Sellers Street Auditorium is the third mission in SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate and the tenth mission in SWAT: Elite Force. The SWAT team is task with restoring order after a group of inexperienced gunmen belonging to Citizens Against Satanic Music (CASM) invaded the Sellers Street Auditorium in an attempt to stop a rock concert.
Mission Briefing[]
Listen up. Approximately 45 minutes ago a group known as Citizens Against Satanic Music or 'CASM' stormed a rock concert at the Sellers Street Auditorium. They fired a barrage of shots injuring several audience members and creating a panic. The band, called ''Devil's Playthings'', fled the stage but was closely followed by the suspects. They claim to now have the band hostage.
CASM have long been a vocal opponent of rock music, occasionally clashing with police during protests, but they've never resorted to this level of violence before. They've been sending the band hate mail for some time, and it looks like the band's latest album ''Die For The Devil'' pushed them over the edge. They want it taken off store shelves.
These guys aren't hardened criminals - they're sloppy and badly organized, but they're also extremely well equipped. Looks like somebody sold them some guns and they got delusions of grandeur.
Witnesses report seeing at least four suspects armed with automatic weapons and wearing disguises. We're guessing there are several civilians inside either injured or hiding. We're taking the suspects claim that they're holding the band hostage seriously. These guys are nervous amateurs and that makes them more likely to hurt or kill an innocent civilian, either deliberately or accidentally.
Choose your equipment and be ready to move out.
Timeline[]
- 20:05: Suspects Enter Auditorium - Suspects enter the auditorium. Civilians flee.
- 20:11: Patrol Cars Arrive - First responding patrol cars arrive.
- 20:23: Perimeter Established - Perimeter Established
- 20:32: CNT Arrive - Negotiator arrives and attempts first contact.
- 20:35: Suspect Demands - Suspects issue initial, conflicting demands.
- 20:49: Shots Fired - More shots heard from inside auditorium. SWAT enter.
Entries and Snipers[]
The auditorium has two entrances. One entrance is the main lobby at first floor side 4 while another entrance is the loading dock at first floor side 2. The main lobby entrance is uncluttered while only offering one entrance path, while the loading dock offers two entrance paths, albeit one of them is cluttered with back stage equipments.
There are two snipers available in this mission. Sierra 1 is covering the restaurant area on the second floor at side 3 while Sierra 2 is covering one of the offices on the second floor at side 1.
Map Layout[]
The intel provided on this mission is too ambiguous to provide any useful insights on the map layout. Also the intel is presented in a confusing fashion by putting side 4 instead of side 1 at the bottom of the briefing screen.
The Sellers Street Auditorium is a two story building that has been built for local theater and music bands and hosts many cultural events such as theater performances, concerts and other forms of entertainment. The whole auditorium's structure can be roughly described as a large auditorium room, referred to as the "main hall" in the intel, at the center surrounded by interconnected hallways, rooms and balconies that forms a looping path around it. The structure is also divided into the part for audience towards side 4 and part for employees towards side 2.
On the ground floor the main auditorum with stage and seats for audience is surrounded by the main lobby with a ticket office on side 4, a public stairway, two restrooms and an office on side 1, and a backstage storage area, a dressing room for actors, a loading dock and a store room on side 2. On the second floor the auditorium is surrounded by a bar and a restaurant for customers on side 4, the public stairway and an office on side 1, and another office, a store room with many different stage props and musical instruments and other like amplifiers, a stage control room for sound engineers and specialists of visual effects and a break room for band members on side 2. One thing of note here is that the first floor store room is directly connected with the second floor break room via private stairs. It is also worth mentioning that the auditorium is surrounded on both side 1 and side 3 from the balconies on second level for a better views on the main auditorium. The main auditorium is rather spacious as it contains large dance floor and multiple seats for audience. On the stage there are various headlights and colorful lights giving great light effects during concerts and performances. Due to the overlooking balconies one must watch out for anyone on the upper level, especially the suspects.
Despite the apperance of a spiral staircase that connects the first floor dressing room with a second floor office, it is actually blocked in game and thus it serves no purpose. Also given the chaotic nature of the scene, some heavy equipments on the second floor have fallen over and blocked the hallway on side 1, giving the suspects a hip high cover to fire from while rerouting the player's path into the office next door. It's worth to mention that in the whole auditorium there are various posters and advertisements about various concerts and other performances that will occur in The Sellers Street Auditorium such as "Devil Playthings" rock band - the ones that need the rescue by SWAT officers.
Tactical Approach[]
Suspects on this map are well armed with machine pistols, submachine guns and assault rifles, as well as occasional body armors. This mission also features a number of tight hallways and obstacles that the suspects can hide behind and ambush the team as they clear the building, so it is necessary to move slowly, scout with the optiwand for unsafe approaches, and make liberal use of flashbangs and CS Gas.
The most consistent entry point is the main entrance. After loading, check the ticket office directly ahead for an incapacitated civilian, then the entryway to the auditorium for a civilian. After this point, the best way to proceed is to order the team to breach the door to the left of the entrance, leading into the public stairway, with a flashbang, as there is often one or more suspects with a civilian under the stairway. Do not proceed upstairs yet. Entering the auditorium from the front is not ideal because of the bleachers which block grenades thrown from the front door, and the backstage entrance from the office is interrupted by a shelf, which blocks flashbangs and can be shot through by suspects behind the stage curtain. Instead, continue along the hallway into the offices, clearing the bathrooms along the way, secure the office and dressing room, then go back and go upstairs.
The second floor features a number of looping pathways which can allow suspects to escape and attack the team from behind. Using wedges to block doors or attacking from two directions will limit the suspect's ability to ambush the team. The restaurant features windows to the bar and kitchen which suspects may shoot through, and no door on the office side, meaning the team can be shot at when breaching from the public stairway, and entering the restaurant from this side also puts the team's back to the kitchen window. Sierra 1 is not able to see into the kitchen or bar, and the optiwand may not be able to see suspects in the bar if they are crouching.
Attacking the auditorium is the most difficult, but can be overcome with proper setup. While it is possible to shoot and shout from the balconies on the second floor, and can make the final attack easier, it is not possible to hit suspects behind the stage. The safest approach to the backstage is through the storage room or the loading dock area, as these approaches are not blocked by any obstacles. Splitting the team and having one group attack from the auditorium's side entrance while the player leads from the backstage prevents suspects from running, and most effectively covers the large space. The side entrance is defended by the stage itself, so the AI teammates can reliably enter and control the floor. Because the whole stage is considered part of the room, it is not possible to order the team to clear it automatically, which is why the player should lead the second team and spend their own CS gas grenade to take control of the stage.
Changes in Elite Force[]
- Incapacitated civilians can bleed out and become DOA if not reported in time, which results in forfeiting the "All civilians unharmed" score bonus.
- Andrew Norman is made insane i.e. less hesitant to shoot civilians and his max morale is increased. He is also the only suspect that can spawn with an AKM Assault Rifle.
- Rest of the suspect's morale have been adjusted to allow for a greater range of morale value.
- The suspects now carry MP5KA4 Machine Pistols, Desert Eagle pistols and Remington M870 shotguns in addition to their default loadouts.
- Suspects now have a 5% chance to suffer cardiac arrest when tased by a Taser or the Cobra Stun Gun, while Andrew Norman's risk is increased to 10%.
- Band members now have a 10% chance of getting cardiac arrest, while overweight male civilians now have a 5% chance to suffer cardiac arrest.
- All civilians' morale have been raised so that they all have a good chance to resist compliance. The band members will be particularly stubborn to fit their high on drug status.
- This mission unlocks the UMP SMG and its suppressed variant instead of the Ammo Pouch.
- Restored the 911 call that wasn't featured in the original version.
Gallery[]
