I am back to shill for gamemode changes and feedback and this time I am throwing a wall of text at you because I really dont want to work on that university assignment
Your goal is to improve the gamemode, so it feels important to note the two core, central issues PASS Time faces in pubs before going into the rest of my feedback. I believe these two central issues are:
1. Terrible new player experience due to the mode being convoluted and complicated
2. Extreme stalemating/match going to time
I'd imagine it's fairly intuitive to identify why both of these things are big problems that lower the quality of a map if they aren't dealt with.
So your goal as the map maker should be to fight these two issues if you really want to improve the gamemode. With this in mind, let's get into it:
Bonus Goal Gimmick
I think the idea with the train is very cute, but unfortunately this is where the positives kinda end.
With this gimmick you are adding yet another layer of complexity and confusion onto an already confusing gamemode,
worsening central issue 1 of PASS Time. You really cannot afford to add more HUD clutter to the PASS Time HUD and add more convoluted mechanics players need to deal with.
I cannot see anyone but Leezo actually landing the bonus goal, because anyone else is already overwhelmed with the rest of the gamemode. I believe you should strive to lower the barrier of entry, not make it higher. As such, I think this mechanic is causing more harm than good.
1-2-3 Scoring System
I understand that your idea is mostly that you want to add a risk/reward factor and more tactical decision making when attacking but this kinda makes us loop back to issue 1 of PASS Time - people are already short-circuiting when just entering the enemy base with the ball and will just want to score.
The extra layer of complexity is unnecessary because most players do not grasp it/don't care about it.
Especially when you consider that the one intuitive goal in PASS Time is the Throw-In, making it the goal most players go for.
So realistically - no matter what you set the Run-In to, the average game of PASS Time is played to 5 if your Throw-In grants 1 point. And playing to 5 is problematic because it takes ages. Assuming that the teams are imbalanced and 1 goal takes 2 minutes for the enemy team (including JACK respawn time) you are looking at 10 Minutes of one team getting stomped, which is terrible! And if the match is balanced and both teams are trading, the match will be over at 2:3 or 3:2, making the match go to time which everyone is unhappy with because it invites strategies where people just turtle if they are in the lead and generally just isn't satisfying.
You are going to reduce the amount of games going to time and stalemating dramatically by simply making the base goals grant 2 points - trust me on this. I am literally going to Paypal you 5€ if this change somehow makes the average round end in under 2 minutes or something. Alongside of reducing the base timer from 15 to 10 which you've done this is one of those base decisions that will help out matches dramatically and as such, improve the quality of the map.
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This is the part where I shill for gamemode changes outside of making goals grant 2 points because I feel like it would benefit the map and what you are aiming for. These changes come from my own conclusions and evaluations on how players behave in PASS Time and how we can help them play the game mode better.
Remove the Run-In Goal, replace with another Throw-In
The Run-In Goal is yet another layer of convoluted PASS Time gamemode information that raises the level of entry. It is like the prime candidate of confusion with the classic new player throwing the JACK into the goal and getting it blasted back and always adds that extra "but..." when people are trying to explain the gamemode.
You don't need to keep it - consider replacing it with another Throw-In. It only adds unnecessary complexity that confuses people and not much else. The Throw-In goals are intuitive and easy to understand - replacing the Run-In with a Throw-In (thus having two Throw-Ins in the map, which is not a problem) does a ton to reduce the level of entry for PASS Time.
Consider not having a Bonus Goal in the first place and replacing it with a "charge goals" mechanic
Same reasoning as above. The Bonus Goal is a prime candidate for gamemode clutter as it adds HUD clutter and is generally just very confusing. While one can definitely make a larger point about keeping it since it adds a sense of drama, you gotta consider that the people scoring bonus goals are mostly the same players across several playtests - your average player is not going for the bonus goal, and you cannot rely on them going for it since it requires them to jump through several hoops to activate and then score in it.
As such, I feel like getting rid of it and replacing it with a mechanic where - upon the JACK power reaching the point where the Bonus Goal would open - all base goals are now "charged" and grant 1 extra point would be better. That way you get rid of that extra layer of complexity (helping with problem 1) and also give players an actual means of getting that extra pointage (helping with problem 2).
It's a lot easier to say "Pass the JACK around to make your next goal be worth an extra point!" instead of saying "pass the JACK around to open a bonus goal. It glows and is up there, look up (something TF2 players dont do) also you have to go find a jump pad to access it and do a big jump towards it and then score. "
I have personally already implemented that logic and could send it to you if you are interested. The charged goals look like this and - of course - "uncharge" when the bonus goal would close, making it revert to the base point count of the Throw-In.
Hell, if you are anxious about making the base goals award 2 points being too much, you could have the base goals award 1 but have this mechanic, that way people only get the extra point if they are passing the ball around - which means that single scouts won't be a big dent but coordinated team pushes that pass a lot will be.
Multiple Spawns that switch around aren't good and the purpose they serve can be dealt with better
Multiple Spawns that switch around confuse people (Issue 1) and once again just raise the entry level of PASS Time. Most people don't know why and when they change and it's always a bad time when a teammate throws the JACK into your base, griefing you and giving the enemy team a big advantage. Said advantage can contribute to a team locking down mid, too, causing the game to stagnate.
It also causes layout issues because players are scared of areas where the enemy team spawn is - even if they switch, because players don't know this, they are still scared of the area, and thus don't play as and make use of the space given as you might want them to.
I feel like the map in it's current size doesn't need multiple spawns, and if you really want to give attackers an extra push if the JACK is in the enemy base enabling a speed boost out of spawn is more than enough.
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Layout Stuff with the above in mind
Layout rocks for the most part. Has nice scaling for PASS Time and the curved nature of it is very cool. Has huge potential.
With the above in mind, I have the following suggestions when it comes to layout:
This entire side area feels like a bit too much. If you flank in here with a medic you can just kinda camp here since the enemy team spawns on the other side if the JACK isn't in their base, allowing you to pester them from the side. Another problem caused by multiple, switching spawns.
Maybe consider moving the resupply a bit further from the door at the back of the room to slow down Engineers.
Assuming you would be interested in trying 2 Throw-Ins and single-spawn, a change in layout could look like this:
(The red part would be removed and replaced with a wall or whatever, we wouldn't need the extra space anymore)
You would retain your core concept of 2 basic paths with two different areas, meaning that one sentry cannot cover both the throw-ins. Of course this is just a rough sketch and some changes would need to be done (especially in area B since currently the rock would make scoring in the goal B very hard. Then again thinking about it you could make an incline on the left up the rockside so people could reach it maybe...). But it should get the basic idea across.
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These suggestions reduce the barrier of entry and complexity of the gamemode, making it easier and less frustrating to play for the vast majority of players on the server. This in turn leads to better matches and a more fun map. It also makes explaining the gamemode to people easier since you can now say "throw ball in hole" and essentially communicated everything that needs to be communicated without having to write 6 paragraphs about the run-in and the bonus goal.
I feel like sticking to more stock stuff would handicap your nice layout.
Anyways, these are just suggestions. Looking forward to where you'll go with this map.
