Teamwork in shooters.

[Derf Llennod]

IMO, I have the same issue in FPS games where teamwork is seriously lacking. I love Battlefield 2 because you can win a game by luck with a bunch of random running. but the fact that you can get a good commander, lead the group and tell them where guys are with artillery and uav's. tanks with engies, and best of all (well I love this class) medics which heal and revive fallen people. You can have a total blast teaming up and running through. But nonetheless, I think one reason teamwork isn't really present is map size. When's the last time you had to team up in a map you can't run one side to the other in a minute or less?
L4D is a long linear run, Battlefield can take 5-10 minutes on foot to one side. Being broke atm I can't test out a bunch of other claims on large map areas. Another claim is lack of healing that also contributes to lack of teamwork. I don't like many games that doesn't give the option of a healing class, global agenda is another one (even though that is more of a mmo3ps)
I can go on and on, but I'll leave it at that.

 

[Kortney]

Red Dead Redemption and GTA IV are the only games I've ever truly felt like a team on. Some of the experiences in those games are amazing due to the teamwork on show.

However, in regard to the FPS genre - well there isn't any team work in public servers. People just jump on and play and don't really care.

 

[Siuki]

Play some TF2 on the PC. I had an awesome game on 2Fort, one of the most predictable and well-known maps in the game. My team led coordinated rushes and we always won. My friend was a Medic and kept the assault team alive while I snuck around as a Spy and back-stabbed the defenders and sapped their sentries. It was the most fun I had in a while, and I'll never forget the friends I made on the base rushes my team made. All we needed were a couple of good players with mics and we were on a roll. (If anyone was wondering, it was the "Gravity Bong 2Fort +" server.)

 

[Hader]

The only natural teamwork I have ever felt was with friends in Halo PC. I think that came along with a long time playing together, as well as just being good players overall. A lot of simple things, ones that made all the difference in a match, would just go without saying: what points needed to be covered, who was best at what position, capping the flag, etc. All of those things we would do pretty instinctively.

 

[Siuki]

On TF2 I use the sydney sleeper to help out my team...is that teamwork?

It's good enough for me. I've had Snipers take out people who were just about to to kill me. Then again, many don't. Jarate is always a good choice and you'll rack up a load of assists along the way. In truth(really just IMO), Medic is a class that requires the least skill to play, but also helps your team tremendously. All you have to do is heal someone, stick to them, and uber at the right times. Maybe dispose of some Spies behind you and your buddy. The only "advanced strategy" for a medic would be coordinating double ubersaw medics or hopping in front of your buddy when the sentry fire starts pushing him(or her) back. The rest of the job is up to your partner. While the Medic might take the least skill to play, it is the most basic and the most helpful aspect of any winning team.

 

[Halo Fanboy]

If you only play random matches you'll get a lack of team work. If you play at higher levels with a dedicated team then you'll get much more teamwork.

 

[Agrajagged]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_285/8452-The-Greatest-Game-Never-Played

Allegiance. I'd like to get into this game someday but I don't feel like I have the time.

 

[Skyline16]

i agree completely that the teamwork is not there nearly as much
and his sucks for me because i can't play a game that has no teamwork for that long
i get bored, that's why i sold each of the past 3 CODs in just a couple weeks
even in games where teamwork is required, like MAG, teamwork is rarely seen

 

[Mr. Meslier]

BFBC2 has a lot of potential for teamwork. Sometimes it works out really well, such as spotting giving you assist points, or healing being a surefire way of topping the scoreboard. Unfortunately, the fact that the game's voice chat is such a train wreck really takes a lot out of the game.

TF2 would probably be the game where I use teamwork the most, especially when playing with people I know. Even though many people have mics, a lot of servers are dead silent most of the time. Voice chat can make or break a team-based multiplayer game.

Starcraft 2 is also great fun on 2v2 if the other person is in the same room.

 

[TheTaco007]

There are 3 levels of teamwork

1: The kind where you are forced to rely on your teammates, and they rely on you. The better you work TOGETHER, the better you'll do.
2: The kind of "teamwork" where you really can't "work together", but if your teammates do badly, you'll lose even if you do really well.
3. Free for all.

If you have the second option, you're doing it wrong. (Looking at you CoD.)

 

[TiefBlau]

Most of us have probably noticed that teamwork in an fps is usually rare.

TF2. /thread

*trollface*

...okay, okay, I'll read on.

Predictable environment.

The maps never change. That one camping spot will always be there. Those crates that you use to flank the other team will always be there. How does this effect teamwork? You've probably played the maps many times before and you know how to play well on that map. You've been working alone and doing well all this time, so why stop now?

It's because you know the environment that you can coordinate various strategies to maneuver multiple teams around the map. Using TF2 as an example, let's take the most popular map on there: 2Fort. Join a game, and you're probably going to hear each of these (or a variant) at least once:
"Soldier on battlements"
"Uber in sewers"
"Demo in the hayroom"
The universally known locations actually make the whole teamwork thing a lot easier. You can plan to charge through the sewers, or you can tell your teammates that you want to build a base on the rooftop, so allies will start guarding that area. It's teamwork, no question about it.

Lack of vehicles.

Vehicles=teamwork. Vehicles with multiple seats require teamwork to operate and destroy. For example in halo how often have you been killed by those 3 guys in the warthog? If you're driving a tank in most games one player won't stop you on foot by himself. You're going to die when you're trying to kill the guy in the distance but his teammates start spamming grenades while you're not facing them.

True, piloting a vehicle is a form of teamwork. Just one. And perhaps the most superficial one at that. There are many, many other ways to have teamwork play a possible role.

That one guy.

No matter how coordinated you team is there's going to be that one guy on you team who refuses to work with the rest of your team. There is no way to deal with this.

He can go off and die. There are plenty of idiots around soaking up kills. There are many more competent people in the world. Work with them. That's one way to deal with it.

Bad company 2 deals with the first two pretty well and offers incentives for working with your team. If a game has two very coordinated teams witch is VERY rare the battles will be more exiting and it should look something like this.

There is a reason Call of Duty doesn't have much teamwork, but games like BC2 and TF2 do: It's because Call of Duty is a high-tech reflex test, and nothing more. It's easier to die and kill there than it is to get laid as a drunk 16-year old girl in Vegas. They do a lot of things wrong, and it has nothing to do with FPS in general.

 

[blue spartan 11]

When I read the title that's exactly the game I thought of. Why? It's not about the teamwork, it's about the Squadwork. A good squad that works as one man will cover each others problem.
-A good engineer will work his way through any obstacle given time and cover.
-A good medic in the field will keep your squad alive and well.
-A good soldier can "breach n clear" any building and keep ypur squad supplied.
-A good recon (not necessarily sniper) keeps your team up to date on enemy position and can keep the pressure on enemy forces.

A good squad will overcome any situation with communication. I've already been sent thanks messages for takiing time to repair a chopper or bringing back allies to life. There are rewards in teamwork. Victory against a well organised team is near impossible if everyone is acting on is own.

Edit: A good example in vehicules would be that of choppers. A man alone in one has nothing but rockets. A good pilot with a gunner can bring hell on a team and desorganize them. Same thing about tanks. One engineer keeping a tank alive. If he stick around to repair it, chances are that tank will stay alive in tank to tank battles.

 

[Angry Robot]

I agree with the whole CoD difficulty thing, noone seems to follow anyone or work together but i often try my best to stick with people and cover them or objectives, to no avail

I'd be nice if people actually played BF:BC2 on xbox then i would play as a team but I know how PC based the community generally is. sigh.

 

[MirrorSweep]

What if I generally do better playing by myself?
What if I have more fun playing this way? ^.^ Remember fun?
What if dislike free-for-all type gameplays, prefer having 5 or so people on my side but still enjoy being a 'Lone Wolf', and have more fun doing so? =/
What if I know the team will, 99% of the time, do better if I'm off doing my own thing >.>

That one guy.

No matter how coordinated you team is there's going to be that one guy on you team who refuses to work with the rest of your team. There is no way to deal with this.

There is a way, to stop complaining about it. I mean if this person is deliberately causing your team to lose then by all means you have a reason to complain, but some people prefer to play this and actually have more fun doing so. Not everyone who plays shooters play them for the same reason as you do, nor do they all have the same play style..you can't expect them to either. >__<

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

I think it's mainly based on game type. For instance, Team Deathmatch, although team is in the name of the game type, doesn't lend itself to teamwork well. yes, you can roll in a group and rip shit up, but I've been the lone wolf with my friends online (who also run as a lone wolf on my time) and we generally won like that. Games like Capture the Flag have more teamwork, but can still be won by ripping through the enemy, grab the flag, rip through the enemy until you reach your flag (Halo does a good job of not allowing you to fire and to run slower with the flag).

Now a game like Demolition in Socom requires your team to get the bomb in the middle of the map (each team has access to it), and then work your way to go plant it (and there are no respawns, by the way). So in that, you have to secure the bomb, make sure you and your teammates don't die or take too much damage, and then work your way to their plant site, which is probably by now quite well guarded. You can even concede them the bomb for the sake of having a better line set up and risking less casualties for the sake of getting it.

I've always felt Socom was one of the best shooters for teamwork, and I've never played Battlefield but I'm glad you showed me that because now I really want to go out and buy Battlefield Bad Company 2. I play shooters like Modern Warfare 2 and stuff without teamwork, but my play time of those games is short lived, because there just isn't any lasting value to it.

holy poop. someone else on here who has played socom and understands how much teamwork is involved in that game. i'd give you a cookie if you lived near me.

OT: personally i think its because most audiences dont CARE for teamwork, and so games like COD and whatnot are built/catered toward being the lone wolf style. and imagine designing a game where the lone wolf style is shunned, generally underpowered if you want to call it that, i would almost guarantee it doesn't sell half as well as cod 16

 

[Dizzle26]

Unless the losing team actually suffers something other than a loss, people will -never- work together. IMO.

 

[blue spartan 11]

I agree with the whole CoD difficulty thing, noone seems to follow anyone or work together but i often try my best to stick with people and cover them or objectives, to no avail

I'd be nice if people actually played BF:BC2 on xbox then i would play as a team but I know how PC based the community generally is. sigh.

Following people in COD just scream out "Multi-kill over here!". I dropped the day I got insulted for capping a flag. "Dude, I was on a rampage! Why did you end the game you <insert string of racist, homophobic and sexist insults about me and my mom here>!"
There is quite more people ever since Vietnam. Even in regular BF:BC2.

 

[Aur0ra145]

BF:BC2:Vietnam saw some teamwork come back, though this might be because of the guys I play with. Thankfully. The most hours I have logged in a single game is BF2, which with my gaming community, teamwork was HIGHLY sought after and accomplished on a very regular basis.

I believe the shift in teamwork to individual standards is in part a result from the mean age of gamers lowering for some FPS type games.

Look at stuff like Project Reality, there is a very high degree of teamwork present in that game, though the average age for that mod is mid-twenties and upward.

ArmA II is the same way, I tend to see older gamers on games of this type, where patience is rewarded and observance is half the battle.

Games like CoD I believe promote the lack of teamwork. The whole achievement scale, the kill-streaks, the bright flashy notice that you've killed someone, it all points to glory of the individual rather than the success of the team.

This is partially due to the scoring system put forth by the developer. Say if flag caps in CoD4:MW2 were worth 1,000 points (750 points for an assist,) I think we'd see a lot better team work than we do currently.

 

[Mr. Omega]

Rewarding players for teamwork, or making it painfully obvious that teamwork is a better option that going commando can work. BFBC2 gives you extra points for interacting with your squad.