TF2 Mod Ideas

Now that “The TF2 SDK has arrived!” and mod-makers can go hog-wild, I thought I’d post some ideas for mods. (Honestly many could be sourcemods instead, or maybe even vscripts, but whatever. Fun TF2 Videogame Ideas Mode has been enabled for this post.)

Some mods are obvious and expected. Weapon-balance mods that seek to smooth over some of the worse kit that Valve has left untouched or in bad states, for one. Spring-cleaning type mods that clean up various neglected things including HUD changes or whatever performance improvements are still to be had beyond what 64-bit support has already delivered. So we’ll pass over those for some fun concepts. Also, a battle-royale is probably inevitable?

Passtime Pinball Mode.

Passtime, but with low-friction high-rebound collision physics in an attack-defend mode. One side gets the jack, the other gets bumpers. Attackers can boost themselves (either similar to demoknight charge or self-airblast), while defenders can teleport between fixed locations and use weapons to try to deflect the attackers. Defenders also can deploy buildings as engineer, with some specially-designed buildings to make it more pinball-esque.

PAC-HEAVY.

Heavy got too good at eating stuff… And now he eats everything. A variant of Versus Saxton Hale where the lone enemy is eater-heavy that can eat the other team. Bot ghosts also chase him, while the mercs have to run away.

Callouts Have Effects.

All those silly voice menu options, like calling someone a spy? Now they have in-game effects (and therefore cooldowns). Call for medic? The medic gets a bonus übercharge rate for healing you within 15 seconds, or a reduced charge rate if they do not! Correctly call out a disguised spy? Their disguise flickers for 10 seconds (from embarassment)! Incorrect? Lose a tenth of your health (also from embarassment)!

Doctor Frankenstein’s TF2 Calvinball.

A rocketlaunchers that shoot out minisentries (instant-deploy, low health, self-destruct after a few seconds). Sentryguns that shoot out random projectiles. Pyros with flamethrowers that heal teammates (by lighting them on fire; but watch out: enemy pyros can extinguish them!). Scouts that give other mercs piggyback rides. Whatever whacky ideas can be had.

Autobalance Mod.

Every time someone on one team kills someone on the other, they dead gets team-swapped. Game continues until one team is empty.

Nine-Lives.

A deathmatch mode similar to gungame in Counter-Strike, but where everyone starts as one class, and on kill you progress to the next, through all nine classes. (Order of class progression subject to testing.)

Master-Blaster Mode.

Players are paired, so that one controls movement, the other controls aiming and firing. Probably too awkward to be fun after the novelty wears off, but could be fun for a bit.

Demoknight Mini-Golf.

Using the demoknight charge paired with various obstacles and boosts built-in to the map, try to get to the end of the course in as few charges as possible. Trimping (making Demoman fly by charging up a slope that launches him in the air) opportunities galore.

Medic Escort.

Similar to The Hunted President mixed with Arena mode. You have to escort the whole team with only one medic through a gauntlet of pain. Medic is a ghost, so unkillable but can’t block incoming damage. The running team only wins if at least one team member makes it across alive.

Team Katamari Fortress 2 Damacy.

A tenth-class mod: your team is a ball of pain that cannot move. Only the ball-player (tenth class) can move the team, as it battles against another ball of mercs. I don’t think this is a bad idea: I know it is. But it was fun to think about for a minute or two.

Away-Team Fortress 2.

The attackers get beamed onto the defenders ship in space! Probably a keep-away KOTH mode where the defenders have to hold a single point for a couple of minutes. But I think there’s enough to the whole in space part of it that it could be cooler than just a one-point attack-defend mode. Airlocks, low gravity, high gravity, grappling hooks (from Mann Power mode). Like that.

Demoknight Pool.

A variation of “Demoknight Golf,” and probably two-player. At each turn, one of the players controls the demoknight (cue ball) and tries to hit the other mercs or balls or whatever serves as the other balls into the holes.

Combo-classes.

Merges nine classes into five combo-classes:

Sniper–Spy.

Can go invisible. No-scope rifle, sapper, butterfly knife.

Scout–Pyro.

Goes semi-fast, can double-jump, has afterburn immunity. Mini-flame-thrower, pistol, bat.

Heavy–Engineer.

A beefier engineer. Handheld mini-sentry, lunchbox, gunslinger.

Demo–Medic.

Passive self-healing. Stickybomb launcher (or shield), medigun, bottle of medicinal spirits (or sword-sized bonesaw).

Soldier–Soldier.

A soldierier soldier. Rocket launcher, single-shot RPG, hand-held rocket (a dud, except when it randomly crits, which acts like a caber).

Don’t Look Up.

Looking horizontally or higher causes self-damage, so both teams have to look at the floor most of the time as they play normal games of TF2. Look up when firing, or after healing, but most of the game, eyes on the ground.

Pyros versus Medics.

A team of pyros, a team of medics. The medics only have mediguns and have to stay linked, while the pyros only have airblast and have to unlink the medics. If a medic isn’t beamed for more than five seconds, they die. Played in stopwatch rounds, with the team lasting longer being the victor.

Would any of these actually be fun? Implementable? Dunno. It’s always been fun to speculate about weird-and-wacky TF2 ideas, and this was mostly an opportunity to do that, like in the old days.