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Escape from Tarkov

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Escape from Tarkov
"Get ready for escape"
Developer(s)Battlestate Games
Publisher(s)Battlestate Games
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
ReleaseTBD/TBA
Genre(s)Action RPG, Simulator, First person shooter, Loot Shooter, Survival
Mode(s)Multi-player, Arena-mode, Freeroam-mode

Escape from Tarkov is an indie, story-driven, massively multiplayer online (MMO), first person shooter (FPS) video game, featuring elements of role-playing (RPG) and simulation[1], running natively on Windows platforms, being developed and published by Russian studio Battlestate Games. Set in the fictional Norvinsk region in Northwestern Russia, around a "special economic zone" that served as a trading gateway between Russia and Europe, corrupt corporations became the center for a major political scandal. The situation erupted into an armed conflict involving the Russian Internal Troops, United Nations peacekeepers, and two private military companies: United Security (USEC) and BEAR.[2] The Norvinsk region's borders were sealed off, and those trapped in the middle of the war zone were isolated from the outside world. USEC was hired by the Terra Group, one of the corrupt corporations involved in the scandal, to hinder investigations during the conflict, while BEAR was hired by the Russian Government to uncover evidence about Terra Group.

The player has the objective of escaping the city of Tarkov by working for one of these private military companies, or being a Scav, mainly trying to acquire precious loot from the sealed areas.

A closed alpha of the game was first made available to select users, on August 4, 2016[3], followed by an extended alpha in December 28[4] on the same year, and a closed beta in July 2017[5].

Plot

Escape from Tarkov is set in the fictional Norvinsk region in Northwestern Russia, around a "special economic zone" that served as a gateway between Russia and Europe. [2] However, this attracted corporations with dubious intent, and the city of Tarkov became the centre for a major political scandal involving corrupt corporations in the Norvinsk region. Six months later the situation erupted into an armed conflict involving the Russian Internal Troops, United Nations peacekeepers, and two private military companies: United Security (USEC) and BEAR.[2] The Norvinsk region's borders were sealed off, and those trapped in the middle of the war zone were isolated from the outside world. USEC was hired by the Terra Group, one of the corrupt corporations involved in the scandal, to hinder investigations during the conflict, while BEAR was hired by the Russian Government to uncover evidence about Terra Group.

Gameplay modes

Escape from Tarkov is going to feature several game modes, including:

Implemented

  • PMC: The player uses their main character, entering the raid with gear equipped by the player. Once in raid, the player can pick up any gear from dead players, dead AI[2], as well as loot from loot spawn locations such as filing cabinets, bags, safes and computer tower blocks. If a PMC dies, the player drops everything that is equipped or stored on the player with the exception of the items in the secure container. In order to survive and extract with any gear they picked up, players have to make it to an extraction point. Extraction points are assigned at the beginning of a raid and some require certain conditions to be met (such as Customs Vehicle Exit requiring a payment of 7000 roubles per person extracting, or the 'Cliff Descent' extract requiring the player to be carrying a paracord and a climbing ice pick).
  • Scav: The player can also go into a raid as Scav, the AI faction, with a random set of gear and equipment. Scav AI will start off as neutral to a Scav player, but often other players have also entered the raid as a Scav. Scavs will face off against PMCs and potentially other Scav players. Any loot gathered by the player as a Scav can be transferred to the main character, while dying as a Scav has no penalty aside from lost gear. In order to survive and extract with any gear you picked up, Scav players must also use extraction points, which may sometimes be exclusive to scavs. If a player Scav shoots a fellow Scav, they will defend themselves and nearby Scavs will become hostile to them.
  • Offline Mode: Using the same maps as the PMC mode, players can enter a sandbox mode for testing; any gear, loot, experience and actions in the offline mode will be reversed at the end of the raid. Ammo expended, gear found or lost, or player injuries will be reset. Players can also modify the raid conditions, which include, but are not limited to, weather and AI skill and aggression.
  • Player Hideout: Includes building and upgrading of various facilities in the hideout, each with its own bonuses such as player recovery and the manufacture of items such as ammunition and loot. Hideouts also provide the ability to upgrade the player's stash size (not relevant to Edge of Darkness edition players), along with the capability to produce various items.

Planned

  • Story Mode
  • Open World Mode without time limits wherein all Maps are connected[6]
  • Arena Mode
  • Premium Mode

Maps

Playable maps

  • Customs - a customs checkpoint, warehouses and storage facility with adjacent dormitories for workers.
  • Factory - the smallest map, the interior of a factory facility.
  • Interchange - a mall with an underground parking garage, a hardware store, furniture store and supermarket with smaller shops interconnecting.
  • Shoreline - a resort facility and the surrounding forest and abandoned village. Also includes a marina.
  • Reserve - a military base which features the first fixed weapon emplacements in the game.
  • Woods - a logging/sawmilling camp and the surrounding forest.
  • The Lab - an underground laboratory facility, which can only be accessed by a special one-use keycard item.

Planned maps

  • Town
  • Terminal
  • Suburbs
  • Streets of Tarkov
  • Freeroam (Combined)[7]

Development and release

Development started in 2012. Escape from Tarkov will be a traditional full purchase release, with neither free-to-play nor microtransaction elements. There is a possibility of a release on Steam sometime after the game's official release.[8] There are also plans for downloadable content in the future.

Extended alpha

The extended alpha was announced on 28 December 2016, available to select users who pre-ordered the game. The game has four preorder tiers, where the Edge of Darkness edition guaranteed players access to the alpha build.[9] All players who had access had to sign a non-disclosure agreement and video coverage of the gameplay via streaming was limited to select players.[citation needed] On March 24, 2017, the NDA was lifted.

Editions

  • Standard Edition[10]
  • Left Behind Edition[10]
  • Prepare for Escape Edition[10]
  • Edge of Darkness Limited Edition[10]

Closed beta

The closed beta started July 28, 2017. Previous alpha testers gained access immediately and after the first couple of days, all pre-orders gained beta access in waves over the course of a week.

Currently the game is still in closed beta, but after purchase of game the player gets "Guaranteed instant access to closed beta"[10] rather than in waves.

Controversy

Battlestate Games has been accused of abusing YouTube's DMCA system to remove negative videos of Escape from Tarkov. YouTube user Eroktic released a video accusing Battlestate Games of leaking user information, resulting in Battlestate Games issuing DMCAs on 47 YouTube videos posted by the user; two of which were striked for allegedly spreading false information and the rest for spreading "negative hype".[11][12]

In a 2016 interview, an employee working for a game developer Pavel Dyatlov stated that there would be no women or playable female characters in the game because, "... women can't handle that amount of stress. There's only place for hardened men in this place."[13]. In 2020, Kotaku author Heather Alexandra expressed disappointment at these "same video game arguments" after "... studio Battlestate Games took to Twitter to distance themselves from Dyatlov's statements."[14]

Later in 2020, the developers apologized for the previously expressed views and instead stated the reason for not adding playable female characters is because of "game lore and more importantly, the huge amount of work needed with animations, gear fitting etc." [15]

References

  1. ^ "About". www.escapesfromtarkov.com. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  2. ^ a b c d "Escape from Tarkov official page". www.escapesfromtarkov.com. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  3. ^ "Closed Alpha testing announce". www.escapesfromtarkov.com. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  4. ^ "The Escape From Tarkov Extended Alpha has started!". www.escapesfromtarkov.com. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  5. ^ "Closed Beta will start in July!". www.escapesfromtarkov.com. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  6. ^ https://kanobu.ru/news/avtoryi-escape-from-tarkov-otvetili-na-vashi-voprosyi-igra-budet-platnoj-379296/.kanobu.ru. Retrieved 14-12-2015
  7. ^ Way, The (2019-03-15). "Battlestate Games Community Manager Statement on Upcoming Updates". Discord / Imgur. Archived from the original on 2019-03-15. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  8. ^ "How Modding, Microtransactions, and Death Will Work in Escape from Tarkov". GameSpot. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  9. ^ "FPS/MMO Escape from Tarkov gets new raid location and weapon failure in extended alpha". PCGamesN. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Pre-order - Escape from Tarkov". www.escapesfromtarkov.com. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  11. ^ Hall, Charlie (2018-12-17). "Escape From Tarkov team barrages YouTuber with DMCA takedowns over 'misinformation'". Polygon. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  12. ^ "Escape From Tarkov Devs Abuse DMCA Takedowns Against Eroktic's YouTube Content". One Angry Gamer. 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  13. ^ "Escape from Tarkov Interview – A Truly Hardcore First Person Shooter Due in 2016". Alessio Palumbo. 2016-09-06. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  14. ^ "We Keep Having the Same Video Game Arguments and It's Driving Me Bonkers". Heather Alexandra. 2020-01-16. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  15. ^ "Escape from Tarkov has no plans to add female character models". Ian Boudreau. 2020-01-07. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
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