Titanfall’s a game that pits squishy mech pilots against solid steel titan-class mechs. Often the best way to survive out of the cockpit is climb as high as you can and then shoot down on the mechs and pilots in the streets below. Zone 18, one of the new maps coming in the IMC Rising update, eliminates that tactic by making all the buildings a single story.
Limited rooftop cover means it’s going to be a massacre for anyone hoping to camp.
Zone 18’s all about keeping on the move.
“Zone 18 is a fast paced environment with two main sections divided by a central supply path,” writes Geoffrey Smith, a designer at Respawn. “While many Pilots will seek the protection of the facility’s interior passages, others will take advantage of the long sight lines provided by the limited rooftop cover.”
Originally designed as a test map for an early version of Last Titan Standing. The low roofs encourage players to keep on the move and fostered a fast-paced slaughter. Smith returned to the test map to try and get it working with all game modes.
“In most of Titanfall’s levels, pilots climb to the highest rooftops for safety and to gain a better firing advantage, but in doing this they get separated from other pilots, friendly and enemy,” Smith explains. “I wanted to see what would happen if most of the rooftops were the same height, so it would be harder just to sit up high and avoid the ground combat.”
The design forces players back down onto the streets to work in groups to gain control of sections of the map. In the open the mechs will be a real problem for pilots as their heavy weapons will make short work of the fleshy fighters.
Pilots won’t be entirely at the mercy of the mechs, though. Smith built a limited underground tunnel system that allows pilots to move around the map without going out in the open. However, because there are only a couple of underground tunnels these are likely to become choke points and be the centre of intense fighting.
Titanfall IMC Rising’s release date hasn’t been announced yet but we know it’s set to come out in Autumn. The three new maps will be on sale for $10 and will be the third DLC pack for Respawn’s shooter.