Hello again troops of the Brass Brigade,
Today I'm happy to add another iconic WW2 battle into Brass Brigade's repertoire. For those of you who read the previous announcement (read it here), you will already know which battle it is. For those of you who didn't, let's catch you up!
The Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was a culmination of everything that went wrong for the allies during Operation Market Garden. Known as the largest airborne operation up to that point during WWII, allied troops from the United States, Britain, Poland, Canada, and the Netherlands attempted to capture nine bridges leading straight into Northern Germany. Paratroopers would land at each bridge and hold it until armored reinforcements could reach them, clearing the way in between each bridge. Speed and timing were key in achieving success, and the failure of even one unit to hold their position would result in further units being stranded. Unbeknownst to the allies - who thought their only opposition would be ineffective German infantry - the Germans stationed several Panzer groups nearby. The resulting carnage saw the paratroopers fending off Tigers tanks with small arms and light armor of their own. At the northern-most town of Arnhem, British troops found themselves outgunned and over 60 miles away from reinforcements. As seen in the 1977 film "A Bridge Too Far", the British would eventually falter and succumb to the German counter-attack.
However, Brass Brigade now offers you the opportunity to not only experience this iconic battle, but to potentially change the outcome of the battle. British troops drop into the fields behind Arnhem and must secure the area leading to the bridge before moving across the bridge itself. However, German troops on the opposite side of the river observe the paratroopers' advance and spring into a rapid assault, crossing the bridge into Arnhem. Both sides will meet on the bridge and must prevent their enemy from crossing. Once one side gains a successful foothold on the opposite side, the end of the battle usually follows soon after. Will you succeed in holding the bridge as the British? Or will you counter-attack as the Germans and attempt to root out the stream of British paratroopers from the beautifully calm skies that once owned the Dutch countryside?
Other New Art
There have been other developments in the art of the game, namely several of the explosion particle effects have been redone. Some of the revamped explosion effects sport large protruding clouds of dirt and debris that look more indicative of a grenade blast or a mortar explosion. They are tuned to look a bit more consistent with the overall cartoonish aesthetic of the game. Expect more particle tuning and effects changes in later updates.
British Voice Overs
If you listen closely, you will hear the new British voice overs added in this update. British troops will now spout lines about holding positions, charging the enemy, and throwing grenades, among others. It can be a bit difficult to hear some of these callouts amid the thunderous roar of gunfire and heavy artillery, but when you catch them shouting out how they're out of ammo as they duck for cover, it can add that little bit extra to the experience.
Updates to other maps
Several of the other maps have seen visual, pathfinding, and gameplay updates, the most noteworth of which are...
- Anzio Day 1 and Day 2 have had their grass and terrain texture work cleaned up. Grass now better aligns with the actual textures on the ground.
- Anzio Day 2 has had some of it's capture point boundaries widened, especially those near the river, to allow the allies to capture the point quicker at the game's start.
- Port en Bessin (and the night variant) have had their grass cleaned up in some areas, and some of the terrain textures have been tweaked to better match the color of the standing grass.
- Port en Bessin has a new capture point in-between the town and the Shore Battery to keep action nearer the center of the map and to incentivize bots to play more near the Shore Battery, as opposed to just the town.
- Saint-Aubin-Sur-Mer has had it's pathfinding tweaked to reduce the chances of bots getting stuck on sandbags near the Alley capture point and the Park Battery.
The Future
This update will close out larger content delivery for a while (content being maps and larger art assets). Future updates will likely include smaller art assets, but mainly, I intend to focus on gameplay features. In past announcements, I've hinted at scoped weapons, the ability to command troops, and other features, and I'd like to now take a focused swing at those features without the time consumption that developing new maps requires. There are some bugs I'd like to try and squash and some underlying gameplay system that I wish to refactor to allow for more flexibility with future gameplay updates. Stay tuned for more!
As always, I'm humbled to have such a loving community. I wish I could implement every feature request you guys want, but alas, I have to pick what falls within my ability, the game's scope, and what I think aligns best with the gameplay and design of Brass Brigade. But that doesn't mean I don't want to keep hearing from you. Feel free to visit our Discord (link here) and the Steam Discussion to drop a line about how you feel about Brass Brigade.
Until next time,
Henry