Future of Escape from Tarkov is a New Faction and Huge Urban Map
A lot of novelties is coming to Escape from Tarkov. The biggest ones are a huge urban map called Streets of Tarkov and a new faction of opponents - cultists.
On the occasion of April streams, the creators of Escape from Tarkov from Battlestate Games revealed a lot of details about upcoming and planned novelties planned for the game. Some of them will not appear quickly, considering that the devs have to share their time between development, constant bug fixing and solving of various technical issues, but some of them should be seen later this year. So what future awaits Escape from Tarkov?
Cultists - a new faction of AI-contolled opponents
Cultists in EfT were announced back in 2018, but now we know that the new faction is ready and is just waiting for their appearance in the game to be greenlighted. They will be silent, very fast assassins who work mainly at night, and are difficult to kill because of a drug they regularly use. They are supposed to attack with a poisoned blade, so they will have to have an antidote in their equipment. The creators want the players to be terrified by the emergence of the cultists, so they are not going to announce the date of their introduction. It will be a "surprise".
Streets of Tarkov - largest urban map
Currently, the most effort is being put into completing the new location - Streets of Tarkov. This will be a huge city map that other FPS games have not offered so far. It will be distinguished by the number of available floors and rooms in each skyscraper, where players will simply get lost. The scale is also reflected in the maximum number of people takeing part in the raid, which is to be as much as four times higher than on previous ones - 40 instead of 8-10. With the introduction of Streets of Tarkov, The Lab location, which is planned as one of the most difficult levels, will become its part. New map will appear in patch 0.13 (current version is 0.12.5).
Controversial karma system
The creators also promise to introduce the karma system announced from the beginning, to eliminate players going trigger happy on anything that moves. Players, just like on a real battlefield, are first to make sure who's in their sights. Shooting members of their own faction will be punished with "bad luck during the game". It will manifest with significantly reduced chance of finding valuable loot and a high probability of weapon jamming in combat. The level of loyalty of NPC vendors will also decrease. These plans already arouse a lot of controversy. It's mainly about eliminating possible trolls, who wouldn't care about their "bad luck" and the fact that there are groups of friends who have chosen characters from opposing factions.
Other novelties and announcements
There are also many other additions and ideas waiting for their turn. On streams there was talk of things like:
- A large amount of new weapons (PPSh "Burp-gun", SCAR, UMP 45 and many others);
- New location on the Customs map (already in patch 0.12.6);
- New boss on the Shoreline map;
- Daily challenges;
- Mines and grenade launchers;
- Option to send back rucksack with loot for an appropriate fee;
- Steam Audio to facilitate the positioning of noise sources on the map (patch 0.12.6);
- Complete rebuilding of the skill system (from patch 0.12.7);
- Switching to a new version of Unity 2019 engine;
- Compass (patch 0.12.7)
- Introduction of replaceable bullet-proof plates and customization of tactical vests;
- New movement possibilities: jumping over obstacles, climbing ladders;
- Supplies and loot drops on parachutes: at fixed locations, random and on demand for cash.
