Operation Medic Bag: Update #25 – Diamond District Showcase
Good news, everyone! We’re very excited to announce the upcoming release of a brand-new free heist, Diamond District! A few months ago, some prophetic voices among you said, “Let ‘em cook.” It’s great to be able to start showing you the results of all that cooking.
In addition to the previews – you’re not just skipping ahead to the pictures, are you? – we’ve got some questions with subsequent answers from the level design team.
First off, teaser trailer:
Premise
Beckett contacted the Payday Gang for another job. A deal went south for one of his business associates in the famous Diamond District. Since calling the police isn’t an option, it’s the Payday Gang’s time to do their thing.
Setting
It’s been great watching you speculate what this heist would be, some thought it to be a legacy heist, others a reimagined, neither being quite right. Some speculated four stores, others thought it was one of the confusingly named diamond heists from PAYDAY 2.
Surprise, it’s none of those! This is a brand new, original heist. It’s true our inspiration comes from four stores, but we added one more store, so it’s better: 5 > 4—sometimes our brilliance is frightening…
What kind of heist is Diamond District?
From the beginning, the team wanted to create a classic back to the roots heisting experience that players are familiar with. Keeping the overall experience short and simple, while adding some layers of depth to explore. Keeping the layout compact and objectives easy to understand were our main goals, and we’re pretty happy with the outcome.
What were your inspirations for this heist?
Inspirations were of course, the real-life location on 47th street in NYC, but we also drew inspiration from the TV series Kaleidoscope, and the movie Uncut Gems focusing on that area. We really liked how they showed the Diamond District.
How does it play differently from other heists in PAYDAY 3?
We aimed for a faster experience, smash-and-grab, you could say. What we added as a layer on top of it is the sandbox-esque gameplay style, how players can play: What route will they take? How much will they steal? Players can scout, see where things are, and then plan how and which store they will “attack.” We hope we’ve provided players with some fun ways in which to tackle the heist.
What was the main challenge in developing this heist?
The big challenge was juggling several other heists that we developed simultaneously, so everyone had to respect and manage tight resources, being smart in what we can reuse and which new things we can develop.
Is there anything new the heisters can expect?
Since the beginning of the heist’s design, we were thinking on ways to solve the problem of how the player crosses the street in stealth, while masked-up; all while the pedestrians are walking up and down the street. We wanted to give the player a fair and intuitive chance to get to the other side undetected, to continue stealthing the other stores. For this, we developed a new gameplay mechanic; look out at the center street. There is something you can use – even at a distance. That’s all we’ll say on that for now!
Are you happy with how it turned out?
Yes! We managed to create what we aimed for, and we like how it plays and looks. The teams did an amazing job. A fast heist set in the Diamond District, where everywhere you look is something shiny and sparkling waiting to be snatched.
We thank the level designers for their EXCELLENT work, and hope you’ll enjoy this instant classic of a heist. Look forward to Diamond District arriving FREE very soon!
Steam Sale!
Also today, starting in a few hours, PAYDAY 3 is running a sale on Steam! The game will be discounted by up to 50% starting August 9th 2024 7pm CEST, until August 16th 2024 7pm CEST. Start and end times are adjusted for your local timezone.
