#Classic Workshop Equipment

[tmcphotoblog]

Old Workshop:

[scleroticstatue]

Feminine Plots

Okay, I've been thinking A Lot about basic plot types and how classically feminine stories fit into neither the traditional (masculine) archetypes nor the traditional plots. After a lot of studying the major plot beats, I think all female-led stories* fall into one of seven plots. I'm using Disney movies to demonstrate this because just about everyone has seen them, but I think you could apply these to just about any feminine-based story.*

So, without further ado:

The Hard Work Plot: The heroine of this story is a hard worker and is tested by the plot to prove her kindness and generosity. If she passes the test, she wins and is rewarded for it. This is the basic plot of Snow White, Cinderella, and Tiana/Princess and the Frog.**

The Beast Taming Plot: The heroine of this story is put in a situation where she meets a monster, learns to understand it (usually through a heightened state of empathy), and then tames it to become socially acceptable for the norms of society, often ending the story by using the tamed monster to defeat a more villainous character who has been accepted by society. This is the plot of Belle/Beauty and the Beast, Moana, Jane/Tarzan, and Lilo/Lilo & Stitch.

The Transformstion Plot: The heroine meets an outsider who is threatening her home/family/people, who are stagnating or stifling. She spends time getting to know the person and their culture, and then uses her friendship to transform her own culture into one of flourishing modernity. This is the plot of Ariel/The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, and Jasmine/Aladdin.

The Restoration Plot: The heroine is in a kingdom/household of dwindling power. Her quest is to restore the damaged relationships and undo the evil that caused the kingdom to dwindle. There's a very high chance that the heroine doesn't actually do the restoration herself, rather she makes other characters realize they have responsibilities and duties they haven't fulfilled, who then fix the problem instead of the actual female lead. This is Aurora/Sleeping Beauty, Elsa/Frozen, Mirabel/Encanto, and Nala/The Lion King.

The Balancing Plot: The heroine is proven to be unfit for feminine life and goes on a journey to prove she is capable of fitting in with the guys, only to realize that what she needs to restore peace and joy to her home/kingdom is the very feminity that she rejected. This is Mulan and Merida/Brave.

The Maturing Plot: The heroine is a naive individual who is exposed to the big bad world. Her idealism transforms the big bad world to be softer, but she also realizes there are bad things out there and that are/will take advantage of her if she lets it. In the end, she usually has to fight the bad guy/embrace her duties and responsibilities to save her home. This is Alice/in Wonderland, Wendy/Peter Pan, Giselle/Enchanted, and Rapunzel/Tangled.

The Sacrifice Plot: The heroine has a group that she is some sort of caretaker for (a princess, a lover, a support class). She does something, usually accidentally, that causes her friends to end up in danger, and she has to sacrifice herself to make up for those wrongs and save her people, usually ending up coming back to life because the other leads are so inspired and love her so much they make sure to save her. This is Tinkerbell/Peter Pan, Meg/Hercules, Esmeralda/Hunchback of Notre Dame, Kida/Atlantis, Anna/Frozen.***

EDIT: After workshopping this, I've decided I was missing one which seems almost exclusive to mothers and wives:

The Witnessing: The heroine must prepare another to become a Sacrifice/go to war/fight without her interference, and she has to let go and let them take on the trials of the world. Her plot arc succeeds when the people she's equipped successfully encounter the world without her guidance. This is Mrs. Potts/Beauty, Grandma Tala and Sina (the mom)/Moana, and Grandma Fa/Mulan. It's rare, so there's not a lot of these are protagonists, but it is a legitimate feminine archetype.

Star explanations under the cut.

*I'm being very specific here and talking about stories that are associated with the feminine, not stories that are traditionally associated with males who have then taken on female leads. And, while you can look at these as entire plots, these are also applicable as character arcs. The Lion King, told from Simba's perspective is the classic Call to Adventure. However, from Nala's perspective, she is the Restorer who, after watching her kingdom fall to ruin, has to go find the proper authority, mend his relationship with his father, and then return him to the kingdom to fulfill his responsibilities. While some more modern stories have female leads that don't fit these categories, I would argue they're not trying to appeal to women, but to a general audience and just happen to have a female protagonist, who could easily be swapped out for a male protagonist without changing anything of the story (and that, imo, makes for a very bad story indeed).

**There is a secondary dimension in these stories, which is the staticness or dynamicness of the characters. The classical Hero's Journey features a dynamic protagonist, who is expected to change throughout the run of a story. However, in most female-led media, the lead character is already virtuous and good. She is a static character that is then tested to see if she will fold under pressure. Snow White and Princess and the Frog both feature Hard Work narratives; however, Snow White is a static character who has to prove through a series of trials that she's good hearted and the world won't turn her cynical, while Tiana is a dynamic character who has to grow from cynicism to accept love as a virtue. While it is more traditional of older stories like Grimms' Fairy Tales, the Arthurian mythos, or Classic-era novels, static protagonists have almost entirely died out in favor of the Hero's Journey dynamicness. However, it remains a staple in Feminine Stories, even in modern stories: Moana, Anna/Tangled, Lilo/Lilo & Stitch.

***The Sacrifice Plot is a little odd, because there's usually another plot on top of it; Anna has a (slight) Maturing Plot, Meg has a Balancing Plot, Kida has a Restoration Plot. However, in the end, it's not a philosophical shift that defines their character, but their willingness to sacrifice for those they love. Yes, Anna was duped by Hans and has to accept he's not the good guy. However, she still falls in love with a man she just met (just a different one) and her narrative is instead trying to fix the problem she made when she upset her sister and her climax is when she essentially dies for Elsa, who then saves her with their sisterly love.

[stardust-swan]

Lifestyle of the Refined, Cultured City Girl

She takes advantage of living somewhere with access to many cultural activities. She attends the symphony, the theatre, the ballet, and the orchestra. She visits art galleries and museums. She attends book readings, poetry readings, lectures by experts in various subjects, and writer's talks. She watches independent films in small cinemas. She goes to fashion shows. She unwinds by reading in a beautiful, old library. Many of these activities are free or cheap, so money is rarely a concern.

She has social hobbies, like playing an instrument in a local band, attending a book club or writer's group, participating in poetry readings, and taking evening classes and workshops on subjects like painting, fashion, learning a language, culinary classes, learning an instrument, etc.

She has private hobbies too, like writing a novel, creating art, studying, reading, and taking private music lessons.

On dates, she goes to painting classes where her and her date paint each other's portrait, pottery classes where they make each other something special, fine restaurants where she and her date try new cuisine, and upscale hotels for a fine afternoon tea.

She is always studying. Whether it's in University for a degree that will help her get her dream job, or a less formal education like learning about the world of art from her trips to the galleries, or learning about the history and culture of her city by exploring it, she's always taking advantage of the opportunities she has to expand her knowledge.

She participates in cultural festivities that may be held in her city, such as wine tastings, cheese tastings, art exhibits, film festivals, and book fairs.

She visits historical landmarks and sites to learn about her city's past and culture.

She visits rooftop bars and lounges, both to socialise and admire the view of the city.

She networks with people in high positions, and socialises at events and gatherings like cocktail parties, charity functions, and dinner parties.

She visits both high end boutiques and small, locally owned shops.

She spends time in nature by going to parks and botanical gardens.

She gives back to her community by support or volunteering with a charity or non-profit

She attends a yoga or meditation class at a wellness centre.

She discovers her local patisseries and bakeries and enjoys fresh baked goods.

She takes walking or cycling tours of the city's historic districts to learn about its culture and landmarks.

She visits a local farmers market for fresh produce and unique artisanal products.

She's always dressed impeccably. You will never see her in ratty old clothes, gym gear unless she's actually in the gym, or flip-flops unless she's at the beach. Her hair is always tidy, and her makeup never looks caked on. Her nails are always clean and neat. Her skincare routine is down to a T. She never says "I'm just going to the store" as an excuse to dress frumpily, as she knows there's always the risk of running into someone important and does not want to look like a slob. She does not hold onto clothes that are worn out, damaged, or unflattering, leaving only chic outfits available to dress in. She checks herself from all angles before leaving home to make sure there's no wardrobe malfunctions happening at the back of her outfit, e.g a hole in the back of her jeans. She honours herself, those around her, and her city by looking presentable and neat everyday.

Her home is never cluttered. It is decorated with art, including some paintings or pictures of the city, and she has photographs on the mantelpiece of the friends she's made there. She has a variety of books on a range of subjects that interest her. Her kitchen is well-equipped - no living on takeout for her. She has a set of high quality china and luxurious bedding and linen. She plays classical and jazz music instead of keeping the TV on for background noise. She treats herself to a bouquet of flowers to put in a vase occasionally, and may have a houseplant. She lights candles for a beautiful smell. She may have a collection of herbal teas to help her relax in the evenings. She may even have a well-stocked mini bar, space and funds permitting. Her wardrobe is carefully selected. Her home is stylish, yet comfortable, and always feels ready for guests. She practices the art of entertaining, and does it well.

She knows about hidden treasures in her city that one can't find out about just from doing an internet search. For example, in Paris, a string quartet of musicians meet up on a random day each week and play a free concert in the courtyard of the Louvre, but you wouldn't know this from looking up places to visit in Paris. It's something you must discover on your own or hear about by word of mouth. It could be a small unassuming café that makes the best dish you've ever tasted, or a beautiful building people rarely visit (like the medieval church/graveyard in my neighbourhood that's usually locked up and difficult to see into because of the high walls surrounding it, but if you pass by at the right time, the groundskeepers may be there and let you in to see the blooming flowers and trees beyond the graveyard gates if you ask nicely), an out-of-the-way boutique that sells gorgeous garments, a hidden park tucked away from the main streets, or a secret or exclusive bar or nightclub.

[dailycharacteroption]

Mystic Smith Mystic (Mystic Alternate Class Feature)

(art by TheGentlemanCupcake on DeviantArt)

The magical crafter, be it a brewer of potions, a blacksmith that forges magical weapons and armor, or the intricate crafters of complex wonder, has long been a staple of fantasy, but while there are plenty of examples in classical fantasy, one usually doesn’t think of them in a far-future science fantasy setting. After all, most magitech is either assumed to have been made in some far-off factory or is a relic of a bygone age, with only a rare few creating custom works with the help of material printers and detailed instructions.

But does that mean they don’t have a place? Certainly when it comes to magical or hybrid tech items in Starfinder, one might naturally think of the technomancer given their focus on blending science and magic, but I feel there’s plenty of opportunity for other casters to get in on the action, and it’s clear that may agree with the mystic smith!

Whether you consider them a natural evolution of the magical craftspersons of old or simply mystics blending a bit of technomancy into their arsenal to keep themselves and their allies outfitted, these mystics forgo some of their healing and telepathic power in favor of mastering the art of binding magic to material.

Due to their specialization, these smiths are able to access and craft items of greater potency than others, and of course their mastery at such skills grows faster than others.

Additionally, they can apply fusion seals to weapons much faster and get them working similarly quickly.

Naturally, they also add repair magic to their arsenal, and gain a special reserve of energy to perform especially drastic repairs.

With a surge of power, they can flood their technomagical weapons (be they inherently hybrid tech or have fusions) with energy that helps guide their strikes and pierce defenses.

Conversely, they can also disperse the energy of a nearby foe’s weapon seals, rendering them temporarily inoperable.

While the crafting side of this option’s abilities isn’t exactly flashy, it is functional, and their combat ability to buff their own attacks with their creations and disrupt any weapon fusions the foe has, making for some good options for a more combat-focused mystic that you’re probably used to seeing. It also can inspire characters to actually create and utilize weapon fusions more often, so there is that as well, tailoring theirs and allied weaponry to the situation on the relative fly.

The workshop of a technomantic crafter in the far future no doubt looks very different than the traditional fantasy workshop, and an option like this is the perfect excuse to explore that. Consider a dwarven mystic that is content to let the machines create the alloys, but would rather personally shape the metal themselves with a hammer and anvil, or a shimreen crystal-crafter that literally cuts stones by ear, feeling the subtle changes in resonance to know when they’re just right.

Normally mustyotal agathions prefer to steal and redirect the weapons of oppressors against them, but when there seems no recourse for change that a war against oppressive upper classes, they sometimes seek out those that can provide. Such is the case with Lost Purse, who successfully managed to rescue a famed craftsman’s daughter and get her offworld where the corporation couldn’t reach her, and in return, said craftsman is churning out powerful magitech weapons in preparation for revolution. Lost Purse only hopes it can be a bloodless one.

The Golden Coins seem impossible to track down, the criminal organization covering their trail with bribes, filing off serial numbers on all their equipment, using potent amnesiac toxins and suicide pills, and the works, but the party catches a break when they find a powerful magitech plasma pistol with a distinctive maker’s mark, dropped by one of the group’s lesser lieutenants.

While a talented coral-crafter in their own right, Bak-Shuga has found themselves in a predicament when a visiting alien noble becomes enamored with their work and mistakes them for a genius and grand master of the craft. Now, the young copaxi is facing a lot of pressure to accept an invitation to craft for this noble, one they feel ill-prepared to actually live up to.

[satoshi-mochida]

Toy robot puzzle platformer A-RED Walking Robot announced for PS5, PS4, and PC - Gematsu

Publisher Dojo System and developer JOOKITOOZ have announced A-RED Walking Robot, a toy robot puzzle platformer. It will be available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam. A release date was not announced.

Here is an overview of the game, via Dojo System:

About

A-RED Walking Robot is a captivating toy robot simulator combines realistic physics with innovative mechanics in a world full of challenges and fun. In A-RED Walking Robot, you’ll take control of A-RED, an adorable wind-up robot, as you explore a workshop filled with obstacles and enemies. Each challenge has been carefully designed by its creator to test your strategic and dexterity skills, providing a unique experience for players of all ages. With realistic physics and incredibly precise control, A-RED Walking Robot will challenge you with a variety of situations that will test your skill with the controller. Get ready to navigate intricate mazes, push objects with A-RED’s tiny robotic hands, and shoot lasers to move obstacles or defeat enemies like lurking tyrannosaurs and mechanical spiders. Want more? Equip your jetpack to cross vast distances and use electricity to activate switches and unlock new paths. A-RED’s vital energy comes from its wind-up mechanism, and your mission is to keep it running by collecting golden keys scattered around the workshop. Each wind-up key you find will recharge the mechanism and save your progress, giving you more time to tackle the demanding game maps. Take good care of A-RED, or you’ll hear one of its over 300 cybernetic howls of anger and despair! A-RED Walking Robot isn’t just a skill game; it’s a unique experience that combines the charm of classic toys with realistic graphics and advanced physics technology, offering hours of fun and challenges for players of all ages.

Key Features

Dare to control the charismatic A-RED! Move on land or fly with its jetpack to uncover all the hidden surprises in the huge, chaotic workshop.

Eliminate obstacles, shoot enemies and clear the way to the next checkpoint!

Collect wind-up keys scattered around the workshop to save your progress and gain time. Move forward steadily, as A-RED’s vital energy depends on its wind-up mechanism!

A-RED is equipped with a powerful emotional processor that displays joy, neutrality, or anger. Over 300 different expressions!

Explore the intricate levels of the workshop accompanied by the vibrant soundtrack of Atsushi Moriya (DJ Guinzy). Authentic Japanese atmosphere guaranteed!

Watch the announcement trailer below.

Publisher Announce Trailer

[prismatica-the-strange]

Snowfall Sweethearts | Sugar and Dye

Warnings: 18+, swearing

After a few years of being in wrapping, Charity finally shows her hand at her true skill as an elf

Dividers by @saradika

There's a commotion in the kitchen, nearly a third of the elves are running around trying to right it.

Not Charity though. No, she's still in wrapping, doing her job, headphones on, blocking out the chaos.

In fact, she doesn't even notice anything is amiss until Bernard inches into her line of sight.

"Hey baby," She smiles, pushing her headphones around her neck. Her shoulders slump when he smiles sheepishly, "What's wrong? And... why do you smell like burnt sugar?"

"There was a mishap in confection," He admits, "I need your help."

"Okay...?" Her eyes go wide when he grabs her wrist and starts hurrying them out of the workshop, a trail of wrapping paper and ribbon behind them.

The whole kitchen reeks of burnt sugar and the doorframe to confections is marred from black smoke.

"I got her, sir," Bernard calls out, pushing them through the crowd of elves.

"Good cause- Charity?" Santa's eyes narrow at him, "Look, I get you're together, but Charity isn't the answer to every problem."

"When the hell did we automate confections?" She asks, scowling at the large machine in the middle of the room with contempt. When no one answers she looks over to Bernard who looks almost guilty, "Twitch?"

"Uh, about... a century ago," He mutters, "Give or take a decade..."

"A century?"

"It's quicker!"

"You can't automate candy making at the North Pole!" She argues, "Are you fucking serious?"

"Language!" Santa scolds, "Charity, you obviously have some insight into this. The machine's busted for the rest of the season, and now we're further behind than usual."

Bernard shrinks under her glare, he knew she'd be pissed if she found out. Her nose scrunches, causing her glasses to rise slightly on the reddened skin.

She suddenly turns and storms toward the storage room, muttering to herself about how she can't believe they did this.

"Do I have to haul all this out myself?!" She yells from the closet and a few elves scurry over to help her.

Even Bernard helps Santa and the others get the old equipment out, most of the elves looking on in confusion, most of them being only recently put on the candy line sometime in the past fifty years.

"We don't know how to use this stuff."

Charity rolls her eyes and pulls off her sweater, then her second, leaving her in a cropped long sleeve as she hangs them outside the door.

"A fucking travesty," She grumbles, tightening her ponytail and pushing up her sleeves.

He tries not to stare too hard at the way her tattoo peaks out from the waistline of her jeans.

The whole group watches in awe as she works, letting muscle memory take over.

"Ribbon candy?" One of the elves scoffs when she starts shaping her wrapped and pulled sweet. They continue even when Bernard motions for them to stop, "No kid wants ribbon candy, it's the twenty-first century!"

The elves around them step back at the pointed glare she throws at them.

"Ribbon candy is a classic," She points out, "And kids don't care as long as they get colorful sugar."

She gets the first batch out in record time with the help of a few elves that timidly stepped up.

Bernard lingers behind as the rest of crowd disperses, watching Charity in her element, adoration emanating off of him.

"Bernard," Santa snaps his fingers near him to get his attention.

"W-! Y-yes sir?" He reluctantly takes his eyes off her.

"Why was Charity working in wrapping when this is obviously what she's more suited to?" He asks, "She didn't even look at a recipe."

He shrugs, "She used to be head of confections before she got sent to the mortal realm. When she came back she wanted something a little slower paced and I..."

Santa looks at him queerly when he pauses and he clears his throat before continuing, "I may have been scared to tell her the candy was machine-made now."

"So that's why she's so opinionated about it."

"She used to pull when she was mad. It kind of comes naturally and she's... not happy right now. I'm gonna get an earful later," He glances back over at her. She's teaching the others how to properly pull the candy on the hook as they struggle, "But we shouldn't have to worry about being behind again."

"She's that good?"

They both look over when another elf shouts and Bernard cringes.

"We should be prepared for an influx of burns."

"You should have told me."

"You should have been more careful," He tuts, helping her bandage various cuts and burns from the day as she sits on his thigh.

"I just need to rebuild my calluses," She pouts, "And you're dodging."

He sighs, "You said you wanted to do something less stressful and I knew you would flip when you found out. I just..."

He laces his fingers with hers, not willing to look her in the eye, "I wanted you to be comfortable here and go at your own pace. I knew it would upset you so I just didn't tell you..."

She pulls one of her hands away to grip his chin, raising it just enough for her to softly kiss him.

He trails after her when she pulls away, looking up at her with stars in his eyes, "What was that for?"

She hums and bumps her nose with his, eyes shut, "For being sweet... In your own, stubborn way."

He leans in brushing their lips together again.

"You're not mad?" He breathes.

"Oh I'm furious," She teases, "But not at you."

He reaches up to hold the back of her neck, kissing her harder.

She laughs into the kiss, her stomach twists, and she moves her hands to hold his cheeks.

"That still gives me butterflies," She whispers.

"Me too," He admits, voice no louder than hers.

"And I think I need to start an official transfer to confections."

It's his turn to laugh as he nods.

"I think we can arrange that," He pets her hair, eyes bright and loving, "You'll whip them into shape in no time."

"I'll definitely have my work cut out for me," She groans.

[pandoramsbox]

Sci-Fi Saturday: The Man in the White Suit

Week 30:

Film(s): The Man in the White Suit (Dir. Alexander Mackendrick, 1951, UK)

Viewing Format: Streaming - Kanopy

Date Watched: 2022-02-18

Rationale for Inclusion:

Given that Ewan McGregor has been playing Obi-Won Kenobi in live-action Star Wars media off and on since 1999, would anyone under 30 years-old be able to place Alec Guinness by me saying, "You know, Obi-Won Kenobi in Star Wars?" To Millennials and older geeks this lack of cultural touchstone would hurt our brains, but the knighted, most accomplished character and dramatic actor himself would be relieved that Star Wars (Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope, Dir. George Lucas, 1977, USA) may not be what he is remembered most for in 2024, as it was not his favorite role despite the financial stability it enabled for him. Granted, I don't know what other example of Guinness' filmography I would use for someone under 30 who doesn't attend classic cinema film festivals. Star Wars is still better known than Lawrence of Arabia (Dir. David Lean, 1962, UK) or Kind Hearts and Coronets (Dir. Robert Hamer, 1949, UK) by the mainstream populus of the United States.

I begin on this note because this week's film, The Man in the White Suit (Dir. Alexander Mackendrick, 1951, UK), stars Sir Alec Guinness in a comedic role, which while not unusual for him, especially in the 1950s, is not the work for which the mainstream consciousness most remembers him. A chance to witness more of Guinness' incredible range was part of the reason for selecting this film, as was the fact that the last British sci-fi satire that we watched for the survey, Once in a New Moon (Dir. Anthony Kimmins, 1935, UK), has been one of the great discoveries by my partner and I on this cinematic journey thus far. Plus, according to the British Film Institute, The Man in the White Suit is the 58th greatest film to come out of its country.

Reactions:

Being familiar with Guinness' dramatic work, it came as no surprise to me or my partner that the actor turned in a brilliant performance as Sidney Stratton, a research chemist bent on creating an indestructible fiber. The number of lab explosions and subterfuge Stratton undertakes gives his comedic timing ample opportunities to shine.

The emphasis on chemistry led to the inclusion of the "Guggle Glub Gurgle" song to accompany the chemicals burbling, moving and bubbling. My partner and I assumed that it must have been the work of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, who created the music and sound effects for Doctor Who and both the radio and television versions of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. To our surprise, the experimental and pioneering electronic music and sound production company was not formed until 1958; 7 years after the release of The Man in the White Suit. Instead, the creative composition was created by sampling sounds made by actual equipment, which may make it the most widely heard example of musique concrète.

The slapstick humor transitions more into satire when Stratton successfully completes the first batch of his indestructible, radioactive fiber, and makes it into the suit of the title. The viability of cloth that does not stain or wear out causes a panic amongst everyone from capitalists, to textile workers, to little old ladies who take in others' washing for a bit of money. The economy and culture would be upended by it in a way that was too massive for people to handle. Luckily for the conservative minded, a flaw in the formula causes the cloth to gradually break down over a few weeks. With Stratton's firing, the threat seems to be neutralized. Except, Stratton has a revelation whilst looking at his formula notes, and at the end strides off, presumably to seek out a means of creating a second version of the indestructible cloth.

Stratton continues the tradition of the mad scientist, but instead of upending morals and religion like his predecessors, he upends capitalism and commerce. Given the post-World War II industrial boom many countries experienced, and the Cold War being configured on communist versus capitalist lines, it's an evolution keeping with the times in which the film was created. He is nevertheless just as antisocial and obsessive as his predecessors Henry Jekyll and Victor Frankenstein.

He also carries on the mad scientist tradition of experimenting on himself by wearing a suit made of his indestructible fiber. Stratton is not merely daily driving his cloth, the way new products are tested for their practicality, because the fiber includes radioactive elements. The long term damage of radiation exposure through patent medicines containing radioactive elements and working with radioluminescent paints was known by the 1930s. It is entirely possible that Stratton could have developed a version of the formula where the cloth would not deteriorate, but the person wearing it would do so horrifically. At that point his cloth would not only be a direct economic threat, but a direct threat to public health.

My speculating and interpreting of the invention central to the film aside, The Man with the White Suit is a fun piece of sci-fi and satire, managing to be equal measures funny, smart, and thought provoking. It's widely available on streaming and home media formats, and definitely worth a watch.

[stringsnwires]

i believe my flow has been stolen by the interview anon☹️

oh well!!:3

hiya engie!

now, ive already asked another engie way too many questions, but whats the harm in asking you too?

so, what's your favorite primary?

what about secondary?

do you prefer your weapons festivized?

how about your hat? do you like it festivized?

enough about festivities, what about music?

i assume you like country, but are there any other genres you like?

perhaps classical? maybe even rock?

do you play any other instruments other than the guitar?

has sniper ever allowed you to play his saxophone? after being thoroughly cleaned, id hope!

are you more of an early bird or a night owl?

do you like milk in your coffee or do you prefer it black?

does pyro ever help you in the workshop? (by help i mewn stare at you with those soulless eyes and mumble incoherent nonsense)

anywho, thats all the questions i have for now !!!:3

-the anon who asks way too many questions

Hey, which Engie? I caught one one time but then I lost him after asking a question about inter-dimensions and I've been writhing since.

I prefer my standards for pretty much everything. I swap my shotgun out for the Widowmaker sometimes n the Rescue Ranger on larger battlefields against the bots. I usually always have the Wrangler equipped too. That one don't change really.

I string little lights up everywhere for the holidays, just like the rest'a the boys.

Country can't be beat! But I mess with some jazz- it's hard not to livin' with folks like these. I can get behind new wave n pop stuff too. Rock is fine.

I play the banjo n a little harmonica.

Sniper hasn't let me play his sax but I ain't never asked to.

Night owl.

I like my coffee in whatever way helps me make it through the day.

Pyro helps! Solly too. More than just starin'. Pyro is often around for company n draws n leaves me alone, but the fella's better-versed innit than Solly. He can help me with little parts, specific cables, tools, you name it. Basically anything that ain't constructing... Though he tries to help with this too.

Solly knows parts, and he can hand me right well all I ask for, but I ain't ever gonna have him hold a cable in place like I ask Py. He's a sweetheart. Just clunky.

[fuzzydreamin]

Fuzzy's Fallout 4 Mod List

Finally decided to put together a list of the mods I use. (I even made a quick and crappy banner!)

I use Vortex to manage my mods, it's super easy and basically holds your hand through installing and setting up mods. You're also going to need F4SE no matter what.

I mostly find my mods on Nexus, so just search the names listed here on there. Anything not found on Nexus will have a link to it (tumblr only allows 100 links, so I couldn't just link everything).

I would also recommend keeping all of your original file downloads in a seperate folder in your games drive or wherever, organised however is easiest for you. That way you can check what you have outside of the manager, and don't have to re-download everything if you decide you need to nuke vortex and start fresh - just look for updated files only. You also won't completely lose access to the mods you really enjoy if the author decides to hide or get rid of them, since you'll always keep a version on your computer.

I also play with a lot of Creation Club content.

Woe be upon those who enter beyond here, the list is long.

Misc

These are either scripts, fixes, little changes to random things, or just didn't fit in any other category for whatever reason.

Achievements (Enables achievement gain while using mods.)

Better Notes

Publick Occurrences Expanded (Requires 'Better Notes'. Makes the newspaper look better, and also adds new articles for quests and events worth writing news about. Piper's actually got a job now.)

Carry Weight on Level Up (I do more things, I get more shit. I level up and I can carry said shit. Solves my problems without feeling like a total cheat since I still have to level up to earn it.)

Classic Radiation Poisoning

Crafting Highlight Fix

Durable Vertibirds (They'll actually be able to put up a real fight with some super mutants before they still end up falling out of the sky on my head.)

Equipment and Crafting Overhaul (ECO)

Extended Dialogue Interface

HUDFramework (You need this to make the above mod work.)

Loot Logic and Reduction (No more post-war items in pre-war safes.)

Immersive Generic Dialogues (Settler reputation. They talk differently to you based on how happy they are.)

Militarized Minutemen

Militirized Minutemen - Uniforms Patches and Insignia Addon

Militarized Minutemen-We Are The Minutemen Compatability Patch

We Are The Minutemen

We Are The Minutemen - Militarized Minutemen - Uniform Patches and Insignia Addon - Compatibility Patch

Mod Configuration Menu

Multiple Floors Sandboxing

Nuka World - Skip Raiding Your Own Settlements (Lets you go through Nuka World without making Preston mad, but you won't be able to establish any raider camps in the Commonwealth, thus blocking the 'Hostile Takeover' achievement.)

Nuka World Plus (Choose another faction to take over Nuka World after getting rid of the raider bosses. Run businesses and defend against raider's attempts to retake the park.)

Power Armor Fast Exit and Enter

Pride Mod 2023 (Workshop items, clothing, pip-boy and PA skins, and more.)

Rename Anything

Scrap that Misc

Start Me Up Redux

Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch - UFO4P

Wastelander's Cookbook

Weightless Junk and Other Items

Character Creation

Bodyslide and Outfit Studio

Bodytalk V3

Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Enhancer

Commonwealth Cuts - KS Hairdos - ApachiiSkyHair

EoW - Makeup Colors

LooksMenu

Lots More Facial Hair

Lots More Female Hairstyles

Lots More Male Hairstyles

Ponytail Hairstyles by Azar

Super Natural Eyes Pack ( Standalone )

The Eyes Of Beauty Fallout Edition

Zella's Hair Dye Collection

Clothing, Armour, and Weapons

1950's Feminine Outfits

Absolutely Head Wear

Animated and Glowing Jewelry

Army Officers Outfit - REDUX

Backpacks of the Commonwealth

Big Dumb Flower Crown

Black Pip-Boy

Bunnygirl Outfit

Casual Survivalist

Classic Holstered Weapons

Collars for Humans

Colonial Attire

Colorful Commonwealth - Sunglasses and Wigs

Combat Armor Headlamp

Commonwealth Shorts

Commonwealth Shorts for Men

CROSS_BrotherhoodRecon

CROSS_Courser Strigidae

CROSS Uni BoS Uniform

CROSS Jetpack

Eli's Armour Compendium

Engraved Silver Shroud Submachinegun

Eyewear and Mask Retexture

Fishing Hat

Functional Wedding Rings

Furby Crab Glasses

Furby's Brotherhood Uniform Retexture

Furby's Custom Brotherhood Uniform

Furby's Spiked Leather Collar

Furby76Imports

FurbyGymShorts

Grease Rat Garbs

Hidden Armors

Holstered Weapons by Azar

HorribleBowlingShirt

SIRIUS Assault Suit

K-Girl outfits

K-Girl Outfits for Vanilla-EVB (Let's male bodies wear the outfits from the above mod.)

Magnolia's Burlesque Outfit

More Clothes and Textures

Nurse's Cap

Obi's Choker Collection

Pride Bandanas

Private Military Company

Private Military Company Extended

Proper Party Gear

Retro Fashion Overhaul

Requested Clothing

S.R.O. - Syringer Overhaul

Shino Sailor Moon -Cbbe- Body Slider

Shino Sailor Moon - Extended Sailors

Shaggy Wigs

Short Skirts

Simple Clothing

Simple Clothing - CBBE Bodyslide Conversion

STRAC Hats

Tactical Combat Swimwear

TheKite's Handmaiden

TheKite's MilitiaWoman Outfit

Unique Uniques - Unique Weapons Redone (Makes named legendary weapons have their own appearance. Also changes their legendary effects though.)

More Uniques - Unique Weapons Expansion (Not a replacer like the above mod, just adds even more weapons with their own looks and effects.)

Vault-Tec Outfits

Wasteland Aviator

Companions

AmazingFollowerTweaks

Alternate Hancock Outfit Standalone (Colonial Duster Retexture) (Not a replacer - you find it in his office to do with as you like. I like to think it's a winter coat - using with AFT means he will switch between given outfits.)

Codsworth Out of Time Fix (The creator has hidden this mod but it's a real lifesaver if you use a lot of Creation Club content, as the influx of data at the start of the game can bug the start of the main quest, and thus him and Preston. This mod lets you immersively skip the post-war Sanctuary tour and bug exterminating by telling him you already did it, which is where Codsworth would glitch out - not following along and not progressing the quest stage. LMK if you want the file and I'll find a way to share it.)

Combat Zone Restored

Combat Zone Restored Restored (patch that cleans up the above mod.)

Curie's Molerat Disease Cure

Danse GTFO Power Armor

Danse No X-01

Fallout Shelter Online-Inspired Curie Outfit

Fashionable Valentine

Immersive Dogmeat

Nick Valentine Romance

Use Repair Kits On Nick Valentine

Creatures

Cat Apparel

Cat Inventory

Classic Dogmeat A.K.A. Pirate

Courser Crusher

Crows and Creatures

D.E.C.A.Y - Better Ghouls

Less Loot D.E.C.A.Y.

Deadlier Deathclaws (Makes that starter encounter real tough. Tip: shelter inside the store near the museum and keep luring it out to the windows - let Preston work for his rescue.)

Diverse Cats

Dogmeat Helmets and Hats

Dogmeat's Backpack

Dogmeat's Backpacks of the Commonwealth (Requires the mod above it - Improves the other mod and very importantly lets bags be used with dog armour!)

Glowing Animals Emit Light

Immortal Cats (I also add the additional file to turn cat meat into tins of cat food.)

K-9 Harness -- Tactical Body Armor and Backpack for Dogmeat

k9 harness bandana fix dogmeat (Lifts the bandana a little so it doesn't clip.)

No Legendary Items from Creatures (Bloatfly's don't carry guns.)

NPC Loot Drop Rebalance

Pet Any Dog

Protected Unique Brahmin

Real Dogmeat Armor (Adds protection to the dog armour -works for enemy attack dogs.)

Shadow the Dark Husky Companion

True Legendary Enemies (Fight Todd Howard in his own game.)

Textures and Environment

Burnt Magazines and Comics Retexture

CROSS Crit Gore-verhaul

Darker Nights

Delightful Dead Fish

Enhanced Blood Textures

Enhanced Lights and FX

Furby's Brotherhood of Steel Flag Retexture

Immersive Drumlin Diner

Immersive Drumlin Diner eXoPatch (Fixes stuff for the one above, otherwise you might get the old drumlin and the new one pasted on top of each other, and poor Patrick will be T-posing.)

Improved Map with Visible Roads

Magazine Mesh Cleanup

Nuka Recipe Book 2k Retextures

True Grass

True Storms - Wasteland Edition (Thunder-Rain-Weather Redone)

Vivid Fallout - All in One

Settlements and Building

All Settlements Extended

Art Connoisseur System ... A "Frame" Work (Lets you use mods to add more paintings. Or add your own images.)

Atom Bomb Pinups Paintings (Requires 'Art Connoisseur System'.)

Better Settlers

Better Vendor Stalls

Brighter Settlement Lights

Build Your Own Pool

Business Settlements

Busy Settlers

Campsite

Capital Wasteland Workshop

Colored Workshop Lights

Colorful Bottle Lanterns

Craft All The Drugs (Lets you plant hubflowers and the like in settlements - they work like crops and can be harvested regularly.)

Craftable Hats (Automatron) (Lets you put 3 kinds of hats on robots.)

Craftable Pride Flags

Crafting Fury 9000 GTX

Crimsonrider's Unique Furniture

cVc Dead Wasteland

CWSS Redux (Build a nicer bathroom.)

Dino's Decorations

Farming Resources

Femshepping's Minimalist Homewares

Fiddler's Green Settlement

Filled Brahmin and Water Troughs

Fizztop Grille Workshop (Changes the exterior.)

Fizztop Grille Enhancements (Changes the interior.)

Free Cage and Trap Repairs

Functional Displays

G2M - Workshop

Generator Fusebox

Graffiti 2 Electric Boogaloo

Hangman's Alley Interior Apartments

Holotape Display Shelves

Homeplate - Mechanist Lair - Full Workbenches

Homemaker

Housekeeping

Invisible Furniture

Just Some Curtains and Rods

Lightbulb Wire

Longer Power Lines

Lore Friendly Posters

Minutemen Morale Pack

More Colorful Potted Plants

More Fortifications

Northland Diggers

Nuka World - Bot Mods Extravaganza (Lets you build some nuka world bots.)

OCDecorator - Static Loot

Old World Plaids

Orphans of the Commonwealth

Place Everywhere

Quieter Settlements

Rebuild - AIO (Rebuild the structures in many of the settlements across the Commonwealth -not all of them yet. Keeps that wasteland weathered look without everything staying broken and unusable.)

Rebuild - Shared Resources (Required for the above mod.)

Rebuild - Workshop Standalone (Not required, but adds matching snappable doors and such.)

Rebuild - Modular Sanctuary Pre-War and Post-War Build Set (Unrelated to the other 'rebuild' mods. Just adds House of Tomorrow themed build items.)

Recruit Isabel Cruz as Settler

Recruit Scribe Haylen as Settler

Red Rocket Fresh Paint (Works with Rebuild mod - just changes the floor and walls colour/texture.)

Renovated Furniture

Reversed Workshop Highlight

Scrap Everything

Settlement Keywords Expanded

Settlement Menu Manager

Settlement Objects Expansion Pack

Settlement Supplies Expanded

Settlements Expanded (Let's you unlock a higher settlement building budget, among other things. Larger builds will cause issues -fast travel into your more worked on settlements to help clean the load.)

Shaikujin's Better warning for settlements being attacked

Signs of the Times - Posters

Simply Modular Housing

Singing Settler

Snap'n Build

SnapBeds - Usable Bunk Beds - Mix and Match Beds

Snappable Clutter and Display

Stained Glass Workshop Mod - Unicorn Farts and Godrays

Static Object Decorator

The Cozy Scavver - A Settlement Workshop Kit

The Kuro Tab

The Sanctuary Bridge

Thematic and Practical - Workshop Settlements - Structures and Furnitures

Transfer Settlements - Shareable Settlement Blueprints

Videos of the Wasteland

Vault 76 Educational Films Holotapes (Goes with above mod.)

Vault Posters

Wall Mounted Magazine Shelf

Wall Pass-Through Power Conduits

Woody's Wasteland Stuff

Working Food Planters

Working Table Lamps

Workshop Framework

Xnjguy Filled Mods All-In-One

Radios

Boston Pirate Radio - Anarchist Raider Punk

Elvani's Track Pack for Diamond City Radio

Jetfuel Radio Standalone

More Where That Came From - Diamond City Radio Edition

Survival and Immersion

These are mods I don't play with all the time, just when I'm looking for a more hardcore run around the Commonwealth and want to spend the extra time taking care of my character in the wild.

Agony (Rebalances damage, wounds, and healing - really lives up to it's name.)

Animated Chems Redone (Adds more animations similar to Agony, covering what they missed.)

APC Transport (Useful if you don't want to 'cheat' by using regular fast travel but don't want to hoof it from one side of the map to the other. I'd always recommend having FT enabled in survival through mods though, as the reload can help smooth issues out.)

Create Your Own Difficulty Rebalance

DEF_SSW Survival Stats widget redone

Give Me That Bottle

Smokeable Cigars - Cigarettes - Joints - With HardCore Auto Save (More animations, plus a save.)

Survival Mode Console Enabler

Survival Mode Transition Save (Ensures you get a quicksave when entering buildings and the like.)

SURVIVAL QUICK SAVE - No Sleep Till Bedtime (Gives you an aid item you can save to a hotkey if you need a fast save.)

Bethesda Mods

Get these by loading up the game and selecting 'MODS' on the main menu.

CREAtive Clutter - All DLC

CREAtive Teddy Bears

Do It Yourshelf Updated

Easy Homebuilder and Working Double Beds

Home Plate Interior Revamped

Immersive Decor

Makeshift Furniture Pack

More Bang For Your Bark (This mod is specifically for use with the Transdogrifier Creation Club mods - it lets the new dog shapes use clothing.)

MsRae's 76 Style Outfits

MsRae's All The Overalls

MsRae's Horticulture DLC

Railroad Death Bunnies Clothes

-----

(Now, y'all might say that's a lot of mods. And it is. But the only significant issues I have is that when I die my game crashes to desktop, and the excess of Creation Club content loading at the start of the game sometimes bugs out the first stage of the main quest, and thus poor Codsy and Preston. I just have to skip Codsy's search bit and rush to meet and save Preston to see if he will talk to me or not. Otherwise things run as normal -for a Bethesda game.)

[zinbu]

Name: Adrien “Axel” Leclerc

Age: 26

Occupation: Mechanic, Tattoo Artist (Side Job)

Nationality: French

Vehicle: Old Beetle

Background:

Adrien Leclerc, known by his friends and clients as “Axel,” was born in the industrious outskirts of Marseille, France. His early years were spent immersed in the world of machinery, courtesy of his father, who was an amateur mechanic. From a young age, Axel was fascinated by engines and the intricate workings of machines. His father’s garage became his playground, where he learned to disassemble and reassemble everything from lawnmowers to old cars.

Axel’s passion for cars became evident when he inherited his father’s aging Volkswagen Beetle. Determined to restore it, he poured his heart and soul into the project, turning the dilapidated vehicle into a gleaming classic. This Beetle, now a symbol of his craftsmanship and dedication, remains Axel’s prized possession.

Relationship with Little Moon:

Axel’s relationship with Little Moon is marked by a blend of tough love and genuine care. When Little Moon attempted to steal from him, Axel saw beyond the youngen's actions and recognised the potential for growth. Rather than resorting to punishment, he offered him a job at his tattoo studio, giving him a chance to redeem himself. Their interactions often involve playful ribbing and mutual respect, with Axel acting as a mentor and a protective figure.

Career:

Axel’s primary role as a mechanic reflects his lifelong love for cars. His workshop, nestled in Marseille, is a sanctuary where the scent of motor oil mingles with the loud strains of rock and metal music. It’s a place where Axel’s skills are on full display, whether he’s repairing a classic car or customising a high-performance engine. His side job as a tattoo artist allows him to channel his creative energy into intricate designs, making his studio a popular destination for those seeking both artistry and personal connection.

Likes:

Classic Cars: Axel’s restored Beetle is just one of many classic cars he adores. He frequently attends car shows and auctions, always on the lookout for rare and unique finds.

Rock/Metal Music: Axel’s love for rock and metal music is unwavering.

Tattoos: Axel’s own body is covered in tattoos, each one symbolising a significant event or personal milestone in his life.

Tobacco: Smoking is a longstanding habit for Axel. He often takes breaks with a cigarette in hand, a habit that contributes to his distinctive scent.

Cooking: Axel is a talented cook, specialising in French cuisine. His ratatouille and coq au vin are well-loved by his friends and family.

Biking (not motorcycles): Although he dislikes motorcycles, Axel enjoys leisurely rides on his bicycle, particularly on scenic routes or along coastal paths.

Vintage Music Equipment: Axel has a collection of rare vinyl records and vintage music equipment, which he treasures for their history and sound quality.

Dislikes:

Motorcycles: Axel harbours a strong aversion to motorcycles, stemming from a traumatic accident involving a close friend.

Dishonesty: He values honesty and integrity deeply, finding deceit and dishonesty unacceptable.

Noise Complaints: While he enjoys loud music, Axel has little patience for neighbours who complain about the noise.

Fast Food: Axel prefers home-cooked meals over fast food, finding the latter lacking in quality and taste.

Overly Modern Technology: While he embraces useful technology, Axel is skeptical of overly complex gadgets that complicate rather than simplify life.

Crowded Places: Axel finds crowded environments stressful and overwhelming, preferring quieter, more serene settings.

Unnecessary Small Talk: He values meaningful conversations and finds superficial small talk tiresome and unproductive.

Personality Traits:

Loyal and Protective: Axel is fiercely loyal to those he cares about, often going to great lengths to support and protect them.

Hardworking: His dedication to his work, whether as a mechanic or a tattoo artist, is evident in everything he does.

Creative: Axel’s creativity is evident in both his mechanical work and his tattoo designs, blending technical skill with artistic expression.

Grumpy but Soft-Hearted: Though he may come across as gruff, those close to him know that Axel has a deeply compassionate and caring nature.

Secrets:

Past Love: Axel once had a deeply significant romantic relationship that ended in heartbreak, which has shaped his cautious approach to love and relationships.

Hidden Talent: Axel is a skilled guitarist, a talent he keeps private and uses as a personal escape when he’s alone in his garage.

Fun Facts:

Signature Smell: Axel is known for his distinctive scent of motor oil and tobacco, which has become a part of his identity.

Unique Tattoos: His body is covered in tattoos, each with its own story or significance, including a few secret designs known only to him.

Secret Recipe: Axel’s homemade ratatouille is a closely guarded family recipe, often a hit at gatherings with friends and family.

Collector: He has an eclectic collection of vintage car parts and rock band memorabilia, each piece holding sentimental value and telling a story.

Cooking Skills: Axel’s cooking skills extend beyond French cuisine; he is also adept at making traditional dishes from other cultures.

Music Enthusiast: Axel owns a collection of rare vinyl records and vintage music equipment, a hobby he indulges in during his downtime.

Community Involvement: Despite his gruff exterior, Axel is actively involved in local community events, often volunteering his mechanical skills or organizing charity car shows.

[kira-moonrabbit]

i wanna scream from the heavens "GO PLAY LOBCORP AND LIBRARY OF RUINA NOW NOW NOW" like everyone else when it goes on sale, but hear me out. What if you can only buy one. Or only want to buy one for some reason. Or maybe it's like a book and you want to know what's in the book before you buy the book. Let me help you, ok?

For ease of scrolling I'll just put the rest beneath a cut. Below is me going over everything notable about lobcorp and library of ruina that would influence the decision of what you want to buy, positive or negative. Mostly positive, though.

WHAT DO BOTH OF THEM HAVE?

Customizable side characters to get attached to. Employees and Librarians.

A story about the horrors of capitalism, I think.

A world that they expand upon to such a huuuuuuge degree. Lots of worldbuilding. Huge world.

Lots of beasts!

Both have soundtracks that will explode you!

They also have a lot of body horror and gore in them. Be safe, okay?

WHAT DOES LOBOTOMY CORPORATION HAVE?

Lobcorp is a management game. If you like to manage things, it might be for you! Basically, you work on monsters to make energy, and you need to work on them to unlock more information about them to make breaches less likely. It's a game of experimentation!

Failure is about halfway between forgiving and not. Resetting the day if something bad happens costs nothing (barring a few exceptions, but those are very, VERY rare). But you have to actually finish a day to progress. Take the knowledge of what went wrong to try and fix your mistakes! ...But sometimes that doesn't help, either... It's that kind of game.

You have to let your agents work on Abnormalities to improve their stats and let them use better equipment! It's easy to get attached to your little guys, if that's a plus.

Story's pretty good, y'know. I'll leave discussing the nitty-gritty of what Lobcorp's story is about to the professionals, though; I didn't pay enough attention to it cuz I was more focused on the gameplay.

Lobotomy Corporation is STRESSFUL. Your Employees are made of tissue paper, and combat is essentially just ordering them from room to room and hoping they escape from an attack in time. It's very, very hard. That could be your cup of tea, or it could also not be your cup of tea.

It's the less gore-heavy of the two games! Its art style is cutesier. Still, again, be careful.

The game is, admittedly, a bit lacking in polish. It was left with a few bugs unfixed, and some of the workable monsters are nightmares to manage!

...Buuuuut, if it helps, Lobcorp has a modding scene! Albeit a very, very small one. There are a variety of mods to make your experience easier, if that's what you'd like to do. There aren't very many "content mods," though. Like I said, it's a small modding scene. It's also not an "official" modding scene, meaning you need an external tool to load mods in (rather than an official Workshop.)

TL;DR - Very challenging but worth it in the end if you like management sims.

WHAT DOES LIBRARY OF RUINA HAVE?

Library of Ruina is a card game! And also a dice game! You give cards to your Librarians to use in card battles. Each card has its own dice with set roll ranges. (Not classical dice either; no D20s. Instead, a die on a card, or "combat page," will have, say, a roll range of 3-7.) You "clash" against other cards that the enemy is using, comparing rolls on those dice.

There are also various passives and Abnormality pages to use to turn the tide in battles, such as a Passive that makes your pages stronger the faster you are, or an Abnormality page that will make a specific type of die more powerful and inflict a debuff.

Generally, it's easier to play the game to get a proper wraparound for how Ruina works. It's simple to learn, but takes true strategic grit to master! ...Mostly!

It's more laid-back than Lobcorp! It's still a pretty hard game, don't get me wrong, but it's MUCH easier than Lobcorp is. You can take your time with 95% of all battles. (the 5% is a single battle with a time limit.)

The story is a bit easier to understand! Plus, you get to see characters interacting with other characters more.

MUCH, MUCH gorier than Lobcorp. Without spoiling anything, a certain chapter with two characters called Tommy and Merry might be a bit tough to handle especially. Take care of yourself!

It has a Steam Workshop page! And lots and lots of mods! Some better than others, but still, there's a lot worth checking out! Even if you don't particularly want to toy with mods, there are also custom skins to try out.

...Yeah, I recommend Library of Ruina over Lobcorp any day, it's a much more polished experience.

TL;DR - Very polished, if difficult, card battler

Now, I can say it. If this piqued your interest... GO BUY LOBOTOMY CORPORATION AND/OR LIBRARY OF RUINA ON STEAM RIGHT NOW GOGOGO!!!!

[talesofsonicasura]

Not A Plaything

Prologue: Unfriendly Meeting

Somethings aren't meant to be toys. A line that one should always respect. To cross it is to break those involved and leave the innocent picking up the pieces.

Can be read gender neutral or preferred gender.

'Toys make the world go around.' A phrase that those who craft goodies for children of all ages would probably agree on. Whether it was for the smiles or money, toys were made to bring enjoyment to these youthful bundles.

Dolls, plastic cars, playing cards, building blocks were just some of many flavors they came in. Size doesn't really matter compared to the quality. And there were some lines people would cross if they want the perfect toy. Yet, perfection has a price. One that can be seen as morally forbidden depending on how far a toy maker will go.

It can develop into a growing nightmare if more than a single crafter choose to dance with the devil. One company would soon become a hidden workshop of horrors, crafting monsters in exchange for blood. Products made from stolen lives and broken morals.

The thing about commiting taboo is that one day it will all come down. Play with the Devil then you better prepare to pay the price. Cause all dues shall be collected at some point. It was a single incident that led to the massive downfall of this dark company. The Devil's due paid in blood and death as nothing remain except for their sins.

Although, not everything would become forgotten. One tortured soul was given salvation in the form of a determined child. The Devil within the factory knew what these two meant to each other. And let both leave together as they were proof that hope still exists.

Something which expanded far beyond what anyone could imagine.

"Yo, I'm back!" It was a freezing cold day despite being spring season. A lone house sat peacefully deep in the forest, it's roof peppered by the sunlight piercing through the green canopy. It held a comfy aura to it from the two small gardens on each side, soft peach walls and multiple wild cats napping in a homemade shelter.

The two floor home did have oddities for the door frames alongside the hallways were strangely wider. Almost if to accommodate the needs of something large. It could be considered strange to even ominous for many people.

Well, maybe not for you as this been your home for at least a decade. Every wooden board, brick, and piece of plaster renovated by just four hands than a single crew. The wider frames were made to accommodate your housemate. Well, housemate was a loose term as the soft yet rapid thumps echoed through the home.

Enough warning to quickly put up the eggs alongside any other fragile thing. Why? You can thank the large colorful blur that knocked the air out of you for the seventh time this week. "I HAVEN'T BEEN GONE FOR MORE THAN A FEW HOURS!"

Holding you in a hug made of spring-like arms was a vibrantly colored giant jack-in-the-box creature. A large 15' toy whose body was mainly a light blue box that has the classic wind up handle on the back, golden shaped compartments on each side in the form of two stars, two rings, and a heart. Hidden spaces where the five blood red springs which serve as the giant's limbs came out.

Its rectangular feet alongside its large four finger furry paws were equipped with sharp yellow claws. Although they weren't as bad as the cubed head bearing large razor sharp teeth and slightly dilated eyes. Only 90s folk or crazy toy collectors would recognize the giant toy as Playtime Co's Boxy Boo.

Well, if it was a monster that looked ready to eat some poor person whole and not the cuddle bug here. You however knew him under a different title as the large beast gently continues to nuzzle you. "I only been gone for a few hours, Dad."

Yes, the giant toy was just called dad. The Boxy Boo churring up a storm as he hugged you is actually your biological father. Something that would seem impossible if he hadn't been a human made former lab rat by a mad doctor's toy company.

A shit show neither of you wanted to get caught in again. "Let me guess a nightmare about the factory?" He rapidly shook his head. "That Mayfair Watcher's Society podcast we listened to the other night?" He let out an amused snort at that one. "It's that strange reoccurring dream, ain't it?" Dear ol' Boxy Pops gave a small thumbs up.

For the past two weeks, your dad had been plagued with a weird dream. Piercing red eyes that lurk in the forest shadows. A bloody silver blade shone under a crimson moon as you and him were fleeing from something. It always ended the same way. Blurry figures of shadow and light destroying everything as they collide.

The dream scared him shitless every time despite how mild it was to the hell he gone through. You were obviously concerned for Boxy Pops as the nightmare sounds more like a warning. Anyone else would wave this off too if they were unaware that the toy victims of Playtime Co. were telepathically linked to something WAY BIGGER.

Your dad was still connected to 'him' by a tiny thread so whether these dreams were 'his' doing is up in the air. But it was enough to tell that this was a storm is on the horizon. You softly caressed the large toy's cheek trying to ease him.

"Don't worry dad. Whatever is going to happen, we'll get through it together. No matter if it's those bastards or something else entirely... They're gonna get steamrolled." You made his favorite snack, devil eggs, and the both of you watch Shazam together to help him calm down.

Boxy Pops' mind had been damaged ever since Playtime Co made him into a toy. At the start, your dad was closer to an actual father bear than the 'soft shy geek' from what your mother once quoted. Ready to strike anything that got near his cub and bring back questionable food. You helped him recover as many lost memories by reintroducing his favorite things.

Games, food, movies, music, comics to even his favorite animals like the wild cats. You taught your dad sign language so communication was much easier. Could he still talk? Sorta sadly. The bastards had twisted his kind soft voice to a heavily static radio that rumble like a car engine. It hurt for your dad to talk and it hurt your heart just seeing how cruel people could be.

For now, it was best for Boxy Pops to recover by lounging with the cats or help solve puzzles for his favorite videogames. You were going to gather as much info on Playtime Co. and make whatever is left burned to the ground. They hadn't paid enough in blood yet...

Let this be known that Boxy Pops is someone who has difficulty sleeping by himself. You or one of the cats stay next to him as he wouldn't rest with no physical reassurance. The factory fucked him up pretty bad and completely ruin Boxy Pops' previous life.

If he feels something is wrong then your father is quick to alert you. This includes light shaking, poking and licking if it's really urgent. Thus the large scratchy cat like tongue that ran across your face at 3 in the morning was enough to wake up in a sputtering mess.

Boxy Pops was on edge as his eyes were more dilated and arm springs hung back a bit for a quick launch. Something had him ready to slip into attack mode, not good. You immediately got dressed, packed emergency provisions, grab the travel pack, then load up both your shotgun and hand pistol.

The people who experimented on him were a relentless bunch. Folk who wouldn't stop until they get what they want or die. Five years on the move, faking your death, barely getting overseas illegally, making a new identity and build a hidden home by hand sums up just how bad they were.

The forest stood eeriely silent as even the wild cats were on edge. Every mother kept close to their kittens while the males look ready to fight off anything that got too close. Boxy Pops had a unique hand in this peculiar nature as all were hostile enough to attack any trespassers like an organized army. You seen wolves get taken out in minutes at how vicious and calculated the cats were.

Whatever been part of his transition into a toy gave Boxy Pops the ability to communicate with animals to an insane degree, especially felines. You stayed on guard as your dad follow stealthily behind. From where the cats were facing, the disturbance was somewhere up north which is boar territory.

Using his spring limbs, your father had leapt into the trees and kept watch from above. Despite his huge size, all of Playtime Co's experiments were extremely stealthy that even someone as big as him wouldn't make a sound. Traits that would make the most advanced ambush predators blush.

You kept your shotgun steady and night vision goggles on to look through the forest's darkness. It was too empty as nothing made a sound to the lack of fireflies that constantly hang out in these parts. You couldn't help notice the woods slightly shift the deeper you tread inside.

The birch trees somehow bled into dark oak, the ground brush now held thorns alongside foreign berries, and even the area's cool air felt more humid. A small snap of a twig was enough warning to aim your gun at the brush as an armed figure stood there.

It's peculiar inhuman shape and animalistic traits didn't spare it from a buck shot to the head. The body part exploding into bloody chunks as the headless figure hit the ground dead. You carefully approach the slain creature, not missing what looked like black blood stains on the flora.

The possibility of it not being a bear was obvious but this monster is unmistakable to any avid gamer. A Red Bokobolin specifically the Skyward Sword variant. It was easily recognizable from the thorn covered club, open fur vest, crude fur skirt covering tiger print underwear and worn brown boots. Since the Bokobolin's sad eggplant head was currently in smithereens, it had to be around 3'9 as Skyward Sword Link stood around 5'1.

"Holy fuck." You immediately raised your shotgun as Bokobolins were pack monsters. If there's one here then a squad has to be nearby. Legend of Zelda was something you played for your dad as it been his favorite series since childhood. Sadly large furry paws can't work a controller well unless it's a custom made one.

Your instincts were right as your night vision goggles caught even in more of them coming this way. "Did Playtime Co. decide to break trademark claims and bring videogame monsters to life? Or did I get bloody Isekai'd?"

You would ponder more once these monsters were dead. The second Bokobolin jumped from the brush had its heart blown apart by another buckshot. Your finger never leaving the trigger as you fired shot after shot. None of them were the archer variety so the only threat was crude clubs and boom...

You managed to duck in time to avoid the Ice Arrow from above and froze the spot where your head would've been. The one responsible was a Lizalfos but it's the Breath of the Wild variant! Large humanoid horned chameleons both in their wiggly lithe appearance and natural camouflage ability wearing metal armor unlike the more eel-like bandit desert lizards.

It was a silver coat, obvious white scales to blue stripes, which meant this son of a bitch is more dangerous than the others. You quickly shot the bastard down before it could let loose another elemental arrow. This allowed the sheer size of the Bokobolin army to charge in, 50 to at least 100, and show how bad the situation really was.

You would run out of ammo alongside room to fire long before even half these bastards were killed. Boxy Pops needed to show up NOW. Immediately dug into the emergency bag until you pull out the flare gun and fired a red shot high into the air. It's burning hot smokey stream made the horde pause in confusion.

An opening you were gonna use as you began to fire once more. Head, chest, legs, any way to slow them down until help could arrive. If the barrel went out, then it was quickly reloaded. The recoil of the countless buckshot from the shotgun had your arm practically screaming in pain as shells litter the ground alongside monster gore.

It was only a matter of time before the worst horror cliche happened...the damn trip. You fell on your ass as a shotgun shell had rolled under your feet like a sick joke. A big misfortune cause one of the Bokobolins took that moment to charge with its club raise high for a good smack.

You ready to intercept the strike using your shotgun when... "HYAAH!" An eeriely familiar howl of a young man had you quickly duck as a large steel boomerang brutally collided with attacking Bokobolin's face. Perfect opportunity to get a good distance from the monster and watch two blonde swordsmen run towards the horde.

A hand gently touch your shoulder was enough to pull up your goggles so making out the impossible sight wouldn't be hindered. What stood there with the steel boomerang in is the one and only BotW Link. A more accurate version from your opinion as the left side of his lean soft tannish 4'11 frame was marred by severe old burns.

The soft blue hue of his Champion's tunic, long soft blonde hair in a blue ponytail, light beige pants, brown travel boots, the soft blueish glow from the dark metal Sheikah Slate and those ocean blue eyes were realer in person. You kept your cool since you weren't the 'fangirl' stereotype, plus Zelda is more of your dad's thing.

That meant the blonde with the long blue scarf had to be Hyrule Warriors Link and the one wearing the multicolor tunic must be Minish Cap/Four Swords. "Is this a fucking Isekai???" Wild Link look at you like an alien in a conga line with martini in hand. "Kufryh Ryiko?" Oh no. No. No. No. NO. A BLOODY LANGUAGE BARRIER ON TOP OF THIS?!

"Fuck my luck!" You went to reload your shotgun and put the night vision goggles back on. Wild Link been distracted at the peculiar weapon before him that he didn't notice the blue Lizalfos emerging from the tree. That is until you pulled him aside and shot the bastard out it's hiding spot.

"Pay attention!" A loud very familiar roar tore through the fighting forces like shrapnel to a wall. Everyone but you froze as no one could see the source of the sound. They weren't looking above for Boxy Pops fell from the trees and crushed two poor Bokobolins flat under his large frame.

With a vicious roar he bit down on another monster, the beastie was so small that only its feets peek outta the toy's mouth. Your father swallowed the Bokobolin whole in seconds, much to its comrades' horror, and lunge at the rest. "Don't hit my dad."

The blast from your shotgun had shaken the three Links out of their daze as they quickly rejoined the fight. In seconds, the Bokobolin squadron shrunk to miniscule numbers. Your father's spring limbs were a three bladed halberd, every monster in range was gonna get hit either by his claws or springs.

Wild Link had swap his boomerang for a long sword as the boomerang didn't mesh well in close quarters. You blast off heads of any Lizalfos that showed up or Bokobolins who went to sneak attack the Links. The last low budget goblin met its fate gruesomely torn in half by Boxy Pops' jaws as this fight finally came to an end.

It wasn't over though for six more Links had joined the other three. The ones who are still adjusting to the absolute monstrous toy before them and the armed stranger who stood protectively in front of the beast. You moved your weapon to the side but never took a finger off the trigger. The moment felt perfect to test something. With your free hand, you sign to the group a single sentence.

"Care for a ceasefire?"

Yep, you ain't imagining what ya just read. I like to make bizarre, insane or crack crossovers sometimes. Shits n giggles that boggle the mind. Poppy Playtime with Legend of Zelda/Linked Universe felt perfect this time. This takes place at least two weeks after Twilight recovers in LU.

Yes, I'm also trying an actual hand at language barriers. Wild's line is gibberish but he was basically saying 'Weird foreign language.' I went with Boxy Boo for the form Reader's dad is trapped. One is because I like goofy jack-in-the-boxes, two I can make dad pun level nicknames such as Boxy Pops and three Huggy Wuggy or Mommy Legs didn't have what I was looking for in surprises.

Boxy Boo literally hides in his box body to sneak attack. I can write the killer jack-in-the-box trope on a Yiga or something as equally funny. As for the cats, since the toys never left Playtime Co's except when Huggy Wuggy escaped in that one ARG vid, there's no way to tell what else they can do inside a different environment.

Thus talking to animals alongside lethal common felines was made for Boxy Boo. Expect Time and every other responsible Link being so done with the bullshit I'm about to drop on 'em. Also I don't know which Link (not Wind obviously) would be the closest to Reader in a platonic or romantic way so it's up in the air.

That's it for now! Until next time folks, I'll see you back in Hyrule! Here's Boxy Boo, both monster and toy art alongside his wiki page.

[lavenoon]

Accidentally Undercover - some worldbuilding crumbs for @xnanosilverx

Admittedly bare bones, but I do have a bit. So I mentioned in the introduction post it's a modern to somewhat futuristic setting, and that animatronics and robots are fully integrated into society. There are some systemic issues left, and Sun and Moon experience that first hand. Their agency doesn't quite know how to deal with them, keeping them employed as two people but shortening their shifts as they do still share a body. Shifts are more of a guideline, anyway - the missions don't always align with the schedule, and there's no clocking in or out, simply reports of finished jobs. The shifts are an expectation of work time, but they aren't under constant surveillance. Gotta bring in results or you lose your job, no matter how long you work.

For Sun and Moon also I. I had to change how their switch works to make everything fit within the AU. It's not light-based, but adjacent to day and night still. They have a scheduled timer so each gets equal 12 hours in the day, because if it worked like canon they would always be one unfortunate light source away from breaking cover and we simply can't have that. That makes for fun Cinderella-esque shenanigans though, especially pre-reveal. If they force a switch (which is still possible), they mess up the timer's schedule which is mostly just a hassle, but they like their system, and don't really like to bother.

Also not quite worldbuilding maybe? But I really like the emphasis on parkour for the agents. While Sun usually doesn't engage (isn't dressed for it, and covers the parts of the job that don't make it necessary) he can parkour, too, and Y/N and Moon are just. Always climbing and jumping and rolling off things to get to the harder to access but less surveilled entry points. They're dressed for that - hence their total lack of classic secret agent attire. They both wear gloves, Y/N to avoid leaving fingerprints and Moon because he has absolutely not enough grip otherwise. Tantalizing "Y/N takes their gloves off and catches Moon off guard" moment also guaranteed <3

Also a bit of elaboration on the soundproofing in Y/N's duplex - they soundproofed their workshop only when they moved in, everything else is quite poorly equipped in that regard. Y/N does hear Sun's little projects, but it's noise on a level that's easily ignored so not worth a complaint. They think their inquiries are harmless, given that Sun seemed so enthusiastic about his DIY project (although also apologetic) the first time they mentioned the noise, but they really don't pester him because it's that loud or anything. The soundproofing they invested in is enough to cover the noise of all their projects, lucky Y/N

[cuprohastes]

Starfield!

OK I've been playing the heck out of this and I have some thoughts. Under the cut.

TL:DR - I'm enjoying it a whole lot.

OK, this is a very Bethesda game. I mean you can see the Fallout 4 DNA, and it's distant ancestor, Skyrim.

And there's some classic bugs: Putting your super rare and cool looking space suit on the Armoury Mannekin is great. And if you change the least amount of your ship it will vanish forever.

Not all your very cool, upgraded weapons will stick around. They'll just show up missing. The tutorials on navigation or ship building appear to be 100% missing. The speech challenge is... hilariously crap and badly explained

But... but...

Out of days of play that's pretty much the only issues I've had, apart from 'Oh dear god I'm over encumbered AGAIN?!' Because for some reason, Bethesda thought that an upper limit of 150KG before buffs or perks or suit mods was acceptable. I mean... OK. It probably is, but given most of your income is hauling gently used equipment and other goodies back to your ship and flogging it off for space bottlecaps septims dollars, it can get really annoying that while carrying the equivalent of two adult humans, you can only sprint for a little bit.

Unless you get your robot butler to pick up the load, but say goodbye to stealth play because at the merest hint of Bad Guy activity, it'll sprint into the thick of things yelling about how it's not programmed for combat, DIE SQUISHY HUMAN RARG RARG PUNCH KICK TWIRL... yes dude, please back off so I can fire this proton canon into that bad person's kneecaps.

I mean you can just park it and say 'wait here'. You even get a quest and marker to find it again if you forget.

But it's a very mellow game. Yes it is super easy to make the game spawn a couple of loot dungeons. But have you tried going to Mars where the horrible grimy mine is... staffed by fairly happy and content miners who are not being exploited, and where you can pick up a mission to put up posters so that people will feel happier? OR that fetch quest designed to get you visiting other locations on behalf of the comic book fan? What about the first faction you meet who won a war but who's citizens were so horrified by it that they formed a working peace with their erstwhile opponents, and admit, yeah, the enetire thing was their fault: Let's rebuild and be better people.

They have a museum where they have a display explaining 'We won but when we asked AITA, the answer was Yes.'

And then you can go sit in the park and eat meatloaf. Maybe build your own colony and put up Space Frog, the Frog from Space posters. Start a garden. Get eaten by a Terrormorph

But you want to be a pirate, a smuggler, a Space Cop, A Ranger, a spy, a bounty hunter, a collections agent or a freelance bad-guy murderer? Oh yeah that for SURE is a bunch of things that you are basically offered right away, and that's not even the main plot. These are fun sub plots. This is a way to rack up XP and bank the hilariously small amount of money it takes to re-build your ship into the space Winnebago of your dreams.

How's that work?

OK you have a space winnebago. Cockpit at the front, mobile home in the middle, then a bunch of engines and pew-pew sticks. Porch on the belly and buncha legs to stand on.

You can swap the middle part - Bed n' kitchen, science room, workshop, infirmary, armoury, captains quarters, living quarters, a couple of other options.

Want more? Well... click a second unit on. Or a long version. Or some passages. Hell, make a star destroyer with every type of room and cover it with engines and lasers and storage units.

You just need to be able to train up to get the reactor to power it all. The good news is that you can absolutely hire staff to run all your systems and have ship with a crew, and a companion who'll happily tag along and provide banter. Or solo it all.

And so far there's no Preston Garvey.

[whentherewerebicycles]

ok well i drove 50 min in moderately heavy traffic to get to this place only to discover that they accidentally sent my security credential to the washington dc office instead of the washington state office 🫠 then had to drive 35 min back (less traffic, at least?). kind of an annoying way to waste a morning but whatever i listened to music and thought about my story idea in traffic so at least there’s that. unfortunately this means i will have to go back sometime in the near future once they get it shipped over.

i spent a couple hours this morning prepping for the campus visit but then started overwhelming myself a little bit so i think i’m gonna gently dial that back for today and return to it later. i honestly think i could do most of the visit tomorrow and it would be just fine. the only parts that feel like big question marks are the job talk i have to give to faculty (on a prompt that will not be provided until a week or so beforehand) and an “informal workshop or something like that” i have to lead with students (they haven’t settled the details yet). but like, both of those will be fine! i’m just raring to get started on the prep work yknow and not having clear parameters means i will do the classic jes thing of going deeper and deeper into various rabbitholes until someone stops me lol.

to try to give myself some parameters:

in general, i want to approach the research/prep work less as “i must do this otherwise i won’t be prepared!!! what if someone grills me on the research on this hyper-specific topic!!!!” and more as “would doing this research be interesting to me and useful to my work as a teacher even if i weren’t prepping for an interview? if so, proceed.”

buzzwords and specific citations don’t matter! what matters is my ability to clearly communicate my big picture values as an educator and administrator, the concrete things i’ve done to enact those values in my past work, and the vision i have for building on that work in the future in this specific institutional context. if i start feeling overwhelmed or like i am beginning to flounder, i return to my core values, my concrete actions, and my vision. i trust that in an interview or job talk context i’ll be able to draw on specific examples to illustrate those things or use my deeper knowledge to answer trickier questions if they arise. 

to keep myself focused on the high-level / big-picture philosophy i want to convey, i think it might be useful to actually make a list of core values or guiding beliefs - so that i have a VERY clear sense of what i’m trying to communicate and a very concrete document to refer back to when i’m feeling a little at sea. i think that should probably be the first thing i do and the main focus of this week, before i let myself delve any further into researching random little topics that might come up in some hypothetical interview situation lol.

i want to remember something macky said, which is that most people would prefer to talk and work with someone who’s curious about the world they’re entering rather than hyper-focused on explaining how awesome they are and how much stuff they’ve done in the past. so i don’t want to let my little insecurities about whether i’m Really Qualified For This Job lead me to knowledge-dump or talk endlessly about myself to try to “prove” something. i want to go into this experience with the calm, grounded belief that this is work i am well equipped to do, so that i can keep the campus visit itself focused on engaging with students/faculty, asking lots of thoughtful questions about the school’s work and priorities, and just in general showing that i can be a good colleague/teammate who people would enjoy working with.

[sanct1f1ed]

cool dice [heart]

ok here i go!

Team Fortress 2 is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 Team Fortress mod for Quake and its 1999 remake, Team Fortress Classic. The game was released in October 2007 as part of The Orange Box for Windows and the Xbox 360, and ported to the PlayStation 3 in December 2007. It was released as a standalone game for Windows in April 2008, and updated to support Mac OS X in June 2010 and Linux in February 2013. It is distributed online through Valve's digital retailer Steam, with Electronic Arts managing retail and console editions.

Players join one of two teams—RED or BLU—and choose one of nine character classes to play as, with game modes including capture the flag and king of the hill. Development was led by John Cook and Robin Walker, the developers of the original Team Fortress mod. Team Fortress 2 was announced in 1998 under the name Team Fortress 2: Brotherhood of Arms. Initially, the game had more realistic, militaristic visuals and gameplay, but this changed over the protracted nine years of development. After Valve released no information for six years, Team Fortress 2 regularly featured in Wired News' annual vaporware list among other entries. Finally released on the Source game engine in 2007, Team Fortress 2 would preserve much of the core class-based gameplay of its predecessors while featuring an overhauled, cartoon-like visual style influenced by the works of J. C. Leyendecker, Dean Cornwell, and Norman Rockwell, alongside an increased focus on the visual and verbal characterization of its playable classes and what the developers have described as a 1960s spy movie aesthetic.

Team Fortress 2 has received critical acclaim for its art direction, gameplay, humor, and use of character in a wholly multiplayer game, and since its release has been referred to as one of the greatest video games ever created. The game continues to receive official Valve server support as of January 2023, in addition to new content being released on a seasonal basis in the form of submissions made through the Steam Workshop. In June 2011, the game became free-to-play, supported by microtransactions for in-game cosmetics. A 'drop system' was also added and refined, allowing free-to-play users to periodically receive in-game equipment and items. Though the game has had an unofficial competitive scene since its release, both support for official competitive play through ranked matchmaking and an overhauled casual experience were added in July 2016. Since early 2020, the official Valve servers have seen an influx of bot accounts using cheat software, often inhibiting legitimate gameplay.

Gameplay

A group of RED players attack a BLU base on the map "Well".

In most game modes, BLU and RED compete for a combat-based objective. Players can choose to play as one of nine character classes in these teams, each with their own unique strengths, weaknesses, and weapon sets. In order to accomplish objectives efficiently, a balance of these classes is required due to how these strengths and weaknesses interact with each other in a team-based environment. Although the abilities of a number of classes have changed from earlier Team Fortress incarnations, the basic elements of each class have remained, that being one primary weapon, one secondary weapon, and one melee weapon. The game was released with six official maps, although over one hundred maps have since been included in subsequent updates, including community-created maps. When players choose a gamemode for the first time, an introductory video is played, showing how to complete its objectives. During matches, the Administrator, voiced by Ellen McLain, announces events over loudspeakers. The player limit for one match is 16 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and 24 on the Windows edition. However, in 2008, the Windows edition was updated to include a server variable that allows for up to 32 players.

Team Fortress 2 is the first of Valve's multiplayer games to provide detailed statistics for individual players, such as the total amount of time spent playing as each class, most points obtained, and most objectives completed in a single life. Persistent statistics tell the player how they are performing in relation to these statistics, such as if a player comes close to their record for the damage inflicted in a round. Team Fortress 2 also features numerous achievements for carrying out certain tasks, such as achieving a certain number of kills or completing a round within a certain time. Sets of class-specific achievements have been added in updates, which can award weapons to the player upon completion. This unlockable system has since been expanded into a random drop system, whereby players can also obtain items simply by playing the game.

Game modes

Core game modes

Team Fortress 2 contains five core game modes.

Attack/Defend (A/D) is a timed game mode in which the BLU team's goal is to capture RED control points. The number of control points varies between maps, and the points must be captured by the BLU team in respective order. To capture a control point, a player must stand on it for a certain amount of time. This process can be sped up by more players on one team capturing a single point. Once a control point is captured by the BLU team, it cannot be re-captured by the RED team. The RED team's job is to prevent the BLU team from capturing all the control points before the time limit ends. Once a point is captured, the time limit will extend.

Capture the Flag (CtF) is a mode which revolves around the BLU and RED teams attempting to steal and capture the opposing team's flag, represented in-game as an intelligence briefcase. At the same time, both teams must defend their own intelligence. When the intelligence is dropped by the carrier – either by dying or dropping it manually, it will stay on the ground for 1 minute before returning to its original location if it is not picked up again. A team's intelligence can only be carried by the opposing team. The first team to capture the enemy's intelligence three times wins.

Control Points (CP) is a timed game mode where there are several control points placed around the map, with 3 or 5 control points in total depending on the map. These are referred to as "3CP" and "5CP," respectively. The game will start off with only the middle control point being available for capture, with the other control points split equally among both teams. Once this middle control point is captured, a team can begin capturing the enemy team's points in respective order. The time limit is extended on the capture of a control point by either team. For a team to win, they must capture all the control points within the time limit.

King of the Hill (KOTH) is a timed game mode that contains a single control point at the middle of the map that can be captured by both the RED and BLU teams. Upon capturing the control point, a team-specific timer starts counting down but stops upon the point being captured by the opposing team. The first team to have their timer count down to 0 wins.

Payload (PL) is a timed game mode where the BLU team must push an explosive cart along a track, while the RED team must prevent the cart from reaching their base. To push the cart, at least one BLU player must stay within the range of the cart, which will dispense health and ammo every few seconds. The cart's speed will increase as more BLU players attempt to push it. Payload maps have multiple "checkpoints" along the track. Once these checkpoints are captured, they may adjust the spawn locations of both teams. Capturing a checkpoint will also increase the time limit. If the cart is not pushed by the BLU team for 20 seconds, it will begin to move back to the last captured checkpoint, where it will stop. The RED team can stop the cart from being pushed by being within range of it. The RED team wins by preventing the cart from reaching the final checkpoint before time runs out.

Alternative game modes

There are several alternative game modes in Team Fortress 2. These modes consist of a small number of maps and detach from the core game modes in some way.

Arena is a special game mode in which players do not respawn upon death. A team can win either by eliminating all opposing players, or by claiming a single capture point that opens after a certain time has elapsed. This mode is currently unavailable through matchmaking, but is still accessible through community servers.

Mannpower is a mode in which players have access to a grappling hook and assorted power-ups laid around the map that grant unique abilities. While not bound to any specific mode, all current official Mannpower maps use a variation of Capture the Flag. In Mannpower's variation of Capture the Flag, both teams have an intelligence flag, and the first team to capture the enemy's intelligence ten times wins. The mode is heavily inspired by the Quake mod, Threewave CTF, a mod created by former Valve employee David Kirsch.

Medieval Mode is a mode in which players are restricted to using melee and support weapons, with certain exceptions for medieval-themed projectile weapons. While not bound to any specific mode, the only official Medieval Mode map uses a 3CP variation of Attack/Defend. If Medieval Mode is enabled on a map, select phrases spoken by players in the in-game text chat will be replaced with more thematic variants, such as "hello" being replaced with "well meteth".

PASS Time is a unique timed game mode inspired by rugby, developed by Valve, Bad Robot Interactive, and Escalation Studios. Three unique goals (the Run-In, Throw-In, and Bonus Goals) are placed on each team's side of the map. A single ball called the JACK will spawn at the center of the map, and players must pick it up and carry it to the opposing team's side. Players can score a goal by either carrying the JACK to a Run-In Goal or by throwing the JACK through the Throw-In Goal. Three goals can be scored by throwing the JACK through the Bonus Goal, which is much more difficult to score. To win, a team must either score five goals, or have the most goals when the timer runs out.

Payload Race, like Payload, has the main objective being to push a cart to a final checkpoint. Unlike Payload, both the RED and BLU teams are fighting to push their cart to the final checkpoint. There is only one checkpoint for each track, and there is no time limit. The team to reach their checkpoint first wins.

Player Destruction is a community-made game mode in which a player's death causes a pickup to appear. The first team to collect a set number of pickups and deliver them to a drop-off point wins the game. The players on each team with the most pickups are highlighted for everyone to see, and gain a passive healing effect for themselves and any nearby teammates.

Special Delivery is a mode similar to Capture the Flag, but there is only one neutral briefcase that can be picked up both the RED and BLU teams. Upon a team picking up the briefcase, the opposing team will be unable to pick up the briefcase until it has been dropped for 45 seconds and respawns as a neutral briefcase. A team wins by carrying the briefcase onto a loading platform, which will gradually rise until the platform reaches its peak.

Territorial Control consists of several control points spread out across a single map. Like Control Points, each point can be captured by either the RED or BLU teams. Unlike Control Points, only two points are accessible at a single time. Upon a team's successful capture of a point, the "stage" ends and the accessible capture points change. When a team only has control of a single control point, they are blocked from capturing the opposing team's control point and the team must wait until the time limit is up and the accessible capture points change. A team wins by capturing all the control points.

Other game modes

These modes are not categorized with the other modes, and instead have their own separate sections in the game.

Halloween Mode is a special mode that is enabled during the Halloween season, and allows the players access to more than 20 maps, Halloween-exclusive cosmetics, and challenges. For example, Halloween 2012 included a difficult Mann vs. Machine mission involving destroying more than 800 enemy forces. Owing to popular demand of the Halloween events, Valve later added the Full Moon event, an event that triggers around every full moon phase throughout the year, which allows players to equip Halloween-exclusive cosmetics. In 2013, Valve introduced an item called Eternaween, and upon use, allows players of a specific server to use Halloween-exclusive cosmetics for 2 hours.

Mann vs Machine, also known as MvM, is a cooperative game mode where players must defend their base from waves of robots modeled after all nine playable classes, and slow-moving tanks carrying bombs. Robots and tanks drop a currency referred to as Credits upon their death, which players can use to buy upgrades for themselves or their weapons. The players win upon successfully defending their base from the bomb until the last wave. A paid version of this game mode called "Mann Up" is also available, where players buy tickets to play "Tours of Duty", a collection of missions with the chance to win unique cosmetics and weapon skins upon completion.

Offline Practice Mode is just like any other multiplayer match, but it only consists of the player and bots. The number of bots, their difficulty, and the map can all be adjusted to a player's preference, though only a select amount of maps are available to play.

Training Mode exists to help new players get acquainted with basic controls, and teaches them the basics of four of the nine classes. It uses wooden dummies and bots to teach players the basic mechanics of classes and the game.

Competitive play

Team Fortress 2 is played competitively, through multiple leagues. The North American league, ESEA, supports a paid Team Fortress 2 league, with $42,000 in prizes for the top teams in 2017. While formalized competitive gameplay is very different from normal Team Fortress 2, it offers an environment with a much higher level of teamwork than in public servers. Most teams use voice chat to communicate, and use a combination of strategy, communication, and mechanical skill to win against other teams. Community-run competitive leagues also tend to feature restrictions such as item bans and class limits. These leagues are often supported by Valve via in-game medals (which are submitted via the Steam Workshop) and announcements on the official blog.

In April 2015, Valve announced that a dedicated competitive mode would be added to Team Fortress 2, utilizing skill-based matchmaking; closed beta testing began in the following year. The competitive mode was added in the "Meet Your Match" update, released on July 7, 2016. Ranked matches are played six-vs-six, with players ranked in thirteen tiers based on win/losses and an assessment of their skills. Ranked matchmaking will balance players based on their tiers and rating. A similar matchmaking approach has been added for casual games for matches of 12-vs-12 players. In order to join competitive matchmaking, players must have associated their Steam account with the Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator, as well as having a Team Fortress 2 "premium account", which is unlocked by either having bought the game before it went free-to-play or by having made an in-game item purchase since.

Formats

Team Fortress 2 is played in a variety of different formats, which dictate the maximum size and composition of a team and can drastically change the impact of a single player's gameplay or choice of class. The two most basic formats consist of 12v12 and 6v6 ("Sixes"), the two being used on official Valve servers for casual and competitive modes respectively with no additional limitations. Most competitive leagues host Sixes but include limits on certain classes and weapons to preserve traditional, skill-based playstyles, for example limiting the allowed amount of medics or demomen to one on either team or banning certain movement-enhancing weapons from use. Other popular formats include "Highlander", a 9v9 format with a limit of one player per each of the nine classes, as well as a Sixes-inspired 7v7 variant thereof known as "Prolander" to allow for strategically switching classes during a competitive game.

Characters and setting

From left to right: Pyro, Engineer, Spy, Heavy, Sniper, Scout, Soldier, Demoman, and Medic

Team Fortress 2 features nine playable classes, evenly split and categorized into "Offense", "Defense", and "Support". Each class has strengths and weaknesses and must work with other classes to be efficient, encouraging strategy and teamwork. Each class has at least three default weapons: a primary weapon, secondary weapon, and melee weapon. Some classes have additional slots for PDAs.

Offense

The Scout (Nathan Vetterlein) is an American baseball fan and street runner from Boston, Massachusetts who practiced running to "beat his mad dog siblings to the fray." He is a fast, agile character, who is armed by default with a scattergun, a pistol, and an aluminum baseball bat. The Scout can double jump, and counts as two people when capturing control points, thus doubling the capture speed, and when pushing the Payload cart.

The Soldier (Rick May) is an American jingoistic patriot from the Midwest who stylizes himself as a military man despite having never served in any branch of the Armed Forces. The Soldier is armed by default with a rocket launcher, a shotgun, and a folding shovel. He is both the second-slowest class in the game and the class with the second-highest health, after the Heavy Weapons Guy. The Soldier can use his rocket launcher to rocket jump to other locations at the cost of some health.

The Pyro (Dennis Bateman) is a pyromaniac of unknown gender and origin who wears a fire-retardant suit and a voice-muffling gas mask. By default, the Pyro is armed with a flamethrower, a shotgun, and a fire axe. In addition to simply flames, the Pyro's flamethrower can also produce a blast of compressed air that repels any nearby enemies and projectiles, and extinguishes burning teammates. The Pyro is deluded and believes they are living in a utopian fantasy world referred to as "Pyroland".

Defense

The Demoman (Gary Schwartz) is a Black Scottish, one-eyed, alcoholic demolitions expert from Ullapool, Scotland. Armed by default with a timed-fuse grenade launcher, a remotely-detonated "stickybomb" launcher, and a glass bottle of scrumpy, the Demoman can use his explosives to provide indirect fire and set traps. Similar to the Soldier's rocket jump, the Demoman can use his stickybomb launcher to "sticky jump" at the cost of some health.

The Heavy Weapons Guy, or simply the Heavy (Gary Schwartz), is a large Russian man from the Dzhugdzhur Mountains of the USSR. He is heavy in stature and accent, and is obsessed with firepower. He is the slowest class, and can both sustain and deal substantial amounts of damage. His default weapons consist of a minigun that he affectionately refers to as "Sasha", a shotgun, and his fists.

The Engineer (Grant Goodeve) is an American inventor, engineer, intellectual, and "good ol' boy" from Bee Cave, Texas. The Engineer can build structures to support his team: a sentry gun for defending key points, a health and ammunition dispenser, and a pair of teleporter modules (one entrance and one exit). The Engineer is armed by default with a shotgun, a pistol, a wrench that functions as both a melee weapon and to repair and upgrade his buildings, and two separate PDAs; one to erect his buildings and one to remotely destroy them.

Support

The Medic (Robin Atkin Downes) is a German doctor from Stuttgart with little regard for the Hippocratic Oath. He is equipped with a "Medi Gun" that can restore health to injured teammates. When healing teammates, the Medi Gun progressively builds an "ÜberCharge" meter, which, when fully charged, can be activated to provide the Medic and his patient with temporary invulnerability. The Medic is also equipped with a syringe gun and a bonesaw for situations in which he must fight without his teammates' protection. He keeps doves as pets, one of which is named Archimedes.

The Sniper (John Patrick Lowrie) is an ocker assassin born in New Zealand and raised in the Australian outback, equipped by default with a laser-sighted sniper rifle to shoot enemies from afar. Depending on how the player aims and fires, he can cause severe damage or an instant kill with a headshot. By default, he also carries a submachine gun and a kukri for close combat.

The Spy (Dennis Bateman) is a French covert operative whose equipment is designed for stealth and infiltration, including a cloaking device disguised as a wristwatch, an electronic sapper used to disable and destroy enemy Engineers' buildings, and a device hidden in his cigarette case that enables him to disguise himself as any player on either team. He is armed with a revolver and a butterfly knife, able to use the latter to instantly kill enemies by stabbing them in the back. He is the only character who does not wear any clothing in his team's bright color or a patch denoting his specialty, instead preferring a balaclava, business suit, necktie, and gloves in muted team-color hues. In the extended media it is revealed that the Spy is the father of the Scout.

Non-playable characters

Other characters include the Administrator (voiced by Ellen McLain), an unseen announcer who provides information about time limits and objectives to players, and her assistant Miss Pauling (Ashly Burch). The cast has expanded with Halloween updates, including the characters of the "Horseless Headless Horsemann" and Monoculus (Gary Schwartz). 2012 and 2013 saw the addition of Merasmus, the Bombinomicon, and Redmond, Blutarch, Zepheniah, and Gray Mann (the first three all played by Nolan North). Previous unused voicelines recorded by North were later used for Horseless Headless Horsemann seen in the 2019 map "Laughter" and a jack-o'-lantern resting atop the Payload cart in the 2020 map "Bloodwater". The character Davy Jones (voiced by Calvin Kipperman) made an appearance in the 2018 map "Cursed Cove".

In the video announcement for the "Jungle Inferno" update, Mann Co. CEO Saxton Hale, a hypermasculine Australian adventurer, is voiced by JB Blanc.

Setting

Logo and motto of the fictional Mann Co.

Although Team Fortress 2 is designed as an open-ended multiplayer experience without an active storyline, the game and additional material nonetheless feature a wider narrative centered around the fictional Mann Co., a large shipping and manufacturing company led by CEO Saxton Hale. The main PvP gamemodes are set during the "Gravel Wars", a conflict between the rival heirs Redmond "Red" and Blutarch "Blu" Mann for which the nine playable characters were hired out as mercenaries. Gray Mann later emerges as the third competitor, killing the other two brothers and forcing Hale to rehire the mercenaries to protect Mann Co. from Gray's robot army in the Mann vs Machine cooperative horde shooter mode.

Development

Origins

The original Team Fortress was developed by the Australian team TF Software, comprising Robin Walker and John Cook, as a free mod for the 1996 PC game Quake. In 1998, Walker and Cook were employed by Valve, which had just released its first game, Half-Life. Valve began developing Team Fortress 2 as an expansion pack for Half-Life using Valve's GoldSrc engine, and gave a release date for the end of the year. In 1999, Valve released Team Fortress Classic, a port of the original Team Fortress, as a free Half-Life mod. Team Fortress Classic was developed using the publicly available Half-Life software development kit as an example to the community and industry of its flexibility. Team Fortress 2 originally featured a realistic visual style.

Unlike Team Fortress, Valve originally planned Team Fortress 2 to have a modern war aesthetic. It would feature innovations including a command hierarchy with a Commander class, parachute drops over enemy territory, and networked voice communication. The Commander class played similarly to a real-time strategy game, with the player viewing the game from a bird's-eye perspective and issuing orders to players and AI-controlled soldiers.

Team Fortress 2 was first shown at E3 1999 as Team Fortress 2 Brotherhood of Arms, where Valve showcased new technologies including parametric animation, which blended animations for smoother, more lifelike movement, and Intel's multi-resolution mesh technology, which dynamically reduced the detail of distant on-screen elements to improve performance. The game earned several awards including Best Online Game and Best Action Game.

In mid-2000, Valve announced that Team Fortress 2 had been delayed for a second time. They attributed the delay to development switching to its new in-house engine, Source. Following the announcement, Valve released no news on the game for six years. Walker and Cook worked on various other Valve projects; Walker was project lead on Half-Life 2: Episode One and Cook worked on Valve's content distribution platform Steam. Team Fortress 2 became a prominent example of vaporware, a long-anticipated game that had seen years of development, and was often mentioned alongside another much-delayed game, Duke Nukem Forever. Walker said that Valve built three or four different versions of Team Fortress 2 before settling on their final design. Shortly before the release of Half-Life 2 in 2004, Valve's marketing director Doug Lombardi confirmed that Team Fortress 2 was still in development.

Final design and release

Valve reintroduced Team Fortress 2 at the July 2006 EA Summer Showcase event. Departing from the realistic visual design of other Valve games, Team Fortress 2 features a cartoon-like visual style influenced by 20th-century commercial illustrations and the artwork of J. C. Leyendecker, Dean Cornwell, and Norman Rockwell, achieved through Gooch shading. The game debuted with the Source engine's new dynamic lighting, shadowing and soft particle technologies alongside Half-Life 2: Episode Two. It was the first game to implement the Source engine's new Facial Animation 3 features.

Valve abandoned the realistic style when it became impossible to reconcile it with the unrealistic gameplay, with opposing armies having constructed elaborate bases directly next to each other. The Commander class was abandoned as other players would simply refuse to follow their orders.

Valve designed each character, team, and equipped weapon to be visually distinct, even at range; for example, the coloring draws attention to the chest area, bringing focus on the equipped weapon. The voices for each of the classes were based on imagining what people from the 1960s would expect the classes to have sounded like, according to writer Chet Faliszek.

The map design has an "evil genius" theme with archetypical spy fortresses, concealed within inconspicuous buildings such as industrial warehouses and farms to give plausibility to their close proximities; these bases are usually separated by a neutrally themed space. The bases hide exaggerated super weapons such as laser cannons, nuclear warheads, and missile launch facilities, taking the role of objectives. The maps have little visual clutter and stylized, almost impressionistic modeling, to allow enemies to be spotted more easily. The impressionistic design approach also affects textures, which are based on photos that are filtered and improved by hand, giving them a tactile quality and giving Team Fortress 2 its distinct look. The bases are designed to let players immediately know where they are. RED bases use warm colors, natural materials, and angular shapes, while BLU bases use cool colors, industrial materials, and orthogonal shapes.

During the July 2006 Electronic Arts press conference, Valve revealed that Team Fortress 2 would ship as the multiplayer component of The Orange Box. A conference trailer showcasing all nine of the classes demonstrated for the first time the game's whimsical new visual style. Valve's president, Gabe Newell, said that the team's goal was to create "the best-looking and best-playing class-based multiplayer game". A beta release of the entire game was made on Steam on September 17, 2007, for customers who had pre-purchased The Orange Box, who had activated their Black Box coupon, which was included with the ATI HD 2900XT Graphics cards, and for members of Valve's Cyber Café Program.

Team Fortress 2 was released on October 10, 2007, both as a standalone product via Steam and at retail stores as part of The Orange Box compilation pack, priced at each gaming platform's recommended retail price. The Orange Box also contains Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, and Portal. Valve offered The Orange Box at a ten percent discount for those who pre-purchased it via Steam before the October 10 release, as well as the opportunity to participate in the beta test.

Post-release

Since the release of Team Fortress 2, Valve has continually released free updates and patches through Steam for Windows, OS X, and Linux users; though most patches are used for improving the reliability of the software or to tweak gameplay changes, several patches have been used to introduce new features and gameplay modes, and are often associated with marketing materials such as comics or videos offered on the Team Fortress 2 website; this blog is also used to keep players up to date with the ongoing developments in Team Fortress 2. As of July 2012, each class has been given a dedicated patch that provides new weapons, items, and other gameplay changes; these class patches typically included the release of the class's "Meet the Team" video. Other major patches have included new gameplay modes including the Payload, Payload Race, Training, Highlander, Medieval, and Mann vs. Machine modes. Themed patches have also been released, such as a yearly Halloween-themed event called "Scream Fortress", where players may obtain unique items available only during a set period around the holiday. Other new features have given players the ability to craft items within the game from other items, trade items with other players, purchase in-game items through funds in Steam, and save and edit replay videos that can be posted to YouTube.

Valve has released tools to allow users to create maps, weapons, and cosmetic items through a contribution site; the most popular are added as official content for the game. This approach has subsequently created the basis for the Steam Workshop functionality of the software client. In one case, more than fifty users from the content-creation community worked with Valve to release an official content update in May 2013, with all of the content generated by these players. Valve reported that as of June 2013, over $10 million has been paid back to over 400 community members that have helped to contribute content to the game, including a total of $250,000 for the participants in the May 2013 patch. To help promote community-made features, Valve has released limited-time events, such as the "Gun Mettle" or "Invasion" events in the second half of 2015, also including the "Tough Break" update in December 2015, in which players can spend a small amount of money which is paid back to the community developers for the ability to gain unique items offered while playing on community-made maps during the event.

Development of the new content had been confirmed for the Xbox 360, while development for the PlayStation 3 was deemed "uncertain" by Valve. However, the PlayStation 3 version of Team Fortress 2 received an update that repaired some of the issues found within the game, ranging from graphical issues to online connectivity problems; this update was included in a patch that also repaired issues found in the other games within The Orange Box. The updates released on PC and planned for later release on Xbox 360 include new official maps and game modes, as well as tweaks to classes and new weapons that can be unlocked through the game's achievement system. The developers attempted to negotiate with Xbox 360 developer Microsoft to keep the Xbox 360 releases of these updates free, but Microsoft refused and Valve announced that they would release bundles of several updates together to justify the price. Because of the cost of patching during the seventh generation of video game consoles, Valve has been unable to provide additional patches to the Xbox 360 version since 2009, effectively cancelling development of the console versions. On March 29, 2023, the servers for the PlayStation 3 version of Team Fortress 2 went offline.

On June 10, 2010, Team Fortress 2 was released for OS X, shortly after the release of Steam for OS X. The release was teased by way of an image similar to early iPod advertising, showing a dark silhouette of the Heavy on a bright green background, his Sandvich highlighted in his hand. Virtual earbuds, which can be worn when playing on either OS X or Windows once acquired, were given to players playing the game on OS X before June 14, though the giveaway period was later extended to August 16.

On November 6, 2012, Valve announced the release of Team Fortress 2 for Linux as part of a restricted beta launch of Steam on the platform. This initial release of Steam and Team Fortress 2 was targeted at Ubuntu with support for other distributions planned for the future. Later, on December 20, 2012, Valve opened up access to the beta, including Team Fortress 2, to all Steam users without the need to wait for an invitation. On February 14, 2013, Valve announced the full release of Team Fortress 2 for Linux. From then to March 1, anyone who played the game on Linux would receive a free Tux penguin, which can be equipped in-game.

Team Fortress 2 was announced in March 2013 to be the first game to officially support the Oculus Rift, a consumer-grade virtual reality headset. A patch will be made to the client to include a "VR Mode" that can be used with the headset on any public server.

In April 2020, source code for 2018 versions Team Fortress 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive leaked online. This created fears that malicious users would use the code to make remote code execution software and attack servers or players' computers. Several fan projects halted development until the impact of the leak could be determined. Valve confirmed the legitimacy of the code leaks, but stated they do not believe it affects servers and clients running the latest official builds of either game.

On May 1, 2020, shortly following the death of the voice actor of the Soldier, Rick May, Valve released an update to Team Fortress 2, adding a tribute to his voicework as the Soldier in the form of a new main menu theme (a rendition of Taps), as well as statues of the Soldier saluting, added to most of the official in-game maps. These statues all featured a commemorative plaque dedicated to May and lasted through the end of the month. One of these statues, appearing on the map "cp_granary", the setting of the "Meet the Soldier" short video, was made permanent in an August 21 update.

Free-to-play

On June 23, 2011, Valve announced that Team Fortress 2 would become free to play. Unique equipment including weapons and outfits would be available as microtransactions through the in-game store, tied through Steam. Walker stated that Valve would continue to provide new features and items free. Walker stated that Valve had learned that the more players Team Fortress 2 had, the more value it had for each player.

The move came a week after Valve introduced several third-party free-to-play games to Steam and stated they were working on a new free-to-play game. Within nine months of becoming free to play, Valve reported that revenue from Team Fortress 2 had increased by a factor of twelve.

Bot accounts and "#SaveTF2"

Since early 2020, Team Fortress 2 has endured large amounts of bot accounts entering Valve casual matchmaking servers. Though bot accounts had been an issue in Team Fortress 2 for some time prior to this, multiple sources began to report a spike in activity for these bot accounts. The activities of these bots have included forcibly crashing servers, spamming copypastas in the text chats of matches, assuming other players' usernames, and the usage of aimbots. Additionally, some bots were programmed taking advantage of a TF2 source code leak that Valve had confirmed in April 2020. A common bot that exploited this leak used the Sniper class, allowing them to exploit the "headshot" mechanic to instantly kill enemy players from across the map regardless of direction they were aiming.

On June 16, 2020, Valve responded to this by restricting accounts that have not paid for Mann Co. Store items or purchased Team Fortress 2 prior to the game becoming free-to-play from the use of both voice and text chat in game. On June 24, all players were restricted from changing their Steam username while connected to any Valve matchmaking server or any server with display name updates disabled.The change was implemented to prevent bots from changing their display name to impersonate legitimate players, which allowed the bots to avoid being kicked due to the confusion caused by their duplicate name. On voting, changes were also introduced to prevent bots from spamming this functionality in an attempt to prevent real players from using kicking bots.

Approximately one year later, on June 22, 2021, additional changes were implemented to discourage bot activity. Another YouTuber, Toofty, posted a video that provided input from several of those that were behind the bot problem; reasons given ranged from grieving against Valve developers to simply finding the disruption fun to watch. These are issues normally dealt with by a game's developer but Valve's lack of response allowed their activities to go unchecked for two years.

These issues remained ongoing as of May 2022, prompting YouTuber SquimJim to uploaded a video to his YouTube channel encouraging his viewers to express their grievances to Valve and news outlets through letters. After receiving over a hundred news tips, IGN journalist Rebekah Valentine wrote of her experience with trying to play the game. She remarked that the game was "literally unplayable" on official Valve servers, forcing many players to join unofficial community servers instead. She also said that some bots would "...spam chat with homophobic or racist remarks, outside links, or just plain rude or obnoxious messages". In response to these issues, Robin Atkin Downes, voice actor for the Medic, also reached out to his contacts at Valve for a response, and encouraged fans to continue making their voices heard in a "peaceful, passionate manner".

On May 26, 2022, members of the TF2 community held a "peaceful protest" on Twitter using the hashtag #savetf2 with the goal of getting a response from Valve regarding the issues. With the hashtag trending on Twitter, Valve responded, saying "TF2 community, we hear you! We love this game and know you do, too. We see how large this issue has become and are working to improve things."

Across June and July 2022, Valve released a number of patches to help players deal with the bot issue, such as improving the game's vote kicking system so that both teams can vote to kick players accused of abusive behavior at the same time. Valve took down the servers for five minutes in August 2022, during which a number of bans were issued via Valve Anti-Cheat to players that were known to be running these bots, effectively ending the problem. Valve's efforts helped to increase the player count in the months that followed.

On February 9, 2023, a blog post was shared on the official website, saying that a new "update-sized" update was coming to the game. The update will be released sometime around summer and will use community-made content submitted before May 1st. However, shortly after the post was made, Valve silently changed the message to say "holiday-sized update" instead. The update was released on July 13, 2023.

Tie-in materials

Beginning in May 2007, to promote the game, Valve began a ten-video advertisement series referred to as "Meet the Team". Constructed using Source Filmmaker and using more detailed character models, the series consists of short videos introducing each class and displaying their personalities and abilities. The videos are usually interspersed with simulated gameplay footage. The format of the videos varies greatly; the first installment, "Meet the Heavy", depicts him being interviewed, while "Meet the Soldier" shows the Soldier giving a misinformed lecture on Sun Tzu to a row of severed BLU heads as if they were raw recruits. He claims Sun Tzu "invented" fighting, then further confuses this claim with the story of Noah and his Ark. The videos were generally released through Valve's official YouTube channels, though in one notable exception, the "Meet the Spy" video was leaked onto YouTube, several days before its intended release.

Early "Meet the Team" videos were based on the audition scripts used for the voice actors for each of the classes; the "Meet the Heavy" script is nearly word-for-word a copy of the Heavy's script. Later videos, such as "Meet the Sniper", contain more original material. The videos have been used by Valve to help improve the technology for the game, specifically improving the facial animations, as well as a source of new gameplay elements, such as the Heavy's "Sandvich" or the Sniper's "Jarate". The final video in the Meet the Team series, "Meet the Pyro", was released on June 27, 2012. Gabe Newell has stated that Valve used the "Meet the Team" series as a means of exploring the possibilities of making feature film movies themselves. He believes that only game developers themselves have the ability to bring the interesting parts of a game to a film, and suggested that this would be the only manner through which a Half-Life-based movie would be made. A fifteen-minute short, "Expiration Date", was released on June 17, 2014. The shorts were made using Source Filmmaker, which was officially released and has been in open beta as of July 11, 2012.

In more recent major updates to the game, Valve has presented teaser images and online comic books that expand the fictional continuity and characters of Team Fortress 2, as part of the expansion of the "cross-media property", according to Newell. In August 2009, Valve brought aboard American comic writer Michael Avon Oeming to teach Valve "about what it means to have a character and do character development in a comic format, how you do storytelling". "Loose Canon", a comic associated with the Engineer Update, establishes the history of RED versus BLU as a result of the last will and testament of Zepheniah Mann in 1890, forcing his two bickering sons Blutarch and Redmond to vie for control of Zepheniah's lands between them; both have engineered ways of maintaining their mortality to the present, waiting to outlast the other while employing separate forces to try to wrest control of the land. This and other comics also establish other background characters such as Saxton Hale, the CEO of Mann Co., the company that provides the weapons for the two sides and was bequeathed to one of Hale's ancestors by Zepheniah, and the Administrator, the game's announcer, that watches over, encourages the RED/BLU conflict, and keeps each side from winning. The collected comics were published by Dark Horse Comics in Valve Presents: The Sacrifice and Other Steam-Powered Stories, a volume along with other comics created by Valve for Portal 2 and Left 4 Dead, and released in November 2011. Cumulative details in updates both in-game and on Valve's sites from 2010 through 2012 were part of a larger alternate reality game preceding the reveal of the Mann vs. Machine mode, which was revealed as a co-op mode on August 15, 2012.

Marketing and microtransactions

Valve had provided other promotions to draw players into the game. Valve has held weekends of free play for Team Fortress 2 before the game was made free-to-play. Through various updates, hats and accessories can be worn by any of the classes, giving players an ability to customize the look of their character, and extremely rare hats named "Unusuals" have particle effects attached to it and are only obtainable through opening "crates" or trading with other players. New weapons were added in updates to allow the player to choose a loadout and play style that best suits them.

Hats and weapons can be gained as a random drop, through the crafting/trading systems, or via cross-promotion: Limited-edition hats and weapons have been awarded for pre-ordering or gaining Achievements in other content from Steam, both from Valve or other third-party games such as Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse, Worms Reloaded, Killing Floor, or Poker Night at the Inventory (which features the Heavy class as a character). According to Robin Walker, Valve introduced these additional hats as an indirect means for players to show status within the game or their affiliation with another game series simply by visual appearance.

The Pyro, Heavy, and Spy all function as a single playable character in the PC release of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. The Pyro, Medic, Engineer, and Heavy appear as playable characters in Dungeon of the Endless. The Pyro was added as a playable character to Killing Floor in 2010, along with appearing as a henchman in the 2021 game Evil Genius 2.

The game's first television commercial premiered during the first episode of the fifth season of The Venture Bros. in June 2013, featuring in-game accessories that were created with the help of Adult Swim.

Items and economy

In Team Fortress 2, players can trade with others for items such as weapons and cosmetics. This functionality was added in the 2010 Mann-Conomy Update, alongside being able to purchase items through an in-game store with real money. Operating largely through informal gray markets before the introduction of the official Steam Community Market, trading items made players susceptible to fraud.

Team Fortress 2 features an in-built item valuing system known as an item quality, assigned to a given instance of an item through a variety of different means and ranging from "Normal" items used as the stock weapons of each class, to "Unique" items used as the base obtainable items from the item drop or achievement systems, to far rarer qualities such as "Strange", "Unusual" or "Decorated" which feature special cosmetic effects that can immensely increase the market value of a given item; Strange items keep track of kills or other objectives achieved while equipped in-game while Unusual items feature item-specific particle effects, with both Strange and Unusual items being obtainable through rare crafting items or randomly obtained in place of the far more common Unique items. Decorated items are instead redeemed from rare items known as "war paints", awarding the player a weapon retextured with a pseudo-random cosmetic skin. Other qualities include "Vintage", awarded to older items to compensate for changes in obtainability, and "Collector's", created through combining 200 Unique instances of a single item.

Cosmetics and war paints are typically released through seasonal "cases" that award a random item from an associated collection unique to the given season of a specific year. Such items are additionally assigned a "grade" from "Civilian" to "Mercenary" to track their relative rarity within a collection.

Third-party websites such as the crowd-sourced backpack.tf have been created to aid users in trading, as well as track the value of in-game items. Crate keys, crafting metal, and in-game items such as an "earbuds" cosmetic (also referred to as "buds") are all used as currency due to their value.

The economy of Team Fortress 2 has received significant attention from economists, journalists, and users, due to its relative sophistication and the value of many of its in-game items. It has often been the subject of study. It operates on a system of supply and demand, barter, and scarcity value, akin to many real-world economies such as that of the United States. In 2011, it was reported that the economy of Team Fortress 2 was worth over US$50 million.

2019 Crate bug

On July 25, 2019, a bug was mistakenly included in an update - if players unboxed certain older series of Crates, they would be guaranteed to receive an Unusual-grade cosmetic item, compared to the usual 1% chance of obtaining an Unusual-grade cosmetic item from a Crate. This damaged the in-game economy, causing Unusual-grade cosmetic items able to be unboxed from these Crates to drop substantially in value. The incident has been nicknamed "The Crate Depression" (a pun on "Crate" and "The Great Depression") by fans. On July 26, 2019, this bug was fixed. Users who received any Unusual-grade cosmetic items from the bug were restricted from trading them, with Valve later announcing in an official statement on August 2, 2019 that the first Unusual-grade item any player received from the bug is tradable, with any subsequent Unusual-grade items being permanently untradeable and only usable by the player who received them.

Reception and legacy

See also: Critical reception of The Orange Box

Best Action Game (1999)

Best Online Multiplayer (1999)

IGN

Best Artistic Design (2007)

1UP.com

Best Multiplayer Experience (2007)

Best Artistic Direction (2007)

GameSpy

Best Multiplayer Game of the Year (2007)

Most Unique Art Style (2007)

Team Fortress 2 received widespread critical acclaim, with overall scores of 92/100 "universal acclaim" on Metacritic. Many reviewers praised the cartoon-styled graphics, and the resulting light-hearted gameplay, and the use of distinct personalities and appearances for the classes impressed a number of critics, with PC Gamer UK stating that "until now multiplayer games just haven't had it". Similarly, the game modes were received well, GamePro described the settings as focusing "on just simple fun", while several reviewers praised Valve for the map "Hydro" and its attempts to create a game mode with variety in each map. Additional praise was bestowed on the game's level design, game balance and teamwork promotion. Team Fortress 2 has received several awards individually for its multiplayer gameplay and its graphical style, as well as having received a number of "game of the year" awards as part of The Orange Box.

Although Team Fortress 2 was well received, its removal of class-specific grenades, a feature of previous Team Fortress incarnations, was controversial amongst reviewers. IGN expressed some disappointment over this, while conversely, PC Gamer UK approved, stating "grenades have been removed entirely—thank God". Some further criticism came over a variety of issues, such as the lack of extra content such as bots (although Valve has since added bots in an update), problems of players finding their way around maps due to the lack of a minimap, and some criticism of the Medic class being too passive and repetitive in his nature. The Medic class has since been re-tooled by Valve, giving it new unlockable weapons and abilities.

With the "Gold Rush Update" in April 2008, Valve had started to add fundamentals of character customization through unlockable weapons for each class, which continued in subsequent updates, most notably the "Sniper vs. Spy Update" in April 2009, which introduced unlockable cosmetic items into the game. Further updates expanded the number of weapons and cosmetics available, but also introduced monetization options, eventually allowing it to go free-to-play. To this end, Team Fortress 2 is considered one of the first games to offer games as a service, a feature which would become more prevalent in the 2010s.

Fans of Team Fortress Classic have made a total conversion mod of Team Fortress 2 titled Team Fortress 2 Classic, which seeks to marry gameplay elements and concepts from both entries alongside scrapped ideas from the sequel's development cycle and several entirely original additions.