Fortnite’s first map is where it all started. It had basically no POIs. It had broken mechanics. Players didn’t know how to build yet. Yet it is possibly the singular thing that’s most requested for a return by players. For years you’ve seen clickbait about how to play the OG Fortnite map, scuffed versions fitting into a shrunk creative map or outside programs that back up an old version of the game. Until now there wasn’t a proper way though. That’s changed. We can once again drop in like it’s Chapter 1 Season 1 right in the Fortnite launcher.
Thanks to the Fortnite Unreal Editor a new version of the Chapter 1 map has popped up. This isn’t some one-day project that’s been thrown together either. Thanks to a team working in Epic’s closed beta for the tool, it’s a surprisingly polished map. It is Fortnite just as you remember it. If you want to jump back in and re-experience the very first map of Fortnite (Or for us who came a little later, try it for the first time) This is how you can play the Fortnite Chapter 1 map once again.
How to Play the OG Fortnite Map
Before we get into the very talented team of fans who are painstakingly recreating OG Fortnite, this is how you can physically get in to play. It’s a creative map in the Fortnite launcher, so anyone can hop in on any platform, and at any time You can even use your new skins. This is the Island Code and how to join.
- Open Fortnite
- Head to Input Island Code
- Enter “2179-7822-3395”
- You could also search for Atlas OG
- Queue up and jump in to play the OG Fortnite map!
There are some things to keep in mind when you head in with limitations on the project so far and differences from OG gameplay. The map is basically as close as we’re ever going to get though, at least until Epic changes one key thing about the tools. If you’re not interested in the story behind this project though, that’s all you need to know about how to play the OG Fortnite map. This is a little glimpse of it in action, in case you’re sceptical after years of clickbait on the topic!
What’s Different in the OG Fortnite Map?
The launch of Unreal Editor for Fortnite has allowed creators to start work on some truly crazy experiences in Fortnite. As proven by their reveal events that showed off demos that did things no one could imagine actually happening in the original creative. While it is possible to create really impressive things, there are still some limitations. The one that Atlas, the creator of the remade OG Fortnite map, has run into is memory.
Even though you can use custom assets and create really different worlds, there’s still. A limit on how much memory you can hog. That’s currently what’s caused some limitations to bring back the OG Fortnite map. It’s a natural limitation for Epic to institute at first. Given that they’ve made such a commitment to this that they’re sharing 40% of Fortnite revenue with creators, we probably will see the limitation lifted in the future.
So, what’s different about this Battle Royale? The big one is 50 players. It’s hard to get around that being disappointing. If you want the full-size original Fortnite map though, this is basically the only way to get it done until the memory cap is lifted. That’s definitely a matter of when and not if though. The reaction to what’s launching as a toolkit has definitely shown that the Fortnite community is going to embrace this wholeheartedly, which should mean Epic step-up things like the memory gap at some point in the future.
The other major change is something that will likely get fixed soon. Newer elements like modern stats for weapons, not the original values are present. For a while, new movement mechanics stuck around too until Atlas ran a poll of removing them.
We originally thought disabling sprinting would feel too slow but we have heard you loud and clear. So let’s make this decision final.
— Atlas OG Battle Royale (@AtlasOGBR) March 23, 2023
This all shows the team behind the map is dedicated to creating the definitive OG Fortnite map experience. They’re one of two creatives duelling to recreate the original Fortnite map the quickest, but they’ve done a pretty polished job. So who are they and how have they managed to turn around an entire Battle Royale map in a single day?
Atlas Creative
Atlas creative are well-known Fortnite creators. They make maps for various purposes, but they’ve made some incredibly popular experiences in the past. This likely means they had some beta access to the Unreal Editor tools in some capacity. Other creators on their level have talked about having some access to the tools for testing purposes and it looks like Atlas was one of them.
Outside of actually making fun maps, they are a company devoted to digital marketing with a focus on Fortnite specifically. They create experiences in Fortnite in partnership with brands as part of marketing. It’s a creative way to make money from playing Fortnite. Not everyone can crank at major Fortnite esports tournaments, but creative skills clearly have a future too. Now that Epic is sharing revenue from the game with map creators that’s only becoming a more viable option for players and creators.
Are More OG Fortnite Maps Coming back?
The OG map is definitely the one that most players have the biggest waves of nostalgia for. It’s the first thing most people wanted when they saw the new tools Epic was handed out. Beyond this though, can we expect to see it get way more specific? Will players be loading in the Chapter 2 Season 4 map one game, then switching over to “That one week in Chapter 3 where there were chickens everywhere for some reason” for the next? It’s possible, but you might have trouble with matchmaking on the Chicken takeover nostalgia map.
These new tools definitely make it possible for creators to recreate all of the old Fortnite experiences. We have the tools, creators have the skills, and given the response to this map, there is definitely an audience for such things too.
It’ll likely take a little bit longer for more niche old maps to get recreated though. These tools have only been widely available for a single day when this map launched. Within a week or two we’re probably going to start seeing some of the first smaller experiences get finished. As time goes on and creators have more time with the tools, the sky is the limit for what we can get out of Fortnite.
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