Apple could buy Beats
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/05/08/report-apple-to-acquire-beats/8868913/
I like Apple stuff, but I worry about them trying to force Beats stuff onto their consumer base...I loathe Beats.
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as long as they don't end up using that shitty BeatsAudio bogus EQ thing it's cool
> costing about 20 keys (about US$50)
> cheap
or buy expensive branded headphones
[/flamebait]
Beats are definitely not a case of that though, which is hilarious, since Dr. Dre is a producer. I have to imagine that it's rather unlikely that he actually uses his own headphones in the studio.
and it's "used to get", since not even mac tf2 players get it anymore.
it's basically one of the de facto "currencies" in tf2 trading-verse, and it's currently valued at like 18~19 keys
keys are US$2.50 to get from the store, and maybe about $2.30 to $2.40 if you snatch them up on the market
the white apple earbuds in real life are decently stylish but not really the super-desirable item that they are in tf2
I really have no idea how a novel but not that great FPS is so popular.
I guess it is technically freeware, which probably helps.
The game randomly drops these "crates" which "contain" random special items like kills-tracking weapons or rare cosmetic items. They are useless by themselves, however, and require buying a Mann Co. Supply Crate Key from the in-game item store, to make use of them. They cost US$2.49 each.
Since these keys aren't generated randomly, but have a set purchase price and are pretty much only created when someone buys keys from the store, they are one of the de facto currencies in the world of TF2 trading.
Earbuds are another de facto currency, due to there being a limited number of them.
I rarely do trading, and when I do, I'm not one of those people a Bill's Hat or Earbuds or an hat with Unusual effects (all very expensive stuff).
I'm also not hugely good at the game, and there are some classes I completely suck at, but I'm not really one of those competitive types who likes WTFPWNing people and being a jerk about it. I don't give much of a crap about (k+a)/d ratios -- simply being above 1 means I'm doing decently at the game. (That means "kills and assists, divided by deaths", for what it's worth. People usually talk about a k/d or kill/death ratio but in this game assists are pretty important -- especially when you're playing a healing class.)
I also don't play Sniper or Spy, which are probaby the two most obnoxious classes in the game. I've actually lately enjoyed maining Medic, because I much prefer not being at the front lines myself but instead enabling everyone else to kick ass at the front lines. I actually get a pretty good score for that, as long as I know when to pull back.
Well, there would be one benefit to being better at the game. I could spray-paint (in-game) Pretty Cure All-Stars pictures everywhere and get away with it.
It's actually a little odd that TF2 is my most-played game on Steam, by hours logged. Part of those hours come from idling the game a year or so ago, back when idling produced random drop items (weapons that could be crafted into metal which could be used as currency and other stuff), but ironically I actually (actively) played TF2 more back then than more recently.
Still, TF2 to me is a sort of idle messing-around game, not a deeply fulfilling game that I can really say is one of my favorites. In fact, a few weeks ago, I decided to uninstall it because I felt I was using it too much as a way to procrastinate, and neither doing useful work nor playing games that I like more.
I might reinstall it later, when the semester's over.
Back when I did get into the trading, it was pretty interesting to see the economic forces in action, such as how metal kept on getting devalued relative to keys due to its being generated by people simply playing the game. It was also interesting to pick up obscure marketable items that would give me more wallet credit per metal cost rather than picking up the high-profile keys.
I even thought of doing arbitrage -- i.e. taking advantage of market discontinuities to make a profit (e.g. finding someone who wants to sell item X for 1 ref and finding someone who wants to buy item X for 1.33 ref and doing both trades to get a profit of 0.33 ref). But at one point I realized that all this trading stuff was really time- and attention-consuming and I was going down a long rabbit hole.
So I decided to stop most of this (at least stop trying to do this on a regular basis and scour the trade threads and stuff constantly) and (mainly) only trade for items I personally wanted.
And don't get me wrong, TF2 is a pretty darn good game. It's actually got relatively well-balanced classes, and it actually encourages teamwork (if you've ever played the game you'll know how much more effective just a little bit of teamwork will make you compared to an opposing team that doesn't do it). The weapons are also rather well-balanced, with very few choices that are noticeably better than others.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
* craft your extra weapons into metal. only do this for "clean" weapons -- untradeables and uncraftables are "dirty". 2 weps = 1 scrap metal = 1/3 reclaimed metal = 1/9 refined metal.
* when trading weapons and cosmetics with other people, watch what you're giving and getting CAREFULLY. be on the lookout for "dirty" items, as well as scammers.
* want a particular weapon? standard rate is to charge 1 scrap, but you may be able to get a better deal. or just wait for the weapon to drop randomly for you.
* many hats are also cheaper than the 4 refined it takes to get a random hat. if you really want a hat, try trading for it.
* opening crates is almost never worth it since strange weapons are generally worth (in metal) less than a key, and they're the most common drops from crates. if you want a strange, try trading for it.
* some strange weapons (and "strangifier" items) come from very rare crates, and thus cost through the roof. example: Strange Bacon Grease, which strangifies the Frying Pan.
* want a particular item? check its price on a site like backpack.tf or other sites. (backpack.tf also has classified listings too)
* refined metal, keys, bill's hat, and earbuds are used as standard "currencies".
Also a medic
Those were the roles I was good at.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
most of the other classes are OK but none really Jump Out at me like those three