Endless Modes

For those who grew up with PC Server Browsers, you almost certainly encountered one that hosted a single map and mode till the end of time. One that had nothing to do with balance, gameplay flow, or suitable team dynamics. More often than not, they were a scream fest, both from in-game character deaths, and real-life microphone users.

And... these had a beauty to them.

A beauty I was reminded of recently when playing custom matches on Titanfall 2, where we accidently stumbled upon something golden. In Titanfall 2, there's a mode called Live Fire, a round-based no respawn mode with its own set of dedicated maps your restricted to in Matchmaking.

But that restriction doesn't exist in Custom Games.

So after playing Live Fire across several different maps, both dedicated and base, we put CTF on "Traffic", one that's often considered the worst Live Fire map, and understandably so. It's just a flat plain with one connecting lobby in the center for cover. Well, that, and a bunch of destroyed civilian cars.

But for this mode... it was perfect.

The flatness of it meant you were never completely safe for somebody's sights. So the opportunities for sneaking by were rare, yet always exhilarating when they happened. Only 4 flags were capped in total (two per team) after hundreds of deaths, but nobody cared. It was awesome (to the point where it might become a regular thing) and very much reminded me these "Endless Modes."

Unreal Tournament: Facing Worlds - CTF
I didn't grow up with Unreal Tournament and yet, I'm still very much aware of "Facing Worlds" significance. It's as iconic of a map as Dust 2, Midship, or Crash. It might've even been the one that set the basis for what's to follow. Obviously, for those who wanted a small-scale free for all or interconnected 1v1 arena, this is nightmare fuel.

But that was very much the beauty of Unreal Tournament. Those interconnected maps, team-modes, and free for all matches existed, where someone could equip the sweatiest clothing for tense matches... and then cool off with a Facing Worlds CTF, where in the unlikely event someone actually captured enough flags to end the match... another started immediately after.

Sniper Rifles overlooking a flat tile set. Nuclear launchers capable of wiping out an entire base. Multiple chain-gunners. How couldn't you have fun in this environment?

Halo: Husky Raid - Action Sack

This mode existed across multiple Halo games, but Halo 4 is actually when I was first exposed to it, through the Action Sack playlist. I really can't think why, other than perhaps the Forge community I was apart held more interest for more ambitious creations. 

Husky Raid is even simpler than Facing Worlds. It's one lane CTF with fiesta settings, whatever you spawned with was randomly assigned, and goddamn, did I vote for this everytime it was available.

Halo 4's sandbox might be filled with redundancy and overpowered weapons, but goddamn, does it not come alive when Ingeneration Cannons, Sniper Rifles, Grenade Launchers, and DMRs are all echoing across the same hall with one player running for his life with the flag.

(BONUS) Red Orchestar 2: Bridges of Druzhina

No, this doesn't technically count, but anybody whose played Red Orchestra 2's Bridges of Druzhina knows how it somehow is the host to even more death and destruction than either map/mode listed in this piece. This map doesn't just lack cover... it's anti-cover.

Fields flatter than Saskatchewan, more soldiers on the dirt dead than alive on their feet, and triathlete distance runs, this poorly balanced, one-sided, heaping wreck of a map is stitched into my memory for the better. 

Very few things felt better than winning this map, and capturing a single point comes with the satisfaction of total victory in most other games. Perhaps in Solo this might've been a miserable experience, but with a group of friends all laughing when you were inevitably killed by artillery strikes together, it was a hilariously good time.

I know, these experiences aren't isolated. I'm sure many reading had their own endless modes/maps/servers they'd return to. Battlefield 3's Metro 64 Conquest. Counter Strike Source's Surf Maps. Team Fortress 2 Fort. There's an obvious enjoyment wish for these things. Whether its the comfort of familiarity, company, or of beating the odds.