List of Good Servers

[longgoneby]

I'm very new to TFC, as in played the game for the first time in my life a few weeks ago. I'm wondering if anyone has a list of generally good servers that fit this criteria:
- Aren't 24/7.
- Aren't chock-full of their own specific plugins that affect gameplay in meaningful ways.
- Generally are populated.

[Spoofer]

No single server fits all those criteria. I may as well use this topic to describe the current state of TFC:

The 3 most populated servers aren't vanilla.

Drippy's 2fort is the most active throughout the day, but is 24/7 2fort, has a lower than default bunnyhop limit which better players look down upon, and occasionally has brief plugin events (most of which don't significantly impact gameplay, but some do). Also is home to TFC's second most casual players. This is probably the closest you'd get to vanilla pub TFC during the day. Community link: https://www.lunaticrage.com/drippy/forum.php

Evil TFC has uncapped bunnyhop (far beyond TFC's default) and trimping, which unbalances TFC's mechanics moreso than Drippy's capped bhop, and has other plugins that also throw the identity of TFC out of whack. Some people like the changes, but I think most skilled players prefer vanilla. Runs 2fort a lot too, but has a mapvote for other maps so in this regard it could be better than D2F if you don't mind the drastic gameplay changes. Also somewhat active throughout the day. Has some admins that are temperamental and ban because they don't like getting shot, and the server has generally been waning in popularity. Community link: https://forums.esclan.net/index.php

X Bots server is players vs. bots, and while it's vanilla, it plays nothing like genuine TFC because the bots aren't very skilled and don't behave tactically like human players. The most casual players frequent this server, and often spend 25 minutes of every map trapping the bots in spawn while they stand behind their SGs or spam nades over and over. When they're not dead set on standing around like that, it can be a decent place to vote in lesser-seen maps or practice various techniques. Community link: https://xbotserver.forumotion.com Discord link: https://discord.gg/hStGwA7f

For actual vanilla TFC:

OldSchool TFC plays mostly attack/defend maps and has a great community of all skill ranges, but they mostly get started at 9~11 EST at night and play into the early hours of the morning. They hold pickups every Saturday night at 11EST. This is probably the best pub option for players who can play so late, and/or who prefer attack/defend. Discord link: https://discord.gg/DAFKhKBT

Twisted Dustbowl is mostly Dustbowl with mapvoting for other attack/defend maps, is populated during the day but is often less populated than OST is during its peak hours, so you'd often find smaller games augmented with bots on both sides. It historically had issues with a certain admin banning players much better than her, but she's apparently been relieved of her position and I guess the server had started to make a small comeback. Discord link: https://discord.gg/YbhjJhhh

And then you have the pickups/leagues for more skilled players playing capture the flag maps, which run daily and would be the best option for genuine TFC during normal daily hours. I'd suggest anyone get a foundation of the higher level skills on pub servers first (efficient conc jumping, good positioning and instincts, maybe some conc aim) before considering these, though once you join the players are friendly enough and will help you accelerate your skill development. Coach's pickup discord: https://discord.gg/TJ8NAK4S72 Outhouse pickup discord: https://discord.gg/sFK2vhvq 4v4tress Gaming League discord: https://discord.gg/sFK2vhvq Also Inhouse, but it's more exclusive.

There's also Feckin Mad, which has its own community dedicated to running fun skills maps. Discord link: https://discord.gg/MvRKhRhy

[pizzahut]

Originally posted by Spoofer:

Evil TFC has uncapped bunnyhop (far beyond TFC's default)

This has been removed since a while, it seems to be default cap now. Trimping is still there. The custom grenade bag can now be used from a distance by shooting it, and recently by enemies, too. Fall damage has been disabled.

[Paft]

37.122.208.248:27015

[Sim]

I just get stoned and realise after an hour its all bots.

[Sim]

Like the OP

[Ikagura]

Originally posted by Spoofer:

No single server fits all those criteria. I may as well use this topic to describe the current state of TFC:

The 3 most populated servers aren't vanilla.

Drippy's 2fort is the most active throughout the day, but is 24/7 2fort, has a lower than default bunnyhop limit which better players look down upon, and occasionally has brief plugin events (most of which don't significantly impact gameplay, but some do). Also is home to TFC's second most casual players. This is probably the closest you'd get to vanilla pub TFC during the day. Community link: https://www.lunaticrage.com/drippy/forum.php

Evil TFC has uncapped bunnyhop (far beyond TFC's default) and trimping, which unbalances TFC's mechanics moreso than Drippy's capped bhop, and has other plugins that also throw the identity of TFC out of whack. Some people like the changes, but I think most skilled players prefer vanilla. Runs 2fort a lot too, but has a mapvote for other maps so in this regard it could be better than D2F if you don't mind the drastic gameplay changes. Also somewhat active throughout the day. Has some admins that are temperamental and ban because they don't like getting shot, and the server has generally been waning in popularity. Community link: https://forums.esclan.net/index.php

X Bots server is players vs. bots, and while it's vanilla, it plays nothing like genuine TFC because the bots aren't very skilled and don't behave tactically like human players. The most casual players frequent this server, and often spend 25 minutes of every map trapping the bots in spawn while they stand behind their SGs or spam nades over and over. When they're not dead set on standing around like that, it can be a decent place to vote in lesser-seen maps or practice various techniques. Community link: https://xbotserver.forumotion.com Discord link: https://discord.gg/hStGwA7f

For actual vanilla TFC:

OldSchool TFC plays mostly attack/defend maps and has a great community of all skill ranges, but they mostly get started at 9~11 EST at night and play into the early hours of the morning. They hold pickups every Saturday night at 11EST. This is probably the best pub option for players who can play so late, and/or who prefer attack/defend. Discord link: https://discord.gg/DAFKhKBT

Twisted Dustbowl is mostly Dustbowl with mapvoting for other attack/defend maps, is populated during the day but is often less populated than OST is during its peak hours, so you'd often find smaller games augmented with bots on both sides. It historically had issues with a certain admin banning players much better than her, but she's apparently been relieved of her position and I guess the server had started to make a small comeback. Discord link: https://discord.gg/YbhjJhhh

And then you have the pickups/leagues for more skilled players playing capture the flag maps, which run daily and would be the best option for genuine TFC during normal daily hours. I'd suggest anyone get a foundation of the higher level skills on pub servers first (efficient conc jumping, good positioning and instincts, maybe some conc aim) before considering these, though once you join the players are friendly enough and will help you accelerate your skill development. Coach's pickup discord: https://discord.gg/TJ8NAK4S72 Outhouse pickup discord: https://discord.gg/sFK2vhvq 4v4tress Gaming League discord: https://discord.gg/sFK2vhvq Also Inhouse, but it's more exclusive.

There's also Feckin Mad, which has its own community dedicated to running fun skills maps. Discord link: https://discord.gg/MvRKhRhy

Controverial opinion I know but what's the point of bhop when most uses tricks such as"bind mwheeldown +jump" or scripts?

I thought that it was a pure skill move then I noticed how people didn't actually press space at the right moment.

[Spoofer]

The timing of jump is the most mundane component of bunny hop. The true skill is how it's utilized to maneuver and juke. These are the areas that make a player more effective. And good players would rather everybody be able to easily nail the timing so that the quality of play on both teams is raised and everybody's playing at a higher level.

Aside from that, FPS/hardware/mousewheel quality aren't even across the board and each has an impact on how easy the jump timing is. So to help even the playing field and make it easier for everyone, jump scripts have always been accepted, so long as no third-party programs are used to automate jumping by holding a button. This principle extended to Fortress Forever and various other games inspired by Quake and TFC, where all you had to do to rejump upon landing is to press jump at any moment while in the air, similar to how TFC jump scripts operate.

In TFC, simple scripting has always been accepted to simplify the control scheme and maximize the focus on the higher skill elements. So: jump scripts, autoreload, engineer/demo/spy scripts to bypass the GUI, etc. are all commonplace. There are some scripts and console commands that provide too big of an advantage or bypass intended game design, so those remain banned.

But bhop is an essential and integral backbone of TFC at high level, and everybody is expected to be able to do it. It's one of the mechanics that makes TFC faster, more skill-based, and much more fun.

[Knee]

Originally posted by If I find a jar of pickles!:

The timing of jump is the most mundane component of bunny hop. The true skill is how it's utilized to maneuver and juke. These are the areas that make a player more effective. And good players would rather everybody be able to easily nail the timing so that the quality of play on both teams is raised and everybody's playing at a higher level.

Aside from that, FPS/hardware/mousewheel quality aren't even across the board and each has an impact on how easy the jump timing is. So to help even the playing field and make it easier for everyone, jump scripts have always been accepted, so long as no third-party programs are used to automate jumping by holding a button. This principle extended to Fortress Forever and various other games inspired by Quake and TFC, where all you had to do to rejump upon landing is to press jump at any moment while in the air, similar to how TFC jump scripts operate.

In TFC, simple scripting has always been accepted to simplify the control scheme and maximize the focus on the higher skill elements. So: jump scripts, autoreload, engineer/demo/spy scripts to bypass the GUI, etc. are all commonplace. There are some scripts and console commands that provide too big of an advantage or bypass intended game design, so those remain banned.

But bhop is an essential and integral backbone of TFC at high level, and everybody is expected to be able to do it. It's one of the mechanics that makes TFC faster, more skill-based, and much more fun.

boosting in general is probably the most fascinating mechanic that’s kept me attached to quake-like shooters for years, any other engine that doesnt emulate this feels off

[-[GOOD]- SeveralGoodKills]

‘Evil TFC has uncapped bunnyhop (far beyond TFC's default) and trimping, which unbalances TFC's mechanics moreso than Drippy's capped bhop, and has other plugins that also throw the identity of TFC out of whack. Some people like the changes, but I think most skilled players prefer vanilla. Runs 2fort a lot too, but has a mapvote for other maps so in this regard it could be better than D2F if you don't mind the drastic gameplay changes. Also somewhat active throughout the day. Has some admins that are temperamental and ban because they don't like getting shot, and the server has generally been waning in popularity. Community link: https://forums.esclan.net/index.php’



No ♥♥♥♥. This server has slowly been dying for the reasons noted. It’s too bad. Kinda miss when rules and protocol were followed more carefully.