PASS Time

“

PASS Time combines TF2's usual fast-paced bloodsport with the actual fast-paced sports of soccer, hockey and basketball.

— Publicity blurb

”

PASS Time is a game mode developed by Bad Robot, Escalation Studios, and Valve. First announced on August 18th, 2015 with the beta release of Warehouse, which would later become Brickyard, PASS Time was made an official game mode with the "Meet Your Match Update" on July 7th, 2016.

Gameplay

All of the current PASS Time maps are symmetrical. A neutral ball, called the JACK, spawns near the center of the map. Players must take the ball and successfully score it in one of the opposing team's goals. By default, the scoring limit is five; once one of the teams reaches this limit, that team wins. Otherwise, the team with the most points wins when the time runs out.

JACK

At the beginning of the round, after successful goals, or after the previous JACK lays dormant on the ground for awhile, a fresh JACK is dropped by the JACK Dispenser at the center of the map, at which point a whistle is blown. The JACK is visible through walls. The JACK may be picked up from the ground, thrown using primary fire, and stolen by hitting the JACK carrier with melee.

Players carrying the JACK, called the "JACK carriers", are unable to use any weapons. The JACK can be thrown or passed to teammates in view via the primary fire button. However, it can be stolen if an enemy strikes the player with their melee weapon. It is also possible to steal the JACK from your own teammate in this way if the player holds it for too long, which is useful in a pub setting to counteract griefers who refuse to give up the JACK. The Jack becomes neutral when it touches the floor after being thrown and resets after some time.

The JACK carrier has the ability to see both teammates and enemies through walls. When stolen (through melee hit) or intercepted from an enemy player, the JACK gives its new carrier a brief speed boost and even briefer invulnerability. After the invulnerability wears off, the JACK carrier will be marked for death whenever no teammates are nearby. When there *are* teammates nearby, the JACK carrier is not marked for death. The JACK carrier and all nearby teammates are able to move at the speed of the fastest teammate currently in the pack. In addition to this, all teammates near the JACK carrier experience passive health regeneration.

Goals

Each team has three separate goals on each PASS Time map: the Throw-In Goal, the Run-In Goal, and the Bonus Goal. A team's goals, located on that team's side of the map, may only be scored upon by an enemy player; in other words, a RED player may not score upon any RED goal.

The Run-In Goal is a wide zone located at the extreme end of either side of the map. As the name of the goal suggests, players are required to run into the goal zone while carrying the JACK to score, since attempting to throw the JACK into the Run-In Goal will result in the JACK bouncing back out without scoring. Alternatively, the JACK may be passed to a player who is already standing in the Run-In Goal.

The Throw-In Goal is a team-colored hole in the wall which is located somewhere between the Run-In Goal and the middle of the map. To score upon an enemy's Throw-In Goal, the JACK must be thrown into the goal.

The Bonus Goal, like the Throw-In Goal, is a team-colored hole into which the JACK must be thrown to score. Traditionally, the Bonus Goal is high up and normally requires the use of a particular Jump Pad to reach. However, unlike the Throw-In Goal, the Bonus Goal is worth three points, and cannot be scored upon unless the Jack Power Meter is filled.

It may be helpful to think of the Run-In Goal as the "touchdown zone", the Throw-In Goal as the "hockey goal", and the Bonus Goal as the "basketball hoop".

JACK Power

Passing the JACK to teammates fills a JACK Power Meter, which is visible on the HUD at the top of the screen. The meter must be filled in order to unlock the Bonus Goals, which grant three points to the scoring team. If a JACK is taken by the enemy team, the JACK Power *will not reset*, allowing a team to score on the Bonus Goal using the JACK Power built up by the enemy team. After a goal is scored, or after the JACK lays dormant on the ground for too long, the JACK resets, and JACK Power resets to zero along with it. JACK Power also starts to decay slowly after some time.

Strategy

Main article: Community PASS Time strategy

Maps

Main article: List of maps

PASS Time

PASS Time has three compatible maps that carry the pass_ prefix; community maps are identified with an italic font.

Name	Picture	File name
Brickyard		`pass_brickyard`
District		`pass_district`
Timberlodge		`pass_timbertown`

Related achievements

PASS Time has 2 achievements related to this game mode.

Jackpot!
Win 10 rounds playing PASS Time.

Reward: Civilian Grade JACK Hat

Tune Merasmus's Multi-Dimensional Television
Reveal the mystery of the PASS Time TV Room.

Reward: Military Grade JACK Hat, PASS Time Miniature Half JACK

Bugs

Loaded shells of the Panic Attack can be fired while holding the Jack; you can not reload while holding the Jack.
Loaded rockets of the Beggar's Bazooka can be fired while holding the Jack; you can not reload while holding the Jack.
If the JACK carrier suicides near other friendly players, they will gain permanent speed boosts.

Update history

August 18, 2015 Patch #1

Added new game mode 'PASS Time' to the TF2 Beta.

August 18, 2015 Patch #2

Fixed a client crash related to the HUD.
Fixed the Short Circuit being used to remove the Jack from the game.
Fixed players being able to pick-up the Jack while they have weapons deployed that cannot be holstered.

August 18, 2015 Patch #3

Fixed a PASS Time sound bug related to carrying the Jack.

August 19, 2015 Patch

Fixed disguised Spies not having a shield drawn for them in the HUD
Fixed players being able to carry the jack while taunting (fixes an exploit with The Eureka Effect)
Fixed being able to 'inspect' the jack while players are carrying it
Fixed capturing the jack not incrementing Scout contract points

August 27, 2015 Patch

Fixed scoring in your own goal if you change teams while the jack is in flight
Fixed disguised and cloaked enemy Spies having a shield drawn for them in the HUD
Fixed players sometimes not being able to throw the jack
Fixed another case where players could teleport the jack with The Eureka Effect
Fixed The Dead Ringer making it impossible to throw the jack or deactivate the Dead Ringer
All global special abilities that are activated with alt-fire are now available while carrying the jack, unless you're actively aiming the jack
Unlocked console variables for community servers to experiment with without requiring sv_cheats
Fixed Scouts being able to pick up the jack while drinking
Fixed disguised Spies being able to carry the jack in some situations
Made weapon switch faster after throwing the jack
Fixed not getting a speed boost if you score and then get the jack after it respawns
Fixed a crash if mp_tournament was enabled and someone scored during pre-game
Improved the way blocking works
Fixed being able to cancel enemy taunts by hitting them with the ball
Fixed seeing a phantom jack in your hand if you threw the jack and couldn't switch back to your previous weapon (jars, cleavers, etc.)

September 10, 2015 Patch

If the jack is neutral for too long, it will automatically respawn
If a player holds the jack for too long, teammates can steal the jack from that player
Catching and intercepting a tossed jack is slightly easier
Demoman can no longer charge or detonate while holding the jack
Enabled melee-only for sudden death mode

September 24, 2015 Patch

Rounds will continue after the timer expires until the jack becomes neutral or someone scores
The jack will heal its carrier to full health
Added tf_passtime_unstable for testing unstable features
Unstable features
- Attack, defense, and support classes have different throwing arcs (tf_passtime_throwspeed, tf_passtime_throwarc)
- The jack inherits some of the thrower's velocity (tf_passtime_throwspeed_velocity)
Added an alternate version of pass_warehouse: pass_warehouse_goal2
- Instead of scoring by throwing the jack into the goal, players need to carry the jack into the goal

October 21, 2015 Patch

Trying out some new sounds
Catching and intercepting a tossed jack is slightly easier
Added convar tf_passtime_ball_model
Fixed an issue that prevented disguised Spies from receiving a pass from enemies
Fixed a bug that allowed overloadable weapons to continue reloading while carrying the jack
Fixed an issue that awarded a point to the wrong team during team switch
Fixed an issue that prevented automatic jack respawn from working in some cases
Fixed a wrong texture on goal visualizers
Fixed pass lock sound not playing for the targeted player
The announcer now says "overtime" at the appropriate time
Updated pass_warehouse and pass_warehouse_goal2
- Removed jump pads from the second floor of the warehouse
- Added more spectator cameras
- Added lateral jump pads to the middle arena

October 28, 2015 Patch (Scream Fortress 2015)

Fixed viewmodel/worldmodel when tf_passtime_ball_model is set
Added convar: tf_passtime_ball_sphere_collision
Added entity: tf_logic_on_holiday

October 29, 2015 Patch

Updated PASS Time to fix not seeing the Halloween version of the Jack while it's being carried by a player

November 25, 2015 Patch

Each class now has slightly different throwing power and arc
During Overtime, the round doesn't end until the jack has been neutral for a few seconds (tf_passtime_overtime_idle_sec)
All available enemy goals will show a reticle on the HUD while carrying the jack
Added max pass range parameter to passtime_logic
Jack won't automatically respawn unless it's been picked up at least once
New map: pass_pinewood

December 7, 2015 Patch

Fixed a dedicated server crash related to dropped weapons and the jack in PASS Time mode.

December 22, 2015 Patch

Experimenting with new HUD elements and art.
Experimenting with new viewmodel animations.
New testing feature 'tf_passtime_team_bonuses' that shares pass, steal, and intercept bonuses with the whole team.

February 29, 2016 Patch

Fixed workshop maps not loading correctly.
Fixed being able to get inside jump pads.
Removed Sandman long-distance steal.
Added experimental cvars for playtesting.

June 22, 2016 Patch #2

Fixed PASS Time game mode showing up in the wrong quickplay UI categories.

July 7, 2016 Patch #1 (Meet Your Match Update)

PASS Time update
- No longer in Beta!
- New Items Available
  - An Early Participation Pin will be awarded to everyone who played PASS Time during beta
  - Two new achievements with item rewards
    - Tune Merasmus's Multi-Dimensional Television
    - Jackpot!
- Map Changes
  - All maps are tweaked, polished, and out of beta
  - Renamed pass_pinewood to pass_timberlodge
  - Renamed pass_warehouse to pass_brickyard
  - Added a new city-themed map, pass_district
  - An updated pass_template for level designers will be released on http://www.escalation.com/news
- Game Mode Changes
  - Changed the score limit from 3 to 5
  - Tweaked various JACK throwing parameters
  - Pack Running
    - The JACK no longer heals the player carrying it
    - A player carrying the JACK with no nearby teammates is marked for death
    - Teammates near a player holding the JACK will be slowly healed, and can run as fast as the fastest nearby teammate
  - JACK Power
    - Passing the JACK increases a power meter
    - The power meter will decay over time
    - Filling the power meter unlocks a special goal worth extra points
- Art Changes
  - New view model animations
  - The HUD provides more information about goal type and status
  - Player pips for Spies will reflect cloak and disguise status
- Misc Details
  - Added cvar tf_passtime_scores_per_round
  - Added tf_glow entity that can be used to enable the glow effect on any entity
  - Updated trigger_passtime_ball FGD entry to hide unimplemented features, temporarily
  - Spawnflag added to func_passtime_goal to indicate to the HUD that a goal is unlocked by JACK power

July 9, 2016 Patch

Fixed the Jackpot! PASS Time achievement not tracking wins.

July 14, 2016 Patch #1

Updated several HUD materials to support mat_picmip
Fixed seeing the wrong cap limit in the win panel

July 28, 2016 Patch

Fixed achievement items (e.g. Civilian Grade JACK Hat) not cloaking with the Spy.
Tweaks and fixes for all maps.
Fix pack speed not being updated sometimes.
Aiming players will no longer receive pack speed bonus.
Some adjustments to reduce average round length.
- Overtime will end immediately if the winning team touches the ball.
- Overtime won't happen if it's impossible for the losing team to win.

August 16, 2016 Patch