The folks over at IGN have recently posted up Q & A with Valve's Robin Walker on what the future holds for TF2. Check it out:
Be sure to see more here.
IGN: When might we start seeing the unlockable item updates mentioned a while back? What classes are being focused on right now? Is the Medic still planned as the first update to roll out?
Robin Walker: We're almost done. The Medic is still planned as the first update, but we'll be pushing into the other classes pretty quickly. Much of the time we've been taking has been on the backend work, so we won't have to do that work again.
IGN: What types of items can players expect to unlock with the Medic and other classes? Can you give a few specific examples?
Robin Walker: We'll be shipping an unlockable version of each Medic weapon. Our focus has been to produce weapons which have both pros and cons, so they're not a straight win when equipped. Much like the TF classes are aimed at different players, where the "best" class varies depending on the player's skill, we want the "best" weapon to vary based on the player's playing style. So we want players thinking about what kind of player they are, and what strategies they like to use, and trying out different weapon loadouts to see what works best. As an example of these tradeoffs, the unlockable medigun we're play testing right now switches out the 10 second invulnerability effect for 10 seconds of 100% chance of critical hits. It's the source of much debate internally as to whether it's better or worse than invulnerability, and under what circumstances it's better or worse. This is the kind of weapon we're aiming for, where you can think of many cases where it's better, and many cases where it's worse. It also affects the play of the Medic and his partner a lot, which is another goal for us. If the unlockable weapons don't significantly impact player's play style, they're not worth doing.
Robin Walker: We're almost done. The Medic is still planned as the first update, but we'll be pushing into the other classes pretty quickly. Much of the time we've been taking has been on the backend work, so we won't have to do that work again.
IGN: What types of items can players expect to unlock with the Medic and other classes? Can you give a few specific examples?
Robin Walker: We'll be shipping an unlockable version of each Medic weapon. Our focus has been to produce weapons which have both pros and cons, so they're not a straight win when equipped. Much like the TF classes are aimed at different players, where the "best" class varies depending on the player's skill, we want the "best" weapon to vary based on the player's playing style. So we want players thinking about what kind of player they are, and what strategies they like to use, and trying out different weapon loadouts to see what works best. As an example of these tradeoffs, the unlockable medigun we're play testing right now switches out the 10 second invulnerability effect for 10 seconds of 100% chance of critical hits. It's the source of much debate internally as to whether it's better or worse than invulnerability, and under what circumstances it's better or worse. This is the kind of weapon we're aiming for, where you can think of many cases where it's better, and many cases where it's worse. It also affects the play of the Medic and his partner a lot, which is another goal for us. If the unlockable weapons don't significantly impact player's play style, they're not worth doing.
Be sure to see more here.
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