Should Rune be a mutator rather then a gametype?

[MirceaKitsune]

I've been asking myself this question for many months now. To me it seems completely pointless for Rune to be its own gametype, and I'm sure other players can agree here as well. The current Rune is just like the classic Deathmatch but with runes that spawn around the map and picking one up gives you a certain advantage and disadvantage. I think the idea is pretty nice, but not implemented as a game type since it doesn't change enough like advanced gameplay rules or the scoring system to have any purpose as that.

I'm suggesting that Rune is turned into a mutator rather then a gametype. One reason is that there doesn't seem to be any point to having a gametype identical to Deathmatch just for the runes as I said, and it's technically incorrect from certain points of view. Second is that there are already quite a few gametypes and it's starting to squeeze the gametype line in the Create menu a bit (especially when having Assault visible as well with the developer cvar), and that creates an unused complexity between the game types. Third reason is that if Rune is made a mutator other then a gametype, it can be used in all other game types as well and not only as Deathmatch. You could have the runes spawn in TDM, CTF or anything else which works by enabling it from the mutators menu. So if everyone agrees maybe Rune could be changed this way which would be really useful imo

[[-z-]]

I think it's more the fact it's not a priority. I don't think anyone would mind if code that altered it to this behavior was submitted but I don't believe it's been on anyone list of things-to-do.

[MirceaKitsune]

Yeah, I see what you mean [-z-]. I would gladly make a patch for this myself but sadly I'm still very much a code noob when it comes to complex stuff. I'd need to know how to extract the rune system itself from the Rune gametype, then put it on a custom cvar and im not pretty familiar with that although as far as I know this should be easy for someone who just knows the code well.

Maybe temporarily the Rune gametype could just be removed, and the rune system and models kept in the code for when someone wants to work on the part of making it a mutator. Everyone said they never play Rune and it's just getting in the way so most likely no one would miss it. Maybe just removing Rune from the Create menu could be a good idea to open the gametype list there a bit?

Actually I already made such a patch quickly, which removes Rune from the Create menu but it's still left inside the code if anyone wants to play it from the console. The Create menu looks better arranged and more free this way in my opinion so if no one would be to miss Rune from that list you can apply this one for a start. SVN patch code:

Code: Select all

Index: data/qcsrc/menu/nexuiz/dialog_multiplayer_create.c
===================================================================
--- data/qcsrc/menu/nexuiz/dialog_multiplayer_create.c   (revision 5282)
+++ data/qcsrc/menu/nexuiz/dialog_multiplayer_create.c   (working copy)
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
   float n;

   me.TR(me);
-      n = 10 + 1 * !!cvar("developer");
+      n = 9 + 1 * !!cvar("developer");
      // NOTE: not using ?: due to fteqcc bug
      // this actually means: cvar("developer") ? 10 : 9
      me.TD(me, 2, me.columns / n, e = makeNexuizGametypeButton(1, "g_dm", "DM"));
@@ -42,8 +42,6 @@
         if(e.checked) e0 = NULL;
      me.TD(me, 2, me.columns / n, e = makeNexuizGametypeButton(1, "g_arena", "Arena"));
         if(e.checked) e0 = NULL;
-      me.TD(me, 2, me.columns / n, e = makeNexuizGametypeButton(1, "g_runematch", "Rune"));
-         if(e.checked) e0 = NULL;
      me.TD(me, 2, me.columns / n, e = makeNexuizGametypeButton(1, "g_domination", "Dom"));
         if(e.checked) e0 = NULL;
      me.TD(me, 2, me.columns / n, e = makeNexuizGametypeButton(1, "g_keyhunt", "Key Hunt"));


[Sepelio]

I wouldnt mind seeing it modified to be a mutator instead to be honest. It would be nice to have in CTF for a bit of variation.

[TVR]

Rune Match is intended to be a distinct game mode similar to UT's Mutant game mode.

The scoring is the greatest distinction from DM or CTF with 'tech' powerups, holding runes is the most important aspect, with the difficulty increasing as more are collected at once.