We've got hot new features in the pipeline, such as a colored map view, new loading screens, an updated camera manager, and improvements to our Join-In-Progress feature. They’re so hot that they needed an extra week of development time to ensure last weekend’s Alpha was playable. While these features continue to undergo development, we decided to use Alpha-12 as a chance to check out how old maps stood the test of time.

Every Alpha Weekend we've included a brand new set of maps, recorded their wins and losses, and then archived them for reference. This week we brought back 14 levels that had relatively balanced win/loss ratios and threw them at our testers to see how these maps held up against the many changes we've made. Weapon damage has been tweaked, barbwire made destructible, and jump heights have been adjusted, all of which could take a once balanced level and turn it on its head.

With these old levels coming out of the archives, map knowledge reared its ugly head as older testers began using their tried-and-true tactics that had won over in the past. With foreknowledge of levels, veteran testers shared their expertise and the optimal strategies quickly emerged.

At the end of the week, 535 rounds had been played, with 300 wins going to Attackers. Almost every map was Attacker favored, even maps that previously had a dead even win rate! This, in our opinion, shows that map knowledge is still something we’re going to have to contend with as time goes on despite our best attempts to eliminate it. The exact lifespan of a Due Process map remains unknown, but we’re set on finding this out as Alpha continues.

GIF City

RedCommissar uses a stolen MAWP.

Kaiin Retsu taking potshots.

NoahsArk defends Freezer with a KR82u

Ozymandias hotswaps his gear to great effect

RedCommissar and Friends show us what the game is all about: Working as a team to overcome new threats.

Work, Work

Early on in Alpha we introduced a “Tactical View” which renders the map as a gray-scale gradient that reflects the height of cover inside each level. While well received, testers told us that they had a hard time distinguishing objects in this view, making breaches feel quite disorienting at times. In response, we brought back our full-color “Satellite View” as a toggle that will allow players to switch between each mode at any time. If all goes well, next blogpost will include some pictures of how these two views look.

That about wraps up this week’s blogpost. More Alpha invites will be going out on Friday, and if you’re already a member of our Discord Server, our Keybot will automatically message those who are chosen. Good luck to everyone waiting for an invite, and we’ll see you all next Tuesday for another update.