Releasing the alternative locations to Freelancer, such as Landslide would be absolutely incredible!! 
It would be brilliant if this was to happen!
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Not sure who else shares this sentiment, but I’ve been playing with @Kevin_Rudd 's Time of Day Mod and it makes maps feel new and fresh without really changing much. Most of the side missions do this (The Author, Landslide, ect…) along with some other map changes and it makes such a huge difference. I feel like if we got some more of these on the newer maps, even if it’s just a time of day change with some stuff moved around + some reused assets, it would be much easier than creating a new map from scratch.
I’d love a new map just as much as anyone else, but something like this would likely take less time and be a lighter load on development staff. The patient zero campaign is my favorite in the entire series solely because it takes these familiar maps and gives them a new coat of paint and a different approach. Just some food for thought.
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You’re essentially suggesting Special Assignments, new missions in a level that change the TOD with some moved about props. I’m not sure if this forum forgot, or if people are willingly turning a blind eye towards them…but they’re not very good. They felt like permanent ET’s and not in a good way either, as they felt underdeveloped with a target that didn’t patrol a good enough portion of the map, and certainly not worth their inclusions in H2’s expansion pass. I’m not saying they couldn’t improve on this concept of course (The Snow Festival, ironically, is the best Special Assignment of the lot and that one was free despite being just as small and linear), but people have to realise the more work they put into a side mission like this, the more resources it takes to do it, and it’s certainly not something that could be made every roadmap (nor would I want them too tbh).
Landslide’s production value is something I’d like a lot more of, but as I said above, there was a lot of resources put into that, and that’s one of the more weighty bonus missions too (new assets for the fruits stands, new van textures, new NPC dialogue, new assets for the stage, new songs for the singer, new assets for Marco, new dialogue for 47 and Diana). It’s basically a main mission complexity-wise.
IO should strive to be as complex as they can get away with (they’re actually very good at doing that). If IO takes anything from this post; Don’t make new side missions with the production equivalent of the Special Assignments. The gameplay only goes so far to cover up the rest of it when all has changed is the TOD and some minor prop adjustments.
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I’d have to disagree with that. The Snow Festival really only adds two New NPCs, as well as many (no doubt) beautiful lights, but the Target is so easy, it’s almost ridiculous.
Now Embrace of the Serpant and a Silver Tongue no doubt suck as one barely changes anything and has a Target that literally walks from Kill Opportunity to Kill Opportunity and the other is just Guard Spam (in addition to not even making sense, I mean why Cartel Members help a foreign Poarcher?)
A Bitter Pill however is generally a good mission in my opnion and really fun to mess around with and Illusion of Grandeur at least has a gorgeous Skybox if nothing else.
I hope that atleast the latter two are one day added to Contracts Mode.
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I did say it was very linear, but I like it a lot more than the others as it uses the space better because Hokkaido is inherently smaller, making it come off as less egregious by comparison. HSF is still not very good, mind. The rest of the special assignments are set in big places and only use a very small section of their location by comparison, and are also just as linear or easy, so they are worse-off.
Having a pretty skybox does not save a level from being too linear or too easy to play, in a map designed to be a sandbox, which is the point you’re kind of missing here. You can’t just add a new TOD and some prop adjustments, because that comes off as not putting in much effort, and it means the graphics are now pulling double duty in “saving” the gameplay experience, or what little there was of it in those missions.
Which, given the unpopularity of Special Assignments in H2 among players, does not sound like a good trade-off, and players complained accordingly at the time, and still do to some extent.
IIRC the briefing and/or dialog state that the target paid the Delgado cartel a bunch of money for permission and support, and the cartel sent the guards to keep an eye on the target as much as to help him.
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The two last concurrent ETs of the previous roadmap are out.
So what is everyone expectation for this week?
Previous roadmap is done, and nothing is scheduled currently, so for this week:
- Nothing
- Non-Roadmap Elusive Target
- Roadmap
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My guess is two weeks of radio silence with nothing going on, then a shadow drop of the new roadmap/patch the first week in September with no buildup at all. Would love to be proven wrong IO!
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My guess the next roadmap might be somehow tied to H3VR:Reloaded release (some sort of promotion, IDK). Looks like it’s delayed, so maybe the roadmap will be delayed as well. I would not hope for it, but if the next patch updates VR for PC as well, that would be very cool
I’m hopeful that we won’t have any ETs that don’t appear on a roadmap again. It was one of the things raised in the communication thread - so if it does happen again, it will be disappointing for sure.
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Didn’t the Summer roadmap literally come out of nowhere when we didn’t expect it? To be honest, I’d rather get an announcement of some sort a few weeks before the Autumn roadmap goes live, so we have time to properly look through all the stuff coming and read all the patch notes and bug fixes throughly. It’s sometimes hard to read everything about the update when it all literally drops on the same day and just want to get on and play 
Either way, I hope we aren’t waiting too long for the Autumn roadmap news!! 
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I still think the Summer Roadmap ended up coming the way it did, and with the unannounced ETs before it in June, due to no fault on IOI part.
They certainly intended to release it in parallel to the original UFC 303 press marketing in June, maybe even inside it. And it all fell apart.
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I think they did a pretty damn good job with the release of the Disrupter ET, especially when you look at the player statistics 
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Well this aged well.
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Well this DROPed out of nowhere
https://x.com/iointeractive/status/1826245901431546166?s=46
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Honestly I’m really surprised they announced when to be expecting the roadmap ahead of time (September 12). What isn’t so surprising is The Drop returning with the standard Celebrity DLC.
Though once again there’s a question of why have 3 and a half weeks with nothing going on in the game? Or are they gonna shadow drop more stuff?
Also it seems we’re down to three patches a year compared to Year 2 and Year 3’s four so hopefully the next patch fixes more than the June one
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Embrace the desert of content.
On a more serious note, I’m in complete agreement; having almost 4 weeks of nothing to do is…really counter to how a live service game operates:
Just gonna throw this on here as it’s somewhat relevant.
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Hate to be that guy but it doesn’t say to expect Roadmap by Sep 12, it says to expect The Drop (Returns) Sep 12.
In fact the fact they’re telling us when this one item is would more likely suggest the roadmap isn’t until after Sep 12, otherwise they’d just put out the Roadmap and that would tell us when The Drop (Returns) is.
Ignore me, I can’t read
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Also, curious to notice that it said there’ll be a DLC that will allow permanent access to the mission, which I know is likely an ETA contract rather than the original contract, but I’ll be surprised if it really is the original contract.
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Wouldn’t be surprised if they were as frustrated by it as us.
I have hope that it’s because the game is in an in-between. A promise of something interesting, but still in the pipeline and not ready to be presented.
In the meantime, better to reset to a proper footing.
But yeah, having two ETs concurrent and then nothing was not the best planning.
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