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 The last six months has seen the once moribund living-dead-killin' business explode and become a world-wide phenomenon. Valve's Left 4 Dead and Activision's CoD:WW's Nazi Zombie's have been the major reason for the renaissance in on-screen Zombie mayhem.
In CoD:WW, the Zombie gametype has been especially significant, in some cases even causing many online gamers to forsake pub servers for the cozier confines of a four player co-op Zombie-frag with their friends.
For this reason, we were intrigued to hear of a new community-made Zombie map which has taken the CoD:WW Zombie community by storm. With Treyarch delaying getting the DLC Zombie Asylum map to PC gamers, Zombistas (as I like to call Zombie lovers) had been feeling a bit down...until now.
Dead Sand, the new CoD:WW Zombie map by Jacmac is going hyperbolic in downloads. And to tell us all about it is our Living-Dead Correspondent and resident (evil) zombie map expert, he's also a site contributor for Fritzmods' and custom content director at TotalCod, it's JoeCool4433.
This is a great article on a wicked map! Thanks JC.
- Jock
Dead Sand, a Review By JoeCool4433
A new map has exploded onto the scene which just oozes professional quality.
I am of course referring to Dead Sand, a map created by Jacmac from CustomCod.com.
For anyone who has played even one custom zombie map, Dead Sand exceeds all expectations...and I know a thing or two about zombie maps.
To be able to make a map of this calibre, Dead Sand shows the entire COD community that modders and mappers are extraordinarily gifted and talented. Only a handful of the 90-something Zombie maps I have played (and critiqued over the years) have ever truly broken new ground. This map is one of them. Everything from new weapons (deployable and fixed), new AI and new skins are trotted out and have been jammed into an amazing map that is one of the best maps (Zombie or not) that I have played thus far in CoD:WW.
Like a custom made car or motorcycle, this map has something new every time you look at it. You will want to play over and over again just to see every single thing that can be done. But before you go play, let me show you some of the features I have found to be the best parts of the map.
** NOTE: Spoiler alert --- you have been warned **
Level Design
Nazi Zombie D-Day: what more could you ask for?
The Zombies attack from Higgins Landing Craft that are all covered in fog. The entire map is a perfect Zombie size with no real running around in circles to avoid zombies, but not so small as to where you find yourself running into your own teammates.
A sense of fear and foreboding descends on you, personified by the glow of the eyes that the zombie have.
Two of your team spawns on the beach and the other two spawn overlooking the beach. Those above will have more then enough tools to do the job.
The boat in the Zombie center will be the main focal point in later levels as hundreds of dead rush will rush out here.
The trench down on the beach leads into a bunker that has a mounted MG42 waiting for any Zombies willing to storm the bunker entrance. This bunker leads all the way back into the hillside where a random box can be found along with Bouncing Betties. After opening two more doors, the beach team can rejoin the team up above. The over watch area has two buyable bunkers, each having their own advantages and disadvantages. The main bunker above has another random box, a buyable new weapon, and a special surprise (more on these things later). The other bunker that is further down the hallway from the over watch area has two mounted MG's and yet another surprise!
Mounted MG's!!!
The very first mounted MG ever seen in a CoD:WW map was in Transmitter by Adave about a month ago and was an amazing feat.
Jacmac expanded the idea by adding not only one, but a total of five mounted MG's (two of which the AI can use). This is very helpful for gaining points early on in the game and also controlling the massive flow of zombies later in the game. The mounted MG's make for easy points early on and can really keep down the hordes until a new weapon can be bought from the random box.
AI.
The very first CoD:WW AI that held a weapon and fired back at you was featured in Military Base by O.B.D. which featured a Zombie using a Kar98 which became the first weapon to be used on that map.
The next installment of enemy AI with weapons was on JT Mansion by jt24418 which included respawning enemies with Kar98's. Afterwar maps by fooy, then capitalized on the AI possibilities of the game by adding in not only friendly snipers, but also friendly sub-machine gunners.
A month ago this revolutionized the "potential" of Zombie maps. Today, the potential is a reality as Jacmac has included AI on both sides of the human/Zombie equation.
Friendly AI can summoned by felling Zombies. You can get both left and right bunker reinforcements as well as a "Commissar Beach Party" where roughly 6-7 Russian officers with PPSh-41's spawn on the beach in the same trench you spawn in.
This is a wonderful bonus because after they die you just grab their weapons for free!
Enemy AI respawns after a certain number of levels which keeps even experienced players on their toes. When you are on Level 3, machine gunners on the Higgins Boats attack and at Level 6, panzerschreks attack you from the main boat along with more machine gunners and even snipers!
New Weapons
One of the first maps to offer a new weapons in CoD:WW was Vacant by [HOG]Rampage which added multiplayer weapon attachments to guns which only added to the chaos.
Since then, weapons have been tweaked to the extreme with even an entire new set with the Modern Weapons Mod by Way2Evil.
In DeadSand, Jacmac added in a few weapons that are very cool and extremely innovative. A least one of the weapons that had eluded many modders was the Bouncing Betty.
Jacmac made it work without removing your weapon (a problem plaguing many modders up to now).
60mm HE mortars from the over watch area can be purchased for 300 points and they too do not take away your weapon -- as is the case in many other maps.
Some new basic weapons are the PPSh-41, the aforementioned Bouncing Betties, the mortars, a DP-28, an FG42 with the telescopic sight.
Other new weapons are a modified PTRS-41 called the Big F****'n Gun 1944 and a modified sawed-off double barrel called Projekt 335. These two new weapons add tons of new ways to destroy zombies.
Big F****'n Gun 1944
Surprises
This map is full of surprises, a few of which I will describe.
- The random box has been altered to increase in point values every time it is used which prevents over-use.
- A major surprise included in the map is the Nebelwerfer 42 Battery Strike, a.k.a. The Round Ender. This badass weapon destroys every zombie on the map without harming friendly players.
- Another surprise is the addition of a gambler. This surprise randomly decides whether the spinning player loses points, gains a special weapon, or gains a droppable bonus such as a Max Ammo or Insta-Kill.
Nebelwerfer
Gambler
Strats
This map, like all maps, requires specific strategies -- one of these I will share with you today. This is a four person strategy which requires a mic from all participants (mics just make things that much easier).
Starting the map, you will notice that you will either end up on the beach or on the over watch area with one of your buddies. For the beach team, start by grabbing the Gewehr 43 and some Molotovs and proceed to pepper every zombie running up the beach (yes that is correct, they will run at you even in Round 1). I personally let zombies into the very far barrier in order to hope for a bonus to drop. Repeat this process until the beach team has more then enough points to unlock the bunker and buy betties.
With the bunker opened, have one person on the mounted MG42 and another player placing betties in front of the door in the bunker where zombies can break through. A purchaseable STG-44 is a great weapon to grab to take out the crawlers from the betties and if you feel lucky (well...do ya?), take a trip further into the bunker for the random box. Whoever is on the mounted MG should be racking up tons of points while the other person is covering them.
Keep this up for roughly 10-12 rounds racking up huge amounts of points.
For the over watch team, grab a scoped Kar98 from the box towards the back and take out as many zombies as you can. When the enemy AI begins to fire upon your teammates, it is your job to take them out as quickly as possible.
Grab mortars and toss grenades to keep zombies from making their way up the hillside against you. Do not open any rooms until you have been rejoined by the other team. Grab the deployable MG42 on the bunker wall and set it up on the wooden wall to keep back the hordes. Be very careful of your surroundings as many die playing on the overlook due to not paying attention to where the zombies are at (*cough behind them cough*). Another important thing is if the beach team places betties in front of the bunker, do not toss a mortar or grenade near it as it will surely kill its placer if he/she is near.
Once the beach team has gained enough points to rejoin with the overlook team, its time to open the main bunker on the overlook area. Spin the box to grab some awesome weapons and be sure someone has the 20,000 points for the Big F****' Gun 1944 and have him blast everything in his/her wake.
Once the bunker is open, watch out for zombies climbing through the bunker near the “arty log” keep the fire on and if in doubt, open the remaining bunker that has the two mounted MG's and the Gambler. Hope and pray for max ammos when the going gets tough because as the zombie pour into the hallway it'll be very difficult to grab the essential bonuses.
I had a chance to ask Jacmac a few questions regarding his map, Nazi Zombie Maps in general, and what the future holds for Zombie Maps. Here is what he had to say:
JoeCool: What was your initial idea for doing this map?
Jacmac: “Somebody posted on the CustomCoD.Com forum that they would like to see an Omaha Beach zombie map. I thought it was a great idea. I had been working on a castle/fortress themed zombie mode project called Eagles Nest and halted working on it to do Dead Sand.”
JC: Where did you draw some inspiration from or from whom would you say is a large contributor to the way you constructed your map?
Jacmac: “Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day and stories about the 2nd and 5th Rangers assaulting Pointe du Hoc on Utah beach. The log in the bunker is a trick that was played on the Allies at Pointe du Hoc:
'However, Rudder and most of his men reached the top of the cliff and engaged in a battle with a force of Germans in bunkers. Tossing grenades and blasting their way into the bunkers, Rudder's Rangers killed many Germans but found wooden posts instead of heavy artillery inside. The guns had been moved away to a more secure location on June 4.'”
JC:What do you think makes your map different from all of the other maps?
Jacmac: “I guess what sets it apart is the feel of the environment, sounds, effects, custom weapons, and definitely the Friendly and Enemy AI support. I didn’t spend a huge amount of time on the geometry and textures because I realized that for all the detail Treyarch put in the some of their maps, I didn’t really notice it while playing. There's simply too little time to notice when you're moving and shooting all the time. The splitting up of the players and the way the upper player and lower players can cover each other in the early levels is fun. The guys in the trenches can really appreciate the snipers above when the Panzerschreks are flying. I did try to add some random unpredictability and surprises. I also tried to get rid of the things that frustrate players when they get to higher levels in a session, like crappy weapons coming out of the chest.”
JC: Would you consider your map to be the best ever given such high praise from everyone? If not, which map or modder would you consider to be better or have done better work then you?
Jacmac: “I consider Dead Sand to be imperfect fun. There are definite flaws in it, and I plan on fixing them. I realize that all the praise is fleeting and that people will tire of it and move on to the next big thing, but I’m glad people enjoy playing the mod. To be honest, I’m too new at this to be the best. I haven’t seen enough to say who is better/worse than me or who is the best map maker/modder out there.”
JC: Why Nazi Zombies? What made you pick this game type rather then mapping for MP?
Jacmac: “MP is fun, I play it in streaks. It’s possible that I might work on some sort of MP project sometime. Nazi Zombies is just a lot of fun to me, I still jump a little when I turn around to see one right next to me.”
JC: What do you personally like about the Nazi Zombie mode? Do you have a favorite map besides your own?
Jacmac: “I had more fun playing the Zombie Prototype level than I did playing the most of the stock missions. Nazi Zombies appeals to me like the second part of CoD4 Modern Warfare’s “All Ghillied Up” mission did. It’s you and another guy fending of a horde of attackers. It’s really a lot like Cowboys and Indians, where you’ve circled the wagons and the Indians are circling and attacking from all sides.”
JC: What kind of potential does the DLC unlock for new zombie maps?
Jacmac: “I intend to implement the perks into the next version of Dead Sand for sure assuming they’re going to be available. Probably any expansion of the zombie animations, speed, and logic will be welcome too. The next version of Dead Sand will have a different name to avoid ‘version confusion’. I’m going to alter things a bit. I know people like to play with unlimited ammo, but to me it makes the game a bit of a farce. I’ve joined a couple of games where the host turned this on and once you get the BFG, the beach is all but locked down.”
JC: What advice would you give a new player to your map? What kind of tips and tricks would you give he/she before they play?
Jacmac: “Duck or go prone between rounds unless you’re in a closed off bunker. Open the doors/blockers to the turret machine guns first and use them to rack up points. Place Bouncing Betties to your flank or rear while using the turrets. In a four player game, the beach team can cover each other at the MG42 turret and the cliff team can cover each other at the MG42 turret. It takes a little discipline to stare down a hall or ferry and place Bouncing Betties while the other guy is racking up huge points blasting the beach, but you can trade off. I know that’s easier said than done in a pickup game though!
There are a few things I would like to also mention. There are some things that will crash the mod. Attempting to deploy any bipod weapon other than the MG42 will crash the game. This is my fault and will be fixed in the future. Some people have done a little hacking to get Modern Weapons working or whatever, which is cool, but a host with something like this setup will cause clients to crash if they don’t have the same hack setup. If the game crashes immediately after the host launches, it’s probably due to some type of alteration he is running.”
I would like to thank Jacmac for taking the time out of his day to do this interview. Its a pleasure to talk to a very nice and easy-going guy who has the kind of talent to design such a amazing map. I can't wait for the next map from this phenomenal mapmaker!
Be sure to download from the links found in the articles or at the follwing sites by registering with them:
Fritzmods
Total Cod
Custom CoD
Call of Duty Addicts
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