Summer!

So, I keep waiting to think of something to blog about, but nothing comes. So I am just going to try to wear down the barrier between my brain and this computer and just see what comes out. 

IT'S THE MOTHERFLIPPIN' SUMMER!

I am actually not as exited about this as I should be, I do not think. I do not know why. Perhaps it just hasn't sunk in yet. I will not be missing double french every monday morning, that's for sure. 

So, sorry I haven't had an actual blog post in quite a little while, exams and such, I'm sure you understand. Twitter makes a pretty good substitute, like the difference between saying "I'm hungry" and writing an essay on what hunger feels like. Hmm. Maybe I should eat breakfast.

Team fortress 2 recently released the new sniper/spy update, and I have some issues with it. Not that any of you reading this play TF2, but all the same, I will let you know. The new item-unlock system sucks hardcore. It used to require that you unlock achievements, do stupendous acts that required both luck and skill, and after working at these, you would finally unlock new weapons. Not necciscarily better, per se, but new, and different. The problem with this is, people started developing "Achievement servers", where people would just sit around and help each other unlock weapons. So instead, they decided to turn the whole thing on it's head, with horrible consequences. Right now, the new system is deeply flawed. You are given a random weapon for a random class at a random time, usually which is very, very long in coming. It is as if Santa decided that instead of giving good boys and girls presents they asked for on christmas, he became sullen and moody and just occaisionally gave people presents they didn't ask for out of the blue throughout the year. "What's that timmy? You wanted a bike? Too Bad. You get a barbie. Suck it, timmy." The system is due to have a trading scheme implemented in time, but it does not sound like the sort of thing that will actually be useful. At all. The main frustration is the fact that you don't choose what you unlock. Say that you have unlocked all but 3 weapons. Now, that's 3 out of 18 possible weapons. At very very best, you get 1 new item every hour or two. (But once again, this is all randomized, so in theory it is possible to play this game for days on end and not get a single weapon). This means that if it takes 90 minutes... Wait, time for some maths.

Ok. Based on some rough (and dodgy) calculations, it would take approximately 540 mins (9 hours) to get three of the items you wanted. That's not all three, either. based on probability, that means that you could get one of the three items you wanted three times. If you unlocked 17 items and just wanted to get that laaaaaaast one you've been dying for, it would take approximately 27 hours (1620 mins) to unlock. Or it could only take one hour. Or you could theoretically never get it at all. Valve (The Game Developers) Have promised to add some content, like being able to choose which weapons you wish to unlock next. All the same, it is a rather frustrating system. The biggest Irony is though, (and I just realised this) Is that I am complaining! They keep adding content to this game for free and I have all the weapons I need. I have no right to complain, so I will not. Random rewards are simply frustrating, I suppose, and there's a certain "Look at the cool kids" Factor to it when you see other players running around with their bows and arrows and invisibility watches and jars of urine. The sad part is, they created this system to do away with achievement servers, but now, because it is a time-based system, there are now "Idle" servers where you can log on, leave your computer running overnight, come back in the morning, and bam! New items. I contemplated doing this, but it's just too much of a kick in the groin to mother nature, I think. 

"ahhh, ma petite chou-fleur." -The red spy/edit: I FINALLY unlocked a weapon I didn't have after about an entire week of playing. The huntsman: who needs a fancy lazer-guided gun when you have a bow and arrow? Not you, apparently.