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TF2 Trading: Latest Updates

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Mei Satsuki

Did you guys know that TF2 Trading is still flourishing thus Valve still active in updating the game? There is a new update and if you missed it, I am sharing it to you guys right now!

TF2 Trading: List of Updates

The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:

Competitive Mode
- Players in the first tier of ranks (1-6) now lose substantially fewer rank points on match loss
- Players with high win/loss ratios in recent matches now earn bonus rank points in order to accelerate their progress toward a more appropriate rank
Added report player context menu on scoreboard
- Requires mouse input mode on the scoreboard (see Adv. Options)
Fixed a potential security issue (thanks to Justin G., aka sigsegv, and Linus S., aka PistonMiner, for this report)
Fixed an issue with The Righteous Bison and Pomson 5000 hit detection where projectiles were being removed when colliding with invisible entities
Fixed a display issue with combat text damage numbers against Engineer buildings sometimes being incorrect (such as with weapons that do reduced damage against buildings)
Removed the damage effects and pain sounds when using the Rocket Jumper and Sticky Jumper
Updated PASS Time view model positions to support using FOV 70
Updated the animations for the Sharp Dresser to fix a clipping problem
Updated the localization files
Updated cp_sunshine to fix some clipping issues
Updated cp_metalworks
- Adjusted the height of the ceiling in the room behind the second control point
- Added some slight visual detail to various concrete rooms throughout (team color stripe)
- Adjusted the height and width of various doors throughout the level. Mostly focused on primary paths into combat areas, with an eye towards standardizing door sizes where possible.
- Fixed an angled playerclip brush above 2nd control point that players could surf on (thanks Photon)
- Adjusted height of ‘tank’ in L room behind 2nd control point
- Moved two tall spotlights back into a clipping brush at mid to avoid very small collision issue (thanks Bilbert)
- Adjusted some clipping issues by turning rooftop brushes into displacements/func_brushes throughout the map and disabling collision (thanks Bilbert)
- Clipped off some glass windows at 2nd
- Added crate to cargo containers at mid, allowing scouts to get onto the highest cargo container
- Added props to the clipping ramp around the final control point to indicate collision
- Replaced brush fence on the platform in alley with a metal prop to solve an asymmetrical shadow bug (thanks Bilbert)

These are all from the TF2 website. You can check their website as well for more news on updates on the game and TF2 items.

Steam Keys: Quake Champions at Quakecon

Posted on August 8, 2016 by Richard Griever

It’s now official that the original franchise that put the FPS genre on the map is joining the fray of the budding FPS e-sports scene with Quake Champions. It’s invariably a revival of its arena shooter franchise with the twist of the growing popularity of being a team-based shooters like Overwatch and Team Fortress 2.

Despite the hype of hardcore Quake fans, Quake champions had a relatively odd reaction when it was showcased in Quakecon 2016. At this point, it’s clear that the developers have to work on a few more things for its marketing before they can assume Steam keys will fly off virtual shelves upon its release in, presumably, late 2017 or early 2018.

Steam Keys E-Sports: Street Fighter Meets Quake

The first thing Tim Willits, creative director of the game, presented was that it wasn’t at all going to change from how diehards know the franchase. High-speed, technical combat with rocket jumping and all the complications that put Quake on the map were still in the game. With a showcase of the classic weaponry in a new engine and era, the audience simply lapped up everything that was thrown at them – that is, until the developers showcased the heroes usable in-game.

Similar to Mobas like League of Legends and Dota or like other class-based shooters like Overwatch, Quake Champions has its, well, champions do unique things like blinking, acrobatics, flying, and a ton of other stuff that set them apart from other champions, giving them distinct advantages over others. While that sounds great for the common gamer, it wasn’t too well received by the truly diehard Quake fans.

The devs, id Software, hoped that this would be a bit more welcomed by their target audience as they see the champion element of the game more as a supplementary element than anything else, setting itself apart from the likes of Mobas and other team-based shooters by having more focus on individual skill rather than the rock-paper-scissors element these other games have for their class mechanics.

id Software knows exactly that there’s this spot for their classic, high-speed, arena-style game in the industry. However, their biggest fear is ending up making Quake 3 once more, but only with improved visuals. This is the sole reason as to why they want the champions element within the game. But the reaction to it is absolutely mixed at best and quite hostile at worst. There are already tons of comments on the internet that Quake Champions should either have the option to turn off the champion uniqueness and possibly be just as moddable as the previous Quake games. Granted, id Software believes that there is more depth in strategy this way, but they may be forgetting what Quake is famous for: Pure skill.

“Street Fighter Meets Quake,” is what id Software thinks of Quake Champions. It is in the sense that everybody has natural moves like heavy kicks, heavy punches, light kicks and etc., but each character has a certain tinge of uniqueness that sets them apart from one another. However, at the end of the day, no matter what sort of special moves you have, it is always the normal moves (in Quake’s case, normal shooting) is what is going to win you the match. As much as that kind of makes sense, what team-based shooter ISN’T about the shooting? It’s a pretty generic description of what they’re going for, to be completely honest.

There’s going to be a lot more kinks for them to work on if they’re going to want this to be accepted by their loyal fanbase, let alone the casual fanbase that is more likely to get the game e-sports status than any other demographic. I’m feeling quite optimistic about Quake Champions and that it can safely enter the major stage of e-sports, but id Software has a lot of work to do before those Steam keys sell.

Steam Keys Esports: Overwatch Banning and Crazy Whining

Posted on August 2, 2016August 2, 2016 by Richard Griever

The latest banwave from Blizzard happened just on the 1st of July and it’s been glorious. Tons of people have been banned and the servers haven’t felt cleaner. I knew that one Soldier 76 in that one game was just too good to be playing fairly!

But I digress; Blizzard has been doing a fantastic job in maintaining the integrity of the game by quickly taking out these script kiddies before their taint spreads farther unlike Valve with their treatment of Team Fortress 2. While CS:GO has its automated VAC bans, it doesn’t take everything out and, sometimes, a lot of hacks get right through, only banning the hackers when a live moderator steps in. And, even then, they aren’t too aggressive on the matter. Hackers on Steam sure get the full worth of their Steam keys.

Unfortunately, for Blizzard’s side, script kiddies certainly get punched in the nuts way before they can start doing stupid crap. But what’s even more hilarious is the fact that these same cheaters have the nerve, gall, balls, or whatever you want to call it, to get angry AT Blizzard for an apparently “unfair” ban.

The failure due to the absence of mind of these people are just astonishing. From CS:GO’s VAC porn reddit page, a certain redditor presented to the public the reactions of people in a unnamed gaming forum where they accept cheating fully. I swear that you will not believe what you’ll be reading. In fact, all the reactions in the photo album of reaction screenshots simply scream “staged” in every sense of the word due to how absolutely baffling the reactions are. Then again, there are stranger things in the world.

You can click on the link above to see the full album of the reactions, but here are a couple down below as a sample of what to expect. Enjoy.

Steam Keys: A Few Samples

Steam Account Value: The Decline of CS:GO

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Richard Griever

There’s been a lot of hubbub surrounding CS:GO, especially concerning the gambling scandal, iffy balance patching by Valve, and a ton of other stuff. The video below explains how things could be worse or better, depending on your view of it.

Steam Account Value: The Gritty Rundown

Without a doubt, CS:GO has been seeing decreasing numbers, not just in viewership, but also in players. While the top teams like SK and Liquid are unaffected, many other players, especially casual players, are making the shift towards Overwatch or other E-sports-worthy games, dismayed by the progress CS:GO is having at the moment. When compared to a juggernaut newbie like Overwatch, CS:GO simply doesn’t have the personality or character of the former.

Surely, the gambling scandal of a few weeks back couldn’t have done it any favors either as that kind of action can be something that folks will be dismayed into taking games seriously. Especially with the prospect of throwing games comes into question for money and not just for skins anymore.

CS:GO certainly could have had a better run, but as things look as of now, it certainly isn’t pretty. Fortunately, the pro scene is still flourishing with large upsets from the latest major tournaments. Folks like Team Liquid certainly has a lot of Steam account value considering the effort they go through in improving. So long as top tier teams like Liquid and SK gaming are functioning well, there won’t be any real danger of the CS:GO e-sports scene dying. Of course, there’s still always the danger of diminished interest from viewers forcing the ESL folks to eventually pull the plug on the scene when it becomes unprofitable for the trouble it is worth. Hopefully, that won’t ever come to pass and CS:GO goes on to live a long and healthy e-sports life. Until then, keep practicing until you get to the pro leagues or your Steam account value goes crazily high due to all your achievements in the game.

The Rimworld Steam Keys Debacle

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Richard Griever

Rimworld is this neat little gem that only Steam account users will have the hotness for. It’s a pretty awesome Dwarf Fortress esque game with some hints of the unnatural sci-fi that one may know from the Firefly series. The developers of said game even have this great deal for Early Access Steam keys. Then douchebags had to muck it up.

The whole story here is that the devs of Rimworld, Ludeon Studios, decided to put out a promo so that they could earn more money. God knows these indie developers need all the help that they could get. They offered that, instead of buying Steam keys from Steam itself, that takes a 30-40% pay cut from the developers with every unit sold, people interested in Rimworld should opt to purchase from their site instead. Naturally, Steam sells them cheaper than Ludeon does so, to sweeten the pot, Ludeon would send free Steam keys to put into any Steam account for those that bought the non-Steam version of the game. Simply typing in their purchase email was enough to merit this free Steam key of Rimworld. It’s essentially getting two copies for the price of a slightly higher one.

So basically, more money for Ludeon Studios and shiny Steam keys for longtime supporters. Everybody wins. RimWorld is a massive undertaking, too. Ludeon deserves every penny they get.

Unfortunately, the Steam keys black market can be pretty brutal for the uninitiated. These fraudulent rapscallions descended upon the hapless developer in full force. In a blog post, Sylvester of Ludeon explained:

“If you bought before today, you can still get a key. However, I’ve been forced to stop offering Steam keys for those who buy today and in the future. We’ve been getting hammered by fraudsters who are obviously more experienced at this than I. Shutting it down for now is the only way to avoid thousands of dollars in chargeback fees and lost sales. It’s time to take a breather, because I can’t fight this ‘live.’”

With tons of chargebacks done with those free Steam CD keys, Ludeon lost more money than what would normally be normally sound for a developer of their level. Not to mention the Steam keys used in nefariously fraudulent actions are now being banned.

The plight facing RimWorld and Ludeon Studios’ shines a light on one of the biggest issues in PC game publishing right now: that developers may face crushing chargeback fees from stolen credit cards used to buy Steam keys. Fraudsters make money by selling these keys on via eBay-style PC game websites.

This is a tough one for Ludeon and I do hope it’s something they can recover from.

Steam Account Drama: CS:GO YouTubers Gambling Scandal

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Richard Griever

There’s been a lot of drama about the illegal online gambling market related to CS:GO’s community and it certainly hasn’t slowed down. Two prominent CS:GO YouTubers, Trevor “TmarTn” and Tom “ProSyndicate” Cassell, are part of all this hubbub. Normally, it would be fine for Valve to just let go of this gambling crap except that these two YouTubers are at the center of it all by being the owners of said gambling sites and not saying anything about the matter at all in any of their vids. Talking about the sites isn’t necessarily punishable, but being at the head of it is clearly another story.

This revelation, of course, breaks all kinds of rules, both written and unspoken (it’s pretty illegal) though the YouTubers both claim that they never hid their involvement with CSGOlotto. However, there has been no mention in any of their videos or video descriptions stating that they are the owners of the site.

Valve’s been trying to get these sites shutdown for the longest time but has still been unsuccessful to this date. The real issue here is that, while it’s being claimed that these slot machine-esque gambling system of the sites via lootboxes is fine because the skin rewards are purely cosmetic in the game and have no real bearing in performance, but the skins can sell for thousands upon thousands of dollars. With that in mind, it’s now, essentially, become real gambling. The legal gambling age in the US is 21. What age is the biggest demographic for shooters in general? Kids. There’s the real problem.

What’s more, there are a number of websites, like CSGOlotto, set up with the sole intention of promoting gambling where you can use your gun skins as tokens and win bigger and better skins or lose out. Considering the amount of money at stake with these skins, you start to see why it could be a bit of a problem for two YouTubers with a hefty sum of CSGO videos on their channels to promote a website like this and not disclose that they own it.

The Steam Account Drama Continues

Since this CSGO gambling scandal broke, however, Martin has deleted almost everything related to the scandal from his Twitter and YouTube accounts, while Valve have added a huge anti-scam warning to CSGOlotto when you try to log into the site via Steam account. It certainly isn’t a good scandal to have in the game considering that the playerbase is getting splintered due to the advent of Overwatch. Hopefully, everything goes back to normal and stuff like this isn’t on anybody’s Steam account news feed anymore.

Steam Keys News: Valve’s Crackdown on Gambling

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Richard Griever

Valve has been one of the most powerful, if not the most, and has changed the very face of how we buy and play our video games. But as almighty as Valve is, it isn’t at all immune to certain systems that aim to abuse Valve and milk it indirectly of a lot of cash. Most notably, gambling websites focused on the extremely popular CS:GO have been a thorn in Valve’s side ever since the game came into existence by continuously breaking their end user agreement.

Back in 2011, Valve added the ability for Steam account users to trade in-game items for certain games. While it was an awesome system, it unfortunately opened the doors to abuse with certain sites using the OpenID API to convert in-game items to real world money. Valve never supported this and they don’t at all have anything to do with it. It’s simply an awful coincidence.

Valve also stated that Steam-based gambling sites like CS:GOlotto will be taken to court if there is no progress to be made in them willingly shutting down operations.

“Using the OpenID API and making the same web calls as Steam users to run a gambling business is not allowed by our API nor our user agreements. We are going to start sending notices to these sites requesting they cease operations through Steam, and further pursue the matter as necessary. Users should probably consider this information as they manage their in-game item inventory and trade activity,” posted Valve’s Erik Johnson.

It’s always been an issue for Valve in many games that have some trading support and has gone by through the years relatively unnoticed, but this recent CS:GO scandal involving some popular CS:GO YouTubers may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Steam Keys: What’s the Big Deal?

Websites that deal with in-game item sales, sell Steam keys, Steam codes, or cheap Steam games, or merely gamble indirectly are already walking a very, very fine line in the first place. What more for websites that deal with direct gambling that go against not only a specific game’s EULA, but also against Valve’s and, not to mention, possibly criminal in the United States due to the possibility of minors engaging in said gambling? Like the earlier mention of the CS:GO scandal, these popular YouTubers may have inadvertently encouraged minors to go gamble. That’s a big no-no. Good on Valve for taking measures in taking these sites down. They are well within their rights to do so.

Evolve goes Free to Play for All Steam Account Users

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Richard Griever

Many have forgotten about the kerfuffle Evolve caused when it simply wasn’t up to par with its hype. Abruptly, the massive playerbase of the Evolve at launch went down to an almost staggering insignificance, slowing down matchmaking by a ton for the very few players that decided to stick it out. Just recently, Evolve disappeared from the Steam store and was inaccessible with any Steam account that already had it, only to come back up the next day as in free-to-play format called Evolve: Stage 2. Sounds familiar to most MMO stories of F2P redemption.

There are several new modes, characters, maps, and a whole slew of other unlockables in Stage 2 and will continue the F2P trend in the months to come. Surprisingly, however, Evolve has gone back to its beta phase after it’s already been live for quite some time now. It seems that Turtle Rock is pulling a Realm Reborn with the IP albeit in a more open fashion.

The developers claim that it’s gone back to beta due to their goal of tweaking the user interface, removing certain bugs, and even overhauling some elements of the game drastically.

“When Evolve launched, the reception wasn’t what we expected,” as it is written on the developer’s website, “Sure, there were some good reviews. There were also bad reviews. Yes, there was excitement. There was also disappointment — for players and for us.”

This statement was due to the issue that Evolve put out some very expensive DLC for Steam account users despite the earlier claims of delivering new content for free.

While it was said that founders or loyal players who have paid and played the original Evolve launch would be getting rewards and their content progress to carry over. Unfortunately, some people have experienced that all their work in the previous build of the game were all but erased, leaving them dissatisfied with the transition to F2P. Those may just be anomalous errors on the developer’s part, but if this is true for all other Steam accounts, then the backlash will be monumental.

This is, however, all for the PC version, aka. on Steam. Consoles will be untouched until Turtle Rock finishes their work past the beta phase of stage 2. Until then, console players that are interested in playing the game will still have to buy the launch retail of Evolve for the time being. This certainly might take a while.

TF2 Trading: Changes Continued

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Mei Satsuki

Last time I shared to you guys the changes made to the first three classes (Scout, Soldier and Sniper) in Team Fortress 2. These changes and balances were made in accordance with the new competitive mode and the new quick play mode. Good thing that Valve made these changes so that Team Fortress 2 will at least become a little fresher than the usual. This might make TF2 Trading a little more active as well, who knows?

TF2 Trading: Heavy, Spy and Pyro Changes

Again, this is from a nice poster from Reddit:

Heavy

Natascha and Brass Beast

20% damage resistance now only applies when spun up and below 50% max health

Huo-Long Heater

Added -10% damage

Added +25% increased damage vs. burning players

Reduced ammo drain to -4/sec (from -6)

Reduced pulse damage from Ring of Fire to 12 (from 15) due to increased damage vs. burning

Buffalo Steak Sandvich

Fixed “damage taken” multiplier accidentally being +10%, instead of the listed +25%

Spy

Base

Max speed increased to 320 (from 300)

Enforcer

Attacks pierce resist and absorb effects from all sources

Pyro

All Flamethrowers

Added: Direct damage reduces Medi Gun healing and resist shield effects by 25%

Medics hear a “healing interrupted” sound when this is happening to their heal target

The Manmelter

Removed (hidden) 20% fire rate penalty

With the balances and changes, players will have to play differently which is a good thing. Team Fortress might be old but these little patches can bring a whole new ballgame to Team Fortress 2. I saw some people comment that it’s a miracle that there’s a new patch which is true. They are happy that there is but they also don’t want to overhype it because there is nothing to be hyped about. Well, at least there’s a chance that there will be more TF2 Items available in the store! We will continue next time for the last three class changes!

10 Bundles to Get in the Steam Summer Sale Part 2 – Redeem Code

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Richard Griever

The continuation of our 10 Bundles guide for the Steam Summer Sale!

6. Assassin’s Creed Bundle Redeem Code

Ubisoft is Ubisoft; sometimes they’re evil and other times… they’re as evil as EA. But the Assassin’s Creed franchise is undeniably one of the best IPs in modern gaming. These games don’t always go on sale, so if you get a chance or are even remotely interested in picking up the series, I suggest that you go for the Assassin’s Creed bundle that goes for a meager $62.96 considering the amount of content in it. Don’t worry; Unity’s mostly fixed now, so go nuts and get to know the assassins of yore through this redeem code.

7. Serious Sam Franchise Redeem Codes

Like, holy crap, $10 for the Serious Sam complete pack. Serious Sam is a solid FPS classic that should not be ignored by the shooter aficionado. Furious first-person shooting, relatively fast paced movement, and tons of crazy enemies make this IP old but still gold. This bundle has EVERYTHING you would possibly ever want or need from the Serious Sam franchise. With a jaw-dropping 90% discount, I’m not even sure why you still even want to mull over if you are buying this classic or not.

8. Borderlands Steam Keys!

Borderlands. Enough said. Also, redeem code.

The most awesome shoot-and-loot franchise is on a nutter sale at just $21.53. The Borderlands triple pack consists of the original Borderlands and its DLC, Borderlands 2, and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

What’s even crazier than that? The Borderlands “Take over your life” bundle offers all of those above but has the addition of the Tales from the Borderlands from Telltale games. Walking Dead, Wolf Among Us, Game of Thrones – ring any bells? Yes, the solidly fantastic story driven Tales game rounds up your Borderlands experience nicely with only an increased cost of $4.67. In my opinion, it’s the latter that’s more worth it. Tons of content and many different games; can’t go wrong here.

9. Telltale Bundle Redeem Codes

Like I mentioned earlier, Telltale is just amazing at story telling. Don’t like the rest of the Borderlands series but like the storybook gameplay of Tales from the Borderlands? Well, you can skip all that and just get the Telltale bundle redeem code that has all the Telltale classics and modern gems to sate your story pangs.

This bundle isn’t exactly cheap as it’s going for the price of $82.84, but with the crapton of games in it, you will absolutely get your money’s worth – I guarantee it.

10. Homeworld bundle Steam Redeem Code

Okay, this final bundle doesn’t include games with 70-plus percent discounts or massive packaged savings. But Homeworld Remastered and Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak redeem codes are both stellar RTS games worthy of rebooting the legendary PC-centric Homeworld series, and if you buy them as a bundle, Gearbox will knock another 10 percent off the top of the 50 percent discounts being applied to both games. Both can be yours for $38.23 total—a meager price for some top-shelf strategy action. (If you’re looking for even more fine RTS gameplay, Ashes of the Singularity is on sale for 50 percent off during the Summer Sale, too.)

And that’s it! Happy redeem code hunting, everybody!

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