Marauders new prison map was influenced by board games and Half Life 2 The Loadout The Loadout Marauders new prison map was influenced by board games and Half Life 2 How does Small Impact Games create a prison ship for Marauders? By looking at things like Aliens 3, Half Life, and dieselpunk board games, of course Jess Wells Updated: Aug 31, 2022 12:21 ET Marauders When you think about a prison ship floating in space, you might well think of Mass Effect or Disney's The Mandalorian. However, while Small Impact Games has certainly done its research for its upcoming content drop, its Penal Colony map actually took its inspiration from somewhere quite different indeed. The Penal Colony, which will drop in early access along with the Navy Outpost, is technically a love letter to Aliens 3, Half Life 2, and Dust Tactics – an old board game which game designers Cameron Small and James Rowbotham say helped establish the Dieselpunk genre. "The prison was definitely influenced by Aliens 3 and there's a Half Life 2 Nova Prospekt feel to it too," Small tells The Loadout. "But this is more of a love letter to a board game called Dust Tactics, which basically helped establish the Dieselpunk genre for a lot of people. The game had these amazing walkers – they basically took a Sherman or a Panzer tank and stuck legs on them and it just looked so badass." It's this sort of vibe that Small Impact Game is hoping to replicate with its Penal Colony map, especially now that the melee system has been reworked for the launch of early access in October. According to the team, the map is littered with half-empty cells, a central security tower that's full of good loot, and lots of angry prisoners who'll attempt to ambush you on your journey. But while that might seem like a daunting prospect, you do have some protection in both the Penal Colony and the other new map, the Navy Outpost. And that's through the big and small shields Marauders is getting in early access. The big one is a nod to Montagne from Rainbow Six Siege, apparently, and while you can "smack" someone with the sharp blade on the top, you'll need to work together as a team to use them effectively. Navy Outpost and Penal Colony will be added to the game when Marauders hits early access in October. A series of limited-time technical tests will also take place from September 6-14, however the new content will not be available in this phase. More from The Loadout Marauders early access launch includes 80 hours of mission content Marauders developers didn't expect anyone to cheat in the Steam alpha Marauders is much more than Escape From Tarkov in space Marauders' developers looked to the Fear games for AI behaviour Marauders upcoming closed beta will let you fold your bags Marauders alpha only featured 25% of the FPS game's total content Jess Wells When Jess isn't playing competitive FPS games, she's updating our guides to the best Valorant crosshair, CS:GO ranks, upcoming PS5 games, or writing Escape From Tarkov news. Popular now Orianna has been disabled for League of Legends Worlds 2022 The FIFA 23 meta has quickly become all about Lengthy players Blizzard assures Overwatch 2 players their OW1 skins aren’t lost Network N Media earns commission from qualifying purchases via Amazon Associates and other programs. We include affiliate links in articles. View terms. Prices correct at time of publication. More stories Odoamne says Rogue is taking LoL Worlds 2022 “one game at a time” Best Warzone Loadout of the Week – battle with Modern Warfare’s best The LoL Worlds 2022 final is headed to a cinema near you More from The Loadout Follow us for daily videogame news on Facebook, Twitter, Steam, and Google News. Marauders release date, platforms, trailers, and more Marauders tips: how to become the ultimate space pirate Free shooting games Best PS5 games Best Xbox games