New Gamemode Idea

[Blinx]

I've been putting together the ideas for a new gamemode for a while now. In a nutshell, it's a battle royalesque, point-based, 16v16 gamemode with weapon upgrades.

Here's how it works:

There will be 7 control points in total, 3 low tier, 3 medium tier, and 1 high tier, that will unlock progressively throughout the round. Point tiers dictate how many points they give per second of controlling it.

Players will start the round with only their melee weapon, around the map (and the map will be quite large), there will be "pickups", these pickups can either be: scrap metal, ammo boxes, health kits, upgrade tokens, or weapons. Players can pick these up and place them into their inventory. Scrap metal is effectively currency, which items can be smelted down to, or used to create other items.

Around the map, along with control points, will be "forges", that a team will need to capture in order to use. A forge allows items to be smelted down at a more efficient rate, and allows the crafting of items from scrap metal.

All items in peoples inventories can be dropped, to allow team work in sharing resources.

Upgrade tokens are used to augment a weapon, increasing it's, or it's owner's, capability.

Some smaller details:

Spoiler

Inefficient smelting works at a 0.4 ratio of the items crafting cost. (So if an item uses 30 scrap metal to build, it will yield 12 scrap metal when smelting down outside of a captured forge)
Efficient smelting works at a 0.7 ratio of the items crafting cost. (So if an item uses 30 scrap metal to build, it will yield 21 scrap metal when smelting at a captured forge)
Players will have 10 inventory slots.
Scrap metal doesn't use an inventory slot.
Only a couple weapons beside stock will be able to be found and crafted
The lower point tiers will be the only points accessible at the start of a round, then medium, then the high.
Low control point reward = 1, medium = 5, high = 15.
Points will capture in increasingly longer rates according to their tier.
Engineers will start with their PDA, but will have reduced metal.
Spies will start with their Sapper and Disguise Kit.
Weapons will have caps on how many upgrade tokens they can have in total and how many of any specific type (i.e., fire rate) they can have at any one time.
Spawns at the beginning of a round will be completely random
Players cannot freely change class, if they do, any items they currently hold (or are equipping) will be smelted down into scrap metal, with the efficiency rate changing on whether or not they're at a captured forge or not, regular scrap metal will remain.
When respawning in a round, you will be placed in a room that will allow you to choose where you want to go. The choices will either be: One of your team's captured forges, or one of your team's respawn shacks, that will be on the outskirts of the map.

Here's a not-to-scale idea of what a map to accommodate this game mode might look like (red blocks = forge locations, green -> blue -> purple = point tiers)

Just wanted to get this idea out there I'll be working on it during 2017. My only fore-worries are that this is quite dependent on having a lot of players to be enjoyable, so getting it off the ground might be more than difficult, and that the inventory system will be annoying to use (realistically, I'll need to ask users to bind a command to a key that will open up a menu to the inventory), but regardless, I think it'll be exciting.

 

[BigfootBeto]

uhh. Well I'm fairly certain you'll have to use a plugin of some sort because I doubt there's a way to do this with the current entities. Also it seems extremely complicated. Remember, cp_snowplow was deemed "too complicated for new players," so this will have to be even more straight forward that snowplow.

 

[Blinx]

uhh. Well I'm fairly certain you'll have to use a plugin of some sort because I doubt there's a way to do this with the current entities. Also it seems extremely complicated. Remember, cp_snowplow was deemed "too complicated for new players," so this will have to be even more straight forward that snowplow.

Yes I know, the bigger part of this will be writing the plugin. I know this is a lot different from ordinary TF2, that's what makes me excited about it, but I don't think it's actually that complicated, at it's heart, it's a balance between scavenging and contesting control points, the mechanics of it all are tools for controlling the pace, and engaging teamwork in a different way.

 

[Idolon]

Having 7 control points in the same map while still giving them all their own distinct areas and keeping a decent scale is going to be quite a feat that I worry might not be achievable. Large maps (especially ones with multiple objectives) tend to split up teams to the point where most battles are between only two or three people total, which usually isn't great. Allowing people to choose where they spawn will only compound on this. Dota (which I can only assume this gamemode idea is inspired by) gives every player more individual agency, meaning objectives can be split up more easily since being around teammates isn't as important.

I think it would be pretty interesting to see a mode where players collect materials during gameplay and can craft stuff between rounds, sorta like Counter-Strike's buy period, where successive rounds yield money (resources, in your case) for either team, allowing them better weapons to work with. More likely, you can cash in during the middle of a round like Rottenburg's upgrade station, since otherwise you need short rounds or very long games.

I'm also not sure what the win state of the game is. Presumably there's some point limit that either team wins by reaching? Given what I've already talked about, I think the mode would work best with a more focused and simple objective system. Perhaps a KotH map (with an extended timer) where players can also collect resources to upgrade their things?

All of that said: I don't think making your current idea work is impossible, but I do think it is... ill advised? I don't want to shut down your creativity, because you certainly have a lot of it, but I am concerned that you might spend a lot of time on a project that totally flops. I'd recommend trying to create a map that doesn't require a plugin to run so you can iron out the major issues before you put in the effort for an inventory and upgrade system.

 

[Diva Dan]

This is definitely a cool and ambitious game mode. Like what Ido said, I like how it has almost a counter-strikey feel to it where during your break you get to invest in you or your teams Arsenal.

I would also suggest that a center CP unlocks after a team reaches a certain amount of score, and whoever caps that wins. Hey, if the leading team sucks enough even with better stuff, it gives the losing underdogs a chance to win.

It may not fit tf2 - I'd actually love to see a standalone game use these mechanics, because it is a very unique combination - but good luck regardless!

 

[Asd417]

I doubt there is a way to implement currency system without modding the engine or making server plugin.

 

[Blinx]

Large maps (especially ones with multiple objectives) tend to split up teams to the point where most battles are between only two or three people total

The reason for the increasing control point value is so that people won't feel compelled to try and contest for lower point tiers when higher ones are available, so hopefully battles will be between 6-10 people for the lower points and then the one big point will be the big clusterfuck where everyone can bash each other with their built up, powerful weapons.

More likely, you can cash in during the middle of a round like Rottenburg's upgrade station, since otherwise you need short rounds or very long games.

I intend for these games to be one big, long round, probably about 10-15 minutes.

I'm also not sure what the win state of the game is. Presumably there's some point limit that either team wins by reaching?

Yes it'll be a point limit.

I think the mode would work best with a more focused and simple objective system

I'm a big fan of MMO's with long progression so I guess that's why I'm more attracted to the idea of this being a bigger and longer gamemode.

It may not fit tf2 - I'd actually love to see a standalone game use these mechanics, because it is a very unique combination - but good luck regardless!

I agree that this game mode is a lot different to typical TF2 gameplay and could well be it's own game but learning how to achieve all this with a different engine or w/e would take forever so I guess I'm just testing the water with trying to implementing it with TF2.