Hello, Mercenaries,
This weekend you will have the opportunity to try out a very early version of an experimental map called Pipeline. The map will be playable as a part of the "Pipeline" Weekend Event, starting on Friday 22nd of October at 10 AM UTC and finishing on Monday 25th of October at 10 AM UTC.
About Pipeline
This highly experimental map features a compact old-world village awash with modern Farmira industrialization. The action is fast and competitive.
Developer's Comment
To make it easier to understand our intention and thought process that inspired the creation of the Pipeline, we have asked for a comment from Martin Vierne, Lead Environment Artist of Nine to Five, who has designed the map.
“When it comes to the map design in Nine to Five, we have mostly worked on large maps, because one of our key focuses was replayability. The size of the maps, the number of locations where objectives could potentially appear were a big part of that decision. We wanted players to learn the maps through playing, and have as many combinations as possible when it comes to objective locations and paths to the objectives, etc…
This approach has one big downside — the time and effort it takes to produce big maps. We, on the other hand, want to make more regular map updates and keep players entertained. Adding more maps is also something our community is asking for.
So I wanted to test something different and created the Pipeline.
I started to work on that map during my downtime and a bit in the evenings. The idea was to quickly design a very small map, in a bit more traditional or “old school” way.
Here are some key aspects I wanted to test and check :
- Does a smaller map work within Nine to Five?
- Is it fun?
- Does it work with 3 teams?
- Is it compatible with our current game modes?
- How long would it take me to make a prototype so we can play it and see what we do with it?
So I made some sketches one evening and started going. Something very old school, very symmetrical and competitive, where distances are tightly measured and everything fairly balanced.
I got to a white box state in just a few days, then refined the layout and gave a very rough “art pass” on it, so people can identify what they are looking at.
After having a 1st playtest with good feedback, it was decided to test it with our community to hear their feedback.
So I did an optimization pass and cleaned up a bit, and a very quick texturing pass, to have the rough layout a bit more easy to read.
And there you have it now!”
As you can see, the map is still very early in development, and we would love to hear what you think about it, so once you've had the chance to play the new map, share your feedback with us on Discord, Steam or social media.
Event Tasks
For mercs that enjoy working overtime and want to pimp their weapons, we have also added the special "Back to Basics" event.
Complete these tasks while playing Pipeline and earn Weapon Parts and brilliant Hacking Code for this week's Weekend Task reward weapon — Merlin LMG.
Live Stream
At the launch of the "Pipeline" Matchmaking Event we will host a live stream on Twitch and YouTube where the developers of Nine to Five will play the new game mode and answer any questions you might have!
Watch on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ninetofivegame/
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nSr4lj7RLgc
How to Play
"Pipeline" event will open at 10 AM UTC on Friday 22nd of October. Once the event starts, press the "Select game mode" button on the lobby screen and choose the matchmaking mode you want to play. Please note, if you are playing with a team, only the team leader can select the matchmaking mode.
After you've selected the correct mode, you are ready to test the event, so just press Start Shift.
Share Your Feedback
Once you have had the chance to play "Pipeline", share your feedback with us on Discord, Steam or social media.
Have a great shift!