Count me in! Actually, I don't think I'm really an Escapist yet since I've only done like a couple of posts, but still.

xkcd also has plans to make a dedicated server, but it's often quite frustrating. We have a few games, and then the server is empty. Maybe we could fight each other?

My ID is Gordon_Feynman, screenname is [xkcd] Wanna see my Yeti?. I don't have your ID though.

the monopoly guy:
I've played whole games as a scout in fastlane, I captured the intelligence all 5 times, fairly quickly. I like it.

Wait, there's intel in fastlane now? Holy crap, first Arena mode now fastlane as a cp_ctf map!

Just recieved a pass from Illwrath. Add WNxGenHellspawn<TWM>.

x434343:

the monopoly guy:
I've played whole games as a scout in fastlane, I captured the intelligence all 5 times, fairly quickly. I like it.

Wait, there's intel in fastlane now? Holy crap, first Arena mode now fastlane as a cp_ctf map!

Wait, what's fastlane again? Nevermind, I was thinking of turbine. I don't like fastlane.

x434343:

ReepNeep:

The Arena maps won't work with playercounts greater than around twelve. People end up sitting out all the time and its really lame.

My suggested config goes as follows:
Gravel Pit, Steel (Better player-made map, can last a while), CTF_2Fort (Turbine was the waste of a map pick), Dustbowl, Badlands (FASTlane is a condensed version of Badlands. Last maybe 20 mins.) and Badwater Basin (Goldrush will stalemate to 40 hours, because no one REALLY gets to CP 3 and wins.). 30-40 minute games. Class limits of 2 on the sniper, spy, heavy (otherwise we can block spawn doors with 3 heavies crouching and spinning their miniguns.) and [1 on] engineer (2 engies can fuck up the game. 1 engie can protect the intel.). All other rules stock. Keep an admin handy to shuffle the teams if they aren't pretty evenly matched.

Fixed.

Steel is not a better map than Warpath2 and is extremely maze-like. With all the noobs we're going to have in these games, Steel is a terrible choice.

Turbine is still a much better map than 2fort. I'm honestly mystified by all the hate that Turbine gets. All you need is an uber to break any sentrygun. A demo can do it solo in the vast majority of circumstances.

Badlands plays like shit. It has a slippery slope problem in the extreme and once the attackers take the opposing team's spire, the map is over. Its also really heavy on the scout rushes which won't be fun with all the new people around. Fastlane is an all round better map.

Scoring in Goldrush is nowhere near as difficult as you make it out to be. If you have a proper class makeup and the opposing team doesn't significantly outskill you, you are almost guaranteed to score. On the other hand, Badwater is damn near impossible to defend. That said, I don't have a preference either way. Defending Badwater or attacking CP 2-2 in Goldrush, pick your poison.

Limits on heavies? Are you kidding me? That 'trick' you mentioned can be foiled easily by one uber pyro or heavy. What attacking team doesn't have an uber ready when the gates open? If your team has a good sniper, heavies are no trouble at all in other circumstances and any of the other combat classes can frag one easily if he doesn't have his gun spun up.

A single engineer is damn near worthless except for his teleporters. More than two and they can rebuild their guns faster than you can respawn. Two engineers.

x434343:

Decoy Doctorpus:
2fort is a travesty.

Well, fastlane (you mean Turbine, right?) is shit. I mean, a well placed engineer, 2 well placed heavies = no intel grabby.

I say 2Fort. Maybe ban engies for that match?

One uber pyro solves all of those problems at once. A kritzkrieged soldier can do it too. Scout or other fast class runs the intel while everyone is distracted. It isn't that hard.

I think I am the only person on earth who likes Hydro.

meatloaf231:
I think I am the only person on earth who likes Hydro.

I like Hydro...

Anyways, I agree on Badlands, too noob-hostile. As for 2fort, if we have BALANCED teams without people turtling or rushing, it can be really fun, as long as most people have mics. Turbine IS NOT THAT BAD. A good spy can totally screw the sentries if he has like 1 teammate to back him up, like a scout to nab the intel. As for badwater, it's too buggy to be a tourney map, a good demo can take out the whole defense (I have :] easy as hell), so Goldrush can be good if the teams can make it to the 3rd stage, not get stuck on the 1st.

If it's going to be on the 13th, I will be playing reeeeeealy well, my new mouse(MX518)is arriving on the 8th because my Fatal1ty mouse is full of bullsh*t.

I'll be a Pyro or Demoman, preferably.

meatloaf231:
I think I am the only person on earth who likes Hydro.

Hydro is a ton of fun with balanced teams of 5-7 people. We're going to have at least 10 on 10 with wildly differing skill levels.

I can play any of the classes except spy and demo pretty well. My best are Medic and Backburner Pyro, and Soldier. I do a mean Heavy too if I've got a good medic.

I still have a pass if anyone wants it. Send me a PM.

ReepNeep:

Steel is not a better map than Warpath2 and is extremely maze-like. With all the noobs we're going to have in these games, Steel is a terrible choice.

Turbine is still a much better map than 2fort. I'm honestly mystified by all the hate that Turbine gets. All you need is an uber to break any sentrygun. A demo can do it solo in the vast majority of circumstances.

Badlands plays like shit. It has a slippery slope problem in the extreme and once the attackers take the opposing team's spire, the map is over. Its also really heavy on the scout rushes which won't be fun with all the new people around. Fastlane is an all round better map.

Scoring in Goldrush is nowhere near as difficult as you make it out to be. If you have a proper class makeup and the opposing team doesn't significantly outskill you, you are almost guaranteed to score. On the other hand, Badwater is damn near impossible to defend. That said, I don't have a preference either way. Defending Badwater or attacking CP 2-2 in Goldrush, pick your poison.

Limits on heavies? Are you kidding me? That 'trick' you mentioned can be foiled easily by one uber pyro or heavy. What attacking team doesn't have an uber ready when the gates open? If your team has a good sniper, heavies are no trouble at all in other circumstances and any of the other combat classes can frag one easily if he doesn't have his gun spun up.

A single engineer is damn near worthless except for his teleporters. More than two and they can rebuild their guns faster than you can respawn. Two engineers.

One uber pyro solves all of those problems at once. A kritzkrieged soldier can do it too. Scout or other fast class runs the intel while everyone is distracted. It isn't that hard.

First off. Warpath comes to this stalemate. Cap point 1 and 2, mid point is fought over, 1 team breaks through, then they're pushed back until they recharge, ect. It's nice for a map, but it'll take maybe 2 hours to complete because of the stalemating around the midpoint. Steel isn't too maze-like. Here's a giant hint: LOOK UP. The cap points are labled in such a way that it's hard to get lost if you look up at the end of the hall.

Wait, so an uber can go from the intel area upstairs to vent entry 1 to vent entry 2 and main entry in 10 seconds? I'm thinking sentry at intel, Heavy at vent exit near spawn, heavy at vent exit near right-hand entry. Maybe no CTF maps is a better idea.

I agree with the whole badlands point, so I propose Granary to fix it. It'll bust out of the desert environment.

http://www.steampowered.com/status/tf2/death_maps/pl_goldrush_deaths.jpg That is a death map for gold rush. Note where the deaths are. Also, in gold rush, RED wins about 80% of the time. In Badwater, RED wins 60%. A better percentage ratio.

On the heavy trick: You get 3 people as Heavy, get the 2Fort doors, and stand on the doors, so that when people spawn, they can't get out of their spawn. Now, I'm not saying it's good, but it can happen if people are jackassyy enough. I don't put it far. So, once again, it's heavies blocking their own team, not the enemy team, in the spawn.

I mean 1 engie on CTF maps. 2 engies can make an "OH FUCK" base for the enemy. A hidden sentry is a deadly one. Plus, there's a glitch where you can stack a teleporter onto another and trap your team.

I've not seen a map rotation that uses Turbine. It doesn't work. At all. Is it a good CTF map? Yeah. Is it easy? Yes. I say no CTF maps.

Jumplion:

Ralackk:
Jumplion exactly what video card are you using?

OH no, no no, I'm not getting into details here and ending up in a conversation with "you can buy the things you need for cheap!" because I don't want to spend money for one game (technically 5) even if it isn't that much money.

I don't have a job, my dad could care less about upgrading the PC, it's not meant for games, end of story.

That is the last time I'll say anything about my PC again in this thread.

One more time!

I CANNOT PLAY TEAM FORTRESS TWO WITH YOU GUYS!
MY COMPUTER'S BEING A BITCH!
NO I DO NOT WANT ANY HELP BECAUSE I'VE ALREADY TRIED TO GET HELP!
AGAIN, I CANNOT PLAY WITH YOU GUYS!!

So yeah, sorry, BUT you guys can do a tribute to your favorite jumping lion by picking the heavy class and jumping around while yelling/typing "GRAJADEMOAR!". If anyone does that and is caught on the video Decoy will (apparantly) commentate on, it would touch my heart :")

Ok dude I was just trying to be helpful was all. Wasn't actually going to sugest buying anything either.

Hey guys, just got word from our tech Guru, she'll be asking about it to the server guy on Friday. I'll post more as information comes my way.

Keep in mind here people that we're playing with large teams of relatively new players and there's going to be some admins on board (i think) to make sure teams don't try anything that's completely bullshit.

Saturday 13th is great for me. Perhaps you guys should have a practice run this Saturday?

@Smallharmlesskitten : I'll send you my guest pass on Friday 12th then so you get the full play out of it.

I'd like to play, I'm changing my name to something with less special characters, and also, if someone wants a free guest pass, I have one available. My steam name is: -=TTS=- Tzeentch .

I wouldn't mind doing this.

SteamID: [cake] Slakah

So, Wilsonscrazybed talked to me this morning about getting our TF2 server up for everyone again and that is definitely something we plan to do, however - the server we were using for it no longer exists and we're waiting on another one. Once we get it we'll get the dedicated Escapist TF2 server running again. Hopefully it will be sometime soon. :)

Edit: Count me in too. :) Steam ID is: teleios

Ralackk:
Ok dude I was just trying to be helpful was all. Wasn't actually going to sugest buying anything either.

Sorry 'bout that just angry at my computer. Not the best in the world, but I fogive "steve" :3

So is this just a 1-day thing or different days if you're in U.S. or U.K.?
Saturday the 13th would be awesome. Any idea on how long this will run? Can people just jump in mid-game?

-Still got a 72hr pass if anyone needs one.

http://steamcommunity.com/id/azhrarn

Argh, I haven't played TF2 in ages, I need to get back on that.

Dude, for the love of god ask an Admin to change that name so it will stop messing up quotes!!!:
So is this just a 1-day thing or different days if you're in U.S. or U.K.?
Saturday the 13th would be awesome. Any idea on how long this will run? Can people just jump in mid-game?

-Still got a 72hr pass if anyone needs one.

Well, if the server stays up then hopefully it will be a 24/7 thing with those mutually agreed days when everybody goes on.

Perhaps I can finally get that blody achievement? Heh.
Account-Cocakoala

GenHellspawn:
Just recieved a pass from Illwrath. Add WNxGenHellspawn<TWM>.

Cranius :
I'd like to play, I'm changing my name to something with less special characters, and also, if someone wants a free guest pass, I have one available. My steam name is: -=TTS=- Tzeentch .

Slakah:
I wouldn't mind doing this.

SteamID: [cake] Slakah

Not Found. I need usernames, not nicknames.

50 people in the group, 42 on the list! Who have I missed!?

Thanks, Danny Ocean! (That was you, and not some hacker who invited me, right?)

Anyway, I think you should edit any important updates to the first post, in case anyone misses something. And label it with a date and time, and the announcement.

Also, I played Badwater Basin this one time, and the team I was on tried a few "all one class" types. Here's the wins we got:

Soldier for Defense
Engineer for Defense
Demoman for Defense
Medic for Defense
Heavy for Assault

Weird, eh? Also, the Engy defenses had me as a Pyro for you-can-probably-guess what reasons.

JakubK666:

Dude, for the love of god ask an Admin to change that name so it will stop messing up quotes!!!:
So is this just a 1-day thing or different days if you're in U.S. or U.K.?
Saturday the 13th would be awesome. Any idea on how long this will run? Can people just jump in mid-game?

-Still got a 72hr pass if anyone needs one.

Well, if the server stays up then hopefully it will be a 24/7 thing with those mutually agreed days when everybody goes on.

My name messes up quotes? How?

Well, I may be able to compete, depends on what day it is and how my Internet connection is doing. Sometimes I get major lag, other times I'm fine.

Sign me up anyway, my account is "DisturbingDude," and my displayed name is "Sheepshifter."

Yoink

Gavo:

JakubK666:

Dude, for the love of god ask an Admin to change that name so it will stop messing up quotes!!!:
So is this just a 1-day thing or different days if you're in U.S. or U.K.?
Saturday the 13th would be awesome. Any idea on how long this will run? Can people just jump in mid-game?

-Still got a 72hr pass if anyone needs one.

Well, if the server stays up then hopefully it will be a 24/7 thing with those mutually agreed days when everybody goes on.

My name messes up quotes? How?

By being in bracets, just like the text commands.

What servers are we playing on, perchance? And what's the official map rotation, and who's allowed in, and all that.

Marquis de la Mort is my Steam name.

milskidasith:
What servers are we playing on, perchance? And what's the official map rotation, and who's allowed in, and all that.

Not decided yet, as the date gets closer we'll poll people about which maps they want to play on.

Danny Ocean:

Not Found. I need usernames, not nicknames.

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197980045237

Give me a holler if anyone wants Custom sprays. I gots me a good vtf converter so I can make Transparent or Animated (or both) sprays.

GenHellspawn:
Just recieved a pass from Illwrath. Add WNxGenHellspawn<TWM>.

Really? I don't even remember giving it to you yet, I must have been smashed beyond belief :)

Count me in!

My Steam name is Hurricane_5, but my game tag is =E2N= Hurricane_5

Play TF2 alot, so I'm hoping to look for some fun.

Jolly Madness:
Perhaps I can finally get that blody achievement? Heh.
Account-Cocakoala

I would be happy enough if it's the night I finally get Lightning Offense. I am fail at that map for reasons unknown.

Decoy Doctorpus:
Keep in mind here people that we're playing with large teams of relatively new players and there's going to be some admins on board (i think) to make sure teams don't try anything that's completely bullshit.

Ugh. Sounds like scrub play. I can sort of understand class limits, if only because mass amounts of certain classes can screw things over (lots of engies can do well with relativly no skill, though a big group of demo medics isn't gonna happen with a bunch of noobs, probably) but on the spot rules on what's fair and what's not?