Hey folks! This continues my thread series in which I take a look at, in-depth, the gameplay environments of Firefall and discuss what we want to use in Em8-er. I'll be rating each zone I cover-here, it's going to be Diamondhead(aka Devil's Tusk) and Antarctica.
The ratings themselves will be based on Appeal/Aesthetic(How attractive/well made the zone is), Atmosphere(The emotional content of the zone), Gameplay Potential(If the zone was developed, how well does it make use of the terrain, etc, if not, what potential exists for the terrain, etc), and World/Lore Development Potential(How the zone was used to develop the world's lore or could be used to develop the world's lore.). I'll go on a scale of 1-10. I will also give a brief summary, for each zone, of what we want to be kept in Em8-er.
Without further ado..!
Diamondhead:
While in its own right not a badly made zone, Diamondhead could certainly use some help. It’s nice as a Chosen warzone, but fails to capture the feeling of one. The range of climates and terrain types here will make these ratings a bit tricky, so bear with me.
Diamondhead is meant to be the place from which the Chosen War springs into full effect. Unfortunately, it fails to accept a key premise-Humanity isn’t in a spot to be fighting over what appears to be a molten wasteland that’s as much a risk to those occupying it as it is to anyone trying to reclaim it. It’s certainly a nice landscape for a war zone, and areas in its western portions are beautifully dark-I just don’t see why humanity is fighting to take this place.
Appeal/Aesthetic: 7-9. This zone is done very well from an appeal point of view, but as far as aesthetic goes, it’s not the best. It’s split up into several ‘regions’-the players start out into a volcanic one, that as you go west, turns into either an ash-covered area or a jungle. Further west, the landscape returns to a volcanic one, then we enter into one that’s a combination of the products of something terraforming-like by the Melding and a volcanic wasteland. All four of these areas are nice on their own-but I’d like to see the jungle/tropical landscape removed. It doesn’t fit, in short because it’s too nice. It has its place in Coral Forest, The Amazon, and Sertao. Not on a volcanic island.
The easternmost and westernmost parts of Diamondhead are the best parts, in my opinion. The east gives the feeling of an environment in which humanity is struggling to survive-wildlife is common(and threatening), as are the lava pools we use against the Chosen. The caverns and craters interspersed throughout this part of the zone serve as points from which the Chosen can strike at us or stage ambushes, and the terrain, with lots of high and low points as well as roads, allows Death Squads to get the drop on us(or vice versa).
The western area is a twisted hellscape-in part. It’s got areas where it has broken buildings and rubble suspended by the Melding, and corrupted spires bursting from the ground-and in some areas the ground is flat(or part of a hill) and relatively boring. The parts of this environment that have things going on(spires, caves, lava, melded terrain) are definitely some of the best in the game-the issue is that what lies between could definitely use some spicing up.
As to the jungle area-It’s nice. It’s well-made and is a good environment to play in. I just don’t think it fits with Diamondhead as a region. It’s definitely nice to see a Melding Tornado here. I do like the northern part of the zone-it’s got a few smoking volcanoes which are very nice, and the ashy environment is nice to fight in. I’d like to see Tornadoes affect the ashes here, though. Having semi-active volcanoes in a zone is a perfect way to keep tension up. I’ll speak more to this in the gameplay section.
The Accord bases here for the most part are well done. The eastern ones definitely give a feeling that they’re outposts, which although nice, isn’t somewhere that should be used as a spawn point for the entire zone. The Forest Watch base, in my opinion, should be on the cliffs closer to the coast-making it a far more defensible position. Forward Operating Base Harpoon is well made, however it’s not fortified enough. Only one real sector even gives the appearance of fortification-having bulwarks and turrets-while the area with the molecular printer and tower is poorly defended save for having walls. Most of the other bases are extremely well done though and actually feel like they belong in a warzone.
Atmosphere: 7. The environment here, although bright due to the nature of the lava and fire created by volcanoes, is one that’s dark. There’s tension in the air and the place feels dark. As for how that’s acted upon gameplay-wise it’s not done very well, but the atmosphere presented by the visuals in this zone is impressive. The Chosen prison could definitely be used to better effect, but as a standalone visual it is intimidating to see from the shoreline.
Gameplay-wise, the zone does very little to capitalize on the atmosphere of tension created here. Chosen attacks are weak and easily repelled. Losing a base in this zone is virtually impossible. The Delirium Engine event, although good in theory, has no lasting effects on the zone and doesn’t feel very important. Warbringers in this zone, although they might spawn near bases, almost never send troops out to attack a base. Strike teams are once again, not very threatening. The two most threatening events in the zone are Chosen Thumpers-their cannons hurt-and Death Squads. However, the Thumpers are relatively easily dealt with, and the Death Squads, although lethal, have a hard time dealing with pathing through the complex terrain in the zone. All of these elements lead to a lot of unrealized potential when it comes to the atmosphere of the zone. Not only does the zone need to look tense and scary, it needs to play like it too. Even the lava isn’t as threatening as water in other zones. Come on!
Gameplay Potential: 8-9. As stated in the previous section, the gameplay here could definitely use some work. The environment is NOT a warzone. It’s a zone in which humanity laughs at the Chosen that are utterly incapable of doing any damage to us. Strike Teams, Chosen Thumpers, Death Squads, Warbringers-all are good, but they can’t actually do anything to impact the zone. No bases get taken(or if they do, it’s extremely rare) and the Chosen, aside from their Death Squads, take very little initiative when it comes to bring the fight to humanity. We barged into this zone with guns blazing and dealt a massive blow to the Chosen occupying it-why aren’t they trying to take it back? As mentioned above it doesn’t seem to have any strategic value, but still. One would think the Chosen would not let such a brutal defeat go unpunished.
Delirium Engines here should have more of an impact-if neglected, they should send the local fauna against us. ARES missions should(especially for bombs) cause the terrain to work against us-send out lava flows or rockslides that hamper our efforts or block off roads. Chosen Darkslips should be attacking us here extremely commonly, and artillery cannons like the ones that used to be used for invasions in Coral Forest should also be commonplace. This zone should be much harder to keep in humanity’s hands. The potential is unrealized, but it's still there.
Lore Potential: 7. Why are we here? Who is Serkann?
This zone is a volcanic wasteland with lava spewing everywhere. Bandits and Chosen abound. What in blazes, literally, does the Accord have to gain here? Lore-wise, humanity is not strong enough to push into Chosen territory solely to kill Chosen. We need a reason. This zone is too risky for resources. There’s practically no scientific potential. Why are we here? And who is the Chosen commander, Serkann, that we push out during the Chosen Warfront raid?
There’s a lot of potential in the zone, as it poses quite a few questions. As for realized potential, the zone doesn’t get much done. Quests, while helpful, don’t provide much insight into why we’re in the zone. Why an obscure Melding pocket in the Hawaiian islands rather than a more logical push from Coral Forest or Sertao? Yes, I understand that the change in the gameplay environment is part of the appeal of the zone, but that needs to be justified in game.
The Chosen Warfront Raid:
This raid deserves some commentary. Decent loot aside, it could use some help. It’s extremely repetitive. The length is nice, but it’s easy due to the lack of ingenuity used by the Chosen. It seems like they just sit in their bases waiting to get killed-they should have fortifications, cannons, and viable ones at that. They also should use the environment-raining gunfire from above us once, while charging us from below another time. Mix it up! We should be able to wipe this raid and we should be able to lose the ground we’ve taken. While fun the first few times around, this raid does get to the point of being boringly easy.
The Good:
-The terrain here is actually threatening, though lava could use a damage buff.
-Most of the terrain here is very pretty and well done.
-Some of the best screenshots in the game can be taken in this place.
The Bad:
-The Chosen Warfront.. Is not a warfront. It’s humanity laughing and steamrolling the Chosen with impunity.
-The Chosen can’t do anything to us here. There’s pretty much no competition.
- Who is Serkann? Why are we here?
Antarctica:
Despite the cold, this is one of the emotionally provocative zones in the game. It’s beautiful and deadly, and would have been hands-down one of the best zones in the game if it had stayed in.
Antarctica. I loved this zone. While lacking in content, it’s certainly beautiful, and almost haunting. I would have greatly preferred to see this zone developed over Diamondhead, personally-but that’s just me.
Appeal/Aesthetic: 10. Antarctica is haunting. There are dead bodies on the ground. There’s crashed Darkslips that remain embedded in the ice. Even the human technology-the cranes and gantries and crates-show an environment being overtaken by nature. Everything’s a mess and it almost looks like the technological aspects of this zone are trying to claw their ways free of the ice. This is the zone where you can look around and see a world lost by humanity, but untaken by the melding. The Melding’s coloration in this zone also looks excellent compared to the ice, as does most of the other lighting from spotlights or cranes as it reflects off the snow.
Atmosphere: 10. This is the zone you enter and you say ‘Oh. We actually LOST here.’ The zone of Antarctcica is of one that’s been defeated-humanity has no presence here save for what remained after death-and the environment portrays this well. From the machinery grasping and clawing its way free of the snow to the dead bodies to the crashed ships, it’s beautiful and fits with the atmosphere of Firefall. We’ve lost the war here. In this zone, we don’t have bases set up we’re trying to retake-anything that was here is decrepit and beyond use, either reclaimed by the Chosen or by nature itself. Although the Chosen don’t have much of an influence here, they’re obviously fighting over the zone-and this is shown by the effort they went through to take it. It’s unprecedented in any zone implemented prior to Antarctica for the Chosen to have a crashed ship in there. This doesn’t just say that humanity lost this zone-we fought hard NOT to lose it. At least for me, that speaks to the sacrifice and the struggle that went into the zone.
This is one of the zones I want to see replicated in Em8-er. Obviously we won’t be seeing human bases-but the Tsi-Hu undertook a civil war. Let’s see some of that here.
Gameplay Potential: 8. Unfortunately, not much stands out about this zone. There are your standard Chosen encounters-Death Squads, Strike Teams, Drop Pods, and.. That’s it. No incursions, tornadoes, not much else of any note. Why? This zone’s got a lot going for it. It’s already been shown that this zone had some of the best resources in the game-Chosen Thumpers should be here. A Darkslip or two were already used to attack this zone-we should get attacked by them as well. Watchtower defense needs to be a thing here, and Chosen attacks here should hit hard. The environment is naturally brutal, and the Chosen-and wildlife-here should punish us every chance they get.
The terrain here is great for combat. Lots of elevation changes allow it to provide cover, and the combination of sprawling tunnels with flatter areas above them make for a variety of shootout experiences. Changes in elevation ensure that you need to use your jet energy carefully, lest you end up taking fall damage, or worse, a salt bath and a one-way trip to the respawn zone.
Lore Potential: 8-9. While it’s obvious that humanity put a lot into keeping this zone, I have to ask-why? Is there something here? Is there a Chosen threat here we’re trying to stop?(In which case, why is the ravaged base one that seems to be handling cargo, rather than a military fortress?) The resources here were always good, so that’s a possible way to justify our presence. I’d like to see Antarctica have supplies or resources in our favor, with a dedicated Chosen effort trying to keep us from them.
And more importantly-there’s a crashed Chosen Darkslip or two here-how did we bring those down? The tutorial has shown that assault rifles, although usable, are relatively ineffective against these ships. There’s no visible AA guns here. How did we take down a Darkslip?
Whatever the reason is for us being here, I want to know why we fought so hard to stay here. What was worth the sacrifice that this zone paints such a picture of? This zone asked a lot of questions, and I want to see the answers.
The Good:
-This zone is gorgeous, in a terrifying way. Its atmosphere fits the lore of the game-Humanity is screwed, losing ground and lives, and things are not going in our favor.
-The environment here allows for pretty interesting gameplay through the use of terrain variations.
- The zone asks a lot of questions, and has left room for answers. I want to see where they would have gone.
The Bad:
-Realism-How’d we take down a Darkslip with no artillery whatsoever?
-This zone seems like a cargo port. Other than the basic human instinct to not get killed, why did we fight so hard to hold it, rather than retreat?
That concludes this post. In my next post I'll be speaking about a few honorable mentions-Melding Tornado pockets, Blackwater Anomaly, and the tutorial version of Copacabana(in which it is destroyed by Chosen).
Cheers!
Admiralstryker
The ratings themselves will be based on Appeal/Aesthetic(How attractive/well made the zone is), Atmosphere(The emotional content of the zone), Gameplay Potential(If the zone was developed, how well does it make use of the terrain, etc, if not, what potential exists for the terrain, etc), and World/Lore Development Potential(How the zone was used to develop the world's lore or could be used to develop the world's lore.). I'll go on a scale of 1-10. I will also give a brief summary, for each zone, of what we want to be kept in Em8-er.
Without further ado..!
Diamondhead:
While in its own right not a badly made zone, Diamondhead could certainly use some help. It’s nice as a Chosen warzone, but fails to capture the feeling of one. The range of climates and terrain types here will make these ratings a bit tricky, so bear with me.Diamondhead is meant to be the place from which the Chosen War springs into full effect. Unfortunately, it fails to accept a key premise-Humanity isn’t in a spot to be fighting over what appears to be a molten wasteland that’s as much a risk to those occupying it as it is to anyone trying to reclaim it. It’s certainly a nice landscape for a war zone, and areas in its western portions are beautifully dark-I just don’t see why humanity is fighting to take this place.
Appeal/Aesthetic: 7-9. This zone is done very well from an appeal point of view, but as far as aesthetic goes, it’s not the best. It’s split up into several ‘regions’-the players start out into a volcanic one, that as you go west, turns into either an ash-covered area or a jungle. Further west, the landscape returns to a volcanic one, then we enter into one that’s a combination of the products of something terraforming-like by the Melding and a volcanic wasteland. All four of these areas are nice on their own-but I’d like to see the jungle/tropical landscape removed. It doesn’t fit, in short because it’s too nice. It has its place in Coral Forest, The Amazon, and Sertao. Not on a volcanic island.
The easternmost and westernmost parts of Diamondhead are the best parts, in my opinion. The east gives the feeling of an environment in which humanity is struggling to survive-wildlife is common(and threatening), as are the lava pools we use against the Chosen. The caverns and craters interspersed throughout this part of the zone serve as points from which the Chosen can strike at us or stage ambushes, and the terrain, with lots of high and low points as well as roads, allows Death Squads to get the drop on us(or vice versa).
The western area is a twisted hellscape-in part. It’s got areas where it has broken buildings and rubble suspended by the Melding, and corrupted spires bursting from the ground-and in some areas the ground is flat(or part of a hill) and relatively boring. The parts of this environment that have things going on(spires, caves, lava, melded terrain) are definitely some of the best in the game-the issue is that what lies between could definitely use some spicing up.
As to the jungle area-It’s nice. It’s well-made and is a good environment to play in. I just don’t think it fits with Diamondhead as a region. It’s definitely nice to see a Melding Tornado here. I do like the northern part of the zone-it’s got a few smoking volcanoes which are very nice, and the ashy environment is nice to fight in. I’d like to see Tornadoes affect the ashes here, though. Having semi-active volcanoes in a zone is a perfect way to keep tension up. I’ll speak more to this in the gameplay section.
The Accord bases here for the most part are well done. The eastern ones definitely give a feeling that they’re outposts, which although nice, isn’t somewhere that should be used as a spawn point for the entire zone. The Forest Watch base, in my opinion, should be on the cliffs closer to the coast-making it a far more defensible position. Forward Operating Base Harpoon is well made, however it’s not fortified enough. Only one real sector even gives the appearance of fortification-having bulwarks and turrets-while the area with the molecular printer and tower is poorly defended save for having walls. Most of the other bases are extremely well done though and actually feel like they belong in a warzone.
Atmosphere: 7. The environment here, although bright due to the nature of the lava and fire created by volcanoes, is one that’s dark. There’s tension in the air and the place feels dark. As for how that’s acted upon gameplay-wise it’s not done very well, but the atmosphere presented by the visuals in this zone is impressive. The Chosen prison could definitely be used to better effect, but as a standalone visual it is intimidating to see from the shoreline.
Gameplay-wise, the zone does very little to capitalize on the atmosphere of tension created here. Chosen attacks are weak and easily repelled. Losing a base in this zone is virtually impossible. The Delirium Engine event, although good in theory, has no lasting effects on the zone and doesn’t feel very important. Warbringers in this zone, although they might spawn near bases, almost never send troops out to attack a base. Strike teams are once again, not very threatening. The two most threatening events in the zone are Chosen Thumpers-their cannons hurt-and Death Squads. However, the Thumpers are relatively easily dealt with, and the Death Squads, although lethal, have a hard time dealing with pathing through the complex terrain in the zone. All of these elements lead to a lot of unrealized potential when it comes to the atmosphere of the zone. Not only does the zone need to look tense and scary, it needs to play like it too. Even the lava isn’t as threatening as water in other zones. Come on!
Gameplay Potential: 8-9. As stated in the previous section, the gameplay here could definitely use some work. The environment is NOT a warzone. It’s a zone in which humanity laughs at the Chosen that are utterly incapable of doing any damage to us. Strike Teams, Chosen Thumpers, Death Squads, Warbringers-all are good, but they can’t actually do anything to impact the zone. No bases get taken(or if they do, it’s extremely rare) and the Chosen, aside from their Death Squads, take very little initiative when it comes to bring the fight to humanity. We barged into this zone with guns blazing and dealt a massive blow to the Chosen occupying it-why aren’t they trying to take it back? As mentioned above it doesn’t seem to have any strategic value, but still. One would think the Chosen would not let such a brutal defeat go unpunished.
Delirium Engines here should have more of an impact-if neglected, they should send the local fauna against us. ARES missions should(especially for bombs) cause the terrain to work against us-send out lava flows or rockslides that hamper our efforts or block off roads. Chosen Darkslips should be attacking us here extremely commonly, and artillery cannons like the ones that used to be used for invasions in Coral Forest should also be commonplace. This zone should be much harder to keep in humanity’s hands. The potential is unrealized, but it's still there.
Lore Potential: 7. Why are we here? Who is Serkann?
This zone is a volcanic wasteland with lava spewing everywhere. Bandits and Chosen abound. What in blazes, literally, does the Accord have to gain here? Lore-wise, humanity is not strong enough to push into Chosen territory solely to kill Chosen. We need a reason. This zone is too risky for resources. There’s practically no scientific potential. Why are we here? And who is the Chosen commander, Serkann, that we push out during the Chosen Warfront raid?
There’s a lot of potential in the zone, as it poses quite a few questions. As for realized potential, the zone doesn’t get much done. Quests, while helpful, don’t provide much insight into why we’re in the zone. Why an obscure Melding pocket in the Hawaiian islands rather than a more logical push from Coral Forest or Sertao? Yes, I understand that the change in the gameplay environment is part of the appeal of the zone, but that needs to be justified in game.
The Chosen Warfront Raid:
This raid deserves some commentary. Decent loot aside, it could use some help. It’s extremely repetitive. The length is nice, but it’s easy due to the lack of ingenuity used by the Chosen. It seems like they just sit in their bases waiting to get killed-they should have fortifications, cannons, and viable ones at that. They also should use the environment-raining gunfire from above us once, while charging us from below another time. Mix it up! We should be able to wipe this raid and we should be able to lose the ground we’ve taken. While fun the first few times around, this raid does get to the point of being boringly easy.
The Good:
-The terrain here is actually threatening, though lava could use a damage buff.
-Most of the terrain here is very pretty and well done.
-Some of the best screenshots in the game can be taken in this place.
The Bad:
-The Chosen Warfront.. Is not a warfront. It’s humanity laughing and steamrolling the Chosen with impunity.
-The Chosen can’t do anything to us here. There’s pretty much no competition.
- Who is Serkann? Why are we here?
Antarctica:
Despite the cold, this is one of the emotionally provocative zones in the game. It’s beautiful and deadly, and would have been hands-down one of the best zones in the game if it had stayed in.Antarctica. I loved this zone. While lacking in content, it’s certainly beautiful, and almost haunting. I would have greatly preferred to see this zone developed over Diamondhead, personally-but that’s just me.
Appeal/Aesthetic: 10. Antarctica is haunting. There are dead bodies on the ground. There’s crashed Darkslips that remain embedded in the ice. Even the human technology-the cranes and gantries and crates-show an environment being overtaken by nature. Everything’s a mess and it almost looks like the technological aspects of this zone are trying to claw their ways free of the ice. This is the zone where you can look around and see a world lost by humanity, but untaken by the melding. The Melding’s coloration in this zone also looks excellent compared to the ice, as does most of the other lighting from spotlights or cranes as it reflects off the snow.
Atmosphere: 10. This is the zone you enter and you say ‘Oh. We actually LOST here.’ The zone of Antarctcica is of one that’s been defeated-humanity has no presence here save for what remained after death-and the environment portrays this well. From the machinery grasping and clawing its way free of the snow to the dead bodies to the crashed ships, it’s beautiful and fits with the atmosphere of Firefall. We’ve lost the war here. In this zone, we don’t have bases set up we’re trying to retake-anything that was here is decrepit and beyond use, either reclaimed by the Chosen or by nature itself. Although the Chosen don’t have much of an influence here, they’re obviously fighting over the zone-and this is shown by the effort they went through to take it. It’s unprecedented in any zone implemented prior to Antarctica for the Chosen to have a crashed ship in there. This doesn’t just say that humanity lost this zone-we fought hard NOT to lose it. At least for me, that speaks to the sacrifice and the struggle that went into the zone.
This is one of the zones I want to see replicated in Em8-er. Obviously we won’t be seeing human bases-but the Tsi-Hu undertook a civil war. Let’s see some of that here.
Gameplay Potential: 8. Unfortunately, not much stands out about this zone. There are your standard Chosen encounters-Death Squads, Strike Teams, Drop Pods, and.. That’s it. No incursions, tornadoes, not much else of any note. Why? This zone’s got a lot going for it. It’s already been shown that this zone had some of the best resources in the game-Chosen Thumpers should be here. A Darkslip or two were already used to attack this zone-we should get attacked by them as well. Watchtower defense needs to be a thing here, and Chosen attacks here should hit hard. The environment is naturally brutal, and the Chosen-and wildlife-here should punish us every chance they get.
The terrain here is great for combat. Lots of elevation changes allow it to provide cover, and the combination of sprawling tunnels with flatter areas above them make for a variety of shootout experiences. Changes in elevation ensure that you need to use your jet energy carefully, lest you end up taking fall damage, or worse, a salt bath and a one-way trip to the respawn zone.
Lore Potential: 8-9. While it’s obvious that humanity put a lot into keeping this zone, I have to ask-why? Is there something here? Is there a Chosen threat here we’re trying to stop?(In which case, why is the ravaged base one that seems to be handling cargo, rather than a military fortress?) The resources here were always good, so that’s a possible way to justify our presence. I’d like to see Antarctica have supplies or resources in our favor, with a dedicated Chosen effort trying to keep us from them.
And more importantly-there’s a crashed Chosen Darkslip or two here-how did we bring those down? The tutorial has shown that assault rifles, although usable, are relatively ineffective against these ships. There’s no visible AA guns here. How did we take down a Darkslip?
Whatever the reason is for us being here, I want to know why we fought so hard to stay here. What was worth the sacrifice that this zone paints such a picture of? This zone asked a lot of questions, and I want to see the answers.
The Good:
-This zone is gorgeous, in a terrifying way. Its atmosphere fits the lore of the game-Humanity is screwed, losing ground and lives, and things are not going in our favor.
-The environment here allows for pretty interesting gameplay through the use of terrain variations.
- The zone asks a lot of questions, and has left room for answers. I want to see where they would have gone.
The Bad:
-Realism-How’d we take down a Darkslip with no artillery whatsoever?
-This zone seems like a cargo port. Other than the basic human instinct to not get killed, why did we fight so hard to hold it, rather than retreat?
That concludes this post. In my next post I'll be speaking about a few honorable mentions-Melding Tornado pockets, Blackwater Anomaly, and the tutorial version of Copacabana(in which it is destroyed by Chosen).
Cheers!
Admiralstryker
