When this topic popped up on teamfortress.tv a while back (as it often does), the folks over there were trying to find a way to get Valve to support competitive TF2. As with mapping, the main issue is that the people working on the TF team don't really have the time to come up with ideas that a select percentage of their playerbase would benefit from, leaving the majority to wallow in disappointment. So there were quite a few ideas thrown around that would involve making competitive TF2 profitable, or at least marketable, to give Valve an incentive to spend more time on it. We have a similar situation with mapping, and now it seems that Valve has contacted us, hoping to provide some ideas.
I have a small idea that would connect bits and pieces of the two issues (and perhaps even solve a third) that I'd like to explain for a bit. I'll try not to make it too troublesome to read.
It all starts with a competitive matchmaking system, similar in some respects to the one implemented for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. For the purposes of this example I'll deal strictly with the 6v6 competitive format, but obviously one can swap that for Highlander and a similar situation would apply.
So, you can either play by yourself or with a group of up to 6 friends, and join a lobby. You'd have to select your class role beforehand, choosing one of:
- Medic
- Demoman
- Pocket Soldier
- Roaming Soldier
- Utility
Now here's the interesting part: just like CS:GO, perhaps you can specify what maps you want to play on. Choose from Valve maps like Badlands and Granary, or community maps like Process, Gullywash, or Snakewater.
But where does the money come in? Tickets. Just like MvM has two options for playing (Mann Up and Boot Camp), competitive play could have two options as well: Challenge and Casual. To play casually, there's no fee involved. But to play Challenge, you must each use a ticket, purchased at the Mann Co Store or from other Steam users on the community Market. Perhaps they'd cost $1 each, or perhaps cheaper. Just like MvM, on completion of a match, you have a chance at winning some items. These could be hats, or they could be items with no use but crafting (like the robot parts from MvM). You could craft wacky gimmick items like Australium rocket launchers or shiny killstreak kits from them, or it could be some new weapon with a "competitive" theme, just like the botkiller weapons are MvM-themed. This would open up a stream of new revenue that could be split between the mapmakers and Valve. Obviously maps that are geared towards competitive play would have an advantage here. If the players play on a stock map like Badlands instead, then perhaps Valve can pocket that money away and save it for a rainy day (or donate it to the prize pool for a community league, like ETF2L or UGC, or even CEVO or ESEA).
But wait! There's more!
There's obviously some concern over unlockable weapons and what is legal to use in a competitive match. And that's how this idea might solve a third issue that Valve is dealing with: the rise of key prices and the lower value of scrap metal. I propose that NO UNLOCKS be allowed in Challenge mode, at all. Not the Gunboats, not the Kritzkrieg, not the Boston Basher. Instead, players can craft "smuggling kits" from their competitive/robot parts, which can be crafted with regular items to make a consumable weapon for use in a competitive match. Just like Duel Mini-Games, the "Smuggled Winger" might have 5 uses before it is consumed completely and must be recrafted. You can use 2-3 of these weapons each match, perhaps equipped in a cosmetic load-out slot or something. Or, the weapons can just permit you to use identical weapons, which would let you use those Stranges you love so much. Weapons on the whitelist of the major leages (like the Gunboats or Kritzkrieg) could craft into a 10-use item, while banned weapons (like the Powerjack) could craft into a 3 or 5-use item, to deal with people using money to pay their way into using unbalanced weapons. Alternatively, if even ONE player unlocks a weapon during a match, then all players could use it (similar to the way the Squad Surplus tickets work). This would stop people complaining about pay-to-win, etc.
Let me know what you think. This is obviously a very rough outline of an idea and needs some thought and some yelling to refine.