Q2CTF
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Quake II ThreeWave Capture the Flag also known as Zoid's CTF, or Q2CTF, or simply (Vanilla) CTF within the Quake II community, is an objective-based teamplay mod for Quake II inspired by the traditional Capture the Flag game.
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[edit] Description
The readme file that came with the mod provided an explanation of the game:
| “ | Attack the enemy base, grab their flag, then take it back to your base. In this variation you must touch your base flag when carrying the enemy flag in order to score - if your flag isn't at your base when you return, you or your team must get it back to gain points and captures. | „ |
[edit] The Grapple
| “ | That there is a T-56 Grappling Assembly. In this exercise you will use it to
escape and evade the opposing team. |
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—Sergeant Boomer |
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The release of ThreeWave CTF, introduced the grapple to the world of Quake II. Technically the grapple is a weapon and the hook can indeed do damage. However the primary feature is that it enables the player to travel around the map at greater speeds and access places that are not normally easy to reach. The grapple is sometimes regarded as the signature item of the mod, perhaps even more so than the flag.
[edit] Tech Power-ups
At the start of the game, four different tech power-ups randomly spawn on the map. A player can only carry one tech at a time. They appear as spinning rings with symbols inside. The four techs are:
- The Power Amplifier (aka pamp, amp) Symbol is a large, yellow nail. This increases weapon damage given out, by default it doubles the damage from all weapons fired by the bearer of the tech. Often considered as the most important tech, it is usually given to the defender.
- The Disruptor Shield (aka dis) Signified by a large gear. This reduces all damage effects on the bearer. By default this halves all damage taken by the bearer, however the bearer's armour will sustain the full effect of damage.
- The Time Accelerator (aka accel, haste) Symbolised by a pair of wings. Increase weapon firing rate. By default this doubles the firing rate of all weapons.
- The Auto Doc (aka doc, regen) Logo is a red cross. This tech regenerates health and armor constantly. Generation is in effect until a maximum of 150 health and armour. Along with the power amplifier this is often the most sought-after tech.
[edit] Mods
This section does not include mods that are inspired by Q2CTF but those mods that merely increase functionality without much change in the gameplay.
- L-fire CTF
[edit] Communities
[edit] Matchplay Roles
While Q2CTF could be played without any form of teamplay or responsibility, early on it became clear that match victory is best achieved by allocating roles to team members and developing map-specific strategies. Typically players organise themselves into roles that involve defensive, offensive or specialised jobs. In maps with quads the team's ability to time the quad's spawn accurately was determined to be pivotal to victory and often scripts or external 'quad timers' were brought into use and have been the subject of much controversy.
- defender This is a player, typically picked for his/her weapon aiming ability, and has the job of defending the flag or base from attacking enemies. Sometimes the defender is tasked with supporting the team in midfield when necessary but usually from the safety of an onlooking vantage point.
The defender often has priority on any tech acquired for the team and the Power Amplifier is invariably given to the defender. If there are many players in the team or the map layout is such that a strong defence is helpful, two or more defenders are used however there is always a single player considered as the main defender.
- quad attack (booster) The more expert teams have a player who is supported in every way possible to get hold of the quad in order to mount an effective attack on the enemy base. Typically the team would feed the booster with a powershield and cells, the autodoc or disruptor and fend off any enemies from around the quad area so that the booster can collect the quad when it spawns.
- support Those without a specific role are classed as support players and generally act as body-shields, item-hoovers or midfield clearers.
- grappler Often a team might have a specialised grapple-only role who is particularly skilled with the use of the grapple, not only in the sense of speed but evasiveness - this member should escape with the flag to the route which will see the enemy defence being weakened and killed.
[edit] Leagues
- OGL (USA) Usually, this ran 4v4 ladders
- OGL, CLL, Clanbase (mainland Europe) The common mode was 5v5 with the BFG off. ClanBase was founded as a Dutch Q2CTF ladder in 1998 and is currently one of the largest online gaming leagues in the world.
- Savage (UK) Sunday evening matches played 6v6 with the BFG on. Savage itself began as a Q2CTF league.
- LCQ (Chile) Used the off-hand version of the grapple and air-acceleration.
[edit] The BFG
The BFG is the most controversial weapon. Different regions of servers often had different rules, a significant majority of UK servers kept the BFG enabled, while European servers opted to disable it altogether. The arguments surrounding the use of the weapon are often centralised with balancing the game, and the perception of skill required to use the weapon.
[edit] Official Releases and Maps
[edit] Initial release
Included the following maps:
- McKinley Revival (q2ctf1)
- Stronghold Opposition (q2ctf2)
- The Smelter (q2ctf3)
- Outlands (q2ctf4)
- Capture Showdown (q2ctf5)
[edit] Release 1.01
Minor changes.
[edit] Release 1.02
Minor changes.
[edit] Release 1.50
New features and the following maps:
- Borders Canyon (q2ctf6)
- Boxed In (q2ctf7)
- The Hangar Scenario (q2ctf8)
