Jailbreak: Source

Last updated
Jailbreak Source logo.jpg
Logo
Developer(s) Jailbreak Team
Engine Source engine
Platform(s) Windows
ReleaseFebruary 19, 2007 [1]
(Beta 0.1 & Beta 0.2)
March 30, 2007 [2]
(Beta 0.3)
Genre(s) First-person action
Mode(s) Multiplayer

Jailbreak: Source is a multiplayer team-based first-person action video game, developed as a total conversion modification on the Valve's proprietary Source engine. The game was in beta development stages before it was abandoned, with its first public release on the 14th of February 2007. [1] 0.2 followed a week later as a patch. The third major public version was released two months later on April 21, 2007. [2] The next release was made available just over a year later, on May 3, 2008 [3] with the latest version (0.6) being released on 15 January 2010. [4]

Contents

The gamemode of Jailbreak has been a long-standing staple of the modding community, appearing in many different game engines over the last ten years. Originating as a Quake II modification developed by Team Reaction, the game has seen success on the GoldSrc engine, and more recently the Unreal Tournament 2003 Engine.

Jailbreak: Source was well received by mod industry critics, being praised for its originality, graphical quality, [5] amusing executions and team based gameplay. [6] Upon the release of Jailbreak: Source 0.4, the game acquired approximately two million player minutes per month on the Steam content delivery system. [7] The mod is freely available to anyone who has purchased a Source-based game, such as Half-Life 2 or Portal .

The current status of this mod is unknown, as the official website is no longer available.

Gameplay

Jailbreak: Source is built around two teams (robots vs dinosaurs), each with a jail in their base, when an enemy player is killed, they respawn inside the opposing teams jail, where they can either await release by their own team who are fighting to get to the release button, or escape by their own means, through devious and deadly escape routes. Once the whole enemy team is in jail, the round is won, and the losing team executed in a variety of cruel and unusual ways. The latest release of Jailbreak: Source is a near total conversion with the majority of content being custom created, including 14 custom weapons, ranging from Chainguns to Railguns.

With the release of Jailbreak: Source 0.4 came the introduction of Points and Perks, which drastically changed the focus of the gameplay toward teamwork and cooperation. The perks system was designed to allow the creation of custom classes, meaning a player could play in a Stealthy Medic role, or a fast moving Heavy weapons role, or any combination the player can think up. This change of focus encouraged more teamwork, as players need to work together to create a team that could effectively counteract the opposing teams perk system. The introduction of a Healing tool, also meant that players needed to cooperate more to ensure every team member was up to full health before assaulting the enemy jail.

The points system was also designed to reward players for their own style of play. During the release of 0.3, the team recognised that certain players were more comfortable in defending roles, but these players were not getting as many frags as attacking or mid-field players. To counteract this, a dynamic scoring system was implemented to reward players who kill enemy soldiers near to the release button, or who kill escaping prisoners.

Jailbreak: Source 0.6 introduced new two new gamemodes, King of the Hill and Deathball, the latter being a remake of Q2Pong, another popular Quake 2 mod released around the same time as the original Jailbreak. Both new gamemodes are integrated into the primary gamemode, with players needing to complete gamemode specific objectives in order to release their team.

Points & Perks

In the first three beta releases of Jailbreak: Source, the gameplay was very similar to Team Deathmatch, with frags for kills and little reward for playing the game in a tactical fashion. To rectify this, later versions of Jailbreak included a new system where players gained points for playing the game in either defensive, offensive, or attack styles. For example, players receive bonus points for defending their release button, or for escaping from Jail. Another significant change was to add a Perks system allowing players to spend their points on a combination of skills and abilities from a selection of twelve to augment their playing style. These perks included augmentations like Stealth, Double Jump, Healing, Regeneration, and Awareness. The concept was designed to allow players to create a custom class and is balanced to prevent individuals becoming overpowered as each skill has an opposing skill to combat it. For example, if the enemy team is using Stealth, then choosing Awareness will give away their position on the players HUD.

Teams

There are two teams, Robots, and Dinosaurs replacing the Rebels and Combine from previous versions. This was revealed in a special "Live" ModDB Interview [8] New high-quality skins and models were created for each team to further define the red and blue color scheme of the mod and assist players in knowing their location within each map.

Maps

Jailbreak: Source comes with twelve maps played across three different gamemodes. Each map is a unique environment, with a common red/blue theme throughout. The map themes include an Underwater Research Station, an Elizabethan Ghost Town, a crashing Space Ship, an Arctic Base, and a Neo-Tokyo city. [9] The maps have been built with 16 player games in mind, but can support up to 32. Some maps are mirrored exactly, whilst others are asymmetrical. Each map contains a complex escape route that requires team coordination to use such as stopping a deadly rotating fan, navigating through a haunted maze, or dodging lasers. Every map has a unique custom execution, including a Helicopter bombing run, being sucked out of an airlock, being mown down by a runaway train, or being crushed ripped apart by a Tornado. Further maps were planned for subsequent releases along with a new gamemode. In addition to the official maps, the game's community has created a map pack containing 14 new environments. [10]

Critical reception

Jailbreak: Source was voted into the Top 100 Mods of 2008 and 2009 by the users of ModDB. [11] [12]

The latest release attracted coverage across a range of high-profile sites, including Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Writer, Alec Meer commented that "It’s just hit its 0.6 release, and the Jailbreak Team seems to be treating this as though it’s the mod’s first proper release. Maybe it is, and any prior memories we have of it are simply a collective hallucination, like that time when poodles took over the planet for an entire Wednesday." [13]

Jailbreak: Source received an overall positive reception from various critics. Mod DB wrote a lengthy preview of the mod prior to the release of 0.4 describing it as "fresh and exciting", and praising it for its approach to game design by allowing a player " to play in whatever style suits you best and still have a contribution to a team win". The reviewer also commented on the environment design, "For instance, the new maps are amazing - not only do they look great but each level is like another game within itself!" finally ending by saying that the game would be a "surefire hit". Mod DB did criticize the lack of extensive custom sounds within the mod saying "Some of the HL2 sound effects are there but this does not take away from the feeling each theme creates for itself.". [5]

The release of beta 0.4 prompted coverage of the game by Total PC Gaming in their modification news section. [14] In their article on Jailbreak: Source, the writer described the games concept and praised it for its appearance as a "modern makeover", the writer also stated that the "team needs to work on its maps" in terms of balance, specifying that Deepcore in particular "result(s) in one team being trapped in jail while the opposition camps outside the only entrance/exit". The article finished by stating that, if tweaked, "this could be one of the best of the best multiplayer experiences in the crowded Half-Life 2 modding scene". [15]

Jailbreak: Source 0.3 has also been featured in PC Zone UK magazine, broadly describing the game mechanics, and stating that the mod is "an interesting addition to the basic game dynamic" whilst lamenting the lack of servers upon the release of the previous version. [16] The mod was also available to install from the demo disc.

The release of Jailbreak: Source 0.3 was also covered on Kotaku where it was cited as being "an original enough premise, at least in terms of FPS games, and because of that definitely worth a look." [17]

In an article published by the Planet Half-Life website on the GameSpy network, IGN, staff writer Thomas "Editor321" Rogers described the game as a "unique modification with dynamic gameplay". The review was mainly positive, with the writer going on to state that "The content of the game is good, but I look forward to the different map environments the most". One of the key things criticized in the review was the points and perks system "Something I believe that holds these back from being a pinnacle part of gameplay is, they are incredibly expensive pointwise. Some of these perks cost upwards of 80 points! That’s a lot of killing and capturing you have to do, which quite frankly, is really hard to do." The writers overall opinion of the game was that "Jailbreak is not a game for everyone if you're looking for realism and military tactics, look away, but if you fancy some team-based arcade action, sign right up!". [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Counter-Strike</i> (video game) 2000 first-person shooter video game

Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter game developed by Valve. It was initially developed and released as a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess Cliffe in 1999, before Le and Cliffe were hired and the game's intellectual property acquired. Counter-Strike was released by Valve for Microsoft Windows in 2000, and is the first installment in the Counter-Strike series. Several remakes and ports were released on Xbox, as well as OS X and Linux.

<i>Battlefield 1942</i> 2002 video game

Battlefield 1942 is a 2002 first-person shooter video game developed by Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The game can be played in single-player mode against the video game AI or in multiplayer mode against players on the Internet or in a local area network. It is a popular platform for mod developers, with many released modifications that alter the gameplay and theme.

<i>Day of Defeat</i> 2003 video game

Day of Defeat is a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game set in the European theatre of World War II on the Western front. Originally a modification of the 1998 game Half-Life, the rights of the modification were purchased by Valve and released as a full retail title in 2003.

Natural Selection is a modification for the video game Half-Life. Its concept is a mixture of the first-person shooter and real-time strategy game genres. The game was created by Charlie "Flayra" Cleveland, who later founded the company Unknown Worlds Entertainment. Natural Selection v1 was first publicly released on Halloween 2002, and is now at version 3.2. Natural Selection 2 was released in late 2012.

<i>Multi Theft Auto</i> Grand Theft Auto multiplayer modification

Multi Theft Auto (MTA) is a multiplayer modification for the Microsoft Windows version of Rockstar North games Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas that adds online multiplayer functionality. For Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the mod also serves as a derivative engine to Rockstar's interpretation of RenderWare.

<i>Day of Defeat: Source</i> 2005 video game

Day of Defeat: Source is a team-based online first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve. Set in World War II, the game is a remake of Day of Defeat. It was updated from the GoldSrc engine used by its predecessor to the Source engine, and a remake of the game models. The game was released for Microsoft Windows on September 26, 2005, distributed through Valve's online content delivery service Steam. Retail distribution of the game was handled by Electronic Arts.

Soldat is a 2D multiplayer video game for Microsoft Windows. It is a run and gun game influenced by Liero and Scorched Earth, combined with elements from Counter-Strike and Worms.

<i>Team Fortress 2</i> 2007 video game

Team Fortress 2 is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 Team Fortress mod for Quake and its 1999 remake, Team Fortress Classic. The game was released in October 2007 as part of The Orange Box for Windows and the Xbox 360, and ported to the PlayStation 3 in December 2007. It was released as a standalone game for Windows in April 2008, and updated to support Mac OS X in June 2010 and Linux in February 2013. It is distributed online through Valve's digital retailer Steam, with Electronic Arts managing retail and console editions.

Project Reality is a series of military tactical first-person shooter video game modifications that aim to create a realistic teamwork-based shooter centered around modern warfare and combined arms. The original version, Project Reality: BF2, was released in 2005 for Battlefield 2; this version is still being updated on a regular basis and became a stand-alone game in 2015. Project Reality: ARMA 2, a version developed for Arma 2, was released as a beta in 2011; development was later moved to Arma 3 in 2013, with the project fittingly being rechristened to Project Reality: ARMA 3. In September 2015 it was announced that the Arma project had been suspended.

<i>Movie Battles</i> 2003 video game

Movie Battles II (MBII) is a team-based multiplayer mod for the 2003 third and first-person shooter game Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. It is a successor of the Movie Battles mod for Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. The primary purpose of the mod is to allow players to experience setpiece battle scenes from the Star Wars films and the Star Wars expanded universe. The gameplay is similar to that of the base game, but builds upon it with several new elements. The mod has been lauded for providing one of the best lightsaber combat experiences out of any Star Wars game.

GoldenEye: Source is a total conversion mod developed using Valve's Source engine. GoldenEye: Source is a multiplayer remake of the 1997 Nintendo 64 video game GoldenEye 007, itself based on the James Bond film GoldenEye. The mod's development began in 2005, and remains in active development as of 2019.

<i>Dystopia</i> (video game) 2007 video game

Dystopia is a team-based, objective-driven, first-person shooter video game, developed as a total conversion modification on the Valve's proprietary Source engine. It is based on the cyberpunk literary and aesthetic genre; it is somewhat based on popular role-playing game Shadowrun, created by an amateur development team and released to the public for free. Its first playable build was released on September 9, 2005, after a year of planning and nine months of development. The first full version of Dystopia, Version 1, was released after 3 years of development on February 25, 2007.

<i>OpenArena</i> Free and open-source video game

OpenArena is a free and open-source video game. It is a first-person shooter, and a video game clone of Quake III Arena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tremulous</span> Video game

Tremulous is a free and open source asymmetric team-based first-person shooter with real-time strategy elements. Being a cross-platform development project the game is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.

<i>Pirates, Vikings and Knights II</i> 2007 video game

Pirates, Vikings and Knights II is a multiplayer team-based first-person action video game, developed as a total conversion modification on Valve proprietary Source engine. The game is currently in beta development stages, with its first public release on 1 January 2007. The second major public version was released a year later on 7 February 2008.

<i>MechWarrior: Living Legends</i> 2009 video game

Mechwarrior: Living Legends is a free, fan-created multiplayer-only game based in the BattleTech universe - originally a total-conversion mod for Crysis, it's since become stand-alone - running on Crysis Wars, and using CryEngine 2 as its engine. It's one of the few mods based on the BattleTech universe to have been sanctioned by Microsoft—who currently owns the rights to the Mechwarrior video-game franchise—and additionally received pre-SDK support and sanctioning directly from Crytek, producers of the games' engine. On December 26, 2009, an open beta was released via BitTorrent and other distribution methods. Because the project changes the play-style and feel of the game it is originally based on so completely as to be unrecognizable in comparison, it is billed as a "full-conversion" mod, since little to no trace of the original game's art or play-style exists any longer within MW:LL. It was created by American developer Wandering Samurai Studios.

<i>Smokin Guns</i> 2012 video game

Smokin' Guns is a first-person shooter video game. Smokin' Guns is intended to be a semi-realistic simulation of the American Old West's atmosphere. Gameplay as well as locations are inspired by Western movies, particularly those from the Spaghetti Western genre.

Facepunch Studios Ltd is a British video game developer and publisher headquartered in Birmingham, England, founded in June 2004 and incorporated on 17 March 2009 by Garry Newman. The company is most known for its sandbox video game Garry's Mod and survival game Rust. Facepunch is currently developing s&box, which is regarded as a spiritual successor to Garry's Mod.

<i>Valorant</i> 2020 video game by Riot Games

Valorant is a free-to-play first-person tactical hero shooter developed and published by Riot Games, for Windows. Teased under the codename Project A in October 2019, the game began a closed beta period with limited access on April 7, 2020, followed by a release on June 2, 2020. The development of the game started in 2014. Valorant takes inspiration from the Counter-Strike series, borrowing several mechanics such as the buy menu, spray patterns, and inaccuracy while moving.

References

  1. 1 2 "Release!". Jailbreak Team. 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  2. 1 2 "Jailbreak Beta 0.3 Released!". Jailbreak Team. 2007-04-21. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  3. ↑ "Jailbreak Beta 0.4 Released!". Jailbreak Team. 2008-05-03. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  4. ↑ "Jailbreak beta 0.6 released!". Jailbreak Team. 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  5. 1 2 "Jailbreak: Source preview". Mod DB . 2008-04-12. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  6. 1 2 Rogers, Thomas (2008-08-09). "Jailbreak: Source 0.4". Planet Half-Life . IGN. Archived from the original on 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  7. ↑ "Steam: Game and Player Statistics". Valve . Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  8. ↑ "ModDB Live Interview". ModDB. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  9. ↑ "Official Maps". Jailbreak Team. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  10. ↑ "Custom Maps". Jailbreak Community. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  11. ↑ "ModDB Top 100 (2008)". Jailbreak Team. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  12. ↑ "ModDB Top 100 (2009)". Jailbreak Team. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  13. ↑ "Jailbreak: Source Flexes it's Muscles article". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. 2008-04-12. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
  14. ↑ Mod, Report. Jailbreak: Source 0.4. Total PC Gaming. p. 66.
  15. ↑ "Total PC Gaming Article Scan". Total PC Gaming . 2008-08-09. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  16. ↑ Hogarty, Steve (2008-08-09). "PC Zone UK Article, Issue 183, p111". PC Zone . Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  17. ↑ Plunkett, Luke (2008-02-21). "Kotaku Article". Kotaku . Retrieved 2008-09-16.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.