Idea Info Name: Syphon Filter Team Battle Index: Primary Category: Sequel Submitted: 1/16/2003 11:38:02 PM Written By: BebopDaBebop

Syphon Filter Team Battle

Overview:  Has anyone played the first two for Playstation?  I thought the battle system was definitely very good and I think it would make an excellent online shooter game.  The jist of this game, basically, is that your team has to defeat the other team… but there are many more things to account for depending on which game mode you select.

Game Modes:

Deathmatch: The simplest yet most addictive multiplayer form made to date.  Deathmatch in Syphon Filter Team Battle will basically be the same as any other shooter or FPS out there.  Your team (and you of course) battles against another team for supremacy.  After the teams are chosen, and the level picked, everyone starts off in a random position and the basic idea is to kill as many enemies as possible without killing your own.  See there is no team starting locations; you just have to be careful not to shoot a teammate.

Team Deathmatch:  The same basic principals of Deathmatch, kill the enemy with weapons picked up inside the level, except that your entire team starts in one of possibly three team starting locations.  Each starting location has limited weapons to start and is of sort, a safe zone.  When you start, you have 20 seconds to get your weapons, and after that, enemies could shoot you, but of course they cannot enter the safe zone.  There is also an option that can be checked that instead of having individual respawns, you have team respawns, to add for more team related strategies.  However it is not a necessary option to play.

Capture the Flag:  I reaaally don’t think I have to explain this one.  Your team takes their flag, returns it to yours and you get a point.  Nothing really that complicated here.

Tag:  This option of play will remind you of that wonderful, schoolyard game that everyone used to play called Tag.  In Tag the basic idea is that there is always someone who is ‘it.’  This person that is it may use any weapon that he/she would like to use to shoot his/her enemies to make them it.  Once the enemy is shot, the shooter is no longer it and the one that is shot is it.  The new It must wait a few seconds before he/she can find a victim (there is an option to change the time).  The idea is to stay It as little as possible.  There are several strategies such as finding hiding locations, killing people when you ARE it (so you have more time to run because the person has to respawn), or to find the biggest weaponry possible (while not it) so that when you are you can turn others it easier.

Team Tag: This game mode will be basically the same as the normal Tag, except that it is a team version of the game mode.  In this mode there are two or more teams, and an entire team is ‘IT.’  When that team is IT the entire team has weapons that they can use to kill the other teams, and when the IT team kills an entire team, that team becomes the IT team.  This may sound incredibly boring; because when you die you have to wait for your entire team to die, right?  Well no, in this game mode, if you die you ‘raise from the dead’ in ten seconds.  After you raise you become a zombie-like character with your team color brightly shining on you (this is so the IT team can distinguish whom is a zombie).  When you are a zombie you can either to one of two things.  One, get in the way of the IT team, making them miss or jumping out in the line of fire to save one of your friends and prevent your team from becoming the IT team.  Or two, you could run and hide and when an entire minute has passed you become alive again and the IT team must kill you again.  But, you can also skip the entire zombie idea and ‘raise’ as an observer and tell your teammates where the IT team is so they can run away from them.  But, zombie or not, observer or not, when the IT team kills an entire team that ENTIRE team becomes the IT team, the old IT team becomes a normal team, and so do any other teams.  When the round is over (by some timed way), the team with the lowest amount of time as IT wins.

Arena:  In this game mode there are specially designed levels to fight in.  Each level has five levels to it.  The first has very limited weapons, and all of the spawn areas are close together with a small amount of room to fight in.  When someone gets enough kills (number specified in options), that person gets a ‘key’ to the next level.  This person may now open a door, or elevator, or whatever to get to the next level.  The next level is higher up than the first with greater weapons, armor, and possibly even special power ups with sniper positions that can pick off anyone on the first level.  And when that person gets enough kills then they get a key to the next door and next level to get even more weaponry and supplies.  However, if the person is killed, then they are respawned back to level one without any keys to get to any other levels.  This will mean that if someone gets to a higher level then the people in the lower levels may fight back so they won’t get loads and loads of kills.  And the highest up will certainly destroy the guys that try to get  higher, because if they get too high they are a bigger threat (BTW, if you get a key to a higher level you can still visit the lower levels).  Lastly, I realize that this is a rather cheap game mode because one person that is really good could rise to the ranks and just kill people constantly.  This is why I have invented a little trigger called REVENGE!  If a person is killed consecutively several times without killing someone, then the game yells REVENGE and he/she bursts into a gigantic reaper (with deathsycthe of course).  This reaper form only lasts a matter of moments, but you can kill people with one slice of the scythe and you can also fly through walls.  This means that if one person is constantly killing people, then they might find a ‘revenge reaper’ on their path.  And lastly, after the reaper’s time is over he/she respawns with their kills still counting (which means they can accumulate many keys in a short period of time.

Team Arena:  Same idea as the normal Arena, except that it is a team effort.  And no, if the team kills a certain amount of people the entire team cannot get to higher levels because that would make the game far too unbalanced.  So only individuals may get keys to higher levels.

Team Terrorism: In this mode your team is either the Terrorists, or the Cops/Anti-Terrorists.  The Terrorists have specific objectives in each level, whether it be destroying something like a satellite, sabotaging buildings, or holding people ransom for a set period of time, whatever it may be they have a specific objective to complete.  The Anti-Terrorists then, obviously, have to stop them.  The Terrorists are generally equipped lightly.  Light armor and a small range of weapons is generally the case with the Terrorists.  However, the Anti Terrorists have greater weapons and armor, but get a huge point bonus for not killing the terrorists (using non lethal ways such as a tazer).  The Terrorists have the advantage because they are usually the ones on the attack, or generally have a certain situation all ready and planned out. And they can kill as many police and SWAT members as they want without penalties.  However, the police also have advantages because they have a better arrangement of weapons and armor.  Each level is different and ranges from such missions as the typical sabotage mission, to more complex ones like holding hostages and such things.  When there is the situation of hostages, obviously the police cannot kill the hostages and get severe point reduction when they get killed.  And the terrorists may kill the hostages all they want, but they also get point reductions and if they kill all their hostages they immediately loose.  In other words this is like Rogue Spear or Counter Strike, except taken to a newer level.

Barriers:  This was an idea of mine that caused a big hoot and people thought it would make a great game in itself… so hopefully I remember how to explain it (harddrive crashed and I lost the original file to this L).  Okay, for starters there are at least two teams.  To reduce the confusion then lets just call the two teams Blue and Red for now.  Now, each team has their own ‘side’ just like a game of capture the flag, but instead of a flag, the teams instead have ‘barriers.’  Barriers can be anything from a basic box, dome, or a more advanced structure like a bridge or something like that.  The idea of Barriers, is to get the most points.  And to get points you have to either kill enemies (a measly one point per kill), or kill the other team’s barriers (points range from 50-200).  Each barrier has a set amount of HP, and when that HP is up then the barrier is shattered.  When attacking the barrier, it obviously takes much more shots than a normal person.  But to quicken the process you can look around for the barrier’s weak spot.  In humans it’s the head, but for barriers it is a bit different.  Each start of a new game, when all the barriers are placed, each barrier has a ‘weak spot’ that is hidden in each barrier.  Sort of a crystal, but invisible, and when the crystal is hit there is a much more violent sound and the crystal flashes the color of the team.  The weak spot never changes so when it is found it is defiantly to your team’s advantage.  Now, lets say Bob from Team Red, kills team Blue’s Barrier 1.  Immediately after Bob kills that barrier, a blue one is placed over his head.  This blue one represents the number of the barrier and the color of the team.  This is important information because if the Blue Team manages to kill Bob then their barrier regenerates and he is placed inside, not able break free until another Red team member breaks the barrier again.  Now, what happens when inside the barrier?  Gets kinda lonesome all in there with nothing to do right?  Well there is actually plenty to do while inside the barrier.  You may actually exit the barrier in the form of a ‘spy drone.’  This spy drone is similar to any observer mode in any video game, so you can spot enemies and tell your teammates where they are.  The second thing to do (no it is not twiddling your thumbs) is being able to temporarily escape from the barrier.  You may only escape for one minute (then you go back inside for another minute), or until you are killed (again you go back inside if you are killed).  This is used mostly for when your team needs a little extra help before they can free you.  Another thing you may do is actually to transport yourself to any one of your barriers.  This has multiple uses because when you go into one of your team’s barriers, you may shoot out of it and help with defense.  Or, what is more interesting is when one of the other teams’ people is caught inside.  Then you may challenge them to a duel, and if they accept and you win, they are dead (to respawn) and you are freed from the barrier.  So basically the idea is to kill the other teams’ barriers, but it gets more complex because when you kill a barrier you are like an obvious target to the other team.  And regardless of all the cool stuff you can do inside a barrier, you are quite a bit more useful to your team when outside of one.  But what happens when all of your team is caught inside a barrier?   Well this is an unlikely chance because the idea of this game is to have a huuuuge amount of people playing at the same time… but if it does happen then the other team has a free thirty-second rush to attack your barriers (remember you can transport to your barriers to protect them), and after that time is up then you and your entire team (as well as everyone else from any other teams) are set free with no other penalties to your team or any other, this is called a ‘Jail Break.’  In Barriers the game ends either when your team destroys all the other teams’ barriers, or the time is up and then the team with the most points wins. 

Syphon Filter Team Kill Battle- There is an option that allows this mini game to be checked on or off.  The idea of this mini game (that comes up randomly between maps) is to kill as many of your own teammates as possible.  Yes, that’s right you heard correctly!  Everyone hates team killing so why not make a game of it, LoL.  Obviously, there is only few regen spots, so teammates can camp at those spots and kill you when you wake!  This mini game is very quick, only a couple of minutes, and is more of a gag than an actually serious game mode.  The idea, of course, is to have a little fun, but also unleash terror on a teammate that sucked last game, or to have all those little dweeby teamkiller guys get all of their bent up anger out in one mini game before the next actual serious mission.  This mini game ends in only a matter of minutes and the one with the most team kills wins, but remember that killing the other team results in negative points!

Syphon Filter Snowboarding Race- Take a simple snowboarding game, now add lots and lots of guns and this is the idea of the Snowboarding Race.  Each character starts evenly at the top of the hill with a small firearm such as a pistol.  While flying down the hills at remarkable speeds you may take aim with whatever gun you have (at reduced speed).  If you are able to pick off one of the other riders, then he/she falls off their board and has to safely regen at a reduced speed (if they cannot recover).  Also, whenever you approach a hill you are able to pull off combos.  It should be as basic of a combo system as possible, hell it is not a simulation for cryin’ out loud!  It’s just meant to be a goofy and fun multiplayer mode!  If you pull off big enough combos then you get a boost of speed, and if you pull off a really big combo then when you land it the area around you explodes in flames and any nearby opponents are immediately knocked off their boards.  The first person to make it to the bottom of the hill is the winner, and takes the Snowboarding Gold Medal!

Hunter-Pray- This game mode is a variation, sorta, of tag, except that turns are taken as the Hunter and you must kill as many pray as possible.  As the Hunter, you have a huge selection of weaponry, enhanced armor, a powerup that can be used to temporarily have double damage, and a radar that tells the Hunter where all the pray is.  The pray have very limited weaponry and armor in a level with very few weapons to pick up.  The pray have some unique powerups that can be used such as Speed (doubles your running speed for a short time), Boost (a sudden leap of speed, much faster than speed but only for a very short burst), Regeneration (used to regen any hit points that are lost), Shadow Invisibility (the Hunter can see only a shadow of the figure while it is in effect), Invulnerability (very short time when the Hunter is incapable of KILLING the particular pray… but can still harm them), and Wall Phase (the pray can seep through a wall next to him/her in order to avoid the Hunter, but it takes time to get through the wall leaving for an opening).  Each one of these powerups, including the Hunter’s, all use an energy called Adrenaline.  The Pray gather Adrenaline by moving or just sitting and hiding, but the increase of Adrenaline goes up much higher the closer the Pray is to the Hunter.  As the Hunter you only have some adrenaline that can be used and cannot be regenerated, instead the Hunter regenerates ammunition.  As The Hunter, you must kill as many Pray as possible to gain more time as The Hunter and to gain points.  As the Pray you must hide so the Hunter does not kill you and gain points/time, or you could kill the Hunter and gain the Hunter ability next.  Each time a pray is killed they regen in a random spot in the map, and if the Hunter is killed (not by a Pray by his/her means) then the Pray that becomes the new Hunter is the one with the most Adrenaline.  But, the Pray doesn’t have to kill the Hunter to become the new Hunter.  If The Pray waits until The Hunter’s time is up, then the pray with the most adrenaline points becomes the new Hunter, but since you do not know how much adrenaline points the other pray has, you might want to attack instead.  In this game it is all about trying to trust your fellow pray enough to rebel against the Hunter, but also to know when to betray your other pray in order to shoot the last shot to become the Hunter yourself.  Or if you know you have the most adrenaline, then it can be a simple game of waiting it out.  This means there are a lot of interesting strategies that can be used in order to become the winner.

Savage Pit- The Savage Pit is withheld in a small level and everyone starts with only the combat knife.  When you kill someone you retrieve the next higher up weapon.  In this case it would be a pistol, then next a shotgun, and then next grenades, and so on.  The idea, of course, is to get as many kills as possible.  But when you die you loose all your previous weapons except the combat knife.  At the end of the match the one with the most kills wins.  There is also a Team Savage Pit, which is the same idea except with teams instead.

Character Creation

Every Online video game out there has at least a few options to allow you to customize your character.  These are the options in Syphon Filter Team Battle

Name:  Enter your desired name, of course.

Model:  You get to choose from a variety of models from the first two games, including the goofy characters in the second one like the ‘bag lady.’

Team Preference:  Choices range from Yellow, Blue, Red, Orange, Violet, Pink, Black, and Green.

Team Clan: If you so choose, you can choose to become a clan member for any particular team and fight in clan wars against other clans.  You can also start your own clan.

Favorite Weapon:  Choose a favorite weapon if you want the game to ‘auto select’ it when you pick it up.

Least Fav Weapon:  Same as above except that it will automatically change to any weapon except the one you have.

Flag:  Here you may choose a ‘victory’ flag of your choice.  If you belong in a clan then your clan leader may want you to use theirs (if they have a specific one) otherwise you can pick from the variation of different flags.  A flag is waved after you/you and your team is victorious and the game is loading the new map.

Taunt:  After you kill someone you can wait next to their bodies for a while and the game will automatically taunt your opponent.  There are a variety of different taunts such as a ‘pelvic thrust,’ ‘@$$ shake,’ or many others.  You may also use your taunt after you are victorious, while waving your flag.

Personal information:  This can range from your real name, location, internet connection, email, etc.  None of this information is required to play but it is nice to have for reference, in case anyone is interested.

Bots

Bots are Computer Controlled Opponents that are used when there is not enough human players.  You may add as many bots as there are allowed for any particular level.  You may set the difficulty of the bots, their personalities, and looks or you may just let the game set random bots.

Difficulties:  It ranges from 1-10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the highest.  As a 1 the bots rarely do much of anything and are basically sitting ducks.  Five about what the average player would be, good responses, good aim, etc.  A ten is nearly impossible to kill, with perfect aim, complete knowledge of all the levels, and an ungodly knowingness of where everyone is.

Personalities:  The personalities of the bots reflect how they actually fight/play the game.  The first is Normal, a normal bot just simply tries to kill people with no particular preference.  Brawler is the next type and this type always runs head-on into battle with guns blaring.  Artillery, and artillery bot uses mostly grenades, mortars, or any other type of artillery weapon from as far away as possible.  Sniper, a sniper tries to use as many far range weapons as possible to pick off targets from long distances.  Stealth, a stealth bot tries to sneak around corners and hide in places to try and take out people without them noticing that they were even there.  Spy, a spy bot is used mainly for games like Barriers or something like that, basically they just sit in good viewing areas to see if anyone is coming and alerts other team members when there are.  The next two are mostly for comical purposes.  Idiot, an idiot bot does as much stupid crap as robotically possible.  They might run up to a barrier and just look at it, or take a grenade launcher and accidentally kill his entire team.  And the last is suicidal, a suicidal bot tries to kill himself as quickly as possible and you would probably most likely see them at cliff edges taking a ‘leap of faith.’

Weapons:  All the weapons from the previous Syphon Filters will be in SFTB.  These include the combat knife, pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, and grenades/grenade launchers.  But there will also be more weapons such as gas grenades, mortars, moltov cocktails, flamethrower (yeah I know in the second game but still…), and other such weapons like bazookas and mines or something like that.  The idea is to have a large assortment so the maniac that loves to run and kill things can run around with a flamethrower, but the strategist can use weapons like mortars, mines, and sniper rifles.

Combining Modes:  In the options menu, you may combine as many modes of play as you want into one to make new games.  One such thought that comes to mind is Capture the Flag Barriers.  In this game you have to rush the flag, take out the Barrier that holds it, and then capture the flag after the barrier is destroyed.  Or you may simply destroy all the other teams’ barriers instead.

Extra Options:  Along with all the options that are in each individual mode of play, you may also change many other options in all the games.  One such option is the gravity level, you can change the gravity level from normal to low or very high and the game is affected accordingly.  Another such option is ‘jetpack mode,’ which allows players to pretty much float in the air and fly around.  My last example of extra options is ‘sticky ground,’ in this option of play all the walls and ground becomes very sticky, which allows for you to walk on walls or scale mountains that you would not have been able to in the normal game of play.