Randomized Maps in Team Fortress 2 Explained

Given the amount of time that gamers have been playing the original Team Fortress, it's no wonder that Valve has designed the upcoming Team Fortress 2 with longevity in mind. One aspect of that design process is map layout: a randomization algorithm will reconfigure the map every time a game is launched. The result will be a multiplayer game requiring much more than simple map memorization and sniper rifle spawn camping. The post on Computer and Videogames offers a video featuring project lead Robin Walker describing the complicated process of making every random map work well. "As for how the dynamic maps work in practice, that was hard to judge. The match we played on Hydro, the first map to use this special game mode, was enormous fun. But as extensive as our playtest was, they didn't let us play on the map for three years, and that's the kind of heavy use under which this system should flourish. What we did notice is that this is not just a Battlefield type system with some control points 'locked'. When a point is not in play, routes to that section of the map are physically blocked off, so the physical shape of the map is different for every combination of points. That forces you to revise your mental picture of the map, and see it as fresh again."

Comments

Nice

[Mephistophocles]

That's been a long time in coming. Halo 3 multi-player developers take note...

Re:Nice

[HappySqurriel]

That's been a long time in coming. Halo 3 multi-player developers take note...

I don't think I'm particularly unique, but I have been thinking about this since Unreal Tournament was released ...

If you designed a (very) large level with 4 or 8 seperate paths/areas then your level could be (somewhat) randomized or load balanced (depending on the number of players on the server) to maintain the fun. I could be wrong but I have always thought that when small levels become overcrowded, or large levels have too few players, the game is simply not fun ...

Re:Nice

[Mephistophocles]

Interesting suggestion - in fact, that creates the possibility of a middle-of-the-road approach to this - so that you're not just randomizing maps to get rid of campers. In other words, you do get rid of the camper problem and create some diversity to the map so that it doesn't get boring, but it's still possible to develop a good, powerful strategy for how to play it.

Re:Nice

[MetalliQaZ]

Soldier of Fortune 2 had randomized multiplayer maps many years ago.

-d

Re:Nice

[twistedsymphony]

You know what's funny. Perfect Dark Zero does exactly that... it's just too bad the gameplay in that game is so kludgey that it's not worth playing, even with all of the ridiculously cool and unique features that game has to offer.

I never understood.

[CastrTroy]

I never understood why they had specific places where the player respawned. While you'd want to ensure that you didn't respawn someone right above a hole, it makes more sense to just respawn the player in a random location. Except in CTF where the player should always be spawned at their base.

Re:I never understood.

[LehiNephi]

Specific weapon and other item spawns are important for a few reasons. First, when you spawn and need a weapon, it's good to know where you can get one. It's no fun running around a map looking for a weapon while those who already have weapons try to snipe you. The same goes for health packs when you're hurt. Second, in many FPS games, well-placed weapon/ammo/shield/health spawns actually become a part of the strategy, particularly in deathmatch mode. I've never seen it personally, but apparently when there are multiple high-level players on the same map, they will often converge on (for example) the location of a shield pickup just as it is respawning. Third, a consistent map allows players to "get to know" it better. You learn where the good camping sites are, where a good hiding spot is, how to get from point A to point B fastest, etc. Yes, noobs won't know where everything is at first, but they'll learn quickly. That *won't* happen if the map is different every time.

Some measure of randomness in a map, as this story illustrates, can add to the dynamic nature of a game. Blocking some paths and opening others on a given map can force a different strategy on a player or team without throwing them into an entirely alien environment. In other words, it forces adaptation while maintaining familiarity.

TF2 RL

[beef623]

Sounds like a great idea to me but I have one question. Can I have an @ for my player mesh?

Dumbing down of FPSs

[Mprx]

This is part of the ongoing trend to reduce the advantage of skill and make outcomes more random.

The elements of skill at FPSs:
1. Twitch
2. Map control
3. Enemy prediction
4. Self unpredictability

Twitch is pretty much dead now that FPSs are designed for consoles, and usually running at 30fps. Success at twitch requires good genetics (fast reaction time is critical), and obsessive training (so it can become subconscious, if you have to think you'll be to slow), so understandably it is not popular with all gamers. Therefore the game designers add autoaim and weapon spread to make it less important.

Map control requires great memorization and 3d visualization skills. You need to know where every chokepoint, every item spawn, every enemy spawn is, and be able to instantly visualize every route between any two arbitrary points on the map. This isn't so limited by genetics, but if still requires a lot of effort, and again repels the "casual" gamers. Randomizing the maps makes this skill less important.

At the tactical level, enemy prediction and self unpredictability are closely related to map control. There's a constant tension between needing to control the map and avoiding predictable behavior. Things like knowing high traffic areas to fire a rocket into without looking, and knowing where an enemy is most likely to appear after seeing them briefly all depend on map knowledge. These last two skills are not completely eliminated by random maps, only reduced to skill at highly local movement.

Map randomization helps reduce multiplayer FPS from a legitimate competitive sport to just another amusement.

Re:Dumbing down of FPSs

[dmwst30]

Imagine that, playing a game for fun instead of as a "sport". What is the world coming to?

Re:Dumbing down of FPSs

[skobar]

exactly! Too many people see changes to their beloved FPS games as something bad for competition. They are so used to play 1 way that they don't want to try a new way. I wonder if those people are even having fun anymore.. Every time they get kill they need to break something because of the frustration. (Like a mouse or a keyboard)

Re:Dumbing down of FPSs

[foxtrot]

Map randomization helps reduce multiplayer FPS from a legitimate competitive sport to just another amusement.

I disagree: It adds a new feature to "map control", and that's "reconnaissance." If you don't know what the map looks like up front, you have to determine what it looks like, and then you can attempt control just like in any other map.

A randomized map still has chokepoints, item spawns, and enemy spawns. Figure them out before the other guy does.

-F

Re:Dumbing down of FPSs

[Das Modell]

This is part of the ongoing trend to reduce the advantage of skill and make outcomes more random.

Playing a dynamic and possibly unpredictable map takes far more skill than playing de_dust for seven years non-stop.

Twitch is pretty much dead now that FPSs are designed for consoles

Console FPS games are designed for consoles.

Therefore the game designers add autoaim and weapon spread to make it less important.

They're added because the games are played with gamepads, which are not as good as mice. It's not a sinister conspiracy againts pro-players.

Map control requires great memorization and 3d visualization skills. You need to know where every chokepoint, every item spawn, every enemy spawn is, and be able to instantly visualize every route between any two arbitrary points on the map.

You make it sound so amazing and difficult, when in fact it's completely mundane. It doesn't take long to memorize a map from top to bottom, and visualizing it is not an issue when you've played it for several years.

Your argument seems to boil down to the fact that you want your FPS games to be rigid, predictable systems where everything can be calculated and measured for optimal efficiency and nothing unexpected ever occurs. God forbid that the game could place you in a situation where you are not exactly sure what will happen next. Can't have that.

Map randomization helps reduce multiplayer FPS from a legitimate competitive sport to just another amusement.

Honestly, I don't give a fuck about your e-penis e-"sports." I, like most people, play FPS games for my own amusement.

Dumber? No.

[4iedBandit]

Dynamic maps make the game smarter. You can no longer play a map endlessly till you have it so memorized you can do it in your sleep.

This adds another aspect to playing the game. You know what you have to do, but now you also need to explore the map and find the weapons, find the best choke points all while the other team is doing the same thing. And you have to do this every single time.

Team communication is going to be even more important now. Your team will have to be dynamic and adaptable to not only the enemy, but to the terrain as well.

As far as I'm concerned, eliminating the blind rush to see who can get the super weapon/power up first is a good thing. Making players think more is not making the game dumber. People who don't like to think, who don't like new challenges every time they enter the game, won't like it.

I stopped playing FPS' because I was bored with the maps. People played the same maps over and over and over and over. It was always a mad rush to the same known locations. While that can be fun too, after a while I need some variety.