Teleporters

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The Engineer setting up a teleporter
Thanks for ride!
The Heavy

Teleporters, also known as Telemax Teleporters, are a type of building produced by the Telemax Corporation that can be constructed by an Engineer using the Build Tool. Two components make up a complete and functional teleporter set: the Teleporter Entrance and the Teleporter Exit. Both ends appear as devices painted team color that rotate quickly to form glowing, circular pads.

Players who stand on a fully charged Teleporter Entrance are instantly transported to the Teleporter Exit in a flash of light and particles. After a brief period of recharging, another teammate can pass through. With the ability to transport teammates quickly over any distance, Teleporters are an essential component to any team not defending their front porch: when fully upgraded, respawned teammates can be back on the front lines many times faster than walking or even most special jumps. A team can easily have their offensive push or defensive setup crumble if they lack prompt reinforcements, while one with a judiciously-placed exit can apply constant pressure and even sneak into an unaware enemy's territory.

Functionality

Teleporters cost 125 metal each to place, 200 metal to upgrade to Level 2, and an additional 200 to upgrade to Level 3. Upgrading a Teleporter will decrease the entrance's recharge time by approximately half. Upgrading the Teleporter on one end will automatically upgrade it on the other. However, if one end is destroyed, the remaining end reverts to Level 1. Although the model itself does not change when upgraded, the particles surrounding the teleporter become faster and more intense, and the sounds it makes increase in pitch and volume.

If a Spy places a Sapper on one end, another Sapper is automatically placed on the other end, if it exists. In turn, an Engineer can remove both Sappers by destroying one on either teleporter. The Engineer may then proceed to repair both ends of the teleporter system by using his Wrench on either end. However, since the Spy can place an infinite amount of Sappers on either the entrance or the exit of the teleporter, the Engineer may not be able to fully repair the teleporter system before another is placed upon it. This will result in the entire system being destroyed unless the Spy is killed or scared off.

Both Teleporters' health increases as they are being constructed until they reach a maximum of 150 health upon completion. When completed, a Teleporter Entrance will be instantly charged if there is an exit available, but subsequent charges will take ten seconds each unless the Teleporter is upgraded. Destroyed Teleporters leave 60 metal worth of pieces each.

Teleporter (top-down view)
Inactive teleporter (top-down view)

Players who have recently teleported are surrounded by a distinctive, glowing particle effect for eighteen seconds after teleporting. The effect is visible if the player looks at their feet after Teleporter use. Spies who are disguised or Cloaked are not affected by this. Players cannot normally use the enemy team's Teleporters. However, Spies can use enemy Teleporters, even while Cloaked or undisguised. Standing on a Teleporter Exit when it is used by an enemy (whether it is an enemy exit or a friendly exit used by an enemy Spy) results in a fatal telefrag.

By default, players appear facing the direction the Engineer was facing when he placed the Teleporter Exit. The Teleporter Exit can be rotated by clicking the player's secondary attack button before placing the building, with an arrow on the blueprint indicating the direction a teammate will be facing upon use. The Teleporter Entrance can be rotated too, though this has no gameplay effect. The entrance has an arrow that automatically points towards the exit (if it exists), which is unaffected by the rotation of the Teleporter Entrance. This arrow shows the player the general direction in which they will travel. The builder earns half of a point each time a team member other than himself uses his Teleporter.

While the Teleporter's blueprints are out, the Teleporter Entrance shows an arrow pointing to the ground while the Teleporter Exit shows an arrow pointing away from the ground. This is to distinguish the entrance and the exit while building.

Players who are carrying the Intelligence cannot use a Teleporter.

In Mann vs. Machine mode, Teleporters can be upgraded at Upgrade Stations to increase their health and activate the ability to teleport in both directions, allowing one to stand on the Exit and teleport to the Entrance (in which case the rotation of the Entrance will affect the direction of players teleporting "backwards"). Using an Upgrade Buildings Canteen will also instantly upgrade Teleporters to level 3.

Demonstration

Teleporter Levels

Level Health Cost (Metal) Recharge time
Without Eureka Effect With Eureka Effect
1 150 50 25 10 seconds
2 180 250 125 5 seconds
3 216 450 225 3 seconds

Related achievements

Achieved.png General

Riftwalker
Riftwalker
Kill an enemy within 5 seconds of you traveling through an Engineer's teleporter.

Controlpoint.png Foundry

Claim Jumper
Claim Jumper
Capture a control point within 12 seconds after exiting a teleporter.

Leaderboard class scout.png Scout

Closer
Closer
Destroy 3 teleporter entrances.

Leaderboard class pyro.png Pyro

Trailblazer
Trailblazer
Ignite 10 enemies that have recently used a teleporter.

Leaderboard class demoman.png Demoman

Loch Ness Bombster
Loch Ness Bombster
Kill an enemy player with stickybombs within 5 seconds of them teleporting.

Leaderboard class heavy.png Heavy

Five Second Plan
Five Second Plan
Kill an enemy in the first 5 seconds after you exit a teleporter.

Leaderboard class engineer.png Engineer

Battle Rustler
Battle Rustler
Teleport 100 team members into battle.

Update history

September 26, 2007 Patch
  • Fixed bug with placement of Teleporters that could result in players being unable to move.

October 5, 2007 Patch

October 9, 2007 Patch

  • Demomen grenades now collide with players and Engineer buildings after the first bounce, but still won't explode on contact

October 25, 2007 Patch

  • Engineer buildings now explode when the Engineer dies during sudden death.
  • Fixed scoring problem where destroying a buildable added a phantom point, not attributed to any scoring bucket but still included in total score
  • Fixed some edge cases where grenades could go through player or buildings
  • The Engineer's "build X" commands will now behave properly when bound directly to keys

November 7, 2007 Patch

  • Engineers no longer earn points for using their own Teleporters.
  • Fixed a bug in scoring Engineer building destruction.
  • Fixed exploit that allowed players to teleport with the intelligence

November 21, 2007 Patch

  • Fixed building bone merge cache from dormant entities. Fixes weapons in SourceTV attached to wrong bones

December 20, 2007 Patch

  • Fixed the teleporter's player shaped particles not drawing.
  • Sapped buildings now take slightly less damage from the Spy who sapped them.

February 14, 2008 Patch

  • Added server log entry for buildings destroyed by their owner

February 28, 2008 Patch

  • Changed Engineer buildings to detonate when a player disconnects instead of blinking out.
  • Fixed Engineer being able to detonate buildings that are being sapped.

April 29, 2008 Patch (Gold Rush Update)

  • Teleporter effect no longer shows up on invisible or disguised Spies.
  • Fixed "times used" entry in Teleporters maxing out at 32.
  • Mapmakers can now place Engineer buildings directly into a map, with an option for them to be invulnerable

December 11, 2008 Patch

  • Teleporters can now be upgraded to level three. It will recharge faster the higher level it is.

December 15, 2008 Patch

  • Added teleporter sounds for level 2 and 3 Teleporters.

January 28, 2009 Patch

  • Fixed teleporter entrance/exit effects being drawn when they don't have a matching teleporter entrance/exit.

February 24, 2009 Patch (Scout Update)

  • Added new sounds for upgraded Teleporters.

May 21, 2009 Patch (Sniper vs. Spy Update)

  • Spies can now use enemy Teleporters

May 29, 2009 Patch

  • Fixed Spies not being telefragged when standing on an enemy teleporter exit with the Dead Ringer enabled.

June 23, 2009 Patch

  • Fixed Teleporters not being buildable in some places where they should be (such as within the pit at the end of Badwater Basin).

August 13, 2009 Patch (Classless Update)

  • Engineers wrenching a teleporter will repair the other end as well, and remove Sappers from both if they exist.

August 31, 2009 Patch

  • Fixed being able to burn buildings that are in the water while standing outside the water.
  • Fixed teleporting Spies getting stuck in enemy players standing on the exit.
  • Fixed server log not listing telefrag kills as weapon "telefrag".

April 29, 2010 Patch (119th Update)

  • Fixed Teleporters not reverting to level 1 when their other side is destroyed.
  • Fixed Teleporter exit using the wrong particle effect.

April 30, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed the Engineer being able to build more than 1 of each type of building.

July 8, 2010 Patch (Engineer Update)

  • Engineers can now pickup & move their buildings.
  • Fixed a server crash related to carrying buildings.

July 9, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed a bug that allowed sapped buildings to be picked up by the Engineer
  • Fixed a bug where players would go into reference poses when switching classes while carrying a building.
  • Engineers can no longer pick up buildings while stunned or in loser state.
  • Fixed a server crash in the player death code, related to building carrying.

July 13, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed a server crash related to carrying buildings at round start.
  • Fixed players picking up buildings before a round has started.

July 19, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed a problem with not being able to pick-up buildings in Arena mode.
  • Fixed a bug where Teleporters could be given more than their normal amount of health.

December 2, 2010 Patch

  • Fixed Engineers being able to destroy sapped buildings by issuing the command directly in the console.

February 22, 2011 Patch

  • [Undocumented] Several particle effects, including Teleporters, were altered to appear brighter. These changes do not apply to ATI graphics card users and some others.

September 15, 2011 Patch

  • Fixed teleporter progress being displayed incorrectly after upgrading a teleporter while it was recharging

April 17, 2012 Patch

  • Fixed being able to place buildings in nobuild zones

August 2, 2012 Patch

  • Fixed Sappers attaching incorrectly to Teleporters that are still building
  • [Undocumented] Teleporters now have an upgrade animation. If unconnected, its active rings glow for a moment as if connected. If connected, it temporarily appears disabled.
  • [Undocumented] Teleporter Exits now point towards their Entrance.
  • [Undocumented] Teleporters can no longer be wrenched during an upgrade animation.

April 18, 2013 Patch

  • Fixed a bug where you could come out of a teleporter facing the wrong way in VR mode mode.

Bugs

  • If a teleporter exit is on a significantly sloped ground, or is within the bounding box of certain props (typically large and/or rotated), any attempts to teleport will instead destroy the exit and leave the player on the entrance. This appears to be a too-sensitive safeguard against getting stuck in objects by teleporting.
  • Sometimes the teleporter circle effects are upright instead of flat on top of the teleporter.
  • It is impossible to use an entrance that is underwater as the game will not see you as standing on top of it.
  • Levelled-up teleporters may attempt to and fail at teleporting players as they progress through their "upgrade animations".
  • Sometimes when a teleporter is placed in a tight corner of two walls, any player that uses the teleporter will travel through but be stuck at the exit.[1]
  • In rare cases, the Teleporter will appear sideways when built. This glitch does not affect the teleporter in any way.
  • Placing a Teleporter entrance at the top of a slope with the exit in the spot on the slope directly in front of it, so that the exit is beneath the entrance, the teleporting player will get stuck in the entrance and constantly teleport into the exit.
  • After placing and fully upgrading both parts of Teleporters, if the exit is picked up and placed back before the Engineer destroy the entrance to build it up and upgrade again, it will cause the Teleporters' health to stack up, as if it wasn't upgraded.[2]
  • Teleporters in Mann vs. Machine sometimes apply the Building Health upgrade too many times, resulting in having more health then other buildings of the same level.

Trivia

  • The Engineer's Teleporters are manufactured by Telemax, a division of TF Industries.
  • According to the Team Fortress comics, teleportation was invented under the effects of Australium.[3]
  • There is a small extra cost in Metal to upgrade a Teleporter to the next level if a completed entrance or exit is being upgraded while the other end is still in the process of constructing. It is unclear if this is a bug or intentional. It may be that the extra cost is the result of the game interpreting the incomplete state of one end of the Teleporter as being "damaged" since an incomplete building does not possess the maximum health of a completed building, and thus a small repair cost in Metal is incurred. The phenomenon occurs only once per construction.
  • Teleporters may have more health than other buildings in Mann vs. Machine mode.
  • Rotating the Teleporter entrance, while allowed, does not affect it in any way.

Gallery

References