Respawn Entertainment has put out some details for the third and final map in the upcoming Titanfall DLC map pack, Expedition. Entitled “Swampland”, the map takes place in, unsurprisingly, a swamp. In a blog post written by Respawn Entertainment designer Chris Dionne, we were given details and a few screenshots of the map.
In the post, Dionne explained:
“Initial layouts of the new Swampland added a bunch of IMC buildings, temples and massive infrastructure. While that structure created clearly defined paths and gave Pilots safe havens and places to wall-run, the level lost its personality.”
Dionne eventually came to the realization that the true stars of the map were the trees. They gave pilots quite a bit of maneuverability, being able to jump tree-to-tree as they dodged Titans. Dionne stated:
“During playtesting of these early variations, something else became clear – the towering trees (which had been pushed to the periphery) needed to take center stage. They were a blast! Titans dodging around massive trunks; Pilots jumping from tree-to-tree like ninjas. All that additional infrastructure had pulled players away from this new and interesting fun that was happening around (and on!) the trees.”
Early on in development
The idea of the Swampland map first originated in 2011, early on in development. The team began working on it, but put it aside “for almost two years.” After the team completed Titanfall, Dionne had decided to bring the map back.
Swampland is one of three maps in the upcoming Titanfall DLC pack, Expedition. The other two maps include War Games and Runoff. The map pack releases later this month, and will run at $10. The pack will also be a part of the Titanfall season pass, which will also include two future map packs. Respawn also has additional additions to the game aside from map packs, such as new modes and Burn Cards. These additions will be free.
The idea of the trees in the swamp being the focus of the map sounds interesting.
This map might see a lot more pilot use than other maps, as players learn to maneuver through the trees as pilots. Hopefully some good mech action will take place around the trees as Dionne had mentioned.
Titanfall is definitely one of my favorite shooters of the past few years. I am not alone, as EA has revealed to have sold 925,000 copies in March alone. While I do not usually purchase map packs, the new Titanfall DLC seems really interesting. We will see when the Expedition pack releases later this month.
