That's a good point and something I've been working on. An almost dead frontline defender is better than a frontline defender that dies at the same time as your scouts.
What I"m hoping for is a deeper understanding of the pace of the game. Maps dictate the pace somewhat but also the base movement speed, speed with rockets, concs, nades, pipes, etc.
A lot of competitive strategy was built on "breaking" the game (quotes are necessary because not all broken things are bad.). BHop is very deep and fun to analyze, because it's based on breaking vector physics in a way Jon Carmack didn't foresee.
http://www.funender.com/quake/articl...ng_theory.html
What I mean by "vestigial" is looking at mechanics that have become so broken that they are now part of the required skills to success.
Bunny Hopping, Conc jumping, trimping, sliding, etc. are encouraged in FF while they were not initially intended to be used the way they are used back in 1996.
Saving a keystroke at the top of a ramp is a good thing FF did, IMO. Unnecessary keystrokes =/= skill.
But deeper than keystrokes, the actual math behind speed, self damage (Some people think FF Nades self hurt too much. They could be used as movement tools more than they are currently), even respawn. (A different penalty for death vs suicide could alter the metagame when deciding whether or not to kill yourself.)
Saying "We'll remake TFC" is so vague that it borders on the meaningless. Team Fortress comp, Team Fortress pub, and Team Fortress skillz focus on very different aspects of the classes. And really, it seems like a copout to do a copy of something 16 years old. It says that nothing has been learned in that time.
