Chaos Physics Or Not, Fortnite’s Four Month Chapter 2 Season Was A Huge Mistake

Fortnite

Epic

We finally have an end date for Fortnite’s first season of its new “Chapter 2” era, February 20, after its been delayed two different times already.

Epic posted about the final end date recently along with some semblance of an explanation of what’s been going on. They are moving Fortnite to use Unreal’s Chaos Physics engine, which is a significant amount of work, hence all the delays that we’ve seen so far.

But these haven’t just been delays. Do you know when Chapter 2 started? October 14, 2019. That means by the time this season ends, we will have had a season that has lasted over four months, a third of an entire year, and double the length of the seasons players have gotten used to over the past few years during Fortnite’s rise.

There are two main problems with Fortnite choosing to do this, and choosing to do this now.

The problem with the timing is that Fortnite had already been flagging to at least some degree after so much of time of sustained popularity. But it seemed to figure out how to re-energize the playerbase. Back in Season X, the entire season built up to a final cataclysmic event which sucked the entire old map into a black hole. But not just the map, it turned out, but the entire game. You would launch Fortnite and simply not even be able to play, you would just be greeted by a black hole.

Fortnite

Epic

The event was hugely noteworthy, as covering it brought some of the highest views for Fortnite content I have ever seen as everyone was curious as to what the hell was going on. And when Fortnite finally did return? It was equally epic, as the Chapter 2 introduction trailer played in game and then dropped you straight into the new, unexplored map. It was genuinely one of the coolest video game moments I can ever remember.

And then…nothing

Nothing for four long months.

It isn’t just that this season has been so long, it’s that nothing has happened this season. The biggest event of this entire four month stretch was a paid crossover to promote Rise of Skywalker where an in-game event showcased a tiny clip from the movie. It was a cool thing and a neat use of tech, but essentially just a glorified ad.

But nothing else of note has happened in the game. Fortnite is known for its unique brand of storytelling as between loading screens and map changes it tells some sort of tale, which is how we got events like the meteor, the rocket, the monster, the cube, the iceberg, the volcano and the final orb explosion. This season, in all four months, there has been nothing like that. The biggest map changes have been snow falling and melting on the map. That’s it.

Fortnite

Epic

Supposedly, according to recent leaks, something will eventually happen as the season ends. Indications are that the Steamy Stacks power plant is going to blow up, and the same could be true for the dam at the bottom of the map, creating flooding. While the validity of those leaks is unclear, it would make sense as a way to show off the new Chaos Physics engine that will make its debut.

But Fortnite really squandered all the hype it built up for the launch of Chapter 2. After the new map arrived, we had four months of barely any real events, map changes, significant patches or additions to the game. This was not the time to drag a season out like this erasing all the previously generated hype, and I wonder if this was always the plan or if something actively went wrong behind the scenes to force Epic’s hand here.

It ends soon. Well not soon, three more weeks, but these days, that about as soon as soon gets when it comes to Chapter 2.

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