Operation Overhaul Dev Blog #4: Large scale maps
Intro In our last dev blog, we introduced several new maps and reworks arriving with the Operation Overhaul update. Those were mostly small and medium sized maps, with the exception of a brand new map called Mesa which is larger. Now we’re going to show off some of the larger rew
Intro
In our last dev blog, we introduced several new maps and reworks arriving with the Operation Overhaul update. Those were mostly small and medium sized maps, with the exception of a brand new map called Mesa which is larger. Now we’re going to show off some of the larger reworks and another brand new map.
Peaks (New)
Peaks was one of the first brand new maps created for the BattleBit Operation Overhaul update. Over the past year, it has undergone several improvements, including upgraded foliage and environmental detail, as well as a complete bunker redesign. The bunker has been reworked to improve navigation and to better accommodate 254 player battles in the Domination game mode.
Players will fight in a valley surrounded by two towering mountain ranges. The northern mountain is home to a massive bunker with multiple entrances, creating intense close quarters combat. Peaks is classified as a Large map, featuring a 2×2 km terrain with a 1×2 km playable area in Conquest.
On the southern mountain, players will fight to control a radar station overlooking the valley. Securing this position provides a commanding vantage point across much of the map.
A single main road runs through the valley, serving as the primary route for ground vehicles. This creates natural chokepoints and frequent bottlenecks, leading to intense vehicle engagements.
Peaks is set during early spring in the mountains, blending lush green grass and dense pine forests with snow covered peaks. The contrasting terrain offers plenty of opportunities to conceal your movements while fighting across the valley.
The bunker has been fully updated to make it bigger and less vertical. You will find special areas like a generator room, ammo depot, cargo bay, water supply station and more.
Every corridor of the bunker will have a navigation board, so you can see your current location and where to find nearest exit point. In general each bunker area is now more unique and distinct, so it will be easier to remember areas and not get lost.
Wakistan (Rework)
Wakistan has long been one of BattleBit's most played maps, with players embracing the chaos of its iconic bridge battles. However, the alternate objective on the C-side often pulled players into a continuous "death loop" rather than allowing a stable frontline to develop.
The Wakistan rework addresses this by making Objective C the single central objective, while adding two side objectives for each team. These alternate routes give players more strategic options if they want to avoid the intense fighting on the bridge.
Both Conquest and Domination feature two randomized layouts. Objectives A, C, and E remain fixed, while B and D change between matches. In one variation, players will battle over a granite quarry and a lumber mill. In the other, the fight shifts to a village and an armored vehicle repair station. These rotating layouts create a more streamlined game flow while adding variety for servers that want to deliver the classic "WAKISTAN 24/7 – 10,000 TICKETS" experience without every match feeling exactly the same.
The 32v32 Conquest layout introduces a unique section of the map tailored for smaller battles, while the 32v32 Domination layout focuses exclusively on the bridge, preserving the fast-paced, close-quarters combat that made Wakistan famous.
Wakistan's forest biome has been completely reworked, and the map is now divided by a towering border wall that stretches across the entire map. The wall is fully destructible, allowing players to breach it at any point. The direction and location of the explosion will determine how the wall collapses, creating dynamic new routes as the battle unfolds.
The previous bunker hills have been replaced with a fortified border checkpoint, providing significantly more cover and creating a better combat space for 254 player matches.
The bridge itself has been completely redesigned, now stretching twice as long and twice as wide as before. A more secure tunnel runs beneath the main roadway, offering an alternate route through the structure. Pushing across the bridge is now a far greater challenge, as retreat options are limited. Players can use a lower deck under the bridge to be less exposed to snipers and helicopters during their advance.
Unlike the original Wakistan, where the bridge spanned a river and players had no way to reach the ground below, the reworked bridge now connects two hills with dry terrain underneath. Staircases at C in the middle and both far ends of the bridge provide access to the ground, allowing players to go to the ground level and flank enemy positions.
Before, the map featured a lot of wasted space on the western part of the map. The rework of Wakistan will utilize the entire space better. We’ve also added additional spawn points for each team that will help make infantry direction of attack more flexible.
Sandy Sunset (Rework)
Sandy Sunset has also received a major rework, with the entire map redesigned to create a more engaging and asymmetrical battlefield. Overall, the playable area has been reduced to minimize time spent crossing open terrain while providing denser cover and more opportunities for combat.
Previously, players had to traverse long stretches of hilly desert before reaching the urban center, where most infantry combat took place. In the reworked version, the city has been expanded and reshaped into a half moon layout. A new central objective, D Military Watchtower, has also been introduced as a key "King of the Hill" position. Controlling this objective gives your team excellent access to the city while providing oversight of the surrounding river.
The 32v32 Conquest layout also features a unique map variant designed specifically for smaller-scale battles.
The Sandy Sunset rework will feature a more green and arid environment as well as a more diverse urban area. New objectives like Hotel (F) and Industrial zone (G) will provide new areas to fight on, and old objectives like Radio Station (A) was redesigned into a castle like objective for snipers to hang on.
The city itself will feature a main road that spans through whole town as well as an alternate road that will lead you to the Industrial Zone and Outskirts. While the map size was reduced by 40%, you will still find some hills to stay on at the edge of the map borders.
The old Sandy Sunset had a lot of wasted space, which was great for snipers to build their nests. Now a majority of snipers will be forced to stay at A, D, and F objectives to have an impact on controlling the key bottlenecks around D.
Valley (Rework)
Valley received a rework in order to solve two issues. First, it was a heavy sniper map, because it provided a lot of hills and open areas to hunt down players. Second, players had to travel 500+ meters between the objectives.
The rework itself reduced the map size by half and we rearranged the objectives to provide a shorter distance between them and create two zones for player preferences. A, C, F for close-medium fights within the nuclear plant zone and the second front at B, D, E for a bit longer range so snipers and vehicles players can fight in the open areas between the windmills.
The nuclear power plant station has been expanded drastically. Fights will take a place in several structures like cooling tower, cold water collector and the nuclear plant itself. This area becomes a heavy industrial area to provide more cover options for those close-medium range encounters.
South of the power plant station you will find the water reservoirs and the river itself. Those water reservoirs have many canals around them and tubes that will let you easily flank enemy without exposing yourself to snipers on roofs.
On the farthest side, the wind mill area, will remind players of the previous version of Valley, but with less height range difference and with more cover scattered around such as construction sites, solar panels and power boxes.
Compared to the original version, the reworked layout features significantly shorter travel distances, with both headquarters moved closer to the battlefield to get players into the action faster.
Construction (Rework)
Construction was one of least popular maps due to the tiny size, 500x500 meters, and the large amount of windows within this map. Because of that, we decided to fully rework map and expand it to 1000x1000 meters size.
The construction site now combines familiar landmarks with brand-new points of interest. Players will recognize the iconic high rise building while exploring new locations such as the staff rest area, the foundation site, and the train depot, which supplies materials to support the massive construction project.
The famous tall constriction site building in the middle of the map has become even bigger. It will provide a few ways to climb to the top, from safe indoor staircases to risky elevator shafts and external scaffolding.
Because the map size has been increased, we will introduce helicopters to the Conquest layout, so you will always be able to deploy troops to any wanted roof by helicopter.
Below the whole construction site, you will also find a chain of underground tunnels which will let you cross dangerous streets more safely and avoid sniper fire form construction site rooftops.
This image will give you a much clearer view on how much bigger the map has become. The additional land should provide more space to bring vehicles to this map and Conquest 127v127 layout.
Conclusion
Everything you see above has been done in pursuit of the goals of improving gameplay balance, map flow, and visual fidelity. It’s taking a considerable amount of time, but we’re essentially reworking all of the maps in the game to look and play better. Some maps are receiving minor to moderate updates, but others are near total reimagining's.
We’ll of course need to thoroughly test everything and iterate where needed. Remember to join the Discord and select the “Performance Tester” role under “Channels and Roles” section to be notified about the upcoming performance playtest. These maps you see above are obviously much bigger, and we will need to test them as a part of our optimization process.
View to the town from (F)
Skyscraper (B)
Central plaza (C)
View of outer city area
Street center (C)
Epicenter (B)
Street views
Mall (A)
Damaged buildings
Apartment complex (A)
Overlooking parking lot
Objective B
Main street at Salhan
Inside objective (F)
Narrow streets
New objective E
