WOAAAAH.

That item will cause distraction for the other team, right? Aka they don't know which guy of em is real or not.
Also will it be able eto distract sentries aswell? That would be like an Charged heavy taking the dmg while everyone else attempts to shoot it down.

I belive the idea sound pretty solid.

Thats basically it, yes. It'll fool players some, but it will really fool sentries, and thats the biggest strength of the weapon. Technical issues with server capacity and everything are the biggest issue with this though.

One issue: Aren't Scouts and Spies still missing AI routines? The Scout probably won't be too difficult to program if they can figure out the double jumping, but the spy is a harder problem to solve.

Personally, I want to see the engineer with a GUNGAN BUBBLE SHIELD.

If they are missing AI routines, then you wouldnt need very complex ones for this. If anything the AI for the Holomobber would be much simpler then AI designed to actually fight and kill players. Spies and scouts could just run and gun as if they were an engie or a demo. No cloaking or bonking or building or stickie laying etc etc... nothing too complex, but just enough to create the illusion of an immediate threat.

And actually, a deployable shield/sandbag deal would be really cool.

that is really neat. If they implimented that it would make engie a even funner class to play.

BOTS ARE GONNA BE GAY IDIOTS. lol


Awesome design though

Actually thats part of the reason I thought this would be a good use of bots. They cant do damage, and they cant get themselves killed no matter how stupid they might be. Provided it could actually work without crashing a server, it'd be a good use of otherwise very stupid bots.

Meant more like, they might run around like idiots.
Like in L4D(2) the bots are just so stupid, and knowing Valve, they would be just as stupid in TF2 O:

Ah, well that could lend a bit of deranged unpredictability to the gameplay.

"Alright boys, GO! Run towards their sentries!"

*bots all run back into spawn and stand by supply cabinet*

XD ghaha yeah.

Or I can just imagine them charge into a field with 5 sentries and a bunch of heavies.

Well they're actually invincible, so it'd just look really hilarious. Runnin' around like chickens with their heads cut off.

Very good idea. although in my humble opinion i think the bots should be able to deliver at least some point of damage to help convey the illusion of their reality. doesnt have to be much. No crit, 50 percentile would work.

Well in that case you'd have invincible bots that are doing damage. With a high enough number that'd be way over powered, not to mention the fact that the Engie already has a sentry that does a lot of damage. He's also trading this for his pistol, which if this did damage, would be a no-brainer tradeoff. There should be some ways for players to see through the illusion if they pay attention, so it shouldn't be a total facade.

true... for a moment i had the preconceived notion that the holograms had some sort of health. @_@

Nope. Just a very ornate light show.

Id use it. :3

Honestly, the reason I like this idea most is because the model / function actually fits the theme of the game unlike every other submission I see.

It is an excellent concept, but the large numbers of entities created would slow down the game considerably, especially if there are multiple engineers using the device (some maps are taxed to their limits just for having a full server, and having several more "players" could easily cause a crash). It would also probably lead to a lot of "tele-farming," aka an engineer putting his teleporters right next to each other in order to rack up teleports (this would probably occur most during the set-up phase).

The tele-farming I dont worry about too much though, cause in order to do it you'd need to be 1) wasting your teleporter's transport capability for slightly faster farming, and 2) you'd need another player that isnt you to just stay in the spawn and ride the teleporter for you. In this way, its really comparable to the whole, Soldier-shooting-his-feet-to-get-an-ubercharge thing. You'll get it fast, yes, but you're spending time doing that and not fighting. And if it were tele-farm-charged up during the setup phase, I dont see too much of a problem (besides the technical one) as people charge up ubers as they rush out the gate. Its that initial rush, which could really use such a thing.

Again though, theres a lotta knobs that could be tweaked here. Doesnt necessarily even need teleporters to charge. Maybe it could be based on dispenser healing, or how much metal you use, and maybe a smaller number of bots with a more difficult-to-get charge. Etc etc...

Telefarming would only really be a problem during maps that are constantly locked in a pseudo-stalemate, such as 2fort and a good number of other CTF maps, but I was really more concerned about the massive number of entities slowing down the game. Even though they don't need coding for damage and what not they'd still take up a good load of server memory.

While it would send game balance to hell, this would bring some hilarious wtf moments.

You could prolly balance it with a much smaller number of bots, but indeed, the sheer bedlam created by entities that dont even do damage is a delightful concept. : D

I'm also thinking about something valve already had put on the table on one of their updates, about how replacing one of the key equipment items in the engineer layout resulted in engies that didn't put as many dispensers, teleporters or sentries because they'd be toying around with new gadgets, thus abandoning their team support roles.

Then again this could be compensated in a number of ways, but all in all it does tend to throw off balance.

From what I understand, Valve was talking about how outright replacements for things like dispensers and teleporters inadvertently revealed how very important those devices were once they were unavailable. It was a choice between the new gadgets and the old gadgets, and the old gadgets turned out to be too useful to let go.

However if people have the option of taking some new and old things at the same time, or modified versions of old things, like a dispenser that works differently instead of an outright repair node that doesn't act like a dispenser at all, I don't think there'd be too much of a problem. Theres always a period of time where people tinker with new update items, and while they might not play as well and neglect some team duties, that time will pass and they'll eventually start using their devices as best they can.

Yeah I agree on that the update items are probably going to be upgrades with a different functionality and a payoff, sort of like a dispenser that works better as an aid station but delivers almost no scrap/ammo, and so on.

This
is
SWEET.

But as Phelix said, 10 bots suddenly popping out of nowhere would probably kill the game, specially if multiple engineers do it. I mean, just 3 engineers could make 30 bots show up, and that's a game crash waiting to happen.

Still, if there's a way of implementing this without everyone's computer exploding, I'd love to see it.

Well since the bots aren't actually doing damage, taking it, or doing anything too complicated, maybe theres a way to write much simpler code for them. If they did it right, it'd prolly be no more complex than a mobile sentry gun. Runs toward target, fires automatically at nearest target, don't get too close, try to orbit target, and die after 10 seconds. They wouldn't be super convincing facsimiles, but they'd certainly create the desired panic and disarray.

Yes. But there's still the whole issue of 10 extra character models showing up out of nowhere.
Still, it's a kick-ass concept, because if you release the copies while your team attacks, your team can blend in and it'll lower their odds of being attacks, and the enemy won't know who is the real one because there'll be several bullets being shot at him, but only a few of them are actually doing damage.

I wonder if Valve can make the fake players somehow weight less on the system... But then any changes on the models would create discernment between real players and fake players, thus defeating the weapon's use... HRMMMM.

Well I'm not totally attached to the number 10 either. I think it could still be pretty effective even if it's just 3-4 photo-bots. That might actually be manageable. One could still lose a real threat in a crowd of 3, and it would take a lot of engies to get up to 30 bots, which would have to be simultaneously triggered and would only last 10 seconds. Some uber-pyros, demos and spies would make quick work of that scenario anyways.

This could have great potential for epic, Internet shattering lulz if Valve did add such a device.

And you just know there would be GMod memes as well. XD

Also, I love the magnetic tape spool. Retro! <3

Well thats another reason I think this has potential if Valve could code it. Valve are such trolls, and this is a bona-fide trolling device.

Oh Jesus...

Holo-Scout rushes.

I can imagine the madness, memes and youtube mashups now.

I'm in it for the porn fics that will inevitably spawn. :>

I'd be honored if I could have contributed to such a thing. : D

haven't clicked the link because i want to make a stabbing guess... portal tech?

i was wrong go figure hehe, but awesome concept through!!!

Imagine two opposing engies letting this off at the same time. Cue Benny Hill.

I love playing as the engineer, and i can say this would make a great addition to his arsenal :P