My friend Mark, aka Zompist, has recently joined the ranks of TF2 players. This pleases me to no end.
Zompist, a soft-spoken writer, intellectual and linguist, seems more likely to be at home in the turn-based world of Civ III than embracing the twitchy carnage of TF2. And it’s only when someone new joins the fray, such as in GF TF2, that I stop and realize how absolutely confusing the game must be to someone who hasn’t been exposed to it before.
I mention this because Zomp brings up an interesting and valid point in his post here: there’s no TF2 tutorial. There’s no real way to learn how to play the game without playing it. Sure, you can load a map locally, run around in it, and maybe try out the weapons a bit, but it’s hardly a tutorial.
So, how about it, custom map makers? Anyone interested in maybe designing a small tutorial course, with a little area for each class, perhaps with some sort of pop-out targets newbies can shoot at? Perhaps some practice rocket-jump, sticky-jump, and double-jump areas? Some bots to shoot at you while you try to take them out or backstab them? Some helpful text pop-ups to teach you the basics? I think it might be a neat idea, and something new players might find handy to ease them into the chaos of the real game.
Since Valve is including custom maps in their releases these days, it might even make it into an update someday. Heck, maybe it’s even something Valve would like to design themselves. Or, maybe it’s something that already exists, and I haven’t seen it yet. Let me know if you have.
45 responses so far ↓
1 PsychoDuck // Aug 12, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Hmm, that’s a good idea. I never really thought of it before, but a tutorial would fit in very well. I wonder if Valve has considered this before?
The Duck Has Spoken.
2 Sentry Gun // Aug 12, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Most gameplay is learned over time, or from other players. It’s not that hard.
3 ZomBuster // Aug 12, 2008 at 8:10 pm
I like his writing style, and I was thinking already about a shooting range mainly to train your Sniper skills. Too bad I can’t map.
There might be something on fpsbanana, i don’t know.
4 Mike // Aug 12, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Tutorials are for girls and pahnzies.
Real men learn by getting killed over and over again until they stop sucking. See Counterstrike, Halo, and any other online shooter.
5 Mike // Aug 12, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Also: http://myspace-032.vo.llnwd.net/00441/23/09/441989032_l.jpg
6 garash // Aug 12, 2008 at 8:35 pm
3 words:
Single
Player
TF2
7 Mr. Brit // Aug 12, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Is that how you learnt to comment in a polite manner Jordan? ;)
8 Newt Pulsifer // Aug 12, 2008 at 9:15 pm
I think it is a good idea to point him out some “how to play” videos…
I like the ones from “evil daedalus” because they are pretty much newbie friendly.
After you have learned the basics, than you can go and try those neat rocket jumps / spy tricks. :P
9 Tim // Aug 12, 2008 at 9:18 pm
There is a map called “Best in Class” or something like that which is sort of a series of puzzles that can be solved by each class’s unique skills and weapons. Granted, I didn’t think much of it, but it might fit the bill, or maybe it’d work with some minor tweaks.
10 Tim // Aug 12, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Thanks for the link to a new blog which looks pretty cool. Your friend is really smart and insightful on politics. A lot of it sums up things I’ve thought but haven’t managed to put eloquently.
11 Azzen // Aug 12, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Adding tutorial videos would be an awesome addition to any online-only shooter.
I know this from experience with Warhawk. I learned by dying 950 times in the first hour, and it wasn’t exactly a pleasant way to learn.
12 Dan // Aug 12, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Tim: I thought of Best Of Class too, but unfortunately Valve changed some of the rocket/sticky jump stuff since the map was made… I think the soldier course is still possible to do but not demoman’s course.
Pyro’s course is just maddening. Most of the others I can do… spy’s course could have been a lot better (sentries etc).
Also it’s not a tutorial, definitely more of a challenge for already skilled players.
I’m not sure if you can actually do stuff with bots in TF2 levels, I know dev commentary does but it could all be hardcoded into the game server DLL. Also the bots there only do simple things… actual bot-like behavior where they actually fight is far more difficult to code.
13 lemon // Aug 12, 2008 at 10:38 pm
holy cow Chris your starting something awesome here!
14 Cpt. Falcon // Aug 13, 2008 at 12:01 am
well, cs:s didnt have any tuts either, but that game is much simpler than tf2.
if a person just got tf2 recently, without ever even play tfc, it would be very difficult to learn.
i mean cmon. its not even called capture the flag! how confusing is it when theyre’s an announcer screaming how someone just stole her intel!
noobs will be looking all over the place for people carrying computer processors!!
a how to play map would be good. EvilDaedalus’s videos would be terrible for noobs. i still can’t do most of the stuff he demonstrates, like backstabbing chris!!
15 monk // Aug 13, 2008 at 12:25 am
It’s a great idea. There’s a TF2 community with a lot of energy for tf2 related pursuits. And it’s in all of our interests to recruit and nurture new players if we don’t want the servers to be dead in a year or two.
I’ll be hanging out at the bus station.
16 Cochrane // Aug 13, 2008 at 12:47 am
I’m not certain it’s really that needed. My suggestion is to simply go through the audio commentary. That told me all the basic weapon functions and useful tactics, and the rest I learned while playing. If you know who has what weapons, and pay attention to the small notices that appear every now and then, it’s actually pretty easy to get into TF2 and not suck, in my opinion. I wouldn’t mind someone making a tutorial, but I think one can do without just as well.
17 Pigbuster // Aug 13, 2008 at 1:26 am
When I first started out, I created a private server to screw around in, and since I was totally ignorant of how payload worked, I played as a BLU demo for the whole thing, and now I have a 36 point stat that I can’t get rid of.
The commentary levels let you screw around, but because “go to next node” is locked onto whatever key you use for secondary actions it doesn’t really work as well as it could.
I kinda wish valve would fix both of those issues. Go to next node should be a different key and high scores shouldn’t be earned when playing by one’s lonesome. They’re little things, sure, but they’re annoying little things.
Some people just want to learn the basics before they go out against real people.
18 Andrew // Aug 13, 2008 at 1:32 am
The commentary is useful, I’d agree with that (and gives you a taste of a few maps).
But lack of Tutorial mode is almost as bad as no bots. Hopefully bots will be in a future update, but without working bots it’d be hard, if not impossible, to do a decent tutorial mode.
Although I must admit, knowing via. voiceover and “do this now to see how it works” for all the classes special abilities and oddities would help most newcomers much more then being yelled at on a public server (although TF2 is much more nice then CS:S for new players).
19 Chijts // Aug 13, 2008 at 3:32 am
Isn’t there some sort of tutorial movie that plays at the beginning of maps or have I been eating the wrong kind of mushroom again? There’s atleast some bullets points on a blackboard.
20 roBurky // Aug 13, 2008 at 3:34 am
I think the death freeze frame, and trying to make everything intuitive visually, is TF2’s tutorial.
The effort they spent on making a class’s appearance match its capabilities, so you can guess that a Heavy is slow, tough and powerful just by looking at him, and a friendly spy with a mask on is disguising as someone else, etc.
The Engineer automatically calling out the name of whatever he’s building as he sets it up. And when you get killed by a sniper for the first time, it shows you just where he was, holding his rifle with a great big scope.
21 Robert64 // Aug 13, 2008 at 3:55 am
Should I ask what that was?
22 Deadly_Dragon // Aug 13, 2008 at 4:03 am
Jordan, looks like you have a little competition…
23 Polter // Aug 13, 2008 at 4:25 am
i would love a Half-Life-ish Hazard Course where you see the Announcer Lady as hologram.
Or maybe on a 50’s big spy screen, like in Bioshock?
24 Chijts // Aug 13, 2008 at 5:20 am
Am I the only person who didn’t think Bioshock was all that jazz, apart from in the art department?
25 Mr. Brit // Aug 13, 2008 at 5:39 am
Attacking strangers is perfectly acceptable
26 Mr. Brit // Aug 13, 2008 at 5:41 am
STFU Jordan, you stupid troll! Go spam elsewhere! Twitter!!! *blocks comments* (see)
27 Mr. Brit // Aug 13, 2008 at 5:42 am
(no offence) and no I’m not really called Mr. Brit, my name’s Matt (I am British though)
28 Gothic // Aug 13, 2008 at 5:45 am
I didn’t really have much of a problem getting into the game when I first started. I didn’t even have to be killed 10,000 times before I stopped sucking.
Not sure about others, though. Maybe some “How To Play #CLASSNAME” videos would be good.
29 Mr. Brit // Aug 13, 2008 at 6:04 am
Yanks, it is wednesday for you isn’t it? That damn site is sitting there, teasing me….
30 Robert64 // Aug 13, 2008 at 6:04 am
Chris, if you are listening, find out if it is possible to block comments by IP or e-mail, and if not show WordPress this blog entry and the last few before it.
31 Mr. Brit // Aug 13, 2008 at 6:11 am
Chris doesn’t tell you how to get all angry about nothing, so don’t tell him how to run his blog
32 Man Raised By Puffins // Aug 13, 2008 at 6:30 am
I always found the Medic to be a good starting class. So long as you’re healing someone you’re at least being somewhat useful (well, so long as they’re not a Spy anyway) and at the same time you can follow people who know the maps and pick up tactics by watching everyone else play.
33 Dwight K Schrute // Aug 13, 2008 at 7:07 am
While loading any map or joining a server a random tip is displayed at the bottom of the screen under your class stats. I found these to be very useful when I first started. Most of the tips are class specific tricks, while others are explanations about less than obvious TF2 features (Uber).
Not sure how much of a help these tips are for new players who have never played a TF game. It seems to me that they would at least offer some guidance for the TF newbie.
34 Christopher // Aug 13, 2008 at 7:27 am
Sigh.
35 Andrew // Aug 13, 2008 at 8:42 am
TF2 may be moderately confusing, but I remember the old days when I first tried out TFC… I was confused as heck! People were conc jumping, spy gas grenading, rocket jumping and no scope sniping all over the place. Plus, I had no idea what I was even supposed to be doing! For some reason I kept playing though. I got hooked, and learned how to keep up. Even with a tutorial, people will still be lost at first, they’ll just feel like they shouldn’t be. The best way to learn a game like TF2 is to play and ask questions. I always try and help out newbies who are still learning, and hopefully others do too.
36 Devlosirrus // Aug 13, 2008 at 9:54 am
I feel you there. Being the helpful type I am, Engie seemed like a good fit for my first play back in the beta stage. Unfortunately I had no idea you could upgrade turrets, so of course I ran into that one douchebag who kept yelling at me to “Upgrade your turret, retard!” So I switched to BLU and learned to backstab. Him, specifically. He left the server after the thirtieth time.
I always try to be helpful to new players, so it kind of pisses me off when people can’t be constructive.
37 Tim // Aug 13, 2008 at 9:59 am
Bad news, you guys. By talking about new features on this blog, we have great and terrible power. Now Valve wants to cancel the heavy update and instead release an official tutorial which experienced players will find condescending and dull.
Seriously, though, with Valve’s humor, it could be a fun thing. Maybe after being hired by Ellen McLane’s character, or whoever they work for, they could have a training day? Maybe it’d be like a tutorial in the beginning and then evolve into a series of well-made puzzles for each class, like a hybrid of Portal’s system and Best of Class?
And of course there would be achievements for beating the tutorial quickly.
Only problem I see is Valve’s fear of making their multiplayer Orange Box offering too much like Portal. Plus, doing it for each class is hard. Even if they have one universal training session for the basics of the game, say where you play as the civilian and then choose a class, if they give each class even a short 10 minute tutorial, that’s an hour and a half of gameplay plus whatever amount of time the basics take to teach. Adding puzzles and gameplay could really, really make for an ultimately long game and a ton of Valve’s humanpower going to something which could bog down their other projects.
I think it could still be argued that Valve intended for people to get used to playing as a team with the other players by requiring new guys to ask the more experienced guys how to do things and what to do. However, I definitely would look forward to a tutorial map/mode/level, just because I’m a fanboy that way and love anything that comes out of them.
38 DoctorDisaster // Aug 13, 2008 at 10:09 am
I think the idea is not for Valve to work on this, but for community mappers to do it themselves.
39 Al // Aug 13, 2008 at 10:24 am
I would love to see Valve do some kind of cinematic tutorial, where you follow a NPC Soldier yelling orders at you. I just think it would be pretty cool to hear the characters actually speaking to you as opposed to some boring popup text, a la Alyx Vance.
40 Pope Guilty // Aug 13, 2008 at 10:51 am
Zompist is awesome! Will you be aiming Herr Rosenfelder at the MeFi servers?
41 zompist // Aug 13, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Thanks, Pope! I’ve been on MeFi a lot… in fact, if you’re a sniper or you’ve built a sentry, you’ve probably killed me already!
42 LactoseTheIntolerant // Aug 13, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Forgive me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t one of Valve’s aims with TF2 to make it pretty much what-you-see-is-what-you-get? It’s not to hard to grasp the basics of the game if you just take a little time to watch.
As a previous commenter stated, the names and appearences of classes give some indication as to how they are played, and simply watching them in action is the easiest way to see how they behave. So that Heavy has his minigun whiring, but is walking slowly? OK. That Engineer is smacking his sentry - I know it’s a sentry because he yelled that out when he put it down - and it’s getting bigger. I see. That Medic has a beam coming out of a ray-gun going to a friendly character. Healing, maybe? And so on. I’m sure I’ve seen inteviews where people working on TF2 emphasised their attempts to make the game appear how it is. If that makes sense.
As for the more subtle nuances of playing classes and maps - well as is common with all games of this sort, practice makes perfect. Watch, play, and learn. Within no-time people start picking up little tricks to help them with their game. Again, I’m pretty sure I saw it said somewhere that Valve wanted TF2 to have depth in this way - that people should still be discovering little things, even months after playing.
So yes. I don’t think tutorial videos or maps are needed.. We all managed just fine! Watch carefully, and ask questions (TF2 players tend to be genial enough), and you’ll do fine. We all did!
43 Tim // Aug 13, 2008 at 8:55 pm
@Zombist: If you play on the MeFi servers (They have a clan, look it up), I tend to play there and most other servers as “a westie.” For some reason, I don’t use that handle here…
Look forward to seeing you if that’s the case!
44 Joe Snuffy // Aug 14, 2008 at 1:04 am
I had the same idea in mind, a kind of modded best in class which has a room for each class, a place to tell you the essentials of the class and a small course to test your abilities.
I find and guide most new people towards classes like medic or engy, they can gain combat exprience and also pick up a few things and there. That thing is powering down my sentry! If I can repair my sentry with my wrench, I should be able to also remove it!
To be absolutely honest, I jumped straight into TF2 and passed with flying colors. Now, I had previous FPS online exprience (CSS, CS, Wolfenstein ET) but I believe that anyone who has played a online FPS or/with friends, maybe LAN can eventually fit into TF2. It’s simplistic, with comically exaggerated features to draw distinctions between landscapes (RED & BLU bases, missiles, lazer cannons, etc) and classes.
As #42 said, most of the time there’s people out there to tell you genuine tips, it’s rather easy to separate the “press F10″ jerks from the “pick up weapons on the field to get more ammo/metal” (something newbies miss until you point it out to them)
45 stupid // Sep 22, 2008 at 6:56 pm
seriously, I prefer the point rather than maple story power leveling
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