Now for an early look at Forlorn.

Mapper: EmperorJack
Version: unreleased
Status: in-progress

Forlorn is yet another new map that we have in development, and it will be the third map by EmperorJack, whom you should recognize from Plat23 and Thunder. Similar to Snowstation, it will take place in an arctic setting, just in time for the holidays and winter vacation. However, it will mainly be indoors, in contrast to the broad outside area present in Snowstation. As you can tell from the layout, it is a medium-sized map with a sort of ring layout going around a central corridor. There will be a few large rooms, and a multitude of smaller ones, all connected by narrow passageways with staircases and ramps. While I am unsure if you can tell this from the screenshot or not, EmperorJack is making a new set of textures for the map. These textures will be used elsewhere on our maps, and will also be available to community mappers for usage in their own creations. Of course, the shots present in this article are not fully textured, the map is simply undergoing layout testing at the moment.

After Forlorn reaches its first release, likely very early next year, we will fulfill our first beta condition. That is, having at least six maps to ship with our first beta release when we reach it. So, as summarized this week, our first map pack will include, at the very least: Plat23, Yocto, Parpax, Thunder, Snowstation, and Forlorn. Other maps can still be added to our beta pack even after we’ve made the first beta release, so there isn’t a time limit on that. At the moment, I would project beta to be sometime next year, likely towards the end of it. I will cover our progress towards beta and more towards the end of December. Until then, keep playing the game and telling your friends about it. Don’t forget about our winter mini-tournament, too!