Synopisis:
The new update is big, but it might not be everything.
All signs point to competitive matchmaking.
Other signs point to space based battles.
I just love TF2.
This update worries me a little bit especially with the implementation of that skin system. I'm not sure if anyone has played CS:GO, but they have pretty much the same set-up on that game. I usually only played casually, and traded skins pretty frequently. It's obviously an FPS, but with the steam market it becomes this whole other beast. I've noticed as my time has progressed in the game that the culture of gambling, buying/selling, and trading weapon skins has grown at a rapid rate. People bet on pro games, there are lotteries, and even the weapon case system in-game is a lottery in itself. I never really thought much of it at first, but as time has progressed I noticed it was a growing problem at least in my eyes. It wasn't until a few days ago I was playing a casual game in CS:GO and this kid (maybe 14/15) was talking about how he had lost a sizable amount of money on a pro match. Some people in the game including myself became concerned how nonchalantly the kid was taking the loss. We ended up talking about it for a little bit and you could tell this kid was developing a problem. After that game I felt kind of dirty for having participated in the system so willingly. I decided that I would be taking a break from the game. I know this isn't about TF2 outright, but I think we could see a growing problem with TF2 going in this direction. If there is competitive scene, and skins to be bought/sold I feel like it is only widen issues like these. I fear that TF2, especially being more stylized towards children in comparison to CS, will see this problem even more (I honestly think it already does, but still.) I'm not sure exactly how to combat the issue, maybe removing the steam market? Was honestly just thinking about this while reading the article is all.
The reason TFC was so good was that they didn't constantly add new weapons and the weapon set was somewhat limited. If you took a 6 month break and came back, it was like riding a bike. It's impossible to keep up with all of the weapons in TF2 and IMHO it is unplayable unless you play nothing but it for the rest of your life. The second you stop playing, you might as well never play the game ever again. I hope Overwatch doesn't screw this concept up.
Yeah, it kinda degraded the experience that Valve originally set out to do. It used to be very stylistic and served as a game mechanic so each character had a very specific set of guns. The hard strengths and weaknesses were easy to tell in the most chaotic of gun fights. Now I don't mind some of the alternatives they had (like the backburner to the regular flamethrower) because it only slightly tweaked the original weapon sets. However, to completely change the play style of the character becomes a detriment to the game. There was no need to turn the demoman into a melee sword character or to give each character 10+ weapons to choose from for each of the primarys/secondaries/melee. That said, it still is a fun game but it definitely has lost some fundamentals as time passed. Just like any actively updating game, if you don't keep up means you will always be at a disadvantage.
Cosmetic things like hats and body parts don't bug me but I agree with you when it comes to the amount of weapons they add.
I don't think it's unplayable unless you play nothing else. I frequently take year long breaks from TF2 and find that the core gameplay has changed almost none. There are generally some new items that I don't quite understand, but it's pretty easy for me to gain a general understanding of what's up within a session.