Spice Frontier: Cosmic Rush - UEFN Map from Steamroller Animation

[Peach-Gloss]

Spice Frontier: Cosmic Rush is an upcoming UEFN map inspired by Steamroller Animation’s animated pilot, Spice Frontier: Escape from Veltegar!

Game Summary

Spice Frontier: Cosmic Rush pits two teams against each other in a race for the planet’s most valuable mineral: qui’la! Extracted from the core of planet Veltegar, both teams are on a mission to capture as many crates of qui’la as possible and return the cargo back to base. Achieve the best loadout to escort your team, prevent enemy captures, and conquer the extraction point!

Team PvP, CTF hybrid
Unlock weapons with team elims
Escort your team to victory
Cinematic gameplay and professional voice acting

Inspiration

Our game is heavily inspired by Steamroller Animation’s original animated pilot episode Spice Frontier: Escape from Veltegar (premiering May 21, 2025 on YouTube) and our short film, Spice Frontier.

Spice Frontier Plot: Centuries after the destruction of earth, Kentucky Williams and his cyborg companion, C-LA, lead the crew of the Serrano on an intergalactic, flavor-driven adventure to hunt down the last remaining Earth spices.

Our game expands on this universe and provides an immersive experience in the world of Spice Frontier.

Game Development

We began developing a visual style for the game and using a location from the episode as our environment: Planet Veltegar. Alien flora cover the map accompanied by sand dunes, rock cavities, and large Zef’Ruun shells.

The game objective is for each team to attempt to collect and deposit the required number of qui’la at their base. The team that succeeds first wins the match. If the goal is not met after 20 minutes, the team with the most qui’la wins.

Teams must strategize to take out opponents, stop the enemy from capturing the objective, and escort the cargo runner back to their ship. Items of power and replenishment are hidden throughout the planet’s surface so exploring the area is key for survival!

Our map is releasing in May 2025 Stay tuned for more updates!!

[Peach-Gloss]

Gameplay and Mechanics

Spice Frontier: Cosmic Rush has objective-based gameplay that encourages coordination and strategy to win. Every mechanic was built to reflect the tension and teamwork shown in the pilot - it’s fast, cinematic, and full of surprises! Here are a few features:

The Crates of Qui’la

At the center of the map, the extractor spawns crates of qui’la that are being held under a protective shield. Once the shield drops, a player can grab one for their team and escort it back to base. However, the cargo runner will leave a noticeable breadcrumb trail that will help the enemy team hunt them down. If a player holding qui’la is eliminated mid-run, the crate drops, giving the enemy an opportunity to take it from them.

Mobility and Flow

We added ziplines and speed boost variants around the map to keep the players moving. Whether a player is escaping with a crate or chasing one down, they will always have an option for an environmental advantage.

Vending Machines

Players can unlock weapons for their team by eliminating the enemy players. All vending machines start locked at the beginning of the match. Based on the number of enemies eliminated, a weapon will unlock and be available to add to your inventory. The rarity of the weapons increases as the player eliminations increase. The amount of team kills required is dynamically adjusted based on the number of players in the match to keep the goals achievable.

Respawns

Players respawn after a very short delay with the same weapons they previously had in their inventory. This is to keep the momentum up and support the fast-paced gameplay!

More developer insights are on the way as we near launch! Spice Frontier: Escape from Veltegar premieres on Youtube May 2025, alongside our playable UEFN map in Fortnite!

[PresumptivePanda]

Hi there @Peach-Gloss,

Hope you’re well and having a great week so far

I’m absolutely obsessed with how this environment looks. It’s a colorful otherworldly sci-fi scene which typically isn’t my thing but you’ve done this so beautifully. The color choices, “plant life”, and layout create such a charming and distinct landscape. So gosh darn impressive!

Thanks for taking the time to share

[Peach-Gloss]

@PresumptivePanda Thank you so much for the support!! Our environment takes place on the same planet our characters explore in the pilot, Spice Frontier: Escape from Veltegar! The developers at Steamroller Animation are achieving the same look for the map so players can immerse themselves in our original, sci-fi world!

[PresumptivePanda]

That’s awesome actually Thanks for sharing your map here on the forums. It’s always so exciting to see what rad things people come up with. Be sure to post more when you can!

[Peach-Gloss]

Environment Design

Spice Frontier: Cosmic Rush is taking visual storytelling to the next level in UEFN. Building the map’s environment involved staying within the stylistic expectations of Fortnite while reimagining planet Veltegar, the setting of the pilot.

Map Breakdown

The game’s map is mirrored to ensure parity between the opposing sides. Each side has a team base with multiple paths leading out from it to the central combat zone with the qui’la extractor.

Players can strategize which path to take based on their playstyle or the weapons in their inventory!

The Cave

The open area around the extractor can have players easily exposed to the enemy team. The cave gives players a secluded path to heal up or escort their crate. It also provides a cramped fighting space that’s filled with healing plants, stink plants, and bomb plants to make the battle in this area more chaotic.

The Lookout Building

At the other side of the map sits a three level structure with items of power or replenishment. This building ruin also serves as a sniper tower and heavy cover area.

Pre-game Lobby

The pre-game lobby is designed to look like the Serrano’s interior and hangar bay (the crew’s spaceship shown in the pilot). Players can interact with items in the lobby, have a chance to understand the game’s objective, and choose which team they want to be assigned to. This small environment has some hidden easter eggs tucked away and keeps players immersed in the world of Spice Frontier.

Spice Frontier: Escape from Veltegar premieres on Youtube May 21st 2025, alongside our playable UEFN map in Fortnite!

[Peach-Gloss]

Mod Cinematic

Staying true to the stylized and cinematic world of Spice Frontier, we have integrated polished animation into our Fortnite island of one of the pilot’s beloved characters, Mod! Mod is a hacker onboard the Serrano and the brains behind the Spice Frontier: Cosmic Rush operation.

In addition to a pre-game lobby cutscene, new voice lines can be heard during a playthrough as Mod encourages your team to focus on the objective. Her unique reactions and sarcastic attitude keep the game lighthearted with every qui’la interaction.

Alongside our animated pilot episode, Spice Frontier: Cosmic Rush releases in ONE WEEK on May 21st!!