Legacy:Mapping For Jailbreak/Team Deathmatch Or CTF

Team Deathmatch or CTF?

"It's TDM coz the object is to frag other players." "Nah it's CTF coz of the team bases"...

So what is it most like? TDM or CTF? This is also one of the more debated topics about Jailbreak… and to tell you the truth, I really couldn't make a choice between the two, honestly. So instead, I’ll say how Jailbreak is similar to each of them – this can influence the way you will design the layout of your map because obviously there is a huge difference between designing a DM level and designing a CTF level – and the way I explain it should show that it is a nice compromise between the two :-)

So… TDM. Obviously in Jailbreak you have to try and frag the other players as much as possible, like in TDM right? True, but fragging players can also sometimes be second priority to releasing your team, just as in CTF fragging is often second priority to capturing the flag. Jailbreak also needs team-colours to indicate which base you are in, and just like in CTF, the map should be designed to allow for defense points. On the other hand, unlike CTF, the release room should be hard to get into, but not necessarily hard to get out of (where in CTF the flagroom should not be too easy to get out of). Because you end up in Jail when you get fragged too, it means that it makes you value your life more than both TDM and CTF. Jailbreak is the perfect compromise in gameplay – it makes your life very valuable, so your first instinct is to hide... "Oh, but I have to rescue my team!"... so you can't hide, and you get points for releasing, so now it makes sense to attack instead of hiding… "But then I might die and cause the capture of my team!"... so maybe you should hide... "But they're relying on me to release them!"... so you have to attack!... Aaahhhhhhhhhh!!! Hehe. You choose :-)

So for the purpose of level design, lets say that in this sense it is good to design a level with at least some Z-axis, and with good connectivity for those one-on-one situations which are so common in Jailbreak (i.e. get anywhere in the map from anywhere in the map). CTF can sometimes be fun without a whole heap of Z-axis (Hydro16), whereas because of the Deathmatch element in Jailbreak, you really need to include some higher spots, so a player’s ability to move around the map doesn't go unrewarded. But obviously in Jailbreak there are two teams, and there are release switches. So your level won’t end up just like a Deathmatch level because you need to have clearly defined bases for the release switch, and just like in CTF, both symmetrical and asymmetrical layouts can be good. A good example of the mixture between CTF and DM layouts is my map JB-Phobos][ (UTJB) – it had the same theme as Inoxx’s original DM, and about the same amount of Z-axis (about four or five levels), but still had clearly defined bases and was symmetrical. Lots of routes in the centre, but only one way to the release switch… and it plays good. JB-Phobos][ is taking it to the extreme though in terms of z-axis :-)

So, in short – try to design your levels to cater for both styles of gameplay – think of what you like about a good Deathmatch level, or a good CTF level, and try to combine them to produce a design that works well, good luck, that’s always the fun part for me!

---

Previous: Legacy:Mapping For Jailbreak/Shooting From Jails – Next: Legacy:Mapping For Jailbreak/Risk Balance