Team Fortress
Encyclopedia
Team Fortress is a team- and class-based online multiplayer video game mod
Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...

 based on id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...

's Quake. Team Fortress was designed and written by Robin Walker, John Cook and Ian Caughley in 1996
1996 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*January 29 — Duke Nukem 3D, successor to the simple side-scrolling originals, and a genre-redefining title for first person shooters....

. The mod's gameplay has caught on with a large following of fans, which has spurred many developers to create similar gamemodes on other engines. In August 1999, after the development team was hired by Valve, Team Fortress was ported to Valve's GoldSrc
GoldSrc
GoldSrc, or Goldsource, is the retronym used internally by Valve Software to refer to the heavily modified Quake engine that powers their science fiction first-person shooter Half-Life ....

 engine in the form of Team Fortress Classic
Team Fortress Classic
Team Fortress Classic, also known as Team Fortress 1.5 or simply TFC, is a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation. It is a remake of the Team Fortress modification for Quake. Team Fortress Classic was originally released for Windows on April 7, 1999 as...

. An official sequel developed by Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...

 was hinted at for many years, and was finally released in October of 2007 as Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. A sequel to the original mod Team Fortress based on the Quake engine, it was first released as part of the video game compilation The Orange Box on October 10, 2007 for Windows...

.

Gameplay

The premise of the game is a class-based battle, typically between two teams, colored red and blue. Players are defined by which class they select (the classes being Medic, Sniper, Soldier, Demoman, Pyro, Spy, Heavy Weapon Guy (Heavy for short), Scout, or Engineer), with each class having strengths and weaknesses. Each class also has unique weapons (e.g. Pyro has the flamethrower and Heavy has the minigun) and abilities (e.g. Scout being able to run the fastest and spy has the ability to cloak).

A player can either choose to be on the red or on the blue team. On community maps or through the use of custom skins, players may also choose to be on a green or yellow team. The objectives of play can vary, including traditional objectives such as capture the flag or controlling a point(s) on the map. Another mode involves delivering a payload to the enemy's base while the other team defends, or have two teams race to deliver a payload to that base.

On April 13, 1997 in Version 2.5 Beta A, Team Fortress introduced head-shots to the FPS genre.

Evolution

Team Fortress has evolved into an entire genre as fans of the original modification have created a multitude of slightly different versions for various games:
  • MegaTF was a popular Team Fortress mod which featured new enhancements to each class like proximity mines, laser drones and airMirvs. In its prime, Mega-TF was played by thousands of players every day, and the original Quake engine version of the mod still has a strong following after eleven years (2000-2011). There is a MegaTF mod currently in development for the Amnesia server called "MegaTF United" being developed by XavioR and other Team Fortress modders.
  • Team Fortress Classic
    Team Fortress Classic
    Team Fortress Classic, also known as Team Fortress 1.5 or simply TFC, is a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation. It is a remake of the Team Fortress modification for Quake. Team Fortress Classic was originally released for Windows on April 7, 1999 as...

    was an extremely popular mod for Half-Life created in April 1999. There are still servers for and players of Team Fortress Classic today.
  • A mod titled Quake 3 Fortress
    Quake 3 Fortress
    Quake 3 Fortress is a mod for the computer game Quake III Arena.The game was a class-based fortress mod, where players would select from one of nine classes and would play on the red or blue team...

    (Q3F) was developed for Quake III Arena
    Quake III Arena
    Quake III Arena , is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game released on December 2, 1999. The game was developed by id Software and featured music composed by Sonic Mayhem and Front Line Assembly...

    in 2001. This mod was further developed into the Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory
    Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory
    Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory is a free and open source multiplayer first-person shooter video game set during World War II...

    mod Enemy Territory Fortress, or ETF, in 2005; it had a notable initial following and many servers still operate where pickup gathers take place on a daily basis.
  • NeoTF is a modification of Team Fortress Classic, originally created by BillDoor and further developed by Hitokiri_Battousai in 2001. NeoTF adds many new elements to the game that can turn it into a completely different experience. After Hitokiri_Battousai (HB) took over, he added many new features and created a larger fan-base than the original creator. There are still many servers hosting this once-famous modification.
  • AdminOP is a modification of Team Fortress Classic, originally created by Drunken Fool in 2002. AdminOP adds many new elements to the game that can turn it into a completely different experience much like NeoTF. This later extended into a modification for Team Fortress 2 called SourceOP
  • Unreal Fortress (abbreviated as UnF) existed for Unreal Tournament
    Unreal Tournament
    Unreal Tournament is a futuristic first-person shooter video game co-developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. It was published in 1999 by GT Interactive. Retrospectively, the game has also been referred to as UT99 or UT Classic to differentiate it from its numbered sequels...

    . Unf was heavily modified version of TF, with a strong emphasis on team rather than individual play. Thus scoring was not for flags retrieved but for individual class effort. Each class was renamed and heavily modified, like MegaTF classes had a wide range of capabilities, and were designed to help each other rather being a variation on the soldier class, for instance turrets could be upgraded by various classes.
  • Unreal Fortress: Evolution first started out as UnF 2003 for Unreal Tournament 2003
    Unreal Tournament 2003
    Unreal Tournament 2003 or UT2003 is a first-person shooter video game designed mainly for multiplayer gaming. The game is part of the Unreal franchise's series of games, and is a sequel to Unreal Tournament ....

    but was made into a mod for Unreal Tournament 2004
    Unreal Tournament 2004
    Unreal Tournament 2004, also known as UT2K4 and UT2004, is a futuristic first-person shooter computer game developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes...

    when Epic released the newer version of the game. It has never left the beta stage.
  • Enemy Territory Fortress, based on the revolutionary 'Quake III Fortress' as modification for the free Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory has maintained a considerable following ever since it was first released in 2005. It received updates for about a year and was abandoned. It distinguishes itself from the immensely popular TF2 by incorporating grenade usage and a more challenging learning curve.
  • Fortress Evolution for Quake III Arena was intended to create a very close replica of the original QWTF but was canceled and last released as an alpha build. It has recently returned as a standalone mod built upon Evolution Q3 but as a completely different project.
  • Another evolution of TF is the multi-games mod Weapons Factory
    Weapons Factory
    The Weapons Factory is a series of video game capture the flag class-based mods, originally created for Quake II by brothers Tom "Tumorhead" and Gregg "Headache"...

    that has several considerable modifications to TF classes which results in different gameplay, resulting in many servers having to put limits on specialists (non-soldier classes).
  • There is also a large Custom TF community presently active. Custom TF by Bill Kerney (aka Shaka[UVM]) has the normal classes of TF but also includes a "custom" option, where players have a set amount of money with which to buy weapons, armour and skills.
  • Custom TF http://www.attackersgored.com/ AGR mode (offense vs defense) is Custom TF modifications still being developed and supported by community. AGR stands for "Attackers Go Red". It's an O vs D style mod for Quake1 Custom Team Fortress, where all the attacking players go Red, and all defending players go Blue. It's coded to increase action, improve gameplay, and enforce teamwork, thus creating a 'Clan Match' feel to games on public servers. Also AGR mode has many game impovements and modifications compared with original Custom TF. AGR online community still active.
  • Fortress Forever
    Fortress Forever
    Fortress Forever is a Half-Life 2 mod that uses the game's Source Engine. The game is based on Team Fortress Classic, but has been created entirely from scratch by the Fortress Forever development team...

    is a mod for the Source engine heavily influenced by Team Fortress Classic.
  • AvP2 Team Fortress is a mod that brings Team Fortress like gameplay and character classes to the Aliens versus Predator 2
    Aliens versus Predator 2
    Aliens versus Predator 2 is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game developed by Monolith Productions. It was published by Sierra Entertainment, and released through Fox Interactive for PC and Apple Macintosh computers in 2001...

    game. The game modes are slightly different than Team Fortress Classic
    Team Fortress Classic
    Team Fortress Classic, also known as Team Fortress 1.5 or simply TFC, is a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation. It is a remake of the Team Fortress modification for Quake. Team Fortress Classic was originally released for Windows on April 7, 1999 as...

    but they still rely heavily on teamwork. What's notable about this mod is that various classes are assigned to various species (i.e. the scout is an alien runner, predators act as spies and so on).
  • Team Fortress 2
    Team Fortress 2
    Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. A sequel to the original mod Team Fortress based on the Quake engine, it was first released as part of the video game compilation The Orange Box on October 10, 2007 for Windows...

    is a stand-alone multiplayer game created by the original designers who now work for Valve Software. The game has a cartoon-like look to it, and was designed to reflect the style of campy
    Camp (style)
    Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...

     1960's spy films. Team Fortress 2 was in development for more than nine years and has had many changes to it along the way.
  • Quake 4 Fortress, a mod focused on the fast paced action of the original Team Fortress, first started as a mod for Doom 3, but because of lacking network support moved on to be developed for Quake 4. Q4F 1.5 was released but production ceased early because of the lack of a Quake 4 player community. Jeremy Raymond (aka photeknix) and Jared Cone (aka 3j) also focused on professional careers in the industry around the same time. Jeremy is a Designer at Certain Affinity
    Certain Affinity
    Certain Affinity is an American video game development studio based in Austin, Texas, in the USA. It was founded in 2006 by Max Hoberman and a small number of other ex-Bungie employees and other industry veterans.-History:...

     and Jared is a Programmer at Psyonix Studios.
  • Gang Garrison 2
    Gang Garrison 2
    Gang Garrison 2 is a freeware, open-source, indie video game "demake" of Valve Software's Team Fortress 2. Inspired by the 3D graphics of Team Fortress 2, it takes place in a 2D, 8-bit environment, while retaining its online multiplayer gameplay. The game was started by TIGSource.com users...

    is an open source demake of Team Fortress 2.
  • The yet unreleased Korean game H.A.V.E. Online
    H.A.V.E. Online
    H.A.V.E. Online is a Massive Multiplayer Online Third Person Shooter cartoon-style video game developed by Korean developer, SK imedia...

    appears to be heavily influenced by Team Fortress 2.

External links



News

Software at archive.org
  • Custom TF (server mod based on Team Fortress)
  • Weapons Factory Arena (mod for Quake III Arena
    Quake III Arena
    Quake III Arena , is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game released on December 2, 1999. The game was developed by id Software and featured music composed by Sonic Mayhem and Front Line Assembly...

    )
  • Enemy Territory Fortress (mod for Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory
    Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory
    Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory is a free and open source multiplayer first-person shooter video game set during World War II...

    )
  • Team Elite (mod for Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force)
  • Fortress Forever (mod for Half-Life 2
    Half-Life 2
    Half-Life 2 , the sequel to Half-Life, is a first-person shooter video game and a signature title in the Half-Life series. It is singleplayer, story-driven, science fiction, and linear...

    )
  • AvP2 Team Fortress (mod for Aliens versus Predator 2
    Aliens versus Predator 2
    Aliens versus Predator 2 is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game developed by Monolith Productions. It was published by Sierra Entertainment, and released through Fox Interactive for PC and Apple Macintosh computers in 2001...

    )
  • Quake 4 Fortress (mod for Quake 4
    Quake 4
    Quake 4 is the fourth title in the series of Quake first-person shooter computer games. The game was developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. Raven Software has collaborated with id Software, the creators and historical developers of preceding Quake games...

    )


History
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