Zavod 311 is one of multiplayer maps that comes with the vanilla version of Battlefield 4, featuring an interesting mix of a deserted military factory in a fairly flourishing forest. The name itself refers to a municipality in Slovakia, and the setting of the military as a post-soviet era reinforces the notion that although this is a fictional, made-for-multiplayer-game location, it basically points out that it’s somewhere in Europe.


Location of Slovakia. Image by NuclearVacuum via Wikipedia.com

Now, for those who’ve frequented the map, you’d notice that it was built with great detail. The locale, setting, landscape and right down to the atmosphere is spot on for the location. Well, except when you notice the orientation of the sun.

The map below illustrates the whole Zavod 311 map, with north towards the upper side.


Multiplayer Map of Zavod 311 (Conquest mode). Image courtesy of Rotiboy of UTK Malaysia

The image below shows the location of the sun, possibly at down or right after dawn (as dusk would usually render an orange hue to the sky). Look at the map on the bottom left, and you will notice the orientation is in the general northern direction. It points out that the sun is roughly 3-6 degrees to the north-west.


Image courtesy of Rotiboy of UTK Malaysia

Now take a look at the following diagram. This is a sun-path diagram for Slovakia. It illustrates the location of the sun relative to a location (or a person) in Slovakia. To understand this diagram, you would place yourself in the center of the circle. At any given time of the year, the sun would be located anywhere within the yellow band.


Sun-path diagram for Slovakia. Courtesy of Gaisma.com

In the most extreme case in summer, it will follow the green line. You will notice in summer, dawn is indicated where the green circle line intersects with the big grey circle line. It’s indicated there that the earliest dawn in Slovakia at any point of the year will be 4.32am. And for winter, latest dawn is highlighted by the cyan line, indicating 7.25am. For your information, today during the writing of this article, the sun is highlighted in the orange circle line.

So at any time of the year, the yellow band is where the sun will be relative to any location in Slovakia give or take 1-2degrees (depending on the latitude).
It is important to point out that the sun, in Zavod, can never be located to the north. Assuming the map is set at dawn, then the most possible location would be to the north-east, at an angle of relatively 50 degrees. In general, to enjoy the sun relatively to the north, you have to be in the southern hemisphere (think South America, Africa or Australia).

It is fair to conclude here that Zavod 311 map has the biggest Levolution event of all. The sun has been displaced from its original location, either by tilting the earth’s axis, shifting of earth’s magnetic poles and/or shifting of the earth’s orbit!

Well done, DICE.

Reported by Azari Mat Yasir (azarimau).
Special thanks to Hazwan Chai Malik (OneChai), Ian Ho (Rotiboy__) and the rest of Unit Tindakan Khas(UTK) platoon, Malaysia.

Er... so?

just play the game already!

I've been to Slovakia. Bratislava to be exact.

dah main sampai bosan...