With over 2000 maps to download here, why are there only three CTF maps ever played?

[English Mobster]

Here's an idea for a CTF gametype I just thought up. I don't know if it's been done before, and I'm not really in the mood to do it, but it's an idea:

Teams spawn in their respective bases with a neutral mid CP. The intel for both teams is sealed off completely somehow; there is no way for attackers nor defenders to get at it. Perhaps simply putting a "case" of sorts over the Intel to prevent attackers from getting at it would be best (think the last point in Steel, only more isolated/covered), although all in all it doesn't matter much.
The beginning section plays out like a KOTH match or a battle for mid in 5 CP. No team is after the Intel (yet), both just want to control mid.
Once mid is captured, the case on the loser's intel is raised and they become the defenders of their Intel. The plus side to this is that there is a period of time where the Engineers will be focused on aiding their team capture mid (if their team captures mid while they were building Sentries by the intel, after all, it was a waste of time as the opposing team will focus on getting mid), so there will be less Sentries on the intel.
Mid can also give the attackers the same sorts of benefits as it does in 5 CP: a forward spawn, perhaps, modified respawn times, etc.

Now both teams have an objective to go after (hold mid), and once that objective is finished, a new one arises (attack/defend the intel). The team holding mid doesn't need to worry about defending their intel, which makes keeping it even more alluring.

This has probably been thought of and done before, but it's a good start.

 

[Mr. Wimples]

I think fubar had CTF done right in Cesspool; Each team starts out with an amount of time on their respective clocks (a-la koth). Your time goes down as the match progresses. When you cap the flag, your team is awarded more time. If your team's time runs out, you lose.

I'm not sure if teams could cap flags indefinitely, but that could be worked around by making 5 caps an alternate win condition.

This format is easy to understand and prevents stalemates that way but doesn't solve the engie and heavy problem. That could be worked around with poor sentry spots and maybe a few controlling sightlines.

 

[PMAvers]

There's also a edited version of 2fort out there that I actually like, the "revamped" one on the SPUF. Don't have a link off-hand. Has a few tweaks that I think make the map flow better (mostly by letting you get down to the basement and out of the base without having to go through the hay loft).

But, yeah, it really boils down to the map.

Trotim is an example of a person who is mad.

But an example I'd reach for first is ctf_wildfire. It won a contest, got played a bunch, and from what I could tell lots of people liked it and it was a lot of fun. But now that we've had a good chance to mope some more about CTF, we're not playing it much at all. Why?

Yeah, Wildfire was fun, although I'd hesitate to ever call it a "finished" map. Would be nice if they ever had the time to go back and give it a round of polish. 'Tis the curse of a contest map, I guess. It feels like only a few ever get updated again post-contest, and the rest are just abandoned (even if they showed promise).

 

[Doctor Paprika]

The CTF map I'm making is technically a Reverse CTF map with control points that alter the layout of the map. So... custom game mode, really, not actually CTF.

 

[Robot3x]

I like CTF because it seems to require much more strategic thinking and is less of a slugfest than other games.

Edit:
To me it is not unlike chess... except with rocket launchers and flame throwers. You have all of these classes with their own abilities that compliment each other like chess pieces and the flag is like the king. You have to figure out how to destroy the defenses and I find that processs very entertaining. That's why I find this talk of weakening engie positions or playing without engies odd. Strong engie camps and long game time are the things I find so appealing about CTF.

In Well, I am able to play psychological warfare with engies as a spy with the CnD because of the size of the room. No other type of game I think allows time for this kind of play. CTF just seems more open to a rich and diverse sort of gameplay.

 

[Pocket]

There's also a edited version of 2fort out there that I actually like, the "revamped" one on the SPUF. Don't have a link off-hand. Has a few tweaks that I think make the map flow better (mostly by letting you get down to the basement and out of the base without having to go through the hay loft).

I've always thought that 2fort was loaded with layout decisions that would make people wonder what the hell, if anything, they were thinking. Like giving the teams extra resupply rooms right in the basements, or having both routes to the basement converge in the same room topside, completely contrary to the point of alternate routes.

And since the map was around in Classic, I can only assume none of these things were changed because they actually worked in Classic. So what was different about that game that made this stuff work?

 

[A Boojum Snark]

conc jumps.

They didn't make 2fort work, per se. They worked in spite of 2fort.

 

[MangyCarface]

All I do (have done?) is play around with CTF edits. There're ways to make it fun. If I had the time to really push a map onto the community as a whole maybe I could get one up there on the top-played charts, and that doesn't preclude you from doing so either.
I really do feel CSF is the best solution of the 10+ configurations I've tried, so give the prefab a shot.