anyway, 2fort totally owns

if you read the link, here's my opinion.
There have been 3 versions of 2Fort, right? something like that. i remember Team Fortress and TFC. The 2Fort in TF2 seems smaller. Not merely overall smaller in feel, but really smaller relative to the players. This affects everything. It affects:
The areas that a sentry gun can cover.
The distance an engy has to run to restock and supply that sentrygun.
The ability of a spy to avoid bumping into people while cloaked.
The usefulness of snipers.(the central area used to be a wide open space, sniper heaven, no-man's land.)
Soldiers, same deal- they need line of sight just like snipers

So, Tf2's 2fort is smaller, and these changes all favor the defense. SO people complain that it's a map that ends in stalemate. and that's valid. But i think the map is fine. First of all, i like that it's strongly defense-oriented. i like trying to break a strong defense. Sometimes i like trying to set up a strong defense. People have always surprised me with new tactics they come up with to break a well-entrenched defense.

Second, i think it's in the plan of the game, that it favors the offense. The additions to the game all seem to be offensive i.e., the medic's ubercharge(the medic's special ability- he can make a teammate invulnerable for 10 seconds), the critical hit system(sometimes your shots do more damage if you have been hitting a lot lately-'you're on a roll'(fucxin' great idea in my opinion), the spawn timing(how long it takes for you to respawn after being killed varies according to i think your overall team's score or how well they're doing- again, 'your team is on a roll'.

So anyway, wha i think is that, yes, 2fort has gotten smaller and a lot easier to defend, the new elements in TF2 make up for it. Or at least compensate for it.

I'm gonna go with Valve on this one. It's fine the way it is. It seems like most of the changes made appear to have been made for a reason.

2Fort owns

2Fort owns.

this is a link to a forum discussing a particular map, in a particular game.
more specifically, a new version of this map, one that shipped with a new game that was a sequel to a game which was actually a mod of a very popular game of its day (around 1996-7, in my dim memory)

i was reading these forum posts and i suddenly realized this alien, arcane language that was being used, on the face of it it's totally absurd.
and yet, i understood every word that people said. bizarre.

TF2 more

i can't stand it anymore. i must play right now. My name is Podgorny. If you see me, shoot me. Unless you're a medic, in which case heal me.

TF2

It's a game where character design & art direction has finally taken its role of importance in games. The nine classes are so distinct from each other. Not a single element was left the same. From hats to boots to faces to weapons to even postures and styles of running, the classes are designed to be recognizable at a distance. The simplified art direction helps this immeasurably. And the animation and textures are so good that it looks stylish instead of simple or cheesy.

it's so good.

In the developer commentaries they mention J.C. Leyendecker as an inspiration for the style of shaders. This is awesome. This is where i've been waiting for games to go. Because if you think about it, advertising and poster illustration has similar goals- to be read instantly, to convey information stylishly.

another developer would use an out-of-the-box cel-style shader for the characters, but Valve didn't. Notice there are no thick black lines around the models, like all cel-shaders have. They wrote their own shaders, ones that instead force a rim light on edges (the opposite of the ink outline in fact) to help visibility. And the transition from light to shadow has a little highlight to pick it out clearer.

All these go to make the character's silhouettes individual and distinctive. Silhouette is a basic feature of character design, especially in animation. It's one i've always tried to get into my character designs. you can see them at my 'please hire me' website:
thejeremycampbellexperience.com
you can also find my email there if you want to send mee feedback. please do, if it moves you.

i wish i could work at Valve. They seem to 'get it'. i want you to know that someone understands and appreciates your hard work. please hire me.

Team Fortress

it's good.