> like TF2, it's not very playable unless everyone in the round is amenable to being a team player
Amen. TF2 and L4D are two games that I consistently play years after the fact which is unlike other games I have.
Unless you're playing with people you know, both games are equally frustrating. Specifically in TF2, it's those who go and play support classes when there are already enough of those in play on the map on your team that makes it frustrating.
TF2 also has a huge accessibility problem which contributes to an overabundance of support class players, but also makes it a brilliant game. As opposed to the Battlefield series, where seeing the enemy first is most of the battle, it's actually difficult to inflict any damage at all in TF2. For instance, I'm at about the 200 hour mark and when I play demo I can only hit ground-based targets with pipes maybe 20-30% of the time - and that's quite good! For beginners, the only playable frontline classes are pyro and heavy. Spy and sniper are also popular because it's easier to survive when playing them, and maybe sneak a few insta-kills. Medic is easy to play, but can be very boring.
tl;dr: Don't hate the player, hate the game. And don't hate the game, because you'd be hating what makes TF2 such a wonderful game to play. Even at professional levels getting an airshot is a remarkable feat.
I want to bring this up because it's a point very often overlooked about why TF2 is a fun game, and that is that it has a reliable and accessible in game VOIP system.
I don't see this talked about much, but it really makes TF2 shine as a straight up fun game. It allows players to communicate in any way they see fit, from the user casual to the highly formal/competitive. That means players can organize themselves to pull weird shenanigans or play very competitively using communication to gain an edge. Also, since voice is such a uniquely human attribute, it humanizes other players who would otherwise be anonymous participants.
The end result of this is that you get highly cohesive communities that make the game great!
Getting an airshot is harder at professional levels because by then they have an extremely good grasp of how to airstrafe - without that they'd be lit up instantly. It's actually easier to hit someone midair in general due to easily predicted trajectories; an easy trick to kill newbie scouts is to wait until they've burned jumps then take them out on the downward arc.
Once you have a lot of practice, it's amazing what you can do in TF2 - e.g. chaining 3 rocket jumps then taking out a sniper while still midair.
Better yet, a lot of mechanics like pyro reflect get much more interesting when you're facing other skilled opponents because of how much prediction is involved in the timing.
Amen. TF2 and L4D are two games that I consistently play years after the fact which is unlike other games I have.
Unless you're playing with people you know, both games are equally frustrating. Specifically in TF2, it's those who go and play support classes when there are already enough of those in play on the map on your team that makes it frustrating.