Pyro Maniacs: Achieving Nothing in TF2

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Pyro Maniacs: Achieving Nothing in TF2
"Were you beaten as a child?"
"FOR FUCKS SAKE DONT SHOOT THE FUCKIN ENGI"
"Scout need 2 kill scouts someone spawn scout"
"Retards you're all retards omg retards!!!!"
Having been away from the TF2 scene for a few months until very recently, I wasn't previously aware of Achievement Servers. I heard about their existence come the release of the [...]

Author: Alec Meer
Category: RockPaperShotgun feature pseudo-existential crisis team-fortress-2 Valve
Publish Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:18:53 +0000

"Were you beaten as a child?"

"FOR FUCKS SAKE DONT SHOOT THE FUCKIN ENGI"

"Scout need 2 kill scouts someone spawn scout"

"Retards you're all retards omg retards!!!!"

Having been away from the TF2 scene for a few months until very recently, I wasn't previously aware of Achievement Servers. I heard about their existence come the release of the Pyro update, and the idea that there were legions of TF2 players grinding away like Lineage players on special maps for impatient unlock-hungerers was simultaneously so weird, hilarious and tragic that I had to see it for myself. I really wish I hadn't.

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[spoodie]

I found one of these servers and played for a while, got a 3 or 4 achievements. Although it made me feel dirty and was not satisfying.

[deject]

I can justify it for the Medic ones as there's a few that are ridiculous and will never happen in regular playing and you need all of them for the medic stuff, but the pyro ones aren't as crazy and you don't need to get all of them.

[Dog Pants]

I don't get it. I see unlocks as a way of tracking my progress. That's not to say I haven't gone out playing BEEF or something looking to get an unlock. but I do it during gameplay to add a bit of variety to my game. I imagine people who think they're superior because they have an axtinguisher, or a level 70 Warcraft character, or whatever else, are missing something, and those who 'cheat' to get them must have some real self confidence issues.

[FatherJack]

Not all of the blame can be laid on the players. It's like on the 360. I look at some games achievement lists and just immediately think "fuck that", whereas other ones are basically what you'd unlock during the course of playing the game - there's is such variation that there are even websites telling achievement whores which games to buy in order to most easily keep their perfect record.

Obviously playing games past the point you enjoy them just to get points is a sad state of affairs, but in TF2 we have a system where a convoluted set of conditions must be met to gain certain weapons. To my mind, that's worse - and the game-maker's fault.

The original achievements were a bit of fun, and while some, like "Friends like these" might have been hard for players without an active group of friends to attain - they didn't really count for anything.

BF2 and CoD4 use the unlock route - but all you have to do is play the game normally a lot. BF2 did have the medals and ribbons, though - and we all know what people thought of stat-padders in that.

PGR4 has some really stupid ones, involving taking photos of two people on bike doing endos a specific distance apart - which I suppose might be vaguely fun to have a go at, but again - all it gives you is a few gamerscore points.

With TF2 you have a situation where people who want the extra weapons are forced to play in a game-ruining way to get them. I guess it's good that these achievement servers exist, so proper games aren't ruined - but it's a real shame that they should need to. Rewards like unlocks should be awarded for good team play or long service, this just devalues them.

[Nickface]

I think having the stats and achievements is a double edged sword. Players like to see how they're doing and see how much they've "accomplished," but at the same time people take it a little more seriously because they want to dance a little more for numbers and little badges. That's when the game becomes less of a game and starts becoming more and more "serious business."

[Dog Pants]

I think having the stats and achievements is a double edged sword. Players like to see how they're doing and see how much they've "accomplished," but at the same time people take it a little more seriously because they want to dance a little more for numbers and little badges. That's when the game becomes less of a game and starts becoming more and more "serious business."

Very true. No game had ever been taken seriously here until BEEF came along and BEEF rage was born. COD4 has the same thing. I can only think it's because people feel they have more of an investment in a game if there're stats and unlocks, so it's more annoying when you die (even though it has no effect on your unlocks).

[Fear]

Stats and achievements have always been a unblancing pile of shit.

COD4, BF2, BF2142 and now Teef have all been ruined by this pointless load of bollocks.

It can only be a good thing if you play the game a rediculous amount.

The pyro is now unbalanced to fuck. You join a server and 3/4 of the enemy team are pyros trying to stat-pad. The only counter to a pyro is a sentry. A single medic uber and you're fucked.

Absolute crock of shit.

[Lateralus]

I think having the stats and achievements is a double edged sword. Players like to see how they're doing and see how much they've "accomplished," but at the same time people take it a little more seriously because they want to dance a little more for numbers and little badges. That's when the game becomes less of a game and starts becoming more and more "serious business."

I agree. Beef was the first game where I came across unlocks, and although they were nice when they came along, the vast distances between ranks and unlocks meant that they just happened when they happened rather than going out specifically looking for them. As for the badges/ribbons, I went hunting them at times when my interest might otherwise have been waning, and having specific objectives other than "win" often revived my interest in Beef. However, having been on the receiving end of stat-padders*, I can also see the other side of the argument very well. I think that objectives/unlocks work best where achieving them doesn't actually bring much in the way of an advantage; at least not a discernible one. However, in fairness, I've not played teef in ages so have no idea how this works in practice.


*Stat-padders - once as a Commander in Sharqi I was lying out in the grass, when two clantwats (one on each team) came up to me, lay down next to me, but rather than spooning proceeded to stab and then revive me constantly until I left the game. It was probably the single most frustrating thing that ever happened in beef as short of leaving there was absolutely no defence against it.

[spoodie]

COD4, BF2, BF2142 and now Teef have all been ruined by this pointless load of bollocks.

Personally I loved the ranks and unlocks on Beef games. If it wasn't for those I wouldn't have played all those hours.

[Gunslinger42]

I like achievements.
I like unlocks.
I don't like the first leading to the second.
The original achievements in TF2/Ep2/Portal (and I assume in a boat load of 360 games) were just quirky little things you could try to do, but having these silly little tasks tied to unlocking weapons is wrong and ruins the fun that they may otherwise have had. I don't mind the way cod/beef/etc do unlocks, where its just a case of get x points in any way you want, but when I have to kill 3 medics at the same time who all have ubercharges ready while balancing an axe on my head and dancing all at the same time, well fuck that. Fuck that hard.

[Baliame]

The Pyro pack was surprisingly realistic actually. I've got most of the achievements by actually playing my usual style. I see no reason to be upset about this one, but I can heartily agree concerning the medic pack (which made me have a few "pleasant" visits on the "lovely" achievementbox_b3).

Obviously, the good achievements are which you get without actually looking at what they are. And also, Valve made me find out that I can kill people with the shotgun's taunt.