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Hey all.

I've been thinking about if the server should switch to live TF2 instead of Gold Rush. Gold Rush has been steadily losing players and is now only in the double digits for its player count at peak hours. I think the player count will continue to fall as there doesn't seem to be any new interest in it, and a lot of people also don't like the mod since it removes a lot of features/content that is generally liked.

I myself don't prefer this mod over the live game content-wise. While the original art style and theme is more cohesive in this mod, the removal of many weapons, cosmetics, maps, and even features (there is no good reason for removing auto-reload) doesn't make it appealing to me. This isn't to say that the live game's content is amazing either. I'm not happy that the original theming has been lost just so people can wear absurd cosmetics, play on more outlandish maps, and use weapons that can look tacky at times, but I do generally think that most of the Valve made content is still serviceable. It's also important to note that since this is a community server, we can remove any content we don't like as well. We control the map pool, what cosmetics can be worn, and even weapons if we wanted to (I don't think I would whitelist any weapons, maybe there could be reverts though).

This is all to say that I think the server would maybe be better off in live TF2 than Gold Rush. While its not as easy to fill up servers in live TF2, I don't think Gold Rush's player count will make up for that at some point. If you agree or disagree with me then please leave a comment on this announcement. By the end of the year I want to come to a consensus on what should be done with the server.

On a more positive note, thank you all for playing on the server. While I personally don't play TF2 as much anymore, its nice to be able to come on and have a good time talking to everyone. I'm glad the server brings joy to people, knowing that there are 24 people all connected with each other because of me brings me some weird since of accomplishment. I hope the server stays afloat so we can keep having the most fun you can have online.