THQ's Homefront 2/Comms Dish

Previous mission: Wetlands
Next mission: Atlantic City Part 1
==Overview==
Document Status: Yellow [Requires updating to match latest mission design] [Date: 21 Feb. 2012]
CD1.png
CD2.png
CD3.png
CD4.png
CD5.png
CD6.png
CD7.png
CD8.png
CD9.png
==Level Background Questions==
Document Status: Yellow [Needs updating to match mission design] [Date: 24 Oct. 2011]
===Level Style===
*Time of Day? Early morning.
*Atmosphere? crisp, cold, frosty, fog patches.
*Mood? Frantic.
===Environment Storytelling===
*KPA Occupation 
**Stage of the KPA occupation? Small mechanised KPA/drone patrols. Village and farm left to themselves but seemingly abandoned by both forces. Comms dish more heavily fortified with drones and turrets. Garrison stationed at comms dish make regular sweeps of area.
**Signature effect(s) of the KPA occupation? They are in obvious control of the comms dish (it is lit up and bustling with KPA). Helicopter patrols around perimeter of play area?
**The Effects of the Curfew on the Mission? Rural location so no curfew because no people (or so KPA believe).
*EMP
**Any Visible Effects of the EMP? Possibly have an emergency landed crashed plane? Seems cliched though. Rusted tractors and farm equipment, dead cattle left in stalls to starve or maybe half eaten livestock. Derailed train along one side of map - natural barrier? Car crash on side of road complete with rotting bodies? Small gas station with 'no fuel' signs? Feral dog pack?
*"Horrors of War"
**What depicts the "horrors of war"? Brooding, abandoned feel to village, dead resistance cell, families shot and left in village houses.
*“The Familiar becomes Alien” (Repurposed Environment)
**What has been repurposed under KPA rule? Village not important enough to KPA to set up shop there, roadblocks and barriers on main road up to comms dish.
**What are the elements of the level that drive home a foreign occupation of a familiar land? No one but the KPA visible in most of level, you only see evidence of the people who used to live there until the KPA ousted/killed them. Abandoned houses/cars. Dead pets in gardens, dead crops and livestock.
===Resistance Involvement===
*What group is used in this mission? Techies
*Are there any links to other groups? A techie recon group, located on the edge of KPA influence.
*What main Goal is the group trying to achieve (why are they involved in the mission)? (Disrupt KPA GPS.
*What is the motivation for the player helping this group? Scuppering the KPA's GPS will give the incoming EU fleet a huge advantage. Crucial to invasion preparation.
*What is the reason for the mission? Ditto
*How does the resistance group act towards the player during the mission? Friendly, loyal committed.
*Where is the resistance cell based? Previously established Techie base.
*Where do you meet the resistance cell? (if this is different to the HQ)
*How does this mission help the setup of the Invasion? (it builds a relationship between Technology group and the survivalists, Disables the defences, etc)
*How is the story advanced by this mission? This is the first mission that has the player affecting events on a larger scale pertaining to the EU invasion.
*What role does the McGuffin play in this mission? The McGuffin is the interface through which you access the satellite dish.
===Visual Highpoints===
*What are the WOW moments? The haywire drones creating a vista of chaos as you exit the dish controls.
*What is the "Back of the Box" visual? The dish sitting on the skyline, looming over the otherwise familiar farmland.
===Gameplay===
*Level Theme
**What is the central gameplay theme of the level? Open-ended sandbox, similar to Harbour in C1
*Objectives
**What are the primary objectives of the level? Locate a heavy weapons cache. Disable the KPA gps satellites.
**Do the primary objectives need to be done in a fixed order? No.
**What are the secondary (optional) objectives? Team mate rescue. Retrieve access codes for gate. Disable KPA mortar teams.
*Guerrilla Warfare 
**What elements of this mission convey the Guerrilla warfare feel? Optional objectives, open area in which to operate, sabotaging KPA operations.
**What guerrilla warfare abilities are used during the mission? Hacking device, sabotage. (Please see //assets/Production/Homefront2/Design/Campaign/Guerrilla Warfare/HF2 Guerrilla Warfare Core Abilities.ppt)
*General Gameplay
**What are the different gameplay sections of the level? Section 1: open ended assault. Section 2: satellite dish hacking and siege. Section 3: escape amidst chaos. (section 1 = sniper section, section 2 = armed vehicle attack on the KPA, section 3 = chase, section 4 = on-rails section, etc)
**Is the player accompanied by AI during any of these sections? Yes.
**Roughly how would you describe the pacing of each section? Section 1: high-tempo tension. Section 2: Desperate last stand. Section 3: Chaotic, frantic.
**What choices does the player have available during each section? Section 1: Complete objectives and routes to objectives in any order. Section 2: multiple options in how to defend yourself, using assets from secondary objectives. Section 3: Unique situation where player can be as expressive as they like.
**How long do you envision each section taking to complete? Section 1: 20 mins. Section 2: 10 mins. Section 3: 10 mins.
*Level Mechanics
**What are the different mechanics the player will need to use during the mission? Vehicle driving, drone hacking, heavy weapons, McGuffin hacking.
*Moral Choice
**What moral choices does the player have to make during the mission? Rescue team mates or not.
*Puzzles
**What are the puzzles in the level and how does the player solve them? Accessing the satellite terminal, repositioning the dish.
===Gameplay Highpoints===
*What is the stand-out gameplay moment (high point) of the level? The satellite dish defence.
*What gameplay style / moment / mechanic do you feel is unique to this level? The constant 'alerted' state of the KPA vs your guerrilla tactics. The dish defence/hold-out. The 3 way battle at the end.
===Vehicles/Equipment===
*What Does the Player Use?
**Drones? All
**Vehicles? Goliath and jeeps.
**Traps? All.
**Weapons? Heavy, AT, assault rifles, shotguns, snipers.
**Pickups? C4, smoke, emps nades, flashbangs.
*What Does the Enemy Use?
**Drones are used? All.
**Vehicles are used? Jeeps.
**Traps are used? Initial ambush, traps throughout 'back' entrances.
**Weapons are available? All KPA weapons.
===Characters===
*Allied NPCs
**What resistance cell characters are in the level? The tech, dish hacker guy. A few 'red shirts' from the tech group. The guy you rescue as secondary objective.
**What non-cell NPCs are needed? Dead, dessicated villagers and massacred cell.
*Enemy NPCs
**What KPA enemy types are in the level? Basic military and later, elite military.
**What other enemy types are there? None.
===Collectables/Unlockables?===
*Does the level environment / setting lend itself to any types of collectibles? Yes, it is big.
===Multiplayer===
*Will this level work for Multiplayer? Oh yes.
*What area will be used for the MP component? Dish as POI, open fields re-arrranged.
*More to be added...