Maps

Maps

All Missions are played out on one or more Maps. Some Missions have multiple stages and/or alternative stages, each of which is a separate Map. During a Mission, the Player interacts with the Map and features on the Map using the HUD. Mercs and Enemies move around the Map, engaging in Stealth, Combat, and interactions with Map elements.

Maps are hand-crafted from a common set of elements and tiles. Each Map is unique, and the number of Maps is growing. A Player may only see a particular Map once or not at all during a particular game. Maps will usually include Lockboxes, Matrix Hosts, Security Devices, and quite a few doors, stairs, elevators, ladders, and other entrances where Enemies might spawn. Maps may also include bridges, internal doors, corridors, and multiple rooms. Boxes, crates, low walls, and mechanical and scientific equipment offer places to hide behind Cover.

Many maps have platforms and rooftops on low buildings which provide multi-level movement and Combat. The high ground is often a great advantage for firing lines and grants a bonus to Accuracy when firing at lower levels. Firing from a lower level to a higher level gets a negative modifier to Accuracy. Enemies who are not Alerted have greater difficulty detecting intruders on a lower or higher level.

Many Maps generally fit into a few broad styles: Underground, Street, Corporate, and Skyrise. But it is not unusual for elements from multiple styles to appear in a Map, and some Maps are quite unusual. Underground typically features tunnel walls, platforms, and toxic water. Street generally includes roads, low buildings, ruins, and some long sightlines. Corporate often includes higher security, storage and loading facilities, brighter lighting, and may include research equipment and laboratories. Skyrise is the most secure of all and includes luxury elements such as plants, furniture, and artwork. Some maps cover a rooftop on one of the numerous tall buildings, often hundreds of feet above the "surface" of the New Boston Zone, which may have landing pads for hovertrucks. A few maps are on the waterfront, with docks and loading equipment which may or may not be in good repair.

Storyline Maps

A Storyline Mission usually takes place in a Map specifically designed for that Story. A few Storylines include one or more Proc-Gen Maps in the branches of the Storyline which are randomly selected like in a Proc-Gen Mission. And a few Storylines are hard-coded to use a specific Map which is also used in Proc-Gen Missions. But most Maps used for Storylines will never appear in a Proc-Gen Mission.

On the Maps specifically coded to a particular Storyline Mission, the mercs will always start at a specific entrance and leave at a specific exit. If there are alternative Maps for a stage of the Mission, the entry point in the next stage may depend on which Map was used for the earlier stage. In some cases, the "alternative Map" is really the same Map with a different entry point.

Proc-Gen Maps

Procedurally Generated (Proc-Gen) Missions are created in a mix-and-match fashion by the Casting Director, combining a Contact, a Proc-Gen Mission type, a Map, entry and exit points, and other factors to generate a mission likely to be in some way unique during any particular game. The Maps used are not procedurally-generated; they are selected from a large set of Maps designed to accommodate Proc-Gen Missions. Like Storyline Maps, Proc-Gen Maps are hand-crafted but may contain some procedurally-generated elements such as locations of Lockboxes and Matrix Hosts, location and patrols of Enemies, and entrance and exit points. Each map is designed with four or more entrances and exits for the mercs.

The Map is generated at the time that the Mission is placed on the Timeline, generally at the end of the Dialog where the Mission is described. This means that using the Menu to Restart Level or Restore Before Mission will produce exactly the same Map layout and starting point. However, the locations of Enemies and their patrol routes is not restored; the initial distribution of Enemies and patrols may be different.

Loading a Save made prior to opening the Dialog which generated the Mission will allow the Casting Director to generate the Mission anew, with probably a different Map and procedurally-generated elements. However, the offering Contact, target Faction, and type of Proc-Gen Mission will be the same; these are generated when the offering Dialog is placed on the Timeline.

Not every combination of Proc-Gen Mission type and Map is acceptable. Pure Hacking missions will only occur on one Map, which is not used for any other Mission types. Alpha Strike and Siege Missions are not a good fit for many maps and are disqualified. Below is a table of permitted combinations of Proc-Gen Mission type and Map. The first column shows the image displayed in the Timeline event for the Mission. This allows identification of the Mission Map before beginning the Mission.

Maps vs Proc-Gen Missions

		CPU Spike	Matrix Hunt	Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike	Assass-ination	Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Hacker's Hideout	CPU Spike	Matrix Hunt
	Req Site			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains			Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike		Infil-trate
	Trucker HQ			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains			Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike	Assass-ination	Infil-trate
	One-Ladder Sewer			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike		Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike		Infil-trate
	Street Palisade					Kill 3 Cap-tains		Siege		Q-Gap Spike
	Holdout Corner					Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege		Q-Gap Spike
	Slumroad Junction					Kill 3 Cap-tains			Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike
	Lockdown Station			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains				Q-Gap Spike		Infil-trate
	Interchange H						Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard		Assass-ination
	Urban HQ								Body-guard		Assass-ination
	Wreckspire					Kill 3 Cap-tains		Siege	Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike
	Dusted Hover-Evac			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains		Siege		Q-Gap Spike		Infil-trate
	Blown Out Flat						Alpha Strike
	Logistics Base			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike		Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Rooftop Ziggurat			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike		Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Decommissioned Core			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains			Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike	Assass-ination	Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Resupply Station			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains			Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike		Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Border Crossing			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike		Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Flooded Tunnels			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard		Assass-ination	Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Sector 01 Interchange			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike	Assass-ination	Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Gated Enclave			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike	Assass-ination	Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	River Street Bridge			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike	Assass-ination	Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Broken Highway			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike	Assass-ination	Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Route 5 Bypass			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike	Assass-ination	Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Hovertruck Repair Depot			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike	Assass-ination	Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Cyber Clinic			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains			Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike	Assass-ination	Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Restricted Fab			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike	Assass-ination	Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	A12 Sea Platform			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike	Assass-ination	Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Black Site Lab			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains			Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike	Assass-ination	Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Rooftop Hoverport			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains			Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike		Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate
	Cyber Research Site			Raid	Loot-Box Hunt	Kill 3 Cap-tains	Alpha Strike	Siege	Body-guard	Q-Gap Spike	Assass-ination	Infil-trate	Hard-ened Target	Exfil-trate