valid New Game Mode: Convoy

[Bumpscositus 6]

Introduction

Throughout its history, Tanki Online has introduced a variety of game modes that each offer a unique gameplay experience, from classic objective capture modes like Capture the Flag and Control Points to newer additions such as Siege and Assault. With that in mind, I would like to propose a new objective-based game mode called Convoy, in which one team escorts an armored transport vehicle to its destination while the opposing team attempts to stop it. Inspired by escort-style modes found in other multiplayer games and adapted to fit Tanki Online's gameplay, Convoy introduces a moving objective that encourages teamwork, map control, and strategic decision-making. This proposal is intended as a proof of concept, supported by illustrations and examples to help visualize how the mode could function if the development team believes the idea has merit.
 

 

What Is Convoy?

Convoy is an objective-based team game mode in which an armored transport vehicle must be escorted along a predefined route while the opposing team attempts to stop its advance before time expires. Unlike static objectives, the Convoy is constantly moving, creating a dynamic frontline that shifts across the battlefield and encourages teamwork, map control, and strategic positioning.

 

 

Teams

     • Escorts: Escort the Convoy to its destination before time expires.

     • Bandits: Prevent the Convoy from reaching its destination until time expires.

Victory Conditions

     Escort Victory:
     The Escorts win by successfully guiding the Convoy to its final destination before the match timer expires.

     Bandit Victory:
     The Bandits win if the match timer reaches zero before the Convoy arrives at its destination.

 

 

Escort Radius and Convoy Movement

The Convoy advances only when Escort players are within its active escort radius, which functions similarly to the objective-capture mechanics found in Control Points and Siege. The radius provides enough freedom for players to maneuver, engage enemies, and use nearby cover without constantly disconnecting from the objective. The Convoy's speed increases as more Escorts enter the radius, up to a maximum effective escort count. The exact radius, movement speed, and player requirements would remain at the discretion of the development team to ensure proper balancing across different maps and matchmaking environments.

 

 

Visual Examples

 

Disclaimer

All visual examples in this proposal, including icons, map layouts, routes, and other illustrations, are conceptual mockups created solely to help visualize the Convoy game mode. They are not intended to represent final designs or official implementation plans. Should the development team choose to explore this concept further, all visuals and implementation details would remain entirely at their discretion.

 

Game Mode Selection Screen Icon

The proposed Convoy game mode icon depicts an armored transport vehicle bearing a flag, visually representing the mode's central gameplay mechanic: escorting a valuable asset to its destination while defending it from enemy interference. The design follows Tanki Online's existing visual language by using a simple, recognizable silhouette that remains easy to identify in the game mode selection screen.

 

Maps

Exhibit A:

Berlin

 

Berlin was selected as a proof-of-concept example because its varied layout naturally complements Convoy's gameplay. Its combination of open areas, narrow streets, and walled sections encourages a mix of long-range combat, flanking maneuvers, ambushes, and close-quarters engagements as the Convoy progresses along its route, requiring both teams to continually adapt their strategies.

 

Exhibit B:

Dusseldorf

 

Unlike Berlin, Dusseldorf demonstrates how Convoy can provide a different gameplay experience on a denser urban map. Its narrow streets and confined routes encourage frequent engagements, ambushes, and coordinated team pushes, highlighting how the mode can naturally adapt to different map layouts while retaining its core objective.

 

Potential Event Trial

Should the development team find merit in Convoy, one possible method of public testing could be through Tanki Online's Festive Mode after internal development and private testing. As a limited-time weekend event, it would provide an opportunity to evaluate the mode under real gameplay conditions, gather player feedback, and inform any future decisions, should the developers choose to pursue the concept further.

 

Conclusion

Convoy is presented as a player-driven concept intended to explore a new objective-based experience for Tanki Online. The mechanics, examples, and visual mockups included in this proposal are meant only to illustrate the idea, with any potential implementation, balancing, and design decisions remaining entirely at the discretion of the development team. My hope is simply that the concept is taken into consideration if the team believes it has enough merit. Finally, I would like to thank NikmanGT for providing the top-down screenshots used in the map examples and for his valuable feedback throughout the development of this concept. Thank you for taking the time to read this proposal.

[NikmanGT 4,679]

Valid

As much as I know personally how much time and effort you invested in this Idea, you have my utmost gratitude for posting this.

For the Idea, as I've already said before, Convoy is a very influential gamemode in multiple games and one of my personal favorite formats. The game definitely deserves such modes to make Matchmaking more interesting and diversified rather than plain TDM battles in almost every game, or maybe introduce it as a special gamemode (The convoy can be the gigantic piece of machinery found in Forest Remastered) in the upcoming days. 

[wolfson 16]

Very cool idea, and the fact that you explained everything about it is even better, absolute respect...

[Bartson74 46]

I like the idea, but I don't like the "win when game ends unless you lose" win condition for the bandits team, usually when one team dominates the battle, they can end it pretty fast (be it killing enough tanks/juggernauts, capturing and holding all points for some time or capturing enough flags), but if bandits dominate the battle, it will just be TDM with no visible score for however long the battle lasts. We have an asymmetrical battle mode, which is ASL, where the defending team basically has the same win condition (very rarely will they lose on time), but they can end the match earlier if they kill enough enemies (which is usually the way they win when the game ends, by having more kills than the attacking team has score), maybe this gamemode should have a similar thing. Also team based battle modes have team scores (at the top) for both teams, this is another reason to implement the killing tanks win condition for bandits. Escort's score can represent their progress on moving the armored transport, and bandit's score is their kills. Other than that - I like it!

Edited yesterday at 12:49 PM by Bartson74

[Bumpscositus 6]

On 7/10/2026 at 3:49 PM, Bartson74 said:

I like the idea, but I don't like the "win when game ends unless you lose" win condition for the bandits team, usually when one team dominates the battle, they can end it pretty fast (be it killing enough tanks/juggernauts, capturing and holding all points for some time or capturing enough flags), but if bandits dominate the battle, it will just be TDM with no visible score for however long the battle lasts. We have an asymmetrical battle mode, which is ASL, where the defending team basically has the same win condition (very rarely will they lose on time), but they can end the match earlier if they kill enough enemies (which is usually the way they win when the game ends, by having more kills than the attacking team has score), maybe this gamemode should have a similar thing. Also team based battle modes have team scores (at the top) for both teams, this is another reason to implement the killing tanks win condition for bandits. Escort's score can represent their progress on moving the armored transport, and bandit's score is their kills. Other than that - I like it!

I understand where you're coming from, and all your concerns are valid. I can't overexplain how the game mode works, however, as it's not my place to do so. How the game mode implements and how to balance it is entirely at the developer's discretion. I only wished to provide a visualization of the concept to where they can hopefully see the merit in it. I hope this clarifies things.

[Jeers4U 741]

On 7/10/2026 at 8:49 AM, Bartson74 said:

but if bandits dominate the battle, it will just be TDM with no visible score for however long the battle lasts.

Would the gameplay be different and more balanced if each team had their own convoy to protect?

[Helpful 5]

Nice idea

[Heavenly.Demon 7]

On 7/10/2026 at 11:06 AM, Jeers4U said:

Would the gameplay be different and more balanced if each team had their own convoy to protect?

@Jeers4U This is an intriguing suggestion; it would be a dual convoy mode, which would essentially be a combination of CTF and Assault to an extent. In my opinion, it would create a more balanced and dynamic experience. It is an interesting variation to the original idea that could add another layer of strategic depth to the game mode.

[Jeers4U 741]

On 7/10/2026 at 3:45 PM, Heavenly.Demon said:

This is an intriguing suggestion; it would be a dual convoy mode, which would essentially be a combination of CTF and Assault to an extent. In my opinion, it would create a more balanced and dynamic experience. It is an interesting variation to the original idea that could add another layer of strategic depth to the game mode.

The suggestion mimics the choices already present within tanki.

Attack or defend. Or both--depending on where you spawn.

 

Seige, CTF, Assault, Rugby, and Control Points all have a stationary object to defend.

The interesting part of Bump's idea is that the convoy is moving. And so the speed of your chosen tank is now a factor in play.

Do you choose a Wasp that can keep up with the speed of defending your convoy? Or use Wasps speed to pursue the enemy convoy?

Or do you choose a fat Titan and camp in a cozy spot and wait to attack the enemy convoy? Or give heavy support to your own convoy?

 

And how about the convoy itself? What if--instead of just a moving vehicle--it has its own defence tanks on it?

Perhaps bot-magnums as an integrated part of the convoy.

Destroyable, respawnable defence bots in the convoy.

 

Bump's idea is incredibly valid.

 

[Wry 131]

I respect the effort, but sadly I do think that this idea will be buried and forgotten alongside other amazing ideas as well. The Payload is the famous escort-style mode found in many games. It was first introduced in the game Wolfenstein enemy territory (2003). Valve brought it to the mainstream in 2007 with Team Fortress 2. I am wondering why did you choose Convoy as a name of the mode instead of the known familiar Payload?

Edited 14 hours ago by Wry

[Wry 131]

On 7/10/2026 at 3:49 PM, Bartson74 said:

I like the idea, but I don't like the "win when game ends unless you lose" win condition for the bandits team, usually when one team dominates the battle, they can end it pretty fast (be it killing enough tanks/juggernauts, capturing and holding all points for some time or capturing enough flags), but if bandits dominate the battle, it will just be TDM with no visible score for however long the battle lasts.

The way the Payload mode is implemented in many games, is that the Payload will continue to move if there is one of the attackers team within the radius of the Payload but if there was one or more of the defenders team within the radius of the Payload, the Payload won't move anymore, so the defenders have to engage in a close combat within the radius of the Payload, otherwise the attackers will just keep pushing bit by bit till the Payload reach the goal. The attackers will also have to kill anyone of the defenders within the radius of the Payload, since the defenders can stall and buy time by entering the radius of the Payload.

The balancing of this mode is heavily based on the map and the terrains of it just like other modes such as CTF. In Overwatch for example, some maps heavily favor the attackers team, other maps favor the defenders team and some maps are somewhat balanced for each team. 

Another issue is that the time in MM is constant for every game but the maps are different in terms of size, so the route length in meters is different for each map, for some large maps the time will not be balanced since the time is too short for a long route of the Payload, the attackers will be at a huge disadvantage in this case, but in a small map the time can be way plenty for the attackers so the defenders in this case will be at a huge disadvantage. So is there workaround? Yes but it is hard to implement.

- Strict the Mode to a Few maps that are very similar in terms of size. 
First the devs need to select a group of maps that are similar in size. Secondly, the devs need to choose and measure a uniform length of the Payload route that will fit all the selected maps. Thirdly, the devs need to find an optimal Payload speed that will fit the time reasonably, so the time will be balanced for every selected map in relation to the Payload speed. Keep in mind that this Payload speed is uniform across all selected maps. The downsides of this workaround is: 1- the mode will be playable in only few maps so it will feel boring and repetitive for the players after a while. 2- Since the playable maps are all from the same size, they will have the same number of players, which means some turrets and combos won't be as effective as in smaller, less crowded maps, So the variety of combos in this mode won't necessary be good. 

Another workaround that is better but harder to implement:
- Alter the Payload speed to fit each map.
No selection of maps needed. No uniform length of the Payload route needed, since every map will have its own payload route and Payload speed to fit the time reasonably. This workaround needs a lot of testing and experimenting for every single map!! This workaround is the one that the devs of overwatch used to implement their Payload mode to make it balanced. 

The yap above is one of the reasons why game designers often consider Payload maps among the most difficult to build and balance out of any mode.

Edited 12 hours ago by Wry

[ok_hand 124]

Instead of one team being the designated defender or attacker, why not have the escort spawn in the middle, and BOTH teamstry to escort it to the opponent's base, kind of like a tug-of-war?

Also how will you deal with the tankers' hull speed in comparison to the escort's? If you have a team of Wasps with Tricksters, will the escort be zooming to the end of the line too?

 

[Wry 131]

On 7/11/2026 at 7:08 AM, ok_hand said:

Instead of one team being the designated defender or attacker, why not have the escort spawn in the middle, and BOTH teamstry to escort it to the opponent's base, kind of like a tug-of-war?

This can work too and already implemented in overwatch and it is called Push, just like the normal Payload mode, the Push mode has few challenges to be implemented correctly.

- The map has to be symmetric.

Both teams share the exact same goal at the exact same time: seize the single Payload and push it toward the enemy base. If one side of the map had a better terrain or a spawn area that was 10 meters closer to the Payload, that team would have a permanent, unearned structural advantage.

- Fair Sight lines and Choke points.
Because the Payload constantly changes direction in Push, a single lane has to function perfectly as both an attacking lane and a defensive lane depending on who owns the Payload. Making the map symmetric ensures that if Team A has to fight through a brutal, narrow choke to push the Payload forward, Team B will face that exact same brutal choke (same terrain) when they try to push it back.

On 7/11/2026 at 7:08 AM, ok_hand said:

Also how will you deal with the tankers' hull speed in comparison to the escort's? If you have a team of Wasps with Tricksters, will the escort be zooming to the end of the line too?

The speed of the Payload is constant, so the speed of those who are pushing is irrelevant (those who are within the radius of the Payload). The Payload speed can be increased based on how many are pushing it. For example, if only 1 player is pushing it the Payload will move at a speed of 10 m/s, but if 3 players are pushing it the speed will increase to be 13 m/s. 

Edited 11 hours ago by Wry

[Bumpscositus 6]

On 7/11/2026 at 5:36 AM, Wry said:

I respect the effort, but sadly I do think that this idea will be buried and forgotten alongside other amazing ideas as well. The Payload is the famous escort-style mode found in many games. It was first introduced in the game Wolfenstein enemy territory (2003). Valve brought it to the mainstream in 2007 with Team Fortress 2. I am wondering why did you choose Convoy as a name of the mode instead of the known familiar Payload?

@Wry A convoy is a group of vehicles traveling together under protection while transporting valuable cargo through potentially hostile territory. By this definition, Convoy as a name closely reflects the core objective of the game mode, where the Escort team must safely guide an armored transport vehicle to its destination while the Bandits attempt to stop its advance. The name is simple, recognizable, and immediately communicates the mode's objective while remaining consistent with Tanki Online's existing game mode naming convention.

 

On 7/11/2026 at 7:08 AM, ok_hand said:

Instead of one team being the designated defender or attacker, why not have the escort spawn in the middle, and BOTH teamstry to escort it to the opponent's base, kind of like a tug-of-war?

@ok_hand  Well, that wouldn't have worked. In my mind, the idea was that the Convoy would depart from near the Escort's spawn area and make its way across the map through its route beyond the Bandit's spawn area. The idea is that the match starts easy for the Escorts where they spawn next to the Convoy and gets gradually harder as it gets further away. Likewise, the match gets easier for Bandits as the Convoy gets closer to their camp. Furthermore, Bandits and Escorts spawn on different sides of the map so that both can prep themselves for the fight. Bandits can lay traps along the Convoy route, while Escorts can clear the path ahead.

On 7/11/2026 at 7:08 AM, ok_hand said:

Also how will you deal with the tankers' hull speed in comparison to the escort's? If you have a team of Wasps with Tricksters, will the escort be zooming to the end of the line too?

 

The type of hull and whether it has Trickster or not makes no difference. The only difference on the Convoy speed is how many escort tanks are within its escort radius up until a certain number, and it wouldn't go any faster. Let's say the limit is 5 escorts. Any more beyond that won't make the Convoy move faster. This is so that the entire team doesn't huddle up around it.

[Bumpscositus 6]

On 7/10/2026 at 6:06 PM, Jeers4U said:

Would the gameplay be different and more balanced if each team had their own convoy to protect?

@Jeers4U It would be. When I developed this concept, the idea was that the two teams will have completely opposing objectives. Escorts want to deliver the Convoy to its destination, and Bandits want to stop it. The battle advances across the map as the Convoy advances like in the map examples I provided, which means both teams will have to adapt their strats.

[Bumpscositus 6]

On 7/11/2026 at 1:04 AM, Jeers4U said:

And how about the convoy itself? What if--instead of just a moving vehicle--it has its own defence tanks on it?

Perhaps bot-magnums as an integrated part of the convoy.

Destroyable, respawnable defence bots in the convoy.

 

@Jeers4U To be honest, I did consider the idea of the Convoy having small arms to passively defend itself when there aren't any Escorts to do so, but it felt like that would make the mode unbalanced in the Escorts' favor.

[Akame 4,649]

On 7/10/2026 at 1:14 PM, Bumpscositus said:

 

The Convoy advances only when Escort players are within its active escort radius, which functions similarly to the objective-capture mechanics found in Control Points and Siege.

On 7/10/2026 at 1:33 PM, NikmanGT said:

plain TDM battles in almost every game

On 7/10/2026 at 1:49 PM, Bartson74 said:

I like the idea, but ...

 

...it will just be TDM

Perfectly summed up the general image of this idea for tanki online's current state. In another game it could be fun for sure.

On 7/10/2026 at 1:59 PM, Bumpscositus said:

 how to balance it is entirely at the developer's discretion.

How balanced do you think ASL has been ever since Update 795.

On 7/10/2026 at 4:06 PM, Jeers4U said:

Would the gameplay be different and more balanced if each team had their own convoy to protect?

Deffo would ideally need both sides with their own convoy ideally, allows a possibility for a draw if neither team bother to play the objective, i.e. play tdm as tanki's current state often becomes.

If assault was altered such that both sides have flags to capture on either side, then it'd be moderately bearable. Unsure why this is still a sufferable mode still is retained.

 

I am honestly surprised that many here appear to think this games devs are capable of bringing fruition to this concept. I guess they can atleast program bots to go towards the escort at least so escort side may have a moderate advantage by default.

A new game mode, will not fix the game's issue with balance unfortunately, therefore it will be even less likely to be something players enjoy.

On 7/10/2026 at 1:14 PM, Bumpscositus said:

Conclusion

Convoy is presented as a player-driven concept intended to explore a new objective-based experience for Tanki Online. 

Except the main issue of this game is, majority of the playerbase do not care about the objective. Hail the values of K/D ratios.

But yes, a nice idea for a moving siege/assault mode combo.

But in the harsh reality of things, I don't think the game or players would be able to stomach the addition... as much as I'd enjoy being on the escort side within escort radius under bombardment. I don't think 90% of the playerbase would share the same sentiment.

 

Further addition on edit:

So currently we have:

• TDM
• CP
• CTF
• ASL
• RGB
• TJR

With the low playercount, I don't like my chances for playing in half of those modes already. And there's little to no chance the game will implement a 'mode selector option' where you can tick modes you want to be able to queue for.

Some of these modes are badly designed for maps.

I.e. lack of nuclear supply drops or repair kit drops.

If a capture a flag/ball mission comes, where does convoy sit? So far ASL flag capture, RGB ball score, CTF flag capture and the infamous TJR jug kill count for this specific mission. 4 of 6 (3 if defending ASL team, bricked luck). Not too bad for quick battle queue when we all would like the extra 1 or 2 stars if you have premium.

There's a lot more to think about when it comes to this as the game creates several niches.

Chernuska still is a terribly designed map for majority of it's modes too and the player density there is too low for what it should be.

Edited 6 hours ago by Akame

[Maf 32,834]

Opex already said that if they were to add a new game mode, it would likely be this one. Not sure if it's ever happening though.

Edited 3 hours ago by Maf