OK, so I know it goes against my rules of not using a previous player of the week, and not making an admin player of the week, but I feel I can make an exception because: A) He stepped down as admin, and B) I only got 4 suggestions for a player of the week; three of them I'm pretty sure were the same guy suggesting himself, and the 4th was a suggestion for Cthulhu, who I cannot verify has actually logged any hours on either of hat's TF2 servers.

So let's just say it's my way of saying "Thanks" for hosting PLR/PLG for as long as he did.
And allowing me to inherit one of its servers.

If you haven't figured it out by now, it's Professor [butt] Rawrb, and he won a Strange Equalizer.
I mean, Strange Widowmaker. Equalizers are so last week.


On another note, Shellshocker is organizing a Highlander match: admins versus regulars. Stay tuned for further announcements, and feel free to contact either Shellshocker or myself if you are interested in participating.

The previous player of the week may have been inspired by a penchant of forgoing pants, but this week’s proves to be a fellow with a palpable abundance thereof: Pants_3000. Now, his insurmountable, superfluous trouser (or undergarment—subjective to location) collection isn’t the only reason he is the player of the week; Pants_3000 also does a lot for the server: getting players to join when the servers are empty, and then casually crashing the server at its peak period. And... that's about it.
Well, you can’t blame a fella for trying. Now, I’m sure you’re asking yourself: “What can you give someone who has everything*?”
And, to tell you the truth, that is a good question. With Pants 3000’s profile set to private, I had a bloody hard time figuring out what to gift to him. So I just found out the first relatively inexpensive strange that he didn't already have, and went with that.

A strange Equalizer. Have fun!

*Everything, in this case, is equitable to a period of several years without any necessary laundering.

When I see nesis, I can’t help but think of Gnisis. And when I think of Gnisis, I can’t help but think poor Hentus Yansurnumma, standing pantsless in the River Samsi. Day or night, Hentus is always there: naked from the waist down, and perpetually soaking his nether regions in a constant stream of blight and disease, just to avoid embarrassment. So what has this got to do with nesis? Well, in somewhat spiritual means of aiding the essence of Gnisis via Hentus via nesis, I will award the Player of the Week with a pair of Texas Half-Pants.

OK, so they’re only half-way getting the job done. But I’ll give it the good ol’ “She’ll be right”.

Today, we are pleased to announce the addition of an alternative hat's TF2 server—and that is featuring the Payload game mode.

203.14.173.215:27017
(AUS#1 Payload and Grapes is becoming hat's TF2 - Payload)

This is, of course, the silver-lining to the single greatest Australian TF2 group closing its doors: Payload and Grapes. For the past couple of years, Professor Rob, his blues-wailing hat, and the rest of P&G team were the godfathers of Australian TF2—at least, in my eyes. That is why Rob's retirement is a double-edged sword for me: I am honored to be able to continue part of that legacy, but I'm always sad to see change of this scale. The student should never outlive the master, right? Like in Return of the Jedi, when... oh, but I won't spoil it.

Anyway, if you have anything to discuss about this change, head over to forums.hat-tf2.com and voice your opinions. I am always happy to hear them.

As far as changes to the server go, for the time being, I plan on keeping it mostly the same, besides a name change. Admins, game mods, maps, etc should remain intact. No replay yet, although I do have intentions of implementing it in the future.

Once again (assuming you have read this far), I move that we take a moment to thank Rob and his P&G team for all their hard work, for providing Australians with a top notch TF2 experience!

Before my video card exploded (killing a 50 year old man and two Vietnamese children), I had one memory of Decyne: his uncanny ability to plonk a mini-sentry at my feet exactly when being pelted by bullets was the last thing I needed. In an attempt to alleviate this problem, I have gifted the player of the week (Decyne, if you didn't notice) a pair of Brainiac Goggles, to impair his vision. Or improve. There's only one way to find out.