AGR v3: ToughMap ‘GurusOnRed’ mode!

OneManClan’s breathless arrival at AGR headquarters left the women of the office abuzz, with his dashing good looks, and stylish manner. It’s been just over a year since AGR v2 premiered, and with its restarts, underwater effects, smarter monsters and vomit pools making a big splash (!) , and since then the conversion to a newer engine, which resulted in multiple player demos, non-solid equipment, and OMCs obsession – the SkinBlind effect. However, the quest has continued, and v3 is now here, and today we discuss a major addition to the AGR experience – ToughMap mode. We caught up with the obsessed one for this exclusive chat.

AGRMNIA: So OMC, whats been happening?

OMC: Quit the small talk please, and on with the interview.

AGRMANIA: Ok, ok, so what is tough_map mode?

OMC: It’s a new mode for AGR games, which will be in force when the map is ‘tough’.

AGRMANIA: What exactly is a ‘tough’ map?

OMC: Well, the following maps are currently on the ToughMap list: 2night2, 3zigzag, cascade, caverns, dune1, frozen, ftrial3, impact1, sewer1p, shoop, xpress3

AGRMANIA: Not 2brave1?

OMC: Well I think that 2brave1 *can* be defended if Blue just stick together. They have to decide what room to focus on, the FR, the main RR, etc. The main problem is when Blue don’t work together, and leave too many unplugged holes in the D; with 2brave1 it would be (typically) forgetting to have someone in the water path.

AGRMANIA: But isn’t it the same situation in 2night2?

OMC: How do you mean?

AGRMANIA: If 2night2 defenders work to a plan, the same principle applies

OMC: Look, it doesn’t really matter ok? The list is not definitive. If players want other maps added, they will be. If people think a map doesn’t belong on the list, that’s fine too. The beauty of AGR is that people will be tested, and the score will be a deciding factor.

AGRMANIA: Why do we need ToughMap mode?

OMC: Because certain maps have been consistently ‘too’ difficult, and many Gurus feel pressure to always go Blue. It would be nice for the pressure to be on Red for a change, and for Blues to have the ‘upper hand’.

AGRMANIA: Ok, so what happens in ‘ToughMap mode’?

OMC: Here are the basic differences. When ToughMap mode is ON, if the current map is on the ToughMap List:

1. No Respawn delay for Blue
2. Red can’t survive in the water during Deathcap
3. Flag Carriers move slower
4. Flag Carriers who try to Grapple will drop the flag
5. Flag Carriers who use Airfist will not get any ‘lift’ off the ground for themselves
6. A Red player can’t touch the flag twice in a row, unless he is a grappler who just dropped the flag.
7. Blue can build during prematch
8. Nothing receives damage during prematch.

The only concession to Red is that the delay before a dropped flag returns is longer.

AGRMANIA: Won’t this change the dynamics of an average AGR game?

OMC: There are no ‘average’ AGR games 🙂

AGRMANIA: Of course, what I mean is, the gameplay will be different, the ‘vibe’.

OMC: That’s kind of the point.

AGRMANIA: Not letting the same player touch the flag twice in a row..  isn’t that a little extreme?

OMC: Well, yes, ToughMap mode IS extreme.  It’s still being fine tuned, but the idea is to prevent slaughter matches, where one Guru Red player does all the capping.

AGRMANIA: Isn’t that, and I’m quoting you – ‘Blue’s problem’  though? You’ve said previously that ‘the pain of defeat’ is what compels Blue to change their approach?

OMC: Yes, and that is where gameplay greatness and innovation occurs. Forcing Blue to ‘stand and defend’ has been a core element of the AGR concept. But if Blue are consistently getting utterly thrashed on certain maps, and (eg) only one Red player is doing all the capping, something has gone wrong in that particular game, either a bunch of people are afk, or the teams are too unbalanced skill wise. A map like sewer1p I would say has a 50% ‘awesome game’, ‘frustrating mess’ ratio. At the end of the day, AGR is about consistently Great Games, and intensely cooperative teamwork for a bunch of players, not effortless speedcapping for one.

AGRMANIA: I suppose this means a whole bunch of previously unplayable maps will now be playable.

OMC: Yes. Especially maps like shoop, xpress3, and zigzag which have never before been viable maps for AGR.

AGRMANIA:  Is there a risk that Blue will get lazy, and lose their edge with all these advantages?

OMC: No. ToughMap mode will only be ‘ON’ for certain maps.  Every week at the Weekly AGR Sessions we have a mixture of old/new, and easy/hard to D maps, so every week there will probably be at least one ‘tough map’ – harder to D than the rest. And the beauty of ToughMap mode is that the Gurus can now go Red, so if Blue think that D is about to become ‘easy’, they ‘got another thing comin’

AGRMANIA: Maybe you should name the mode ‘GurusOnRed’

OMC: That would be VERY appropriate!

AGRMANIA: Thanks OMC, any final words?

OMC: Yes. I am very excited about this new mode. For too long, I’ve personally felt pressured into going Blue, map after map.  I have spent much of the last few years feeling the stress of defending. It is good stress, but now I yearn to feel the stress of trying to cap a seemingly uncappable flag. I yearn for the pressure of being totally stuck, and Red shifting from being a one man band which effortlessly exploits a stupid opening left by an incompetent Blue, to being a team, working together, feeling the frustration, and the stress of time running out. I want, just for a change, for Red to be feeling overwhelmed. I’m a little disappointed that its been nearly three years, and I’m still seeing empty RR’s in 2fort5r. AGR has made NO concessions to anyone. It is meant to be a ruthless testing ground. Since Blue has failed to live up to its potential, ToughMap mode is going to artificially create the ‘feeling’ that Blue are kicking arse, to give players like myself the chance to go Red guilt free.

AGRMANIA: Aren’t you taking this all too seriously?

OMC: Excuse me, I thought I was being interviewed by a reporter from AGR *MANIA* Magazine. 🙄

AGRMANIA: Ah, touche. 😳