As noted on the official Team Fortress 2 blog, any player who employed a third-party idling application to obtain unlockables will lose those items over the next few days. That’s less than 5 per cent of players, fortunately. The other 95 per cent or so, they’ll get halos, as seen above.
Valve’s Erik Johnson writes that the developer will “adopt a zero tolerance policy for external applications used to manipulate the persistent item system”, something fans of collecting virtual items would be wise to adhere to.
Reader Harken was nice enough to send in screen shots of his Cheater’s Lament headwear, granting him a level one aura of incorruptibility. He also forwarded us the halo in action, sitting atop a very proud but incorruptible Pyro.
Thanks, Harken!
Incoming! [Team Fortress 2]
NewGuy
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 11:22 AMPeopel kept saying that Valve didn’t care about the idling. Some poor souls probbaly used the system thinking that Valve wouldn’t do anything about it
This is going to cause a hell of a shitstorm. Brace yourselves everyone!
Kieran Cummings
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 3:53 PMThere will be no “shitstorm” seeing as it’s an exploit. Anyone stupid enough to complain about this will have their balls nailed to the wall on the forums.
NewGuy
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 4:24 PMTake a look at the forums. Prepare to lose your faith in humanity.
I wasn’t an idle person myself, and now I have a shiny halo so I’m no longer poor and Irish
Dominic Davies
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 12:31 PMYes, ‘poor souls’.
Adam Steel
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 12:57 PMUsing an external program is not cool, but this is still Valve’s fault for putting such a stupid unlocking system in in the first place. They let you unlock items while idling, OF COURSE people are going to idle.
NewGuy
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 1:09 PMWell you’re still always able to get the items through the achivements. All Valve did was allow a second way to get them. I guess it does tempt people to idle(especially with the hats), but apart from that people don’t really have much reason to hate it.
Also, they’re still going to bring out the trading system.
In the end, people were exploiting the game, and some people pointed out that they should be feel lucky that Valve didn’t VAC ban them isntead.
Cerberus
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 1:03 PMI don’t Idle, thank you Valve and thank you Jesus.
LordLeckie
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 4:13 PMSo the people who already have hats…get another hat…
Bootsie
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 5:03 PMIt’s funny. I installed the idler thing the day before they stopped it. I didn’t even get anything.
I knew I shouldn’t have listened to all of those bastards… Oh, well. I guess I’m corruptible.
Jake Miles
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 6:01 PMPfft cheating. It was no different to logging into an idle server and doing something else. Which is what people are going to go back to doing now anyway.
Dylan Sale
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 6:41 PMStupid idlers
Brett C
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 10:46 PMTF2 is the new EVE
mike
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 3:09 AMhey how come i cant get the halo. I have never used a 3rd person idle application. I used to go into idle servers just to fuck around with the idlers. Why cant i get the halo?