Team Fortress CLASSIC

Meet the Heavy, Meet the Spy, Meet the Demoman, Meet the Engineer... Meet the Classic. I've played Team Fortress 2, much like most of you out there. I'm not saying that it's a bad game, I'm just saying that playing the sequel to a game without even knowing that there is a Team Fortress 1 is just wrong.

When I look on google to see how many people have looked up 'team fortress classic' and I see that Team fortress 3 has been looked up more times, I cry a little inside.



This isn't a blog to dis TF2, this isn't a blog to sway people's decisions. Your opinions are your own, but allow me to tell you mine...

Team Fortress Classic is the earliest game I've ever played that I continue to play today. It was my introduction to gaming, and the internet as a whole. I can't recommend a better way to do it either. I originally played because my brother did, and when you're 8, you do what your brother does, even if it means you play M for mature games to do it. I'm not a murderer, I don't like to hurt people. I'm the guy that picks bugs out of water when they're stuck. And M for mature games have had no effect on my outlook on life. If ever I want to hurt people, it's because something in life has failed me. I could rant for hours about how much stuff in life makes me mad, but this is a post about what separates me from the world I frown upon, and into one where I can have a good time.

Like I was saying, I started when I was 8 and loved the game. I don't know if it's the fact that the release date was my birthday April 7th, 1999, or if it was the people, but there was some force driving me to play that game day after day. I would get home from school, and immediately connect to the [S.A.D] Clan UK server. That is where I grew up. Yes, I grew up shooting people half-way across the world, but we did it as a family. I've never seen people more enthusiastic about being friends over the internet, but they taught me it was more than possible. I was so excited about playing that game that I got better and better at it. And the people I played with weren't just care bears. They were talented players, so I got good, fast.



I played every class a few times, and got used to sniping. It was a great test of reaction time and who doesn't like to see your enemies explode in one hit? It was entertaining and had everything I looked for in a playstyle. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only sniper in the world. As a matter of fact, there were lots. A majority of players either play sniper all the time, or are great with them when they do, so getting better was tough. But I still remember playing on 2fort and sniping against [S.A.D]#FACED#... He was the greatest sniper I'd ever seen in my life. I tried to kill him over and over, but I would always fail. It was never easy, but what kept me going was getting that 1 kill out of 50 tries. The feeling of satisfaction of beating someone whos better than you can drive you to become better. I took that drive and got even better.

But by that point, I realized that sniping was only 1 of 9 classes to choose from:

Scout
Sniper
Soldier
Demoman
Medic
HWGuy
Engineer
Pyro
Spy



I eventually tried to play what I was killed by. I played Soldier and Medic when I wasn't sniping. And that was also great fun. Medic was a great class, and suprisingly powerful for the amount of effective guns you have (1: super shotgun). So you had to learn to deal with what you've got, and make the best of it. When I played Soldier, I remember always firing rockets at people, only to have them dodge before it got halfway there. After playing and learning a little bit more, I figured out to shoot for their feet, that way they couldn't dodge it, it was going to explode and they weren't going to be able to move in time. I learned a lot of little tips and tricks along the way, and it took me a while, but I eventually got to an advanced level of play. I was participating in team-play matches and scrims, and it was a great time, but it didn't reflect my playstyle. I loved the game too much to be competitive about it. I, again, played to have fun, and got what I wanted everytime I connected. So I didn't follow the professional route, but instead decided to continue playing with my 'online family'. That is... until it was time to call it quits.

The cost of running a server for people to play on is quite the burden. It can end up costing you a fair bit in the long run, and the admins decided that it was time to give up TFC for now and maybe try again later once the financial situation improved. Well, we lost touch, and I've recently come in contact with the server admin, some 9 years later, and I was told from him that he almost passed away from pneumonia... That's when things come into focus. No matter how much health you have online, you're still just a living thing playing with pixels, and the real health bar is the bigger concern. But thankfully, he was able to recover and was able to be there for his family. As much as I'd love to get back to playing TFC again with him, if there are concerns outside of TFC that need dealing with, by all means, they are to be dealt with FIRST.

After getting the news that the server would not be running again, I was sad. Very sad. But I didn't want to forget TFC as a whole just because of it. They taught me too much to just let it all pass. I played again, but on other servers, I played with some great clans and great people, but it was nothing like [S.A.D]. That didn't get to me too much. Or I tried to not let it anyway... I decided that there were other people out there with the same ideals, just looking for more members who just want to have a good time. Unfortunately, over time, people just don't play anymore. Especially if it's a game from 1999... Back in the day, there would always be servers to play on, but now, you'll maybe find 150 in total, 10 with people who play, and 4 with a good outlook and good people in the game. It's upsetting, but it's also good in a way. With less servers to choose from, people aren't as tempted to act silly, get banned, and move to the next server and repeat the process... They don't because once you're banned from about 3, theres not much to choose from anymore. So the people you get on TFC as opposed to a game like Counter-Strike 1.6 are far more behaved and are less likely to troll and act immaturely.



Unfortunately, I sort of feel the walls closing in on me with Team Fortress 2. The people who are tired of TFC have moved on to the newer game, and the people who see TF2 don't look back and realize what a great game TFC is. I should be happy that theres a sequel to one of my favorite games, but I'm not. It's either too much of a change, or I just don't like it, but I will probably never play TF2. The reason for that is probably because I don't want to change what I grew up on. I just don't want to play a game where I can't use my grenades anymore lol. I grew up spending time working on how to time those tosses, and now that it won't pay off, I don't think it's worth it.

On a slightly lesser pessimistic level, I've enjoyed playing TFC and am incredibly greatful to have had an opportunity to play it. And I encourage you, if you're new to TF2, or new to gaming as a whole, spend $5!! It's only $5 on steam and it's the best multiplayer experience of my life, and I'm sure you'd enjoy it.



That seems to be it, and thanks again!

Until next time, take care!
,Robby014