Four weeks have passed since the release of our first Seasonal patch in our concentrated effort to supporting Battalion 1944 long term. Mid Season has arrived, and we’re excited to show you what we have instore! Let's get started.
The Bulk(head) Of It - The Casual Experience
Over the last few weeks we’ve been keeping you guys informed with previews and developer streams as a way to better gauge what our players want most. We recognise the value in our player’s ongoing commitment which help us maintain and mould Battalion 1944 across the board. With an increased attentiveness to casual gameplay we’re really able to hone in on what make our mechanics fun to utilise in said environment as we move forward.
We’ve improved the experience ten fold by revisiting the way our players interact with game modes and each other. In previous versions of Battalion 1944 and for many of our casual community, ‘Arcade’ felt somewhat lacklustre, something we have never disagreed with, a spare part in a much bigger machine but one we intend on re-inventing as we proceed. By re-adding modes that you loved from day one to those requested across multiple avenues you can be sure we have something for you in Battalion 1944.
Free For All
One hotly requested game mode has been Free For All, the ultimate be your own hero shoot em up experience. Think you’re capable of doing all the heavy lifting? Now it's time to put it to the test. Up to 12 players face off in the ultimate rumble, selecting their choice of weaponry as you fight to the top of the scoreboard.
Rifles Only
You read that right, with free for all comes the ever loved 1 pop till you drop fanfare. A slew of wiggles and weaves as you land the perfect shot or keep up the momentum as you make your way through the server decimating everything in your path. A classic game mode we’re excited to include in our Arcade rotation full time. As we'll be including it in the main arcade queue this means we’ll see the inclusion of the M1 Garand. We understand how this may frustrate the rifles only purists amongst us, but it's important to give players the ability to learn how to counter the bolt-action rifles with the Garand as well as allowing some players who are now voted into a rifles only game to have an alternate option with a gun that is ultimately- still a rifle.
Arcade Map and Mode Voting
With the inclusion of the aforementioned game modes and full time positioning of HQ we have introduced map and game mode voting as a mainstay for the Arcade queue. We firmly believe that our community should get to decide how they experience the game in a casual environment and we’re now glad to give you the option. Whether it be Free for All Rifles Only on Manorhouse or Domination on Liberation. The choice is now yours.
A selection of 6 mix and match of maps and modes awaits you on the vote screen.
Test The New Invasion!
Map reworks are a common trend and balance is no laughing matter. For us at Bulkhead we want our maps to be the best they can and over the last month, a lot of our community have been sitting down with Brammer every week to have their say on Invasion’s facelift and rework. We’re glad that in this time we’ve seen a diverse change to the way YOUR map plays overall and can’t wait to see how it plays in both casual and competitive environments. Check out some of the changes below!
A substantial rework to Mid opens up the map for multiple attack points
Attack the new and improved A site via the concrete luge of Yellow
Now that you’ve had a taste of what's to come, why not try it for yourself? For the next week, Unranked Wartide on Invasion will feature as our Special Event - in this time we await patiently for your valuable feedback on what you think does or does not work, so go forth our merry community and test, test, test!
Possible inclusion of casual wartide coming?
Smoke Overhaul
As previously shown in a recent Mid Season Preview we introduced you to Battalion 1944’s new smoke grenade.
Smoke grenades play a huge part in Battalion’s break away defence and first line of attack. They provide the foundation for key, round winning moments, or block crucial information to prevent an opponent's advances.
Over the last year we’ve constantly been working towards balancing and creating a formidable smoke. A smoke that does exactly what it says on the tin, and dare I say, we think we’re pretty close. We’ve improved the smoke so that players will no longer be able to turn the edge of the smoke client side using their mouse as a way to gain an advantage. You can see the difference below!
Old Smoke
New Smoke
Our man in the cloud (of smoke) James Tatum gave us a run down of exactly how the smokes in Battalion work, give it a read here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/489940/announcements/detail/1617276469910067569
UI and Quality of Life Changes
We recently spoke of quality of life and how it helps us evolve in a way that benefits the general feel, mentality and future of the game. This week you’ll see some of these changes come into full effect, quite literally. We’ve adjusted the main menu to give it a feeling of home by condensing the vital information you guys want to see. We’ll always be looking to add to our UI in a way that fits the ongoing evolution of Battalion 1944.
Other quality of life issues we've included are
- STG & BAR hipfire changes to buff Thompson & MP40
- Shotgun rack time decrease
- VOIP now visible in buy menu to improve pre-round communication
- Request Donation button added
- Improved hit registration & client side bullet collision effects
- Removed medals from bot kills
- Option to delete items from inventory
Battalion 1944 @ epic.LAN - Powered by Chillblast
For us at Bulkhead and many of those within Battalion's competitive scene, epic.LAN has been a right of passage providing an affordable and more community-driven event within the UK - an ethos we too believe in. Taking your first steps at a grass roots level should be open to all and with the help from our friends at Chillblast (who have kindly provided 40 turn up and play machines) that idea has become a reality. Up to as many of 32 teams will face off at the Kettering Conference Centre for their share of up to £15,000 on October 10th - 13th.
Want to know more? Check out: https://www.epiclan.co.uk/ for signup information!
Year One Roadmap
Whether you're joining us for the very first time or a returning player, remember to check out our Year One Roadmap. Packed full of free content and fixes, looking to keep you up to date which just what we're looking to add to Battalion 1944's future. We hope you join us for the long haul as we look to commit to the games ongoing development!
https://steamcommunity.com/games/489940/announcements/detail/2709396928711893740
Have a great week!
Bulkhead Interactive
With approximately 500+ hours designing and testing so far. Level design is an iterative process that often entails spending countless hours working on particular assets, only for them to later be scrapped, as the overall design evolves.
I have always been passionate about game development, and particularly level design. Quake and Half-Life modding is what initially sparked this interest, and my desire manifest ideas into reality is stronger now than ever before. Upon discovering Battalion 1944, and quickly becoming addicted -- I realized that the dev kit was available, and immediately got to work on my own design. The map de_inferno, from Counter-Strike, has long been a personal favorite, dating back to pre-1.6 days. Although it has long been one of my favorites, there have always been various flaws throughout the map that often lead to the map feeling one-sided. With this in mind, I have made various changes and adaptations throughout the layout to provide a more balanced and faster playing level. The map has evolved into an entirely new experience that should be reminiscent of old-school games, but optimized for the speed and intensity of Battalion 1944.
None of the visual detailing is finished and some assets have no been built yet. This is because I want to ensure the layout plays well before spending time creating assets that might be replaced (if the layout changes).
Please leave feedback with what you like or do not like, as it relates to the layout of the map. I am well aware that various buildings are incomplete, and some are missing textures. Thank you in advance for any feedback provided!
