Hats: The Worst Thing That Ever Happened to TF2

[Sorehead]

Much as I know hats have helped to create a thriving economy inside TF2, and they enjoy widespread popularity, I cannot help but hate them with fierce, burning passion. The reason I hate them is an aesthetic one. Before the introduction of cosmetic items, TF2 was a great looking game. All the classes had a great aesthetic design, they all looked perfect, just the way they were, and just by looking at them, what kind of character they were was clear straight away. The unique visual style was a delight to the eyes.

Then came hats. Hats, along with misc items like badges, polluted the visuals of the game. It stopped looking harmonious, and began to look messy. Players wearing a motly collection of hats, badges, shirts and other stupid looking stuff (even worse when painted in garish colours) befouled the entire screen. Each hat was worse than the next. from the painfully ugly gibus, a hat which is sadly available to all classes, and looks good on none, to ridiculous looking items like the hot dog hat. For god's sake, a hot dog hat! Are you f****** kidding me?

From stupid hats to ugly looking misc items like badges and hair, cosmetic items have made TF2 into an abomination. Albeit a brilliant abomination, but an abomination nontheless, because of the amazing looking game that died when hats arrived, and the subtle, understated theme that ceased to be coherent and became lost in the flood of clutter.

What do you think? Do you agree that hats have made the game look worse, or do you think they have improved it?

I'd like to note that I am glad others enjoy hats. My hatred of them is just my personal opinion.

[Tolna]

Nah, hats really fit the cartoon comicbook style TF2 had going for it. This is a zany,crazy, not-so-serious game. Obsessing about hats is fine.

What killed TF2 was trading. And I use kill because it's only like a 5 sec respawn time.

Hats were valuable because they were rare and only drop on average of 300hours of play per hat. Meaning if you had one, you were good. Now they're only valuable if they have particles or are a promo for an OS.

Now people obsess over keys and stranges. Basically they feel they NEED to have hats because teaders make them feel POOR and or IRISH by running around in a goofy particle hat. People view hats now as money and power rather then....a hat. They buy that Dr.'s Dapper Topper with orbiting hearts, not because they like it, but because they want an unusual so people don't make fun of them. (Yeah it happens)

The artstyle is easily intact. The hats fit the theme heck even the seemingly random Grordbort weapons fit (ever see that giant laser in gravel pit?) And many weapons and hats fit fine. Only thing that pushes it is maybe the Fairy Princess Heavy set, and that's event only.


TL:DR- Tradin' done did it.

[Cacodus]

Originally posted by AuETolna:

Nah, hats really fit the cartoon comicbook style TF2 had going for it. This is a zany,crazy, not-so-serious game. Obsessing about hats is fine.

What killed TF2 was trading. And I use kill because it's only like a 5 sec respawn time.

Hats were valuable because they were rare and only drop on average of 300hours of play per hat. Meaning if you had one, you were good. Now they're only valuable if they have particles or are a promo for an OS.

Now people obsess over keys and stranges. Basically they feel they NEED to have hats because teaders make them feel POOR and or IRISH by running around in a goofy particle hat. People view hats now as money and power rather then....a hat. They buy that Dr.'s Dapper Topper with orbiting hearts, not because they like it, but because they want an unusual so people don't make fun of them. (Yeah it happens)

The artstyle is easily intact. The hats fit the theme heck even the seemingly random Grordbort weapons fit (ever see that giant laser in gravel pit?) And many weapons and hats fit fine. Only thing that pushes it is maybe the Fairy Princess Heavy set, and that's event only.


TL:DR- Tradin' done did it.

Yeah, it was the stupid trading thing with unusuals and keys.
What's even worse is when people try to apply REAL WORLD economics into a game. They say "Oh, you get metal for free, but keys require work and money, so they should be worth more." Yeah, in the real world, but this is a game where stupid things happen all the time. Real world doesn't always apply to game world.

[Tolna]

Originally posted by Mr. Shinjun shot the sheriff:

Originally posted by AuETolna:

Nah, hats really fit the cartoon comicbook style TF2 had going for it. This is a zany,crazy, not-so-serious game. Obsessing about hats is fine.

What killed TF2 was trading. And I use kill because it's only like a 5 sec respawn time.

Hats were valuable because they were rare and only drop on average of 300hours of play per hat. Meaning if you had one, you were good. Now they're only valuable if they have particles or are a promo for an OS.

Now people obsess over keys and stranges. Basically they feel they NEED to have hats because teaders make them feel POOR and or IRISH by running around in a goofy particle hat. People view hats now as money and power rather then....a hat. They buy that Dr.'s Dapper Topper with orbiting hearts, not because they like it, but because they want an unusual so people don't make fun of them. (Yeah it happens)

The artstyle is easily intact. The hats fit the theme heck even the seemingly random Grordbort weapons fit (ever see that giant laser in gravel pit?) And many weapons and hats fit fine. Only thing that pushes it is maybe the Fairy Princess Heavy set, and that's event only.


TL:DR- Tradin' done did it.

Yeah, it was the stupid trading thing with unusuals and keys.
What's even worse is when people try to apply REAL WORLD economics into a game. They say "Oh, you get metal for free, but keys require work and money, so they should be worth more." Yeah, in the real world, but this is a game where stupid things happen all the time. Real world doesn't always apply to game world.

That too. Although I think key prices are more people overcutting eachother...buuuut that's another thing entirly. This about how hats are eyesores and ruined TF2, let's keep it that :|

[Gentlefish]

I wouldn't say hats by default ruin TF2 (Fancy Fedora, anyone? Officer's Ushanka?), but we definitely have many paints that are too bright and many hats that are too outlandish, and Unusuals don't even make sense.
That said, I really do love the Cockfighter and Quadwrangler, among other such silly things.

[Serell]

I like the hats. I just traded my Reggaelator for a Counterfeit Billycock for my Spy, and it's awesome! I mean, COME ON, it's a hat disguised as another hat! It fits perfectly with the my spy and the game.

The thing I absolutely hate are paints. They're a HUGE eyesore because most of the paints don't match the team colors and don't go along.

[Gentlefish]

Originally posted by JonahD:

I like the hats. I just traded my Reggaelator for a Counterfeit Billycock for my Spy, and it's awesome! I mean, COME ON, it's a hat disguised as another hat! It fits perfectly with the my spy and the game.

The thing I absolutely hate are paints. They're a HUGE eyesore because most of the paints don't match the team colors and don't go along.

Yes, the CB is one of the better hats. And I agree with you on paints; though the only ones I really dislike are pink, white, and (large amounts of) gold. Of course, large amounts of most paints will get to me, though I like my mostly-green demo (green Proffessor's Pineapple, unpainted parrot, green-banded Voodoo Ju2)

[A Very Festive Scarecrow]

Some hats are terrible, but whenever I use hats, I make sure it looks GOOD on my character, not randomized hats and misc with weapons and paint that don't even fit. For example
Wilson's weave
Medi-mask
Der winter mental
Makes my medic look like a mad scientist, but I would never paint them a color like pink or green because then it just looks dumb. Unusuals are cool to a degree,but a lot of the effects aren't interesting. So I will agree, Gibus and the hot dog hat aren't good, I haven't found a load out that makes them look good as of this day.

[Gentlefish]

Originally posted by SteemingBullet:

Some hats are terrible, but whenever I use hats, I make sure it looks GOOD on my character, not randomized hats and misc with weapons and paint that don't even fit. For example
Wilson's weave
Medi-mask
Der winter mental
Makes my medic look like a mad scientist, but I would never paint them a color like pink or green because then it just looks dumb. Unusuals are cool to a degree,but a lot of the effects aren't interesting. So I will agree, Gibus and the hot dog hat aren't good, I haven't found a load out that makes them look good as of this day.

Ooh, nice! My Medic loadout (Cockfighter/Quadwrangler/Tux) is more... well, silly, really. xD The only class I think the Gibus can actually work on is the Pyro. A dilapidated top hat seems like the sort of thing he/she/it would wear.

[BigChapAlien21]

I'm pretty picky about hats. If I get a hat, I try to make a set that goes with the hat, so players can still say "Oh, I get what's going on there." I don't think hats look good if they're just messily worn. Just because you have an all-class Unusual doesn't mean all of your classes should wear it, you know?

[Woobie :3]

I use the Gibus, but if it wasn't called noob all the time, I probably would use a better looking all-class hat. I like to paint hats Team Spirit, they fit well into the characters.

[A Very Festive Scarecrow]

Originally posted by W.O.O.Bie ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ:

I use the Gibus, but if it wasn't called noob all the time, I probably would use a better looking all-class hat. I like to paint hats Team Spirit, they fit well into the characters.

True.. In my post I said Gibus makes nothing look good... I remember seeing a few people with a team spirit Gibus and it actually looked descent.

[Sentient_Toaster]

*shrug* I would suspect that more players would have gotten bored and stopped playing if it weren't for cosmetics and trading. If you can't maintain a decent player base for what's basically a purely multiplayer game, it dies.

Spies have some reason to complain... the variety of easily-distinguished items and the improbability that somebody else will be using the exact same load-out as you makes it easier to instantly detect spies -- obvious when they're disguising as you and not a teammate of the same class even before you aim and check what name they're claiming. But that's a fairly minor thing.

[W+M1 Pyro]

Hat are bad becuase F2P love to wear gibus making this game look so ugly.

[Sorehead]

Yes, the biggest aesthetic problems come from poorly chosen combinations of hats, painted items, and unusual effects, but I think almost all hats and misc items look bad even when alone. A few of the item set hats look OK when equipped with the other set items, but I still think all classes look a lot better when they are not bästardised by cosmetic items. The only real redeeming quality of hats is that they may have kept TF2's player base large, but I'd almost rather TF2 had just died than had to bästardise itself to stay alive.
Also, don't blame the F2Ps. The gibus may be horrible looking, but the disgusting combinations of hats, hair, jackets, unusual effects, paints etc. available to paying customers are a lot worse.

[Serell]

The Gibus is just fine, it is especially nice looking on the pyro.