Thanks for standin still, wanker.

Apr 19, 2009
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Today we're shipping some significant changes to the item drop system.
  • Previously, we rolled randomly at intervals to see if you got an item drop. Now we roll to determine when your next item drop will occur. So you're guaranteed to find items at fairly regular intervals. The bulk of drop complaints we've received in the past have been from players having unlucky streaks, where they didn't find any items for weeks. That won't be possible now.
  • We've significantly increased the rate at which item drops occur, compared to the previous average interval.
  • There's now a maximum amount of playtime per week in which you get item drops. Playing beyond that amount won't find any more items. The amount varies, but if you play an hour or so a day you're good. Some of your unused time will rollover to the following week, so if you're an intermittent player you'll also be fine.
What are the net effects of these changes? Here's the quick summary:
  • If you're an idler, you're going to find fewer items than you were prior to this change. Sorry. On the bright side, there's less reason to idle, because it won't earn more than players who are playing regularly.
  • Everyone else will find items more frequently, and with greater regularity.
We're still thinking about how to allow you to influence your drops. When we see discussions on the forums, people often ask why we don't tie it to some in-game performance (like your scoreboard position, or number of kills, etc). Many players understand that if we did this, idle servers would simply change into servers running plugins that generate those in-game events frequently (as we saw in the Soldier & Demoman WAR!).

There's another side of it that we care about just as much, which is the message it would send to all the players who don't want to idle. Any in-game performance metric we chose would result in there being specific maps, classes, tactics, and so on that resulted in more drops. We really don't want that to happen. When it's simply playtime, you're free to play the game however you like. If you love Payload, you can play Payload maps without worrying about whether you're earning less drops than the guys playing Arena maps. Community mapmakers don't have to worry about whether their maps earn item drops fast enough. Similarly, server operators can configure their servers however they like, without worrying about reducing the rate at which their players are earning drops. In short, while it's far from perfect, not tying to in-game performance is a lot less poisonous to your minute-to-minute game experience.

Oh valve.
 
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honorum646

L6: Sharp Member
Oct 9, 2009
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Still broken. The only good solution is to make it so everyone gets random drops all the time, whether or not they are actually connected and playing.
But that's silly and counter-intuitive. As they stated, Valve wants people to get as many random drops as possible, but they definetly want people to play! If they made it so people got items all the time, people wouldn't have to play at all.
 

Okrag

Wall Staples
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Jun 10, 2009
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But that's silly and counter-intuitive. As they stated, Valve wants people to get as many random drops as possible, but they definetly want people to play! If they made it so people got items all the time, people wouldn't have to play at all.

If they don't play, why would they want drops?
 

What Is Schwa

L6: Sharp Member
Jan 13, 2008
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Pretty much a perfect solution. I'd like to see the drop rate decrease exponentially - but this system works too.
 

Shmitz

Old Hat
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Nov 12, 2007
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But that's silly and counter-intuitive. As they stated, Valve wants people to get as many random drops as possible, but they definetly want people to play! If they made it so people got items all the time, people wouldn't have to play at all.

I would think a better way to encourage people to play is simply to have a fun, enjoyable game. If people really are only playing (and in this I mean actually playing, not idling) just to get hats, then I think Valve has made some larger mistakes than simply having an awkward drop system.


I was wrong though, as the best solution is to get rid of random drops entirely and give everyone access to everything as its added to the game. Unfortunately I don't think that will ever happen, which is why I didn't mention it in the first place.
 

honorum646

L6: Sharp Member
Oct 9, 2009
335
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If they don't play, why would they want drops?

No, the thing isn't about those who have the game but don't play, it's that people who DO play and want drop still must have TF2 running in some form.
I'm merely stating that VALVe's decision to make drops require their game to be played makes perfect sense.
 

Timberjaw

L2: Junior Member
Nov 6, 2009
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Cool. This is a change I've been hoping for (pragmatically, at least; I wouldn't mind if they just unlocked everything for everyone and ditched the drops). I play pretty casually these days and that makes it tough to acquire items. The crafting system has also been more or less useless for casual players since you won't get enough drops to accomplish anything.
 

Terr

Cranky Coder
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Jul 31, 2009
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It's an 80/20 fix. 80% benefit, 20% effort. Going full-random 24/7 has issues, as does any "strict enforcement" approach.

I like it, and hopefully I will never again have to hear some idler say: "But Valve didn't patch it so it's OK." (It is probably too much to expect any of said arguers to recant, though.)
 

grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
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Mar 4, 2008
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It should have been like this from the start. No offence Valve. Random 3% hat drop rate was a dick move, random crafting was a dick move, and just your drop system in general.

Hopefully i will feel less like i'm furiously masturbating valve's servers for the sweet juicey white stuff when i play now. Not that it's not a fun game anyway... but you know what i mean. There's player satisfaction and then there's player satisfaction.

The whole way hats were introduced and the poor handling of it and the implementation (and idlers) made me lose interest in playing TF2 as much as i used too. The games integrity is just.. well i can't find the words for it.
 
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Jan 20, 2010
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More like, "Valve directly addresses the issue of idling and is fine with people doing it", such as in this very blog post.

The change doesn't eliminate idling, and doesn't punish people who idle. It just makes it less advantageous. Valve doesn't say "we don't want people idling", they say "there's less reason to do it."

It seems to me is their intention is to give people who play equal benefit to the people who idle, which they have succeeded. People can idle for the maximum amount of items they get a week, but that gives them no benefit over the people who actually play. It just means when the idlers actually play the game they won't be getting any items as opposed to the people who don't idle and do get items from playing.

The thing is, people will still idle but they'll get very little, very minimal results from it.
 

lana

Currently On: ?????
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Sep 28, 2009
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Ban anyone who has played a map with the word idle in it.
 
Jan 20, 2010
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I don't believe I've ever been on an idle map. Maybe but not that I remember.
 

MrAlBobo

L13: Stunning Member
Feb 20, 2008
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also have never been on an idle map, i like to keep track of how much time ive wasted on the game ;)

Playing beyond that amount won't find any more items. The amount varies, but if you play an hour or so a day you're good.

Personally this irritates me...i mean, provided this limit is actually an hour that limits what i can find extensively, as I play alot <_<
 
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