Batball is an Oddball gametype heavily inspired by the "Arkham" series of games made by Rocksteady. The basic premise is that of Batman against several well armed thugs, and how terrifying that experience is for the guys with guns. The gametype generally functions best with 3-5 people, (though there are 1 or 2 maps for which there are exceptions). Winning in Batball is not based on carrying the ball for the longest time; rather, the official "winner" of Batball is decided by how efficient each player is at being Batman by dividing the number of ball kills they get with their time spent holding the Batball. In short, the most efficient Batman wins, even if someone else held the ball longer. Also, to be eligible to win, you must also have held the ball for at least 60 seconds; this ensures that a player who held the ball for a very short time, took down a thug, and then didn't touch the ball again doesn't win. The game itself ends when someone has held the ball for 250 seconds. Everyone begins as a "thug", equipped with a pistol and a bottomless clip; they have 90% movement speed, with normal jump height and gravity. They are universally green (as it's the most commonly occurring color in Batman's rogue's gallery, and the uniformity makes it somewhat difficult to properly warn each other) and lack radar. The waypoints over their heads makes it quite simple for Batman to keep track of them all, though if a thug observes one vanish suddenly, it can be assumed that there's a Bat problem in that vicinity. An additional word of warning; thugs can't damage Batman by punching him, so I wouldn't bother trying. When someone picks up the oddball (henceforth the Batball) they become Batman; they get Good Camo, advanced Radar, and enhanced movement capabilities by way of speed and jump height/fall speed. Batman's armor is black, though armor is all he's got since his shields deactivate. Punching just once with the Batball is enough to take out just about any thug, but they can do the same to Batman with just three bullets- and since his health doesn't recharge, no amount of hiding between encounters will heal the wounds. Stealth is crucial for Batman's survival; if he is seen, he likely won't last long. Keep in mind where all of the thugs are, and try to keep something between you and them that's better than you are at taking bullets. Anything you can do to cause fear benefits you as well; terrified people tend to not aim as well. Remember, "Theatricality and deception are powerful tools." It should also potentially be noted that thugs aren't really on the same team; they can help you just as much as hinder you. Personally, I recommend ignoring them, since you can't really afford to divert your attention from hunting Batman. However, if the Batball is presently up for grabs, well... There are many Batball maps I've made for the gametype, as well as several wonderful maps forged by the same people who helped me create the gametype. For right now, the only one I'm going to post is Lockdown, but if there's sufficient interest I'll get around to posting more in time. F.A.Q.'s Q)Why is oddball the base gametype rather than something like Juggernaut? A) We'd wanted to do something similar to this structure for a while, and had tried a few alternatives; with infection, we found that rounds tended to be very one sided one way or the other, and that generally the thugs had little motivation to invest effort if they had no chance of being Batman that round. As for the juggernaut gametype, we were unable to change some of the base traits that we'd wanted to- there are some options in Juggernaut that don't really care what you input, so that limited some of the development. We eventually found oddball to be a suitable gametype, as it allows for proper customizations, the Batman traits to be passed around based on performance, and most importantly, the flaming skull makes it possible to see Batman, if he's terrible at stealth, but doesn't make it impossible for him to hide. Q) Bottomless Clip? Really? A)YES, really. We've been playing/testing Batball for over a year now, and it has continually proved necessary for balance. Do remember, even if a thug just fires constantly, their accuracy goes down, and they're telegraphing which direction they're facing. It generally only makes it easier to get a stealthy takedown. But without bottomless clip, Batman can thoroughly steamroll the thugs. TL;DR? Use this link; it tells you most of the above, and will give you a basic idea of the map. Batball - YouTube If you wish to play a game or two, send me a message and I'd be glad to introduce you to the gametype. Thanks in advance for any comments/feedback you leave; they're greatly appreciated. EDIT: Released Batball Maps Lockdown: http://www.forgehub.com/forum/reach-casual-maps/137374-lockdown.html Rictus: http://www.forgehub.com/forum/reach-casual-maps/137632-rictus.html
Amazing and Unique idea certainly, but i still question bottomless clip despite your explanation. and you should put the video on this site, rather than having a link. And a few more pictures of the maps wouldn't hurt either. Seems like a very interesting concept, I'll try it out.
Sorry about the video, for some reason didn't embed properly the first time. In regards to the bottomless clip, I understand your skepticism. I wouldn't believe it necessary either, if not for all the testing we've done (I have no idea how many games of Batball we've played; I'd estimate at least in the hundreds). It has at the very least not been detrimental to the enjoyability. I'll look into it again; perhaps the need to reload will go over differently than last time with so much experience with Batball. As for the other maps, I would have included more pictures of the others, but I don't know if I'll be posting the other maps here/if they won't be renovated in similar fashion to Lockdown. Thanks a lot for the input; and I'd be glad to show you the gametype firsthand, sometime.
And now that I've seen your other map, haven't you considered actually making a map that is a remake or inspired by (Gotham) a city? It would add to the feel, as now any person joining a game that does not use forgehub, will not be sure what it is, and may think its just some random gametype. Generally, a good mini-game (maybe just my opinion) has a theme recognizable by even randoms. I know that "Batball" was named thusly, but none of your maps are. It would greatly increase the feeling of playing the map, if it looked like a city, or area in the actual Gotham City/ Asyum/ Whatever/ EDIT : this is still 100% uniquely awesome, the gametype is...genius?
I had considered it, and there is a city based map in the works right now, though not quite in a state one could call "beta". The other maps I've yet to post, as shown in the video, do have some recognizably "Batman" locales, especially The Batcave; the other shown stages were based on some of his villains, and assuming you know about his rogue's gallery there are some clear relations. For example, Albedo, the mirrored level, is based on Two Face's split psyche, and is comprised of the two mirrored halves of the map. In theory, a Batball map would be recognizable from the ties to the story overall, not just specific locations.
This is ingenious. I've been thinking about the Batman gametype, and I was maybe trying to design it, but this is fantastic. However, this is yet another example of why we need more custom game settings. I swear, if the people here at Forgehub were the guys saying what goes into a game and what doesn't we would have the most epic mini games ever. Like I said, good map, I'm a huge Batman fan, so you have one more download.
Well, thanks very much for the kind words; I'm glad you all enjoy the gametype. As of right now, my plan is to release a new one every week (at least for a while, until I run out of backlogged maps). I can almost guarantee the one I plan on posting this week will bring a smile to your face.