Voting

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Voting is a game feature added in the Hatless Update on April 14, 2011 Patch. It enables any player to call a vote to enact a change on the server. The various voting options enable players to vote on a map change, to kick a particular player or to scramble the teams. Any player can initiate a vote by clicking on the checkbox icon in the main menu. A vote type can then be selected and the vote is put to all players present in the server.

The voting system was first introduced into the Team Fortress 2 Beta on March 9, 2011 Patch (Beta). Two later updates that included tweaks to the system were made available in the beta, before the system went live in Team Fortress 2 on April 14. Before this feature was added, the only way to change maps, kick, or ban players was via console commands, or using server mods.

The voting system can be disabled by setting the server command sv_allow_votes to 0. Particular voting types can also be disabled by specific server commands.

Voting types

There are five types of votes that can be called:

• Kick: Kick a selected player out of the server.
• RestartGame: Restarts the current round. If this comes to pass, then a notification will be given out to all players that the round will restart. A set number of seconds pass before a new round begins, neither team getting any points.
• ChangeLevel: The current map changes to the selected map.
• NextLevel: The next map is changed to the selected map. Unlike ChangeLevel, the current map doesn't end.
• ScrambleTeams: The players are put in a random team. Note that this will immediately scramble the teams, rather than wait until the end of the round. A notification is given to all players that a scramble will commence before it happens.

Client commands

F1

Votes "Yes" on the current vote or chooses a map in a level vote. Client command is "vote option1".

F2

Votes "No" on the current vote or chooses a map in a level vote. Client command is "vote option2".

F3

Chooses a map in a level vote. Client command is "vote option3".

F4

Chooses a map in a level vote. Client command is "vote option4".

F5

Chooses a map in a level vote or extends the current map in a NextLevel vote. Client command is "vote option5".

"callvote"

Opens the dialog to call a vote. Is not bound by default.

Server commands

Server-side variables can be set to adjust several elements of the voting engine. The following commands are made available:

sv_allow_votes

Enables or disables the voting system entirely. Defaults to 1 (enabled).

sv_vote_allow_spectators

Allow spectators to participate in votes. Defaults to 0 (disabled).

sv_vote_failure_timer

Cooldown time (in seconds); the time that must pass after a vote fails for another to be initiated. Defaults to 300 (5 minutes).

sv_vote_issue_kick_allowed

Allow kick votes to be called. Defaults to 0 (disabled).

sv_vote_kick_ban_duration

The length of time (in minutes) of the ban on the player if the kick vote is successful. Defaults to 5. Set to 0 to disable the ban entirely and instead only kick the player.

sv_vote_issue_nextlevel_allowed

Allow the next level to be determined by vote. Defaults to 1 (enabled). If called during a round, the map will change on round end. Not at the end of the timelimit for the map. Disabling this also disables the automatic end of map vote.

sv_vote_issue_nextlevel_allowextend

Allow the next level vote to include an 'Extend' option. Defaults to 1 (enabled).

sv_vote_issue_nextlevel_choicesmode

Allow players to be presented with a list of lowest playtime maps to choose from. Defaults to 1 (enabled).

sv_vote_issue_changelevel_allowed

Allow a vote that changes the map to the next level immediately to be initiated. Defaults to 0 (disabled).

sv_vote_issue_restart_game_allowed

Allow a vote that restarts the round to be initiated. Defaults to 1 (enabled).

sv_vote_issue_scramble_teams_allowed

Allow a vote that scrambles the teams to be initiated. Defaults to 1 (enabled).

Sounds

The voting system uses a few sound clips to help show the progress of the voting.

• A vote was started.
• A player has voted yes.
• A player has voted no.
• Vote passed sucessfully.
• Vote failed to pass.

Trivia

• All sounds for voting come from soundbites taken from The Art of War.

Update history

April 14, 2011 Patch (Hatless Update)

• Added a new vote system
  • Server convars added to control the vote system

May 25, 2011 Patch

• Fixed a server crash caused by the vote system.

June 8, 2011 Patch

• Updated the voting system.
  • Added a convar to prevent voting on the next level if one has already been set (sv_vote_issue_nextlevel_prevent_change)
  • Fixed scrambleteams resetting how many rounds have been played
    • Updated mp_scrambleteams to support a parameter of 2, which prevents resetting the number of rounds that have been played
  • Fixed the server automatically creating votes while in training or using itemtest

June 27, 2011 Patch

• Fixed a problem with clients seeing the incorrect vote options after changing servers

June 28, 2011 Patch

• Added an entry for "Call Vote" to the Options->Keyboard Settings, so you can bind a key to it.

March 1, 2012 Patch

• Fixed being able to call server votes for training maps

April 18, 2012 Patch

• Vote caller history is now tracked by SteamID to prevent vote cooldown exploits
• Fixed players being able to disconnect before a successful kickvote to avoid being banned

June 27, 2012 Patch

• Votes created by a dedicated server no longer trigger a failed vote cooldown