variety map pack

The ‘Most Played Games on Xbox Live’ list has been posted yet again on Major Nelson’s blog, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has been holding onto the #1 spot for several months now. We revealed recently in a Eurogamer article that there are between 1.2 and 1.3 million gamers playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on Xbox Live EVERYDAY! With the numbers on PSN being “monstrously huge” in the words of our Producer, Mark Rubin.

So when I post the Top Games of Xbox Live update every few weeks, think of it as a huge thanks to all of you guys, those 1.3 million of you who are logging into multiplayer every day to shoot each other in the face; because without you it wouldn’t be possible.

With the Variety map pack hitting this past week and a record breaking amount of people downloading them, I hope we can keep that number one spot for a while and make anyone who takes it from us really have to fight for it.

To continue to show our appreciation for you guys logging in every night, and to celebrate the success of the map pack (also the fact that we’ve gone insane), we’ll be extending DOUBLE XP AGAIN! You can continue to get double XP throughout today (Tuesday) until Wednesday morning….. then that’s it….. seriously…. no more after Wednesday morning…. I mean it this time.

Seriously though, thank you thank you thank you for all the support you guys have shown the game. We by far have the greatest game community I’ve ever been a part of (as a gamer).

The Variety Map Pack DLC and patch required to add the maps to the game have went to Certification at Sony last night. We’re shooting for a worldwide simultaneous release, so all users can expect to have it at the same general time frame when it finishes certification. We’re working to see if we can secure a firm release date to pass along to you guys now, and I’ll post that as soon as I have it.

In addition the map pack should be hitting the PSN store around the same time the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Game of the Year Edition for PS3 hits store shelves. I will have exact details on the GOTY edition, release dates, and more hopefully this week as they’re being finalized.

Heads Up: In light of the map pack taking down Marketplace for a good chunk of time during Friday’s launch of the DLC and hence putting a hold on a lot of gaming time for Friday we’ve decided to extend Double XP until Tuesday morning, allowing you another whole 24 hours to rank up.

Come Tuesday morning Double XP will be gone for good and the new maps will be added to ALL playlists, so get your last bit of XP whoring in and try to reach that level 55 of the prestige you promised you wouldn’t do again before you realized it was double XP!

Just a heads up that it looks like Marketplace is back on it’s feet and running as normal. You should have no problem buying or redeeming the new Variety Map Pack. If you tried yesterday when it was down and received an Invalid Code error, be sure to retry today with the same code. If you received the Error Message that your code was already used while it was down yesterday, just attempt to re-download it via the “Download Maps” option in-game or on the marketplace.

Meanwhile, we’ve been preparing for the launch of the new maps on the PS3 as well via PSN. So we should have details on that in the near future (hopefully next week). I’m in the process of setting up some Play with the Devs games as well as looking into other similar things we can just like the launch of the map packs on Xbox 360. Please don’t feel ignored if every platform isn’t mentioned in each post, a lot goes into every release (especially something as big as a map pack release), so typically when I post I’m focused at the subject at hand specifically.

Luckily though it’s getting to that time for the PS3 to be the focus for a while with the launch of the Game of the Year Edition on PS3, the Variety Map Pack hitting PSN, and setting up some launch weekend events for you guys when the maps hit.

As I said we are getting close to having official details on exact release dates and info on the GOTY Edition for PS3 hitting stores worldwide, as well as when you can expect the Map Pack to be up on PSN for download. That’s my main focus for next week.

On the PC side of things the Patch is in queue to finish internal QA for release. The Community Mapping Content has come to an end and we’ll be putting out an open call for all the maps you guys have created to be submitted as well as releasing details on the prizing and how the winning maps may be showing up. We have some awesome prizing I’m anxious to finalize and announce to you guys. I’ve been keeping tabs on the Beta / Released maps in the Mapping forums on Infinityward.com and there are some great ones.

In addition to that details are being finalized as to getting the map pack to the PC users as well. I can’t speak specifics just yet as everything is being cemented now, but it sounds like good news.

Let me know if you guys have any questions or concerns in the meantime, but it sounds like next week is going to be the most informative when it comes to what’s shaping up on the PS3 and PC side of things.

Error messages getting you down? Don’t worry, we’re aware and we’ve made Microsoft aware as well. It seems that the rush of people attempting to download the new Variety Map Pack for Call of Duty 4 that went live today at 6:30 AM has caused some users currently attempting to download the maps to receive the message:

“Can’t retrieve information from XBOX LIVE, please try again later. Status Code: 8015000a”

As I said, no need to worry, yo shit ain’t broke. There’s just a large number of people hitting Xbox Live to download the new maps. You’ll probably be able to wait it out as more people get the maps today, but just in case we’ve made sure to let our friends at Microsoft know and as always they’re already addressing.

*UPDATE*

For those of you attempting to redeem tokens while Xbox Live Marketplace is down, it will say that your code is ‘INVALID’ even though it may not be. Don’t worry though, this doesn’t mean your screwed, it just means Xbox Live Marketplace is down. If it lets you start the download, and then says your code is already used, then you will still be able to re-download the Map Packs for free when Xbox Live Marketplace is back up.

If I get word that Marketplace is back up and running I’ll be sure to pass it on so you guys can re-download or redeem your token as needed

*Update 2*

I’ve been attempting to download the maps via Token on another Xbox just so I can keep tabs on how it’s going. I kept getting Invalid Code w/ the option to Try Again. Just kept hitting Try Again until it eventually went through. Now downloading at 15% finished. So keep trying if you get invalid code, it’ll go through eventually.

Since details on the maps have been pretty scattered throughout the internet, I thought I’d give you guys a comprehensive breakdown of each map in the upcoming Variety Map Pack for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare along with some suggestions on gametypes, classes, and a few more screenshots to look over; all in one location. For those of you who don’t know, these maps will be hitting in April and will be 800 MS Points (same pricing for PSN). Along with the map pack will be a few minor changes to the game, including a tweak to Clan Tags to re-allow special characters.

Individual DLC Map Descriptions:

Broadcast
Its size and alternating routes make “Broadcast” great for large team games. A large, multi-story television station with plenty of window vantage points creates the perfect setting for floor-to-floor combat. The station is surrounded by extensive outdoor areas consisting of a long parking lot, surrounding buildings with sniping hiding spots and side-rooftop access to the top and bottom floors of the television station.

Creek
A large wide open village in the woods, “Creek” consists of heavy foliage, great for sniper cover: a deep ravine offers an excellent vantage point for ambushes; an underground cave offers an alternate evasion route; and various multi-floor houses populate a patchwork of connected farmland. This extensive open map is great for snipers with plenty of natural coverage consisting of rocks and trees. There are various routes for advancement from both high and low vantage points over and underneath the hillsides. Another great map for large team games.

Chinatown
A modern revision of the classic Call of Duty “Carentan” map, “Chinatown” takes players to the foggy downtown district of a Chinatown. A night time setting, the cityscape is well lit by the full moon and the glow of brightly colored lanterns and neon lights from local businesses. This district offers a variety of open-street and interior settings, perfect for fire fights throughout the connected roads, courtyards, antique shops and markets within it. Great for all game types and players.

Killhouse
“Killhouse” is an enclosed warehouse made of plywood structures, mock-ups and speed-run courses used for training, creating the right mix of obstacles for small team games or free-for-alls with a variety of soft and hard cover points spread throughout the entire ground level

Gamespot.com’s Brad Shoemaker stopped by the studio last week to check out the new DLC we’ve been working on and posted up his impressions today along with some of the first screenshots to ever go public from the new maps. There will officially be four new maps in the map pack, and Brad goes over two of them in depth, including the new map Broadcast and Creek.

The second map we played is entirely new, and it’s named Creek. But there’s a lot more to it than a simple babbling brook. This is a very large-scale outdoor map with a small cluster of houses on one side of it. In the middle, there’s a huge ravine circling the perimeter with multiple levels of pathways up its side. Down below, the trail leads along the eponymous creek bed to a waterfall. Elsewhere along the base of the ravine, there’s a lengthy and winding cave that cuts underneath the hill then out to the other side. As big as it is, there are a lot of places to go on this map; from prone sniping atop the cliff face to hiding out behind a rock in the tunnel, you never know where an opponent will be attacking you.

For the full article with full details on both maps, as well as some tidbits on the remaining two maps in the map pack (Killhouse and Chinatown), and two of the first screenshots from the new maps, be sure to read the article over at Gamespot.com right now:

Call of Duty 4 DLC Map Pack Hands On

Also, Spike TV will be airing a special episode of GametrailersTV this Friday at 1 AM that will have the world exclusive unveiling of the third map in the upcoming Variety Map Pack for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. So be sure to check out that episode which will include exclusive gameplay footage from the map as well as an interview we did with them at GDC this year.