Tuchola Forest 1945 preview Options

[ScrapyardBob]

(He's not dead, he's only mapping.)

Some of ya'll might've heard rumors about an upcoming map release. Well, here are a few teaser screenshots.

The basic premise is that it's Jan 1945 and the Russians are getting ready to push towards Berlin through Poland. This means it's a winter map, using the After-Hourz vehicles (including the Jagdpanzer), and the Germans are on the defensive. Tuchola Forest is a large forested area in north Poland which seemed appropriate.

(I have no clue whether there was any actual combat in Tuchola Forest.)

Key points:
- Primarily designed for BAS gameplay
- Will probably support CNQ (but with an S-shaped objective path)
- CTF is also probable
- Map size is very similar to Barbarossa
- Visual conditions will change from round to round
- Beta testing will probably be in May 2006 with a Jun 2006 release
- I'm 4 weeks into the construction and about 40% complete (100-120 hours so far?).

...

Early pictures of the South Forest. This stretch of trees forms the majority of the south flank on the map. Visibility is heavily obstructed but it's still easy to drive vehicles through the trees. Infantry have the clear advantage as they are short enough to be blow the bottom branch level and can also hear vehicles approaching.







Bridge that leads west out of the South Forest and into the german area (a.k.a. the "Southwest Bridge"):



The north bridge out of the south forest (looking west). It connects north to the farm fields in the middle of the map. This bridge is actually called the "South Bridge".



German defensive position that overlooks the German #2 base area. The firing slit allows portable MGs to be setup to help guard the pak40 gunner.



There's a pass along the north side of the russians that looks like it was formed by a glacier. Haven't decided whether to simply label this area the "North Pass" or stick with calling it "Glacier Pass".












One unique feature of the map is going to be the addition of foot trails through otherwise impassable ridge lines. This allows infantry to slip through enemy lines and to help neutralize defenses prior to armor being brought forward. They also serve as escape routes for infantry that are being pursued by vehicles.














Finally, some fresh shots of the middle fields (middle area of the map and the main battleground):



















Note: Some of the screenshots above were taken during a winter storm where visibility drops to about 2/3 of what it normally is. You'll encounter winter storm conditions in about 10% of the rounds right now. There's also a 10% chance that you'll get better then average visibility which lets you see about 25% farther then normal.

[ScrapyardBob]

Like I said, it's the length of Barbarossa but a bit wider in the middle (more like Smolensk width). The "bigness" is probably due to the winding and organic nature of the terrain. Once you get in and play around on the map it will start to seem smaller.

In Base Assault, control of the river crossings is probably going to be key. There's only (3) ways across the river for vehicles (N Bridge, middle ford, southern bridges).

Plus, the map is designed so that either side can try to control the middle third of the map. This takes heat off of the spawn defense and bottles up the enemy into their spawn area. For example:

Russian Forward Line:
- North Road Bunker
- Farm buildings or West Farm Bunker
- Southwest Bridge

German Forward Line:
- Glacier Pass
- Russian #2 Bunker
- Area between the SE Bridge 45mm and the South Radio Shack

There's probably a few dozen ways that Russians or Germans could choose to defend their territory.