Why not make a Capture the Flag gamemode?

afmghost·Apr 28, 2019·1 votes·2,030 views

Simple rules: First team to get the enemy flag and bring it back to their own base wins.

You could make it so flag carriers have debuffs, maybe? And attract all agro?

It shouldn't be too hard to design, right?

6 Comments

ChaosReynApr 28, 20191 votes

If it was just one cap wins, I wouldn't wanna play it.

Maybe like how Warsong Gulch went in WoW, where it was "however many in x time, or first to y wins.

There should be multiple win conditions, and it should be something both interactive and entertaining. Though I would like to see something like this happen. I would also have some pretty specific calls on the flag debuffs:

ALL Stealth becomes camouflage - camouflage radius is set to 1500 units (so you can stealth, but you can be seen from much farther away than a typical sight radius, which makes it less gamebreaking)
Units carrying the flag move slower (thinking 25% slow, may consider up to 40%)
Units carrying the flag will drop the flag if they are in combat or channeling (the "channeling" rule denies Kench, TF, Panth, Galio, and Fiddle ults from being used to cross great/key distances with the flag, as well as stopping the obvious "grab the flag and recall!" plan. important note: This does not stop Ryze with his ult, nor does it stop Kench from ferrying a flag carrier - though Kench himself from carrying the flag and ulting with it.

Another thing I'm sure people would be stuck on is the map. Think about it - you cant have towers in CTF, or there'd be no paths...or can you? The map is something that should evolve and change - I vote that the capture map be Icathia themed, so that we can justify changing the map with RNG every so often to influence paths, give secondary objectives, and more by saying it's from the instabilities associated with the Void.

We should also determine how the flag setup works - a one flag system would make more sense from this thematic, as it'd be like two teams fighting over an objective that spawns in a middle, neutral location (i.e. Void Crystals or some random, rare yet valuable thing that can also respawn and set up the next point) Another way could be to consider it like a two-sided "excavation" and place multiple (like 3-5) objectives around the map, and make it an important note to both collect the objectives, and guard your own from being taken by ninja opponents. Whoever has more by x amount of time wins, and if it's a tie, then it becomes the first to either claim an objective, or the first to remove an objective from the enemy base.

As you can see, there's a lot more that has to go into making this than you probably originally thought. But maybe with more ideas like these, it'll give more ideas to Rioter lurkers that may actually be looking into this without our knowing.

afmghostApr 28, 20192 votes

{quoted}

If it was just one cap wins, I wouldn't wanna play it.

I mean if you get fed enough and cap once, you're going to be strong enough to capture thrice with ease. Looking back, a thirty minute ace would be enough to score.

Maybe like how Warsong Gulch went in WoW, where it was "however many in x time, or first to y wins.

Don't play wow. Sorry.

There should be multiple win conditions, and it should be something both interactive and entertaining. Though I would like to see something like this happen. I would also have some pretty specific calls on the flag debuffs:

ALL Stealth becomes camouflage - camouflage radius is set to 1500 units (so you can stealth, but you can be seen from much farther away than a typical sight radius, which makes it less gamebreaking)

Units carrying the flag move slower (thinking 25% slow, may consider up to 40%)

I was thinking they have a slight slow, unable to fight or use any skills, and is constantly revealed. I think the goal should be emulating having to run with a flag in your hands, making it hard to use a two handed axe, rifle, or whatever else.

Units carrying the flag will drop the flag if they are in combat or channeling (the "channeling" rule denies Kench, TF, Panth, Galio, and Fiddle ults from being used to cross great/key distances with the flag, as well as stopping the obvious "grab the flag and recall!" plan. important note: This does not stop Ryze with his ult, nor does it stop Kench from ferrying a flag carrier - though Kench himself from carrying the flag and ulting with it.

I feel as if moves such as Ryze ult or tahm ult would be a bit too busted. In fact the only effects allies should provide are healing and shields.

Another thing I'm sure people would be stuck on is the map. Think about it - you cant have towers in CTF, or there'd be no paths...or can you?

I mean there should be good map design here. There should be plenty of backdoor paths that take longer to follow but can prevent tower attention (like the jungle in SR). Remember, flag carriers are revealed globally, so you can't be hidden both ways.

The map is something that should evolve and change - I vote that the capture map be Icathia themed, so that we can justify changing the map with RNG every so often to influence paths, give secondary objectives, and more by saying it's from the instabilities associated with the Void.

Not sure what icathia is

We should also determine how the flag setup works - a one flag system would make more sense from this thematic, as it'd be like two teams fighting over an objective that spawns in a middle, neutral location (i.e. Void Crystals or some random, rare yet valuable thing that can also respawn and set up the next point)

Maybe a one flag CTF, where the flag is a bomb or something that goes to the enemy base.

Another way could be to consider it like a two-sided "excavation" and place multiple (like 3-5) objectives around the map, and make it an important note to both collect the objectives, and guard your own from being taken by ninja opponents. Whoever has more by x amount of time wins, and if it's a tie, then it becomes the first to either claim an objective, or the first to remove an objective from the enemy base.

Seems more like Dominion at that point. I mean it's more like holding more points, not retrieving an object owned by the enemy team and then getting to safety.

As you can see, there's a lot more that has to go into making this than you probably originally thought. But maybe with more ideas like these, it'll give more ideas to Rioter lurkers that may actually be looking into this without our knowing.

Fat chance lol.

ChaosReynApr 29, 20191 votes

Seems more like Dominion at that point. I mean it's more like holding more points, not retrieving an object owned by the enemy team and then getting to safety.

Sorry...I didn't give enough information. What I meant was that you have 3 or 5 flags that spawn once across the map, and then they're freely moved from one base to another, and can/should be stolen from the enemy base once the neutrals are claimed - sort of like a combination between the neutral flag mode, and the "steal the enemy flag" mode, with multiple flags. In this particular case, the win conditions would be something like

Control (bring to your base and keep) all 3 (or 5) at one time.
Have majority by time limit
In case of a tie, 1st to break the tie by claiming the odd piece, OR first to remove a piece from enemy base (thus lowering the score of the enemy) In the case of Dominion, you held stagnant points that couldn't be moved. In this, you claim pieces, move them to your base, and then fight your enemies to both claim the neutral piece, AND steal the pieces they've claimed. Though not "standard" CTF, it's still very much in the spirit of CTF.

Not sure what icathia is

Icathia is known as "The Lost City" where the fabric between Runeterra and The Void is torn open. (Its where champions like Cho'Gath and Kog'Maw entered the game from.) Basically, from a lore standpoint, much can be learned, reclaimed, or harvested from the area, which is a perfect theme to base a CTF style "get this before your opponents" gamemode could take place. Its also a great place for the map because we have lore-based reasons why the map can morph. This can force changes in the paths you take, make things less stagnant, and overall keep the game from feeling like a boring, "take this path or you're doing it wrong" kind of map. At least in my opinion, this is a gold mine for a gamemode like CTF. I'm sure there's other ways they can set it up, but that area is also pretty underdeveloped.

We've got SR based somewhere in the cliffs around Demacia/Noxus (at least I think) HA (ARAM) based in the Freljord (or on occasion BB in Bilgewater) And TT somewhere within the Shadow Isles. Dominion was held in the Crystal Scar, which allegedly was somewhere around in Shurima. We have the LGM with all the mini-game elements (Nexus Blitz..?) held somewhere in Ionia And we have that other LGM held somewhere either in the void, or in some celestial plane bs involving Targon, irdk where.

But Icathia itself is woefully left out - it'd be a perfect zone to develop with a new gamemode.

As for your other concerns, I think where we're missing each other's view of this is simply in our own expectations. We both want it to play similarly to League, and be a CTF map, but we both have wildly different ideas as to what a LoL CTF map should be like. For example, I don't want to overdo it on restrictions, and I want to accentuate the strengths and weaknesses of a champions's kit in a mode like this over following all of the classic rules of CTF - I'd like to see every champion to have their own unique reason to get picked in the mode. On the flipside of that, you want to focus far more on the elements of CTF over the champions/LoL feel in that regard. Not to say that's necessarily a bad thing - the best ideas need balance - but we're disagreeing on a lot because this would most certainly be new territory for LoL despite how classic CTF is across pretty much every other genre. You want to preserve the classics of each, and I want to play with all of the rules to make things flow in ways outside of those boundaries.

For the best idea possible, both disagreement and compromise in both of these fields can't be helped. :P

ColteApr 28, 20191 votes

i wouldn't play it with all the stuns and cc [slayer-jinx-unamused]

ChaosReynApr 29, 20191 votes

I'm gonna try it this way - I'm gonna throw out some ideas, and just hack away at them like you did earlier. I'll throw my second idea up in a different post, to keep them separate

#THE BASICS

Still 5v5

For this iteration, let's use the "Single Flag" version - Deliver the bomb to the enemy base.

For a "single bomb" mode, we'll say the map would have one large central lane, a couple of small side lanes, and plenty of "jungle" area. The bomb will spawn in the center of the large lane. (I'll put some placeholder map in here somewhere, for a general idea. It may or may not be from a different game, and will almost certainly be out of theme) For the hell of it, let's say the theme of this is Piltover/Zaun

#THE BOMB I'm gonna keep most of your idea for this one

Champions that normally have Stealth of any kind will be revealed from stealth if they're carrying The Bomb. However, people carrying The Bomb will not be permanently visible - if they manage to get away from vision with The Bomb, they can still be hidden.
Bomb Carriers cannot attack or use abilities, including items - doing so drops The Bomb.
Carriers are slowed by 15%, and their trinket slot is occupied by The Bomb.
Normally, a 2.5 second channel is required to safely collect The Bomb.
Dropping The Bomb by using an ability or item, or by death, starts a timer. Allies and enemies can stop the timer by collecting The Bomb. If the timer isn't stopped, The Bomb detonates.
The timer will start at 60 seconds, but will continue to lose 5 seconds cumulatively as The Bomb is repeatedly dropped and reclaimed. The timer will reset to 10 seconds if reclaimed below 10 seconds. (this means you can more adequately defend against an aggressive push)
If The Bomb is not reclaimed before the timer expires, it detonates, pushing allies and enemies within 500 units of it a fixed 750 units away and dealing them 300 True damage. A new Bomb will then be summoned at the Bomb Zone in 10 seconds.
The Bomb (as a trinket) is the unique exception to the item rule - using your trinket will throw the bomb up to 300 units. Both enemies and allies can catch The Bomb by standing in the zone underneath it, effectively passing The Bomb. If The Bomb hits the ground, it removes 10 seconds from the timer immediately, then starts the timer. (This is my addition, and yes, that means if the timer is below 10 seconds, the bomb instantly detonates)

#THE GAME (WE LOST!) Let's throw some spice into this...

Champions start at level 3, with 1400 gold. Essentially, this mimics ARAM's starting setup, nice and simple.
Recall is enabled on this map (caveat, this will drop The Bomb) and in place of Teleport, this mode will reuse Clairvoyance (vision summoner spell from olden days) and everyone's standard Trinket item will be a sort of hybrid between Blue and Yellow - the blue trinket brief CV effect, with a 60s stealth ward, and a 120s CD. (this makes the game very much about actively keeping vision on the Bomb Carrier, without overlooking the skill needed for the Carrier to manage to sneak off by just permanently revealing them.)
The game ends when one team defends The Bomb until detonation within the Enemy's Inner Core.

#THE CORE One last kicker for a strong finale... >:D

Each team is attempting to defend their Core from being destroyed by The Bomb.
When The Bomb is detected within either Core, that team's players will temporarily gain bonuses:

15% damage reduction
50 adaptive force
10%CDR (can break cap)
10% bonus attack speed (this only comes into play if you're building attack speed - because you likely don't use CDR)
15% movement speed

The Core buff lasts for 45 seconds, and The Core will enter a 5 minute cooldown from the time of cast. If The Bomb enters the same Core within this 5 minute period, it will not trigger the buff.
The Inner Core is the area that The Bomb must be set to detonate. To set The Bomb, use the trinket, or walk to the Inner Core and it will automatically set The Bomb.
The whole of the core is similar in size to the stone-floored area that is your "base" in SR. The Inner Core would be larger than the area of The Nexus, but oriented near the back of The Core in a similar fashion.

#THE MAP http://media1.gameinformer.com/filestorage/CommunityServer.Components.SiteFiles/imagefeed/featured/blizzard/blizzcon2014/heroesofthestorm/BLIZZHEROFTHESTRCON_610B.jpg Credit this to Heroes of the Storm - this is NOT my actual map idea, just the best possible match from what I searched as for what I'd like to see.

Note the large area in the center where The Bomb would spawn, and the Gates to each Core that would need to be destroyed for entry. Also note - there's not really much of a base defense - the main defenses would have to come from the players. The Gates would need coordinated effort to break into, but the defenses that guard them are significantly weaker than the actual Gate - and none of it respawns. I would also suggest more area between the lanes for sneaky pathing compared to this model. The Inner Core would be somewhere within that inner circle (though not near the well)

Would that be sufficient for what you seek in this gamemode? If not, pick at the parts you're not feeling.

afmghostJun 28, 20191 votes