Effect and Cause - Titanfall 2 Level Breakdown

Intro

Titanfall 2 was one of the best FPS titles of 2016, featuring a very strong single-player campaign with interesting combat and puzzle gameplay for both players and their Titan. Additionally, each level featured its own special twist: "Effect and Cause", for example, presents players with a memorable time-traveling mechanic.

The time-travel mechanics of "Effects and Cause" serve couple of purposes, influencing not only the way players traverse the environment and its associated obstacles, but also how they fight through the level's combat scenarios. Two different time periods are a threat to the player, so the designers decided to allow players to see where the enemies from the past are located.

Once you move from past to the present, enemies leave a small blue particle in the place where they had been standing. Although the effect lasts no longer than two seconds, it’s enough to help players plan their next move. This twist on encounters makes them much more interesting and dynamic.

For "Effect and Cause", the developers created distinct enemies archetypes with different engagement distances and attacks for each time period. In the present (a destroyed version of the map) the player deals with robots and wildlife. In the past, players face armed guards in the facility. Eliminating the danger in one reality does not make it disappear in the other, forcing players to think constantly about their position versus the enemies in the different time frames.

Let’s discuss three selected encounters from "Effects and Cause" in-depth to see how they work in action!

Encounter 01

The first encounter where players freely use the time-shift mechanic starts shortly after players exit a lab area. Here, enemies are located only in the past, when the facility is operating and functional. This prevents players from becoming overwhelmed with two types of enemies in two different realities within the first big encounter of the level.

Layout

Combat space

This encounter is set up in two distinct spaces. The first space is a big room with a single entry point in the form of a double door opened by a panel, with combat focused at the far end of the room. The second space is a large corridor with a pocket in the middle and a security room at the end. A panel in the security room must be used in order for the player to progress.

Both encounter spaces are divided by a time-shift puzzle, the only way to continue onto the next arena. This time-shift puzzle serves as combat gating and also adds variety to encounters that are otherwise only about shooting. The gating also teaches the player that some spaces cannot be traversed in any time period, and that the only solution to the obstacle is to find alternative routes.

Enemies

There are eleven enemies in this encounter: four located in the first room, and seven in the second room. Once you eliminate the two enemies in the first room, the remaining two enemies get into position. The second space has a fixed number of soldiers, with no additional waves. All the soldiers are using guns or rifles. The advantage/challenge to the player in this encounter comes from the number of the enemies, not their abilities.

Encounter design

Once the player enters the first space, they see two soldiers talking to each other. It’s up to player to start the fight and pick their preferred attack method. Once the first two enemies are eliminated, players enter an area with clearly defined architecture and a no-man’s-land inbetween. Players should also see a weapon lying on the desk, a gameplay "carrot" which helps to draw players into the fight. The enemies will hold their positions and try to shoot the player from behind the safety of cover.

The second area gives players more options, and also allows them to scan the area earlier (both from the first room through the lasers, and also from a vent). The designers ramp up the difficulty here, introducing more enemies into a tighter space.

With the time-switching mechanics at hand, players can prioritize threats in order to set up their own tactics. It’s clearly up to player how to plan and play this encounter. As there is no threat in the past timeline, players can experiment with going back in time without punishment, ‘escaping’ the combat at any given moment in order to reload, reposition and jump back to the action. This encounter is memorable as it is the first time that players fully use their time switching mechanic, functioning as a safe environment to learn. In other words, it's a skill check and a preparation for what lies ahead...

Encounter 02

The second encounter worth analysis is much more varied with how it positions enemies throughout the level. It also places enemies in both time periods, serving as a playground for prioritization strategies and other interesting player tactics. This encounter also features more verticality, which helps prevent players from feeling too overwhelmed with enemy forces, while also allowing players to use more of their Titan-piloting skills.

Layout

Combat space

This encounter is located in a fairly large room with ample verticality. Players enter the space on the upper floor through a single entry point and continue their way onto a balcony, letting players familiarize themselves with the space from above. At the far end of the room, players will spot a staircase going down to the lower level where elevators are located. This area has two big areas of standing cover, accessible on both heights, and a variety of crouch-height cover such as railings, desks and potted plants. This space also has a small side-room allowing further tactical options. This whole area is gated with an elevator door which does not open until the combat encounter is over.

Enemies

This encounter is quite varied in terms of the enemies players face. In the past timeline, players face eleven soldiers: nine regular soldiers and two heavy soldiers with shields. These soldiers come in four groups of two or three each. The solders come with short intervals inbetween each wave, so that the player has time to react and make more intellectual choices.

In the present, players face three robots appearing almost at once when they walk along the balcony at the top of the space. Once the player goes down, they have to fight four prowlers which appear one after another with a couple of seconds delay between each new spawn.

Encounter design

We start the encounter in the present timeline, with the gate blocked in the past timeline. On the way to the staircase, three enemy robots spawn but do not pose a big threat to players. Once players move down, their attention is drawn to a desk with guns. This helps players to immediately position into a location in front of the elevators.

Once players shift to the past, enemies start to appear from the elevators. There is not enough cover to fight off all of the attackers, forcing players to prioritize and switch in time to better position themselves for attack. Once players go back into the present, prowler enemies will start to appear, forcing players to continue constant movement.

This encounter may feel a bit hectic, but it is a good test of both pilot skills and thoughtful time switching. It's the first encounter which forces players to prioritize which enemies they want to deal with first in different time periods. Due to the designer's smart use of the elevators, vents, and robot storage, enemies are brought into the field in an interesting way. But at the same time, enemies are introduced to the player with clear sound and visual cues, so they remain alert to upcoming surprises.

Encounter 03

The third encounter I want to breakdown is by far the most robust yet. It features different height levels, space divided into two areas, and flanking paths which can be accessed only through certain time periods. It serves as the "final skill check" for all of the pilot abilities and time-shifting gathered thus far in "Effect and Cause".

Layout

Combat space

This encounter is spread across two areas of vertical space, connected by multiple paths that create nice loops for players to use to their advantage. There is one clear entry point with a wide view of the whole combat space and one exit located in the second area, but the space inbetween offers a great deal of choice in terms of how players can tackle the encounter.

Playing through the encounter, players will learn that there is a geometry difference between the two different time frames that can be overcome with some of the pilot skills at their disposal. A big catwalk goes around the whole room with additional rooms with guns and ammo on the bottom level, for example. The amount of space available is needed, because the combat space is packed with enemies.

Enemies

In the past, players have to fight twelve soldiers: nine regular soldiers and three heavies with shields, as well as three robots. The enemies are spread out across the whole space of the encounter, but because the areas are connected with each other through multiple paths, the enemies will try to chase and eliminate the player. This means that the encounter feels very dynamic and tense.

In the present, players face robots: eight prowlers inside, and even more of them outside fighting with BT (the player's Titan). The enemies in the present are hostile to each other, showing players an example of how the enemy AI can actually fighting eachother: information which players can then use to their advantage.

Encounter design

Players enter this area in the past, where they witness a single back-facing enemy, instantly inviting them to perform a takedown. From this point, the encounter is very open to experimentation: the player can either continue in the past and fight a big wave of soldiers coming through the main path (a staircase in the middle), or they can switch to the present, where they will find open flanking paths on both sides of the level. Going with the latter option offers a moment to breathe before prowlers are spawned, but it will also disable an ammo dispenser in the first area, adding consequence to player choices.

Staying in one place will result in a massive pile-up of enemies in the area, so players are motivated to move around a lot, time shifting when needed. The second area of this encounter is one of the level's biggest in-door combat spaces. If players choose to go into this second area in the past, the encounter will be quite vertical with soldiers located both on the ground and on the upper catwalk. Switching to the present will cause a bigger concentration of enemies on the ground floor.

Players are given enough space to fully use pilot’s zip-line ability to create shortcuts across the room, accessing the various loops and ammo dispensers needed to create a fair fight despite overwhelming enemy forces. There are very few conditions placed upon this encounter, so players can leave the area and jump into his Titan to deal with different threats at any time. Overall, this encounter serves as a test of everything learned previously, with players having the option to ‘lower’ the difficulty of the encounter using their titan.

Conclusion

The above examples are just a slice of Titanfall 2 gameplay contained within the excellent level "Effects and Cause", but in my opinion clearly shows how this great game was enhanced by its time shifting mechanic. The idea is fairly simple: time-shifting is nothing more than teleportation between two different levels, one layered on top of another, but the strong execution makes for a memorable experience that really stands out in comparison with other shooters. I highly recommend playing "Effects and Cause" as it is both challenging and fun, a level where Titanfall 2's time-shift mechanics comes into focus, providing additional depth to the whole game.

Thanks for reading!