I just want to take a moment to say thanks to everyone who has been supporting the How It’s Done series. Originally it started out as a small venture into the world of modelling for the convenience of the readers, and it’s gradually turned into a big thing. I’ll get this out of the way as quick as I can, and just say that I want to thank these guys:

-The community contributors who have been the basis to this series and provided valuable information to the community.

-Robin Walker and the TF2 Team for their incredible support through the blog and emails about recruitment (this was prior to the blog post, thanks guys!).

-The Official Team Fortress Wiki for providing reference material and pictures.

-Pilk and Swizzle, for posting on various community forums to recruit contributors I couldn’t get in touch with.

-And you guys, the readers. Without your support this series wouldn’t have got as far as it has, and hopefully you’ll continue to enjoy the next instalments.

That’s everything, so without further ado, here is the latest interview for your viewing pleasure.

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In this instalment of How It’s Done, I have interviewed Swizzle, the creator of the Pain Train. The Pain Train was unveiled in the first wave of community contributed weapons, unique for its capture rate-affecting ability.

How did you get into Modelling?

Swizzle: My first exposure to 3D modeling was in about 2000. My sister’s then-boyfriend showed me his copy of Bryce 3D, and it piqued my interest. Before that, I thought that only movie studios could do the things that I suddenly had access to. I didn’t get serious about 3D until about five years ago when I discovered CGTalk and other computer graphics forums online. After that, I got more and more into practicing and getting involved in the community. This is how I eventually ended up stumbling onto Polycount. I’d heard of Polycount through people on CGTalk, and even visited there a few times, but I didn’t really start participating for another year or two. I mostly lurked and learned from all the amazing stuff I saw constantly posted there.

What software packages/tools do you use?

Swizzle: I use Modo and Mudbox for the 3D stage of things and Photoshop for texturing. I’d like to stress, just as Larolaro did, that the tools aren’t important. A lot of people ask what the best tool to use is, and the only answer to that comes via your own practice and experience. I’ve seen people make amazing things with every 3D package out there, so you’re really only limited by your skills and your imagination. Just like in more traditional media such as pen and paper, paint or clay, it all comes down to familiarity with your tools and how you use them, but not the tools themselves.

Roughly how long did the entire process of creating the Pain Train take, from idea to finalization?

Swizzle: I’d had the initial idea for quite a while, and I’d even tried my hand at making the model a couple of times before, but I didn’t really make something I was satisfied with until I sat down for an hour or so and doodled on paper to come up with a good design. From there, it was a few hours modeling (and refining the model) and then a couple more for texturing. Getting it into the engine was a massive pain, though, especially since (at the time) I was unfamiliar with the process used to import models into Source. The initial import process took about two days to get right, and I promptly forgot everything because my personal life got in the way.

When designing the Pain Train, did you ever have any idea about what attributes it would have, or did you know not to design it with them in mind?

Swizzle: When I first designed and modeled the Pain Train, it was actually about a year before the contribution system had even been announced, so I was actually only interested in making something that looked cool and tought me the basics of working with weapon models in Source. After I learned about the contribution system, I went ahead and submitted it, but I decided that I probably couldn’t come up with something better than Valve. Thus, I only submitted it with a short note saying I thought it would probably work well as a demo/soldier weapon and left it at that.

Do you think Valve handled your submission well? The Pain Train, being the only capture rate affecting item, is a unique addition and an asset in a Soldier or Demoman’s arsenal.

Swizzle: Personally, I think Valve handled it fantastically. They came up with a unique gameplay mechanic (that I know hadn’t even crossed my mind before I heard about it) and I’m glad it’s actually a viable weapon to use in a variety of situations. That said, I do wish they’d add some attribute that would make it useful in modes like Capture the Flag.

Would you have liked to have had more influence on how the Pain Train turned out, had you know it was going to be included?

Swizzle: While I do have a streak of perfectionism running through me, I can’t think of any way that I could have helped beyond the modeling/texturing side of things. I don’t have access to all the information and statistics that Valve collects on player habits, so I wouldn’t have been able to make a useful contribution to the gameplay design process. I think the only thing I would’ve changed about the process of getting the Pain Train in the game is actually getting a notification from somebody at Valve, or even an automated system, that said “Hey, congratulations. The Pain Train made it in!”. The only way I learned that my item had been included in the first community update was through a message from a friend on a forum I frequent, since I didn’t have access to the game at the time.

What resources can you recommend for somebody trying to get into modelling, or wanting to model in the TF2 style?

Swizzle: I would recommend to anybody interested in modeling that they get some 3D package RIGHT NOW and start playing with it. Blender is a high quality, free 3D package that’s made a lot of big strides in the past year or so, especially in regards to usability, so it’s good for people just starting out. If Blender turns out to not be your thing, try out demo versions of other software. As I said before, it’s the artist and their skills that matter, not the tools. Beyond 3D packages, though, I’d suggest drawing and sculpting using traditional media. With artistic skill in place, 3D is nothing more than learning a new set of tools to make art with. As for working in the TF2 style, I’d recommend simply taking the time to load up some levels in TF2 and walk around looking at everything. Observation is key to any sort of art, so learning what goes into the artistic style of TF2 is paramount to making something that looks like it belongs. If somebody is really committed to making something good, start posting work on forums like CGTalk, Polycount, Game-Artist.net, GameArtisans.org, the TF2Maps.net forums and anywhere else they can find. Feedback and critiques are key to developing your skills, so go to those places to get help.

If there was one key tip you could pass on to someone trying to model or texture in the TF2 style, what would it be?

Swizzle: The silhouette is king. If your item, hat, weapon, character, model or map doesn’t read well with just large shapes and no inner detail, you need to work on it further. Valve designed the characters and items in TF2 to be read from a distance, and that all goes out the window with poor planning. Good planning leads to good designs, and the best designs read well from a distance. This is because reading those silhouettes is crucial to gameplay. Lighting conditions, angles and movements change in-game, but the only thing that doesn’t is the overall silhouette of an item. If you can tell what it is from just the silhouette, you’ve done something right.

Is there any interesting trivia you can share about the Pain Train at all?

Swizzle: Well, the stuff in the TF2 wiki about it being the discarded handle of an Axtinguisher and the name coming from a line delivered by a horribly drunken demoman are both ideas completely coined by people in the community. I think that’s pretty funny, but very creative.

What is it exactly, just to set the record straight: Just a makeshift handle with a railroad spike through it?

Swizzle: It’s exactly what it looks like. A big ol’ stick with a big ol’ spike. There’s another thing that aspiring weapon designers should take note of; it’s an extremely simple idea. Simplicity is a key element of a good design.

Do you think the Polycount contest was a good idea on Valve’s part, and do you think it’s possible a second one or something similiar could happen?

Swizzle: I think it was a great idea, and I hope they have other contests like it in the future. The Artpass contest over at TF2Maps is a good example. I hope other game companies take a hint and get their respective communities involved into the process of making games. As for the possibility of more of them happening, I think it’s just inevitable.

Was ‘The Pain Train’ the weapon’s original name, or something Valve conjured up?

Swizzle: I actually submitted it as the Pain Train. I’m completely convinced, though, that the note I included with the submission was the only thing that led them to keeping the name. It said, simply, “The Pain Train’s a-comin! Woo woo!”

Thanks for the interview.

Swizzle: It was a pleasure.

Lessons Learnt:

-The tools used by others are not the most important thing, so much as how well you can familiarize yourself with them. Experiment with various software and find what’s right for you.
-Visit a wide variety of sites and resources to look at other people’s projects, find guides and recieve critique for your own work.
-View your model as a silhouette and apply it to existing class silhouettes. This will help you see whether it can easily be identified at a distance, like a lot of Valve’s weapons.

…and there’s the knowledge behind the Pain Train. Join us next time for a slightly different topic, as we dive into mapmaking and interview Icarus, the creator of Coldfront.

In this instalment of How It’s Done, I have interviewed Larolaro, the creator of the Homewrecker and a winner of the famed Polycount pack contest, with his Tank Buster pack for the Soldier.

Firstly, how did you get into Modelling?

Larolaro: Well, for the past 4-5 years I’ve been working as a freelance illustrator (http://larolaro.blogspot.com) and at the same time I’ve always had a lingering curiosity for games and what-not, so I started to dabble in modelling. It was a straight up nightmare at first, as I found it very difficult to learn by myself, so the extent of my knowledge comes from 4 years of tedious un-knowing button clicking, haha. 2D and 3D really are two opposite sides of the same coin but eventually I got the hang of it… Sort of. Now, to be honest, I’m never going back. Being a digital artist moving onto 3D really gives me a plethora of new options to realize my ideas.

You initially designed the Homewrecker. How long did the Homewrecker, from idea to realization, roughly take?

Larolaro: I created the homewrecker roughly a year before I submitted it to valve through their contribute page. So, embarrassingly, the homewrecker was just a bit of tooling-around practice, as I just did it for fun and never intended for it to be a serious submission. The concept took me 5 minutes and the model and texture was complete in about 2 hours. However, the compiling and such took an age, the source engine really isn’t noob-friendly. I see the source engine as a beautiful ornate chair with a spike carved into the seat; It looks great, it’s solid and it will last for a long time, it’s just a pain in the ass to use.

What software packages do you use? Previous contributors have said that the paid stuff (like 3DSMax) is the best, but you can do just as well sometimes with freeware.

Larolaro: Oddly enough I get this question alot from random people on steam, and I never answer the question because if I did I would giving the impression that it matters which one to use. I’m sorry to burst any bubbles and such but unfortunately there really isnt a magic button to make 3D, as it’s difficult to learn 3D no matter what program you use. The program is just a tool for a similar result; just pick one that looks good and use it and if it doesn’t work out too well for you, you will naturally move onto a different program anyway. So my advice would be, try them all and pick what feels right for you.

The Homewrecker was originally an Axe/Axtinguisher skin (back when it was called Mr. Sledge), but upon submission did you ever think about what attributes it could have had? Some people think this is necessary, despite this not being the case.

Larolaro: Well, I have a lot of respect for the way valve do their thing, so I just left it to them, I had nothing in mind to be honest. I don’t manage a hugely successful online multiplayer game, so I don’t have any right to say what’s what because I really don’t know the amount of implications a game mechanic might have.

Do you think that Valve handled your submission well? The Homewrecker was initially a choice alternative for quick building destruction, but with the addition of the ability to damage Sappers it suddenly became a used and viable option for Pyros. And would you have liked to have had more influence on these modifications?

Larolaro: I really think they did great with the homewrecker, I was even happy with it before the sapper-removing stat, albeit it being a whisper of a weapon. The homewrecker was one of the first community weapons to be added into TF2, and it was new ground they are walking on, so I figured they would possibly weaken its impact on TF2’s gameplay.

When someone’s trying to get into modelling, can you offer any resources or tips you found helpful?

Larolaro: Well, I didn’t use many tutorials when I was learning so I don’t have any resources to offer. For learning 3D, my advice would be just stick at it, don’t give up and practice, practice, practice! It’s a decade long battle with a wall of scary buttons, so if you don’t suck it up and focus you’ll go crazy.

Do you think you learned much, if anything, from modelling for TF2?

Larolaro: Well, I’ve played and admired TF2 from the start, having clocked 1000+ hours in it. It really is a massive inspiration to me, modelling this and that for TF2 has really helped me on the way to becoming “industry” ready, if you know what I mean. It’s a huge compliment from valve to give the homewrecker and Tankbuster pack their professional blessing.

When you decided to enter the Polycount contest, did you have a clear image of the class/weapons you wanted to do, or was it a much more gradual and developmental process?

Larolaro: For the 5 weeks we had to do the contest, it took me a week to gather up the courage to even start. I really didn’t think I would have a chance of winning so I very almost didn’t enter, But I thought I might as well do it for some good old practice. So 1 week in I started a WWII Survival Theme (Check it out here). This involved a rucksack, a survival knife (See it here) and a scrim camo helmet. After 3 weeks I started to get a lot of criticism and my theme started to fall apart so I scrapped it entirely. I wanted to pursue an entry that went smoothly and people enjoyed, so I came up with a tangent off my original idea and this is when I came up with the Tankbuster Pack. I started my Tank Buster pack from scratch with only 10 days left of the contest. This meant I had 5 items to concept, model, texture and compile with 2 days each. It was total chaos and I really didn’t sleep very well for those 10 days, haha, but I learnt a lot and eventually got picked as a winner, so it was totally worth it.

Are there any other packs that you particularly liked in the Polycount contest? Valve have said that just under half of the entries were of a good enough quality for submission, so there will be more community items to come from the contest regardless of the main winners.

Larolaro: I enjoyed a lot of the entries in the contest, and it’s a shame only 5 won the contest, but I can understand coming up with game mechanics and balancing 12 weapons really is enough for one update. Some of the entries that caught my eye from the start were Nrek’s (Croc-O-Style), Progg’s (Gas Man), Both of Swizzle’s entries (Expert’s Ordnance Pack and Field Medic’s Tool Kit), Gerre’s (Hillbilly Pack) and Pierate’s (Medievil pack).

If there was another Polycount contest or something of that ilk, would you participate given the chance?

Larolaro: I have no doubt in my mind that Valve will do something similiar in the future, given the popularity and quality of the entries in the contest. In fact, I’d be surprised if they didn’t do something. And when that happens, I may have to take another shot at it, with a hopefully larger timeframe than what I had to do my entry in.

Lessons Learnt:
- Keep practising as much as possible. Remember, getting good is not a quick process, and needs time investment.
- Be sure to consider your ideas thoroughly first, and be ready to abandon projects if they become boring and are clearly not going anywhere.
- Once again, experiment with as many different softwares as you can until you find the one that suits you best. There is no definitive ‘best’, so it’s up to your tastes and working style to determine yours.

…and there is the lowdown behind one of the more successful modelling achievements in TF2.

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Now, this is where I reach out to you, the reader. If you are an estabilished TF2 contributor (this includes maps), are interested in an interview, or know one who would be happy to have one published here, then please try to contact me here in the comments, on the UC forums, or at the Official Team Fortress Wiki. I’d like to make this series last as long as possible as I’ve recieved such positive feedback and so much useful information for aspiring 3D artists has come out of it, as well as revealing info to keep non-modellers amused and interested. Thanks for all the support, and hopefully expect more in the near future.

Ibuprofen from the forums continues to do our job for us with this amusing image breaking down the appeal of each Team Fortress 2 class:

Ahh, drawbacks. What wonders await thee in the exciting (or, for some people, annoying) world of unlockable weapons. Forgoing balance discussions and ideas, we will discuss what I think are drawbacks to unlocks that haven’t really been explored or have been neglected.

Every unlockable weapon has to have a drawback, even if it’s just an artificial drawback like the “reduced damage” on the Axtinguisher. Bar a few weapons (which will go unmentioned), there must be a reason you’d want to use the original weapon apart from aesthetic and fun, otherwise the unlockable isn’t really an alternative.

Most commonly, the drawback is lack of access to the original weapon, with over 10 items carrying this effect, i.e. you trade a weapon for another completely different one, such as the Sandvich.
After that, Valve most often uses a “lost ability” status and reduced damage, followed by health penalty and slower firing rate (see KGB).

This author, however, would like to make a statement. You see, things such as health, speed, and damage dealt are what I like to call “passive” weapon statistics. They’re not in your control, and giving a class a buff without really requiring the player to do anything isn’t very interesting.
This not only makes them a little boring to start with, but also requires no input on the part of the player as far as the benefit/drawback goes. Giving the heavy, say, a speed boost to 350 units at the cost of some health is just a stats change, and while I don’t disapprove of a G.R.U.E. style unlock, where you can go with these kinds of unlocks are limited at best. Sure, it’s a different skillset when the numbers matter, but TF2 isn’t an MMO. Or at least, not yet, anyway.

All that said, here are the few drawbacks to a weapons bonus that I think deserve a little attention.

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Ammo count

Ah yes, ammo. Two weapons currently feature this, the Force-a-Nature (although it doesn’t really count), and the Frontier Justice.

Ammo management is an important aspect of the Soldier, and to a lesser extent, the Heavy, Demoman and Scout. Knowing how many rockets you have left in the clip is a pretty important aspect of any competent Soldier, seeing as he has limited killing ability after expending them all, and he cannot run around/away like a little bunny while reloading.

Ammo management, however, isn’t quite something that’s on the mind of many other classes such as the Sniper and Pyro. Introducing such a thing into a weapon would certainly go a way towards what I believe is a new skill set.

For example: What if the Heavy had a weapon (we’ll call her “Ludmila“), that increased the Heavy’s base run speed to 280 units, but he has to reload a new chain belt every 40 shots? Bar the animation budget, it would certainly be more interesting to see how this plays out. Plus, no random crits.

And actually, that ties in directly to my next point…

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Reload time

Ah yes, again the thing that mainly the Soldier (and Demoman) have to take into account. 6 of the unlocks don’t even have these (discounting “cocking”), but a gun with a decent reload time also takes management skills.

But forget purely reload time for a second. TF2 itself allows you to interrupt any and all your reloads to continue firing the remainder of your clip. What if, and I stress if, you had a weapon that COULDN’T be interrupted in the middle of reloading?

This idea came to me while watching Pistol Frenzy 2; a traditional reload where you’d have to get an appropriate time to reload when combined with a substantial reload time.
For instance, say we get a shotgun with an 8 shell revolver-style magazine. It does a base damage of only 50, and you can’t interrupt the reload, but the reload time is the same as 4 shells on a normal shotgun. You’d have more ammo to work with, but you’d also have to watch out because you can’t pull a round or two out while reloading, and it makes you think more about combat readiness. Also, no random crits.

Now before all the jarheads come in with their CS:S comparisons, hear me out. Consider how it would add to a certain weapon’s drawback: you’d have to be paying attention to your ammo, and pick an appropriate time to reload, such as in the company of teammates or when you’re sure no one can get to you before you finish. I think it would be a decent drawback compared to, say, no random crits, albeit a little boring.

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Reserve ammo

A subtopic of Limited Ammo Count, this looks into the ammo you can spare on the battlefield.

TF2 in it’s original form, as well as TFC, used to give you a bucketload of ammo to go crazy on. Soldiers and Demos used to have tons of ammo for their main weapons back in the day, and now ammo management is more important as the game changed.

Remnants of these days are still present in TF2 with weapons where your current ammo isn’t too much of a hassle. This includes all shotguns, the sniper rifle, the syringe gun, all sentries, the minigun (think about how 200 ammo was considered “a small amount” by the development team), and the flamethrower, although the compression blast reduces this somewhat.
Most notably, think about how the Engineer has 200 spare 9mm bullets, and goddamn, even with the autopistol that’s a crazy amount.

Valve has taken a look into this with unlockables already; the huntsman gives you (somewhat) limited ammo, as does the flare gun (although 16 flares is still quite a lot for it’s firing rate). I do think that limited ammo can make an interesting drawback, and to heck with Engineers complaining about their metal.

Regardless, it’s not something that can stand up as a drawback by itself. A shotgun that, say, deals 100 base damage with only 10 extra shots would be a pretty devastating weapon, and would encourage suicide runs anyway, even if it had no random crits.

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Anyway, hopefully I’ve been able to provide some insight into these weapon design ideas as far as ammunition ideas go. Ignoring “brand new weapons,” feel free to throw in any ideas you may have as far as stat changes and new design goes. And who knows, if they’re good, I’d be so inclined to ask permission to put them on the front page.

As a concluding point, as much as I’ve said stats don’t usually make for the most fun weapons, I am putting together some ideas for what would make more interesting weapon advantages.

Something I’ve noticed is Valve’s plentiful use of crits, and as of late, mini crits, in their weapon designs. But, like I said, the amount of damage you pump out (while being an important part of gameplay) is a boring design to put into weapons as an advantage, even in the form of crits (for example, the direct hit).

So, in the next post, expect a few different ideas for advantages that don’t simply ditch the set weapon designs themselves. Not plain unlockable ideas, but ideas that can be part of an unlockable. Thank you, and good night.

Let’s face it, doing explosive jumps is fun. I know I’m not the only one who got into Soldier for the rocket jumping. I also know I’m not the only one who wishes they were good at sticky jumping. This, therefore, is the first of what I hope to be a series of articles exploring some fun places that you can jump to which may not have immediately presented themselves; a lot of them look like decoration. These aren’t trick jumps, so while I’m both quite good at rocket jumping and incredibly modest, you don’t need many particularly difficult skills to do them – a basic knowledge of rocket/sticky jumping is all you require. Also a criterion for inclusion in this article is that the jump should have some use in a normal game. No opposing Pyros airblasting you or weird glitching out of the map, just interesting and importantly unexpected places to stand. If you know the maps inside out, you may know some of these positions already. The format for each jump will include the following:

Where? – Whereabouts on the map the jump is. Accompanied by a fancy taunt.

Who? – Which classes can get up there. Most will be confined to Soldier/Demoman, but the odd jump will be available to Scouts, and on rare occasion, everyone. I haven’t had practice with the Wrangler and sentry jumping yet, so go ahead and try these jumps with your sentry gun. I can’t promise anything.

How? – The nitty-gritty of the jump. I’ll explain how to get where I got. The screenshots show where to place your stickies. Unless otherwise stated, a rocket jump from the same place should work as well.

Why? – Accompanied by a screenshot of the view, and suggestions on how to use the position.

This article focuses entirely on Badwater.

Position 1

Where? – White pipe just past the first point.

Who? – Soldier and Demoman

How? – There are two ways to do this with both classes, but Demoman has a much easier time of getting up there. Firstly, you can lay a sticky at the bottom of the pipe and do a standard sticky jump up to the top, however, this is quite tricky to pull off, as if you don’t have the right angle, you will just fall straight back down. Easier is to place a sticky on the corner of the “shelter” where Engineers often build. Take a look at this screenshot and you’ll see what I mean.Then just do a standard sticky jump from there, making sure to get some distance as well as height.

As a Soldier, this jump can be quite tricky. You have to either do a wall jump, or airstrafe. If you choose to airstrafe, do it from a similar position to the above sticky, and it should be easy to get onto the pipe. If you can’t airstrafe, don’t worry! Stand at the bottom of the pipe, do a normal high rocket jump, making sure to hold forwards, crouch, and keep your rocket launcher at the same angle. Then once you hit the peak of your jump, while still holding forwards and crouch, shoot another rocket into the corner. This will give you extra height and get you on top of the pipe. If you do this, however, you’ll use a lot of health, so consider the Gunboats, and make sure to ask for an overheal from any nearby Medics.

Why? – It’s out of the way, and since you’re high up, a lot of classes will have a difficult time hurting you, due to damage falloff, spread, and arcs. The view is surprisingly wide (see screenshot below), and it’s a good place to rain down explosives from, catching those who are unsuspectingly pushing the cart. Once you’re done, jumping down will cost a lot of health. To help reduce this, there’s a billboard with a big A on it. You can actually land on top of this billboard then jump the rest of the way. It won’t stop you taking fall damage altogether, but it might mean the difference between life and death. Unfortunately, you’re in full view of one of BLU’s exits, so if you’re on RED, you’re in danger of being sniped. Consider using this as a quick ambush then moving on.

Position 2

Where? - Around the corner from the first point. On the roof of the alcove, just before the push to second point.

Who? – Soldier and Demoman

How? – This jump is surprisingly simple, although it has one caveat. The area you can stand on this roof is a very small rectangle close to the corner. To get onto the roof, you have to make sure you’re as close to where it meets the other building as possible, otherwise you will hit an invisible wall and fall. To get up there, simply sticky or rocket jump from this spot.

If you’re a Demoman, you should get more than enough height to land on the roof. If you’re a Soldier, you need to practise getting close to the corner. After a few tries, you’ll learn what does and doesn’t work. Although I recommend it for all jumps, for this one in particular, it’s helpful to create your own local server and just practise.

Why? – It’s a very strong defensive position. You have just enough manoeuvrability to walk backwards a little and duck, giving you pretty good cover. When you’re not taking cover, you can shoot rockets or stickies down to defend the chokepoint, and when the cart moves past you, drop down and attack from the rear. Your view of the chokepoint is amazing, and there’s very little chance of being sniped:

Position 3

Where? – The pipe attached to the wall of the building next to point 2.

Who? – Soldier, Demoman

How? – This one’s just a simple hop up there. Standard rocket or sticky jump, just make sure not to overshoot. Approaching from the side is easier, just be careful not to overshoot.

Why? – A simple ambush. You have a clear view of the opposite entrance, and people coming from the other will tend to just walk straight past you. You’re pretty much on top of the small health pack, so you can guarantee some enemies will come your way, especially if you have a Pyro working his magic down on the ground. This is also somewhere from which to destroy any teleports placed out of reach on top of the vent.

Position 4

Where? – The pipe by the entrance to the small building just after point 2.

Who? – Everyone but Heavy.

How? – Two different methods. Playing anything but Soldier, simply jump onto what I have dubbed the “reactor thingy” pictured below. From there it’s a simple crouchjump to the pipe for most classes. Soldier is too slow to get across, so if you’re playing a Soldier, just do a short rocket jump onto the pipe instead.

Why? – Again, a simple ambush. People rarely look up, so laying in wait above them, then dropping down and stabbing their juicy exposed backs (Razorback notwithstanding) or blowing them up or setting them on fire or… well, you get the picture. Basically, ambushes are great.

So, this article has shown you four fun places to try standing next time you play Badwater. Discovering places like these is great fun. I encourage you all to create a local server and go exploring. You never know what you might find.

I’m a very inconstant TF2 player when it comes to choosing classes. While I do have certain favorites, such as Engineer, I tend to play a different class every week or so, usually with a changing weapon load out that mixes in the weapons that I tend to ignore. The Soldier is the class that I’ve been getting practice with recently. At the moment of this writing, the Soldier is my 5th most played class. I’ve never been drawn to playing the Soldier that often and I’m not sure why; he’s a powerful and very well rounded class. Since I decided to give the Soldier a shot this week, I figured I’d try something different for his load out: the Direct Hit.

I’d never given the Direct Hit much a chance. Like other players, I found it to be inferior to the Rocket Launcher. The last time I used this weapon, I was not pleased. I couldn’t hit the broad side of a Heavy, and he only has broad sides. The whole ordeal was a waste of time and I even crafted away my Direct Hit, and I never craft anything unless I have duplicates. I eventually did find another Direct Hit later on through the random drop system, but had never planned on using it again.

Until now that is. I gave the Direct Hit another shot, but I found it to be oddly weak at range, even when directly striking the target. So I headed down to the ol’ training grounds of tr_walkway and did a bit of practice and I’ll say right now, that was one of the best times I had training. During the next real game I played, I was much better at fighting than before, and while I still had trouble with some enemies, I had learned some things that I think will help others interested in using the Direct Hit.

The Specs

Let’s start by looking at the Direct Hit when compared to the Rocket Launcher. The rockets fired by the Direct Hit move 80% faster and deal 25% more damage; the drawback is that the splash radius is 70% smaller. For those of you who like to air juggle with rockets, hitting an enemy that you launched into the air with another rocket will result in a mini-crit. The Direct Hit trades splash damage for more speed and power.

Hitting Hard, Hitting Fast

That added 25% damage makes the Direct Hit a force to be reckoned with. At close range it can one-hit kill Scouts, Engineers, Snipers and Spies while leaving all other classes besides Heavies extremely damaged. Successful juggle combos (blast into air + mini-crit rocket) are even deadlier, as the mini-crit will do 151 damage; enough to kill a non-overhealed Medic in one shot. The Direct Hit also deals the most damage with a critical hit, dealing over 300 points of damage; enough to kill all but overhealed Heavies. If have good aim, a well used Kritzkrieg can leave the enemy team in shambles.

The average destructon of a successful Direct Hit

Ok, not really.

The Direct Hit can make you the bane of Engineers everywhere, as two rockets will destroy any Engineer building no matter the level. Use the quick speed of your rockets and the extra damage to destroy sentries from out of range, the quick speed of the rockets can easily destroy it before the Engineer notices (if he is not constantly repairing it of course) or is away from his equipment. The lack of splash area means you will likely only be able to hit one thing at a time, so make sure to take down the most critical components first.

Juggling / Airshots

Juggling enemies in the air is what the Direct Hit was made for. Successful juggles will grant mini-crit damage, and this weapon already packs a punch as is. Juggling is the term for launching an enemy into the air, then hitting them while they are still in the air and unable to avoid the attack (unless they’re Scouts of course).

The basic premise to this tactic is simple: you need to hit your targets feet so that they will pop up into the air, and then hit them again during the flight. Easier said than done I’m afraid. While the quick speed and power offer a good launch, the small explosion radius makes it difficult to hit your targets, especially if they are jumping around quickly. If they are jumping, try to aim for where they are going to land, so they have less chance of jumping over your next rocket.

Airshotting enemies you’ve juggled is a great feeling

The quickness of the rockets makes it easier to hit your target before they hit the ground, but you must be able to predict when your rocket will reach them. When practicing airshots at medium range, I found that aiming at their legs while they were at the peak of their flight would almost always result in hit. Where you aim for the second shot depends on range of course, aim higher for closer targets and lower for targets that are farther away.

Common Challenges

There are a few challenges you often encounter when learning to use the Direct Hit, firstly is the annoying speedster himself, the Scout. Trying to fight a Scout with the Direct Hit can be a pain. He’s fast, his double jump makes him very evasive and he is very powerful up close. Unless you know you can hit his feet, try not to go for setting him up for an airshot; his double jump and speed make him really difficult to juggle unless you catch him on his landing. If you have too much trouble hitting the little twerp, try to get him when he runs up close, or switch to a different weapon.

Pyros, while not as big of a threat to you as the Scout is, can still be annoying if they know what they are doing when it comes to reflecting projectiles. While your rockets are harder to reflect with their speed, they are harder for you to dodge if reflected because of your slow movement. What makes it even worse is that the reflected rocket will be a mini-crit, and will put a massive hurt on you or your teammates if hit.

The last challenge you need to overcome is the biggest, the reduced splash radius. There have been times where I will fire my rockets and they would explode inches from the enemy leaving them undamaged and unfazed. It was as if to them that rocket was a gust of air or someone sneezing. So when it comes to the Direct Hit, aiming is everything.

Let me remind you readers that I’m not a master with the Direct Hit and I’m definatly not an expert Solider. I’m a person who is new to using the Direct Hit and feel that I can pass on some of the things I learned in my experience so far with this weapon and hope that it can help others who may wish to learn to use it as well. Now get out there and kill some maggots!

Every once and a while, a video shows up that’s so good that we’re willing to risk the reader’s ire by putting up another video post. This is definitely one of those videos.

Quick update: The creator has uploaded a comparison reel, for those who didn’t see the original trailer or who just wanted to be even more blown away by the shot-for-shot accuracy.

Team Fortress 2 takes place in the sixties. Everyone knows this. But RED and BLU aren’t new creations. They didn’t come about around that time. No, the Team Fortress 2 that we know is only a single chapter in a war that has spanned centuries. It spanned back… to medieval times…

Some of the tools of war from those times long since passed survive in the current incarnation of this never ending war. And using these tools, we here at ubercharged.net labs have recreated the war as it was hundreds of years ago. We have recreated…

MEDIEVAL FORTRESS 2

Medieval Fortress 2 is an update of a classic mod found on ubercharged.net Server 1. This update is a complete rework of the plugin, and includes TARGELANDER DEMOS and EQUALIZER SOLDIERS.

“But DPErny, what IS Medieval Fortress 2? I’ve never heard of it.”

Medieval Fortress 2 is what it says on the cover: it’s a Sourcemod plugin that creates a Medieval theme in Team Fortress 2.

THE STORY
Europe was a bloody, gory place since the fall of the Roman empire. For centuries, feudal states grabbed for whatever partition of the former empire that they could. Rulers, sometimes fair, sometimes tyrants, came and went. Then, word of a new king spread. A powerful, wise ruler known as King Manne was fighting to unite the world under his rule. He succeeded in uniting most of Europe, and then ceased his conquest to manage the empire he had accrued. During this rule, there was a time of great peace and many hats.

But then, King Manne fell ill. He no longer had the strength to run his kingdom. He left the day to day running of the Kingdom to his most trusted aide, Saxtonnious Hale. But Saxtonnious could not run it either, not without the guidance and wisdom of King Manne. The land began to fall apart.

Now, King Manne had two handsome, dashing sons. Blutonious and Lord Redwall, as they were called, were fiercely competitive. Each was always trying to outdo the other. When their father fell ill, Blutonious and Redwall each felt that they were entitled to the throne. One can only imagine their anger when Saxtonious was put into power. But Blutonious and Lord Redwall were not stupid. They watched as their father’s kingdom fell to ruin. Blutonious fled to the lands in the east, and Redwall went west. Each began amassing an army of supporters from their father’s former force.

Then, one day, the conflict finally erupted. Blutonious and Redwall each declared their land a sovereign state, named Blubaria and Redland respectively. Great battles were fought in the name of these two powers, and the very planet shook under the conflict.

THE CLASSES

The Archer

Ye Olde Kindom of Manne spared no expense when selecting its Archers. The most talented marksmen in the land were much prized during the great fissure; Redwall and Blutnoius each scrambled to win the favor of the kingdom’s Archers, knowing how important they’d be in the later battles. The Archers were often taught the then fledgling art of Jarate, a method of defence conceived by those strange peoples of the Far East. While most fierce with a bow in hand, Archers are a formidable warrior with a blade as well.

The Knight

No medieval war would be complete without knights, but these were far from chivalrous. These fierce warriors from the land of the Scotts were a force to be reckoned with. Hardened in battle and wielding cursed swords of unimaginable power, the Knights make up the backbone of any assault. They had been known to charge at their foes with reckless abandon, shouting a bloodcurdling battle cry. These fearsome Scottsmen are widely known for their lethal decapitations.

The Berserker

Tales were told of fearsome warriors from the Scandinavian regions that were but ordinary miners in times of peace. When times of war dawn, however, they were far from peaceful. These men revel in pain, and fight to the death without retreat. Travelers from the northern regions say that these Berserkers fight more fiercely as they sustain wounds, and that the most heavily wounded often take down foes with one swing of their mighty pickaxe. Berserkers occasionally carry in to battle a horn of war, which they blow to rally their fellows into the same frenzy.

The Bear

These strange men from cold regions to the east were as strong as they were stupid. Discovered by the Mannish traders, these hulking brutes knew no weapons. They fought with their bare hands alone, crushing their foes with but a swing of a mighty fist. The harsh landscape of Siberia trained them to withstand punishment far beyond that of a normal warrior. They also brought with them from their native lands a culinary dish with amazing medicinal properties. This meal of bread, meat, and vegtables serves to heal the brutes should they sustain damage. They have also been known to lend it to ailing comrades in times of great need.

The field of battle

Currently, the known battles of Medieval Fortress were fought at the castle Redfort. This tall structure, on the border between Redland and Blubaria, was held fiercely by the Redlandians. The Blubarians, attacking from a cave just outside of the castle, stormmed the gates and fought their way through the castle.

The Real Story

Medieval Fortress came about of the first time during the summer of 2009. After a rousing game of shenanigans, I decided that it was time to learn Sourcemod, and bringing Medieval Fortress to the non-administrated masses would be an excellent project. I began working on Medieval Fortress immediately.

I started my adventures in Sourcemod by reading the AlliedModder’s Wiki, and by reading Sirot’s Zombie Fortress plugin. These two sources helped me tremendously, and before long I was making headway on Medieval Fortress. Despite numerous bugs, glitches, and setbacks, I managed to choke out a working version of the plugin I intended. The final product was terribly unorganised, completely unoptimized, and it barely passed AlliedModders aproval, but it worked. About a month after the original Medieval Fortress had been put on, the new plugin was on Server 1.

Medieval Fortress was an instant success. It was played often, and for a while it was hard to get into a game that was hosting Medieval Fortress. Most of the server population loved it. Soon, however, after the fun had worn off, Medieval Fortress was taken off rotation and forgotten.

Fast forward to December of 2009, and the Demo vs Soldier update. As soon as the public caught glimpse of the Eyelander, the forums were alight with people asking for Medieval Fortress to get an update. People who had never heard of my plugin were demanding it. Several threads cropped up on the Steam Forums asking for someone to make a medieval game mode. Interest in the subject soared. I stepped back and analyzed the situation; people demanded it, I would provide. Before the update had even been released, I began work on Medieval Fortress 2.

This time around, I was more experienced in Sourcemod, and I could recognise the disaster that was my first plugin. Considering this, I decided that Medieval Fortress 2 would be a complete recode. I rebuilt my entire plugin from the ground up, starting with nothing but a blank notepad screen. When a problem arose, I asked for help. Before the end of December, Medieval Fortress 2 was ready for release. It was put up on Server 1, and playtesting helped me to iron out the one major bug in the programming.

And, now, two months after the completion of Medieval Fortress, I am ready to release it to the public at large. The source code, the program, everything that a server operator needs to host Medieval Fortress is available right now. What’s more, so long as even 1 server operator hosts Medieval Fortress, I will continue to keep it up-to-date and ready for more challenges. As time goes by, I will release more features, and the bare-bones plugin you see today will be a far more in depth game mode.

The Technical Details

Today’s Medieval Fortress allows for four classes, as previously stated. The Knight is a Demoman. He is allowed only the Eyelander, the Bottle, and the Targe. The Archer is Medieval Fortress’ default class. Anyone trying to switch to an unallowed class will be redirected to this tweak on the Sniper. He is allowed only the Huntsman, Jarate, the Razorback (which, although useless now, I plan on adding features for later), and his Kukri. The Berserker is simply a the Soldier with all non-melee weapons stripped, excluding the Buff Banner. The Bear is the same with a Heavy; all non-melee weapons are stripped excepting the Sandvich.

To set up map to automatically play Medieval Fortress, simply erase the map’s existing prefix and affix “mf_” to the beginning. For example, on UC server 1, we use Redfort under the name “mf_redfort_b3″. Alternatively, Medieval Fortress can be enabled on any map by typing “sm_mf_enable” into the console (changemap admin flags required). While Medieval Fortress will automatically disable itself at the end of a map, it can be turned off manually by typing “sm_mf_disable” into the console (also requires changemap).

Download

Source code: Medieval Fortress 2

Plugin: MF2

Credits

I have to give credit to tons of people for this, because it really isn’t original. First off, credit goes to Phoenix, the ubercharged.net editor, for the original Medieval Fortress. He got the ball rolling. Next, credit to mrmof for making the map we play on. More credit goes to everyone on the ubercharged.net forum for making this work.

Indulge me dear reader; just the other day I was playing a game of Team Fortress Two with my good companion Sir Tygrys when an observation was made. Checking the scoreboards, one notices that many of you are sporting digital avatars that are ill-fitting for such a Gentle Manne’s game.

Now perhaps you can get away with this shameful display on other counties of the Internet, but this is Ubercharged; my companion and I agreed we must do something about it.

And so Sir Tygrys, being a master of the arts, began work producing a collection of Team Fortress 2 inspired portraits tailored for Gentle Menne with an eye for the latest in style. Before presentation I must insist that neither of us will be held responsible if, upon glancing these works of art, your monocle falls into your tea.

But without further ado allow me to present to you our works, complete with the accompanying press release from the newly formed T&T Industries:

T&T Industries is happy to announce the release of our very own avatar pack, more precisely the ‘T&T Industries Classy Classes Avatar Pack’.

This pack was specially designed for all of you who understand the need to be classy in all your digital ventures. This splendid pack comes in two styles: BLU and RED, to suit individual customer preferences. You will find that they have been readily scaled down to 184×184 pixels, so they are immediately ready to use on Steam the very moment you download them to your drive.

All of these spiffing avatars were made by two masters of fine art – Sir Tygrys Murdock and Sir Tesla Sherbonk, with extra thanks to Sir Dont for improving the quality of the original images. Should you encounter either of them during your exploits in digital space, be sure to bid them thanks; they’ll be ecstatic to hear their work is appreciated.

Now go ahead and enjoy this fine art as we have prepared for you.

Remember our motto – quality is of the utmost importance and we strive to satisfy all of our customers.

Signed: T&T Industries Chairman of marketing

Willbur McTrackingster

You can download the newly improved v2 pack HERE, thanks to our friend Dont. You may also wish peruse the full sized imagery whilst you await the cheeseboard. Lastly, to those of you whom have no interest in showing some class, may I perchance interest you in a job sweeping out my chimney?

Yo what’s up?

Wasn’t expecting me, was youse?

Anyway, take this situation; it’s a lazy Saturday afternoon. All your homework (assuming you get homework) and chores are done, and you don’t enjoy just lazing around. So you fire up TF2, but there’s no one to play “competitively” with; only pubs around. Sure, they’re fun, but you don’t feel like it, plus you’d like to try and get a little better, which ain’t gonna happen there. What’s one to do?

Here’s a couple suggestions for Soldiers. And maybe Demomen.

BBall

Maybe you’ve heard of it, maybe not. Just to be on the safe side, I’ll explain in detail.

ctf_bball is a deathmatch sort of game, meant to be played 2 on 2, but also works with 1 on 1 (gets boring more easily) or 3 on 3 (more spammy). You’re in a basketball court with only moderate-height walls to jump off, and the objective is to land the flag in the enemy net. You run Soldier or Demoman, with a max of one Demoman. Simple no?

But what’s stopping people from playing something other than those two classes? Nothing, but people, which is alright, since most people who look for bball servers are in a similar mindset. It’s that simple really.

Training includes playing with other good sollys and demomen, and it helps airshots (the enemy needs jumping to score). You could also play scout, though only FaN scouts can reach the net, and it’s pretty iffy. It also helps walljumping (based off long jumps rather than height jumps) and airstrafing (scoring).

There’s a few dedicated bball servers that aren’t locked, plus some regular servers have it on the map list; type “ctf_bball” into the map choice for a collection. UC servers #2 and #3 also have it, although you’ll need an admin to start it. Typical etiquette includes no using sticky bombs to attack, and to a lesser extent, the shotgun is discouraged.

On the subject, there are two different maps that follow the style. One is ctf_pro_bball.

It improves over the original in a few, most notably a shoot-through backboard which prevents people from cheaply knocking you off scoring by shooting it. There’s also ctf_ballin, which is about the same as pro_bball, but a little prettier, and doesn’t limit you to 3 captures. Both look much better than plain ctf_bball though. Give ‘em a run.

Ammomod

This is my personal favorite.

Basically, you fight in an arena against one other person, as either Soldier or Demoman. The map can be a plain room, or based on a notable portion of a stock map, like Gravel Pit’s tower, Badlands Spire, Granary’s mid point, etc..
Both are given 1600 health and unlimited ammo. First one to go down loses.

It’s really simple, but the added health and ammo gives you plenty of room to practice without having to respawn after a few shots. There’s a few servers dedicated to it around; for example, in the US:
- Clan Vortex – 67.212.189.186:27093
- Exodus Society – 216.52.148.129:27015

I mostly go to thenoid’s ammomod, which is at 67.202.71.165:27015. You’ll probably run into some really good players if you do run by, so the best advice I can give is don’t go in expecting to do well.

And if you ever run into Solid Snake, do yourself a favor and have a key bound to “explode.”

Spireking

Spireking is like ghetto ammomod for soldiers – like ammomod, it’s 1v1. There’s a badlands spire in the center of the map, and both players battle for control of the top, where there’s a control point. Unlike ammomod, though, you start with 200 health, but you’re continually resupplied with full ammo and health every 4 seconds. That means that to score a kill, you need to deal out 200 damage in 4 seconds. What better way to do that than by nailing some awesome airshots?

Since spireking doesn’t work well for matches bigger than 1v1, you’re unlikely to find any public servers for it. However, since it’s a standalone map, you don’t need a bunch of mods to run it on your server, as you do with ammomod. This makes it great for clan training. If you have a server, or have access to a private server, give this map a go.

Tr_Walkway

Get it. Now.

Ha, but no seriously. Originally an ESG-only beta by wiseguy and washipato (trust me, it wasn’t that great when it was in beta), it’s now available to the general public, and there probably isn’t any better aerial training bar playing against other people. The launcher is a great asset, and a couple hours on this thing I assure you will greatly improve your prediction skills .Unless they’re already maxed, in which you’ve still got a bunch of commands to mess with to make it harder.

And if you’re like me, when your ping rockets because somebody in the dorm is torrenting… stuff… you can always fire up a listen server.

There’s also modifications for stairstab and eagle stab training in there, but honestly, who falls for stairstabs anymore, and who plays Spy anyway?

And while you’re at it, try a couple headshots.

___________________________________________________________________________

That concludes this article for today. Seriously, get a server, or become friends with someone who does, so you can reap the benefits of Spireking and BBall. Until next time, good night and good luck.

Give a big hand to Secret Agent Clank, on his first contribution to the Competitive TF2 Guide. Future installments of the guide are going to be generally shorter and more specific than the first nine. Thanks for the support, readers. -himmelstoss