From Team Fortress Wiki

“ — Invasion Update Science has shown They react violently being forcefed beer, good thing we're at a beer factory. ”

Watergate is a community-made Player Destruction map set in a seaside town during an alien invasion. Watergate won 2nd place in the 2014 TF2Maps.net Major Mapping Contest #11, "Mercs vs. Aliens" and was officially included in the game for the Invasion Community Update.

The objective for the map is that both teams must kill players to collect beer bottles to deliver to the UFO. A team wins upon successful delivery of a set number of bottles. The amount varies depending on the number of players currently in the server.

Gameplay

The goal of each team is to collect beer pickups dropped by dead players, and deposit them into a UFO at the center of the map to get it drunk and score points. When killed, a player drops 1 beer plus all of the beers they were carrying which can then be picked up by players on either team. Dropped beer bottles display a timer of 30 seconds before disappearing.

The non-Spy player on each team with the most beers also becomes the "Team Leader", making them dispense health and ammo to themselves and nearby teammates at the rate of a level 1 Dispenser. The player's HUD will display a gold star ( ) next to the current number of beers carried. The Team Leader status also gives a team-colored outline visible through walls that can be seen by both teams with a beer number counter. If the "Use Glow Effect for Payload Objectives" is not selected in the Advanced Options, only the numbers will be visible to the player.

Collected beers will be dropped on the ground if a player tries to carry them into a resupply area, and can also be dropped manually by pressing the drop-item button (Default key: L).

To score, players must deposit their collected beers into a UFO at the center of the map, which arrives every 52 seconds and flies slowly across the area creating a tractor beam, before getting to the edge of the map and leaving after 34 seconds. While in the UFO beam, players can move around as if they were swimming in water, and their collected beers are gradually deposited into the UFO and added to their team's score. Players can also contest beer deposits by jumping into the beam and blocking the enemy team from scoring.

As more beers are deposited into the UFO, it will get drunk, visibly wobbling more and more the higher a team's score is. Once one team scores enough points to win (the number scales based on the amount of players at the start of the round), the UFO flies away and drunkenly crashes into the mothership in the distance, destroying it and winning the game for that team.

Playing To Count

Player Count Playing To 0 10 2 10 4 20 6 30 8 40 10 50 12 60 14 70 16 80 18 90 20 100 22 110 24 120 26 130 28 140 30 150 32 160

Announcer lines

Note: Many of these lines are prefixed with "temp" with text-to-speech, monotonous announcer[1], possibly indicating that they may be changed in the future.

Enemy delivering bottles "The enemy is in the beam!"

Teammates delivering bottles "We are in the beam!"

Unused Enemy almost winning "They almost made the UFO totally drunk!"

Unused Teammates almost winning "We have almost made the UFO totally drunk!"

Locations

Alleys

Open Alley : The team oriented alleys are open areas with multiple different paths to take. From the catwalk is the path to one of the gatehouses. Underneath the catwalk is the path to the interior corridors. Straight ahead is the canal.

: The team oriented alleys are open areas with multiple different paths to take. From the catwalk is the path to one of the gatehouses. Underneath the catwalk is the path to the interior corridors. Straight ahead is the canal. Dropoff : The path to the canal drop down to the bottom floor. To the side is a catwalk into one of the gatehouses that can be accessed by jumping from the trashbags.

: The path to the canal drop down to the bottom floor. To the side is a catwalk into one of the gatehouses that can be accessed by jumping from the trashbags. Central Corridors : Through a small storage room is a small corridor that connects to the central catwalks, the rooftop bar, and a dropoff into one of the cellars.

: Through a small storage room is a small corridor that connects to the central catwalks, the rooftop bar, and a dropoff into one of the cellars. Gatehouse: The gatehouses overlook the UFO spawn with windows that can serve as vantage points. On the second floor are medium health & ammo kits.

Basements

Cellars : The team oriented cellars lead to the canal, either from the outside structures, or the central sewer.

: The team oriented cellars lead to the canal, either from the outside structures, or the central sewer. Sewers: Down the stairs is a sewer path that leads to the canal. Down in the path is a small health and ammo kit.

Central Canal

Dilapidated Boat : In the center of the canal is a stationary boat containing a max health kit.

: In the center of the canal is a stationary boat containing a max health kit. Central Sewer : The central sewer has a catwalk that leads to the overhead catwalks. On the catwalk is a lone medium ammo kit.

: The central sewer has a catwalk that leads to the overhead catwalks. On the catwalk is a lone medium ammo kit. Rooftop Bar : The rooftop bar overlooks the whole canal and connects to the team oriented sides. The bar contains two small ammo kits and one small health kit.

: The rooftop bar overlooks the whole canal and connects to the team oriented sides. The bar contains two small ammo kits and one small health kit. Overhead Catwalks : Underneath the bar are catwalks overlooking the map. In the center is a medium health kit.

: Underneath the bar are catwalks overlooking the map. In the center is a medium health kit. UFO: The UFO spawns periodically at the end of the canal near the gatehouses. It slowly flies over the canal and stops at the rooftop bar before flying out of the map. While it is flying overhead, its tractor beam will activate. When inside the tractor beam, players can fly into the air is if they were swimming.

Gallery

Mid.

The watergate underneath.

BLU central area.

RED spawn.

The watergate above.

The RED drop off.

RED side supply area.

BLU side corridor

BLU side box room.

Central area bridge.

BLU primary spawn.

The rooftop Bar.

The midway bridge.

RED secondary spawn entrance.

RED side basement.

The central sewers.

The King Mary in the center of the canal.

Inside RED spawn.

Strategy





Changelog

This is the changelog of the map before it was added to the game.

Changelog: rc4 (september 8th, 2015): Clouds around mothership

Remade assorted map models

Raised sand in sewer and added small healthpack

Optimised collision mesh of the boat to be less arbitrary

Put teleporter-nobuilds on previously trappable surfaces rc3 (august 27th, 2015): New mothership model with associated particle effects!

Optimised areaportal locations (portal rendering)

Optimised occluder locations (prop rendering)

Added LODs & fades to props (poly rendering)

Made the UFO timer more obvious of its purpose

Fixed crash relating to low model quality

Fixed players getting stuck at the top of the UFO beam rc2 (july 17th, 2015): A barricade has been added to the dropdown inbetween the crane and window buildings.

The UFO has been given a neutral outline when it appears in the area which helps with goal recognition.

We've spruced up the spawn with some juice.. and beer taps, and better chalkboard textures.

Bright light added to attract attention to the tower route.

A small fence has been added onto the raised spawn battlements to block a potentially powerful sightline to the spawn room door.

The middle bridge has been widened a bit.

The crane building upper floor has been given more light so you can see the silhouettes of Snipers easier.

Patch added under healthpack.

Patch added under healthpack, critical changes these. b10 (july 3rd, 2015): We've changed the UFO beam water trigger from the halloween Jarate condition to a plugin-based "you're now in water" mechanic, which allows Pyro flames and sounds to be played in the beam uninterrupted while still allowing good player movement.

We've spruced up the bottom sewer to mid connectors with better detail.

More detail to the insides of the crane buildings also.

Cool new map image and text for the chalkboard and the loading screen!

We've given some more light contrast around important locations on Red side to make it easier to notice these places and to make the area less boring to look at.

We've fixed a bug that allowed players to contest beer deposits while being below the tower platform. We've also re-added the gentle-fall trigger_push from the UFO beam arriving at the tower.

The speed of the UFO flying past the map has been reduced from 100 hu/s to 70 hu/s, making it last about 11 extra seconds in the map. This makes it easier to hop into the beam if you notice its entry late, or to catch up to it as it scrolls past the map.

Steps have been added to these middle side platforms.

Getting onto the boat has become easier: it's been lowered into the sand, the animation has become static (it used to sway), and there are boxes with ladders (all clipped nicely) leading onto the platform.

There's a new bottle pickup model and collision mesh (old collision mesh was butts so it sometimes didn't work when it should have).

And we've added some more details to spawn! b9c (june 21st, 2015): added new dropdown route from tower to sewer area near spawn - can be used as rollout

added dx80 versions of the ufo & nuke particles

added sign in front of front door to direct flow better just in case

added ability to contest beer deposits by jumping into beam while an enemy attempts to score

improved clipping all around the boat and ledges next to it

improved clipping on prop pillars around the map

improved clipping on windows and ledges around spawn area

improved clipping & displacements in mid sewer section

improved readability of the arrow signs near crane building

improved maneuverability up the garbage bag route near crane building

changed around some prop fade distances

opened up the mid sewer section and lit the bottom for smoother gameplay

made the saucer incoming and outgoing sounds quieter

made watergate brush metal darker

made default beer deposit speed 1 beer every 1.2 seconds, decreasing by 0.033 per player

made tractor beam lift trigger the swim-in-air condition trigger to improve maneuverability

fixed the Mann Beer sign edges showing up b7a (may 14th, 2015): changed some detail to improve flow

made LODs for a few existing models

fixed a lot of perch spots on the pillars with clips

added skybox animations for the ufo entering/leaving the map

added finale animation and sounds

added animations for differing amounts of ufo-drunkness b6p (march 27th, 2015): changed the gamemode

added a new route from the bottom exit of spawn that leads to bottom of tower sewer

changed some of the connectors to be more open and dynamic

cleaned up detail

improved fps all over the map b5 (november 17th, 2014): added more detail

optimised map more

fixed some broken things with the cores from the ufo

fixed the ufo going through the building at mid

fixed some clips around the map

added just a lot more clipping around the map

added some more signs

added some more background noise

added scorch marks from lasers / some particles / broken stuff

added paint cans near the graffiti b4 (november 12th, 2014) (Internal): optimising stuff b3 (november 10th, 2014): actually fixed the broken things

publicly released map for testing b2 (november 10th, 2014) (Internal): fixing broken things b1 (november 10th, 2014) (Internal): full artpass a5b (october 16th, 2014) (Internal): made a new route from the sewers' start, up onto the bridge with the box climb up to medium healthpack walkway

made it so if you hold the tower then when the ufo comes it will drop 3 less cores for your team

made it so players can escape along the sides of the ufo beam

made it so you can get up the pipe jump without a crouch jump

made it so you can't capture the point while standing on the Sniper ledge

made the healthpack in apartment a medium, and added a small health to the top of tower

added a small health and ammo to the room in between spawn and tower

added more signage showing where the point is

fixed some clipping issues at mid that would slow players down if they walked backwards up the ramps

fixed up the box / barrel climb so its easier to climb up without hitting your head a5a (october 10th, 2014): brang spawns even closer to mid, and made the second exit instead route down to the sewer section

added a point icon showing it has something to do with cores

added some point arrow signs around the map / resupply signs too

made it so Snipers aren't affected by the ufo beam

refined some ufo stuff still a4b (october 9th, 2014): moved spawns 256 units even closer to mid

redesigned the junction area and just linked the bottom sewer up to the window buildings

added a second way out of spawn and gave a one way window too

some ufo changes with lift speeds and arrival times a3 (october 7th, 2014) (Internal): moved spawns in 256 units closer to mid

blocked off the apartment line of sight so it was safer to move into the building

experimented with point / gamemode ideas a2 (october 5th, 2014): cut out the bottom section of the tower wall, opens up the point area for combat + Sniper sightlines from bridge

increased occurrence of UFO

increased UFO speed / lift speed

tried adding neutral outline to point but that seems to have not worked

added an overhang from the windows, adds route from tower > windows / windows > lower tower

added blockbullet all around the boat so cores don't go through it

made the point's core drops in groups of 3 / 15 seconds, instead of 1 / 5 seconds

October 6, 2015 Patch (Invasion Community Update) [Undocumented] Added Watergate to the game. October 8, 2015 Patch Fixed the reason in the win panel at the end of a round referring to robots

Fixed a case where players were able to get outside of the map

Fixed a sound cache problem October 15, 2015 Patch Fixed the countdown timer not always drawing on pd_watergate

Fixed seeing the team leader's Dispenser health while spectating on pd_watergate July 28, 2016 Patch Fixed the pd_watergate HUD not drawing. December 21, 2016 Patch (Smissmas 2016) Respawn times will now change depending on which team is in the lead: 8 seconds to leading team, 4 seconds to trailing team.

Moved the current beer amount to the center of the HUD.

Added a jump to low spawn route to give respawned players something to do en-route to mid.

Added a light to illuminate roof-Snipers better.

Adjusted some clipping. December 21, 2017 Patch #1 (Smissmas 2017) Respawn times of the teams will change dynamically based on the difference in scores. This should help balance any extreme differences in the team skills/scores. <50% difference in scores: 8s for leading team, 4s for trailing. >50% difference in scores: 12s for leading team, 0s for trailing. Equal scores: 6s for each team.

Relocated the player beer pickup counter on the HUD to the lower left, but made it slightly larger.

Updated the soundscape to have more alien-y sounds in the main areas.

Adjusted detail in the center and spawn rooms.

Adjusted clipping around the map.

Bugs

Occasionally when loading the map, certain roof textures and the beer symbol on the HUD will not load.

Beer pickups do not become invisible when Spies are cloaked.

Playing on Watergate occasionally crashes the game due to an error with the memory/address space.

Trivia

The map was inspired by the 2012 video game Dishonored, in particular the Draper's Ward portion from the Brigmore Witches downloadable content. [2]

Though the map shares its name with the infamous Watergate scandal of 1972-1974, the map creator has denied any intentional connection: "The map name isn't actually a reference to the Watergate scandal, however fitting it may be. It is simply just that the centerpiece is a watergate, and that it's a unique / descriptive name for a map." [3]

There are several references to Dishonored and Les Misérables. Various Whale Bone Charms and the Lacking Moral Fiber Mask can be found hidden in a box in the corner of the central sewer drain. Another Whale Bone Charm can be found perched on the top of the demolished wall on the uppermost floor of the brewery. Whale Bone charms can also be found on the slanted roofs near the main RED and BLU spawn entrances Wall graffiti "DOOM BE UPON US" and "THE END IS NIGH" resembles those found in Dishonored. The number "24601" can be found printed on the wall next to a barrel underneath the staircase by the secondary RED spawn entrance.

The dilapidated boat's name is the King Mary as opposed to the Queen Mary .

as opposed to the . An Ap-Sap can be found by noclipping into the crates by BLU's secondary spawn entrance. It will speak voicelines when hit.

In each team's spawn is a passed out Demoman. Next to him is a beer spill that if stepped on will cause the player to slip forward, similar to the banana peel from Mannhattan.

The voice that announces progress and which team is in the UFO's beam was made using the voice WillFromAfar from the site Acapela group.com.

The Ap-Sap hidden behind the crates near BLU's secondary exit.

The Lacking Moral Fiber Mask & Whale Bone Charms in the box in the central sewers.

Close up of the Lacking Moral Fiber Mask box.

A Whale Bone Charm hidden in the cracks of the destroyed wall in the central bar.

Gallery

A bottle of Mann Beer for the beer counter that appears on the HUD.

HUD timer until the UFO touches down.

HUD timer until the UFO flies off.

References



