Have you played or seen balloon racing maps?

[drp]

A TF2 community has come forward and has asked if they could sponsor a contest for balloon racing maps.

You can see what this is here:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jd1IUU2qtE"]YouTube - TF2 - Balloon Race Gameplay[/ame]

There are a couple maps for this type of gameplay, but the maps are quite poor. Bare, badly optimized, etc.

I think our community can do a better job.
Personally, ive played this gametype, and its quite fun and good for a laugh.


So, would you be participate in the contest?

 

[Lord Ned]

Kinda a bad video.
I can't see if there's any real gameplay aspect, and source kind of phails at moving objects.

However, depends what you mean by sponser. If it means real $$, then no.

But a contest, maybe.

 

[drp]

Kinda a bad video.
I can't see if there's any real gameplay aspect, and source kind of phails at moving objects.

However, depends what you mean by sponser. If it means real $$, then no.

But a contest, maybe.

by sponsor, i mean they provide the prize. video card, giftcard, game, etc.

 

[Armadillo of Doom]

I played through this map a bit, and it's an interesting concept. Mechanics wise, it functions like a traditional linear cp map. The big difference is that you reach the caps via a giant train (balloon). I think the biggest deterrent is that teleports are used to go from spawn to balloon. But there's no reason why you can't simply create a larger balloon that has a spawn room inside it already. I would encourage people to play through a little bit. While the current map is kinda lame cuz of spawn camping and having no way for the losing team to catch up, I still think it's a fun idea.

 

[Acegikmo]

You have to have teleporters to the spawnrooms, since you can't parent info_player_teamspawn

 

[MrAlBobo]

umm...video is garbage for explaining the gametype...there something i can read somewhere?

 

[drp]

umm...video is garbage for explaining the gametype...there something i can read somewhere?

there isnt a website dedicated to it or anything, but its stimple

red and blue both have a wooden ship. its like a blimp with a deck.
this 'ship' will move faster the more people are on it, max 5.

its really like pushing a car in a payload map. these balloons are on a track to 4 cap points.

players try to kill each other off the balloon on their way to the cap points, the goal to slow the balloon down.

the team to cap 3/4 points wins, if it ends up 2/2 points for each team, the first to make it back to base wins.

 

[A Boojum Snark]

Hmm... I'm not usually one for contests, but this is intriguing. It fits my love for obtuse and unusual things with quirky themes. Having never played it, I've tenatively giving a Not Sure thinking I might enter if I'm not too involved in my other maps.

 

[Ida]

I love fun-maps like these as long as they work and it's actually fun (and by fun, I mean NOT surf or jump). I'd love to try making a race map, I was actually thinking about it after seeing that video. Count me in if we're gonna do something like this.

 

[laghlagh]

You have to have teleporters to the spawnrooms, since you can't parent info_player_teamspawn

Aww. You could however make the interior in the spawn so that it seems like you're on the balloon, make the teleporter a brush textured as a door, and make the teleexit outside a door on the balloon. So that the transition seems less weird.

 

[Brandished]

This video shows off more of the gameplay aspects better for those interested:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpecUMlJsKQ"]YouTube - TF2 rock the boat (Balloon Race)[/ame]

Honestly, I have a hard time seeing how this map concept would be any fun in TF2 for more then 1 or 2 rounds, the gameplay is quite linear and seems like it would become very repetitive very quickly. The other problem I see is it would be too prone to griefing in its current form, every gameplay clip I've found on youtube so far was a sniper filled steamroll.

Maybe if you added a catapult so players could launch themselves from one boat to another and the control points became parented to the back of a team's boat after they captured it that might help somewhat, I dunno.

Making this gamestyle playable looks like it would be more challenging then actually blocking out the map.

 

[Invictus]

The biggest problem I see with it is that the losing team can't really do anything to catch up; to win, you just need to spawn camp until your team has a decent head start.

What you'd want is a race around a circular area, with spawn points in the center, perhaps on a cliff above the ships. This would let teams attack each others' balloons, and force teams to decide who should pilot the airship and who should hold the center ground. The teleporters should be restricted (one teleport every X seconds), too, so that players can't instantly flood back to the ship. A good team could then recover from a bad start by killing the enemy crew and preventing replacements from getting back to it. And you'd want to include overhangs to jump on the ships, so teams don't stall because a few lucky boarders are guarding the teleporter exit.

 

[TotalMark]

Not to offend anyone, but the people who came up with this must've been stoned out of their freaking gourd.

 

[drp]

Not to offend anyone, but the people who came up with this must've been stoned out of their freaking gourd.

:laugh:

hater

 

[TotalMark]

I didn't mean it as a bad thing, just weird.:unsure:

 

[drp]

I didn't mean it as a bad thing, just weird.:unsure:

i agree, the entire concept... i never would of come up with it on my own

 

[laghlagh]

Maybe as a community thing. A collab!

 

[FaTony]

This is gimmick. It can be good with the help of promapper.

 

[Nineaxis]

The biggest problem I see with it is that the losing team can't really do anything to catch up; to win, you just need to spawn camp until your team has a decent head start.

Pretty much what I got out of it.

I'd rather see some innovation in TF2-style gamemodes than air balloon races.

 

[Zeewier]

This map needs a lot of balance:
Headstart => win
Pyros to camp
Snipers are the only class that require skill (aiming skill)
Soldiers to kill with lucky/critzkrieg crit rockets to kill
Pyros to spawn camp
Medic/Heavy combo can survive most sniper shots so are useful for standing on the boat.

Other classes are even more useless :/