PropHunt

“

C'mere, sweetheart... Click to listen — The Soldier looking for props

”

PropHunt is a Team Fortress 2 mod originally written and released by Darkimmortal with a set of accompanying maps developed by various authors, indicated by the ph_ prefix. The unranked copy of the SourceMod plug-in is currently available for server administrators through AlliedModders. The ranked copy is available on request from the Geit or Darkimmortal via GamingMasters.co.uk.

There is also a SourceOP LUA rewrite of the plug-in that is used privately on the SourceOP servers.

Gameplay

PropHunt plays much like a cross between the standard Arena Mode and the game "Hide and Seek". Players on the RED team, disguised as "props", are given a 30 second set up time to hide, and afterwards players on the BLU team attempt to find and kill them in the allotted time period. At the end of each round the teams are swapped; the "Hunters" (BLU) become the "Hunted" (RED) and vice versa. Respawns are not permitted until the end of each round.

Players on the RED team are forced to play as Scouts and are randomly assigned the appearance of a map prop at the start of each round. They are not able to make use of their weapons unless they are the last player on their team. Passive item effects, like the Sandman's health penalty, will influence the player as normal. In addition, the RED team is unable to drown, which enables them to hide underwater.

The BLU team has access to all classes except for the Spy and Medic with the Solemn Vow (due to their ability to see enemy stats). Pyro is the default class, and consequently the most widely used. Fire effects are visible on props, making them easy to track after they are found. Also Pyros are granted the ability to "fly" by firing their flamethrowers in midair as a means increasing vertical mobility in to combat the Scout's Double Jump.

Firing a weapon or swinging a melee weapon will cause members of the BLU team to slightly damage themselves. This is intended to give players a reason to focus on suspicious props rather than shooting everything in sight. To reward successful hunters, members of the BLU team who score a kill or kill assist are restored to full health and granted a small speed boost for as long as they keep their current weapon out.

Health pickups are generally limited on Prop Hunt maps, although Prop Hunt maps universally feature a central, unable to be captured control point that will fully heal a player passing over it once every 55 seconds (tracked individually for each player).

BLU or RED win the round if all members of the opposing team die. RED is able to win by staying alive until the end of the round's duration, at which point all BLU players are automatically slain and the victory awarded accordingly. If there is only one RED prop left the remaining BLU team members are Jarated and they are allowed to shoot at the BLU team members.

Tips

Hunted

• You have 30 seconds to find a decent hiding spot. Make the most of this time.
  • If the Hunters have been unleashed it is a good idea to simply make a mad dash to what ever out of the way or matching area you can find.
    • The spawn room of the Hunters is often forgotten after the round begins.

• Try to find a spot that you will fit in nicely. Don't try to give anything away to the Hunters.
  • Most people don't tend to look up. Use this to your advantage.
  • Dark spots are easy to overlook.
  • The bounds of the map might be larger than it looks like, look for obscure ledges and similar spots.
  • A good place to hide is near props similar to yours, e.g., hide in a corner full of barrels as a barrel.
  • There are some spots where people don't or rarely check. Hiding there while not drawing any attention will almost guarantee victory.
  • Some maps have locations that are hard to reach. You might stand out if you hide there, but at the same time people will have trouble reaching you.
  • Make absolutely sure your prop is not clipping into something nearby. While clips may not always be dead giveaways, they tend to attract enemy attention.
    • A few prop combinations (especially vegetation) look natural when clipping. Exploit that most people learn which props are safe.
  • Be careful of hiding in hazardous locations, e.g., a room full of pumpkin bombs, as a stray bullet could kill you instantly.
  • Since you cannot drown, hiding underwater will negate the Pyro's fire ability or Flare Guns. However, beware of other classes's attacks.
  • Hide somewhere with a good exit. There is nothing worse than getting stuck at your enemies' mercy.
• When you have been found out, just run and find a health kit as quickly as possible. Try to give your pursuers the slip and find another hiding spot.
• If you see an incoming projectile, try to avoid it. Your cover will be blown but you will still live to find another hiding spot.
• Clicking will lock the prop so that you can check your surroundings without drawing attention.

• Feel free to run around from the Hunters for the duration of the round, especially if your prop is something that won't fit into your surroundings. Be wary, however, of the positions of the Hunters (so you don't run into Pyro's fire), the landscape (so you don't run into walls), and other Hunted (so you don't blow their cover as well).

• It is advisable to equip the default Bat, even though you cannot use it. Negative effects such as the Sandman's reduced health or the Candy Cane's increased explosive vulnerability are detrimental. You could also equip the Atomizer, to have an extra jump to get to places easier.

• If you're the final prop, you can shoot, so it can help to practice playing as a Scout. If you choose to do so, lurk around a health kit and pick off weakened Hunters.

Hunters

• Your health decreases when you fire. Consequently, try not to randomly shoot everywhere.
  • As a Pyro, the Phlogistinator will drain your health in less than one second due to it's faster firing rate. It is advised to not use this weapon due to this.
• The Pyro's fire can easily reveal Scouts and do quite a number on their health. The same goes for weapons that cause bleeding.
• The Heavy's Sandvich can be useful not only to eat and heal himself but also to his teammates if thrown.
• The Jarate does no damage when thrown, but will reveal any Scouts in the area which will help locate and kill the Hunted faster.
• If you identify an enemy player but fail to kill him, tell your team what and where he is so they can kill him.
• You can shoot and jump to do a "super jump" to reach higher places.
• Engineers are not allowed to build Sentry Guns, but can build Dispensers. If you are planning to be an Engineer, you can build your Dispenser during setup time when the health penalty is not active before hauling it to a good spot.
• Offensive taunts like the Pyro's Hadouken and Engineer's Dischord and Organ Grinder will not drain the hunter's life. At the cost of Execution speed, this can be used to your advantage to kill oblivious props or scare them out of hiding.
• Using either the Short Circuit or Widowmaker will not drain an Engineer's health, although it will drain the Engineers' metal reserves.
• When attacking a large prop, bear in mind that the actual hitbox of the Scout does not match the prop. It is either at the center of the prop, or at the end of a long prop.
• On small PropHunt maps, killing one or more props while still holding your Minigun down as a Heavy will keep the speed boost, making it easier to damage or kill props.

Bugs

• Choosing to play as the Demoman or Medic will result in the player ref-posing until a melee weapon is drawn out. When the melee weapon is selected as these two classes, the player cannot switch weapons. Note, however, that the Chargin' Targe may still be used, and set effects will apply.
• Any equipped miscellaneous items and hats will not be hidden while playing as a prop. While this can be hilarious, it is inadvisable. To work around this, it is advised to keep a loadout preset empty exclusively for PropHunt.
• Because some props aren't designed to be moved around sometimes they can be invisible from certain angles. (Control points are invisible from below for example)
• Any recently added weapons which have been added may not be removed from use in prophunt, such as the Festive Grenade Launcher or Vaccinator.

External links

• TF2 PropHunt Official Steam Group
• TF2 PropHunt Stats pages
• AlliedModders plugin release thread
• Team Fortress 2 Hide and Seek Mod Found to be Grea - Shacknews (Oct 2009)
• Interview with Dark Immortal and Geit on Kritzkast (Episode 36, October 2009)