Planned new game mode - no name yet

[divVerent]

Given:
n teams
n keys

Start of round:
- give a random player of each team a key (if a team is without players yet, continue waiting), but do not show the key to others yet
- wait some time for preparation (about 10s maybe?). In that time, only the team mates know that they have the key. The enemy gets a message "Scanning for enemy key tracking signal..." in the meantime.
- make key visible to everyone (add waypoint sprite above head)

If a player owning a key dies:
- item gets dropped and still sends out signal

If a key gets lost (lies on the floor for too long or ends up in nodrop):
- Last owning team loses the round

If all keys are owned by the same team AND the key carriers are close enough to each other:
- That team wins

At end of round:
- Winning team stays alive, losing team all respawn (?, maybe not)
- Keys get redistributed (as always, the actual distribution is hidden for some time, only the key carrier himself knows and maybe his own team too)

Scoring:
- Frag: 1pt
- Key carrier frag: 2pt
- Collecting a key: 3pt -> total 5pt for stealing a key
- Winning a round by capturing all keys: the winners gets 100pt distributed among them
- Winning a round because another team lost a key: 100pt get distributed among all winners, however, key carriers among these winners get preferred (like, 100-keycarriers*10 pt among all, additional 10pt for each key carrier)

To make it playable even for "noobs", I would add some waypoint sprites:
- Enemy key carrier: ATTACK
- Team mate key carrier: PROTECT
- Team mate key carrier if you hold a key and all keys are in your team: GO HERE or something like that
- Lost key: COLLECT

One should note that this idea only works on large maps if teamplay should actually happen - dieselpower would be at most a 3on3 map for that... but it would work on any huge DM map. Even MikeeUSA's maps may be useful for this...

But, big problem: how to name that mode? And what are the keys?

As for graphics, the keys could be the rune model from runematch - and actually have the rune's effect on the player (but just runes then, no curses - a carrier is already quite handicapped because everyone knows where he is, the keys send out a tracking signal so he gets hunted down and can't camp). Someone can carry multiple keys, just like in runematch...

[divVerent]

BTW, a DM variant of this does not need to be coded... a DM variant of this basically is runematch, just slightly different scoring and curses as handicap instead of waypoints.

List of maps where this may work:

- cbctf4: 5on5
- dieselpower: 3on3
- oilrig: 2on2
- facing worlds: 2on2 (should work)
- capturecity: 3on3

Not sure how gameplay behaves with 3 or 4 teams, may allow for more players and more action then. When I have coded it, I'll probably start a maxplayers 8 server for 2 teams or a maxplayers 12 server for the 3 teams variant.

[GreEn`mArine]

So basically it is a bit like CTF. BUT the Flag per team isn't at a static place but carried by one player, whose location is visible to the enemy all the time. That mod sounds really cool!

About respawning the team that jsut lost a round: well, if you do so it's a bit like a punishment for the team that just lost, because it might have been very close to the two enemy key carriers and could have taken one or two of them down. It's not that I criticise that, I just mention it. For me respawning it sounds OK.

For the name of the mod: NO IDEA - But it definetely soudns even more interesting that CTF !

[divVerent]

Just not sure how it works for more than two teams.

But I suppose it allows to put more players on the same map - more teams means that once a key carrier is killed, chances are that they key still ends up in another team than the other keys, so the game continues and does not end that fast.

Communication won't be THAT important, but teamplay will - everyone knows where the key carriers are, so they are under constant attack and need support. That "tracking device" should really be helpful.

And yes, the situation is quite similar to CTF crosscaptures. That's intended... it is IMHO the most fun situation in CTF.

Just... what ARE the keys... what are they for, and how to call the game mode then...

[divVerent]

Game mode name ideas:

• hah (half and half), but then the three-team variant would be called tatat and the four team variant fafafaf...)
• trm (Team Runematch): bad IMHO, it is not similar enough to Runematch for that
• otp (One-Time Pad): a bit too geeky I think... but it would fit: each key would be a random bit string with no patterns whatsoever, only XORing them all would yield the message. Only problem... one could just make a copy of his key..
• rr (Rune Runner)

[Clueless Newbie]

But, big problem: how to name that mode? And what are the keys?

How about "KeyCap"? Since it's about Capturing Keys.

"Key Hunt", maybe?

What do you mean "what are the keys"? I thought they were keys?

[divVerent]

Yes, but keys for what? That's the problem... why do you immediately win once all are in one player's hands?

But "key hunt" sounds nice.

[GreEn`mArine]

I have a question about the visibility of the keys: if I am in team A in a match with the two teams A and B: would I see the sprites of both key carriers (if both teams still posses their own key) ? If so, how can I distinguish which key is ment ?

And is it possible for a key-carrier to collect another key ?

[divVerent]

The keys have a tracking device that sends a signal to the team mates of its carrier. However, 10s after round start, the enemies have scanned the tracking frequency and thus everyone sees the key.

So, apart from the preparation stage, everyone can see every key carrier.

As the keys are basically all equal, it does not matter which key is which - but I'd like to color them differently anyway. Red team will start with a red key, blue team will start with a blue key, but for the game, the colors do not matter.

A key carrier should of course be able to carry multiple keys. Fragging him then yields more frags, of course...

[Clueless Newbie]

Yes, but keys for what? That's the problem... why do you immediately win once all are in one player's hands?

Cuz... it's just a game?

Instead of keys, they could be marbles, skulls, coins, fish, pencils, crystals... anything, really. Doesn't have to make sense.