Team Fortress 2 Goes Free-to-Play, Meets the Medic

[rickynumber24]

As I overlook the FAQ for free people, I am deeply saddened by how bullshit it is. Getting the game for free means you CAN'T:

Recieve trades
Find hats
Give gifts
Have as many backpack slots (1/6 the number a person who paid for it has, 50 compared to 300)
Use every crafting blueprint

Oh, and to upgrade to a 'premium' player, it costs $1. One dollar for a game I had paid $20 for.

It's send trades, not receive them, that you can't do with a free account.

I was actually just about to post the reverse:
Based on most free-to-play games I've seen, even ones with fewer features than TF2, you don't automatically get an upgrade to a regular account on buying ANYTHING. As such, their system strikes me as being incredibly permissive, actually. Buy that single $2 weapon that you want most out of the Mann Co. store, and you get all your features, for that matter.

Then again, I don't know how much I paid, but it was a Steam Sale, so it was probably around $5, so I may have a different perspective on things. Would you have been happier if they just gave it away with no crippling for people who haven't bought anything, like they did with Portal? Admittedly, Portal was a much smaller game.

What I'm wondering is if they're going to implement a system that extends your full-drop-rate time for those people who play 2 hours a night all week and max out their high-drop-rate time by Wednesday. (I'm not one of those people, but that is a typical thing that f2p games that are money first, as opposed to a giant box to test ideas on unwitting subjects, do.)

 

[Nerdstar]

first off: THE VIDIEO WAS FREAKING AWEOSME!!!!!!!!!!!

second off i to don't see what people are bitching about if you bought the game anytime in the last year or so surely the 20 somewhat bucks you spent were worth the money for the fun you had.

i myself have had lots of fun since i got the game ,iv meet new friends and then killed them.

 

[Godhead]

Not really about the game going F2P (I don't really care, honestly I like the social aspects of MMOs and this sounds like the route TF2 is taking), but... Um...

WAS MEET THE MEDIC FREAKIN' AWESOME OR WHAT???!?!?!

"DOCTOR, ARE YOU SURE THIS WILL WORK??"

"I HAVE NO IDEA"

Also Loch ness hamster. My life is complete.

Captcha: Evolution stai. It's a sign.

 

[kalt_13]

Well, that's... kinda cool, I guess, but, not to sound ungrateful, what about the money I paid for it? Maybe I could get a free hat, Valve? :3

from the FAQ "Q. What do I get if I paid for the game?
To thank you for your years of support, we will be giving players who have purchased TF2 a special Proof of Purchase hat to wear on any character in-game"

 

[Scarecrow]

This is just....amazing...just simply...amazing!

 

[Bags159]

I kinda actually hate this big reveal.
Really, valve? You had to decide to make the game that i figured was worth $20 two months ago FREE? Now i feel like i wasted my own dosh. I'm with Awesome74, why don't i get my money's worth of in-game items or something, damn?

$20 for two months of entertainment is more than fair.

Awesome video.
"RIBS GROW BACK"
"DOCTOR, WILL THIS WORK?" "I HAFF NO IDEA"

 

[ResonanceSD]

So yeah, I spent about $20 on this, it wasn't good enough as a pub game to replace CS:S for me, so it's pretty meh. I;ve spent more money on more useless things that didn't give me a few hours of fun like Tf2 did. Quit complaining, people.

 

[Airsoftslayer93]

really anoying, the stuff theyve given to existing players can be replicated with a very simple low cost purchase, so in the end the only thing everyone gets is one hat, that millions will own, yayayayay

 

[Braedan]

Well, that's... kinda cool, I guess, but, not to sound ungrateful, what about the money I paid for it? Maybe I could get a free hat, Valve? :3

Haven't you been playing the game since you bought it? Those many wonderful hours weren't worth paying for cos now a handful of people get to dip in for free? I mean, sure, if you had waited you'd have got it for free, but you've been playing the game. Aren't those hours of fun worth, what, $20?

Edit: Wait.

"To thank you for your years of support, we will be giving players who have purchased TF2 a special Proof of Purchase hat to wear on any character in-game."

...if Valve had not done anything maybe we could all be mature by ourselves. But nope, they had to step in and make sure we were "compensated". Bullshit, I got my $20 worth. Other people did too. Maybe let those "loyal customers" realise they were loyal for a reason instead of throwing them crumbs like they're a flock of retarded birds.

Come on man, it's customer appreciation. I mean, I'm not asking for a hat Sure I used them when I got them, but I never found much draw in them. But giving a free "thanks for the support" hat is a nice gesture by a company.

Of course, when people demand free stuff, that's a different story.

 

[ZeroMachine]

Oh, and "Meet the Medic" is out. You can see it here to the right - but really, you clicked that before reading the post, didn't you?

O_O

... I totally did.

Good news all around, though. Now that more of my friends could get into it I may have to start really playing it.

 

[Baneat]

Sunk cost fallacy everywhere here though

If it was worth $20 when you bought it (TOTALLY) then if it gets downgraded the next day to $1 it's irrelevant, you've paid your money and it was worth it then.

 

[subject_87]

Well, that's... kinda cool, I guess, but, not to sound ungrateful, what about the money I paid for it? Maybe I could get a free hat, Valve? :3

Actually, you can. http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Proof_of_Purchase
But anyway, this is a pretty cool move; more people experiencing the awesome of TF2 is definitely a good thing.

 

[Hectix777]

What does this mean? Did it have a sub fee at some point?

 

[fierydemise]

Question, do the folks complaining about it being free now complain that they bought crysis 1 for full price 3 years ago and now you can get it for less then $20?

 

[Shoggoth2588]

That was an excellent video!

Also, this is what it took to finally get me to download Steam. Thank you Valve!

 

[Hungry Donner]

Quite good, and yes I watched the video before reading a lick of the post

 

[Waaghpowa]

Well, that's... kinda cool, I guess, but, not to sound ungrateful, what about the money I paid for it? Maybe I could get a free hat, Valve? :3

Agreed. While I hate it when people complain about products getting cheaper over time, I feel the people who bought the game in the last month or two at least should get a dozen or so free hats. Maybe one or two to the original purchasers?

Perhaps you should be happy with the fact that without yours, and my, support, this wouldn't have happened.