- Jul 30, 2021
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"The Rock" is a map present in Team Fortress Classic, having been remade multiple times in Team Fortress 2 to varying degrees of success. One thing that makes Rock distinct from the other CTF maps in TFC is its gamemode, which we call Contamination.
There are two points that define Contamination at a base level:
This is the RED Team's intelligence briefcase in rock2_b1, a direct remake of the classic Rock map. RED's objective here is to defend the flag from enemy players and prevent them from stealing the brieface. BLU's objective here is to steal RED's flag. Sounds like standard CTF? Don't worry, we're not done yet.
After your team has obtained the briefcase, your objective is to deliver it to the capture zone. In Contamination maps, the capture zone is always located inside the enemy team's base. This means your team's defensive location is dynamically changed whenever the flag is grabbed, so pay attention to when the flag is grabbed! Like in other CTF gamemodes, the HUD will show you where the flag is supposed to be captured, so if you ever feel lost, take a look at your HUD and you should figure it out relatively quickly.
An additional feature to the Contamination mode is, when the flag is capped, the team who had their intel capped has their base filled with nerve gas for about 5 seconds. This has lethal potential, so it's advised to get into your spawn before the gas begins. It's smart to design your map in a way where players *know* when they're about to be gassed, so give defenders a few seconds to either get out of their base or get into their spawn before the gas hits so they can preserve their life. Additionally, do not prevent the attacking team from taking damage after a capture unless they are in the safe room. (Usually this is just the flag carrier, since the Safe Room and the Capture Zone are the same location.)
Design Tips
Always mark your areas with signs. Contamination is completely new to a lot of players, so having a few helpful signs around each team's base or even at mid should help them, even if just a little.
Don't just remake Rock. The success of a good gamemode both hinges on its uniqueness between the maps. Contamination has the problem of people only knowing it via Rock, and thus remaking Rock way too much. Try something new! See what kind of layout you can make with the gamemode.
Be creative! Rock has a very specific style of theming in that it's a prison complex, which doesn't really make for the most flexible of layout. Try creating a Contamination map with a new theme! Find new reasons for a flag to be capped in its own base, or come up with new resources to explain it! Ideally, you want your gameplay and theming to work in tandem to create a very fun Flag-based map for people to experience this "new" gamemode on! It doesn't always have to have a poison gas
If you're here, thank you for reading to the end! I hope this inspires you somehow :3
There are two points that define Contamination at a base level:
- The Flag for each team must be located in their own base.
- The capture zone for each flag must be inside their own team's base.
This is the RED Team's intelligence briefcase in rock2_b1, a direct remake of the classic Rock map. RED's objective here is to defend the flag from enemy players and prevent them from stealing the brieface. BLU's objective here is to steal RED's flag. Sounds like standard CTF? Don't worry, we're not done yet.
After your team has obtained the briefcase, your objective is to deliver it to the capture zone. In Contamination maps, the capture zone is always located inside the enemy team's base. This means your team's defensive location is dynamically changed whenever the flag is grabbed, so pay attention to when the flag is grabbed! Like in other CTF gamemodes, the HUD will show you where the flag is supposed to be captured, so if you ever feel lost, take a look at your HUD and you should figure it out relatively quickly.
An additional feature to the Contamination mode is, when the flag is capped, the team who had their intel capped has their base filled with nerve gas for about 5 seconds. This has lethal potential, so it's advised to get into your spawn before the gas begins. It's smart to design your map in a way where players *know* when they're about to be gassed, so give defenders a few seconds to either get out of their base or get into their spawn before the gas hits so they can preserve their life. Additionally, do not prevent the attacking team from taking damage after a capture unless they are in the safe room. (Usually this is just the flag carrier, since the Safe Room and the Capture Zone are the same location.)
Design Tips
Always mark your areas with signs. Contamination is completely new to a lot of players, so having a few helpful signs around each team's base or even at mid should help them, even if just a little.
Don't just remake Rock. The success of a good gamemode both hinges on its uniqueness between the maps. Contamination has the problem of people only knowing it via Rock, and thus remaking Rock way too much. Try something new! See what kind of layout you can make with the gamemode.
Be creative! Rock has a very specific style of theming in that it's a prison complex, which doesn't really make for the most flexible of layout. Try creating a Contamination map with a new theme! Find new reasons for a flag to be capped in its own base, or come up with new resources to explain it! Ideally, you want your gameplay and theming to work in tandem to create a very fun Flag-based map for people to experience this "new" gamemode on! It doesn't always have to have a poison gas
If you're here, thank you for reading to the end! I hope this inspires you somehow :3
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