Major Update Speculation V31: Gamechanging Edition - Games

[QUOTE=Blackavar;50444482]I think the update might happen today. Just me being optimistic.[/QUOTE] The summer updates typically come out in late June or early July. Give it another 2-3 weeks, minimum.

[QUOTE=Magypsy;50444498]The summer updates typically come out in late June or early July. Give it another 2-3 weeks, minimum.[/QUOTE] Gun Mettle Update July 2, 2015 Love & War June 18, 2014 [B] Robotic Boogaloo May 17, 2013[/B] Pyromania June 27, 2012 The Über Update June 23, 2011 [B] The Replay Update May 5, 2011 The Hatless Update April 14, 2011[/B] The Engineer Update July 8, 2010 [B] The Mac Update June 10, 2010[/B] [B] 119th Update April 29, 2010[/B] [B] The Sniper vs. Spy Update May 21, 2009 The Pyro Update May 21, 2008[/B] nothing is for certain

[QUOTE=ElderLolz;50444565]May 2013, June 2014, July 2015. Notice a pattern? [editline]2nd June 2016[/editline] And it's not worth bringing up pre-'13 updates at this point if we're gonna be honest with ourselves.[/QUOTE] a sample of 3 isn't going to be statistically accurate like ever. valve updates when they feel like it, they don't look on facepunch and decide to update on the day people rate agree on

[QUOTE=Karmal Khan;50443687][img]http://i.imgur.com/yiDGhVP.png[/img] ?[/QUOTE] Never seen such a thing :v:

We'll be lucky if we get the update before August.

I know it's a generic assumption and I hate to start this again but I do wonder if the TF Team gives a crap about the release of OW. You cant deny the hype has been putting of Players from TF2 - and steam games in general, as seen in a significant drop in player-counts in general, meaning it would be kinda dumb to drop a large update during the large "OW Hype" phase. It would be much smarter to drop it later when the Hype wears off, wouldnt it? But thats just assumptions, we have reached a time where it could come out any day, except weekends.

[QUOTE=Imacreep;50441192]Want to get weird? Go into tf\materials\temp[/QUOTE] So much porn...... :nope:

[QUOTE=Fluury;50444738]I know it's a generic assumption and I hate to start this again but I do wonder if the TF Team gives a crap about the release of OW. You cant deny the hype has been putting of Players from TF2 - and steam games in general, as seen in a significant drop in player-counts in general, meaning it would be kinda dumb to drop a large update during the large "OW Hype" phase. It would be much smarter to drop it later when the Hype wears off, wouldnt it? But thats just assumptions, we have reached a time where it could come out any day, except weekends.[/QUOTE] I don't think that Valve have ever cared about what other companies do.

valve seems pretty strictly non-competitive

[QUOTE=Imacreep;50441192]Want to get weird? Go into tf\materials\temp[/QUOTE] Why is it full of hentai what is going on

Valve is not a publicly traded company. They have no stockholders to appease nor fear of being bought out by a larger company, so they're free to march to the beat of their own drum. That's why they generally take their time with things, and do as they will. Whatever they're doing, financially speaking, it's working. That's why so much seems lax, outside of doing the bare minimum to ensure they get their 30% cut of sales on their Steam storefront. Very few things ever seem to hold them to any sort of routine, let alone seem as a threat, so I don't think much will light a fire under them to change their ways and priorities. I'm sure we'll see something when that summer sale gets rolling again.

valve has got to be the most interesting corporation of the 21st century

[QUOTE=ikes;50445395]valve has got to be the most interesting corporation of the 21st century[/QUOTE] yes very [I]interesting[/I] start out with god-tier quality content and make us expect the same level of quality for the remaining X days until a game dies this is also a jab at half-life

[QUOTE=ikes;50445141]valve seems pretty strictly non-competitive[/QUOTE] A non-competitive, inward looking, productively and imaginatively stagnant company is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. [QUOTE=ikes;50445395]valve has got to be the most bafflingly inconsistent and opaque entertainment corporation of the 21st century[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Blackavar;50444552]Gun Mettle Update July 2, 2015 Love & War June 18, 2014 [B] Robotic Boogaloo May 17, 2013[/B] Pyromania June 27, 2012 The Über Update June 23, 2011 [B] The Replay Update May 5, 2011 The Hatless Update April 14, 2011[/B] The Engineer Update July 8, 2010 [B] The Mac Update June 10, 2010[/B] [B] 119th Update April 29, 2010[/B] [B] The Sniper vs. Spy Update May 21, 2009 The Pyro Update May 21, 2008[/B] nothing is for certain[/QUOTE] No matter what the wiki says, Robotic Boogaloo wasn't the summer 2013 major update, it was a minor content pack with cosmetics only. The real major update for summer 2013 was the July 10th update that had a bunch of weapon rebalances, map updates and Process/Standin made official maps. Also the Hatless and Replay updates were sort of major updates, but the real big update of 2011 was the Uber Update.

So did anyone figure out why the patch was so large?

It's just Steampipe being stupid apparently

[QUOTE=Johnny Joe;50445547]A non-competitive, inward looking, productively and imaginatively stagnant company is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.[/QUOTE] Useful to whom? Because I'm pretty sure the folks working at Valve all enjoy their jobs and rake in the cash, and I'm pretty sure the millions of people who use Steam vastly prefer it to any other distribution service currently on the market, and I'm pretty sure the legions of developers who release their games via Steam appreciate having the chance to do just that. Seems pretty useful to me. You seem to want Valve to develop games, but that's simply not their business model these days. They don't make games - they make the distribution platform which [I]other[/I] people use to distribute their [I]own[/I] games. They maintain the servers, the digital storefront, the in-game inventory systems, and all the other "behind the scenes" stuff that makes everything else work. And they're making money hand over fist doing it, because at the end of the day despite whatever failings they have, they're still the best option available by far. Nothing else comes close to Steam in terms of making PC games accessible for digital download. Valve is only "useless" to people who expect them to be a video game developer instead of a digital distribution service.

[QUOTE=Johnny Joe;50445547]A non-competitive, inward looking, productively and imaginatively stagnant company is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.[/QUOTE] Because trying to make innovations in computers, OSes, controllers and virtual reality from a primarily game development company are all signs of stagnancy? :toadleave:

In Uncle Dane's new video he says that Valve makes over 1 million dollars a week on key sales alone: [video]https://youtu.be/K7vMxEciJOk?t=5m26s[/video] Does anyone know if there's a source for that anywhere? I can't imagine he would just make something like that up but you never know.

[QUOTE=G. Verloren;50445692] Valve is only "useless" to people who expect them to be a video game developer instead of a digital distribution service.[/QUOTE] They can be both, no doubt, but they seem to atrophy in the area which earned them so many fans and incredible acclaim. I was more making a comment on how a company should be competitive, always paying attention to news and industry going-ons. Valve seems very out of touch and unaware most of the time. [QUOTE=Jetamo;50445779]Because trying to make innovations in computers, OSes, controllers and virtual reality from a primarily game development company are all signs of stagnancy? [/QUOTE] Because I can't tell you how many people on steam have been begging for a new OS, or a new way to control a game, or nausea inducing eyewear. Are you seriously defending dead end hardware and peripherals? Yes, when a game company starts spending millions of dollars on a controller which satisfies neither console junkies ergonomically nor keyboard jockies in terms of usefulness compared to a keyboard and mouse, and then invests in virtual reality which is so limited, clunky, and restricting that you might as well not use it instead of making games and acknowledging one of their products is now being compared at length to a new product (whether you like it or not, comparisons have been drawn since OW was even announced) and perhaps they should either make some meaningful content or fix the war and peace size list of bugs and inconsistencies as well work as a game series that has been on a cliffhanger for almost a decade. I'm not impressed by peripherals that get a lukewarm reception especially when they've been the only thing Valve has been visibly working on for the last two years or so. I'm sure those ten people who bought the SC are really enjoying it, but somehow I genuinely don't think concentrating the enormous creative genius of valve on a niche controller-plus market is really "innovation". I'm sorry that everyone besides me is so enamored with hardware that they forgot you need something to play on that hardware.

[QUOTE=Johnny Joe;50446526]Because I can't tell you how many people on steam have been begging for a new OS, or a new way to control a game, or nausea inducing eyewear. Are you seriously defending dead end hardware and peripherals? Yes, when a game company starts spending millions of dollars on a controller which satisfies neither console junkies ergonomically nor keyboard jockies in terms of usefulness compared to a keyboard and mouse, and then invests in virtual reality which is so limited, clunky, and restricting that you might as well not use it instead of making games and acknowledging one of their products is now being compared at length to a new product (whether you like it or not, comparisons have been drawn since OW was even announced) and perhaps they should either make some meaningful content or fix the war and peace size list of bugs and inconsistencies as well as a game series that has been on a cliff hanger for almost a decade. I'm not impressed by peripherals that get a lukewarm reception especially when they've been the only thing Valve has been visibly working on for the last two years or so. I'm sure those ten people who bought the SC are really enjoying it, but somehow I genuinely don't think concentrating the enormous creative genius of valve on a niche controller-plus market is really "innovation". I'm sorry that everyone besides me is so enamored with hardware that they forgot you need something to play on that hardware.[/QUOTE] Speak for yourself. I own a Steam Controller and use it regularly, and I heavily anticipate being able to try/own the Vive. The SteamOS and Steam Machines are not something I'm interested in, although I'm interested in getting a Steam Link. Then again, I don't solely play shooters, so maybe that's where I'm going wrong. Or maybe my problem is that I think that the mere fact Valve hasn't released anything "new" (even though they have with the Lab for the Vive) is heavily mitigated by the fact they are still actively updating TF2, CS:GO and Dota 2. But then, continual game development isn't "really" game development is it?

[QUOTE=Jetamo;50446555]Speak for yourself. I own a Steam Controller and use it regularly, and I heavily anticipate being able to try/own the Vive. The SteamOS and Steam Machines are not something I'm interested in, although I'm interested in getting a Steam Link. Then again, I don't solely play shooters, so maybe that's where I'm going wrong. Or maybe my problem is that I think that the mere fact Valve hasn't released anything "new" (even though they have with the Lab for the Vive) is heavily mitigated by the fact they are still actively updating TF2, CS:GO and Dota 2.[/QUOTE] That's understandable, I almost exclusively play shooters. Perhaps it's just my inner angry old man but all those constant updates for CS:GO, Dota 2, and TF2 are really just "pick stuff from the workshop and put in box" If valve had an update that was mostly non-community made content, then yeah I'd agree that they are doing a lot, but most updates for TF2 really are just "TF Team's favorite 10-20 workshop items in a box." The last valve-made addition to TF2 I can recall was skins, which they were already familiar with and you know soon they'll just ask the community to make them and we're back to the same old song and dance of checking off the box of workshop things they want to add. It always seems like the least amount of effort is put into these things for TF2. I mean look at that foul up the other day with the heavy melees, and then the fix was just as lazy. I can't really say Valve's lack of new releases is mitigated by TF2 updates because it always seems like it's not even something they work on competently or soberly.

[QUOTE=Johnny Joe;50446580]The last valve-made addition to TF2 I can recall was skins[/QUOTE] there was also powerhouse in the first skin update, which was awesome campaigns competitive matchmaking

[QUOTE=Blackavar;50446619]there was also powerhouse in the first skin update, which was awesome [/QUOTE] That's right, that was valve made, good map too. [QUOTE=Blackavar;50446619] campaigns [/QUOTE] The last campaign saw a fraction of the participation of the last one, I have a feeling less people are going to be interested in future ones. Plus, it's a paywall, that's fine and all but that just leaves a sour taste in my mouth. [QUOTE=Blackavar;50446619] competitive matchmaking[/QUOTE] Something we should have had a long, long, long time ago is barely out of the starting gate and is being tested by a minority of the player base, we'll have to see if it's any good when it's fully released.

[QUOTE=Johnny Joe;50446580]That's understandable, I almost exclusively play shooters. Perhaps it's just my inner angry old man but all those constant updates for CS:GO, Dota 2, and TF2 are really just "pick stuff from the workshop and put in box" If valve had an update that was mostly non-community made content, then yeah I'd agree that they are doing a lot, but most updates for TF2 really are just "TF Team's favorite 10-20 workshop items in a box." The last valve-made addition to TF2 I can recall was skins, which they were already familiar with and you know soon they'll just ask the community to make them and we're back to the same old song and dance of checking off the box of workshop things they want to add. It always seems like the least amount of effort is put into these things for TF2. I mean look at that foul up the other day with the heavy melees, and then the fix was just as lazy. I can't really say Valve's lack of new releases is mitigated by TF2 updates because it always seems like it's not even something they work on competently or soberly.[/QUOTE] Valve has been heavily focused on balancing TF2 in the past year or so with a huge number of weapons and even some classes getting some sort of rebalance since the Gun Mettle update last July. And honestly I'm glad that's what the TF2 team has been focused on for the past year, TF2 really badly needed the sort of serious rebalance effort that we've gotten. Plus they've been working on matchmaking, which is an extremely important feature for TF2's future.

I don't get it Why is "we should've had comp a long time ago" used as something to somehow dismiss the validity of competitive matchmaking as an actual valve-made big feature? It seems like a lazy excuse for people who whine about how there's no content and then have to scramble to figure out a way to justify why they're not wrong when comp MM is brought up

[QUOTE=geel9;50446654]I don't get it Why is "we should've had comp a long time ago" used as something to somehow dismiss the validity of competitive matchmaking as an actual valve-made big feature? It seems like a lazy excuse for people who whine about how there's no content and then have to scramble to figure out a way to justify why they're not wrong when comp MM is brought up[/QUOTE] You're right, it's not an argument that valve doesn't make content, it is a comment on how slow Valve is, you should have read my post, I said we can't really judge MM as content until it's released, which seems soon. I'm not dismissing it, I agreed with Blackavar that all those things were indeed Valve made content, sorry about commenting on how long it took to actually have a semblance of it.

[QUOTE=Johnny Joe;50446684]You're right, it's not an argument that valve doesn't make content, it is a comment on how slow Valve is, you should have read my post, I said we can't really judge MM as content until it's released, which seems soon. I'm not dismissing it, I agreed with Blackavar that all those things were indeed Valve made content, sorry about commenting on how long it took to actually have a semblance of it.[/QUOTE] But your original argument had nothing to do with "Valve takes a while to make content", you were saying "Valve doesn't make any of their own content" :/

[QUOTE=geel9;50446701]But your original argument had nothing to do with "Valve takes a while to make content", you were saying "Valve doesn't make any of their own content" :/[/QUOTE] You're right, I overlooked those things that you and Blackavar mentioned, valve produces very little content and the content they do create takes a long time to be completed, but I will admit I was very wrong when I said valve created nothing at all.