After many years in development and multiple iterations, a brand new map in a completely unique locale is finally ready to roll out. Our level designers, working closely with the Asia publishing team, created a map which not only showcases some never before seen features and design elements, but also gives all tank classes an opportunity to shine.
Now, straight from the devs, we'd like to shed a bit more light on how Safe Haven came to be.
Timelapse: Makings of Safe Haven
A Casual Chat with the Devs
Q: Can you tell us more about the bunker feature?
A: While the map layout may give the impression that players are safe from arty fire, it actually forces SPG players to be more active and seek out opportunities.
The idea to implement the bunker was inspired by the active use of coastal areas during World War II. Those bunkers were sometimes used for making and maintaining submarines.
Q: What were the challenges of making Safe Haven? How did the team overcome this?
A: The concept for Safe Haven began way before the transition to the new game engine and creation of HD maps. During the first tests, we realized we did not have the resources to bring the concept to its fullest potential.
In 2020, we thought the initial idea was quite interesting and revisited it. While waiting for the release, the initial prototype became a bit outdated by current gameplay tank meta standards.
We ended up not only bringing back Safe Haven's old SD prototype but made several revisions to it.
Q: Which part of Safe Haven was the most fun to create?
The most interesting part to create was the extensive green area beyond the the port and bunker. Actually, while the concepts for the port and bunker were not heavily revised apart from some polishing for smoother gameplay, the green areas changed dramatically with almost every iteration introducing and discarding elements.
Over the course of development you would have seen shrines, rice fields, an airfield, and even whole villages appear and disappear.
In the end however, after multiple tests, we picked a variant which combined interesting gameplay and epic aesthetics without becoming too stereotypical. There is a strong sense of industry encroaching on nature which includes features like a truss bridge, a road junction, large cranes and of course the port and bunker itself.
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Level Design
Heatmaps
Ready to plan for your next battle in Safe Haven? Check these areas. Colored squares represent vehicle presence. Larger squares represent areas where vehicles tend to stay at for longer periods of time.
| Distribution between both teams
Potential vehicle positions for west team (yellow markings) and east team (blue markings) |
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| Heavy Tanks
Potential positions of heavy tanks |
Medium Tanks
Potential positions of medium tanks |
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| Light Tanks
Potential positions of light tanks |
Tank Destroyers
Potential positions of tank destroyers |
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| SPGs
Potential positions of SPGs |
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Inspiration
The overall concept was based on many elements. Here are some pictures of subjects from the devs' mood board while they were designing Safe Haven.
Japanese Garden. A Japanese garden at its core expresses the essence of nature. They often evoke a sense of tranquility and peace. Photo by Samuel Berner on Unsplash.
Seto Inland Sea. A few major Japanese cities have heavy industrial activity on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, including Osaka, Kobe, and Hiroshima. Photo by Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons. 
Torii gate (鳥居). A traditional Japanese gate that can be found at the entrances of Shinto shrines. Photo by Ken Smith on Unsplash. 
Yorishiro (依り代). In the Shinto faith, a Yorishiro is an object used to summon gods (神, kami) for worship. This particular yorishiro is a giant cedar tree bound with a shimenawa rope (標縄). Photo by Chris Gladis, CC BY 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.