TFM - Team Flag Master

[Taboen]

Team Flag Master

Two months ago I had an idea for a new mod, a game where there are two different ways to win, either cap the flag CTF style either kill the complete enemy team or kill them untill they have no lives left. In other words, a mix between TLMS (Team Last Man Standing e.g. TAM) and CTF.

This will be played in rounds. Say, 2 minutes (configurable). With 1 live each ( server configurable).

So I started thinking and thinking and sharing ideas with my friends. I remembered there was a thing called Single Flag CTF a few years back in UT1. This would fit perfectly in this mod because there is no way you cap a flag if there are people defending and if you have only 1 life. So the red flag and the blue flag can not be moved and there is a free flag which spawns in the middle you have to fight for, and bring it back home.
I've been working out ideas and I have an idea on how it should be:

- You spawn with 100 hp + 100 shielt (maybe somehow get people to spawn with shieltbelt so they are very visible.
- You spawn with all weapons, server configurable ammo.
- No weapons or pickups in the maps (maybe an option for things like berserk and invisibility to make it more interesting).
- The free flag can spawn on different places, you put 2 or 3 different spawning flags in the editor in the map and the mod will choose one random each round. Say, under the bridge and on the bridge. Or left and right of the map.
- Point system: every kill you make 1 point, every 100 damage you do 1 point (every enemy gives 3 points if you totally kill them yourself). And points for capping the flag: remaining enemies x 3. If the whole team is still alive while you cap you get a lot of points And with this system every round the winning team gets the enemies x 3 points in total.
- Add a weaponthrow bind within the mod. Say if your mate has no ammo left for a weapon but hes skilled with that weapon, you might choose to give him that weapon.
- If it isnt implemented (I havent tested yet); make a possibilitie for binding DropFlag. So that people can confuse the enemy or if they wanna switch flagcarrier.
- About hitsounds and brightskins, I feel that UT3 is pretty good at that as it is. You can clearly hear how much damage you do someone and if I manage to get people to spawn with shieltbelt that will practically be a brightskin untill he lost his shielt. For the greater good, I don't think this is a good idea to implement. Keep the UT3 feeling and more importantly, make people less visible if they have been damaged a lot
- Teamlives: configurable teamlives. For example, its 5on5 and every team gets 6 lives to spend. That means 1 guy can respawn. This gives tactical posibilities, say the best fragger rushes the enemy and will not have to be afraid to die, he will respawn once. This can also be a very good thing for public servers. Imagine 6on5 and the 6 team gets 0 teamlives and the 5 team gets 1 teamlive to spend. And if someone leaves on the 5 team they will just get 2 teamlives to spend. This way it will be possible to win 1 versus 6 if the 1 is a good fragger. Ofcourse there still is a flag to fight about and no doubt the 6 will get a flag home more easily. The amount of personal lives per player will also be configurable, say 2 per player. Same for the amount of teamlives per player. It will be a very complicated lives system, but it will be perfect for both clanmatches and public matches and even instagib where you will have 10 lives to spend for example.
- When the round gets to an end, everybody's hp will drain with 10 hp per second.
- Mapprefix: TM

Now, I wanted to keep this secret till I was finished to nobody would steal this idea so that is the reason I only publish it so late. A little too late even because someone else had about the same idea in a completely different context.
I did not steal my idea from him and mine is much more complicated. The similarities are: there is a free flag to fight for, there are rounds and there are 2 ways to win, eliminate the enemy team or cap the flag. Notice that he wants to do it in a completely different context: he wants to use it for his Paintball mod: http://utforums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=588613

Also, I will do it with different spawn places of the flag and with a whole new system of lives. And he wants to put the best players in an arena match if the round ends, I will do it with lifedrain. I have witnesses that I have had this idea for a few months now, because I shared this idea with friends. Also I tried to contact Virance for a few days now but he won't reply to my messages. I'm just saying that's all, in case you think otherwise
It would be really cool if Virance and I could cooperate in this project.

I am new to coding and I am still doing a lot of tutorials. This will be my first project and I can use any help I can get. Any suggestions or questions are welcome. For direct contact I've made a channel for this mod on Quakenet, #UT3.tfm

[SpiRiT`]

Sounds nice, I would definitely play it if you'd make it

[boTT1E]

I'd play it too

[Mr.UglyPants]

I've been hearing a lot of ideas lately based around free flags and bringing them back to your base. Still, I'd love to see it done.

Though its probably better to do it as a mutator then a gamemode, cause with the mutator it would work for any map and gamemode (it would take current gamemode and turn it into the TeamFlagMaster gamemode).

[Taboen]

In this case I don't think a mutator will be the answer. I want to make more mods in the future and that will be using the same mapprefix. Also, I want the free flag to randomly spawn on different places. This mod will be needing those places in the map, which would have to be put there in the editor.

[Mr.UglyPants]

You could easily set some code lines to do that for any map.

[Denk]

a quick read brought this up in my mind:
TAM + CTF = This mod
2minutes per round
Now, that's very good for TAM, but cap a flag in 2 minutes (+overtime) - what kind of small maps are we going to play this on?
Also: wont this gametype be 1 big camp game? - i mean, just hide and try and snipe the opponent - no need getting the single flag - just camp + snipe it?

It's a nice idea though, but that's what's bothering atm

[Taboen]

Good points, good points indeed. I might add a camperwarning to it, to prevent camping. Maybe rounds should be 3 minutes, this can all be changed in the test phase. About TAM + CTF = this mod; I know you get this thought but TAM is basically just TLMS in rounds, something that already excists since the beginning of gaming. 3spn simply added brightskins camperwarning and all that crap to it. It's really not my intention to create a mix of both.
And do not forget the free flag. The red and blue flag can not be moved, its the free flag you're fighting for. So there will be no need to defend your base anymore. You will have to either go for the flag or defend the ENEMY flag to prevent them from capping, which will get you in contact with the enemy soon enough because of the spawns. So hiding will get you in more trouble than going for the flag. Maybe I should give very few sniperbullets to begin with. And for the size of maps, I think around about CTF-Reflection size. And the places where the free flag will spawn will have to be good. Not a place that everybody can see and keep his crosshair on.

[The Chimpy]

Sounds like a bloody good variant of CTF to me. Reminds me of the Threewave mod for Quake 3, which mixed CTF with Last Man Standing in a similar manner. As mentioned earlier, the two-minute timer seems needlessly harsh considering how long a typical match can go on for... Still, everything else could work well.

[Taboen]

Yea okey, could change the minutes, when the testing begins that can all still be decided.

[Nevada92]

sounds good to me.
it's bad that i'll get the game earliest in february....

[booshack]

Well if this could be worked out through map balancing to make killing and capping equally attractive, this could be a very awesome mode indeed.

[tourney_madman]

what would be cool is if you also did a longer vctf version of this for bigger maps that would be hectic and that way you migt get more fights over the flag because they will feel safer in a vehicle then on foot just an idea

[Taboen]

what would be cool is if you also did a longer vctf version of this for bigger maps that would be hectic and that way you migt get more fights over the flag because they will feel safer in a vehicle then on foot just an idea

This migth be an idea worth using, I'll look into it, thanks

[tourney_madman]

no worries either way you go i'll be playing your gametype hopefully you cook it to ps3 coz i play better with a controller (weird i know but i do) lol either way is cool or both would be insane

[Taboen]

this gametype still needs a lot and a lot of work. and I have yet to figure out how to release stuff like this for PS3. Especially the AI needs a lot of tweaking in stuff like this. What I'm trying to say is, it will take ages for this thing to be released in a good state But whenever I'm ready, I'll cook it for PS3.

This thread is for thoughts on this gametype, so ideas and stuff like that are welcome

[tourney_madman]

Doesnt bother me m88888 im just grateful that your making it i know i will spend countless hours playing this gametype just because of the fun factor that will be involved in it i can wait a very long time as u know everyone should be able to after how long we waited for the game itself lol

[Mr.UglyPants]

I'm really liking the idea, i would play this forever. At least til Jailbreak for UT3 came out.

[tourney_madman]

hahahahahaha jailbreak i hear that Mr.Uglypants still would be tight competition for which one for me to choose coz if this goes off without a hitch it will be an awesome gametype but it will be a tight decision between which gametype would get a majority of my time lol