The Threewave CTF grapple from Quake 1

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McLovin
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The Threewave CTF grapple from Quake 1

Post by McLovin »

Image

In action:
https://youtu.be/fFcmUFtFGT0

The Threewave CTF grapple in Quake 1 was a revolutionary addition, a utility item allowing players to shoot a hook that attached to surfaces, pulling them rapidly for fast traversal and ambushes, becoming a signature feature of this iconic Capture the Flag mod and enhancing vertical gameplay and team tactics immensely, differentiating it from standard Quake.

How the Grapple Worked:

Fire to Shoot: You fired the grapple (often by holding the fire key).
Attachment: It shot out in a straight line until it hit a solid surface (wall, ceiling).
Pulling Action: Once attached, the hook would rapidly pull you towards the point of attachment, allowing for swift swings and climbs.
Utility: It was great for ambushing players from above by hanging like a "turret," though it left you vulnerable, or for quick escapes and flag grabs.

Significance:

Game-Changing: It added a new dimension to Quake's fast-paced combat, making maps more vertical and dynamic.
Iconic Mod: Zoid's Threewave CTF was one of the first popular CTF mods and became a defining part of Quake's multiplayer legacy, alongside other features like runes.
Influence: It set a standard for grappling mechanics in many subsequent FPS games and mods, influencing future Quake installments and other titles.

It would be cool if somebody rehosted it to UT.
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pooty
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Re: The Threewave CTF grapple from Quake 1

Post by pooty »

Probably wouldn't be too hard. Grapple gun works like that now but only attaching to vehicles. Have to attach it Vehicles/Meshes/Terrain. Might change gameplay a bit, especially since you could use it to climb UP.
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Re: The Threewave CTF grapple from Quake 1

Post by captainsnarf »

I made a new grapple gun and added it to the server as a voting option. Enjoy!
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McLovin
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Re: The Threewave CTF grapple from Quake 1

Post by McLovin »

captainsnarf wrote: Sat Dec 20, 2025 6:32 am I made a new grapple gun and added it to the server as a voting option. Enjoy!
Where is it and how do you use it?

Candylick figured it out. It was fun. The damage when hitting the ground is a limiting factor when using it.

Works through jump pads. If you have it anchored and go through the portal, the stretch stays. NICE!

Candy is demo-ing it now.

You can fly around the map like Spider-Man. Hehe!

This will make map flaws obvious.

Candy found some buildings you can't grapple to on ONS-AbandonedCity-Randomizer-V2.
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captainsnarf
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Re: The Threewave CTF grapple from Quake 1

Post by captainsnarf »

It's an option in map voting, like VCTF. You can vote for "Onslaught/grapple"

In Onslaught/grapple, you spawn with a grapple gun in addition to regular weapons.
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Re: The Threewave CTF grapple from Quake 1

Post by Rhamp »

I played MB and Primeval-Nukermadness last night with the surface grapple gun and holy fuck its way too op unless the map is specifically designed for it. There is absolutely no counterplay unless you have a godlike dmer always defending. It also makes any non-hitscan weapon/vehicle useless (unless you want to sit in a bastion on a node holding rmb for the entire game), and negates any tactical positioning to hold angles since you can just bypass them. Its like every player has an unlimited supply of op fliers, which I think has been agreed upon makes for terrible gameplay. I didn't even get in a single vehicle in nukermadness, I just swung from trees like a cocaine monkey and zoomed between nodes in a fraction of the time it would take even if I had a flier or board.

Coming from Paladins where I main a character called Vora, her kit uses a grapple system that works the same as the grapple gun and the only counter is a player who can hitscan a target moving at mach fuck or a small room that limits the places to grapple to. The grapple is a whole lot of fun, but ONS is not designed whatsoever for this type of gameplay and this gun should be restricted to only maps that are built for it. It also invalidates any non-hitscan dming since there is no way you are hitting a player grappling around without a shock or sniper.
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Re: The Threewave CTF grapple from Quake 1

Post by McLovin »

I turn off "grapple mode" when I see that it's on. Too many were not playing and just spider-man jumping around the map. It's a fun toy, but I think you are correct. It's not for ONS.
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Re: The Threewave CTF grapple from Quake 1

Post by captainsnarf »

There was a bug yesterday, sorry guys. It's fixed today.

I nerfed it. It uses ammo now. You get 5 ammo. And maybe 5 is too many, we'll see.

If it's still too game breaking we can turn it off. I had planned on turning it off after new years. Maybe we can keep it if it's balanced out by ammo change, and if not mappers can always add it to their maps if they want it.

This was made for the battle royale mode I'm working on and not really meant for ONS. It's fun though :D
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Re: The Threewave CTF grapple from Quake 1

Post by captainsnarf »

McLovin wrote: Sat Dec 20, 2025 6:47 pm Candy found some buildings you can't grapple to on ONS-AbandonedCity-Randomizer-V2.
You can't grapple blocking volumes. This is on purpose. It's way too broken op if you can.
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Re: The Threewave CTF grapple from Quake 1

Post by pooty »

How did you get it to stick in slot 2? When I updated the other grapple, it never worked in slot 2?! That's why its in slot 6.
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