PC Gamer is offering a free hat code with the purchase of their new issue come Sept. 29th. UK issues will have the code, while it is unclear if US/North America will have it.
Steam Forum discussion here.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
New item percentages
In updating the TF2items hat and item percentages, you may notice that most of the items percentages have dropped by approximately half. For example, Bills hat which was in around 20% of the backpacks is now at around 11%. What gives, you say? Well, as we've said before TF2items (and thus, we all are) is dependent on Valve for whatever data they give out. The percentage drop is likely due to the influx of new players, and it would seem that the number of current players has nearly doubled since all percentages of items has been effectively cut in half. This is reinforced by the Ghastlier Gibus percentages - cut in half also signifying that more than half of the active player base was not playing Halloween of 2010.
Of note, you will recall we ran a poll asking which stats you would prefer: percentage of items or estimated # of items. We have gone through our channels and Valve will not give us the actual # of active TF2 players. Sooooo...we are "stuck" with the better statistic which is percentage of items. I know many of you really liked estimated #, however it is a severely flawed number and even moreso now that TF2items data from Valve keeps getting more limited. If the number of players is ever released we will re-calculate an estimated # of items.
That said, if you think there are any other metrics that effect value and price that we should show in our little spreadsheet: let us know. That is all. Be well.
Of note, you will recall we ran a poll asking which stats you would prefer: percentage of items or estimated # of items. We have gone through our channels and Valve will not give us the actual # of active TF2 players. Sooooo...we are "stuck" with the better statistic which is percentage of items. I know many of you really liked estimated #, however it is a severely flawed number and even moreso now that TF2items data from Valve keeps getting more limited. If the number of players is ever released we will re-calculate an estimated # of items.
That said, if you think there are any other metrics that effect value and price that we should show in our little spreadsheet: let us know. That is all. Be well.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Trading patience is a virtue
Sometimes we get feedback regarding prices and how long it takes to unload an item. Sometimes players claim that since it takes a long time to sell something then our prices must be wrong. Wrong! We are very capable of making mistakes. However, in TF2 trading land there are a lot of choices and beyond the always hot Team Captains and Bills some items we don't want tend to sit a long time in our backpacks waiting for a home.
Take for example Genuine Volcano Fragment. This was a hot property when Rift first came out and all the controversy about it being tradeable before the game's release. Now, it takes a loooong time to sell one. Does that mean it's value has gone down? To some extent yes, but that's not the only answer. It can take several days to a week to sell one at "full" price (currently between 2 and 3 refined). The reason is simple: because there are more (genuine) items available spreading demand out. So if you have one you need to spread the word out that it's for sale. That means trading servers during peak times (Thurs-Sun), reddit tf2 forums, Steam TF2 trading forums, Source Op item trading forums, and tf2tp.com. Start a new thread, keep it simple and post a link to your profile so people can easily add you.
When you've exhausted all avenues to sell an item then lower your price.
Take for example Genuine Volcano Fragment. This was a hot property when Rift first came out and all the controversy about it being tradeable before the game's release. Now, it takes a loooong time to sell one. Does that mean it's value has gone down? To some extent yes, but that's not the only answer. It can take several days to a week to sell one at "full" price (currently between 2 and 3 refined). The reason is simple: because there are more (genuine) items available spreading demand out. So if you have one you need to spread the word out that it's for sale. That means trading servers during peak times (Thurs-Sun), reddit tf2 forums, Steam TF2 trading forums, Source Op item trading forums, and tf2tp.com. Start a new thread, keep it simple and post a link to your profile so people can easily add you.
When you've exhausted all avenues to sell an item then lower your price.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
New update....
277 Mb, so its big. El Jefe and Mask of the Shaman now craftable.
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2122243
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2122243
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Unusually crafty
While we don't focus on unusuals here at TF2S since their values are all over the map, we do appreciate their glory and splendor. Here is a site that allows you to search individually for different effects and shows you who has them. Also searchable are crafted # hats. Who has Team Captain #1? Just look it up! Another cool feature is that they have a hat rating system, that many TF2ers have voted for their favorites. Think the Madame Dixie is the best hat ever? See if your fellow players agree with you.
Link here. You will have to login through Steam to search the database, but don't worry its safe.
Link here. You will have to login through Steam to search the database, but don't worry its safe.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Trading with Steam: the birth of a movement?
As many of you are aware, the new Steam trading feature is out of beta and now officially live. It allows you to trade TF2 items with other Steam games or other items within Steam games (for now Portal 2 and Spiral Knights). Valve plans to add more games and inventories to this list and make this an ongoing feature for new games. Steam trading FAQ here.
Seeing the success of TF2 customization and item trading, this is one of those moments where everything is new and the possibilities are limitless. It could end with a fizzle as many seemingly great ideas do. Or it could be one of those must-have pieces that developers incorporate into their upcoming games. Some games will allow themselves to item trading such as role-playing games, while others like sports games may spawn their own new content as their trading currency. Perhaps an NFL game will have throwback jerseys, or a Premier League (that's soccer to all you scratching your heads) team will have fan chants...the possibilities are limitless.
Seeing the success of TF2 customization and item trading, this is one of those moments where everything is new and the possibilities are limitless. It could end with a fizzle as many seemingly great ideas do. Or it could be one of those must-have pieces that developers incorporate into their upcoming games. Some games will allow themselves to item trading such as role-playing games, while others like sports games may spawn their own new content as their trading currency. Perhaps an NFL game will have throwback jerseys, or a Premier League (that's soccer to all you scratching your heads) team will have fan chants...the possibilities are limitless.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Steam Gameplay Statistics
In follow-up to the Steam Hardware and Software survey, this is a page we like to look at that shows gameplay and player statistics for Steam games (link here). There are currently around 66,000 players in-game playing Team Fortress 2 right now. Pretty remarkable for a "vintage" game like TF2. It speaks to the game's longevity and Valve's continuous-improvement ideals. You rock TF2.
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