XCOM Heavy Weapons Guy

In this  segment, I aim to introduce each TF2 class as an XCOM soldier, complete with ranked abilities. Today, we're looking at the Heavy. Hey, XCOM players! If you have any opinions about the balance on these abilities, let me know in the comments section.

The Heavy Weapons Guy is distinct from the traditional XCOM Heavy by his emphasis on the minigun over demolitions. A murderous mountain of muscle and guns, HWG sweeps his weaponry over the field, converting aliens into alien-scented vapor.

HWG can equip heavy weaponry and pistols. With advanced training, he can equip light weaponry to his secondary slot.

Squaddie Rank Ability: Suppression
Grants reaction fire against a specific target if it moves. Suppressed targets suffer a 20% aim penalty.

"Going somewhere, tiny baby coward?"
 
Corporal Rank Ability 1: Constant Revolution
Overwatch no longer suffers aim penalty.

Corporal Rank Ability 2: Custom Tool Cartridges
Reloading no longer ends a turn


Sergeant Rank Ability 1: Gulag
Upon successful reaction fire, HWG will suppress target.

Sergeant Rank Ability 2: What is Pain?
HWG does not suffer from battle fatigue.

Lieutenant Ability 1: Joy in Slaughter
Adds 10 will for every enemy killed in battle.

Lieutenant Ability 2:  Sandwich
 Sandwich heals HP. Medkit upgrades apply. HWG carries one per battle.
 
Captain Rank Ability 1: Entrenched
 Reduces damage by 1 while in cover.
Reduces damage by 1 while unflanked.
Reduces damage by 1 while suppressing or on overwatch.

Captain Rank Ability 2: Natascha
Enemies the HWG suppresses lose 2 tiles of move.
 
Major Rank Ability:  You Call That A Gun?
 The HWG can now equip Light Assault Rifles to his secondary weapon slot

Colonel Rank Ability 1: Suppression Sweep
Allows the Heavy to target multiple enemies for suppression.


Colonel Rank Ability 2:  Tracking
Heavy gains +10 Aim and +2 damage against enemies he successfully wounded on the previous turn.

XCOM Spy

In this new segment, I aim to introduce each TF2 class as an XCOM soldier, complete with ranked abilities. Today, we're looking at the Spy. Hey, XCOM players! If you have any opinions about the balance on these abilities, let me know in the comments section.

Spies are cloak-and-dagger units. Armed with decoys and tons of cloaking technology, these units are invaluable for high-risk infiltrations.

Squaddie Rank Ability: Hologram
Creates a holographic projection of a randomized ally which can be controlled remotely. Lasts 2 turns unless destroyed. Spies using this ability are considered invisible unless out of cover or flanked.
 
Corporal Rank Ability 1: Silent Killer
Spies don't alert enemies while dashing


Corporal Rank Ability 2: Sneak Attack
Attacking with the pistol doesn't break cloak



Sergeant Rank Ability 1: Observational Intel
Grants three additional tiles of vision.

Sergeant Rank Ability 2: Field Recon
Grants +5% critical chance when attacking enemies that have been autopsied
Grants +5% critical chance when attacking enemies that have been interrogated 

Lieutenant Ability 1: Sabotage Arms
Close range ability disables the victim's primary weapon for three turns.

Lieutenant Ability 2: Dummy Fire
Holograms can suppress targets, although their attacks do no damage
 
Captain Rank Ability 1: Cloak and Dagger
Allows the Spy to carry 2 extra invisibility charges while wearing Ghost Armor

Captain Rank Ability 2: Dead Ringer
Cloaks the spy upon receiving reaction fire.
 
Major Rank Ability:  Hard Light
Holograms have a 50% chance to reflect incoming damage

Colonel Rank Ability 1: Sneaky Bastard
Confers +20 defense

Colonel Rank Ability 2: Smug Bastard
Confers +10 Will per enemy killed

XCOM Pyro

In this segment, I aim to introduce each TF2 class as an XCOM soldier, complete with ranked abilities. Today, we're looking at the Pyro. Hey, XCOM players! If you have any opinions about the balance on these abilities, let me know in the comments section.

The Pyro is a light area-of-effect class, capable of wounding groups of enemies without relying on explosive damage. Be careful with these units! Their penchant for fire can make it dangerous for friendlies as well as hostiles. Be sure to invest in Titan Armor as quickly as possible!

Pyros can use Assault Rifle and Shotgun Class armaments.

 Class Specialty Secondary: Flamethrower
Flamethrowers deal damage over an area without dealing explosive damage. There is a chance that any tile in the flamethrower's area-of-effect might catch fire. Fire can spread, damage the environment, and may injure people who stand in it or pass through it while moving.

Flamethrowers cannot be reloaded once their ammo is spent without upgrades. Flamethrowers can not be used to Overwatch.

Squaddie Rank Ability: Ignite
Concentrated fireblast deals 3 damage and sets the foe on fire, reducing their Will score and dealing a point of damage per turn. Requires Flamethrower Ammo.
 
Corporal Rank Ability 1: Firesense
Grants HUD display that shows the range of environmental hazards.
-1 damage from environmental hazards

Corporal Rank Ability 2: Adjustable Nozzle
Allows Pyros to alter the area of effect of the Flamethrower

Sergeant Rank Ability 1: Hazmat Suit
Renders the Pyro immune to fire damage and poison.

Sergeant Rank Ability 2: Extra Tank
Doubles the Flamethrower's ammo capacity.

Lieutenant Ability 1: Hazmat Response
Allows the Pyro to clear environmental hazards, prevent vehicles from exploding, put out fires, and eliminate poison clouds.

Lieutenant Ability 2: Oil Slick
Expends a small amount of Flamethrower Ammo to create a flammable puddle at range. Deals critical fire damage when ignited.

Captain Rank Ability 1: Tempered Steel Nerves
 Pyro gains +5 will for every enemy he has burned

Captain Rank Ability 2: Forged in Flame
 +3 Health, +10 Defense
 
Major Rank Ability: Backburner
Increases fire damage to 2. Critical chance increases by 15% when the enemy is flanked.


Colonel Rank Ability 1:   Fireman's Carry
Allows the Pyro to stabilize one teammate without using a Medkit.

Colonel Rank Ability 2:  Blowtorch
Destroys target walls without alerting enemies

XCOM Medic

In this new segment, I aim to introduce each TF2 class as an XCOM soldier, complete with ranked abilities. Today, we're looking at the Medic. Hey, XCOM players! If you have any opinions about the balance on these abilities, let me know in the comments section. Now, I know the Support is basically a field medic unit, so I'm trying not to replicate that skillset too much here. Ironically, that means subverting their role as pure healers a little.

Medics are support units dedicated to keeping units alive and kicking on the field.

Squaddie Rank Ability: Overheal
Adds an additional 2HP to the supported unit, +5% aim, +5% crit chance
 
Corporal Rank Ability 1: Medigun
Medikits can now reach an additional two tiles.


Corporal Rank Ability 2: Sangfroid
This Medic is not affected by the Fallen Comrades will penalty


Sergeant Rank Ability 1: Field Medic
Allows Medics to carry 3 medkits

Sergeant Rank Ability 2: Defensive
Confers +25% defense to this Medic

Lieutenant Ability 1: Kritzkrieg
Overheal now provides +3HP, +20% aim and +30% crit chance


Lieutenant Ability 2: Uberheal
Overheal now provides +4HP, +15% aim, +10% crit chance

Captain Rank Ability 1: Medical Expert 
Using a medikit  no longer ends the turn. Limit 1 medkit use per turn.

Captain Rank Ability 2: Covering Fire
Prevents reaction shots against dashing allies, deals 75% of the equipped weapon's base damage
 
Major Rank Ability: Reflecter
Overheal now has a 25% chance of reflecting an opponent's attack back on it

Colonel Rank Ability 1: Recovery
Medic recovers HP% while healing allies. HP is based on percentage healed + armor HP bonus.

Colonel Rank Ability 2: Zombify
 Medic can turn enemy corpse into melee-zombie with 4 HP. Process destroys corpse

XCOM Engineer

In this segment, I aim to introduce each TF2 class as an XCOM soldier, complete with ranked abilities. Today, we're looking at the Engineer. Hey, XCOM players! If you have any opinions about the balance on these abilities, let me know in the comments section.

The Engineer is an area denial class, focused on manipulating the environment

Squaddie Rank Ability: Sentry
Allows the Engineer to deploy a sentry once per mission. 
[Sentries share a weapon type with their engineer (conventional, laser or plasma) and deal equivalent damage minus one. They have 3 base HP and have 50% of their engineer's armor bonus.]

Corporal Rank Ability 1: Bulwark
Allows the Engineer to construct Walls that confer 50% cover.

Corporal Rank Ability 2: Observant
The Engineer takes Overwatch after other units.
[Won't waste overwatch if another unit kills the target]

Sergeant Rank Ability 1: Hauling
Packs up a sentry and allows it to be redeployed with its current health.

Sergeant Rank Ability 2: Wrangle
 
Lieutenant Sergeant Rank Ability 1:  Sentry Suppression
The Sentry will begin suppressing an enemy after attacking it.

Lieutenant  Rank Ability 2: Reactive Elements
Allows both the Engineer and the Sentry to take a reaction shot on an enemy attack.

Captain Rank Ability 1: Short Circuit
Reduces enemy grenade and explosive damage by 50%.

Captain Rank Ability 2:  Autoloader
 Switching to and using pistols will automatically reload primary weapons.
 
Major Rank Ability: Robot Hand
The Engineer gains +1 HP and will not suffer from Battle Wound penalties

Colonel Rank Ability 1:   CAVORITE Sentry
Sentry gains Flight and Evasion.
Can now travel between tile heights

Colonel Rank Ability 2: Minisentry
Confers a Minisentry
[Sentries share a weapon type with their engineer's pistol (conventional, laser or plasma) and deal equivalent damage minus one. They have 3HP]

Interview With Eric Kirchmer

Recently I found a book of video game art (one of my favorite kinds of book) which featured a discussion about the art and artistry of Team Fortress 2. Having read interviews, presentation, and devnotes on much of it, I was already familiar with a lot of what went on, but it did something no resource I've used has: it identified Valve asset artist Eric Kirchmer as specifically responsible for the creation of the sentry gun. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that I adore the sentry and I'm always looking out for more sentry gun designs. So I decided to contact Mr. Kirchmer and discuss the designs with him.

 TF2 is famous for its incredibly long development cycle, yet I notice that the sketches for the sentry gun available on the TF2 artwork page are very similar to the final model. Did the sentry gun go through any earlier design stages?
TF2 went through lots of iterations over the course of many years, but the design that was established came through in a fairly short period of that development cycle post Half Life2. At that time, Valve was in early development of the Source Film Maker tool and one of first projects was an animated trailer introducing the TF2 team at a pretty early stage of development.

One of the highlighted goals of the video was to show the Engineer deploying a Sentry and have it blast a whole bunch of incoming Soldiers, which was going to be pretty awesome, except we actually didn't have a Sentry yet. So the Sentry design was conceived and realized in about a 2 week stretch leading up to the video launch, and after that we began articulating and designing how its upgrade states would work. Prior to that stage of the TF2 design there was many other incantations of the Sentry design, but I don't really remember those because I don't think I had been born yet ;)

During the long lead-up to the Engineer update, we saw the introduction of the Repair Node and the Combat Mini-sentry. Were any other buildings designed for that update? - Don't know an answer to this one

Were you responsible for designing any of the other iconic technology employed by the mercenaries? If so, which? What was the process there?
The design of the Sentry helped drive the design for the other buildable devices, Dispenser, Teleporter etc and at the time we were developing a visual language for all the TF2 class weapons. Iconically, the HWG Minigun and the Pyros Flamethrower were really successful in supporting the visual style unique to the TF2 universe.

What do you think of the Steam Workshop? As a Valve employee, are you entitled to submit designs through it, or to the profits that might entail if those designs are picked up?
The Steam Workshop is an awesome way for TF2 players to get their designs into the hands of the rest of the community, and make money back from it, and really supports the growth of TF2 as a community driven product.

Your employee bio says you've worked on a number of other games for Valve. Which was your favorite? Are there any game assets you're especially proud of?
My all time favorite project to work on was Half Life2 mostly because it was my first experience working on a video game and it was a wild ride. Also I absolutely loved the game when it was released even after having played it for endless hours in testing before release.
TF2 was also a huge favorite to work on, and a little known design addition added to the game was in the German version of TF2, they can't have blood or gibs when players die, so we put in a bunch of gibs when players explode and it was all this gag stuff like a balloon poodle, an old boot, a tin can, a rubber ducky etc, etc. It was like one of the funniest design projects I've worked on.

So there you have it. A little bit of the design history about the sentry gun, and some cool information about one of the men involved in developing the game we all adore.