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Man, this is disappointing. It's particularly surprising that Valve has sent a DMCA here, given their history of pretty much all their popular games originating

by 22c 3y ago

Man, this is disappointing. It's particularly surprising that Valve has sent a DMCA here, given their history of pretty much all their popular games originating from the modding community or prior art and the history of fan projects like Black Mesa getting somewhat favourable coverage in the Steam store. I wonder if they took issue with s&box coming from Facepunch, which might be something that is eventually profited from, thereby a TF2 remake in s&box could drive sales for s&box.

andrewmcwatters 3y ago
As someone who has attempted to license a paid Half-Life 2 mod, there's a pre and post-"Hunt Down The Freeman" era. From my understanding working with other licensees, it was so bad that they no longer want anyone working with their IP. Valve doesn't work with the mod community anymore; they've pivoted hard into only working with UGC creators, which they do not consider the same. Free mods can continue to exist, but it has to be within their walled garden, and done in ways that they approve of, and they offer no support or guidance. Even for licensees who have blessed support, they no longer have a dedicated Source Engine contact and haven't for years, or even over a decade(?). Anything that is non-Source is a non-starter. Most professionals have moved on to working with other IP or developing their own. Frankly, I'm surprised anyone does anything with Valve's stuff anymore, or they're too unfamiliar with working with Valve that they don't understand that their era of absorbing mods and turning them into full-fledged in-house IP is over and they don't treat fans the same way they did in the early aughts. The staff has changed dramatically and Newell himself appears less engaged in the company all together. Seemingly, you can't get anything done at Valve, or working with them now. There are isolated teams there that work on hardware or existing legacy IP that generates cash flow from UGC work, but that's all Valve does now.
- 22c 3y ago
  Appreciate the insight, very disappointing! Sadly, TF2 is in a practically unmaintained and unplayable state right now and it's a game that is still beloved by its fans all these years later. Any efforts to inject life back into the fanbase seem to be met with indifference from Valve at best and outright callous opposition at worst.
  - mikelovenotwar 3y ago
    TF2 receives regular patches, fixing bugs. The sniper bot problem badly needs a proper fix.
    - 22c 3y ago
      I consider the lack of effective anticheat as essentially making the game unplayable/abandoned, regardless of whether or not they fix minor bugs or localization issues.
      - zettaga 3y ago
        TF2 is my favorite game, and basically the only game I play. While playing on Valve servers can be troublesome in off hours, its usually bot free when playing during peak times. Also there are tons of community servers that are completely bot free all the time, so while valve may have mostly abandoned the game it is completely playable.
  - andrewmcwatters 3y ago
    I don't have any insider insights on Team Fortress 2 in particular, just licensee or Valve Business Development topics. The current public consensus on that subject though is that there are people at Valve that like Team Fortress 2 and work on it, but it doesn't win them any brownie points during things like peer review for bonus purposes like the clout you'd get for working on the Dota 2 or CS2 teams.
kevincox 3y ago
On the other hand when I clicked the Tweet linked in the article (https://twitter.com/TeamFortressS2/status/1745157812563378649 https://twitter.com/TeamFortressS2/status/174515781256337864...) I thought I was looking at an official TF2 account for a while. So I'm not surprised that they are at least upset with some trademark issues.

by 22c 3y ago

andrewmcwatters 3y ago

As someone who has attempted to license a paid Half-Life 2 mod, there's a pre and post-"Hunt Down The Freeman" era. From my understanding working with other licensees, it was so bad that they no longer want anyone working with their IP. Valve doesn't work with the mod community anymore; they've pivoted hard into only working with UGC creators, which they do not consider the same. Free mods can continue to exist, but it has to be within their walled garden, and done in ways that they approve of, and they offer no support or guidance. Even for licensees who have blessed support, they no longer have a dedicated Source Engine contact and haven't for years, or even over a decade(?). Anything that is non-Source is a non-starter. Most professionals have moved on to working with other IP or developing their own. Frankly, I'm surprised anyone does anything with Valve's stuff anymore, or they're too unfamiliar with working with Valve that they don't understand that their era of absorbing mods and turning them into full-fledged in-house IP is over and they don't treat fans the same way they did in the early aughts. The staff has changed dramatically and Newell himself appears less engaged in the company all together. Seemingly, you can't get anything done at Valve, or working with them now. There are isolated teams there that work on hardware or existing legacy IP that generates cash flow from UGC work, but that's all Valve does now.

22c 3y ago
Appreciate the insight, very disappointing! Sadly, TF2 is in a practically unmaintained and unplayable state right now and it's a game that is still beloved by its fans all these years later. Any efforts to inject life back into the fanbase seem to be met with indifference from Valve at best and outright callous opposition at worst.
- mikelovenotwar 3y ago
  TF2 receives regular patches, fixing bugs. The sniper bot problem badly needs a proper fix.
  - 22c 3y ago
    I consider the lack of effective anticheat as essentially making the game unplayable/abandoned, regardless of whether or not they fix minor bugs or localization issues.
    - zettaga 3y ago
      TF2 is my favorite game, and basically the only game I play. While playing on Valve servers can be troublesome in off hours, its usually bot free when playing during peak times. Also there are tons of community servers that are completely bot free all the time, so while valve may have mostly abandoned the game it is completely playable.
- andrewmcwatters 3y ago
  I don't have any insider insights on Team Fortress 2 in particular, just licensee or Valve Business Development topics. The current public consensus on that subject though is that there are people at Valve that like Team Fortress 2 and work on it, but it doesn't win them any brownie points during things like peer review for bonus purposes like the clout you'd get for working on the Dota 2 or CS2 teams.

kevincox 3y ago

On the other hand when I clicked the Tweet linked in the article (https://twitter.com/TeamFortressS2/status/1745157812563378649 https://twitter.com/TeamFortressS2/status/174515781256337864...) I thought I was looking at an official TF2 account for a while. So I'm not surprised that they are at least upset with some trademark issues.