Attackers Go Red

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Attackers Go Red (AGR) FAQ V4 by OneManClan 2008, wikified by Moa

What is AGR?

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.


Glossary/Jargon

Attack
this means actively attempting to Cap, as opposed to just DM'ing
Cap
Capturing a flag / key, or achieving the map's set task
Choke point
Areas of a map where Red MUST pass through, and are therefore strategically significant.
D
Defend
Foyer
The area directly behind the front door of a base
RR
Ramp Room
FR
Flag Room
Nonamer
A player with an unknown name. Possible newbie, or possible troublemaker in disguise.
O
Offense
Spiral
Spiral Area
Tele
Teleporter (also: tp)
Try
This is an organised attack by a group of Reds working together. Often accompanied by a Chaplain.
Tourist
A player new to the Session, possibly just curious, possibly a troublemaker.

Where can I play AGR?

The answer to this is simple - attend the Weekly AGR Session!

I'm there most weeks. Note: Please don't ask me questions during the Session, I'm totally focussed on the game and I'm AFK during the intermissions. Make sure you read both FAQ's and then email me if you have any questions (or wait till the conclusion of Game 4).

There is an AGR Yahoo Group. Getting accepted isn't a big deal though, just show up for a few weeks in a row, and demonstrate that you have SOME skill (and aren't a lamer). Get on the list and receive updates, the Weekly AGR Review, and make sure you're in the loop if theres any special practice sessions, changes to session times and locations, or other events.

Why was AGR developed?

The number of Quake 1 TF players has been in decline, and it's been harder and harder to get a good game of TF. Sometimes there are just too few players to play certain maps. The rest of the time, players join either Blue or Red at random, and no-one knows exactly what everyone else is doing. Depending on who decides to attack, or defend on each team, the game can be occasionally great, but more often can be frustratingly unbalanced, or worse ...boring!

Too often, defenders (especially engineers) custom up for D, and the enemy doesn't attack! They go D too! So now both teams are sitting there with their D ("turtling"), and mabye one lonely player from each team is attacking. Bored defenders have to wait for the one attacker from the other team, and the attacker has no-one to assist! Or, another scenario is where you attack, and get to the enemy base to find that theres no-one actually defending the flag! Now some newbies get a thrill from a cheap cap, but personally, I like each cap to feel like a ...VICTORY!!! A hard won battle!

Many decent players gave up on 'teamwork' on public servers, and left the game; the TF servers became the home for failed DMers, who could use the classes of CustomTF to finally get some frags.

AGR-mode makes games on public servers feel more like clan matches. It ensures that the action is high, and makes it possible to play the bigger maps with fewer people. How? Read on....

So what do I actually have to do?

When you join a game, decide at the outset whether you will be attacking (going for the flag), or not. If you intend to attack, pick Red / team 2. That's it! All the other Reds will be attacking, and it will be easier to get some teamwork because you are all after the same thing. If you want to defend, then pick Blue/ team 1. Again, the other Blues will also be defending, and it will be easier to get a a great D the enemy will have to work hard to get past.

What are the advantages of playing AGR?

  1. Action packed games - AGR literally doubles the action, ALL Blues fight ALL Reds.
  2. Being able to play the bigger maps with fewer people.
  3. No more wondering which team to join
  4. No more wondering what everyone else is doing
  5. No more turtling (both teams defending, begging someone from the other team to attack)
  6. No more pointless capping of undefended flags (and speedcapping)
  7. Improves the skills of players because the challenge is greater
  8. Gives a 'clan match' feel to games on public servers
  9. Forces people to take the game seriously, (ie if you're blue and your D is failing, you cant switch to attack, hoping to even the scores. And if you're red, you can't just waste time playing 'DM w classes'. No cap? - blue will get points!)
  10. Experienced players finally get to test their skills against multiple enemies!
  11. Many skills such as chap, medic, and auras work better because there are more people to help.
  12. Gives same game play as on a crowded server, with the bandwidth.

What if I go Blue, and enter their base?

That's ok, do whatever you want; preferably something that will help defend your flag..

Why are you so good looking OMC??

I dont know, I just am; can we get back to the FAQ now?

I want to snipe - what team do I join?

If you're going to help the attackers, go Red. If you want to protect the 'Fortress', go Blue.

How does the scoring work in AGR-mode?

AGR is a team orientated game, so there are no individual frags. The Red team gets 10 points for every Cap. The Blue team gets 10 points for every 5 minutes that Red DOESN'T Cap. Thats right - defenders get rewarded in AGR! And attackers who fail to cap, get 'punished'! Frustrated blue defenders who are failing, don't have the option of abandoning D and switching to attack, as happens with non-agr. This quickly turns every game into a speedcapping waste of time. With AGR, blue HAVE to D, and face the challenge. There is no Red flag.

What happens if there are more people?

The same principle applies; all Reds fighting all Blues. eg a game with 16 vs 16 playing AGR, means 16 defenders have to deal with 16 attackers! I love these matches! The Fortress is more of a Fortress w 16 defenders, and someone once descibed Red as a 'moshpit of attackers', pouring into the Blue base. We're talking high adrenalin here! And if the Red team is working as a TEAM, then Blue will have to keep on their toes as they have to deal with it - eg Rock2 is awesome where Blue D has to figure out whether Red attackers will pour our of the front, the Shower, or the Yard Hole! In other words, with more people, AGR still 'doubles the action'. True, the smaller maps become more crowded, but personally I love busy/crowded games, and BIG maps such as braveheart don't seem so huge, and become brilliant!

Aren't AGR games really exhausting and frustrating?

Yes they are, the way any great game should be. Since theres no holdup in the action, and since all reds fight all blues, yes, the games are more intense that non-agr, but this is an advantage. TF is supposed to be a thrilling fast action packed game, and its more frustrating playing a boring non-agr game where turtling and speedcapping are rife.

I'm really dumb, I STILL dont understand why AGR is better than non-agr!

Ok, imagine 2 people trying to play 2fort5. One Blue, and one Red. And each player just 'does what they want'. What kind of game would it be? Pointless right? Why? Because if they both attack, they could just run past each other and get to each others flags. And if they both Defended, they would sit there waiting and waiting p o i n t l e s s Unless. they agreed that one would defend, and the other attack. Then the game might be ok.. but probably still be insanely boring.

Now, imagine 4 people playing 2fort5, 2 Blues, and 2 Reds. If 1 Blue goes D, and the other O, and Red does the same, then it's the same as 1 on 1 - ie the Blue defender will never encounter the Red defender. And the Blue attacker, could just run past the Red attacker, so really it's could end up being the same as 1 on 1. However, if both attackers agreed to go Red (AGR!!) and the defenders could pair up on Blue (eg. one covering the ramp room, and maybe another at top room). Suddenly Blue's D is looking much better. They can actually get a 'fortress' happening'; but then Red has two attackers, and they can work together ('Team!!'). Team Fortress. Now the action in the game has doubled. Each player has a partner, and has to deal with 2 enemies! This "doubling of the action" is why AGR is such a powerful way to play.

Why was Red chosen to be the attackers' colour?

Red (aggressive colour/alert) sounded more "attack mode" than Blue (peaceful colour); also 'AGR' are the first three letters of 'agro' (Australian slang for 'aggressive'), which is what attackers should be!

How should I handle choke point congestion?

There is an element of 'Congestion and Spam', all great games, and the reason there seems to be more of it in AGR, is simply because theres more people actually fighting each other! An 8 vs 8 AGR game should have the same theoretical *spam* as 16 vs 16 non-agr. Theoretically.

Let me try to explain why 'chokepoint spam' should NOT be an issue in a well played game, and should be seen as part of the challenge. Choke points are created by:

The actual design of the map
Ie its not the fault of AGR. The flagroom in qdeth (for example), is a choke point in non-agr too!
Solo defenders
Because solo defenders in non-AGR have assumed no-one would help and focussed all their D in one area. This area becomes the spam point. Heres a classic example: Imagine we're defending 2fort5r, non-agr. We dont know exactly who else is defending (if anyone), so we assume were on our own (its a rare non-AGR game where people work as a coordinated team, agreed?). Therefore the only place to reliably D is probably the FR. Every other spot can be bypassed. The top room is good, but because enemy can enter via the grid, or the RR(Ramp Room), its hard to keep track of both. So we have to D in the FR. This MAKES the FR the choke point.

Now, if we're playing AGR-mode, and ALL of red are attacking, the FR D wont be able to sustain itself. When the enemy spams the fuck out of the FR D (and they *have* to to get to the flag), its over. BUT!!! since all of blue are defending, the choke point can be *moved*. If 2 people D the upper area, the choke point becomes the RR. Big games with multiple players allow for multiple 'choke points'. You can D under the grid, in the spiral etc, and there is no one spot where red can destroy all of blues D.

This is what I meant by blue 'adapting'. If the whole blue team choose to sit in the 2fort5r FR area, hide behind the teslas, and get spammed by the entire red team, its their own fault.

Another example I saw recently in a brilliant Bam4 AGR game was where red dropped the flag in the RR. Blue rushed outside, and defended at the bridge area, and were able to stop red regaining the flag. Spam is only wins games when there is one choke point, and AGR gives blue the opportunity to *remove* congestion, by D'ing in multiple places.

See also

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