Team Fortress Classic
May 5, 2012 9:30 PM Subscribe
Team Fortress Classic was a multiplayer mod for Half-Life 1. It featured a very unique gameplay element called a concussion grenade that allowed players to fly across the map at high speeds (learn about the history of TFC movement here). During the time it was played competitively, The Catacombs community put together Plays of the Week (Youtube Playlist)
Some other videos:
Skillout;
Last Dinosaur 2;
Logistica
I was thinking earlier today actually how much I missed playing this and some of the other original Quake/HL mods. Some of the best ever.
posted by rosswald at 11:07 PM on May 5, 2012
posted by rosswald at 11:07 PM on May 5, 2012
just finished playing some tf2 as well, and man this reminds me how slow that game is compared to tfc, not to mention how clunky and frustrating movement is in tf2 due to the nonsense map stylings. SIGH.
posted by serif at 11:10 PM on May 5, 2012
posted by serif at 11:10 PM on May 5, 2012
Now I need a video of 100 cuts of players actually capping the flag so I can release all this tension.
Q! CTF was my favorite multiplayer game for awhile. I played a lot of it and I guess I'm lucky I didn't come out of it all with a grappling hook tattoo.
posted by fleacircus at 3:02 AM on May 6, 2012
Q! CTF was my favorite multiplayer game for awhile. I played a lot of it and I guess I'm lucky I didn't come out of it all with a grappling hook tattoo.
posted by fleacircus at 3:02 AM on May 6, 2012
Don't forget the original Team Fortress for Quake, now also called QTF or QWTF. I spent many a night on dial-up playing as a flag-grabbing, fire-dodging scout.
In that original mod, the Scout and Medic also got concussion grenades, although I don't know if the mechanics worked the same. Anyway, the intro (a scripted demo with custom textures for the credits and title) manages to be epic and hilarious all at the same time.
posted by sudasana at 4:25 AM on May 6, 2012
In that original mod, the Scout and Medic also got concussion grenades, although I don't know if the mechanics worked the same. Anyway, the intro (a scripted demo with custom textures for the credits and title) manages to be epic and hilarious all at the same time.
posted by sudasana at 4:25 AM on May 6, 2012
If anyone's curious, here's what 2Fort looked like in the original Quakeworld TeamFortress mod. :P
posted by Drexen at 4:25 AM on May 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Drexen at 4:25 AM on May 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Oh, man, I miss TFC sometimes. I used to snipe like a madman. I went by "Tominator" first, then "Zombie Wilford Brimley" later for reasons I can no longer remember. I had a macro set up so that every time I scored a head shot, I'd say "DIABEETUS" in general chat.
I always knew I was having a good night when people started accusing me of hacking. I would retort by asking them how they did that. When they said "What?", I would say "Get spanked so hard while sitting down". I was kind of obnoxious.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 5:02 AM on May 6, 2012 [3 favorites]
I always knew I was having a good night when people started accusing me of hacking. I would retort by asking them how they did that. When they said "What?", I would say "Get spanked so hard while sitting down". I was kind of obnoxious.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 5:02 AM on May 6, 2012 [3 favorites]
Nostalgia overload.... Oh man, I still pine for the old days of classic Quake. (You know, back when GameSpy Network was called PlanetQuake, was a single website, and hosted in a college dorm.)
I can almost hear my modem connecting... Yep, ping's only in the mid 500s.... AH FUCK, I FORGOT TO TURN OFF CALL WAITING!
posted by Dark Messiah at 6:31 AM on May 6, 2012
I can almost hear my modem connecting... Yep, ping's only in the mid 500s.... AH FUCK, I FORGOT TO TURN OFF CALL WAITING!
posted by Dark Messiah at 6:31 AM on May 6, 2012
I don't even remember the name of my favorite classic Quake mod, I just remember that it had "grappling guns" that among other things allowed you to hang from the ceiling...
posted by mrbill at 6:40 AM on May 6, 2012
posted by mrbill at 6:40 AM on May 6, 2012
Wow, I have killed you, Mr. Bad Example. :)
I played TFC for years upon years, in one of the longest-lived clans in the game.
posted by sonic meat machine at 6:43 AM on May 6, 2012
I played TFC for years upon years, in one of the longest-lived clans in the game.
posted by sonic meat machine at 6:43 AM on May 6, 2012
I'm also in a couple of the TFC POTWs...
posted by sonic meat machine at 6:43 AM on May 6, 2012
posted by sonic meat machine at 6:43 AM on May 6, 2012
I don't play much TF2 (or the original at all), but I have seen a numer of similar jump movies in TF2. I'd recommend checking out Freedom, a montage put together by a lot of members of tf2jump.com, if you want to see how the gameplay has evolved.
posted by quinlan at 6:59 AM on May 6, 2012
posted by quinlan at 6:59 AM on May 6, 2012
The thing with TF2 jumping is that it's not quite as integral to gameplay. Conc jumps did no inherent damage and could be effectively improvised, not to mention combined with other engine quirks (clipping at the top of ramps, in particular) to produce very free-flowing movement. TF2 doesn't really have that.
posted by sonic meat machine at 7:16 AM on May 6, 2012
posted by sonic meat machine at 7:16 AM on May 6, 2012
I miss many of the TFC maps. Especially Cornfield.
And HWGuyz2.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 8:53 AM on May 6, 2012
And HWGuyz2.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 8:53 AM on May 6, 2012
Aww man that brings back memories, I used to play team fortress competitively. Actually thats where my name came from, I used to play as xSkUzZix (it was the 90's...) till I got accused of cheating, constantly. Changed it to this and the accusations stopped (and the propositions started...)
There was nothing quite like the feeling of playing as a scout, grabbing the flag and doing a double conc jump to fly past the perfectly placed and maxed sentry guns, spun up heavies and soldiers to land on the cap point on dustbowl without taking a lick of damage. I think the feeling was helped by the fact that on the last 10 attempts I had my head blown off by a sniper in mid air.
I also miss the simple joy of playing as an engineer and tossing an EMP grenade (causes the opponents ammo to explode) up into the ceiling of 2fort, right below the enemy spawn area and blowing up a half dozen guys reloading.
I still think things went downhill when they got rid of grenades, it was always a hoot to time the priming just right so the MIRV would blow up right in the guys face as he ran by.
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 9:11 AM on May 6, 2012
There was nothing quite like the feeling of playing as a scout, grabbing the flag and doing a double conc jump to fly past the perfectly placed and maxed sentry guns, spun up heavies and soldiers to land on the cap point on dustbowl without taking a lick of damage. I think the feeling was helped by the fact that on the last 10 attempts I had my head blown off by a sniper in mid air.
I also miss the simple joy of playing as an engineer and tossing an EMP grenade (causes the opponents ammo to explode) up into the ceiling of 2fort, right below the enemy spawn area and blowing up a half dozen guys reloading.
I still think things went downhill when they got rid of grenades, it was always a hoot to time the priming just right so the MIRV would blow up right in the guys face as he ran by.
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 9:11 AM on May 6, 2012
I'm sure there are a few qtest old timers around to remind you about phun with physics, shake our canes at you, and tell your "unique" conc jumps to get off our lawn.
posted by NortonDC at 9:20 AM on May 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by NortonDC at 9:20 AM on May 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Wow, I have killed you, Mr. Bad Example. :)
I AM ETERNAL
By which I mean hah! Small world. =)
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:20 PM on May 6, 2012
I AM ETERNAL
By which I mean hah! Small world. =)
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:20 PM on May 6, 2012
It is now time to tell the story of my greatest video game achievement, back in the original quakeworld team fortress. This must have been fifteen years ago, maybe, when I was in my early teens. TF-classic-classic was even faster and more chaotic, as I recall; all the weapons were much more powerful and death was quick. I remember sentry guns in particular as being particularly deadly; if you heard the sound of one locking on, you'd shortly be dead on the ground after two or three bullets, and a few rockets would follow to obliterate your corpse. If the opposing team manages to lock down an area with two or three fully upgraded sentries, it could be nearly impossible to break.
There was a beautiful map called The Rock. Two teams had identical bases styled after prisons. There was a fortress wall with water separating them. You enter the gate at the base of that wall, go through an inner room, go up a ramp, and then emerge into a very large square yard. There are passageways to the left and right, and battlements along the sides of the yard where the defenders can stand and shoot you. There is no way to get up there unless an explosion propels you. Your objective is to turn left, run through a hallway and pick up a key, go back to the yard and cross the entire length and go through the other passageway, pass through a few more hallways and enter a control room. When you succeed, poison gas is released. Gas masks are unlocked in your base, but not your enemies. Anyone who doesn't grab a mask or get underwater dies.
This map was loads of fun but it often turned into grinding bloody stalemates. Yards would have two or three fully upgraded sentries and loads of players firing rockets and grenades from above which made getting through nearly impossible. There were two back routes available under the water through some tunnels but these would always be heavily defended as well. Once you grabbed the key, all players would be notified and would rush to cut off your path, which had to go through the yard. But the great thing was, if you could successfully pull off a capture, the enemy team would be wiped out, and would be off balance for a few minutes before they could lock things down again. So things can flip really quickly.
I'm on this map and it is one of those bloody stalemates. But I'm playing the scout class which was at the time given a relatively new tool - the concussion grenade. This was late-model TF, long after Quake came out, and probably after Half-Life's release but before TFC. Scouts are blinding fast but very weak. The concussion grenade is nominally used to throw off chasers - people hit with it get their inputs all screwed up so they can't aim. But if you throw a grenade and run and jump at the exact right time you will be sent flying. I think the game had different masses for different classes which affected how far explosions would propel you, and scouts were very light. It was tricky to get the timing right -- you had to hold the fire key for about three seconds (pull the pin), then let it go and run and jump all in one motion. I would try it often but hit a good one maybe one out of four.
I make it to the yard and let loose the perfect conc jump - one of my best ever. I hear three sentries locking on and I hear rockets hammering the wall behind me but before anyone can blink I've flown clear across the yard, onto the battlements, out through one of the enemy's passageways, and into the hallway that leads to the key. I pick it up and turn around and head back for the yard, knowing that there are probably ten players waiting for me. I prime my second concussion grenade and go for it and again hit the timing just perfectly, the best conc jump of my TF career, two in a row no less. I'm launched over everyone's heads, skimming along the sky-ceiling on a perfect diagonal path that takes me clear across the yard and into a passageway on the other side. My hands are shaking as I try to type 'gas' to warn my teammates. I make it to the control room and release the gas and finally remember to breathe. If only someone had been there to high-five me.
I burned so many hours and hours on this game. I joined a clan and played a few matches. Everyone used ICQ back then, which was my first IM client and probably the first one to great really popular. You would meet people in the game and exchange ICQ numbers so you could co-ordinate future matches. I remember some of the badass clans, like Spice Girls or ResDogs, members of which would show up on servers and just dominate everyone. HBP's and LBP's - a low ping bastard sniper would be the bane of everybody's life. I got pretty good at leading targets playing on dial-up. Man this was a really big part of my life for a little while; nice to reminisce.
posted by PercussivePaul at 4:39 PM on May 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
There was a beautiful map called The Rock. Two teams had identical bases styled after prisons. There was a fortress wall with water separating them. You enter the gate at the base of that wall, go through an inner room, go up a ramp, and then emerge into a very large square yard. There are passageways to the left and right, and battlements along the sides of the yard where the defenders can stand and shoot you. There is no way to get up there unless an explosion propels you. Your objective is to turn left, run through a hallway and pick up a key, go back to the yard and cross the entire length and go through the other passageway, pass through a few more hallways and enter a control room. When you succeed, poison gas is released. Gas masks are unlocked in your base, but not your enemies. Anyone who doesn't grab a mask or get underwater dies.
This map was loads of fun but it often turned into grinding bloody stalemates. Yards would have two or three fully upgraded sentries and loads of players firing rockets and grenades from above which made getting through nearly impossible. There were two back routes available under the water through some tunnels but these would always be heavily defended as well. Once you grabbed the key, all players would be notified and would rush to cut off your path, which had to go through the yard. But the great thing was, if you could successfully pull off a capture, the enemy team would be wiped out, and would be off balance for a few minutes before they could lock things down again. So things can flip really quickly.
I'm on this map and it is one of those bloody stalemates. But I'm playing the scout class which was at the time given a relatively new tool - the concussion grenade. This was late-model TF, long after Quake came out, and probably after Half-Life's release but before TFC. Scouts are blinding fast but very weak. The concussion grenade is nominally used to throw off chasers - people hit with it get their inputs all screwed up so they can't aim. But if you throw a grenade and run and jump at the exact right time you will be sent flying. I think the game had different masses for different classes which affected how far explosions would propel you, and scouts were very light. It was tricky to get the timing right -- you had to hold the fire key for about three seconds (pull the pin), then let it go and run and jump all in one motion. I would try it often but hit a good one maybe one out of four.
I make it to the yard and let loose the perfect conc jump - one of my best ever. I hear three sentries locking on and I hear rockets hammering the wall behind me but before anyone can blink I've flown clear across the yard, onto the battlements, out through one of the enemy's passageways, and into the hallway that leads to the key. I pick it up and turn around and head back for the yard, knowing that there are probably ten players waiting for me. I prime my second concussion grenade and go for it and again hit the timing just perfectly, the best conc jump of my TF career, two in a row no less. I'm launched over everyone's heads, skimming along the sky-ceiling on a perfect diagonal path that takes me clear across the yard and into a passageway on the other side. My hands are shaking as I try to type 'gas' to warn my teammates. I make it to the control room and release the gas and finally remember to breathe. If only someone had been there to high-five me.
I burned so many hours and hours on this game. I joined a clan and played a few matches. Everyone used ICQ back then, which was my first IM client and probably the first one to great really popular. You would meet people in the game and exchange ICQ numbers so you could co-ordinate future matches. I remember some of the badass clans, like Spice Girls or ResDogs, members of which would show up on servers and just dominate everyone. HBP's and LBP's - a low ping bastard sniper would be the bane of everybody's life. I got pretty good at leading targets playing on dial-up. Man this was a really big part of my life for a little while; nice to reminisce.
posted by PercussivePaul at 4:39 PM on May 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
Yes! The Rock was another great map! I was trying to remember the name of that one earlier today.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 5:08 PM on May 6, 2012
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 5:08 PM on May 6, 2012
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