TF2 Hidden Cvar Listing
It's been awhile since I did this, but for those interested here's a list of the "hidden" developer cvars in TF2 and generally what they do. Note that this isn't 100% complete, only the most recent cvarlist drawn from the server post-update. It gave me some weird output so I think the cvarlist plugin may need updating...
CVARS
tf_meleeattackforcescale "" //Does nothing, but it sounded promising
weapon_medigun_damage_modifier "" //Does nothing I can see
weapon_medigun_construction_rate "" //Ditto
weapon_medigun_charge_rate "" //Self-explanitory, but the scale is weird. Higher = faster
weapon_medigun_chargerelease_rate "" //Controls duration of ubercharge effectively
tf_grenadelauncher_chargescale "" //Not sure
tf_grenadelauncher_livetime "" //Does nothing, but it sounded promising
tf_grenadelauncher_min_contact_speed "" //Min velocity required to explode on contact
tf_grenade_forcefrom_bullet "" //How much force is applied to a sticky when shooting it
tf_grenade_forcefrom_buckshot "" //Same for shotguns
tf_grenade_forcefrom_blast "" //Same for explosions
tf_grenade_force_sleeptime "" //Not sure
tf_pipebomb_force_to_move "" //How much force is needed to move a sticky
tf_pipebomb_reflect_reset_time "" //How long stickies move before re-sticking
tf_flamethrower_velocity "" //Speed of flamethrower particles
tf_flamethrower_drag "" //Physics crap
tf_flamethrower_float "" //Physics crap
tf_flamethrower_flametime "" //Not sure
tf_flamethrower_vecrand "" //Physics crap
tf_flamethrower_boxsize "" //Bounding box size for flame collision
tf_flamethrower_maxdamagedist "" //Self-explanitory
tf_flamethrower_shortrangedamagemultiplier "" //Self-explanitory
tf_flamethrower_velocityfadestart "" //Physics crap
tf_flamethrower_velocityfadeend "" //Physics crap
tf_flamethrower_burst_zvelocity "" //How high straight up you knock people with the airblast
tf_flamethrower_burstammo "" //How much ammo the airblast uses
tf_damageforcescale_self_pyro_rj "" //How much damage you take from a reflected rocket
tf_scout_stunball_base_duration "4" //How many seconds stun lasts. Distance modifies it
tf_scout_stunball_base_speed "" //How fast the stunball flies
sv_proj_stunball_damage "" //How much base damage the ball hitting you does
tf_scout_stunball_ball_regen_rate "" //How fast the ball recharges
tf_scout_bat_launch_delay "" //Minimum delay between hitting stun balls. e.g. hit, pick up, hit again
tf_spy_invis_time "" //Seconds to transition from normal into cloak
tf_spy_invis_unstealth_time "" //Seconds it takes to transition from cloak to normal
tf_spy_max_cloaked_speed "" //Max run speed while cloaked
tf_max_health_boost "" //Not sure
tf_invuln_time "" //Uber duration (DO NOT USE THIS USE CHARGERELEASE RATE CVAR)
tf_player_movement_stun_time "" //Related to Natacha but doesn't seem to do anything
tf_scout_dodge_move_penalty_duration "" //How long the scout is slowed after using Bonk
tf_scout_dodge_move_penalty "" //Amount he's slowed by
tf_soldier_buff_pulses "" //Not sure, this was added VERY recently
tf_boost_drain_time "" //Time it takes an overheal to wear off
tf_spy_cloak_consume_rate "" //Overall cloak time for normal watch and C&D, higher means shorter
tf_spy_cloak_regen_rate "" //Same thing for regenerating cloak
tf_spy_cloak_no_attack_time "" //Time after uncloaking you can't stab/shoot
tf_scout_phase_regen_rate "" //Bonk drink regenerate speed
tf_scout_phase_consume_rate "" //How long Bonk lasts
tf_scout_phase_activation "" //Not sure
tf_feign_death_duration "" //How long the Dead Ringer effect lasts, maximum (untested)
tf_weapon_ragdoll_velocity_min "" //
tf_weapon_ragdoll_velocity_max "" //
tf_weapon_ragdoll_maxspeed "" //
tf_damageforcescale_other "" //General explosion force
tf_damageforcescale_self_soldier_rj "" //Scale to convert damage to physics push for rocketjumping
tf_damageforcescale_self_soldier_badrj "" //Same for a "bad" jump (no crouch)
tf_damagescale_self_soldier "" //Self damage scale for rockets. Less means rocketjumps hurt less.
tf_damage_lineardist "" //Not sure
tf_damage_range "" //Not sure, but may be the max distance bullets travel before disappearing
tf_feign_death_damage_scale "" //Scales damage taken while cloaked by the Dead Ringer
tf_combat_cloak_mode "" //Not sure, testing inconclusive on this one.
How would you change the values on a local server? I assume this would normally need rcon which doesn't work on local, or sourcemod which I don't really want to install just to uninstall when i'm finished.
tf_grenadelauncher_livetime : probably the amount of time from when you fire a grenade to when it explodes automaticly
tf_flamethrower_flametime: i think its the amount of time u spend on fire.
tf_soldier_buff_pulses: the amount of time you keep the buff banner in effect, i think
tf_scout_phase_activation : amount of time to use bonk? not shure my self on this one, maby the time between when you start drinking to when it starts effecting you?
i didnt test this, but thats the sort of stuff they would name it to do i guess.
I'm always of two minds about settings like these. On the one hand, it's usually interesting to see how things can be tweaked in various ways...
On the other hand, most people fucking fail at proper balancing of said tweaks, and if there isn't global enforcement of certain settings, gameplay usually suffers from the randomness.
I'm assuming this works like most quake engine game cvar settings in that you can muck with them on the server side.
SOF2 and wolf:ET suffered greatly from radically different settings per server in the later days.
Yeah, most people are awful at balancing and have what I call a "fire and forget" mentality about cvars and server ownership in general. Basically if it sounds like a good idea at the time they change it and forget about it, or change a boat load of cvars and wonder why their game is completely unbalanced and broken.
Great care should be taken when using extremely game-changing cvars not to totally ruin the feel of the base game. Playing with things like caplinear or respawn times can seriously unbalance the game or even totally destroy certain maps or modes.