[SUGGESTION] New game type: Hunting

I got an idea for a new, exciting game type:
Hunting

- players connect to the server and are able to walk around for heat-up
- players vote for ready
- match starts, everyone is running around to get some weapons and such. In this part of a round, no one gets points for killing, and everyone has a respawn shield. This lasts for 5 to 15 seconds. Anyone can of corse shoot and disable his shield earlier but will not benefit from it. Global count-down is shown to all players.
- countdown reached the bottom - rounds starts. Players are randomly arranged in a list by server:

#1 Goo-Fighter
#2 the only true virgin
#3 iDrinkBleachForFun
#4 your~own~butt

The goal is to kill your target. Anyone sees his target just like players see the marker over "FLAG CARRIER" or "BLUE BASE". If someone kills anyone else by mistake of for fun - he is being punished with a loose of one point (just like for a suicuide in DM). If he kills his target, he gets a reward of one point. Simple. Anyone chases the player that is next in the list (and the last one chases the first one). If anyone get killed he is being swapped with his killer in the list - that changes the hunter-target chain.

If you didn't get it, let me give you an example:

According to the list, that server have randomly created, player named Goo-Fighter has to kill the only true virgin. He kills his~own~butt by pushing him accidentally into the botomless pit: he gets a score of -1.
What happens?
iDrinkBleachForFun losts his target. He has still 0 points in the table. He has to be given a new target. It is the killer of his previous target: Goo-Fighter
your~own~butt gots a new target after respawn - the one his killer had: the only true virgin.

Initial:

#1 Goo-Fighter
#2 the only true virgin
#3 iDrinkBleachForFun
#4 your~own~butt

Accident (bold text indicates what changed):

#1 Goo-Fighter [SCORE: -1]
#2 the only true virgin
#3 iDrinkBleachForFun
#4 your~own~butt [KILLED by #1]

Swap the #1 with #4 (swap killer with victim):

#4 your~own~butt
#2 the only true virgin
#3 iDrinkBleachForFun
#1 Goo-Fighter [SCORE: -1]

Same happens when someone kills his target (only scores go opposite way). Say that the only true virgin killed her target - iDrinkBleachForFun:

#4 your~own~butt
#2 the only true virgin [SCORE: 1]
#3 iDrinkBleachForFun [DEAD]
#1 Goo-Fighter [SCORE: -1]

After swap:

#4 your~own~butt
#3 iDrinkBleachForFun
#2 the only true virgin [SCORE: 1]
#1 Goo-Fighter [SCORE: -1]

After you got killed by your hunter, you hunt him It will keep on going like this until the score or time limit is reached. Then players elect another map and play again or play another round on the same map. Just like in every other gametype.

What do you think?
Got any ideas to improve this concept?

Seen this kind of gametype before, think its a neat variation on DM type gamemodes.

I've seen something like this before too. Can't remember what game it was, but I think the game mode was called assassin. I don't think the system for assigning targets was what you describe here. If it was, then I don't think it could have worked.

I'm pretty sure your target should only change if you or your target die. What do you expect players to do about the person targeting them? Should you really lose a frag for defending yourself? Should you have to switch targets every time you fend off the person targeting you?

Picture this, you fire a rocket at your target, but just then, he kills his target. Suddenly, he's not your target anymore. Not only do you lose a point for killing him, but if you do, then whoever is targeting you also has their target suddenly change.

If your target changes every time the player you're targeting kills someone, (their own target or not) then targets would be switching so fast and erratically that the game would essentially be deathmatch with randomized scoring.

This could be a cool mode, with a few changes.
1. You don't know who is targeting you.
2. You can kill who is targeting you.
3. Your target is constant, unless he is killed. You are then given a new target (to fix contrarian's note)
Your target is written in a corner of the hud, and when it changes you get a centerprint.

Having a constant target is a must. Tribes 2 had a game mode like this, but all the players hunted one person. However it was a typical Tribes map in that its relative size was a couple square kilometers, so hunters and hunted could be spread very far apart or the hunted could evade all but the best hunters at movement and then pick them off slowly. I like Roanoke's suggestions a lot.

So we might remove the punishment for killing someone else than a target and create a different system to manage who is chasing who.

Let's say that one's target will not change until he is killed. Then he might be killed by his chaser or someone else. If someone else kills your target or it dies some other way, you get a new target.
But who?
And how to make it work that no one is being a target for two or more players?
Is it possible without swapping?

There might be a different solution for this:

There is a time cycle (like in NixNex) - not weapons are changing, but everyone gets a new target (random rearrange of the list) The goal then is to reach your target and avoid being killed before the cycle changes it. Global countdown in the center of the screen is needed then.

If you get killed - you respawn like in DM and try to kill your target anyway before the change. If you kill your target before the change - you have a chance to kill him again and get another point

I disagree. Here's my solution: You can kill two people, your target and the person who is targeting you.
If someone kills your target, your new target is the killer of your old target. Here's an example.
Alice is targeting Bob.
Bob is targeting Carl.
Carl is targeting Dan.
Dan is targeting Eve.
Eve is targeting Alice.

Alice frags Eve, Eve is taken out of the running. Recap:
Alice is targeting Bob.
Bob is targeting Carl.
Carl is targeting Dan.
Dan is targeting Alice.

Bob frags Carl.
Alice is targeting Bob.
Bob is targeting Dan.
Dan is targeting Alice.

Dan frags Alice.
Bob is targeting Dan.
Dan is targeting Bob.

As you can see, it all works out. Please point out errors if you see one. Nixnex style swapping is confusing.

This looks nice! A bit like Last Man Standing.

I was thinking about it, but I wanted to fix the one disadvantage of LMS: more and more players are not plaing but only watchoing as the game moves on.

But here it would go faster. We might want to test how this would be working in the game. Any idea?

I like Roanoke's idea, but maybe it would be better to just have everyone keep the target they were given until they kill it. No penalty for killing other players, but you will get a single point for killing the person hunting you. Two points for killing the person you're hunting. Standard -1 point and -1 frag per suicide. If you kill your target you get a new target, not necessarily the next in sequence on the scoreboard or server list, just the next player who is not targeted. If someone else frags your target nothing should happen, but your target will respawn. I think this gamemode should be different from LMS in that you don't get a certain number of lives, its just a timed event (or scorecapped). Best scorer wins.

I like Roanoke's idea, but maybe it would be better to just have everyone keep the target they were given until they kill it. No penalty for killing other players, but you will get a single point for killing the person hunting you. Two points for killing the person you're hunting. Standard -1 point and -1 frag per suicide. If you kill your target you get a new target, not necessarily the next in sequence on the scoreboard or server list, just the next player who is not targeted. If someone else frags your target nothing should happen, but your target will respawn. I think this gamemode should be different from LMS in that you don't get a certain number of lives, its just a timed event (or scorecapped). Best scorer wins.

That's what I did. Nobody's target changed until that target was fragged. I dunno if respawns are a good idea, but I might be wrong.

I think respawning like in DM is a good thing. We don't want just a different LMS.

We should stop speculating and have gameplay trials.

We should stop speculating and have gameplay trials.

I agree.

We need someone who can code this and make it playable. Then further tweaking shall occur

How about 1 person becomes 'prey', and that individual is given a quad + laser only. Other players are 'hunters'. They can pickup any weapon available. Prey gets 3 pts per kill. Hunters get 1 pt for killing another hunter, and gets 5 pts for killing prey. Game ends at 50 pts or time limit.

How about 1 person becomes 'prey', and that individual is given a quad + laser only. Other players are 'hunters'. They can pickup any weapon available. Prey gets 3 pts per kill. Hunters get 1 pt for killing another hunter, and gets 5 pts for killing prey. Game ends at 50 pts or time limit.

This is not only a completely different game, but unbalanced. A few rifle headshots from across the map and the quad laser sucker gets pwnt.

How about 1 person becomes 'prey', and that individual is given a quad + laser only. Other players are 'hunters'. They can pickup any weapon available. Prey gets 3 pts per kill. Hunters get 1 pt for killing another hunter, and gets 5 pts for killing prey. Game ends at 50 pts or time limit.

This is not only a completely different game, but unbalanced. A few rifle headshots from across the map and the quad laser sucker gets pwnt.

Once the 'hunter' kills the 'prey', he then becomes the hunted. Therefore, his snipe from across the map would only be followed up by quad laser shots. You are right, this is a completely different game. It's similar to cat and mouse on the first ghost recon (pc version).

The multiple targeting in the version mentioned above means each player would have to have some kind of visual indicator of who was the target and who was hunting them, in order for point scoring to be effective. Maybe have an indicator over their heads like fc's do in ctf. In the end, though, it seems that for any number of players, the game would come down to 1 v 2, you v (your prey + your hunter). My version is all v one, with that one changing after the prey dies.

Give me a quad and a laser and I'll become very very dangerous

...once I get the quad I often play with laser only. Especially on space maps. Best fun you can have.

You are right, this is a completely different game. It's similar to cat and mouse on the first ghost recon (pc version).

Perhaps this thread should be kept on topic and not hijacked, then?

I Agree with Roanoke - if you guys have some different idea - please create another thread for it.
Here I'd like to design a gametype where every player is looking for one another in a chain, NOT all players chasing one. There was such a gametype in Unreal Tournament 2004: Mutant.

I have no objections if you'd like to talk about that idea, GT_Gene - but please not in this thread.

Sounds fun, but wouldn't it get a little confusing once you have lots of people playing (like 10+)? Your target might change quite quickly because of the game's fast pace.

Give me a quad and a laser and I'll become very very dangerous

...once I get the quad I often play with laser only. Especially on space maps. Best fun you can have.

Heheh, laser + quad is awesome

Sounds fun, but wouldn't it get a little confusing once you have lots of people playing (like 10+)? Your target might change quite quickly because of the game's fast pace.

With proper maps, it would be difficult to find the target. And besides, each person can only frag two different players without a penalty.

I think that the penalty along with rewards should be configurable just like frag limit and timelimit.

Hunter Reward - points given a player when he kills his target
Target Reward - points given to player when he kills his seeker
Penalty - negative points given to player when he kills other players (nor his target or seeker)

My preposition for defaults is:

HR = 2
TR = 1
P = 0

Sounds good, but P should be -1.

Ok, let me make a summary of the Hunting gametype:

- every player has assigned target (T) and hunter (H)
- the goal is to kill your T, and don't get killed by your H
- if you kill your T you get HR (hunter reward) points
- if you kill your H you get TR (target reward) points
- once you kill your T or get killed by your H you get a new T
- if you kill another player (not your T or H) you get punished with P points
- HR, TR and P values are customizable, defaults are: HR = 2, TR = 1, P = -1
- your T and your H has a all-time-visible marker above them, so you know who to chase and who to avoid
- no player can be chased by more than one H at once
- no player can have more than one T at once
- if you have killed your T, and there are no players without H at the moment, you have to wait until the game gives you another T. You might go and kill your H instead, or get some goods

* blue: added

Sounds fun.

You gotta think about balancing, though. In case this game type is intended to keep your target even when you get killed by your hunter, then logic tells me that a game like this would automatically turn into a noobs vs pros game. A noob will have difficulties hunting down his target, so that target remains for a long time. Whereas a good player will be able to quickly hunt down any noob target. As noobs die faster than pros, any player is more likely to get a noob target assigned.

Therefore it'd be important to get a new target upon every respawn.