A public service announcement for our TF2 newbie friends
Cliff_Forster
Icrontian
Free to play, a fantastic concept, it has invigorated the TF2 community, and for the most part, I'm really enjoying the update. Heck, I even purchased a little something from the Mann Company store to do my part as someone who has gotten a couple hundred hours from the title.
This said, free to play will have some temporary drawbacks too. The quality of competition is suffering due to the newness of many players, and its also fairly apparent that many new players are not well equipped to game online.
As veterans of PC gaming I really believe this is a great opportunity to educate new players and help them to have a better experience so this concept can flourish and become successful. It is up to us as a community to help new players not only understand the game, but also understand the basics of online PC gaming etiquette, as well as to help them understand what they might need technically to ensure a better experience for the entire community.
First of all, high ping players, I'd say anything over 250 or so, instead of kicking them outright, take a moment, ask them if they are new to the community, if they are, PM them over Steam, help them figure out where they might have some technical limitations, either in router, or network card drivers, or ISP. PC gaming takes a little extra effort and know how, and its obvious that some of the new guys pinging the servers at 400 are a little lost on why the experience sucks as bad as it does. I've already taken the time to chat with a couple guys who were really appreciative. Instead of just saying, gtfo the server noob, or kicking them, send them a PM and offer them a little help. They are really nice people that just don't understand what a ping is, and how it effects everyone's experience, much less what they might be able to do to improve it. Help them out. Share what you know.
Also, please, help some of the younger players understand that PC gaming is a different environment than Xbox live. Sure, we enjoy fart jokes as much as the next guy, but we make a reasonable attempt to treat each other with respect. Kicking may be necessary, but at the same time, its a really good opportunity to show people how PC is a differentiated platform. If we treat them with some courtesy, we might help them grow into the hobby vs. running them off. It's been apparent to me in the past week or so of play that a fair amount of "Xbox Live behavior" is finding its way onto the TF2 free to play servers. Lets help our new friends see that there is a better way to play, and that the constant hurling of insults and slurs over the mic really isn't necessary to have fun.
Also, if you find new players, share advice with them on how to play better in a polite manner. Don't berate them for being an awful team member, it only serves to make it a miserable experience for everyone. Don't assume they have played the couple hundred hours you have. Guy's, there is allot of new blood here, they don't know that the Pyro can spy check, and that the first thing the engineer should try and do on a payload map is to get up a well placed teleporter. They barely understand the basics, much less the incredible degree of nuance that makes up TF2. Give them a break, be polite, help them to learn the ropes and it will make everyone's experience better.
I'm really excited about the potential that free to play TF2 might have for the future of PC gaming. As veterans of the hobby, its our responsibility to nurture the newbies rather than treat them like digital lepers. If we do, I believe it will have a far reaching effect, not just for TF2, but for PC gaming as a whole.
This said, free to play will have some temporary drawbacks too. The quality of competition is suffering due to the newness of many players, and its also fairly apparent that many new players are not well equipped to game online.
As veterans of PC gaming I really believe this is a great opportunity to educate new players and help them to have a better experience so this concept can flourish and become successful. It is up to us as a community to help new players not only understand the game, but also understand the basics of online PC gaming etiquette, as well as to help them understand what they might need technically to ensure a better experience for the entire community.
First of all, high ping players, I'd say anything over 250 or so, instead of kicking them outright, take a moment, ask them if they are new to the community, if they are, PM them over Steam, help them figure out where they might have some technical limitations, either in router, or network card drivers, or ISP. PC gaming takes a little extra effort and know how, and its obvious that some of the new guys pinging the servers at 400 are a little lost on why the experience sucks as bad as it does. I've already taken the time to chat with a couple guys who were really appreciative. Instead of just saying, gtfo the server noob, or kicking them, send them a PM and offer them a little help. They are really nice people that just don't understand what a ping is, and how it effects everyone's experience, much less what they might be able to do to improve it. Help them out. Share what you know.
Also, please, help some of the younger players understand that PC gaming is a different environment than Xbox live. Sure, we enjoy fart jokes as much as the next guy, but we make a reasonable attempt to treat each other with respect. Kicking may be necessary, but at the same time, its a really good opportunity to show people how PC is a differentiated platform. If we treat them with some courtesy, we might help them grow into the hobby vs. running them off. It's been apparent to me in the past week or so of play that a fair amount of "Xbox Live behavior" is finding its way onto the TF2 free to play servers. Lets help our new friends see that there is a better way to play, and that the constant hurling of insults and slurs over the mic really isn't necessary to have fun.
Also, if you find new players, share advice with them on how to play better in a polite manner. Don't berate them for being an awful team member, it only serves to make it a miserable experience for everyone. Don't assume they have played the couple hundred hours you have. Guy's, there is allot of new blood here, they don't know that the Pyro can spy check, and that the first thing the engineer should try and do on a payload map is to get up a well placed teleporter. They barely understand the basics, much less the incredible degree of nuance that makes up TF2. Give them a break, be polite, help them to learn the ropes and it will make everyone's experience better.
I'm really excited about the potential that free to play TF2 might have for the future of PC gaming. As veterans of the hobby, its our responsibility to nurture the newbies rather than treat them like digital lepers. If we do, I believe it will have a far reaching effect, not just for TF2, but for PC gaming as a whole.
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Comments
I'm scared to death of TF2 becoming another Dystopia or Allegiance. F2P is always full of elitist assholes. But we're not, right? riiiiight?
The server hasn't been empty since F2P was released. We also have had people asking "how do I join?" to which someone will reply "check out icrontic.com!" I saw at least one person, ^acid, do exactly this today.
I would also suggest to take the opportunity to learn other classes to keep things a bit more balanced and competitive.
It would be NICE if you played heavy, though! Then the newbs could get easy kills!
I agree completely with what Cliff has to say in that you should reach out to them rather than kicking them out or berating them. Remember that a vast majority are there to have fun and if their first experience is someone yelling at them, ignoring them, or just being rude, it just reflects badly on the community and not the game...
With that said though, everyone I gamed with in IC were more than helpful and were quick to show me tips, tricks, and even in-game help and encouragement. So, on behalf of the newb community I say, "Thank You" and "See you in the game!"
A-freakin'-men, brother. TF2 has been very good to IC in the past and I expect it going F2P to be very good for us in the future. Color me excited.
I'm enjoying it, just have to learn all the angles and strategies. Soon I'll look for the icrontic server so I can own some of you premium users that have gotten complacent and lazy in your playing. Muhahaha
Sounds like you're doing it right. Keep it up and learn what classes you're best at.