the hard way...
It's annoying that I've been doing it the hard way for ages, not knowing about this idler thing. I only found out about it a few days ago, actually.
Good thing I didn't start using it, I suppose.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Random drops are not an effective system, the fact that I'm talking with you right now should at least hint at that.

The fact that I have more time played & more achievements than you and still don't have a hat; but isn't going to sink to idling should hint about how unimportant the whole hat issue is.

And given that Valve also introduced the RPG element hats before this and still haven't finished the unlockable weapons, perhaps they're just trying to work on something that they're not getting any more money from?

 

[triorph]

They should just give the weapons by default, then tie the hats to the achievements. Personally couldn't care less for the hats but its lame that I had to use that program to get the same weapon versatility (although apart from ubersaw and force i barely use any of the extra items anyway)

 

[Booze Zombie]

The fact that I have more time played & more achievements than you and still don't have a hat; but isn't going to sink to idling should hint about how unimportant the whole hat issue is.

And given that Valve also introduced the RPG element hats before this and still haven't finished the unlockable weapons, perhaps they're just trying to work on something that they're not getting any more money from?

If Valve are going to give us items, why don't we have to earn all of them, is my point.
Every ten achievements you get a hat for the class corrosponding with those achievements, that would be nice.

The hats would be like "hey, look what I did, isn't it awesome" not "I won the lottery, woo".

As you can perhaps tell, I'm not in the best of moods, though that is unrelated to this.
I'm just in a bad mood.

I mean they add items, tell you about these items, but they do nothing and they're ulra-rare random drops...

It's the fact that even if I "earn" a hat, it will still mean nothing that's so annoying.
Also, I idled 3 nights, whilst I was sleeping.
Didn't get a single thing, the program's hardly an advantage, anyway.

Sigh...

If this is such a non-issue, why is Valve making it an issue, by the way?
I know they've got rules and all that, but if that hats are so pointless, why are they punishing people for trying to enhance their chances of getting them?

 

[JC175]

I have well gone past having earned a god damn hat, I basically end up having to leave the game on whilst I sleep to get an item to shut other people up and just go "YES, I, TOO, HAVE A HAT" and that's somehow my fault that I have to do that?

The problem here is that you do not have to have a hat. The game worked perfectly well before them, and seeing as they have no impact on gameplay whatsoever, it will work perfectly well after their implementation. Hats come in time.

Let's resume with the point of the thread, shall we? This refers to The_root_of_all_evil as well, with all due respect. There's no point bitching between the two of you as to the definition of cheating in regards to idling. Keep in mind that this whole issue is purely speculatory, and the point of the thread was to raise the issue and explore the opinions on the ethics of idling, not to ***** about the rarity of hats.

 

[Korolev]

I really don't see how or why they would ban someone for idling. They can't ban someone for setting up a server on their lonesome and just sitting in spectator mode for ages. And that method takes up more resources on Valve's end and achieves the exact same thing as the idling program.

Valve have not come out and said that they will ban people for idling. Using an Idling Program does not increase anyone's chances of getting an item or a specific type of item (and is therefore, not cheating in any way shape or form), takes up less resources than just idling on an empty server and stops people from taking up spectator slots on real servers.

Honestly, banning people for using an idling program would be silly. I can't look into the minds of Valve, but I don't think they'd ban or remove items obtained by idling, because it's just WAITING. That's not cheating.

I think it's a warning to those obtaining items via other methods, like hacking. Of course, I could be wrong and Valve have just suddenly become mentally disabled in the last few days and really will remove items obtained by idling.

Whichever way I don't care. Never got anything good by idling, except for the Huntsman, which I do not use. If they want to take that away, be my guest. But I don't think they will.

 

[Booze Zombie]

The problem here is that you do not have to have a hat. The game worked perfectly well before them, and seeing as they have no impact on gameplay whatsoever, it will work perfectly well after their implementation. Hats come in time.

Let's resume with the point of the thread, shall we? This refers to The_root_of_all_evil as well, with all due respect. There's no point bitching between the two of you as to the definition of cheating in regards to idling. Keep in mind that this whole issue is purely speculatory, and the point of the thread was to raise the issue and explore the opinions on the ethics of idling, not to ***** about the rarity of hats.

I don't see why it's so bad to idle, it's like saying "you left your game on whilst you walked away and did something in real life... how dare you", I mean, seriously...

I didn't walk-hack for three nights, I didn't speed-hack... I left a program on that logged me into a special idle-only server and rolled a dice for me every now and then whilst I went on and lived my life.