Fortnite Unreal Engine 4 PC Exclusive

For the past month, developer Epic Games has been slowly peeling back the layers on their upcoming survival shooter Fortnite. These most recent details couldn't have come at a better time either, as many were questioning whether Fortnite had either been cancelled or had taken a serious back seat to Unreal Engine 4 development.

Nevertheless, Epic Games' promotional plan is seemingly right where they want it to be, and each new week brings more and more Fortnite details. And today Epic has unveiled more about the world of Fortnite, specifically the game's campaign and free form creation elements.

Although Fortnite does draw heavily from the likes of Minecraft, its terrain creation is on a much smaller scale. Every time a player loads up a new campaign, they will be treated to a procedurally generated, hex grid-based Town Map. The Town Map represents the entirety of the campaign's explorable environment, and the individual grids represent specific zones.

Each zone will be different, offering a uniquely themed environment for players to explore and a different objectives for them to complete. In most cases completing the objective will mean scavenging for resources, building suitable protection, and then taking out all of the oncoming baddies. Getting through a zone might seem easy at first, but the further players progress the harder it will be to survive, until the final zone unlocks and players gear up for the climactic showdown.

Players' work won't be done once they complete an entire Town Map either; in fact, it will have only just begun. Completing a Town Map feeds back into the game's Home Base, which is comprised of a series of buildings (armory, lumber mill, hospital, etc.) unlocked over the course of a campaign. In a way, the Home Base is Fortnite's persistent Meta game, providing buffs for future campaign runs based on the player's unlocked buildings. So, the more fleshed out your Home Base is, the stronger you will be when exploring the next Town Map.

And finally, for those players who prefer a more freeform experience, Epic Games has them covered with The Fort. While exploring the Town Map's zones is meant to be a structured, class-based campaign experience, The Fort should speak to players' more creative sensibilities. Here, Fortnite players can build till their heart's content. It's important to note, though, that building in Fortnite isn't as freeform as, say, Minecraft or Terraria; it definitely has its limits.

Clearly, there's a lot more going on in Fortnite than the basic "survive the night" concept suggested by the game's initial teaser trailer. Instead, Epic Games has seemingly crafted an experience that, while a bit more structured than some of the building-focused games out there, still offers a tremendous amount of depth. Fortnite spent a considerable amount of time out of the limelight, but it appears that Epic used that hiatus to build a surprisingly intriguing experience.

What most intrigues you about Fortnite? Do you think Epic Games is doing enough to separate their game from the pack?

Fornite will be out this year for PC.

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Source: Game Informer