In the biggest change to the “Fortnite” map since the beginning of this very long year, the gamer’s paradise is flooded, with hot spots now completely submerged under the ocean surface.
Chapter 2, Season 3 of “Fortnite” kicked off Wednesday morning after numerous delays. Monday’s season-ending event gave players two days of running from a tsunami wall (instead of the storm). It also offered as a tantalizing glimpse into a larger story involving the default character skin Jonesy, voiced by none other than marquee voice talent Troy Baker.
While a few days late for summer, the water park aesthetic matches the sunny, outdoors vibe everyone on this planet could use. But all is not well. Certain locations like Pleasant Park were preserved with floating platforms, while others like Weeping Woods are all but gone. Old haunts like Sweaty Sands and Steamy Stacks still exist in the map. If you drop into the water, you’ll get a quick peek to see all these locations are now submerged.
The new season also teases another feature that’s been a long time coming: cars you can drive. It’s not in the current update, but the Season 3 trailer showed multiple vehicles, including pickup trucks, being driven around the map. This makes sense, as Epic Games also said that the flood waters will eventually recede throughout the season, bringing back more of the map, more roads and possibly new changes.
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For now, players can navigate the map using several watercraft and even go water skiing with a “loot shark.” Also, there’s Aquaman, the DC Comics hero who is available as a new character skin.
A new Fortilla concept basically replaces last season’s Agency as your place for ticking off challenges. You can also upgrade and customize an umbrella glider with various options and colors. This continues last season’s new feature of having one super-custom skin. Last season, players could finish “Maya” challenges to unlock various clothes for her, including a scarf and fixing her sleeves.
It’s also notable that Meowscles, the grotesquely adorable buff cat from last season, fathered a kitten named Kit, who pilots a murderous robot. While other games struggle with creating a memorable cast of well-design characters, “Fortnite” is literally birthing them out every few weeks. As for new weapons, I spotted a charge shotgun that seems to pack a concentrated wallop, bigger than the old pump.
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The growing features for cosmetic customization do raise an interesting question for “Fortnite,” namely where can it go from here? Weapons and vehicles all need to be standardized for the sake of the game, leaving only skins, gliders and back blings with which to tinker.
The new map also leans further into the “party” lifestyle atmosphere that’s been prevalent in the game, an aesthetic that started with a humble dance floor in an empty warehouse. Now the flooded map looks like one of those viral pool or water resort parties that only aggravate pandemic anxiety.
This makes sense, given Epic Games’s very open intention to evolve “Fortnite” into a virtual gathering space. As quarantine continues unabated throughout 2020, various digital platforms and game developers are experimenting with virtual meeting spaces. “Fortnite” is considered to be among the pioneers of this new, uncharted “Metaverse” concept. Director Christopher Nolan debuted the latest trailer for his upcoming movie “Tenet” in the game’s “party mode,” which is designed to be a place to chill.
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Finally, the new map seems to be a way for Epic Games to flex its updates to the Unreal Engine. Water effects are notoriously difficult to program in games, and here is one of the world’s busiest online games flooding its entire map. Now the game is drenched in beautiful screen space reflection effects, while still providing models for the old map underwater.
Whatever Epic Games is planning for “Fortnite,” it’s clear that we’re only skimming the surface.
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