More U.T.C. and B.A.S.H.

Last time, we talked about the theory behind designing PvP maps. Today’s Dev Diary will continue that discussion with an examination of the other UTC maps, as well as a little bit about B.A.S.H.

In the Training Room map, platforms connected by catwalks stretch overhead in a wide open room. The platforms above have a number of heavy crates on them, so holding the high ground gives a powerful advantage, especially for heroes strong enough to lift the heaviest objects. Flying heroes need to watch out for thrown missiles! Jumpers really come into their own here, because they can quickly switch between the multiple levels of the map. However, the platforms can be very exposed, so underdogs may have more luck sticking to the cover offered by walls on the bottom of the arena, or ducking for cover under ramps until their teammates can help them out.

It's worth mentioning that the Training Room was one of our first PvP maps, and it used to be a little on the bland side. At some point, one of Cryptic's environment artists was let loose on it. It still looks like a reinforced superhero team's danger room, but now it also looks awesome.

The last PvP map, the Lava Temple, is a current favorite here at Cryptic, from which I can only conclude that Cryptic is full of sadists, because, the ground is covered in lava. Not all of the ground, but enough that you need to be careful where you step. Knockback can be a powerful ability most of the time, but it's downright deadly here. Roots can be surprisingly nasty, as well. To top it off, teams are split up when they enter to make coordination especially difficult. This map is introduced at a higher level than the others because it's complex and dangerous; players should be comfortable with their powers and with working as part of a team, because the Lava Temple will test both to the limit.

Sometimes, though, all of this organized team fighting is too constrained, and superhero battles royal make perfect sense in the Champions universe. In the Hero Games lineup, they're called B.A.S.H.: Battle Arena Super Heroes. The strategy in free-for-all games is more about choosing whom to engage when, so it's important to give players lots of space to choose their fights. Fliers in particular enjoy the fact that this map is outside, so the sky's the limit for their vertical movement! We do paint the other players on your mini-map, so there's never trouble finding somebody to fight if you're so inclined. Our free-for-all map is pulled right from Millennium City's seedy Westside district; the battle takes place in the streets, across the rooftops of condemned buildings, and inside a construction site. It's classic four-color superhero stuff.

There's one more map that's cool enough to merit its own Dev Diary (stay tuned!). But if you've been following these Dev Diaries, you've no doubt heard somebody mention that the best part of an MMO is that you get to keep adding new content. It's especially exciting to those of us on the dev team, because these maps aren't the limit of Hero Games, they're the starting point--it only gets cooler from here. What comes next? Underwater maps? King of the Hill? Multi-team fights? Organized tournament play? The real decision-makers are going to be the players on the Champions forums.