Battlefield 1-premiären rycker allt närmare i takt med att EA och Dice fortsätter att presentera nyheter kring den kommande förstapersonsskjutaren. Igår fick vi veta vilka förändringar som ska göras baserat på beta-feedback och vad som krävs av din dator. Idag drämmer de till och berättar vilka banor och spellägen vi kan se fram emot - och det är en diger lista.
Nio banor erbjuds från start:
• Amiens: A destructive clash in a majestic city. Fight on the streets and squares in French city of Amiens during the German spring offensive. A struggle in crumbling alleys, a courthouse, around bridges and railways where the British and the Germans desperately seek to control the depths of the city.
• Argonne Forest: The shadowy depths of the Argonne forest is the scene for some of the most brutal close quarter combat in the game. The world inside this forest features devious defensive set-ups combined with a labyrinth of bunkers and machine gun nests. Camouflaged field guns firing at point blank range, Stormtroopers (no, not the ones from Star Wars) clearing out bunkers with gas, and the best use of sharpened spades will determine who owns the depths of this forest. Heroes are forged surviving the intensity of this infantry focused map.
• Ballroom Blitz:: Join the final offensives along the Meuse River in 1918. Here, fierce fighting in trench lines is quickly replaced by the untouched beauty beyond hell. A massive French château, previously home to officers beyond the rear lines, is now the scene for a battle with both tanks and flamethrowers. The chandeliers are shaking from the barrage as the American forces push for the final railway hub at the edge of this map.
• Empire's Edge: Along the Adriatic coast a fierce struggle for land and life is taking place. A rugged but fortified shore becomes the battlefield for an empire under siege. What was once a beautiful Mediterranean village by the coast is now transformed by mechanized war, where waves and dreadnought battleships pound the remains of Italy's Great War.
• Fao Fortress: Join one of the earliest amphibious landings of the Great War as the British Empire struggles to secure the oil on the Al-Faw Peninsula. The majestic Ottoman fortress of Fao guards the entrance and is not falling uncontested. Here we'll fight through marshlands and dunes, over bridges and shallow coves. The assault finally enters the ancient fortress itself. The quest for oil begins here. The Dreadnought needs to feed.
• Monte Grappa: Take part in one of the final battles among the peaks of kings in the Venetian Alps. High up above the clouds a desperate fight for control of mountain forts are challenging even the toughest soldiers. Utilise the massive fort cannons to stop the advancing enemies as they scale the mountainside. Up here, in this furious struggle, the Austro Hungarian Empire holds the upper hand, but the Italian Army won't stop until they've taken back what's theirs.
• Sinai Desert: Those of you who played the beta probably knows this one really well. Engage in all-out war in Sinai Desert, a scorching hot battlefield located just East of El-Jifar. From infantry skirmishes in the narrow streets of the village of Bir el Mazar to dogfights above the majestic cliffs, you'll need to make tactical use of the dunes as you engage in explosive battles. When all hope is lost, reinforcements will arrive in the shape of a powerful Behemoth: a deadly Armoured Train charging through the desert sands.
• St. Quentin Scar: Then there's the alpha map. A massive attack on the scarred battlefields of northern France. As part of the Kaiser's battle, the German army throws everything they have to try to break through the British lines. Prepare for truly cataclysmic assaults as you push through the trenches of the St. Quentin Scar. Be the first soldier to break through the fortified lines and assault the pristine village of Travecy, untouched by the war... until now.
• Suez: A struggle for the most vital supply line of World War I. Even though it was considered impossible, the Ottomans crossed the desert of Sinai and threatened the canal. Join the fight by the banks of the grand canal and make tactical use of the dunes. Fight through shallow defenses, with field guns or mortars, through the outskirts of Kantara and into the deep desert beyond.
That's it for launch, but we're also getting a new map in December. It's called Giant's Shadow, and will take you to the Battle of the Selle in the cold autumn of 1918. Here, the fighting moves out of the trenches and into open country where a massive crashed airship casts its shadow onto the battlefield. The British forces have broken through the Hindenburg line and are now in pursuit towards an important railway center. Fierce infantry and tank engagements ensue on the open ground and river banks alongside the Cateu-Wassigny railway where an armoured train can still turn the tide.
Sex spellägen vankas där vi tidigare kände till Conquest, Domination Rush och Team Deathmatch, men det finns ytterligare två planerade. I Operations ska lag tampas på diverse banor som baseras på verkliga historiska slag, där matcherna sitter ihop mellan rundorna men flyttas till en ny plats. Som försvarare gäller det att hindra framfarten, medan det offensiva gänget ska ta över mark.
War Pigeon heter detta spels variant på Capture the Flag. Här gäller det att använda brevduvor för att beställa artilleriunderstöd. När spelet startar finns ett duvslag på banan med en duva i, och du måste plocka upp den och föra den till ett säkert område på banan där du sedan förbereder och skickar meddelandet. Lyckas du kan fienden se fram emot en huvudvärk av sällan skådat slag.
Mer kommer såklart nästa år, men detta låter onekligen som en riktigt smaskig början.
