User:JoblessScout/Balloon race

“

This thing ain’t on auto-pilot, son! Click to listen — The Engineer driving the boat manually

”

Balloon Race is a TF2 mod. There are several versions for it, but the latest game of it is balloon_race_v3_t7.

Gameplay

The game is similar to Payload Race, however, you use "boats" with weather balloons attached to the top. You start off in a resupply room station. The supply rooms contain a resupply locker, and to holes which will teleport you to the front or the back or underneath the boat. Outside the room, there is a giant balloon station with two colored balloons depending on your side. You are given 30 seconds to setup and get on the boat. In balloon_race_v1, there is a force field that will disappear after setup time, while balloon_race_v2 and on have a fence and will disappear after a while after the setup ends.

There are two goals in balloon race. The first goal is to capture all the control points. The control points are treasure island, which is an island surrounded by water, a rock on the cliff, which is land stuck out of a side of a mountain high above ground, the bird's nest, which is a marble stairway connected to another mountain, and another rock stuck out of the mountainside except it has a stairway with a control on the top. All the balloon race games have these locations, except with changes. In balloon_race_v1, the landforms are the same, in balloon_race_v2 however, the water is surrounded by two Ichthyosaurs from the half-life series, the first rock side has a building with a control point inside, and the fourth control point has a hoodoo similar to the one in badlands for the second and fourth control point. In balloon_race_v3, everything is the same except the first control point has minor changes, the third control point has glass walls and a roof on the pathway going down the bird nest on the sides, and the fourth control point is a building, but you still have to get to the top of it to get to the control point. In balloon_race_v3_t7, the water surrounding the island is toxic and will deal 1 damage for every second you are in the water, and an extra control point called the bridge which is towards the end of the race, there is a bridge between a canyon that has a control point in the center. In balloon_race_v1, for a team to win, they have to capture 3 control points. In balloon_race_v2 and v3, a team has to capture all four control points. In balloon_race_v3_t7, if four control points are captures, that team will win. The extra control point does not need to be capped if the four other ones are captured by the same team.

In balloon_race_v2, if the boat is 2 control points behind, there is a path in the mountain that the boat will go through to catch up. If the third control point is captured and the other boat is 2 control points away, it will go behind the bird nest and get to the fourth control point

The second goal is to reach the end of the map. In balloon race 1, if both team get 2 control points, the race will go on and you will have to control your boat to the beginning of the map. The boat will go through a canyon and back into the balloon shed and into the other team's side. In balloon_race_v2 and v3, if 3/4 control points a re captures, the race will go on. In this version, if a control point is capped, the balloons will get a speed boost and will have an increased speed when on the wheel. everything is the same towards the end of the race, except when the losing team doesn't make it, their boat will explode. In balloon_race_v3_t7, everything is the same except if 3/5 points are capped, the race will go on.

Balloon Boats

Each side has their own balloon boats with their color. At the front of the boat, there is a steering wheel which will let you drive the boat. The boat will go faster you stand near it. Its speed will lower if no one is near it. The sped goes up to five speed or maximum speed. The balloons fly in the air to go over lakes and air. You have to drive your boats to the control point areas and reach back to the balloon station. The balloons contains dispensers to heal you during traveling in the boat. In balloon_rave_v1 there is a level 1 dispenser which is your source of healing health and getting ammo. In balloon_race_v2, the dispenser in underneath the boat. In balloon race v3 and balloon_race_v3_t7, the dispenser is still underneath the boat, however it is a level 3 dispenser. The boats have breakable windows to fire projectiles out of. In the first balloon race, the balloons have 2 windows on the back, in the balloon_race_v2 and v3, the balloons have 7 windows, 3 in the back, and 4 underneath, and in balloon_race_v3_t7, the balloon has 5 windows, 3 in the back, and 2 underneath instead. The boats in version 2 and onward will deal damage overtime if anyone is near the boat. to get back on your boat, you can either walk onto the boat, use the ladder on the side of the boat, use the holes in the resupply rooms, or use the tele-porters to get back into it.