Team Fortress 2 Match Today 2:00 PM EST!

November 10, 2007 6:54 AM

Team Fortress 2 Match Today 2:00 PM EST!

I know it's been Valve week here, but I don't want the weekly match we've been having to lose Steam (rimshot). We had about 8 folks show up last week, which wasn't bad, but not quite enough to make the games great. So I'd like to propose two things:

1) We make the Saturday 2:00 PM EST time a standing event
2) We get an email list going for people to coordinate other game times, etc.

If you're interested in being on the email list (details of which are still being sorted out), send your email address to cortex and let him know you want to stay in the loop. Also, I'm still planning to get all this info on the wiki at some point.

For those of you that haven't played with us yet, here's some key info:

Join the MetaFilter Steam Group at
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/MetaFilter

Server Info:
Name: [MeFi] Your Favorite Class Sucks
Type: Team Fortress 2
IP Address: 8.6.77.194 Port: 27015

Password
The password is available to MetaFilter members via herrdoktor's profile.

posted by itchylick to MetaFilter Gatherings at 6:54 AM (86 comments total)

See you there.
posted by absalom at 7:17 AM on November 10, 2007

FIRST POST !! -----^
posted by absalom at 7:17 AM on November 10, 2007

I'll be there.
posted by Olli at 7:35 AM on November 10, 2007

put me down for this when i fix my cd and reinstall hl2, i beg of you !
posted by sgt.serenity at 7:36 AM on November 10, 2007

I'll be there with bells on (which will make playing a spy quite difficult, I suppose).
posted by picea at 7:37 AM on November 10, 2007

I've tried to connect to that server several times the last few days. Everytime, I get this:

This server is using an older protocol (12) than your client.

Any ideas?
posted by notyou at 7:38 AM on November 10, 2007

I will be defeated!
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 7:39 AM on November 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

If I knew what the hell you were talking about I'd totally pwn you, noob.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:40 AM on November 10, 2007

Tell me when we have the Dwarf Fortress competition.
posted by grouse at 7:52 AM on November 10, 2007

Sgt. Don't worry about reinstalling hl2 off a cd, tf2 uses very few of its files. You're going to have to download most of it anyway.

If you grab the steam client and now and start downloading you might be done by the time the game starts tonight. I think it's 7pm in our time.
posted by Olli at 7:55 AM on November 10, 2007

If anyone is up for some Xbox 360 TF2 at some point send a friend request to headlessness on XBL...
posted by nthdegx at 8:24 AM on November 10, 2007

xthdegx: sure! i suck at this game! (xbl id "regisd")
posted by rmd1023 at 8:29 AM on November 10, 2007

* listens to sounds of tf and meta worlds finally crashing together and everything making sense *
posted by sgt.serenity at 8:55 AM on November 10, 2007

Just bought the Orange Box, so I'll get myself up to speed a little bit before inflicting my suckiness on you. Put me on the list though!
posted by chundo at 8:59 AM on November 10, 2007

well that's quite jolly, steam is putting hl2 back on my pc for me ............
posted by sgt.serenity at 9:03 AM on November 10, 2007

chundo: Don't worry about not having played it before, no one will mind. Jumping on the server with us this afternoon is a great way to get started. I've found the mefi server a lot more good natured than your average public server.

If anything is confusing, just ask. Once in game hold v to use a microphone, or press y for text chat.
posted by Olli at 9:11 AM on November 10, 2007

Good to know Olli... I would join up but it seems Comcast just took a dump on me over here... 3000+ ping times all of the sudden.

If it gets better I'll be there. Any suggestions on a newbie class?
posted by chundo at 9:25 AM on November 10, 2007

OH BOY!! MORE DEATH!!!

Will try like heck to make it. Cortex, I will beKILLedING byYOU!!!
posted by cavalier at 9:32 AM on November 10, 2007

That depends on what you've done before, in general they've tried very hard to make this more accessible than other multiplayer games.

If you're new to first person shooter games and have trouble aiming then pick the medic. His main use in game is to heal his teammates with his health hose (use mouse wheel to select it). To do that you just have to point in their vague direction and lock on by holding down the left mouse. Once locked on you'll keep healing them as long as you're close enough. Following another teammate round with the medic will also give you a quickstart in learning the map.

Heavy weapons guy is also good if you find aiming tricky, he fires a huge gun that is very deadly. The downside is that it takes ages to start firing and is so inaccurate that aim doesn't mean that much.

The soldier is a good class for those who've played a quake type game before - he uses a rocket launcher that you'll be very comfortable with.

It may be better to steer clear of the engineer initially. His main role is to build a sentry turret that will automatically shoot enemys. That sounds easy, but you'll need to have played each map a few times before you get a good picture of where it makes sense to build your sentry.

The Sniper does exactly what you'd expect and is good if you have great aim.

Pyro and Demoman are pretty straightforward, the Spy can be a little fiddly to use effectively when starting out.

Scout has a very powerful shotgun and moves very fast. I found the speed a little offputting at first, it's something you can get used to though.
posted by Olli at 9:48 AM on November 10, 2007

I'm ready to doctor up a storm!
posted by tittergrrl at 10:01 AM on November 10, 2007

I'm having the save problem as notyou.
posted by Cyrano at 10:02 AM on November 10, 2007

Er, same problem.
posted by Cyrano at 10:02 AM on November 10, 2007

One thing.. the server is using outdated software, so it will need to be updated (or players will need to downgrade to the same level as the server) in order to work with the most recent client.
posted by tittergrrl at 10:05 AM on November 10, 2007

Ah drat. If we can't get that fixed we won't be able to play. Is anyone able to contact herrdoktor?
posted by Olli at 10:12 AM on November 10, 2007

I saw these Team Fortress 2 posters on Valve's website yesterday, and you better believe I'm buying them all. The sentry gun poster makes me much happier than it should.

Thought I should share my find with my fellow tf2 enthusiasts.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 10:13 AM on November 10, 2007 [2 favorites]

I just emailed herrdoktor via the address on his profile. Hopefully he'll get it.
posted by picea at 10:18 AM on November 10, 2007

Plenty of empty servers out there if he doesn't.
posted by Cyrano at 10:26 AM on November 10, 2007

I'll throw this one out there:

8.9.15.16:27015 (the Raven Software server)

I've had good luck with it in the past, it's empty at the moment and it has a low latency. Since it's pubilc, I'm guessing the owners won't mind if we do a little squatting.
posted by picea at 10:48 AM on November 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

Server still borken. I'll join the raven server.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:02 AM on November 10, 2007

Let's invade Lore's server: 64.147.165.82:27015
posted by bondcliff at 11:49 AM on November 10, 2007

I got an email in reply from herrdoktor. He says he should be able to fix the server problem at around 5:30pm est.
posted by picea at 12:39 PM on November 10, 2007

Er, why wasn' this posted in community events so I could be nagged about it when I log into steam?
posted by eurasian at 1:12 PM on November 10, 2007

That was super fun (the Raven software server group). Looking forward to doing it again maybe later today or something.
posted by tittergrrl at 1:14 PM on November 10, 2007

I agree with tittergrrl, that was a lot of fun. Maybe we could have it on the schedule for the group on Steam each week, like eurasian sugested?
posted by gemmy at 1:21 PM on November 10, 2007

Raven definitely rocked. Will try to remember for next week! I sooo suck as demoman though, Soldier is definitely more my style :)
posted by ArkhanJG at 1:26 PM on November 10, 2007

Booo. Couldn't get into the Raven server - twas full.
posted by Big_B at 1:37 PM on November 10, 2007

Sorry bout that, folks. Been outta touch. Server has been updated. Maybe I could assign a few people as admins? Updating the server is supereasy, but requires some human input.
posted by herrdoktor at 1:54 PM on November 10, 2007

One bit of advice for newer players too.. when you play Soldier and there are medics about at the beginning of a round... it's very helpful if you start shooting at the ground to hurt yourself so medics can heal you. That way they start building up their "ubercharge" earlier which will allow for more effective defenses/offensive rushes at the onset of a game.
posted by tittergrrl at 1:55 PM on November 10, 2007

Er, why wasn' this posted in community events so I could be nagged about it when I log into steam?

That was the plan, but I think cortex probably got sidetracked.
posted by itchylick at 1:56 PM on November 10, 2007

Damn! I never checked back. Maybe I'll still be running this evening. Anyone up for a night to late night match?
posted by absalom at 2:13 PM on November 10, 2007

Fun as usual fellas, and I even managed to claw my way up from the bottom of the table!
posted by adrianhon at 2:26 PM on November 10, 2007

absalom: I would be interested depending on how late we do it. I think I may be going out for a bit but will be back later :) We should use the MeFi server though.
posted by tittergrrl at 2:37 PM on November 10, 2007

There was one particularly awesome sudden death in that last set of games - far more fun than the usual engineer stalemates.

Clip here

Disclaimers - may not be interesting if you weren't in the match. Youtube seems to have butchered the footage more than it usually does, bad quality. The dub sounds are all my fault though, always seems like a good idea late at night.
posted by Olli at 4:28 PM on November 10, 2007 [3 favorites]

Thanks all. Had fun today! Got an email from herrdoktor saying the mefi server's been updated, so whoohoo!
posted by picea at 4:49 PM on November 10, 2007

Would somebody do me a favour and tell me what day 'today' is supposed to be? My brain has never been good at processing timezones (which sucks, because I've never lived in one place for long), and I have no idea when you're talking about, if the game has already happened, or what the hell.

According to the timezone tool thingy, 2pm Saturday US EST is 7pm Sunday (it's now 11am Sunday), but it sounds like the game already's happened, but 7pm last night I didn't see anybody on the server, so something's wrong with this picture.

I haven't even had coffee yet, and already I'm all confused.

Also, here's a pretty good strategy guide.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:01 PM on November 10, 2007

Olli, that video is great. Are you capturing that on a second machine? Not sure how you made that.

Stavros ... I will try to post times for the major timezones on the next go (Korea will certainly be included).
posted by itchylick at 6:35 PM on November 10, 2007

Sweet! I'm glad someone captured that, thanks for posting it, Olli.
posted by gemmy at 6:50 PM on November 10, 2007

I will try to post times for the major timezones on the next go

Thankee.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:36 PM on November 10, 2007

Thank you so much for posting that Olli! That was one of the most fun I have had in a FPS in a while, though the outcome was very frustrating. ;)

Can't wait to play with you guys again!!
posted by tittergrrl at 9:39 PM on November 10, 2007

Stav: you didn't see anyone on the server because we went to a different server because the mefi server had to be updated to the newest client for people to be able to use it. :(
posted by tittergrrl at 9:40 PM on November 10, 2007

Nice vid Olli. The dub fits perfectly!
posted by Big_B at 9:27 AM on November 11, 2007

Ah damn. I got home way later than expected. I trust we'll be doing this again soon? Maybe quite a bit over the upcoming holiday?
posted by absalom at 10:04 AM on November 11, 2007

It was good times! See you kids next time!
posted by sparkletone at 7:24 AM on November 12, 2007

I know the local Best Buy will have the Orange Box for $25 on Black Friday, so anyone who doesn't have it yet may want to check it out.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:41 PM on November 13, 2007

I just ordered an 8800GT 512MB (the only card that matters) to replace my three-year-old 6600GT, should be here in a couple of days, and I am itching to fire that sucker up. Also hoping (in vain, because it's a poor craftsman that blames his tools, I know) that the butter-smoothity framerate will help me to suck less.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:31 PM on November 13, 2007

I saw these Team Fortress 2 posters on Valve's website yesterday ...

Thanks for the link, CitrusFreak12! I just placed an order for all of 'em.
posted by hjo3 at 7:11 AM on November 15, 2007

Video card: delivered.
Frame rates: stellar.
Trigger finger: itchy.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:22 PM on November 15, 2007

Are folks still on for tomorrow 2:00 PM EST?
posted by exogenous at 7:31 AM on November 16, 2007

Exogenous: OH YEAH.
posted by tittergrrl at 10:50 AM on November 16, 2007

Wiki updates:

Team Fortress 2 page added.
Gamer ID's page added (Xbox Live info merged).
posted by itchylick at 11:38 AM on November 16, 2007

Stavros, if you get a chance, can you add tomorrow's event to the calendar in Steam? (I see it's 4:45 am for you right now, so I'll check back in an hour ;)

I'm jealous. I want a shiny new video card, but that means a shiny new motherboard ... and shiny new ram ...

(I'm short on shiny coins)
posted by itchylick at 11:50 AM on November 16, 2007

I think I can make it. I'll be the one getting constantly pwned.
posted by exogenous at 2:14 PM on November 16, 2007

It will be hard to tear myself away from Super Mario Galaxy...
posted by Olli at 3:55 PM on November 16, 2007

Super Mario Galaxy lost that battle ...
posted by itchylick at 1:36 PM on November 17, 2007

That was fun. I gotta get a headset working on my computer.
posted by exogenous at 1:47 PM on November 17, 2007

Ha I stopped playing so I could get a chance to play some SMG finally as well. And it is truly fun :)

Not as fun as shotgunning itchylick though.
posted by tittergrrl at 3:36 PM on November 17, 2007

Hey everybody ... add your game id to the wiki so we know who is who.
posted by itchylick at 3:51 PM on November 17, 2007

Also, this thread will be up for 6 months, so bookmark it and let's make use of it.
posted by itchylick at 3:53 PM on November 17, 2007

Any recommendations on a headset? I'm running on an iMac (through Boot Camp) and the Mac's built-in mic is inaudibly soft for some reason, even with volume at max. Tried using it today but I don't think anybody could hear me.
posted by chundo at 4:51 PM on November 17, 2007

Yea, chundo, I couldn't hear you at all, although I could tell you were talking 'cause your icon would pop up. Have you tried enabling the microphone boost in voice options for TF2? As for headsets, I'm just using a 30$ Plantronics set from Best Buy. It's comfy and works just fine.

I came home too late today to play for all that long, but even the late 4 on 4 matches were fun!
posted by gemmy at 10:19 PM on November 17, 2007

I guess I missed it again. *cries*

At least I get to totally dominate the pubbie servers while they newbs run around with their hair on fire. Literally. Heh.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:02 PM on November 17, 2007

That was monstrously good, I think this will definitely become a regular weekend feature. So much better than the usual 50% engineer fortresses pubbies turn into. I'd rather forgotten how much fun setting everyone on fire is in tight spaces :)

As for headsets, I use either my steelsound 5H v2's for good sound (quite heavy) or if I can use my normal 5.1 speakers without pissing off my other half, I use the labtec verse 333 stuck to the top of my monitor (bit echoy though). If steam didn't force voice output through the same output as the main sound, I'd use my old method of a bluetooth headset for voice and speakers for main audio.
posted by ArkhanJG at 12:43 AM on November 18, 2007

My headset is only a 15 dollar set : http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007N33IQ/ref=dp_cp_ob_title_1

I may get a more expensive one, but that would be for more comfort rather than the microphone.

ArkhanJG: It was awesome playing with you, hope we can do it again sometime :)
posted by tittergrrl at 12:32 PM on November 18, 2007

hey everyone-- first post here. I played as 'altbit' with y'all last weekend. for lack of a better place, I started sharing screenshots here. Looks like I managed to catch a few shots of some of you, even while getting pwned: tittergrrl, itchylick, olli, exogenous. The screenshots get written to C:\\steam\SteamApps\\team fortress 2\tf\screenshots if you're looking for yours...
posted by rama at 10:25 PM on November 20, 2007

eep-- the path got munged-- here's the correct path:
C:\PATH_TO\steam\SteamApps\STEAM_ACCT_NAME\team fortress 2\tf\screenshots
posted by rama at 10:28 PM on November 20, 2007

IT BURNS!

Looks like I probably kicked the bucket about 2 seconds later. Thanks for the path; I'm still trying to figure out how to do video capture.
posted by itchylick at 7:49 AM on November 22, 2007

Today. Same time. Same server. Be there.
posted by itchylick at 7:07 AM on November 24, 2007

I had a great time again tonight. I wish Valve would tone down the scout though.
posted by Olli at 1:42 PM on November 24, 2007

WHAT TIME? WHAT DAY? WHAT TIMEZONE? AAAAAARRRRGGGGH!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:01 PM on November 24, 2007

It was fun again, we just need more people!

Saturday, 2pm EST. Stavros, you are 9 hours ahead of GMT (i.e. 14 hours ahead of EST), so it would mean 4am on Sunday mornings for you (until we switch from Daylight Savings again late spring 2008). This time we played for two hours or so I think. Hope to see you next time!
posted by gemmy at 9:11 AM on November 25, 2007

Oooh, bugger. 4am ain't gonna happen for me.

We did have a game (the only one I every got to play) at some more reasonable time in my timezone way back when, though -- it must have been something like 8pm Saturday EST, which, I think, would be 10am my time on Sunday.

I'll keep checking to see if there's ever anybody on the server when I'm playing.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:49 PM on November 25, 2007

Is there interest among Euro-folk for a regular weekday game in the evening, say Wednesday at 8pm or something?
posted by adrianhon at 4:43 AM on November 26, 2007

I now have the ability to add events to the calendar in Steam, so if anyone wants to add other events in addition to the weekly game we've been playing, just send me a mefimail.

Also, since we have people in different countries, I'm wondering if we might be able to pick a better time that works for everyone in regards to the weekly match. I added a "time zone" field to the wiki page to make it easier to see where everyone is located at a glance. Hopefully this will help.
posted by itchylick at 9:52 AM on November 26, 2007

Ok, I got my headset and am ready to go. Missed last Saturday due to a family holiday in the middle of nowhere, but I'll be back this weekend.

I'd be in for an evening game with the Euro-folk... I'm in the US but my hours are very flexible. And I need more practice.
posted by chundo at 8:12 PM on November 26, 2007

Added myself w/timezone to the wiki. Love to get into some weekend games, if we can find a reasonable global compromise time for 'em.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:56 PM on November 26, 2007

New thread
posted by exogenous at 6:13 AM on November 30, 2007