“November 10th, we finally get to the Jolan District. Jolan District was the district that was kind of the al-Qaeda headquarters. The volume of fire started picking up on us. It was like, “Okay boys, here we go.”
- SSG Paul Starner, 3/5
Located a quarter-mile south of the AO from our first set of missions, Jolan Amusement Park is an open-air playground that flips our traditional combat geometry formula. Instead of engaging in close-quarters, house-to-house urban combat, players will discover a play-space with more penetration points, longer sight lines, and fewer opportunities for cover. Dense houses have been replaced with hollow concession stands; Signature Buildings replaced with a Ferris wheel and octopus ride. Despite the landscape physically offering more breathing room to players, claustrophobia has never been stronger due to a psychological fear of a surrounding enemy force drawing closer and closer. How do you overcome a fatal funnel that’s everywhere at once?
The mission itself tasks players to locate and destroy mortar emplacements scattered throughout the park. This comes with two unique twists. Firstly, mortars are no longer situated above surrounding rooftops but concealed in shallow pits, making them more difficult to locate. Second, insurgents will use an extensive tunnel network that connects the park to neighboring buildings to ambush players one second and escape the very next. While players cannot traverse these tunnels themselves, they can collapse them with explosives to permanently take them out of commission.
“I think the deadliest thing they did in houses that I encountered was the tunnels from one house to another. Because we would attack a house, think we had them pinned down, and they would be gone. Then they would pop up somewhere else for us to fight.” – SGT Adam Banotai, 1/8
Destroy all mortar emplacements and eliminate all surrounding threats to secure the rally point for mission completion.
For the first time in Six Days, we’re introducing an M1 Abrams tank into the mission formula. While “Crazy Horse” cannot be manned, players are responsible for escorting the vehicle deeper into the city. The only path forward is a narrow one, and CH will be exposed not only at its flank but also at its sides—all serving as blind spots. The independently operated cannon may provide accurate coverage at 12-o’clock and neighboring areas, but this simply won’t be enough against the many, many threats that present themselves up close in Objective Virginia. What’s your plan of action when your strongest asset can also become your most vulnerable?
Firstly, oncoming VBIEDs have their sights set on breaching the fireteam line to destroy the tank. Next, insurgents are occupying neighboring houses and lying in wait for their best opportunity to strike from any direction. Finally, our newest Spotter insurgents are prepared to detonate roadside IEDs if left unattended. Players must develop an aggressive offense in order to advance forward while simultaneously maintaining a strategic defense to keep CH in play. If the tank is destroyed or all players in the fireteam are KIA, the mission is a failure.
Also, insurgents can become “Spotters” when they have line-of-sight to players who are within a certain range of a roadside IED. After pulling out binoculars to identify the target, these insurgents will then pull out their detonation triggers. Players cannot disarm roadside IEDs themselves, but they can mark them and eliminate the threat posed by Spotter insurgents.
Even our most seasoned Second Lieutenants have never assaulted a stronghold like West Manor before. This al-Qaeda headquarters is positioned nearby, harboring an insurgent force that must be eliminated. While some similarities can be drawn to our Jolan Public Square (Compound) mission, the primary differences are clear—this fortress is not only much larger and less accessible, but it also requires two flags to be secured instead of one. With one flag on the rooftop and another buried deep in the basement, do you split the fireteam to simultaneously retrieve each flag or tackle each one as a unit? If the mission timer expires or all players are KIA, the mission is a failure.
West Manor features one of the many new architecture layouts introduced with version 0.3.0, introducing new interiors and exteriors that are certain to keep players guessing. What’s more, this headquarters isn’t so easily breached, with barricaded doors preventing players from simply kicking in the front door. Here, players will be forced to apply the OODA loop—short for observe, orient, decide, act—to work through the ever-changing web of conflict presented by urban combat.
West Manor is also our first mission to explicitly present one of the most shocking aspects of the battle. Basements are filled with instruments of torture—cages, hooks hanging from ceilings, power saws, drills, hammers, and screwdrivers—and blood splattered across the walls. Terrorists even turned Fallujah’s amusement parks into torture chambers.
Using the same tunnel network employed in Jolan Amusement Park, insurgents will continue to navigate between these basement tunnels to escape, ambush, and flank players. How will you prepare for an enemy attacking from the dark?
“I remember we walked in and there was a basement. We opened the door, it's damp, there's jerry-rigged cages, hooks from the ceilings, and Al-Qaeda Flags in the corner. It’s like ah, this looks like one of the setups we seen in the beheading videos. It gets quiet, we look around.” – 2LT Elliot Ackerman, 1/8
After eliminating the insurgent threat inside West Manor, players must claw their way to the extraction point. Fortunately, players will also have the support from “Crazy Horse” here, thanks to the efforts of Third Squad during Objective Virginia.
Our three new missions still operate within the same ruleset as our previous missions, meaning each of them has a chance to roll one of the many Emergent Objectives available in Six Days. You may be tasked with assaulting Jolan Park, but will you steer from the main path to destroy an insurgent armory? “Crazy Horse” needs to advance forward, but an enemy sniper may complicate the forward push even further. With Procedural Architecture, players will never know what to expect—just like actual combat.
Looking to the future, we want to let everyone know we haven’t forgotten about our dedicated community of solo players. We’re very excited to begin discussing the function and implementation of friendly Marine AI teammates later next quarter. With our innovative “Go Command,” commanding your AI fireteam will be as easy as firing your weapon.
Thank you to everyone for taking the time to check out the latest in Six Days in Fallujah! We’re anxious to see the community response to three new combat simulations that fundamentally change the way our game is played. Remember to leave us your comments so that we can continue developing the most authentic military shooter to date.
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