TF2: Explanations for Lack of Engineer Unlockables

• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2011-07-26 09:46
  Some guy on steam forums emailed valve's designers
  http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2018194
  
  His email
  

  Hey Robin,
  
  I know I bug you way too much and you’re probably busy as hell. I know I will never get a response from this email (you do read them though), but I wanted to talk about the engineer. Awhile back ago we have heard rumors of either Bigger is Better or Electrifying packs were coming soon. However from the mann-conomy update till the uber update there has been nothing.
  
  Of course the statement about the engineer being left out was obvious with the pyro detonator hidden link page. However everyone is up in arms that the soldier has been getting his share of updates way above any other class. Also something about the knowledge of the Dumpster Pack coming soon from the STS leak, and the Free to Play trailer does not help either (personally looking forward to the Heavy Medicine pack).
  
  Green-marine stated this around the anger and frustration of the enginner lack of new weaponry:
  
  [QUOTE]Quote:
  “The Engineer thing is much simpler: we haven't gotten any submissions that have passed our tech review and that have been at the bar we want to ship.
  
  Engineer is the class with the least community submissions. We haven't had a chance to make original art for the Engy recently.
  
  Encourage your friends to make high quality, good perf Engineer items and submit them. The lack of Engineer items isn't about game design. It's about resources.
  
  The Demoknight's received a lot of attention because people keep making really good Demoknight items. We have our eyes on several quality Demo items that aren't melee oriented for future updates.”

  
  Finally my main question is: why there not another contest dealt exclusively to the engineer if what he stated is true? During the Polycount contest the engineer weaponry was still under construction. No one knew what direction the TF2 team was going with and people were just winging it. I know the polycount people would like another crack at it, or just make the whole contest universal. If you do let them know what building can be changed and what items can’t (cut the confusion out).
  
  P.S. There is a rumor that the Soldier is your favorite class and for this biased reasons gets most of the weapons. Pure idiocy I say, since you have stated you play a wide verity of classes.
  
  Thank you Robin and the TF2 team as a whole for the continued support of the community.[/QUOTE]
  
  Robin Walker's email back
  

  Greenmarine’s post is a good summary of why we haven’t been shipping Engineer items. We’ve been talking internally about how to get some good Engineer items done, but it seems like we may not have to do anything – the community’s interest in Engineer items appears to encouraged several contributors to take a crack at making some items for him.
  
  The idea that my favorite class, or any particular part of how I play TF2, is relevant to the design decisions we make is misguided. I’d be a bad designer if I let my personal desires override the desires /opinions/feedback of the entire TF2 community.
  
  Robin.

  
  
  Well... looks like Valve wants high quality models from submissions.
  To be honest, the cat cant think of new stuff for Engineer...
  
  BESIDES FLAMETHROWER SENTRY
  shoots flames
• Xemnas wrote on 2011-07-26 10:55
  This is all I have to add:
  
  [video=youtube;vYWhf3MnIEs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYWhf3MnIEs[/video]
• Sumpfkraut wrote on 2011-07-26 14:34
  That's actually not a bad idea, he could abandon his sentry for a tool that upgrades teammates' weapons a bit or something like that.
• Zid wrote on 2011-07-26 16:21
  Take a page out of Splash Damage's Engineer class.
  
  

  • Landmines

  
  

  • Small weapon buff to any team member

  
  

  • Small armor buff to any team member (works like Team Fortress Classic/Fortress armor)
• Sleeperdial wrote on 2011-07-26 16:24

  Quote from Sumpfkraut;527491:

  That's actually not a bad idea, he could abandon his sentry for a tool that upgrades teammates' weapons a bit or something like that.

  
  
  I was thinking of maybe a new dispenser that takes 200 (or more) metal to build, doesn't provide metal or ammo but when the engie commands it, it would uber whoever he chooses, but it has to be charged with metal. (150 metal per charge?)
• Moppy wrote on 2011-07-26 16:34
  Give the engie a portal gun as his primary and all will be forgiven.
• Sleeperdial wrote on 2011-07-26 17:38
  -uber heavy coming at sentry nest-
  *portal guns heavy away*
  [video=youtube;gvdf5n-zI14]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvdf5n-zI14[/video]
• Excalibuurr wrote on 2011-07-27 00:10
  Micro Sentries mounted on the engie's head.
• Yogurticecream wrote on 2011-07-27 04:40
  Can't the engineer invent some cool new weapons or something?
  I don't know much about this class, or the game, but the e-mail reply was, to put it mildly, disappointing....even though it's honest.
• Applejack wrote on 2011-07-27 04:45
  Engi is engi and all what he can make is a sentry, dispenser, and teleporters? BOOOOO. But I was playing on a modded server and they had a thing where you can change your dispenser into something that gives anyone in the range minicrits and it increases range the more you rank it.
• Kingofrunes wrote on 2011-07-27 12:36
  Engies could use some loving.
  
  We gotta stop dem spies from sappin our sentries!
  
  SENTRY DOWN!
  
  I suck at art though so I'll just have to hope and pray somebody comes up with something good.
• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2011-07-27 12:49

  Quote from Kingofrunes;528821:

  Engies could use some loving.
  
  We gotta stop dem spies from sappin our sentries!
  
  SENTRY DOWN!
  
  I suck at art though so I'll just have to hope and pray somebody comes up with something good.

  
  
  wranglers work decent for spy checking
  and so does shotguns
• Xemnas wrote on 2011-07-27 14:27

  Quote from BobYoMeowMeow;528829:

  wranglers work decent for spy checking
  and so does shotguns

  
  
  Army of spies swarm
  
  engie shoots 1 and gets backstabbed while the one he shot is using a dead ringer and goes to take the point/intel, while 2 others sap everything else.
• Sumpfkraut wrote on 2011-07-27 18:19

  Quote from Xemnas;528873:

  Army of spies swarm
  
  engie shoots 1 and gets backstabbed while the one he shot is using a dead ringer and goes to take the point/intel, while 2 others sap everything else.

  
  Suddenly, people realise that both sides have a team and all the spies die.
• Xemnas wrote on 2011-07-27 18:23

  Quote from Sumpfkraut;528974:

  Suddenly, people realise that both sides have a team and all the spies die.

  
  
  I always get teams full of snipers who sit in the spawn all day/people who run directly into sentries.