Territories Gamemode:
Territories is based off the classic attack/defend gamemode seen in games like Rising Storm 2 and the Battlefield series, where one team tries to capture a sector while the other team works to defend it. The attacker team has limited time and reinforcements to take each point, and they lose the match if either runs out (when you are on the attacking team, reinforcements/tickets only affect your lives, not your allied bots).
After each objective capture, the attacker spawn moves up one sector, and the defender spawn moves back one sector.
This is a team vs. team mission, similar to Firefight but at a slightly larger scale and with actual mission objectives. Bots will be getting several large improvements/changes to make them better fit this type of mission, but a complete bot-remake is planned for the near future.
You'll be able to choose which team you play on, the starting objective, the number of reinforcements, the time limits, and bot-count per team.
Objectives:
Attacker Spawn
US Marines are assaulting the island through its southern marsh.
There's decent cover and concealment from the defenders, and it's only a few hundred feet from the first objective. It'll be a brutal first push to break through the initial defenses, but it'll allow for an easier and more logistical assault on the rest of the island.
Alpha: Artillery Emplacement
An open artillery emplacement in the middle of construction.
Defenders will spawn in the jungle up the hill from the point, so while the objective itself is going to be hard to defend, it's stuck in a horseshoe-shape where defenders have a great vantage point and plenty of cover + concealment.
Bravo: Trenches
This objective showcases the new + improved jungles of PunjiVR--denser, more performant, and visually superior than previous attempts.
Defenders have to defend a small tract of trenches and tunnels in this sector. They will have good opportunities for dug-in positions, but the overall sector will be a fairly even challenge for both sides.
Charlie: Checkpoint and Marshes
Split into two locations, Charlie will force the teams to spread out their attacking and defending.
C1 is a bridge checkpoint surrounded by a wide-open field that attackers will have to move through to get to the objective. Defenders have great vantage points over the field, so the main challenge for attackers will be more about getting to the objective rather than clearing it.
C2 is in the marshes to the east. Due to its density, defenders won't have any good vantage points over it, and must engage in CQB on the point itself to keep it clear of attackers.
Delta: Camp
A small, centrally located camp that will be very well fortified. Attackers get to spawn on the B, C1, and C2 points, so they'll have a tactical advantage for flanking and surrounding the camp, but the defenders spawn in the caves on E, so they'll have a great overview of the entire area, which will make it hard for attackers to advance.
Echo: Caves
A well-fortified cave system that will be hard to capture.
Attackers will have to climb single-file bridges or scale the steep cliff face while under fire from the defenders. Once the exterior is secured, they'll have to clear out the caves and eliminate the remaining enemies to win.
Conclusion:
I've been taking my time with this update to make sure that it's not only as good as it can be before release, but that it fills the specific content-void that's currently in the game.
PunjiVR is at the point where it needs a solid base-gamemode, something more complex and in-depth than the current sandbox-style missions, and a gamemode like Territories should satisfy that, and give you all something to enjoy while I work on the even larger additions planned, like the campaign, vehicles, and the bot overhaul.
The map itself is going to be the most detailed one yet, and while it's taken this entire past month to get to where it's at now (need to make the C1, C2, D, and E objectives), it's already so much better than anything else in-game in terms of visuals, performance, and gameplay.
Because this is singleplayer only, I'll also need to spend a lot of time reworking/improving the bots to make sure they work well on this map + gamemode, and that they offer interesting and non-janky combat experiences. As mentioned earlier, there will be a complete remake of them at some point this year, but these in-between changes should suffice for the time being.
With all of this in mind, be aware that Update 9 will be taking a longer time to develop compared to the previous 1/2 month cycle seen in the past. I don't have any specific deadline or release date for it, but I am working on it a consistent pace. There will be a round or two of test builds coming later on, too, so be on the lookout for that. And if you are ever interested in seeing the update's progress in between these announcements, I post regular updates on the official
Discord and Subreddit.
That's everything for now, but I hope it gives you all a good idea of what to expect with this next update.
As always, thank you all for the support and feedback, and if you have any bug reports, suggestions, or just want to join the community, be sure to check out the links below. Thank you again and remember to keep your eyes on the treeline!