Intentions:

1. Dynamic Engagement Opportunities:
   • Create a fully accessible steamboat as a central objective to encourage both defensive and offensive strategies.
   • Design diverse combat zones to support multiple playstyles (e.g., sniping, close-quarters combat, and stealth).
2. Immersive Industrial Aesthetic:
   • Draw inspiration from the gritty, industrial environments of Mafia: Definitive Edition, Hitman 3, and Call of Duty to create a believable and atmospheric map.
3. Tactical Versatility:
   • Include multi-floor structures and varied sightlines to encourage vertical play and a mix of ranged and close engagements.
   • Feature concealed yet vulnerable positions (e.g., partially covered windows) to promote high-risk, high-reward scenarios.
4. Balanced Player Flow:
   • Ensure symmetry in starting points and pathways for fair gameplay, minimizing inherent advantages for either team.
   • Maintain equal access to key areas and objectives.
5. Engaging Side Objectives:
   • Introduce supplementary objectives like the "Boss Lair" and strategic warehouses to draw players into different areas, diversifying map engagement zones.
   • Encourage ambush opportunities and territory control through these side objectives.
6. Replayability Through Layered Objectives:
   • Design a map layout that supports both primary (steamboat) and secondary objectives, keeping gameplay fresh and dynamic over multiple rounds.

Constraints:

1. Accessibility:
   • Ensure that all critical areas of the steamboat and surrounding zones are navigable for all players, avoiding overly complex layouts that could confuse or frustrate users.
   • Balance between accessible pathways and chokepoints to maintain fairness.
2. Performance Optimization:
   • Consider the impact of the multi-floor design and industrial setting on game performance, especially in areas with high player density or complex visual elements.
   • Avoid excessive clutter or overly detailed assets that may strain systems.
3. Symmetry in Balance:
   • While focusing on diverse pathways and tactical layers, ensure no side gains an unfair positional advantage.
   • Symmetrical player flow must not detract from the sense of realism in the industrial setting.
4. Engagement Zone Cohesion:
   • Ensure that secondary objectives like the "Boss Lair" and warehouses do not detract from the central steamboat objective but complement it by encouraging strategic gameplay.
5. Theme Consistency:
   • The map must stay thematically consistent with the industrial, gritty atmosphere of the design inspiration. Overuse of out-of-place elements could detract from immersion.
6. Chokepoint Balance:
   • Avoid creating chokepoints that are too overpowering or frustrating for players to navigate, while still ensuring they remain tactically significant.
7. Playstyle Inclusivity:
   • The map must cater equally to snipers, stealth players, and close-combat specialists without prioritizing one playstyle excessively.

Core Layout and Steamboat Design

At the heart of the map lies the steamboat, positioned as both a central strategic objective and a dynamic battleground. Fully accessible with multiple floors and carefully designed access points, it ensures balanced player flow throughout.

• Symmetrical Access Points: The steamboat can be reached via four small bridges, two on each side, which act as natural chokepoints funnelling players toward the central objective. This symmetrical layout balances access for both teams and encourages intense battles around these bridges.
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• Staircases for Vertical Movement: Inside the steamboat, three staircases lead to the first floor, helping distribute player movement evenly and preventing bottlenecks. However, only one staircase reaches the top floor, creating a critical choke point for players seeking high ground. This single access point to the top deck elevates its strategic importance, requiring players to maintain control to secure a powerful vantage point.
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• Windows for Tactical Awareness: Windows on the steamboat provide visibility into key areas, allowing players to survey their surroundings. Importantly, some windows are partially covered by tarps, which serve multiple strategic purposes. These coverings obscure sightlines, preventing players from camping on long sightlines while hidden within the boat. They also add an element of risk: while providing partial concealment, the coverings do not prevent bullets from penetrating. This design choice means players positioned near these windows may stay hidden but are still vulnerable, adding a tactical layer of cautious concealment without complete safety.

Building Variation and Purpose

The mapfeatures a diverse selection of buildings with distinct roles, enhancing gameplay and player flow without overwhelming the experience.

• Symmetrical Access Points: The steamboat can be reached viafour small bridges, two on each side, which act as natural chokepoints funnelling players toward the central objective. This symmetrical layout balances accessfor both teams and encourages intense battles around these bridges.
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• Staircases for Vertical Movement: Inside the steamboat, three staircases lead to the first floor, helping distribute player movement evenlyand preventing bottlenecks. However, only one staircase reaches the top floor, creating a critical choke point for players seeking high ground. This single accesspoint to the top deck elevates its strategic importance, requiring players tomaintain control to secure a powerful vantage point.
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• Windows for Tactical Awareness: Windows on the steamboat provide visibility into key areas, allowing players to survey their surroundings. Importantly, some windows are partially covered by tarps, which serve multiple strategic purposes. These coverings obscure sightlines, preventing players from camping on long sightlines while hidden within the boat. They also add an elementof risk: while providing partial concealment, the coverings do not preventbullets from penetrating. This design choice means players positioned nearthese windows may stay hidden but are still vulnerable, adding a tactical layer of cautious concealment without complete safety.

Player Flow and Map Guidance

The combination of different building types and the centrally positioned steam boat provides both guidance and flexibility in strategy. The symmetrical layout prevents either team from gaining an inherent advantage, while the variety of building purposes enriches the experience, giving players options on how they approach key objectives.

• Clear Pathing: Players are naturally drawn toward the steam boat through the bridge access points. The open design of the dry dock and surrounding buildings, however, allows freedom in choosing alternative routesand approaches to reach objectives, giving players autonomy in crafting theirpath.
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• Vantage Points: The multi-floor buildings on the map’s perimeter offer elevated vantage points for players who prefer long-range combat or surveillance. While powerful, these positions are intentionally vulnerable to counter-attacks, preventing any single player from dominating gameplay. This careful balance ensures that high-ground spots are valuable without creating overpowered sightlines.
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• Tight, Enclosed Spaces: Buildings near the dry dock, along with industrial alleyways, provide narrow, enclosed spaces ideal for close-quarters combat. Players can use cover and quick movement in these areas to outmaneuver opponents, creating a natural counter balance to the more open spaces of the dry dock and boat. These zones appeal to players favoring close-quarters tactics, encouraging dynamic play.

Key Gameplay Elements

The mapis designed to accommodate various styles of play, providing strategic opportunities for flanking, stealth, and direct engagement, making it versatile for different game modes.

• Chokepoints and Tactical Depth: Bridges and staircases on the steamboat serve as natural chokepoints where critical engagements will occur. Control over these points becomes essential for teams aiming to secure or maintain access to key areas, especially the steamboat’s upper floors.
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• Verticality: The steamboat’s multi-level layout introduces a vertical element to gameplay. Players controlling the top deck can command the field, but they must defend against opponents advancing through the staircases. This layered structure rewards skilful control of both staircases and sightlines.
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• Side Objectives: Certain buildings around the map host specific objectives or side missions in different game modes, adding strategic depth and encouraging players to spread out. These objectives, located away from the main dry dock area, create opportunities for ambushes and flanking maneuvers, rewarding players who take risks.
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• Balanced Combat Scenarios: The design offers a mix of long sightlines across the dry dock and steamboat’s decks, contrasting with the tight, enclosed spaces found in surrounding buildings. This variety ensures that both snipers and close-combat specialists find opportunities to thrive, making the map balanced for all types of players.

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Dynamic Gameplay and Strategy

With its blend of open spaces, chokepoints, and verticality, the map fosters a dynamic experience where players must adapt strategy based on location and objectives.

• Steam boat as a Central Focal Point: The steam boat is expected to host many engagements, with players managing staircases and defending bridges to control key points. The top floor serves as a crucial vantage point, but players must be cautious of attacks from below, adding intensity to holding this strategic position.
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• Industrial Zones for Flanking: Surrounding areas, especially factories and warehouses, offer ample flanking opportunities, perfect for players who enjoy stealth. These zones allow for surprise attacks, rewarding those who take the risk to maneuver around the map.
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• Side Objectives and Vantage Points: While the steamboat is the primary focus, objectives in multi-floor buildings and special vantage points encourage players to spread out and take control of different areas that could shift the balance of the match.