CommunityFortress.com has gotten some time to interview the TF2 developer Robin Walker, mainly concerning topics around competitive play but there's a couple of very interesting questions that anyone could be interested in. A sample is included below:
Q: When the random drop system was implemented with the Spy/Sniper update pack there was a backlash against it due to the random nature of unlocking the newly released weapons. There was also speculation that the system could be used to dole out randomized items in the fashion of Diablo and other RPGs. While the ability to unlock the new weapons through achievements satiated the hardcore players, did the backlash negate any such plans to expand the random drop system or is the current implementation and the help it gives new players all that was intended?
A: I think we've learned that the random drop system is only good for some types of things, like the rare cosmetic hats. It's good for delivering items to newer players over time, so they're not swamped with choices when they're starting out, and they're not required to grind achievements to get them once they reach the point where they want to start making strategic choices. For competitive players, it's obviously a bad way to deliver items. At the very least, future packs will allow you to use achievements to get the new items, but we might move to a mode where we just give them to you. As part of our goal of supporting tournaments more, I think we'll probably add better tools for them to control exactly what players can & can't use within matches.
Q: With only two more class movies left to produce and 3 classes waiting to receive unlockable weapons (Soldier, Demo, and Engineer) we are getting closer and closer to the end of announced future content for TF2. Can TF2 fans continue to expect major modifications to the game or will most of the updates be of a smaller nature?
A: We don't really know yet, to be honest. We've still got lots of ideas for what we could do with TF2, but in the short term we'll continue to do what we've done up until now: not plan too far ahead, so we can remain fluid and reactive to the feedback we get from players. We already have a couple of large updates in the works that aren't tied to a specific class, so we'll see what you think of those.
You can read the entire interview at the website for CommunityFortress.
A: I think we've learned that the random drop system is only good for some types of things, like the rare cosmetic hats. It's good for delivering items to newer players over time, so they're not swamped with choices when they're starting out, and they're not required to grind achievements to get them once they reach the point where they want to start making strategic choices. For competitive players, it's obviously a bad way to deliver items. At the very least, future packs will allow you to use achievements to get the new items, but we might move to a mode where we just give them to you. As part of our goal of supporting tournaments more, I think we'll probably add better tools for them to control exactly what players can & can't use within matches.
Q: With only two more class movies left to produce and 3 classes waiting to receive unlockable weapons (Soldier, Demo, and Engineer) we are getting closer and closer to the end of announced future content for TF2. Can TF2 fans continue to expect major modifications to the game or will most of the updates be of a smaller nature?
A: We don't really know yet, to be honest. We've still got lots of ideas for what we could do with TF2, but in the short term we'll continue to do what we've done up until now: not plan too far ahead, so we can remain fluid and reactive to the feedback we get from players. We already have a couple of large updates in the works that aren't tied to a specific class, so we'll see what you think of those.
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