Fortnite: Why We Don’t Need the Old Map Back

So we have another little blog about Fortnite, though this time it’s not our precious Kitten that’ll be doing the work on it, but me the founder of All Things Geek and Draxisweb Productions. Today I was doing my typical morning youtube surfing when I came across a SypherPK video that was talking about a return to the old map and maybe what people mean by that and how it relates to the game. Welp, I have a bit of an opinion about that so I’ll just blurt it out below.

To jump right into things, the basics that Sypher was talking about was that back in Chapter 1 Season X is that a ton of people kept tweeting and ranting online that they wanted a new map and then when the new map came in Chapter 2 Season 1, everyone was all “Oh my god I want the old map back!” His point being a lot of people are saying that those people are being hypocrites and he gave his reasons why they aren’t. In some ways I agree with him, but I also think he didn’t quite get things right and I think if someone like him were to broadcast the reasons things are the way they are then people might understand a little better and stop their complaining. So, I want to take a deeper dive into what he said and some reasons why the people complaining that they want the old map back need to stop complaining and just be a little patient.

So one of Syphers big arguments is that when in Season X things were insanely crazy and a lot of people thought it too much which is why all the calls for a new map. I can easily see this because Season X was insane between mechs, Tilted Town, Taco Time, Prop Hunt in the swamp, null gravity zones, Zombies in Retail, a Meteor over the resurrected Dusty Depot, final zones over the Power Plant where you end up flying….so yeah there was a LOT going on. Personally I loved it. I had been playing since Season 4 and enjoyed all the changes as they came and for a season that seemed to be building to a major catastrophe of some sort Season X to me felt perfect but I can see where others would be overwhelmed. Here’s the thing though people need to learn how to speak, to use their words as I keep telling my son. See in some ways, these people got a case of “Be Careful What You Wish For”. So Sypher thinks that when a lot of these people said “I want a new map” what they actually meant was “I want the older seasons that weren’t as crazy back”. This makes a lot of sense, but instead they got the new Chapter 2 map and then this is where in a lot of people’s minds things went wrong but I’m going to explain why this has been right on par for exactly how it should be.

So the big complaint for the new map is that it doesn’t have much going on for it or so people are saying. The thing is though the new map has a ton going on for it, a lot has been added in season 1 and a ton more was added in season 2. The thing is comparatively it’s not a ton, but Epic is playing this smart in the long game and the short game. You see they heard the complaints about Chapter 1 Season X but they already had this planned and knew what they were doing. Epic is notorious for thinking several seasons ahead. Don’t believe me? Look at the background image for Lynx from Chapter 1 Season 7. On her wall is a picture of Meowscles who was just introduced this season, which is  5 seasons past when she was introduced. Things like this are found all the time, little easter eggs that you miss when they come out but then 4 or 5 seasons later you’re like “OMG I remember something about that in…” So let’s take a look at this new map season by season and see what has happened.

Chapter 2 Season 1

-Introduced a New Map

-Introduced a Swimming Mechanic

-Introduced Boats

-Introduced Slurpy Swamp Slurp Water Mechanic

-Introduced Rivers with Tides

-Introduced Bots in Lower Level Games

-Introduced Slurp Juice Filled Trucks and Barrels That Give Health/Shields When Broken

-Skill Based Matchmaking

-Introduction to the Ghost/Shadow Story through E.G.O vs A.L.T.E.R.

-Introduced Hay/Dumpster/Port-A-Potty Hiding

-Star Wars Event

-Lightsabers

-Introduced New Battle Pass Type and Rewards for Over Level 100

Chapter 2 Season 2

-5 New POI’s

-Introduced Helicopters

-Introduced Henchmen

-Introduced Escape Hatches Through Hiding Places

-Introduced Phone Booth Changing Rooms

-Introduced Crash Pads

-Introduced Proximity Mines

-Furthered Ghost vs Shadow Story

-Introduced Spy Games

-Introduced Spy Tech

-Introduced Surfing On Gliders

-Introduced Special Back Blings

-Introduced Midas Touch

-Introduced Boss NPC’s

-Introduced Vaults/ Key Cards

-Introduced Shakedowns

-Introduced ID Scanner Doors and Chests

-Introduced New Mythic Weapons

-Introduced Decoy Grenades

-Introduced Kingsman Umbrella

-Introduced New SMG

-Travis Scott Event

So look at these lists. We still have a lot going on. Maybe it’s not as much going on as in season 7 or 8 of Chapter 1, but there’s a very good reason for this. Season 1 gave us a whole new map, the beginning of a new story that will eventually somehow tie into the old story and a bunch of new mechanics and POI’s for us to explore and get used to. Event wise, it was slow but that’s to give everyone a chance to get used to everything. Season 2 they start adding more and more mechanics and weapons. New hidden missions, new vehicles, new ramped up events, huge season-long Marvel crossover. In season three if hints are to be trusted we’re going to have more huge map changes and an even more in-depth swimming mechanic (pun fully intended there).

So we’re getting a very logical progression going on and speaking as a writer and someone who at one point went to college to create TV shows and Movies all of this makes perfect sense. When you’re making stories you don’t dive into the middle of everything in the first chapter and if you do you end up doing a bunch of flashbacks. In a game like Fortnite, where you have players who have to learn how to do new things, you don’t just want to dump them into the middle of 6 seasons of new mechanics and weapons or you get the same problem that Season X had. On the other hand, if you start slow and gradually build them up like Fortnite is doing then each season people get the taste of the mechanics and get used to them so they aren’t overwhelmed when the next season starts up and adds even more. They have a very linear progression that is carefully thought out and rides a very delicate balance. Books and Movies have an easier time with this as they can do flashbacks but in games that can’t really work. It would work fine for the Story but not for the Gameplay.

So the big thing to see and learn here is simple. Be patient. Let things play out. If season 3 through 8 were truly the best in Chapter 1 then realize we are just about to start hitting the beginning of the best seasons to come for Chapter 2. Sit back, have faith, and stop whining. If you got everything at once you’d be unhappy again, so just be patient. I have faith that you can wait longer than my 7-year-old son can.