Official forums for BZFlag.org

1) Is that Hunt The Flag? Hold The Flag? or (to) Hell (with) The Flag?

2) Is this going to be an actual game mode for BZ Flag? Or is it a game within a game type of thing people are just doing themselves...?

3) How exactly does one play HTF and what are the rules?

Hold The flag.

Played on a CTF server.

All Players join one color and try to cap their flag at the opponents base.
Therefor everyone is teamkilling everyone else, but it makes sense for everyone to go after the flag carrier like he is the rabbit it rabbit hunt.
Untill he is killed, then you all go for the flag, when someoen gets that you all go after him. And so on.

ok i died once.

check out the site at

www.geocities.com/masteryoda_bzflag

it has rules, forums, links, and contacts!

mail me if u want to register

we added some API commands that should let somone make a plugin to help enfoce HTF type gameplay. for 2.0.4

ok wait. how does that work? i downloaded the trial run of 2.0.4rc5. how do i set that up.

MasterYoda wrote:ok wait. how does that work? i downloaded the trial run of 2.0.4rc5. how do i set that up.

JeffM said he made it possible for somebody to make an HTF plugin. Now, somebody has to actually write it. You can't get run a plugin if it's not written, logically.

yes, it is not a game mode, we just put in the hooks to let people make better game-mode-like plugins

It seems as if HTF would be relatively easy to add as a selection mode for rabbit....er, maybe. Could that be done with a plugin?

RPG wrote:

MasterYoda wrote:ok wait. how does that work? i downloaded the trial run of 2.0.4rc5. how do i set that up.

JeffM said he made it possible for somebody to make an HTF plugin. Now, somebody has to actually write it. You can't get run a plugin if it's not written, logically.

so can someone write that plugin for the HTF league???
me and longhair could look into it, but it would be a big help if we got help from a pro

Well, get a plugin going and I'll do the testing. Get a developer that can make use of core dumps or valgrind information & woot.

Yes, I was wishing that I knew some more c++. Like, enough to have a look at how to do this. Reading code for me is sort of like hearing someone speak Spanish. I kinda get the idea what's going on, but not enough to really participate.

One thing that menotume brought up is that the problem with a server plugin is that you have to either have a dedicated server that runs only htf, or be a server owner that has the necessary permissions to load the plugin on the fly. He says that he used to have a modified bzadmin version that would keep score. Unfortunately, it was for a too-old version of bzflag to work anymore. Perhaps that sort of thing could be another avenue of approach.

I have a dinky little server up and running to test out some ideas that were floated. Basically, I modified dutchrai's Trenches and Bridges map. I dug some tunnels under the base so that the red base is down bottom, and put in a green base at the very top of the pyramid. One rogue is allowed on as a spoiler, and there are some superflags just to lend a bit of extra chaos The address is:

longhair.homelinux.org:5159

Please note that it's on just my little ol' DSL connection, so things can get laggy depending on the time of day.

Thanks for the offer to test, IDO, we'll take you up on it if it gets figured out

It would be good just to make any flag act as a sheild, and when you are shot, it drops off near you so you have a chance to pick it back up. It wouldn't be enough to shoot a player, you'd have to shoot him twice, or shoot him and swoop in to get his flag before he, or anyone else, does.


There are tons of possibilities if you can get past the strong anti-cheat mutltiple-flag-prohibition in the server now. It may require a modified client and server, not just a plugin.


I had this Idea about a year ago...
There are five flags, one player holds them all.
Each time he is shot, one flag drops off, he can pick it back up, but everybody else wants it too.
The flags must be carried to a base where they disappear.
When all flags are gone, a new "Defender" is chosen.

OR...

Maybe weapons can be tied to how many flags you hold, say theres a total of ten flags. Carrying one flag acts like a sheild, two flags gives you a slightly better weapon, etc. ...five flags gives you gm.
When you get shot one flag could fall off, like a sheild, giving you a good chance to get it back, OR all the flags could fall off, making everybody converge in an attempt to grab them.
If you had to carry your flags into a transporter to get the weapon upgrade, I call that "StarGate"

Until I played BZFlag, I thought white flags were for "I surrender"
In my opinion, the random nature of flag placement was a cop-out by developers long, long ago, and it's become written in stone now. Anything that makes players actually EARN a weapon is a good thing, in my opinion.

Most of you are too young to know, but back in 1982-'83, Three of the best games in arcades were BattleZone, Defender, and StarGate.
BattleZone grew into BZFlag
Defender had people you defended, if you lost them all, your world blew up.
StarGate was "Defender II" where you carried your people into the stargate, to warp ahead.

A HTF plugin is in the latest CVS. Thanks to menotume for making it

yet, how are htf stats kept?time holding the flag outof a set period of time?

AFAIK , the only stat that matters in HTF is the number of captures a player has made .

HTF used to be like "Hold-the-Flag" , but is now more like "Run-The-Flag" .
the name hasn't changed along with the game . hmm but maybe it should?