The Orange Box for Pre-Order on Steam $45

[roushimsx]

I'm not really much into multiplayer games anymore, but I hopped on a couple of random servers and had an enjoyable time with TF2. Never spent much time with TFC and it's been >10 years since I spent a lot of time with TF, so I very plainly suck....but it's still damned fun. Well, when people on my own team aren't rubbing it in just how much I suck, anyway.

Hopefully I can find a nice server to play on this weekend that is more tolerant of my severely depreciated skills.

My only complaint with the Orange Box pricing is that the individual games are too damn expensive I wish EP2 was $20 and both Portal and TF2 were $15 a pop. Hell, they could jack the price up on Orange Box to $55 and still come out looking like it's a hell of a deal (because of the inclusion of EP1 and HL2). Oh well... for buying the Orange Box at $5 less than buying Portal and EP2 separately I got to find out that my days of multiplayer gaming just might not be over after all.

So....who knows a good, newb-friendly server?

[Mozgus]

Buddy, just ignore them. Welcome to online gaming. It's been this way since ever.

[roushimsx]

Buddy, just ignore them. Welcome to online gaming. It's been this way since ever.

Yea I dunno, it just didn't seem so hostile in the mid-late 90s when I was really into playing online (mostly Quake). About the only thing I really recall people complaining about were LPBs and people with 3dfx cards (omfg, transparent water? OGLB!). Maybe the annoyance is just magnified by the voice comm. Good god is that annoying with random people.

[Mozgus]

Buddy, just ignore them. Welcome to online gaming. It's been this way since ever.

Yea I dunno, it just didn't seem so hostile in the mid-late 90s when I was really into playing online (mostly Quake). About the only thing I really recall people complaining about were LPBs and people with 3dfx cards (omfg, transparent water? OGLB!). Maybe the annoyance is just magnified by the voice comm. Good god is that annoying with random people.

Voice chat indeed changed a LOT of the experience, mostly for the worse. I got into online FPS when I got my first PC in 1998, so I'm a bit late. I remember the scene being pretty hostile and immature back then too.

I still haven't used voice chat. I even bought a mic to do so, but realized...I rarely have anything I want to say to these dumbasses. I never talk trash in real life and don't feel the need to do so online. I assume close-nit clans use voice chat legitimately, but I can only imagine.

[roushimsx]

I assume close-nit clans use voice chat legitimately, but I can only imagine.

Trash talking completely loses its appeal when you're not with friends. No doubt, in a team game there's a hell of a lot of use for voice chat. Not so much in DM or on random uncoordinated pubs

Co op Operation Flashpoint with a couple of buddies and voice comm is downright wonderful, for example.