Steel Division 2 - Dev Diary #15: Level Design

Hey there! We hope you enjoyed the last Steel Division 2 Beta Phase. Today’s Dev Diary is a special one, as we are not only going to talk about the general map design in Steel Division 2 but also focus on the well-known level of the Beta Players: Orsha North.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/919640/Steel_Division_2/

If you haven’t checked out the video Let’s Play a Battle video , do it now! It shows in detail a Closer Combat match on Orsha North, between with the 2nd Guards Tank Corps against the 5. Panzerdivision.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzCkuTvJYnU
As always, the disclaimer: please disregard any typos, incorrect stats, visual glitches or other bugs. All these will be fixed at launch.

Design Philosophy

Steel Division 2 will ship with 25 unique battlefields. These you will encounter in different sizes, adjusted according to the number of players, which can range from 1v1 to 4v4 to our massive 10v10 online battles. Not only that, these maps will be playable across different game modes, such as Conquest, Breakthrough and Closer Combat, either offline (single player) or online (cooperative or multiplayer).

By now, you should know that we put a lot of effort into making sure Steel Division 2 is authentic, historically accurate, and fun to play. That’s why we take special care in designing our levels. In Steel Division 2 they don’t only cover the longer combat distances compared to the previous game, but also feature more diverse topology, with different types of forest, as well as more hills and elevated plateaus.

Creating a Level

Our levels are centered on some of the most important actions and pivotal battles which took place during Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944. We checked real-life locations in Belorussia using genuine Wehrmacht aerial observation and intelligence maps of that era.

Quite a bit of research has gone into identifying potentially great locations that would fit Steel Division 2. In particular, we looked at urban spaces like cities, villages or industrial zones, if any major rivers were to be found, roads and their layout, unique features, how dense the forests were or if, for instance, swamps were present.

Having found an interesting location, the actual work starts with the design team scaling the levels, drawing the forests, rivers, towns, fields and more. This is an iterative process, with many back and forths, making sure that from a gameplay point of view there are sufficient roads in the deployment areas, or that the level scales to fit the different game modes and the different number of players (from 1v1 to 4v4).

The maps have to be balanced as well. For instance, not all aspects of a real-life location are suitable. We might need to tone down the amount of forest in an area (this was by far the most common departure of reality) or introduce more roads and highways. Our approach is to use different obstacles, such as forests, streams or hills, to create different combat dynamics, as well as sightlines and avenues of approach. Not only that, we can anticipate where the heaviest fighting will be, and focus on making those spots the most interesting. As the finishing touches, through careful placement of unique objects, we try to create little stories across the terrain. Those might be churches, or destroyed factories, or a town with a single bridge that serves as the only way in or out.

Beta Map - Orsha North

Orsha North is the map featured in the Steel Division 2 closed beta. Orsha was a crucial transport hub situated close to the frontline, and an essential objective for the Wehrmacht to defend and for the Red Army to capture at the start of Operation Bagration.

As we mentioned before, each level has a specific design ethos; for Orsha North, we wanted to create a dynamic map which would feature a good cross-section of the different gameplay experiences on offer in our new game. This means closed beta players will encounter dense woodlands, a smattering of swamps, plateau and hills, both horizontal and vertical gameplay, as well as the new objectives placed at important points across the map.

How to play on Orsha North

What should players watch out for when playing on Orsha North? We’ll give you some tips - they might come in handy when you jump into your first pre-order beta match. Mind you, while the small level was designed with the 1v1 format in mind, we allow up to 4v4 matches to be played. Be prepared for some intense and brutal combat!

When you play on Orsha North, you should watch out for the main road, a highway, which bisects the map. While important to move your forces swiftly, it also passes through crucial choke points close to the center of the map: two small villages. Infantry troops will be able to entrench in these bottlenecks, which should make it very difficult to dislodge them quickly. Capture points are also located here, making these spots vital for players to hold, or to push the frontline to cover them.

Four plateaus, some densely forested, rise up beyond the villages. They are situated on the four sides of the map, with a number of farms close by. Featuring capture points, these flat hills provide far-reaching sight lines across the highway with great fields of fire. The forest can serve as cover, or useful ambush spots, as well as protect the roads on the flanks of the plateau. A sensible commander would position tanks or artillery at these elevated locations for maximum effect.

In conclusion

See you soon! Until then, don’t forget to check out the Steel Division 2 newsletter,pre-order the game on steam, and visit our pre-order store.