Volskaya Shipyard was a senior level design project of Rylan’s designed as a map for Overwatch. Using a previously designed and vaulted map (Volskaya Industries) as an example, the Shipyard aims to create a similar experience and style for the modern game. All models were personally done by Rylan using the Unreal modeling tools

About the Project:
The idea of Volskaya Shipyard originated from a level design project for school, focused on creating a new level for an existing game. The location of Volskaya was picked as a way to revamp Volskaya Industries from the original release of Overwatch. Volskaya Industries is an incredibly important map to the history of the game, being one of the many Assault maps that was vaulted for the release of the sequel. While no longer playable, its style hasn’t been replicated again in-game unlike other Assault maps like Hanamura and Temple of Anubis. Rylan wished to recreate this iconic location seen within his favorite cinematic from the Overwatch team, Infiltration, while also giving it a modern overhaul.

Volskaya Shipyard falls underneath the Clash family for Overwatch, where competing teams will attack a central control point. After one team captures the point, a new point spawns closer to the losing team’s spawn. The mode repeats until one team has scored five points, or until one team fully captures a final point adjacent to the enemy spawn. Clash has found a lot of contention when played in the core gamemode due to its push and pull gameplay, but it’s found success as a bite-sized version within Stadium, which cuts the scoring down needed to win to only two points. Because the project had a limited time frame, the size of the level was quickly decided to focus on a Stadium version of the level.

The central point is the most important location for the map, with the other contesting point being a mirror of each other. Focusing on the red aesthetic synonymous with Volskaya’s massive robotics factory, Rylan chose for the Shipyard to act as a launching dock for the large robots that protect Moscow, as seen in the background of Volskaya Industries. The central point contains a large head/cockpit for the robot to act as dynamic cover for both teams. If the map were to include more active components, the head could move over to the nearby water (an environmental hazard to anyone playing the map) before being released on top of the rest of the body. Above this hazard to players is an incredibly thin catwalk, something only seen out of sight of players on the original map but highly fleshed out within the Infiltration cinematic. This very limited high ground acts as both a reference and a focal point for a close-quarters location for brawling. Across the hazard is a small preparation area with a jump pad to be able to quickly return back up to the catwalk to quickly obtain a better angle, with large scale flank routes around the outside of the map across the dangerous waters. The rest of the area takes inspiration from the entrance to Volskaya Industries’s second point by including some separations for the large vertical choke as well as side offices for optional flank routes.


The opposing points found outside are mirrors of each other, with only small decorative details and other coloration to make it distinct from one another. Taking place in a more industrial outside area akin to Volskaya Industries’s first point, this outdoor area acts as an outgoing and ingoing dock for materials to make the large machines. Large cranes can be found perched above the point for moving the various shipping containers, while smaller floating platforms can be used to transport heroes and other smaller materials. Lots of smaller indoor covering can be found inside the buildings and shipping containers, most of which favor the defending side to provide a larger resistance. The point is meant to be defender-favored to have more neutral fights at the center location.

Since the project was completed in a short period of only two weeks, much of the detailing of objects and textures were left blank to focus on the larger level as a whole. Additionally an entire point was cut from the final version to have a better time frame of completion. With additional time, planning, and detailing, Volskaya Shipyard could be a great additional map for Stadium and could even receive a full version for the traditional game once Clash has been reworked to better fit the speed of the current game of Overwatch.