Voting
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Voting is a game feature added in the Hatless Update on April 14, 2011. It enables any player to call a vote to enact a change on the server. The various voting options enable players to vote on a map change, to kick a particular player or to scramble the teams. Any player can initiate a vote by clicking on the checkbox icon in the main menu. A vote type can then be selected and the vote is put to all players present in the server.
The voting system was first introduced into the Team Fortress 2 Beta on March 9, 2011. Two later updates that included tweaks to the system were made available in the beta, before the system went live in Team Fortress 2 on April 14. Before this feature was added, the only way to change maps, kick, or ban players was via console commands, or using server mods.
The voting system can be disabled by setting the server command sv_allow_votes to 0. Particular voting types can also be disabled by specific server commands.
Voting types
There are five types of votes that can be called:
- Kick: Kick a selected player out of the server.
- RestartGame: Restarts the current round. If this comes to pass, then a notification will be given out to all players that the round will restart. A set number of seconds pass before a new round begins, neither team getting any points.
- ChangeLevel: The current map changes to the selected map.
- NextLevel: The next map is changed to the selected map. Unlike ChangeLevel, the current map doesn't end.
- ScrambleTeams: The players are put in a random team. Note that this will immediately scramble the teams, rather than wait until the end of the round. A notification is given to all players that a scramble will commence before it happens.
Keyboard commands
- F1
- Votes "Yes" on the current vote or chooses a map in a level vote. Client command unknown.
- F2
- Votes "No" on the current vote or chooses a map in a level vote. Client command unknown.
- F3
- Chooses a map in a level vote.
- F4
- Chooses a map in a level vote.
- F5
- Chooses a map in a level vote or extends the current map in a
NextLevelvote.
Server commands
Server-side variables can be set to adjust several elements of the voting engine. The following commands are made available:
sv_allow_votes- Enables or disables the voting system entirely. Defaults to
1(enabled).
sv_vote_allow_specators- Allow spectators to participate in votes. Defaults to
0(disabled).
sv_vote_failure_timer- Cooldown time (in seconds); the time that must pass after a vote fails for another to be initiated. Defaults to
300(5 minutes).
sv_vote_issue_kick_allowed- Allow kick votes to be called. Defaults to
0(disabled).
sv_vote_kick_ban_duration- The length of time (in minutes) of the ban on the player if the kick vote is successful. Defaults to
1. Set to0to disable the ban entirely and instead only kick the player.
sv_vote_issue_nextlevel_allowed- Allow the next level to be determined by vote. Defaults to
1(enabled).
sv_vote_issue_nextlevel_allowextend- Allow the next level vote to include an 'Extend' option. Defaults to
1(enabled).
sv_vote_issue_nextlevel_choicesmode- Allow players to be presented with a list of lowest playtime maps to choose from. Defaults to
1(enabled).
sv_vote_issue_changelevel_allowed- Allow a vote that changes the map to the next level immediately to be initiated. Defaults to
0(disabled).
sv_vote_issue_restart_game_allowed- Allow a vote that restarts the round to be initiated. Defaults to
1(enabled).
sv_vote_issue_scramble_teams_allowed- Allow a vote that scrambles the teams to be initiated. Defaults to
1(enabled).
Sounds
The voting system uses a few sound clips to help show the progress of the voting.
- A vote was started.
- A player has voted yes.
- A player has voted no.
- Vote passed sucessfully.
- Vote failed to pass.
Update history
- Added in-game Voting system
- Tuning pass on CallVote cooldowns/timers:
- Increased the cooldown before a player can call another vote
- Increased the cooldown before a failed vote can be resubmitted
- The CallVote screen now hides issues the server has disabled
- Increased the percentage of players required to pass a vote
- Kick issue: the player calling the vote no longer appears as an option in the Kick issue parameters list
- Temporarily disabled Kick and Changelevel
- Enabled nextlevel_choicesmode by default (to test it)
- The server will automatically ask players to select the nextlevel shortly before the current map is over
- Voting keys changed to F1-F5
- Further increased a vote calling cooldown
April 14, 2011 Patch (Hatless Update)
- Added a new vote system
- Server convars added to control the vote system
- Fixed a server crash caused by the vote system.
- Updated the voting system.
- Added a convar to prevent voting on the next level if one has already been set (
sv_vote_issue_nextlevel_prevent_change) - Fixed scrambleteams resetting how many rounds have been played
- Updated
mp_scrambleteamsto support a parameter of2, which prevents resetting the number of rounds that have been played
- Updated
- Fixed the server automatically creating votes while in training or using itemtest
- Added a convar to prevent voting on the next level if one has already been set (
- Fixed a problem with clients seeing the incorrect vote options after changing servers
- Added an entry for "Call Vote" to the Options->Keyboard Settings, so you can bind a key to it.
