Secret level in Crysis 2 demo

By Richard Leadbetter Published 3 February, 2011

Crytek sneaks out new map to select few.

Gamers playing the recently released Crysis 2 demo appear to be gaining access on a random basis to a second map, entitled Pier 17.

Eyebrows were raised at the size of the 1.8GB size of the Xbox Live download, especially when it was discovered that only one map - Skyline, set on the rooftops of New York City - was contained within the demo. However, recently, the new Pier 17 map appears to be manifesting to select players.

Unfortunately we haven't been lucky enough to stumble across the map during our play sessions, but YouTube user ITheFatNinja has, and had his capture card ready, giving us our first glimpse at the new level.

An extended capture of the Pier 17 level, as posted on YouTube by user ITheFatNinja. Some might argue that it's a somewhat more impressive stage than the default Skyline map.

Pier 17 looks to be considerably more expansive and detailed than what we've seen thus far in the Skyline map and also demonstrates CryEngine 3's real-time global illumination tech in a somewhat more spectacular manner. The lighting in most games is actually mostly pre-calculated, or "baked in" to the levels - CryEngine 3 does it all in real-time, allowing for greater flexibility to level designers and potentially more dynamic lighting options in-game.

Unfortunately, getting access to the level appears to be a case of raw luck, with the stage very occasionally appearing on the voting screen for the next map.

Posting on the MyCrysis forum, Crytek staffer cry-tom discussed the Pier 17 situation.

"Some players may have noticed a map other than Skyline enter into their map rotation. This is not in error, but due to us testing playlists and backup systems. However, this other map will not be widely available in this demo period, and therefore you will not be able to unlock it yet," he said.

"During this demo and the period up until launch we will be adjusting and balancing the game and fixing bugs, and we will announce in the coming days what happens after the end of this 360 exclusive demo on Feb 4th."

Digital Foundry's analysis of the demo will be posted on the weekend.

Picture of Richard.

About Richard Leadbetter

Rich has been a games journalist since the days of 16-bit and specialises in technical analysis. Commonly known around Eurogamer as the Blacksmith of the Future.

Read more articles from Richard by visiting the Richard Leadbetter archive page.

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Comments (31) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • BuffoonBassoon #1 1 year ago

    thats awesome

  • NimbusTLD #2 1 year ago

    Are you planning to release a tech analysis on the demo? Or will you wait until the retail version? I'd like to read about your thoughts on Cry's tech :)

  • bratmandu #3 1 year ago

    Shame the controls are a massive pile of shite. Couldn't get this demo off my hard drive soon enough.

  • CaptainQuint #4 1 year ago

    Is this story for real?

    I played on that map last week.

  • harzo #5 1 year ago

    "Unfortunately, getting access to the level appears to be a case of raw luck, with the stage very occasionally appearing on the voting screen for the next map."

    Getting a game on the demo also appears to be a case of "raw luck", it took me 15 attempts to connect to a game last night!

  • Ranger101 #6 1 year ago

    @bratmandu - I didn't find anything particularly wrong with the controls, care to expand?

  • skowhegan Verified Staff Writer, Eurogamer Network #7 1 year ago

    @NimbusTLD

    Make sure you check back this weekend :)

  • Skooch #8 1 year ago

    It's looks real nice and all but still a rather generic shooter that's only half a step away from CoD. That's my impression from watching this video and, yes, I could be horribly wrong, but this video really doesn't incite me to play it.

  • bratmandu #9 1 year ago

    The controls are sluggish. Also, the camera jolts up and down far too much when climbing up a ledge, assuming you can even get on a ledge - the delay between pressing jump and actually jumping seems to vary, making jumping and climbing very fidgity. This is a pc game, that should have stayed on the pc - does not translate well onto consoles in my opinion. For such a fast paced game, it need speedier and tighter controls.

  • patchbox360 #10 1 year ago

    whats goin on with the ps3 version, incase people have pre-ordered the ps3 version they have a right to know if its substandard.

  • Machiavellian #11 1 year ago

    It's looks real nice and all but still a rather generic shooter that's only half a step away from CoD. That's my impression from watching this video and, yes, I could be horribly wrong, but this video really doesn't incite me to play it.

    What do you consider coming out that is not a generic shooter or at least the multiplayer since that's what shown in the video.

  • rotmm #12 1 year ago

    @Skooch,

    While I understand what you're saying, once you get used to using the nanosuit, as well as the environment itself, it because a very different game from CoD. Take a look at this vid, as it gives a fair impression of what multiplayer can be once you become adjusted to not just thinking in terms of shoot-shoot-bang-bang http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK2KurTZ7Lw

  • gnrlstuart #13 1 year ago

    is there a map editor? im assuming there isnt but if there is then im going to jizz in my pants!
    Edited by gnrlstuart at 03/02/11 @ 17:17

  • AdamAsunder #14 1 year ago

    @bratmandu.

    Well the jumping differs depending on how long you press it. If you tap it then it's the same jump. I think you're also the only one I've seen that's had a problem with the ledge climbing. It has worked every single time for me at least. And 'the camera jolts to much when climbing a ledge'? Now you're just nitpicking as that has no baring on gameplay at all. I bet you couldn't keep your head still doing the same thing. It's not like you need to actually look at anything while you're climbing and it's over in a second. It's called risk/reward. You get more movement options but you have to accept your helpless while clambering.

    The controls are fine. Up the sensitivity and it feels pretty good to me.

    The more I've played the demo the more I've gotten into it. There's enough difference from COD to make it worthwhile, I found it overall a lot more thoughtful once you get a handle on the suit abilities.

    I haven't had a chance to play Pier 17 and would welcome the chance to play a more expansive map.
    Edited by AdamAsunder at 03/02/11 @ 17:22

  • AdamAsunder #15 1 year ago

    @rotmm

    Yeah that pretty much shows how good Crysis 2 can be when you know what you're doing.

    It's a Day 1 for me. Hopefully the demo has shown them that they need to sort out the lag issues.

    I went from quite liking the demo, to disliking it, now I think it's excellent.

  • AdamAsunder #16 1 year ago

    @truthgiver.

    That argument holds no ground for me I'm afraid. People seem to have this notion that a shotgun is solely a close range weapon. That's videogame logic. Shotguns have quite an effective short to mid range.

  • Deckard1 #17 1 year ago

    Why didn't they have this map as the main demo map? It looks a hell of a lot more impressive then than the other one.

  • mrblonde #18 1 year ago

    Demo was terrible IMO and a huge disappointment, the hidden one here does look better visually and gameplay wise. why did they choose possibly(hopefully) the worst MP level for the 360 demo. the shooting felt cumbersome and laggy after playing cods 60 fps smooth + polished MP.
    Cryengine 3 just doesnt look the business on the consoles, considering all the hype i thought it would be like when i first saw the original gears of war in HD many years ago.

  • TheLittlestHobo #19 1 year ago

    Multiplayer was too much like COD for me, right down to the lag and host migration annoyances. I was at least expecting destructable terrain and dedicated servers. I want a step forward, not sideways. If the SP is any good I'll pick it up when it hits the bins.

  • Ilusiil18 #20 1 year ago

    @TruthGiver :

    I concur with AdamAsunder,the shotgun's range my not be what you'd like it to be but shotguns are extremely effective at mid-range in the real world.

  • womble #21 1 year ago

    Hugely disappointed with this demo.

    Technically, it's... OK. But the texture popping and shadow popping is pretty bad, and detracts from the experience. The shadow draw distance is incredibly small. You can see shadows popping in from about 10 meters away as you walk.

    The game itself is uninspiring. The controls, feel and heft are just plain bad.

    The weapons are a joke. It really emphasises the "pray" part of "spray and pray". Why bother using a gun when you can just punch someone to death in one hit?

    We've seen urban ruin just too many times. It's well done, apart from the LOD and texture popping issues, but it's also BORING.

    This game shows that you can have all the rendering technology in the world, but without attention to detail and good design, it's all for nothing.

  • Zappa #22 1 year ago

    I dont see all the hype for this level looks just as crappy.

  • SaberEdge #23 1 year ago

    I have been playing the Killzone 3 beta all day long and in all honesty this looks even better to me. The detail in the environment is greater and the lighting and textures also seem better. And for those complaining about pop-in in Crysis 2, yeah there is some pop-in, but there is pop-in in Killzone 3 as well. I saw plenty of pop-in on the Frozen Dam map, both geometry and shadow pop-in. All in all I think Crysis 2 is looking better.
    Edited by SaberEdge at 04/02/11 @ 05:45

  • kirankara #24 1 year ago

    Anyone know if this still on live as I can't find it?? I rage deleted it a day or so in , as lagging got me angry. Lol
    Killzone 3 ran flawlessly for myself, maybe I just didn't notice the texture issues, overall much preferred it to crysis 2, want to give it another go though, see if any issues been resolved .

  • kirankara #25 1 year ago

    [link url=http://imagequalitymatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/tech-analysis-crysis-2-multiplayer-demo.html
    ]http://imagequalitymatters.blogspot.com/...[/link]

    a tech analysis of demo

  • kirankara #26 1 year ago

    [link url=http://imagequalitymatters.blogspot.com/2011/02/tech-analysis-crysis-2-multiplayer-demo.html
    ]http://imagequalitymatters.blogspot.com/...[/link]

    a tech analysis of demo

  • SaberEdge #27 1 year ago

    I should make it clear that I am only going off the video presented here. I have played a lot of the Killzone 3 beta and it really does look amazing for a console game. I am only saying that it APPEARS to me that Crysis 2 has more detailed and realistic graphics based on what I see in this video compared to what I have seen in Killzone 3.

    I fully recognize that there could well be some negative aspects to Crysis 2 that simply aren't visible in this video. It was the same case with Killzone 3. In the videos I couldn't see much aliasing, but when playing the game it is pretty noticeable.

    I honestly don't care which one looks better because I already know that I am getting both. I just find the technology side of games to be interesting. I guess that is why I even read Digital Foundry.

  • kirankara #28 1 year ago

    @saber. i agree that in some ways the crysis 2 demo looks more impressive, its very shiny and all that, but in other ways i prefer the kz3 demo. It doesnt make my eyes literally hurt which helps the cause lol. Very different art styles though, so saying ones more realistic looking is almost redundant, as i dont think they aimed for that with kz3, its more like a cartoon look

  • lagoonalight #29 1 year ago

    Don't even start with the Crysis looks better than KZ3 garbage. From a technical stance they may be closer rather than farther away on a chart but make no mistake about it, Crysis 2 is inferior to KZ3 in almost every single way. You people convince yourselves in whatever you want to believe and I can think that you probably haven't even played the KZ3 demo. It's textures are miles better this is not even up for debate. Footprints in the snow look beautiful. Particle effects are all over the map. Their engine is almost perfect.The sound is heavenly. The guns are a huge upgrade from KZ2. Crysis 3 meanwhile has horrible pop up, straight up horrible textures in places, and not even half the sound or visceral feel of KZ3.You are dreaming if you KZ3 has even close to that extent pop in or draw in that Crysis 2 has. KZ3 doesn't drop a frame or tear according to lens of truth all the while maintaining more complex and detailed environments by a decent bit. Some of the places in Crysis are downright shameful for what they were talking. Not even close.

    You tell me:

    http://www.lensoftruth.com/?p=27725
    Edited by lagoonalight at 06/02/11 @ 04:12

  • bratmandu #30 1 year ago

    @AdamAsunder

    I know you tap it to jump and hold it to jump higher - that's not what I was talking about. I'm talking about the delay between tapping the button and jumping. I don't see how anyone could think the controls on this are fine.

    It's just another generic fps like COD, there's little to distinguish it from other fps games. A heat vision mode? Seen it before, rainbow six. Invisibility? Jumping around? Halo.

    I don't see the appeal of a lacklustre consolized sequel to a pc graphics card tech demo. I'll stick to me battlefield with the destructible scenery. At least DICE are pushing the envelope.

  • womble #31 1 year ago

    " Their [Killzone] engine is almost perfect."

    Almost perfect for a linear corridor shooter featuring heavily-blurred environments, a limited range of enemies, and an extremely limited range of environments, sure. If that's what you want in a game.

    But most gamers -- anecdotally and sales-wise -- want more than that.

    Competing engines and shooters have massive draw distance, massive sandbox environments, decent controls, film playback, heaps of vehicles (and the physics and AI to back them up), multiplayer offline and online co-op, heaps of game modes, editors, horde/zombie/firefight modes, etc. Not to mention FUN gameplay, interesting stories and (gasp) originality.

    The Crysis vs Killzone argument is a bit moot when other games do it so much better where it really counts: gameplay, features, and fun. BOTH titles need to lift their game.

    Bring on Resistance 3.
    Edited by womble at 07/02/11 @ 05:05