PD - Player Destruction Map Guide
What is Player Destruction?
Player Destruction is a spin on the Robot Destruction entities which focuses on bringing team objectives to a deathmatch foundation. In this gamemode players will drop flags if they were killed or ‘finished off’ by another player. The objective is to bring these flags to the capturezone to score. Whoever has the most amount of flags on each team is given a dispenser, an outline, and a number above their heads indicating the number of flags they are carrying. The captuezone can be toggled on and off, and in Watergate it scrolls across the map shown on a timer on the HUD.
Entities needed to set up the gamemode:
tf_logic_player_destruction
Name: pd_logic
logic_auto
OnMultiNewRound - pd_logic - EnableMaxScoreUpdating
OnMultiNewRound - pd_logic - DisableMaxScoreUpdating - After 30 seconds
func_capturezone
Team: Red
OnCapTeam1_PD - pd_logic - ScoreRedPoints
func_capturezone
Team: Blue
OnCapTeam2_PD - pd_logic - ScoreBluePoints
Other things you can do with Player Destruction:
tf_logic_player_destruction:
Inputs:
SetCountdownTimer <integer> Set the countdown time and start the timer.
SetCountdownImage <string> Set the countdown image.
SetFlagResetDelay <integer> Set the length of time (in seconds) before a dropped flag resets.
SetPointsOnPlayerDeath <integer> Set number of points per flag dropped upon player death.
Outputs:
OnRedScoreChanged <float> Send when score changes, and is a value representing total progress from [0..1].
OnBlueScoreChanged <float> Send when score changes, and is a value representing total progress from [0..1].
OnCountdownTimerExpired Sent when the countdown timer expires.
Download the prefab:
http://tf2maps.net/resources/pd-prefab.858/
Editing the HUD:
The tf_logic_player_destruction entity includes the keyvalue ‘res_file’ which allows you to set the map up with an edited version of the existing PD HUD.
You can find the existing PD HUD in the tf/tf2_misc_dir.vpk file at:
resource/UI/HudObjectivePlayerDestruction.res
To make your own version of this you will first need to make a copy of it and rename it for your map (“ExampleHUD.res”). Then inside add a few lines at the start and type:
Inside of your map you can put the name of your custom .res file in the logic entity as so:
resource/UI/ExampleHUD.res
In your ExampleHUD.res file you can edit anything at all and it will show up in your map. You can change all the icons with custom packaged icons, you can disable any element, you can change the background color of any element, etc.
Here is the .res file Watergate uses for example:
Design Stuff:
Player Destruction is a mode that opens the door to more dynamic gameplay. It allows you to ‘turn off’ the capturezone and let the potential points build up in the map, before turning back on the capturezone to frantically spit points onto the HUD. It seems to necessitate places around the capturezone for teams to push and pull out of, rather than always fighting for the capturezone itself. Chasing after the team leaders (who have the most amount of points) when the capturezone was closed resulted in some of the most fun moments.
Watergate is a map with a layout like Hightower - a wider map that lets combat manifest at more places to give the map a more hectic pace, however this means that there is less teamplay because players can be farther apart from each other. In this sense it may be worth looking into a less wide layout like Viaduct that has teammates closer more often (teamplay in Watergate was a bit of an issue unless it came from some other source - like a veteran on the microphone).
In previous versions of Watergate I had a control point at the top of the tower that spawned extra pickups to the team that controlled it. This was really good for leading the players who weren’t good at deathmatch somewhere to feel like they could help their team, however it became the best option for all players including the team leaders which nullified the importance of holding any other section of the map - hence its removal. The focus on a dynamic objective means that holding points can manifest anywhere making combat feel fresh often.
FAQ:
Can I add new elements to the HUD?
While I haven’t tested yet, I’d suspect no because these things are implemented by the game code - you can hide them, move them around, or modify them some other way, but you can’t create new elements.
What do I use to edit the HUD .res file?
You can use Notepad++ or anything similar ( https://notepad-plus-plus.org/ ).
Where do the paths “../hud/ammo” go to?
Those go to /tf/materials/HUD
Why is my custom HUD invisible?
If you are using a custom .res file for the HUD in your PD map and have already packed it into the map then it might appear invisible for you - in which case you would have to rename the .res file in your ui folder with an underscore at the end just to not interfere with the game stuff.
If you haven’t packed it into the map then you may want to make sure the filenames are set up correctly in the PD entity and in the header of the .res file itself. Beyond this, you may find what ends up working is to pack the .res file into the level, for some reason that ends up working sometimes.
--
Post any questions below and I can add them to the FAQ.
What is Player Destruction?
Player Destruction is a spin on the Robot Destruction entities which focuses on bringing team objectives to a deathmatch foundation. In this gamemode players will drop flags if they were killed or ‘finished off’ by another player. The objective is to bring these flags to the capturezone to score. Whoever has the most amount of flags on each team is given a dispenser, an outline, and a number above their heads indicating the number of flags they are carrying. The captuezone can be toggled on and off, and in Watergate it scrolls across the map shown on a timer on the HUD.
Entities needed to set up the gamemode:
tf_logic_player_destruction
Name: pd_logic
logic_auto
OnMultiNewRound - pd_logic - EnableMaxScoreUpdating
OnMultiNewRound - pd_logic - DisableMaxScoreUpdating - After 30 seconds
func_capturezone
Team: Red
OnCapTeam1_PD - pd_logic - ScoreRedPoints
func_capturezone
Team: Blue
OnCapTeam2_PD - pd_logic - ScoreBluePoints
Other things you can do with Player Destruction:
tf_logic_player_destruction:
Inputs:
SetCountdownTimer <integer> Set the countdown time and start the timer.
SetCountdownImage <string> Set the countdown image.
SetFlagResetDelay <integer> Set the length of time (in seconds) before a dropped flag resets.
SetPointsOnPlayerDeath <integer> Set number of points per flag dropped upon player death.
Outputs:
OnRedScoreChanged <float> Send when score changes, and is a value representing total progress from [0..1].
OnBlueScoreChanged <float> Send when score changes, and is a value representing total progress from [0..1].
OnCountdownTimerExpired Sent when the countdown timer expires.
Download the prefab:
http://tf2maps.net/resources/pd-prefab.858/
Editing the HUD:
The tf_logic_player_destruction entity includes the keyvalue ‘res_file’ which allows you to set the map up with an edited version of the existing PD HUD.
You can find the existing PD HUD in the tf/tf2_misc_dir.vpk file at:
resource/UI/HudObjectivePlayerDestruction.res
To make your own version of this you will first need to make a copy of it and rename it for your map (“ExampleHUD.res”). Then inside add a few lines at the start and type:
Code:
#base "HudObjectivePlayerDestruction.res"Inside of your map you can put the name of your custom .res file in the logic entity as so:
resource/UI/ExampleHUD.res
In your ExampleHUD.res file you can edit anything at all and it will show up in your map. You can change all the icons with custom packaged icons, you can disable any element, you can change the background color of any element, etc.
Here is the .res file Watergate uses for example:
Code:
#base "HudObjectivePlayerDestruction.res"
"Resource/UI/WatergateHUD.res"
{
"CarriedContainer"
{
"CarriedImage"
{
"image" "../hud/hud_invasion_bottle"
}
"TeamLeaderImage"
{
//"image" "<your image name>"
}
}
"CountdownContainer"
{
"Background"
{
"image" "../hud/hud_invasion_greenbg"
"teambg_2" "../hud/hud_invasion_greenbg"
"teambg_3" "../hud/hud_invasion_greenbg"
}
"CountdownImage"
{
"xpos" "117"
"ypos" "15"
}
}
"ScoreContainer"
{
"ProgressBarContainer"
{
"FlagImageBlue"
{
"image" "../hud/hud_invasion_bottle"
"zpos" "100"
}
"FlagImageRed"
{
"image" "../hud/hud_invasion_bottle"
"zpos" "100"
}
}
}
}Design Stuff:
Player Destruction is a mode that opens the door to more dynamic gameplay. It allows you to ‘turn off’ the capturezone and let the potential points build up in the map, before turning back on the capturezone to frantically spit points onto the HUD. It seems to necessitate places around the capturezone for teams to push and pull out of, rather than always fighting for the capturezone itself. Chasing after the team leaders (who have the most amount of points) when the capturezone was closed resulted in some of the most fun moments.
Watergate is a map with a layout like Hightower - a wider map that lets combat manifest at more places to give the map a more hectic pace, however this means that there is less teamplay because players can be farther apart from each other. In this sense it may be worth looking into a less wide layout like Viaduct that has teammates closer more often (teamplay in Watergate was a bit of an issue unless it came from some other source - like a veteran on the microphone).
In previous versions of Watergate I had a control point at the top of the tower that spawned extra pickups to the team that controlled it. This was really good for leading the players who weren’t good at deathmatch somewhere to feel like they could help their team, however it became the best option for all players including the team leaders which nullified the importance of holding any other section of the map - hence its removal. The focus on a dynamic objective means that holding points can manifest anywhere making combat feel fresh often.
June 2016 - Egan:
I tested a pd_cuisine back in January 2016's 72hour jam which featured two capturezones at either end of the map. The idea came from complaints in Watergate where if you died while holding lots pickups then your killer would pick up all your loot and immediately go to score them, which was frustrating. I thought that if the capturezone for the enemy team was in your base that would mean the enemy might kill you, take your pickups near their side of the map, but would bring it back to your side giving you a second chance to stop them.
The problem with this style of gameplay, we found, was that teams were then naturally not going to be in the same place fighting over the same objective for very long. Players did not feel obligated to stay and defend their home capturezone because the next logical step of killing the attackers is to pick up their loot and head all the way over to their base. This gave the map a very 'all over the place' feeling, unlike Watergate's beam that had both teams jumping into the same location both trying to capture points there.
An idea maybe could be having just one capture point still, but make it mobile, moving close to a team that had the least amount of points scored, similar to YM's koth_tug.
I tested a pd_cuisine back in January 2016's 72hour jam which featured two capturezones at either end of the map. The idea came from complaints in Watergate where if you died while holding lots pickups then your killer would pick up all your loot and immediately go to score them, which was frustrating. I thought that if the capturezone for the enemy team was in your base that would mean the enemy might kill you, take your pickups near their side of the map, but would bring it back to your side giving you a second chance to stop them.
The problem with this style of gameplay, we found, was that teams were then naturally not going to be in the same place fighting over the same objective for very long. Players did not feel obligated to stay and defend their home capturezone because the next logical step of killing the attackers is to pick up their loot and head all the way over to their base. This gave the map a very 'all over the place' feeling, unlike Watergate's beam that had both teams jumping into the same location both trying to capture points there.
An idea maybe could be having just one capture point still, but make it mobile, moving close to a team that had the least amount of points scored, similar to YM's koth_tug.
FAQ:
Can I add new elements to the HUD?
While I haven’t tested yet, I’d suspect no because these things are implemented by the game code - you can hide them, move them around, or modify them some other way, but you can’t create new elements.
What do I use to edit the HUD .res file?
You can use Notepad++ or anything similar ( https://notepad-plus-plus.org/ ).
Where do the paths “../hud/ammo” go to?
Those go to /tf/materials/HUD
Why is my custom HUD invisible?
If you are using a custom .res file for the HUD in your PD map and have already packed it into the map then it might appear invisible for you - in which case you would have to rename the .res file in your ui folder with an underscore at the end just to not interfere with the game stuff.
If you haven’t packed it into the map then you may want to make sure the filenames are set up correctly in the PD entity and in the header of the .res file itself. Beyond this, you may find what ends up working is to pack the .res file into the level, for some reason that ends up working sometimes.
--
Post any questions below and I can add them to the FAQ.
Last edited:
