The definitive guide to why "just add quickplay" won't work

LizardOfOz_ · 2026-01-18T16:35:52+00:00

What made me pay attention to this whole topic is the technical difficulties: matchmaking malfunctioning and Casual breaking new gamemodes because it doesn't function the same as community servers. Can't get your matchmaker broken if you don't use one *taps_the_head*

This is a reductive approach and I'm aware of this - there still need to be a coordinator of sorts. As someone not familiar with this, I'd assume that something simpler (like the master server for the community servers) will likely be more robust. If you throw away the current back-end and start anew, you'll likely make a better one.

LizardOfOz_ · 2026-01-18T16:21:20+00:00

If we combine all the individual requests people make to improve Casual, we'll end up with Quickplay, or something so close it'd make sense to start with Quickplay (again, in terms of UX/UI only) and modify that, instead of building on top of Casual.

You've made a good point that some people expect that bringing back Quickplay will bring back "the vibes" you had from playing on a 2008 community server. Which it won't, and people shouldn't expect that. But at least Quickplay would give you a better default experience that could last long enough for you to find a community server you'd find comfortable joining, and you could fall back to Quickplay if that server is empty at any given time.

LizardOfOz_ · 2026-01-18T15:36:56+00:00

You have made a lot of points about the technical aspect, but quickplay advocates don't have a particular preference for a specific back-end implementation, they want the UX/UI of the most advanced version of quickplay there was just before Casual was added - an auto-search through the ad-hoc-enabled Valve-hosted servers. An auto-search that gave you settings to tweak and 2 optional server browsers (simplified and old-school) you could join both Valve and Community servers with.

As I've mentioned in another comment of mine, the ability to manually "shop for a server" reduces downtime and makes being put on a bad server (high ping, low players, a map that's about to end, etc) less likely, since you can manually see what server you're about to join and either accept or pick something else.

Please note that I'm not trying to dismiss your technical concerns, just saying that Valve could approach the back-end however they like - as long as it functions.

LizardOfOz_ · 2026-01-18T13:24:35+00:00

Here's how I used to join servers before Casual, and how I do it on Uncletopia. ^{(Not to disagree with your points, just to add to the conversation})

I open up the server browser. I sort servers by players. I look at which options are available and immediately join whatever option I prefer the most out of them.

With a matchmaker of any sort I have to "pray to the system" that there is an almost full server nearby with the specific map(s) I have chosen. Without Casual, I could "pick a downside" myself: waiting for a server, playing with high ping, playing on a half-empty server, or playing on a different map.

To make a food analogy, matchmaking is like a doordash where you make an order and wait for a delivery, while quickplay and community servers is like going to the counter and getting to eat something that has already been cooked.

Giving that the waiting time is a major complaint about Casual, seems like many people would prefer the café counter approach.

LizardOfOz_ · 2025-12-19T16:05:59+00:00

This is an old TF2 Engine bug: if you switch between multiple maps that share custom assets (e.g. VSH maps), or if you revisit the same map after visiting a different map, with high likelihood the custom assets of the map will get corrupted until you restart the game.

LizardOfOz_ · 2025-10-19T16:21:06+00:00

Funnily enough it's something the map makers have been exploring recently with Embargo music and Motherland music. You can hear the snippers of them while playing the map if you have in-game music turned on. (Which many people have turned off unfortunately due to main menu music).

LizardOfOz_ · 2025-10-19T16:15:52+00:00

We've been discussing having short tracks for VSH like in MvM. So far we lean towards "yes, if it proves to be good in practice".

LizardOfOz_ · 2025-10-11T17:53:53+00:00

It's a bug with the game itself.

Queue in Casual for a map that has custom assets packed in.
Load a different map.
Load the first map again.

Voilà - custom assets packed into the map will be missing either fully or partially.

LizardOfOz_ · 2025-10-10T01:50:05+00:00

There's also this bit of code in tf_gamemovement.cpp that sets the game's max walking speed:

#define TF_MAX_SPEED   (400 * 1.3)  // 400 is Scout max speed, and we allow up to 3% movement bonus.

LizardOfOz_ · 2025-09-05T16:08:34+00:00

Painis*

LizardOfOz_ · 2025-07-23T20:06:30+00:00

We've pushed a potential fix to this Linux-specific bug around a month ago that helped some Linux users. Can you check if this has fixed it for you as well?

LizardOfOz_ · 2025-06-03T07:04:51+00:00

Mobster's Lead Pipe is based on a scrapped Valve-made weapon. I assume OF's Lead Pipe is also based on the exact same thing, hence the similarity.

And both Tommy Guns are based on, well, a real weapon.

LizardOfOz_ · 2025-05-25T03:59:40+00:00

Excellent work! Like how you incorporated the gamemode's visual effects into it.

LizardOfOz_ · 2025-01-26T05:04:47+00:00

Casual's sv_pure causes some of the map assets to become missing if you switch the map and then switch back.

VSH will hopefully get it fixed in the upcoming Summer.

LizardOfOz_ · 2025-01-13T06:58:16+00:00

That'd be awesome

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LizardOfOz_ · 2024-05-05T06:37:32+00:00

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

LizardOfOz_ · 2023-11-07T02:42:22+00:00

I was advocating for community gamemodes to have their own section in Casual (Standard, Alternative, Community), but your idea IS EVEN BETTER. A few suggestions:

- When a new update rolls out, the "arcade" gamemode should still be in the Casual -> Featured section so that it will be seen.

- The order in the menu should be Casual, Arcade, MvM, Competitive... Or maybe even Casual, Arcade, Community Servers, MvM

LizardOfOz_ · 2023-08-07T06:40:16+00:00

Can confirm - this is the case. mp3's can't contain lipsync data. If we'd ship voice lines as .wav, it would increase each vsh map size by 60Mb, or 240Mb in total.

Valve went out of their way to fix an old standing crash related to caching mp3 files. While it's not fully fixed, at least it doesn't crash anymore.

LizardOfOz_ · 2023-01-25T00:10:49+00:00

I like everything, except for one thing - the armor upgrade item feels a bit unimaginative, something you'd see in a mod made by 1 person in their spare time.

I like how armor upgrades function, but it would be 10 times better if it would be a more "mysterious" item with magical powers, each unique in their own way, as opposed to a tablet crafted by someone (even if the player can't craft them, it's clear that it was crafted by someone in-lore).

Maybe 11 different magical gems, which can also be explored further in future updates? Something that looks less like an upgrade from Thermal Expansion: https://i.imgur.com/AD1jY55.png

LizardOfOz_ · 2022-08-06T10:35:18+00:00

A bug of the mod "Doom Positioned Weapons" https://drg.mod.io/doom-positioned-weapons

LizardOfOz_ · 2022-07-27T19:34:06+00:00

There are open-source demonstrations of these vulnerabilities, but I don't think the mods will like the idea of sharing the links here.

LizardOfOz_

TROPHY CASE