The Russian town of Smolensk has a long, embattled history. Drop in when Open Beta begins to rediscover a reworked version of this map in Tactical Ops, featuring new combat zones, natural lighting and environments, improved terrain, additional buildings and cover, and much more.
WELCOME TO SMOLENSK
With a storied history stretching back to the time of the Rus', Smolensk has seen its fair share of conflict in the last millennium. The ghosts of its past can be seen in the walled fortification that still surrounds the heart of the city, a monument to the medieval age of siege warfare.
Situated on the banks of the upper Dnieper River, Smolensk is famous for its contributions to the aviation, electronics, and agriculture industries, and is home to many examples of stunningly intricate Russian stone architecture.
IDENTIFYING AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Our extensive testing of World War 3 was not only intended to make the game technically ready for many players, but to ensure that our existing content was engaging, well-balanced, and suited to repeat play. As such, we identified a few issues with one of our classic maps—Smolensk—that we weren’t happy with.
We felt the map suffered from a lack of proper infrastructure and points of visual identification. This issue was compounded by insufficient lighting, which posed the risk of making players disoriented during eventful battles.
Compared to more famous sites such as Berlin and Moscow, Smolensk was fairly unremarkable and may have made players yearn for busier, more iconic locations. Additionally, from a gameplay point of view, we found the map lacking in cover points, drastically reducing its tactical viability. Smolensk needed to change for the better, and we were ready for the challenge.
WHAT’S NEW IN SMOLENSK
Nothing was off-limits in our efforts to rework Smolensk. We completely reenvisioned the theme of the map, switching perspectives from that of an embattled town to an active military base where every interior location has its own unique visual identification and purpose. There’s a hospital, various personnel offices, a kitchen and dining room, classrooms, dormitories, communications rooms, storage rooms, garages, a gym, restrooms, and more, all placed with a keener sense of infrastructural logic.
In addition to the new theme, we redesigned a lot of the map’s infrastructure and introduced new combat areas with improved terrain. There’s a radio antenna and helipad in the center of the map close to a new capture point, plus more new buildings and cover points to provide more tactical possibilities to players.
Smolensk’s lighting is much more natural now, with revamped color grading, new foliage, and improved materials to enhance the town’s overall aesthetic, making it easier on the eyes and less likely to cause disorientation in the heat of combat.
We believe the new changes make Smolensk better on every level, and give it a much more natural flow, look, and feel, and that players will feel more deeply immersed in the overall game experience as a result.