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Team Fortress 2 going free-to-play

• By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
• Posted Jun 23, 2011 5:57 pm PT

[UPDATE] PC, Mac editions of Orange Box pack-in will soon be solely monetized by Mann-conomy microtransactions.

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Last week, a report surfaced that Valve was working on a free-to-play project. Today, that project was revealed as being the PC edition of the popular shooter Team Fortress 2, which was initially shipped as part of the compilation The Orange Box in 2007. Since then, the Windows version of the game has undergone many updates, the latest of which will apparently transform it into a microtransaction-funded title.

 

Team Fortress 2 is going free-to-play.

 

"We've been toying with the idea of making Team Fortress [2] free-to-play ever since the Mann-conomy update," Valve software developer Robin Walker told British magazine Develop. Introduced last September, the Mann-conomy system let players spend real-world cash on in-game items, ranging from weapon kits to outfits for the soldier, sniper, scout, pyro, and spy classes.

According to Walker, microtransactions will be the sole source of funding for Team Fortress 2 going forward. The game is currently offered as a two-week free trial on Valve's online service Steam, with all pricing having recently been removed as part of an extensive update. Develop reports that Valve will forgo any other funding option, such as advertising or a premium subscription model.

[UPDATE] Valve has now officially announced that both the Mac and the PC versions of Team Fortress 2 will be free-to-play on a permanent basis. The debut trailer for the new version of the game is below.

For more on Team Fortress 2, read GameSpot's full review.

 

Origin allows gamers to buy, download and play games for PC and mobile devices from EA and its partners. Origin will also include social networking features.

EA has also launched the Origin beta desktop application which can be used to access all Origin features.

Origin will also be available on the go with a mobile platform that gives you access to your profile and lets you connect and play with friends in EA’s smartphone titles, including SCRABBLE and the upcoming mobile version of Battlefield 3. In the future, mobile gamers will also be able to see which games their friends are playing, as well as compare high scores and compete for bragging rights.

After EA’s press conference next week at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles, Origin users will also be able to access exclusive game content and trailers for Mass Effect 3, FIFA 12, SSX, Need for Speed: The Run, STAR WARS: The Old Republic, The Sims 3 and Battlefield 3. EA’s E3 press conference is scheduled for 12:30PM PST on June 6, 2011. 

and came across this

To start off, I should probably say that I haven't played this game in quite a while, so some of these might be a little out dated. I stopped playing BF:P4F about a month ago, just due to the fact I was no longer having fun, or at least not enough to justify playing it on a regular basis. At any rate, here it goes:

1.) Better friend list integration - A big problem for me when I was playing was friend networking. It was impossible for me and 2-4 of my friends to join a game with the matchmaking system. This could be fixed by allowing players to connect in 2-5 player "parties" before connecting to a game. Another thing I'd like to see is the ability to send and accept friend requests in client, rather than alt+tabbing back into firefox in order to accept a request. Voice chat is not a critical feature to me as I run my own voice chat server for myself and my friends, but I would like to be able to see my friends locations on my HUD. If we are connected in a party together, perhaps a different color could be used on the HUD and in the text chat to identify them as a friend. Maybe a "squad" type system like Battlefield: Bad Company 2's.

2.) Recon balance - As it stands, there is literally no point in playing a Recon. You don't get points for spotting enemies, and more often than not you're outclassed at all ranges by assault rifles and SMGs, even with your fancy scope. Fully automatic weapons apparently don't suffer from recoil or bullet physics like sniper rifles do. The default sniper rifle isn't even a one hit kill with a headshot at longer ranges. Something needs to be done regarding the serious lack of balance for the Recon. I'd suggest making spotting a class specific ability (much like the Medic's heal/revive) exclusive to the Recon, and give them points for spotting enemies.

3.) In game class switching - What happens when you join a server and everyone on your team is playing a Recon? You lose. Hard. Unfortunately as of the time of writing this, there is no functional way to switch character classes or loadouts in game. This is a huge problem when situations like the one I just described happen. I'd like the ability to bind several characters to the same username, and be able to switch to them in game as necessary. At the very least the option to change your current load out in game, or between rounds should be added.

4.) Add some stats tracking - Battlefield isn't, nor will it ever be, a game about stats. However, Stats tracking would help keep me, and many others I'd imagine, interested in playing the game.

5.) Battlfunds - Right now, I'm a little more than disappointed with the way Battlefunds are being handled by EA. I feel like I'm being forced into buying battlefunds for better weapons. Players who purchased elite weapons like the M95 should have the option to upgrade to the new scoped version for the difference in Battlfunds. It borders on an abuse of power. Once avatar customization goes live, I'll be more than willing to buy a few sets to help keep the ball rolling, however, I don't want to be bullied in to buying Battlefunds.

this is a response i found to 3. LOLOL

Right on the money. If sniper headshots were universally lethal then I could perhaps find some way to accept things, but seeing that the most perfect of perfect shot placements still isn't good enough to be lethal, how do you expect anyone to make this class functional? And I saw what happened with the SVU-A. Yeah, that's the one way to make recon useful, give him a sprayable automatic just like the rest of the durr-tastic classes.

Ghost Recon Online is developed by Ubisoft Singapore, and offers all the best qualities of the Ghost Recon franchise in a downloadable, dynamic, PC-based online game.Ghost Recon Online launches in closed beta beginning this summer.

The game offers players the ability to choose between three different classes of Ghost, customize their weapons, deploy cutting-edge military technology, and share intel with their team. Ghost Recon Online also features a rich lobby platform for hosting social and persistent progression features. Ubisoft also will back the game with a full set of services, including regular events and game content updates, customized content based on community feedback, and live support.

The game’s graphics will be on bar with those of the latest Ghost Recon standalone titles and while the game is free for anyone to play, players also can purchase premium items and fully personalize their experience.

Players can sign up for the closed beta and find more information on the game at www.GhostReconOnline.com.

"Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labor," said Liu, speaking with The Guardian. "There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn 5,000-6,000rmb [$770-$924] a day. We didn't see any of the money. The computers were never turned off."

Liu noted that all prisoners had work quotas to complete, whether they were undertaking manual labor or slogging away virtually in Azeroth. Prisoners who fell behind would be physically punished, either by being forced to stand with their hands raised in the air, or being beaten with plastic pipes.

In 2009, the Chinese central government made it illegal for businesses without licenses to trade in virtual currencies. But Liu believes that many prisons across the northeast of China are still forcing detainees to play games. And it's not just in prisons -- virtual sweatshops employ workers to play games for up to 12 hours a day with no rest throughout the year.

"These are not just problems for this industry, but they are general social problems," said Jin Ge, a researcher from the University of California San Diego who has been researching Chinese gold farming. "The pay is better than what they would get for working in a factory. It's very different. The buyers of virtual goods have mixed feelings [...] it saves them time buying online credits from China."

Come check it out... pretty cool for free to play!!