So, I suppose you've all heard about the pyro news...

[Scrobbs]

...in that it's coming out this thursday, prolly midnight for us here.

Anyhow, on a certain mailing list, this picture popped up...

..and the two maps are supposed to be cp_fastlane and ctf_turbine. No payload, Boo!

http://www.steampowered.com/pyro/images/cp_fastlane.jpg

http://www.steampowered.com/pyro/images/ctf_turbine.jpg

(although other folks reckon it's fastlane and cp_redstone).

[Scrobbs]

http://www.steampowered.com/pyro/?pw=presspreview

[Guest lovefcs09]

3.5 Problems occurred in the arrangement of the compositionLook at the following composition selected from students’ writing:Should Students Take a Part Time Job or Not silkroad online goldIn recent years, taking part-time job is very popular on the campus, more and more students spend more time taking part-time job, and this phenomenon causes a lot of hot argument, is it right or not? In my opinion, we can’t say it is right or wrong directly, because the reason is complex. On the other hand, many students take part-time job in order to reduce the burden of their families because their families have not enough money to support them. So their action is reasonable. We can not say it is not right, as to those students whose families are not very poor, some of them taking part-time job just want to practice in the society and gain some experience. Earning money is not their main purpose; we cannot say it is right, either.It is not conformed to the Standard English writing. Firstly, in the above text, there is no definite idea. We cannot get the author’s attitude after reading the text. In this sense, this composition is a failure. To English-speaking people they tend to choose one aspect to illustrate. Secondly, the whole text just has one paragraph. Generally speaking, an English composition consists of three parts: the introductory paragraph, the body and the conclusion. So the text should be rewritten as the following:maple story goldIn recent years, taking part-time job is very popular on the campus. More and more students spend more time taking part-time jobs. This phenomenon causes a lot of hot argument. Is it right or not? In my opinion, it is right based on the following reasons.FFXI GilFirstly, they can reduce the burden of their families, because their families just cannot afford the tuition. In addition, where their life expenditure comes from? Considering this, many students may choose to take part-time jobs to reduce their financial pressure.dofus kamasSecondly, by taking part-time jobs, students could gain more social experience. Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it. There is always some gap between what we know from textbooks and what we can do in the real world, and social practice helps us build the bridge over it. If you are a qualified student, working as a private teacher will enable you to test out the theories acquired in classroom and to guide you to make your own discoveries. From the above mentioned, we can see that taking part-time jobs has many advantages. It is beneficial to the college students. So do not hesitate, join in the line!The rewritten text is clearer than the original one, after reading the above text. We can easily understand the author’s opinion with sufficient supporting arguments. In addition, the text is fully conformed to the three-part model of English writing.world of warcraft gold

[Nick]

Stupid spammer made me think there was a Meet the Pyro vid

[Nachimir]

Leaving the posts in place is going to get us further up the google results, which will attract more of them

Also, captchas have apparently been thoroughly broken now.

[Thrik]

The popular ones certainly have. If you use a more customised version like I have though (ie: weird font with plenty of overlapping bits, colour, size), the bots aren't written to break it and so it remains largely effective. I've only had a few spams in the past year, and I'm fairly sure they were manual.

[DanJW]

Back on topic, pyros are really getting on my nerves now. They are far too deadly, even with the slight tone-down they received following the pyro pack. The can burn through a heavy before he even spins up his gun. Combine this with the fact that most servers have instant respawn, and the single balancing factor for pyros is their short life-expectancy, and it explains why every team is now 50% pyros. Ahhhg!

[Thrik]

To be honest I don't think they're that bad. I regularly play as Pyro as well as other classes, and it's not as easy as it seems to annihilate people who know what they're doing. The critical problem is that Pyros still have to get close to deal any real damage, which immediately gives most other classes an advantage. Just like before, if a Pyro can't ambush you it's rather easy to take him out. Unless they're a particularly good Pyro that is, but then most aren't.

It works wonders if you frequently check behind yourself for approaching Pyros (something I do out of habit anyway for Spies) and ensure you deal as much damage as possible to any incoming Pyros (if you're a Heavy the shotgun should be your primary weapon unless you have the element of surprise). By the time they're even close enough to flame you they should have lost three quarters of their health, and even a quick melee will finish them.

[DanJW]

ooh melee, I forgot about that.

Next pyro to charge my heavy gets punched in the face.

I'm sure things will get better once everyone has calmed down about getting the achievements. At the moment though I am forced to kill a constant stream of pyros, which gets a bit boring. It's like a massive conga line of flame.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Also, captchas have apparently been thoroughly broken now.

I still can't read some of them

There's got to be lots of other ways to stop spammers though... Even a simple "Are you human" sneaked into the registration must filter out a lot of crap. Three simple questions like that would require a manual spammer.

Anyways, back to Pyro...