Meet Mamayev - The Level Designer edition of What we are up to!

[Yoshiro]

In the last few editions of the "What we are up to" blog we've gone over "RO Classic" and touched briefly on other additions coming to the game in 2012. Today we would like to let you explore what is slated to be the first new map, Mamayev!

Set on the outskirts of Stalingrad, Mamayev was a strongly contested high ground that both sides vied to maintain control over. The belief was that the side that held the hill could control all the rest of the city. The Soviets dug in with trenches, bunkers, barbed wire and mine fields before the battle began. By the end of the battle of Stalingrad, after trading sides numerous times, the hill was mostly flattened and no grass would grow on its lead poisoned ground.

Mamayev is an infantry only map featuring combat between trenches and bunkers one hundred and fifty to two hundred meters apart. It is designed to meet the needs of those looking for extended range rifle combat, truly separating the riflemen from the boys. Those skilled with the rifle and holding the high ground will be able to find their targets even further away, with the current office record stands at a 411 meter head shot delivered via sniper rifle. For players who enjoy a more up close and personal fight, they will be spending time finding their way through the twisted corridors of the bunkers built into the hill searching for those laying in ambush (or lying in said ambush themselves).

Keep in mind that this map is still hand the hands of the level design team working on how it plays, and has yet to be art passed. With the fact that what you are about to see is still a WIP (work in progress) version of the map, we are proud to reveal the first out of office shots of Mamayev!

Players will soon be able to take to the slopes of this battlefield as the RO 2 beta rolls out again.

Head to the main page to find the full size shots.

[ElPresidente]

Awesome.
Open field/long range.
Awesome.

[Extension7]

Nice!!! Thanks Yoshiro! :3

[Kashash]

Nice, I love open space maps and I think we definitely need more of those bolt action maps in RO2.

As the TWI has decided to make a classic mode that portrays the truly realistic combat I'm excited for the RO2 once again and looking forward to all the new vehicles/maps.

[Fuzzy McDoodle]

For those too lazy to go to the front page:

Spoiler!

[Mormegil]

Looks great.

Makes me remember that old Red Orchestra: Combined Arms map with the artillery bunkers/tunnels and trenches. What was that called?

[Westernesse]

Awesome sounds like how I wish FF was. Snipers/rifles can cover hundreds of open ground with the chance to shoot other snipers/exposed above ground players. Yet, players who prefer CQC can get to CQC through tunnels? or trenches? while rarely being exposed to snipers. FF almost has this, but you have to cross too much open ground and it becomes a turkey shoot. I'm looking forward to this. Thanks for the news.

[Krobar]

Originally Posted by Yoshiro

Mamayev is an infantry only map

I give it 12 hours before a combined arms version is made.

[Nylle]

I really like the new trench types! Theres something special with me and trenches.

[MrHello]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy McDoodle

For those too lazy to go to the front page:

Spoiler!

Round off those edges, that bunker is looking a bit ugly.

[Homuth]

Awesome! I really like the bunker type gameplay

[Alexander Ostmann]

Yes! My prayers have been answered!

[Bashenka]

Za Rodinuuuuuuuuu!!!

[mrman54]

FLEEEP! this look meeeaann!
Btw, how large is the beta in terms of file size?

[Nikita]

A couple aesthetic suggestions--unless this is another late-battle Kessel map (of which there are many of at the moment), there shouldn't be any snow on Mamayev Kurgan and the sky should be anything but clear. According to most accounts I've read, the constant shellfire and bombing melted any snow that reached the ground. The default texture, imo, should be dirt. Lots of it.

Setting it during the night is interesting as well... 400 meter shots at midnight?

How about setting the map during the day with a smoke-filled sky, pre-encirclement instead, creating more aesthetic and historical drama and making the long-range potshots more plausible?

And here's hoping for artillery. Lots of it. It's not Mamayev Kurgan until dirt and metal rain from the sky and the ground itself is heaving beneath the shellfire.

The trenches, gun emplacements, map layout, and bunkers look great!

[jalex3]

Sounds great, longer range maps would seem to go great with classic. Even more of a challenge to hit people at range.

[Bashenka]

As a Stalingrad tourist, I hope the views of the city are excellent!
Also I hope we get to hear new audio cues, and see more visual effects specific to this map.

[Snuffeldjuret]

Looking forward to trying it out =).

[Hypno Toad]

Neat. I was a bit puzzled that this wasn't in the first wave of stock maps actually.

A tank or two would have been nice though, always wanted to ambush a tank with an AT rifle from inside a network of trenches. IIRC many tanks got destroyed during advances up the hill, though I could be wrong.

[hockeywarrior]

Nice looking map ... thank god it seems to be free of bottle necks and claustrophobia that plague Ro2's current map set. I'm looking forward to playing this rendition of an iconic battle!

More importantly, I'm looking forward to playing a large map in Ro2 in RO Classic mode where not every weapon is a sniper rifle and where people will have to try much harder to pull off long distance shots. I have a feeling that this map in regular RO2 would be a major snipe-fest.

Hopefully we'll see more of this map, and especially more updates about Ro Classic in the near future.