As expected the TF2 competitive scene is quiet at the moment as most of the players are busy with exams, and gaming time is reduced. But the few clannies and mixed matches that some teams have played so far have helped test the Matchmod plugin which has been installed on the IS Clan Servers for the competition, and it’s really working very well, with the players giving good feedback about the plugin.

The Pre Season had scheduled dates for the teams from each divisions to play some games and get their teams sorted to get their final line up for next year’s league. The schedule in place was the following:

• 18th October – 24th October           cp_granary
• 25th October – 31st October            cp_badlands
• 22nd November – 28 November    cp_freight
• 29th November –  5th December   cp_gravelpit
• 6th December – 13th December     cp_well

At the moment we are in the middle of the break period (1st November – 22nd November). During the period from 18th October until 31st October no teams played any Pre Season games so after the break period we would like to encourage the teams from all the divisions to play their games as preparation for the league and fine tune the final team line up. The teams will have from 23rd of November until the 13th December to play at least some of their games (if possible), although we understand that after exams some players will go on holiday so we won’t be strict with this.

Some teams have been changing their roster of players, others have not yet finalized their lineup and only a few have solid lineups. It is good to see the teams holding together looking for the right balance of players and trying to get people that have dedication to improve. As a team it is a tough job, but hopefully this situation will be improving with time if the team leaders make the right choices and decisions.

Welcome, if you dare, to the first ever Team Fortress Haunted Halloween Special! Five new update-specific achievements will unlock the Mildly Disturbing Halloween Hats—moldering, eldritch veils of such manifold depravity, the human eye will not process the sheer enormity of their malevolence, and out of self-preservation will merely show you paper bags with faces on them. These faces are still moderately scary, though, so brace yourselves for mild terror! [sound of bat wings]

Right now you’re doubtlessly thinking, “Please, Team Fortress, stop scaring me!” Okay, we’ll stop righhhhhht … [sound of a skeleton] Ha ha! The scaring will continue! Prepare yourself for a new KOTH map called Harvest—created by Sean “Heyo” Cutino, crammed to bursting with horror by us, and LOOK OUT DRACULA IS BEHIND YOU! [sound of a creaking door] Ha ha ha! If you scare that easily, this map will kill you.

Our legal department tells us we can’t mention this next horrifying feature, because someone read it and got so scared we got in trouble! The entire TF2 team has to go to sensitivity training now because we inadvertently created such a scary work environment. So rest easy, we promise to stop scaring you… right after we ignore our lawyers and tell you about the ghost haunting the Harvest map! [sound of a wolf] That’s right! The restless spirit of Zepheniah Mann will scare senseless any player unlucky enough to cross his spectral path, rendering them temporarily helpless with fear!

There are also pumpkins! That might not sound very scary initially, but get this: they explode! Most terrifying of all, the mangled corpses of the recently deceased will plague the living… with candy! MWAHAHAHAHA! In retrospect we should have put this stuff in the middle and ended with the ghost.

Enjoy the update… if you dare! [sound of reading the name on a tombstone, and oh my god it’s YOURS]

TF2 SA Pickup Rule Guideline

Have TF2 experience

You must have played TF2 for a while. If you’re a beginner with TF2 don’t bother joining a pickup. The others will notice it straight away and start moaning about you.

You don’t have to be particularly good at TF2 though. As long as you have a good amount of experience with it (ie. know maps, know where the health/ammo is on maps, know all classes, know all weapons including unlockables, having most of the general achievements).

A rule of thumb is to have at least 40 played hours, and at least 20 hours in two of three of these classes: Scout, Soldier, Demo.

Know pickups

If you have never seen a TF2 clan match or pickup, then you should not join one. That would be like playing a game of chess without knowing the rules – a complete mess. When a pickup starts you can try to join the tf2 server and spectate it. See how it plays out and learn from it. Do it a couple of times and then maybe try to add to a pickup yourself. This is a very important point. If you choose to ignore it you will be banned.

These rules go into effect immediately. I (skillbill) will attempt to keep this as short as possible.

RULE  1:

Time:

-Every player who adds to a pickup has 7 minutes to join the server after the last person has added to the pickup.

In the case that a player will be late:
– It is the guilty party’s duty to inform the admins within 5 minutes of the pickup starting that he/she will be late.
– If the player does inform the admins in #tf2 that he is going to be late, and he joins the server within a reasonable timeframe (12 minutes) – then his punishment will only be one warning. Should the same person be late for another pickup on that same day, he will be banned for 12 hours.
– If the guilty party fails to inform the admins that he will be late, and still joins the server within 10 minutes, that player will only receive a warning. If the same player is late again for another pickup on the same day, they will receive a 12 hour ban.
– If the guilty party does not inform the admins that he will be late, and joins the server 10 minutes or later, they will automatically receive a 12 hour ban. No warning needs to be issued.
– PLEASE NOTE: A player who is late for a pickup may be substituted at any time by a pickup admin, regardless of whether that player informs the admins if he will be late or not!
– These bans will be monitored strictly. Repeat offenders will be banned for longer periods. It is common courtesy towards your fellow players not to be late for pickups.

In the event that a player leaves a pickup early:
– In the event of a disconnect, the player must attempt to contact a #tf2 admin as soon as possible to inform them how long it will take them to rejoin the server
– If the player leaves the server on his own account, and informs an admin that they will be leaving, it is up to the admin to decide whether that person will receive a ban for 12 hours or not. In the event that the player leaves without warning, they will automatically receive a 12 hour ban.
– Admins should be reasonable with regard to this topic. We understand that sometimes things do go wrong, and we will review the evidence before we make a decision.

RULE 2:

New captain rule:

-In the event that there are no players willing to captain in the absence of the regular players who normally assume this role, it will be the responsibility of any #tf2 admins (pickup / AOP / SOP) to captain the sides. In the event that only one admin is playing in the pickup, that admin may assign one of the more experienced players in the pickup to take on the role of the opposing captain.  #tf2 admins who refuse to take on the role of captaining in the absence of volunteered captains, will have their admin access revoked from #tf2 for 24 hours. Repeat offences will cause that admin’s access to be removed permanently.

– We will aim to have a pickup admin playing during almost every pickup. In the event that no admin is playing in a pickup, we expect senior members of the community to sort it out. We will never issue a warning to a member of the community who does not want to captain, even in the event that they refuse to be assigned by a #tf2 admin to captain.

-This rule is being implemented with the aim of reducing the time it takes to pick teams. It also means that pickup admins will now take on more responsibility other than just starting games on IRC.

RULE 3:

Disruptive behavior during pickups:

The following actions will warrant a 24 hour ban:

– Changing class purely to disrupt the team’s progress
– Going AFK for extended periods of time
– Going AFK without warning your team captain
– Anything disruptive, that is continued even after a warning from the pickup admin

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We as the admin team from #tf2 reserve the right to change these rules at any time. Players will be informed of any such changes when they occur via IRC and this post.

After a disappointing lack of consistency, Segment’s previous TF2 team (Trinity) disbanded and left the MGO. Because we feel that TF2 has a vibrant community and bright future, we immediately started looking for a new team.
It wasn’t long before we found team eNigma, well known as one of the top TF2 teams in SA. eNigma felt they needed better backing to solidify them as one of the best teams.

Segment Gaming welcomes eNg!

Source: Segment Gaming