Task Force 0.7.5.2213

Competitive Ladders Are Here

Task Force now has a full competitive mode built right into the game. Put a team together, challenge other teams to matches, and climb the standings. Everything happens in the main menu: no websites, no spreadsheets, and no need to leave the game. And when it's time to play, your match is waiting for you right on the main menu.

This update also gives every rank up the moment it deserves.

Rank Ups You Can See

When your rank changes, the game now shows it to you, in a way that fits what you're doing:

• Between rounds (on the round stats screen, or while you're dead or spectating), a banner sweeps across the middle of the screen: your old insignia, your new one stamping in, and the name of your new rank.
• Mid-round, while you're still in the fight, it stays out of your way: the insignia next to your name flips over to the new one, and a badge slides out beside it for a few seconds.

A promotion gets the full treatment, with gold rays, rings and a shine across your new insignia. If you ever drop a rank, it's shown quietly, with no fanfare.

Ranks are updated a little after each round's results are processed, so a promotion you earned last round may pop up a short way into the next one.

On your way to ranked - New players start out unranked and climb 12 enlisted levels just by playing. Every new level shows you how far you've come and how many levels are left before you're ranked, and when you finally earn your first officer rank, you'll see RANKED. These levels are just for you: they never show up in anyone else's chat.

Other players - When a ranked player in your game moves up (or down) a rank, everyone sees it in the chat, with their new insignia. If several players rank up at once, their lines come in one at a time so the chat doesn't get flooded.

Getting Started with Competitive

Just click COMPETITIVE on the main menu to get started.

Three Ways to Play

There's a ladder for every group size, each with its own tab:

• Clan - your whole group, 5 to 16 players, with your own clan tag.
• Squads - a team of 4.
• Doubles - just you and a partner.

You can be on one team of each kind at the same time, so you can play for your clan, a squad and a duo all at once.

The Standings

The main competitive screen shows who's on top. Every team has a rank, XP, a win-loss record, a win percentage, and a streak, so you can see who's hot and who's slipping. The top three get gold, silver and bronze, and your own team is highlighted so you can always find yourself (or jump straight to your page with the MY CLAN button).

Next to the standings you'll find your own team at a glance: your rank, how many players you have, how many are ready to play, your upcoming matches, and any challenges waiting for an answer. A little number on each tab tells you when something needs your attention.

Team Profiles

Click any team to see its profile: its roster with everyone's role, its upcoming matches, and its recent results with the score, the maps that were played and the XP won or lost. A row of coloured squares shows its recent form at a glance.

Every team also has a Team Stats page, just like your own player stats: kills, K/D, win rate, accuracy, favorite weapons, where they land their hits, and plenty more. Teams even earn a rank of their own.

Match Details

Click any result to see how the match went, map by map: the final score, who won each map, the game mode, how long it took, and every round won or lost.

Challenging Other Teams

Found a team you want to play? Open their profile and hit CHALLENGE.

Pick a day and a time and send it off. The time is always shown in your own time zone, and the other team sees it in theirs, so nobody has to do time zone math. You can schedule a match anywhere from 15 minutes to 31 days ahead, and you can also choose whether RPGs are allowed in that match.

Prefer to see the whole month? Switch to the calendar view and pick your day and time with a couple of clicks.

Once the other team accepts, the match goes on both teams' schedules.

Match Finder

Don't know who to play? The Match Finder lists every team that's looking for a match and when they want to play. Click ANSWER on any post and the challenge is sent for that time.

Or post your own: pick a time that works for your team, and other teams can answer it. You can have up to 3 times posted at once, and they come down on their own once their time passes or you book a match around then.

You'll also see how many teams are looking for a match right at the top of the competitive screen, so it's easy to jump in.

A Server for Every Match

You never have to find, rent or set up a server for a ladder match. Once a match is on the schedule, the competitive system automatically starts a dedicated server for it ahead of the start time, locked with a password so only the two teams get in. When the match is over, the server is taken down again. No one has to host, and nothing is left running after the last round.

Join Your Match in One Click

When it's almost time for one of your ladder matches, you don't have to go looking for the server. The QUICK PLAY button on the main menu turns into JOIN YOUR MATCH, showing which ladder it's on and who you're playing.

• It counts down to the start time, and switches to LIVE NOW once the match has begun.
• One click puts you straight into your match. No server browser, no typing in a password.
• If the match server is still starting up, it tells you, and the button lights up as soon as the server is ready.
• If your game and the match server are on different versions, it tells you, so you know to update.

Running Your Team

Team owners and admins get a Manage page with everything they need, split into four tabs.

Roster - See everyone on your team and promote the players you trust to admin. Invite new players with their Steam ID, and they accept the invite right in the game. New players can play ladder matches 24 hours after they join, and the roster shows exactly when each new recruit will be ready. You can also see at a glance whether your team has enough players to play.

Challenges - Every challenge you've sent or received, with a quick Accept, Deny or Withdraw. You can also challenge a team you've played recently with one click, or type in any team's ID.

Matches - Your upcoming schedule (including any match being played right now) and your past results, with your record and XP over your last 10 matches.

Settings - Change your team's name or clan tag, see which ladders your team is on and enter new ones, read the ladder rules, hand the team over to someone else, or delete it.

Owners and admins run the team: they invite and remove players and send and answer challenges. Everyone else just shows up and plays.

Joining or Starting a Team

Not on a team yet? When another team invites you, the invite shows up right on the competitive screen. Just hit ACCEPT to join.

Or start your own: click REGISTER, give your team a name (and a tag for clans), and you're the owner. Then invite your players and you're ready to go.

Discord

The competitive ladders work with our Discord bot too, so you can check standings and handle challenges from Discord when you're away from the game. To connect the two, click LINK WITH DISCORD at the bottom of the competitive screen and follow the two quick steps. This is completely optional: everything works in the game without it.

Get Your Team Together

Grab your friends, register your team, and start climbing. We can't wait to see who ends up on top.