New Map, known more commonly as the Mario map, was a secret map added to Michael's Zombies.
Background
New Map, or better known as Mario, was a medium sized map which takes place in a similar space as One Window. Similar to One Window, players can fall off into the void, as well as zombies, albeit the zombies freefall until they hit the respawn timer. Players could encounter the map by previously pressing "Play Now" in older game versions, or by using the "set_map" console command.
New Map contained a 3x multiplier on things such as perks, with the Quick Revive machine missing entirely. Players would need to survive by spinning the Mystery Box repeatedly, which also had a 3x chance to give the player a Michael instead. After 8 rounds, a boss Luigi (similar to that of Panzer Michael) would spawn.
New Map was removed from Michael's Zombies at some point in 2024. It has since lost all of it's Mario-themed elements and has been replaced with placeholder effects from Lighthouse and The Undead Nocturn. This was most likely done to prevent any asset-related trouble with Nintendo, and was rebranded to "Hex Challenge".
There is currently no way to access New Map, as both "NewMap" and "HexChallenge" IDs are not in the game anymore.
Map Analysis
Main Platform
The main platform is a medium sized, hexagon shaped platform that serves as the spawn and home to the majority of Utilities.
There are 2 points of interest for the player:
- Star (Buyable ending for 69420 Points)
- 3 Perk machines (Juggernog, Speed Cola, Double Tap. All for 3x the price)
Elevations
The elevations consist of 6 platforms that extends from the main platform, with 3 going up and 3 going down, almost all of the elevations has a zombie spawn at the end.
There are 1 point of interest for the player:
- Mystery Box Locations
Pack-A-Punch
The Pack-A-Punch machine is absent from New Map, the only way to upgrade weapons is from the Pack-A-Punch power up dropped by dead enemies.
Escape Ending
Upon paying 69420 Points, all player will be immediately killed, with no cutscene, badge or any rewards
Trivia
- The zombie models are replaced with a recolored N64 model of Mario, with green overalls, a blue shirt and hat, and the M on the cap being replaced with a cat head.
- The TV will beep morse code, with the full translation of the message being; "RENDEZVOUS AT THE WATER FACILITY."
- There is a bug where zombies won't spawn for around 5 minutes or less. This tends to happen when a zombie falls off the map, as it likely doesn't kill them until the timer for killing (possibly) stuck zombies reaches 0.
- Falling off the platform will deal the same damage as a zombie to the player and teleport them to any of the platforms.
- Falling off the platform while downed will instantly kill the player.
- Falling off while half health may cause a bug to happen, making the game think all player are downed, which no zombies will spawn at all.
- New Map has a guaranteed chance to obtain a Michael every third pull
- The Michael Cat in this map is also a reskin, posing as a Luigi doll which originates from Mario Party and Mario Party 2, appearing in the minigame Crane Game.