State of TF2 Shop?

two_larsens

Hi,

As a big fan of both TF2 and Dota 2, and having made several Dota 2 items, I wanted to try my hand at TF2 items, and thereby wondered if there are a lot sales still - seven years on? I hope so, and I think there is, but aren't sure. At the moment I am still trying to wrap my mind around the more elaborate import process.

Thanks,

H

circle of friends

Dota 2 is doing fantastically I think, it's really taking off. Tf2 is doing well too. I don't think you'll make 5 figures from one item anymore but on the reverse, a lot more items are being added now so your chance of making a bit of pocket money is good.

EmAr

I received my first payment 2 weeks ago. I'm not planning to disclose the exact amount but it makes me feel bad for not getting into this years earlier. Also, my item is roughly tripled in sales by the most popular items in the same update(according to the limited data provided by stats.tf).

This is the item:

http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Sprinting_Cephalopod

The top TF2 item makers are still making great amounts but I think it's a better idea to put more time into Dota2 when you consider the player numbers: currently 66,685 for TF2 and 694,854 for Dota2.

two_larsens

That's good to know. Actually I am planning on sliding over to the TF2 item makers since I am attracted by the style and humor displayed in the items - goofy and slightly cartoony. My only wish would be for some sort of good and current tutorial in regards to the materials, since it is a baffling mess with out-of-date stuff and the like.
Also, it is amazing to me that a company like Valve haven't made a proper importer where it is all there - testing materials, item and whatever else goes into it, but it is how it is.
Anyway, it sounds fine with me. I have over 1000 hours in Dota (so I'm a fan but I have always liked TF2 also (in general Valve games, which are made with longevity in mind).

Your item is very good, by the way - idea-wise and everything. I like it. With my first items, I will have to come up with one that doesn't require any kind of animation, and unfortunately all three ideas that I have, sort of do. Something will pop in there...

H

EmAr

Thanks, I'm glad you like it.

If you mean the jiggling motion by animation, it's relatively simple and you can add it using the item importer. But you need to load the test map to see how they work. This document contains almost all the info needed:

https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/$jigglebone

If you are thinking about weapons with custom animations, yes, they can be pretty complicated as the importer doesn't support them. Therefore, you need to compile the models yourself.

Another animated item type is the ones with facial flexes. You can import them as .dmx files into the importer.

Feel free to ask about the features you'll need to make your ideas work.

Oh and you'll need to learn a little bit of Source Filmmaker for promotion shots. It's a must. I have a tutorial which takes you from the importer stage to a finished promo image:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVyC6p-t6k4"]Quick TF2 presentation shot tutorial - YouTube[/ame]

Good luck!

two_larsens

Thanks a lot, EmAr. That was a great help. I was actually looking for a good Source FilmMaker tutorial in regards to doing shots for the marketing stuff in the Workshop. Now, all I need is a good understanding of the materials, as it appears the shaders actually needs to be written in Notepad ++, I think?

Thanks,

H

EmAr

You're welcome. The importer has a nice interface for editing shader parameters but if you need functions like spinning texture coordinates you need to edit files manually. However, I haven't needed to edit a material yet.