TF2 Redux: What could have been done better?

What could be better?


  • Total voters
    26

Coding Ethan

L2: Junior Member
Oct 12, 2014
93
109
I would like to collect ideas for a sourcemod/game we might work on, but we need some guidence.

We are currently in the planning phase.

Here is some ideas for hammer entities for mapping:
objPayloadCart
Name: String
Id: Integer
Parent: String
Team: Any/Red/Blu
GiveHealth: True/False
GiveAmmo: True/False
ApplyEffect: MultiList
Model: props_objectives/payload.mdl
Skin: Integer or Default
ExplodesOnWin: True/False
RollbackTime: Integer/Deafult (15 seconds)
StartingPoint: String
Speed: Integer
Icon: hud/objectives/payloadcart

objPayloadPoint
Name: String
Id: Integer
Parent: String
Team: Any/Red/Blue
Model: props_objectives/payloadpoint.mdl
Skin: Integer or Default
ExplodesOnWin: True/False
Icon: hud/objectives/payloadpoint

objFlag
Name: String
Id: Integer
Parent: String
Team: Any/Red/Blue
GiveHealth: True/False
GiveAmmo: True/False
ApplyEffect: MultiList
Model: props_objectives/intel.mdl
Skin: Integer or Default
ExplodesOnWin: True/False
ReturnTime: Integer/Default (30 seconds)
Icon: hud/objectives/flag

objControlPoint
Name: String
Id: Integer
Parent: String
Team: Any/Red/Blue
GiveHealth: True/False
GiveAmmo: True/False
ApplyEffect: MultiList
Model: props_objectives/capturepoint.mdl
Skin: Integer or Default
ExplodesOnWin: True/False
TimeToCap: Integer
Icon: hud/objectives/controlpoint

objTank
Name: String
Id: Integer
Parent: String
Team: Any/Red/Blu
GiveHealth: True/False
GiveAmmo: True/False
ApplyEffect: MultiList
Model: props_objectives/tank.mdl
Skin: Integer or Default
ExplodesOnWin: True/False
StartingPoint: String
Speed: Integer
HasGuns: True/False
AmmoType: Bullets/Rockets/Grenades/Arrows/Fire
Icon: hud/objectives/tank

objDoor
Name: String
Parent: String
Rotation: Up/Down/0 0 0
OpenDirection: Up/Down/0 0 0
Team: Any/Red/Blue
Filter: String
OpenRadius: Float
SpawnDoor: True/False
Model: props_doors/1x2_01.mdl
Speed: Integer
HasGuns: True/False
AmmoType: Bullets/Rockets/Grenades/Arrows/Fire

objProjectileShooter
Name: String
Parent: String
Team: Any/Red/Blu
Model: none.mdl
StartingPoint: String
Speed: Integer
HasGuns: True/False
AmmoType: Bullets/Rockets/Grenades/Arrows/Fire

I would love some suggestions of what else could be remade better.
 
Last edited:

Coding Ethan

L2: Junior Member
Oct 12, 2014
93
109
Are you making a source mod as in an entire remake of TF2, or a sourcemod plugin as in just some bonus things to the game. I'd recommend the latter if that's not what you're doing because reinventing the game would be ridiculous, and with a simple sourcemod plugin all you'd have to do is populate a server sometimes.

We are planning to make a remake of TF2, it may seem silly, but it would open up possibilities modding TF2 could not.
We are thinking about reusing some TF2 assets however, most mechanics will hopefully transfer over. We hope to run it off the Source 2 engine, but we have no SDK to work with yet, so we are prototyping in the current version of Source.
The game will hopefully use higher quality models and textures, which may require re-modelling and re-texturing.

From a mapper's perspective, I would also like to implement easier mapping tools, to simplify the process of making a map, with more options and features, without the complex methods mapper's have to go through currently.
 

Kube

Not the correct way to make lasagna
aa
Aug 31, 2014
1,342
1,849
We are planning to make a remake of TF2, it may seem silly, but it would open up possibilities modding TF2 could not.
We are thinking about reusing some TF2 assets however, most mechanics will hopefully transfer over. We hope to run it off the Source 2 engine, but we have no SDK to work with yet, so we are prototyping in the current version of Source.
The game will hopefully use higher quality models and textures, which may require re-modelling and re-texturing.

From a mapper's perspective, I would also like to implement easier mapping tools, to simplify the process of making a map, with more options and features, without the complex methods mapper's have to go through currently.

Wow, this is an ambitious project. Personally, I would wait to move forward until more is announced regarding Soucre 2 and TF2, but kudos to you guys for stepping up to the task!
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
If you're going to essentially remake an existing game from scratch, especially if you're not even going to reuse the assets, why not come up with an angle that makes it clearly its own unique thing instead of just making it another TF2? Like, I've always thought that TF2's class-based multiplayer system would work well for a BioShock-themed game, for example. You'd have your basic gunner types, your elemental splicers, your brute splicers, your hackers, your sneaky teleporting bastards, and so on. And instead of weapons that magically grant random stat changes, you'd have a loadout of passive plasmids that you can swap out.
 

Coding Ethan

L2: Junior Member
Oct 12, 2014
93
109
If you're going to essentially remake an existing game from scratch, especially if you're not even going to reuse the assets, why not come up with an angle that makes it clearly its own unique thing instead of just making it another TF2? Like, I've always thought that TF2's class-based multiplayer system would work well for a BioShock-themed game, for example. You'd have your basic gunner types, your elemental splicers, your brute splicers, your hackers, your sneaky teleporting bastards, and so on. And instead of weapons that magically grant random stat changes, you'd have a loadout of passive plasmids that you can swap out.

Team Fortress 2 is a game that keeps on giving, the game will not just be what we currently know TF2 as today (Online Multiplayer and Online Coop), at this point, we are planning campaign modes (like from L4D) which can be played with bots, with random people or with friends. We are also planning so sort of story mode breaking down team fortress 2's history.
TLDR: It will be TF2, but it will be more than TF2.
 

Coding Ethan

L2: Junior Member
Oct 12, 2014
93
109
Wow, this is an ambitious project. Personally, I would wait to move forward until more is announced regarding Soucre 2 and TF2, but kudos to you guys for stepping up to the task!

The task seems quite big, our idea for making it easier to make will be doing a patch update every few weeks with a few weapons for each class, that way we can gradually implement all x weapons from TF2 while not wasting development time on it, similar idea with hats.
 

Coding Ethan

L2: Junior Member
Oct 12, 2014
93
109
For the remake, we would like for users to be able to use their TF2 items in the new game, but due to limitations it may not be possible, especially if we add modifiers for weapons, so it may end up being a one way transfer.

A visualisation of the idea is that it would load the TF2 inventory and also the remake's inventory through memory and display it to the user.
 

Coding Ethan

L2: Junior Member
Oct 12, 2014
93
109
For the remake, we would also like to throw in elements from other games, such as Bonus Maps from Portal, Campaign from L4D & L4D2 and Map Editor from Portal 2. It could turn out incredible, it's just the task of making it get there.
 

Coding Ethan

L2: Junior Member
Oct 12, 2014
93
109
Who is "we"?
I hope my skepticism is more than understandable.

Currently "we" is me and my friend, but when we get around to making the game, I would appreciate help from the community, when the game is released a percentage of the profits from the sale of items in the Item Store will go towards the people who contributed to the development of the game.

I can understand that people will be sceptical because right now, we don't have any concept artwork or anything to really show, unfortunately we only can contribute so much to the game's development. I am currently pursuing becoming a professional programmer in most languages, I am confident in Python, HTML and JS. Programming is almost second nature to me, Source from what I can tell is mostly built of C++ which I can read somewhat easily.

Thanks for posting btw.
 

InstantMuffin

L2: Junior Member
May 26, 2014
64
48
It's not about being confident in a language, it's about having a lot of experience with design patters and game development. If you're just starting to get around c++, I personally don't have any hopes of this going anywhere as long as you're the lead programmer or significant enough in the team in regards to those tasks.
Does your friend have any past projects one can check out to further assess the situation?

Also, how old are you guys, what is your educational background and your current job (if any)?
 

Coding Ethan

L2: Junior Member
Oct 12, 2014
93
109
It's not about being confident in a language, it's about having a lot of experience with design patters and game development. If you're just starting to get around c++, I personally don't have any hopes of this going anywhere as long as you're the lead programmer or significant enough in the team in regards to those tasks.
Does your friend have any past projects one can check out to further assess the situation?

Also, how old are you guys, what is your educational background and your current job (if any)?

If there are no other programmers then the game's progress may be slower than if people joined in from the community, some of the code from Team Fortress 2 is hopefully going to be reused to save time on this large project, albeit with some clean-up work for readability.

Currently both of us are in High School, I'm currently in the last year and will be going to college after finishing school, my friend is in the year below.
I have been playing around with source code a bit with some other projects myself, my friend has currently contributed ideas to this project, which is as far as we have really gotten, it's just cleaning up those ideas and presenting them.
 

Coding Ethan

L2: Junior Member
Oct 12, 2014
93
109
if we're talking pixie magic, SD could be simplified a bunch i think

Well SD is tough to tackle, half the players are fighting over some metal and the other half is fighting over a monkey. Engineers, Pyros and Scouts seem to be the only classes.

SD is a difficult topic, because the teams are fighting over a moveable object, which could easily be taken in to a chokepoint or an area of the map not designed for lots of players. Payload Race is like SD, only the objectives are on a fixed path, rather than being carried by players.
 

Coding Ethan

L2: Junior Member
Oct 12, 2014
93
109
i mean as in, all the stuff in the OP is simplified entity setups, you could simplify SD like that

Oh ok, just a Flag, a Gamerules stating that it is SD and capture zone, it's practically the set up we already have.
I don't know what else could be simplified on that frontier.
 
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InstantMuffin

L2: Junior Member
May 26, 2014
64
48
i mean as in, all the stuff in the OP is simplified entity setups, you could simplify SD like that

I think what mappers would profit from is somewhat of a sourcemod plugin along the lines of an "entity extension", something that provides entities with advanced logic and configuration.
Unfortunately I dont have the time to pursue this, also working with some people that might be involved in this is kind of a hindering/no-go for me.
 

Coding Ethan

L2: Junior Member
Oct 12, 2014
93
109
I think what mappers would profit from is somewhat of a sourcemod plugin along the lines of an "entity extension", something that provides entities with advanced logic and configuration.
Unfortunately I dont have the time to pursue this, also working with some people that might be involved in this is kind of a hindering/no-go for me.

Yeah, mapping for team fortress 2 requires complex entity setups for most gamemodes, those setups take time to configure, a sourcemod could do it, but why not pack it in to the game by default?

I can't tell if you are on about making a sourcemod or working on this project for the second part of your post, i'll assume the latter and say that every little helps, but you don't have to if you don't want to.
 

InstantMuffin

L2: Junior Member
May 26, 2014
64
48
I'm talking about outsourcing game logic that is simply impossible to set up with current possibilities into a sourcemod plugin. Many gamemodes re-use entities as placeholders and perform their own logic, maybe mappers could profit from a more general approach to give them a new set of tools/toys to use and eventually inspire Valve to add official support for stuff.