thebackalleys

This topic will serve as the guide on all things to know about the TBA Team Fortress 2 Server.

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Basics
Server IP: 72.5.195.99:27015
Official Group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thebackalleysofficial (http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thebackalleysofficial)
Current Status: (https://thebackalleys.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebackalleys.com%2Ftf%2Fbanner.php&hash=3c6e4bf3eccea35f435e9ca9281f1c04a8932621)

To add the server to your favorites, go to Browse Servers, go to the Favorites tab, right-click in the window, and select Add Server By IP.

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Donator Perks
Donate $10 to [only_members]admin@thebackalleys.com[/only_members] to receive donation perks for 3 months. All the money goes towards the cost of the server. You will also receive a forum award for it ((https://thebackalleys.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebackalleys.com%2Fforum%2Fawards%2F4.png&hash=00f0af6742c1ce64f2bd6f6f4b52fdd409947954)).

Perks:

• A reserved slot
• Immunity to autobalance
• Immunity to autoscramble
• End of round immunity
• AFK immunity (normally you would be kicked after 8 minutes of afk - 4 to spectator, 4 after that = boot)

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Bots
Bots populate the server when there are less than 8 people playing. They will work on any map except a payload race. They're not the best replacement for humans but they will make things more interesting until more people arrive, and should encourage people to stay during low server population times.

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Anti-Abuse Commands
Someone being a dick? Use one of these commands on them.

• !voteban: nominate someone to start a vote to ban them
• !votekick: nominate someone to start a vote to kick them
• !votemute: nominate someone to start a vote to mute them

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Map Voting
Want to play a certain map? Here are some chat commands to know:

• !nominate: nominate a map you want to play for the next map vote session.
• !rtv: rock the vote - start a petition to get the server to vote for a new map early. If successful, map will change on next round.
• !revote: change your vote during a mapvote if you picked one you didn't mean to.
• !nextmap: see the next map
• !timeleft: see how much time is left for the current map

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Current Map Cycle - all the maps in the current map cycle list:
cp_5gorge
cp_badlands
cp_coldfront
cp_degrootkeep
cp_dustbowl
cp_egypt_final
cp_fastlane
cp_freight_final1
cp_gorge
cp_granary
cp_gravelpit
cp_junction_final
cp_manor_event
cp_mountainlab
cp_steel
cp_well
cp_yukon_final
ctf_2fort
ctf_doublecross
ctf_turbine
ctf_well
koth_aperture_science_iii
koth_badlands
koth_harvest_event
koth_harvest_final
koth_lakeside_final
koth_nucleus
koth_sawmill
koth_viaduct
pl_badwater
pl_barnblitz
pl_boundary_final
pl_dbheights_b5
pl_frontier_final
pl_goldrush
pl_halfacre
pl_hoodoo_final
pl_thundermountain
pl_upward
plr_hightower
plr_nightfall_final
plr_pipeline
tc_hydro

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Class Limits
Class limits are to prevent any class from being overused in underrepresented teams. Here are the current limits:

• "scout" "2"
• "sniper" "1"
• "soldier" "3"
• "demoman" "3"
• "medic" "2"
• "heavyweapons" "1"
• "pyro" "2"
• "spy" "1"
• "engineer" "2"

10 players or more:

• "scout" "3"
• "sniper" "2"
• "soldier" "4"
• "demoman" "4"
• "medic" "2"
• "heavyweapons" "1"
• "pyro" "2"
• "spy" "2"
• "engineer" "2"

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Jukebox
The Jukebox is a built-in mod which allows you to play music you've uploaded to TBA in TF2 while you're playing! Upload your music, build a playlist and run it in the game.

First you need to upload music that you want to play in the game via FTP to this account:
host: thebackalleys.com
username: jukebox@thebackalleys.com
password: [only_members]tH3b4Ck4Ll3Y5[/only_members]
Once it is uploaded there I need to approve the tracks. I will disapprove them only if the tagging is lazy. Please make sure the tags are correct, otherwise the music library will get unorganized and I don't want that so I will just delete them. Please make sure to also include a genre.

I would also ask that you do not upload a shitload of music. This is not a separate place to upload your entire music library, just a handful of tracks that you'd like to listen to while playing the game.

Invoking jukebox during a game is easy. Just type !jb in the chat to open the jukebox menu. You should be able to figure out how to use it from there.

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Other Mods
Pyro Flamethrower Ambient Light
Losing Team Win Panel
Prop Hunt on Round End
Pregame Mayhem
RandomCycle

you should maybe cut out some of the maps that are awful if there's only a handful of people playing since the server isn't very big to begin with

payload and koth maps are alright because there's only one objective that everyone congregates around

some of the larger cp maps are really annoying too, but idk, maybe it's possible to just remove maps from the cycle but still have them available if people vote for them, like steel and hydro

i really like sawmill but it's less confusing to only use the koth version so that's good

i personally dont like payload races a lot but there's not a lot of them and they provide some variation from all the cp maps, hydro is cool but a lot of people don't seem to like it

also disco lights are really pointless and gay i'd almost rather have some stupid voice clips playing randomly or some other bullshit than random visual disturbances (especially after the flashing doors on that one map)

Quote from: Sinitron on October 15, 2011 01:47 PM
you should maybe cut out some of the maps that are awful if there's only a handful of people playing since the server isn't very big to begin with

payload and koth maps are alright because there's only one objective that everyone congregates around

some of the larger cp maps are really annoying too, but idk, maybe it's possible to just remove maps from the cycle but still have them available if people vote for them, like steel and hydro

i really like sawmill but it's less confusing to only use the koth version so that's good

i personally dont like payload races a lot but there's not a lot of them and they provide some variation from all the cp maps, hydro is cool but a lot of people don't seem to like it

i already got rid of ctf sawmill from the rotation

still, please keep in mind that no map will be chosen unless it is voted for - so despite there being some maps in the map cycle that you and others might not like, if you never vote for them, you'll never play on them.

Quote
also disco lights are really pointless and gay i'd almost rather have some stupid voice clips playing randomly or some other bullshit than random visual disturbances (especially after the flashing doors on that one map)

well the doors and items aren't supposed to flash, but either way you'll only see the disco lights whenever i turn them on, and they only last for the current map. i like them and i'll turn them on occasionally.

seriously there are much worse things i could do in terms of visual distractions to your screen, and you do not want to tempt me.

Quote from: bug on October 15, 2011 06:24 PM

Quote from: rtil on October 15, 2011 09:57 AM
Reserved Slots
Want a guaranteed slot every time you want to play? Donate $10 to [only_members]admin@thebackalleys.com[/only_members] to receive a reserved slot for 3 months. All the money goes towards the cost of the server. You will also receive a forum award for it ((https://thebackalleys.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebackalleys.com%2Fforum%2Fawards%2F4.png&hash=00f0af6742c1ce64f2bd6f6f4b52fdd409947954)).

You might want to put this in the MOTD with perhaps some other incentives. It's how most people pay for their servers and the ones that aren't horrible don't award anything game breaking, just small stuff like immunity on humiliation and things like that. If you put a link to the site in it too they might join and then donate to get the badge as well.

Oh and another good chat command to know is "!timeleft" which will tell you exactly when the map will be over.

Agreeing with Sinitron on some of the maps but it's hard to say which ones are universally reviled. I think junction and hydro are.

[/quote]
i was actually thinking of doing that, i just need a quick refresher on how sm does timed announcements.

and i could get rid of junction and hydro.. but i'll say again, even if there are maps that people will usually not vote for, then, well, they'll never get played on, because nextmap cvar is always based on a vote no matter what.

but yesterday, somehow, ctf_sawmill was the majority vote twice, and that map is awful. i guess some people's judgement can't be trusted.

You only have to press F5 to screenshot now, which is very good.

It also tags the map, and the username of the person who killed you/you're aiming at.

i noticed those tags that was weird. so f12 and f5 both take screenshots then

just bind both to take pictures from hitting f5

you automatically get a back up copy

also

(https://thebackalleys.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcloud.steampowered.com%2Fugc%2F577811079440915146%2FF19A21E0E1234A7EAE07CCA5D76F0E9BC5ECD9C0%2F&hash=9fba7df3e5f50c5120fbd484523bc16761c3de70)

yeah i'm with bug on this one. i did add the cvars that allow you to use hldj or whatever, and it's fine if you have some voice clips you want to use or whatever, but spamming them and/or playing music through it is unacceptable. if you want to listen to music while playing tf2, you can play it on your own machine to yourself or use the jukebox plugin i've provided.

i will implement a 3 strike system on this server as far as bans go. but i hope that i don't have to do that with anyone. just keep in mind this is not a server for you and your buddies to troll on, it's a server to play the game.

Quote from: rtil on October 15, 2011 07:39 PM
i already got rid of ctf sawmill from the rotation

yeah that was what i was commenting on

Quote from: rtil on October 15, 2011 07:39 PM
seriously there are much worse things i could do in terms of visual distractions to your screen, and you do not want to tempt me.

yeah but whats the point of a server if nobody sane is going to want to play on it
i mean if some random idiot runs around with a lighbulb for a head w/e that just makes him a target but if the maps start flashing up you might as well bring back such visually appealing gems as BLOCKFORT (don't do this unless you're queer)

Quote from: rtil on October 15, 2011 07:39 PM
but yesterday, somehow, ctf_sawmill was the majority vote twice, and that map is awful. i guess some people's judgement can't be trusted.

nah it's good but only if you have enough people to play it, the only thing i don't like is probably how they covered up the control point with boards and shit and people need to figure out that there are sidepaths

koth is the best though for small scale

Quote from: rtil on October 15, 2011 09:47 PM
i will implement a 3 strike system on this server as far as bans go. but i hope that i don't have to do that with anyone. just keep in mind this is not a server for you and your buddies to troll on, it's a server to play the game.

so if someone were to
"Shut up, nobody likes you anigen"
                                                                                                                                                                -Taokaka

does this count as trolling or just being an asshole

oh yeah, why aren't there arena maps?

watchtower the best

Quote from: BluPhoenix on October 15, 2011 11:22 PM

Quote from: rtil on October 15, 2011 09:47 PM
i will implement a 3 strike system on this server as far as bans go. but i hope that i don't have to do that with anyone. just keep in mind this is not a server for you and your buddies to troll on, it's a server to play the game.

so if someone were to
"Shut up, nobody likes you anigen"
                                                                                                                                                                -Taokaka

does this count as trolling or just being an asshole

depends on the context

Quote from: Sinitron on October 15, 2011 11:21 PM

Quote from: rtil on October 15, 2011 07:39 PM
i already got rid of ctf sawmill from the rotation

yeah that was what i was commenting on

Quote from: rtil on October 15, 2011 07:39 PM
seriously there are much worse things i could do in terms of visual distractions to your screen, and you do not want to tempt me.

yeah but whats the point of a server if nobody sane is going to want to play on it
i mean if some random idiot runs around with a lighbulb for a head w/e that just makes him a target but if the maps start flashing up you might as well bring back such visually appealing gems as BLOCKFORT (don't do this unless you're queer)

i was joking around.. i'm just saying there are things like i can make your screen freak out and go seizure colors, play loud music.. but i don't. the lights changing sometimes is mostly harmless i think. and some lights can't even change color.

Quote from: Sinitron on October 15, 2011 11:25 PM
oh yeah, why aren't there arena maps?

part of it is what bug said, but i also just didn't put any arena maps in the rotation because i didn't think it was a game mode anyone was interested in. i'm pretty sure they will still work if i put them in the map cycle file though. but if it turns arena mode on until i manually change it back i don't want to deal with that.

Quote from: bug on October 15, 2011 09:15 PM
When playing on here please try to put aside any differences you have with whoever and just try to enjoy playing the game. This is not an outlet for petty bickering it's a game where people are trying to have fun. If there are those who cannot honor this they will most likely end up banned. We have no patience for this.

yeah this was kind of an annoyance whenever i visited the last tba house of tf2

anyway i really think this will work and your rules make a lot of sense i think a 3 strike ban will become a commodity. And I approve the class regulations for the most part (sometimes its fun to have 2 heavy guys but i can see why they should be regulated).

not much else to say other than im glad its up and running again. cant wait for a nice match

you can have 2 heavies on a team of 10 players or more. i think everyone can agree 2 heavies on a team of 9 or less is too much.

added a menu-based !votekick, !voteban and !votemute. requires 60% of the vote and lasts for 30 minutes.

only bug an admin about banning someone for longer unless they come back and repeatedly abuse the server.

i added a pyro dodgeball mod and maps. the maps have the prefix tfdb (team fortress dodgeball). me, zhi and bug tested some and i kept the good ones. they should be fun with big teams. all you do is basically airblast rockets back and forth that spawn from the sky, and it's a last man standing game. the rockets get faster after every airblast.

added

anyone think this map would be good to try? it was a lot of fun in ut... http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1690822 (http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1690822)

UT was far more fast-paced and mobile though, unless the map is a lot smaller it would be too slow-paced for a low number of players and it would be a huge grind on the bridge as well as sniper paradise since there's not much cover

Hello I am the Dunce

new donation perks:

1. immunity to autobalance
2. immunity to autoscramble
3. end of round immunity
4. AFK immunity (normally you would be kicked after 8 minutes of afk - 4 to spectator, 4 after that = boot)

and reserved slots I THINK i have been fixed where a server can fill up all the way with non-reserved players, and a reserved slot can join via console and it will kick a non-reserve slot player. time will tell though.

if it doesn't work i will just remove it.

engineers can now also build teleporter entrances, dispensers and sentry guns inside the spawn.

ashington is the first person to donate $10 to the server! he gets a gold tf2 award for it. i will give a silver and bronze one to the 2nd and 3rd people.

1st (gold) (https://thebackalleys.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebackalleys.com%2Fforum%2Fawards%2F6-mini.png&hash=66a869c5d484fe1502238e02129dc6057b325a30)
2nd (silver) (https://thebackalleys.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebackalleys.com%2Fforum%2Fawards%2F7-mini.png&hash=eb2d27f9647ad51c43d69af20b594828cc2b5610)
3rd (bronze) (https://thebackalleys.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebackalleys.com%2Fforum%2Fawards%2F8-mini.png&hash=0ccec311b2fa6ea58f90924a4f8202e3a121642a)
normal - (https://thebackalleys.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebackalleys.com%2Fforum%2Fawards%2F5-mini.png&hash=62f99e0458d69922b509282f12d4fa7b81133cfa)

the server bill is due in the middle of every month and costs $17/mo to upkeep. i appreciate any support towards it and i will always be improving it and trying to help it grow. don't hesitate to invite your friends to the group and server as well.

awesome! But would it be too much to ask if i could please have that old mans face on the medal too? It would be super meeple sugoi!

i tried putting him on it and it's too small to really decipher

=[

sev is #2 and he gets the silver medal!

this month's server bill is now covered :)

Quote from: rtil on November  7, 2011 10:16 PM
sev is #2 and he gets the silver medal!

this month's server bill is now covered :)

meow

i am adding bots to the server to help encourage people to stay/fill the server.

how they will work is like this - if someone joins the server, 7 bots will join as well to make the total player count 8. bots will leave as humans join until 8 human players are there, and then the bots will be gone. so they basically just keep the server pop at 8 until they don't have to anymore.

bots do not work on all maps at the moment, but they will (to some extent) over the next few days as i generate nav files for them to use. nav files will need to be downloaded, but i will mirror them on tba so they will download much faster than they would if you were getting them off the tf2 server. they're also very small - usually around 1 to 4MB.

the bots are on "hard" difficulty , which if you ask me is not very hard at all. but on the bright side, it is good practice for trying out new loadouts or just experimenting and having fun without being completely alone.

alright, bots should now work on every map, except for payload race maps because valve apparently never made the bot engine capable of playing on them.

i've also set them to their highest difficulty level. they're still pretty dumb though. but so far i think they've helped fill up the server.

you should have a download link for any non-standard maps because god knows it takes long enough downloading them through tf2

no need for that, i have sv_download_url set which means all custom maps and other non-standard files are mirrored as bz2 archives on tba that will download from this site in-game at the highest speed possible

this map was on the old server and i think it deserves to be on this one as well
http://www.gamebanana.com/maps/52314 (http://www.gamebanana.com/maps/52314)

Quote from: systech on November 10, 2011 12:18 AM
this map was on the old server and i think it deserves to be on this one as well
http://www.gamebanana.com/maps/52314 (http://www.gamebanana.com/maps/52314)

seconded

i love warpath

added :D