CTF Scoring


I. Introduction

It is obvious that we need some sort of scoring system for CTF; to facilitate the design / selection of such a system, I've collected information about the CTF scoring methods in 3 other games.

II. Quake3

In the following rules, the total score is derived by adding the points from all rules that apply. If for example you kill the enemy flag carrrier, then you get a minimum of 3 points because rules 1 and 5 apply. You may get more points if more rules apply.
  1. +1 point for fragging an enemy player
  2. -1 point for committing suicide (environment kills count as suicide too)
  3. +1 point for fragging an enemy player in your base
  4. +1 point for fragging an enemy player within sight or near your flag carrier
  5. +2 points for fragging the enemy flag carrier
  6. +2 points for fragging someone who has recently damaged your flag carrier
  7. +5 points for capturing the flag
  8. +1 point for returning your flag
  9. +1 point for assisting a capture by returning the flag and your team capturing in four seconds.
  10. +2 points for assisting a capture by fragging the enemy flag carrier and your team capturing in four seconds.

III. UT 99

  1. +1 point for fragging an enemy player who is not a flag carrier
  2. -1 point for committing suicide (environment kills count as suicide too)
  3. +3 points for fragging the enemy flag carrier
  4. +7 points for capturing the enemy flag

IV. UT2K4

On the surface the UT 99 system looks like it works well; capping (or capturing the enemy flag) is important, so you should receive several points. Halting an enemy who has your flag is also important, so more than one point is required. But the system left itself open to abuse, and it also failed to give credit for several key actions. First, base defenders would often wait until an enemy grabbed their flag before fragging them, in order to receive 3 points instead of one (known as 'flag whoring'). More importantly, if your flag carrier died halfway to your base, and you carried the flag the rest of the way, he would receive no points, despite the fact that he made it out of the hornet's nest with their nectar. If you successfully fragged the entire enemy team while escorting your carrier back to your base, you received no extra points despite the fact that you played a key role in scoring the cap. We could go on, but you get the point.

For UT2K4, the system is much refined. Deathmatch rules apply (ie., +1 for killing an enemy and -1 for committing suicide), with these additions:

  1. Killing a flag carrier: +1 point (ie 2 points total)
  2. Killing someone who is targeting your carrier: +1 point
  3. Returning your flag within your team's area: +3 points (but +0 points in the immediate vicinity of your flag stand)
  4. Returning your flag in the enemy's area: +5 points
  5. Returning your flag very close to the enemy's flag stand: +7 points
  6. Capturing the enemy flag: +5 points
  7. Grabbing the enemy flag: +5 points, once the flag has been successfully captured
  8. Additional points involved in a cap: there are twenty additional possible points that can be awarded on a capture, with any one player getting a maximum of five points. If a flag is captured, the person who originally grabbed it gets five points. Each player on your team who touches the flag between the point of pickup and capture will receive a split of these twenty points (but not more than five).
Some examples:
  • You grab the flag, and run it all the way back to your base for a cap: +15 points for you.
  • You grab the flag, get killed, and your teammate caps it. +10 points for you (grab and carry), +10 points for him (carry and cap).
  • A teammate grabs the flag, you pick it up and get killed, another teammate caps: +10 for the first teammate (+5 pickup, +5 carry), +5 for you (carry), +10 for the capping teammate (+5 carry, +5 cap).
  • You pick up the flag, get fragged, a teammate picks up the flag, gets fragged, the enemy returns the flag. +0 for your teammate, +0 for you (no capture points are awarded unless the flag is actually captured).
It's more complicated than the original UT's system, but it's definitely more fair.