We knew the Doom 3 engine and MegaTexture tech would give ETQW awesome terrain and interiors. But what would the maps be about, and what would the objectives look like? Just as Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory had maps inspired by WWII commando raids, we wanted ETQW's maps to tell the story of the Strogg invasion. Each scenario should be a turning point in the Quake Wars. Clearly, to survive (let alone win), the GDF would have to both thwart the various Strogg plans, and capture and exploit their superior technology. Without giving too much away at this point, it's safe to say that the GDF are keen to turn the Strogg reliance on Slipgates into their Achilles' heel, and aren't delighted about Stroyent production.

To complicate things further, instead of Wolf:ET's maps where the Axis always defended and the Allies always attacked, we wanted a balance of maps where the Strogg are attacking. This was really tough. Why don't the Strogg destroy everything from orbit? What could they be after and where would the GDF keep it that they couldn't just nuke it? Again, the QuakeStory constraints pushed us to come up with more distinctive map ideas. We knew the Strogg had antigravity, which meant they can drop things in from orbit without needing them to be lightweight or streamlined. If the Strogg are in the habit of dropping things in from orbit, what could the GDF do to stop it, and what could the Strogg do to stop that? Where did the Strogg get the idea for their EMP defences in Quake II? The old GDF EMP Jamming Tower, which would need a Generator. And the Strogg need a destruction objective? Hmm...

As ETQW's screenshots demonstrate, the maps aren't light on detail, but you can't just make pretty things and scatter them about (the dreaded "strew"). We want the maps to be as unique and coherent as possible, which means specific art direction, and the IDC'd QuakeStory helped us generate those distinctive map plots, locations, environments, structures, terrain and timelines so we knew the histories of our map locations, and what had been built or destroyed when. The IDC goal was that anywhere in any map, you should be able to look around you and get a sense of what had happened there in the last thirty years, but we'll happily settle for "looks awesome and plays really well". Of course, the primary function is to support gameplay and be fun to run around and shoot people in, but the QuakeStory helps immersion, and I reckon that helps you play better.