Idling
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| “ | Thanks fer standin' still, wanka.
Click to listen
— The Sniper on Idling
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Idling is simply the act of joining a server in TF2 and waiting for random items from the Item Distribution System. Idling in itself does not alter the drop system, nor does it alter what items you or anyone else will receive.
Idling and playing are no different in respect to getting items. The only difference is Idling is usually done when you cannot be at your computer.
Contents
The Drop System
- The item drop system was introduced in The Sniper vs. Spy Update.
- The system randomly drops Weapons or Hats to players connected to a TF2 server. It's purpose was mainly to help people playing a free weekend get items quickly.
- From this system, Idling was born.
- Since the system had the capacity to give non-stop items drops as long as you are connected, people would connect to a server and just wait for items to drop.
- To avoid crowding public servers with Idling players, many server owners set up servers running special maps designed to just let the connected players Idle.
- Mostly, players would connect to the Idle servers and leave their computer running while they themselves left. Either to go eat, go to work, or just to sleep for the night.
SteamStats and You
- SteamStats was a program created by Drunken F00l, the same guy who created tf2items.com.
- The purpose of this program was to connect you to a server without needing to launch TF2. It did not edit the system at all.
- Mostly, it was seen as a CPU friendly way to Idle, as leaving TF2 running overnight can be taxing to some computers.
- The program developed features like compiling all your drops into a text file, recording any Hats you received, automatically deleting duplicates, and recording the random levels of items.
- On September 2, 2009; a patch was released to deal with this program without warning.
- The patch deleted any items received from using the program, and warned that continued use would result in a ban.
- The main controversy however, was The Cheater's Lament. A halo-like hat given to anyone who never used the program. When combined with the accompanied messages to either side of the playerbase, this left those who used the program felling rejected and insulted by Valve.
- Now, no one uses the program as it would cause an instant ban.
The Drop Cap
- On April 20, 2010; Valve decided to release a patch that significantly handled how drops were distributed. The main issue of this was a weekly cap of 8-12 items per player.
- Mostly, this was done to quell constant complaining about Idling being too easy and too profitable. Sadly for Valve, they now receive constant complaints that people can't get enough items, especially when large updates come out.
- This cap has effectively stopped Idling, or at least stopped how profitable it was. Now Idling more than a few hours a week is pointless as items will only drop for a few hours.
- The only reason some people still Idle is if their weekly cap resets and they have a very busy schedule but still wish to get their items.
Apologies from Valve
- With the onset of the recent Polycount Update, anyone who used SteamStats back before it was patched now received a Cheater's Lament.
- Some speculate this is an apology from Valve for the controversy caused so long ago. Some think it was just a glitch that needs attention while others believe Valve doesn't really want to fix it. Either way, Valve has yet to comment on this event.
Idling Now
- Since the cap, much less people complain about Idling.
- As always though, Valve does not care if you Idle in game as it violates nothing. They've done nothing to punish people who Idle in servers nor have they shown any intent to.
