#Savetf2 was a peaceful protest/movement begun in reddit and twitter. It was a push to Valve about the problems plaguing their fifteen year old game, Team Fortress 2. These problems ranged from multiple bugs and exploits, to problems that make the game nigh-unplayable like the multiple bots that would lead to many players’ frustration.
The main theme for the movement was to attract Valve’s attention (Valve being the developer for the game), through peaceful means that did not attack the game or its creators. This got positive buzz all over the internet, as soon even non-tf2-centric content creators (Like MoistCr1itikal and SomeOrdinaryGamers), began addressing the issues and applauding the movements peaceful way of protest.
The banner for #savetf2
This movement was eventually fruitful as the official twitter account for the game itself would post a tweet regarding them hearing from the community and that they are working to make the game a better place. Ever since then, the movement has started dying down and updates flew under the radar; for most people who aren’t caught up in the Team Fortress 2 community, here are some updates to what has happened since then.
Looking at Team Fortress 2’s recent reviews, the game is currently doing great for itself, sitting at 92% very positive in recent reviews. Steamcharts for the game have also shown a notable spike of an over 31% increase for the general playerbase, specifically around June, where the problems stated by #savetf2 were getting addressed by the developers. Seeing this, it does prove the point that Valve has managed to address the issues with the game.
The patch notes for July 22, 2022
A look at the updates and patch notes for the game; prior to the #savetf2, updates were few and far between, with the latest one happening on the 20th of April. But ever since the response to the movement, there has been a plethora of new updates and events added to the game to this day. The movement has reinvigorated the community which was in dire need of changes, with by far the most notable update being dropped on June 22.
This was noted as a major update according to the patch notes, and it included a ton of new changes. These changes ranged from fixing minor bugs, to the removal of some major exploits running amok in the game. But by far the largest change is about the updated vote system, which now allows a server to kick multiple problematic players simultaneously. This update made it easier to fight against bots on servers; however, it has still not completely remedied the problem as there are still bots in the game; it has only made it easier for players to rid bots off servers.
A Team Fortress 2 Youtuber by the name of shounic has addressed the problems on why the bot problem isn’t an easy fix. These were addressed in the video above; the piece talks about problems Valve might encounter during development; as well as possible solutions and their possible drawbacks to the community. To summarize the video, there isn’t one easy “fix all” solution for the company, and that is most likely the reason why even the large June 22 patch couldn’t be able to rid the game of bots entirely.
While the problem still remains, reviews, updates, and steamcharts show that the game is steadily improving nonetheless. It’s still a matter of time whether or not this bot problem fades away; but with how things are going, for now, the update has definitely remedied the problem and Valve did keep to their word and fixed most of the problems. Bots aren’t exclusively a problem for Team Fortress 2, but to the entire online space in general, and as advancements are being made, hopefully these problems would just become a thing of the past.
SOURCE: Team Fortress 2 patch notes on Steam, Steamcharts for Team Fortress 2
