Desert Map - Landscape and Features

First off I think the new map we have coming, will have similar features to those found in any up coming desert maps. By that I mean we can expect a good chunk of the map to be made up of rock formations and canyons. Features that give Predator a way to break line of sight. I do think we could have dunes and flat sand in places or as an edge that extends out till it hits the out of hunting grounds notice.

The above photo is not as compact as I would like but shows how terrain could be used to give Predator escape and attack routes.

This kind of rock, barren landscape can be part of the map. I assume if we do get a desert map it will have a rather large compound for STGR, possibly built around an archeological dig or an excavation. Yeah, we have an excavation map coming but I think it will be a repeating theme, as any old Pred tech is likely still here on earth, just buried. So please don’t be annoyed when you notice me mention it on other map types. Digging into the past is one way to share information with us, they couldn’t otherwise share.

Trees, while I do think we will see some trees near any water that’s found on the map, it won’t be plentiful… neither will mud, which I’ll cover in a second. Trees and the Predcore paths through them are important tools for the Predator. I think we can make up for some of it by using the existing mounting system on canyon walls for reaching the high ground, same red glow and prompt. In more open areas crane masts, power line towers and other man made structures can exist to at least provide a straight path from A to B. A few balanced rock structures or high ridges on a few of the walls themselves could also make it easier to establish high ground for the Predator.
If there are elevation differences on the map a tram lift with hanging cars could also provide elevated Predcore paths.

Mud, this ones a bit trickier in my opinion. There will be mudding spots not nearly as many. Any water that exists on the map is likely to give a spot, so even a well or water truck with a hose could work and be present. We may need to add gear that lets you spray on thermal protection or have clothing options that do the same (some camo already seems to break it up). For the spray option it could be a piece of STGZ tech we pick up from them. There could even be spray booths to apply it by running through them. A combination of both might give us reasonable coverage. Smoke grenades can have bits of chaff added to block thermal as well and I think they should be upgraded to do so.

Cloak, I can hear you thinking it is going to be useless but I have an idea that is especially for the desert that might help you out. The desert can be very hot, so hot the air dances with shimmers of heat. These shimmers can be distance based and give a perimeter that beyond seeing the Predator would be near impossible. They can also exist as features of the map, a wall might have a path up it for the Pred laced with shimmers on the wall and rock itself.
Last when I pictured it in my mind initially I saw the map as kind of a plane, with a secondary plane running like a treadmill so the top of the treadmill reacted through the floor of the map. On this treadmill was bumps of heat distortion that would reach up through the map and slowly drift across it, sometimes rising into the air as the shimmer dissolves to nothing, like plumes of heat.

Hope that makes sense. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Hopeful this is the first in a series of map posts, I have other ideas for other maps. Dinner time, might come back and fill out more later.

@Lazycollinator

Edit - something like this but with more canyons at the one end…

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Didint read all of it cause it’s a lot but yes to Desert map idea

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Wow. Good thinking dude. You solved a lot of the issues I saw with the concept of a desert map ever being real.

Awesome. I wanna see this someday

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Cracking concepts absolutely love it

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I like desert map

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That second one is beautiful, the first one is more a city map. Not criticizing just, I’m gonna save talking about city maps for down the road.

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Thank you to the others who have shown support it is appreciated.

I feel a desert map could have a small village section that leads into the mountainside where there could be military camps and tunnels/caves as well as a main base at the peak where it would be snowy

Get 3 biomes in one level. Kinda ambitious though…

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Holy shit! No he just big brained

This could be a good test of the waters before they attempt a true city map. Small 1 story ruins. Some with holes in roofs so pred can stalk from above. Etc.

So I just had another way to do the mudding on the desert map.

The blue pipes on Backwater can be present in a different form ie. they don’t have to run across the map. They can appear by specific features or simply exposed from the ground in some places. If the have a stress point that you can shoot, you can turn the area where the water lands into a mudding spot.

It could also be so hot that the heat generated from the rocks and ground masks their heat signature by default and the Predator must bust open pipes or water trucks to cool the area and reveal FT

I see shade working as a gameplay mechanic as well

IDK why but FT searching death valley for lost gold in a old west ghost town with canyons and stuff seems very appealing to me.

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Bro the sun shimmer is a genius idea like it was cause paranoia in FT since they may think predator is there and start firing realizing its just the shimmer of the heat. And then the landscape ideas where the rock formations can be a way to predcore. Bro straight up love this idea and i want it

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Thanks man, much appreciated. I was hoping people would understand about the rock formations without me having to badly draw something.

The heat shimmer that move across the map will be useable by FT too. Not sure if I was clear enough. The moving ones are like the thermal decoys and should be opaque to a Predators thermal. It will actually be a bit tricky to balance as you don’t want to many or a noticeable pattern that players can take advantage of. They need to be prevalent enough to allow escape and ambush but not so prevalent as to make seeing the FT impossible. I think it’ll be pretty fun too.

That would be a pretty sweet set piece. The ability to nullify some of the heat effects could be used by both sides potentially. FT could flood a small area or dry riverbed to have an area where cloak shorts out.

Very good thinking man. That’s what I hope for when I post, I appreciate you adding to the idea. Now if I could only get a few more brains to do the same.

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That pipe Idea is fucking genius. Forcing the fireteam to look for mud instead of just getting it from anywhere is a great idea and honestly I wish it were already the case to some extend on all maps.

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Also that heat masking is actually a good point as well. The heat from the desert would interfere with preds thermal for sure. However it needs to still be useable to some extent. Taking away thermal entirely is a scary prospect.

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It reveals them but also gives them mud…

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@OldKingHamlet Send this idea to the team…

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It would be used in reverse. You look for what’s cool since everything is hot

There would be opportunities for predator to create cool spots with water but that also gives FT access to mud

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I worry about the eyestrain that would cause as thermal is already quite hard on the eyes as it is. But still, Interesting idea.

So for the shimmer i get you wanting it to be used by both teams. But the predator has different vision so he should be able to switch, but dont make it like the scan button for regular vision. Make it where you need to stand still and move the camera slowly so the vision can scan the area snd then ping anyone within a 20 meter range maybe 40 you’d have to tweak it. Or maybe make it where if the round is 20 min you can have 10 minutes where the predator can use the shimmer best and the other 10 min you can have it benefit the FT. I suppose like weather or sun light movement.