Hello Wolfenstein fans!
It's been a long time since the last major update. But RealRTCW 5.0 is finally here. Let's dive into its changes!
New weapon animations
This is an absolute highlight of this update. 90% of the firearms were reanimated from scratch. Some of them even got multiple reloading animations with empty/non-emtpy mag.
You can check out RealRTCW 5.0 guns and its animations in this video below.
Finalizing HD weapon models efforts
Tesla, Venom and Dynamite were the last RealRTCW weapons using old reskinned vanilla models. In RealRTCW 5.0 all of them finally got the full remake models based on original ones.
While the new models were made from scratch, original low poly models were used as a reference and source of inspiration. Though Tesla was made as a mid-ground between RTCW and Wolfenstein 2009 model.
New DLC - Agency Weapon Pack
New DLC was added to the store introducing three new weapons for you to use during campaign:
- De Lisle Carbine - stealth is your ally with this suppressed bolt-action rifle, perfect for covert operations and silent takedowns.
- M1941 Rifle - versatility meets precision in this semi-automatic rifle, offering a perfect balance for both mid and long-range engagements.
- Auto-5 Shotgun - unleash devastating firepower in close-quarters combat with the Auto-5, a rapid-firing shotgun known for its fire rate and stopping power.
You can take a look at the new DLC here:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2993200/RealRTCW__Agency_Weapon_Pack/
Throwing knives!
Yes! You can now destroy your enemies with distant knife attacks - silent and deadly! You can carry up to 10 knives in your inventory, throwed knifes are pickable! Care to try knife only playthrough? Here is a short demonstration of this mechanic:
Interactive Hub - Malta Headquarters
Remember how OSA Malta base was mentioned in the original Return to Castle Wolfenstein story? This is the place where BJ landed the Kobra after hijacking it in the third chapter.
I decided to take this idea to extreme and create freeroam hub location for players to explore.
Now, between every chapter you will find yourself in Malta OSA Headquarters, where you can:
- Choose your loadout
- Get to the HQ to receive intel
- Dig yourself into the archives
- Visit local museum
- Get healed up at medical bay
- Test new guns and run through the training course at the firing range
- Take some rest at your quarters
- Speak with numerous NPCs around the city
- Hunt for side quests and secrets!
If you feel like Malta HQ messes up the pace of the game - you can always disable it in the gameplay menu!
New achievements
With Malta HQ arrival I also added 15 new achievements for you to hunt down!
Checkpoint System
Tired of manually saving around every corner? Forgot to save and now you gotta start from the very beginning of the level? Fear no more. We got your back with the new CHECKPOINT SYSTEM.
Throughout the game you progress will be saved automatically and if you die - it will automatically load the latest checkpoint and also provide you with short spawn protection so you wont get soft-locked.
And dont worry! Manual saves are still there!
Optional gameplay mutators: Health Regen, Realistic movement, Realistic Ballistics
RealRTCW 5.0 introduces a few new ways to spruce up your gameplay.
Health Regen - will grant you the ability to regenerate your health after being shot. Works the same way it works in every modern FPS nowaydays. Beware! Every health item will be removed if you enable this mutator!
Realistic movement - will gradually lower your movement speed, reduce jumping ability. Ladder movement as well as sprinting will holster your weapon. Every weapon has its own dedicated sprinting animation too! This movement mode works perfectly with realism difficulty.
Realistic Ballistics - this will enable range factor for every weapon. Every gun will have its own effective range. After effective range mark will be passed - damage will be reduced. So you cant just use SMGs and pistols to get a quick kill on 1km range. So with this mutator you gotta consider range of engagement more than before!
Maps Overhaul
With RealRTCW 5.0 we decided to step into map remasters field. And we never did this before!
For our first step we have choosen small maps, just to get a grip of it.
Olaric Boss Fight (boss1)
Boss1 map is now a winter themed map. This was done to match the previous outdoor level in the chapter - village1. Out of bounds area was detailed and a few visual improvements were introduced.
But most important - pit area is now locked for the player once he step on the arena. You cant cheese your way through this boss fight anymore! A few pickup items were placed on the arena to compensate for that.
Kugelstadt Factory
A few visual improvements were added here to tie this level to the previous one and to the future ones set in Secret Weapons Facility. Keep an eye for a few cool details!
This level never had any secrets in vanilla PC RTCW. But we decided to add two secret areas from the Xbox port of the game. Go get them!
Super Soldier Boss Fight (boss2)
Super soldier boss fight was always a problematic one. Nothing fair about it. You had to cheese your way using the bulletproof glass.
We completely redid the arena and also added numerous visual improvements in other areas to make it look more like a real place.
Also Super Soldier Tesla Range was reduced specifically for this level.
Training level
Old training level was removed completely.
It was replaced with the Malta Firing Range and Training Course.
Future map remasters
We wanted to introduce more maps, but the work was too big for us to handle.
But I'm happy to announce that future updates will feature:
Village1, Forest and Dark
Subtitles Improvements
Subtitles system was gradually improved.
Wrong timings when subtitle stayed on screen for too long or too short were fixed completely.
You can also tune your subtitles appearance by adding shadow effect and change size of printed subtitles.
And also for all subtitle makers out there. You no longer need to take 50 characters limit per line in account! Subtitles can carry over to the next line automatically by the game!
Important QOL improvements, balance changes and fixes
Among all those changes we also added a lot for QOL stuff like crouch toggle, new snooper reticle, new weapon icons, fix for notebook notification not dissappearing etc. You can check out the full changelog on the forums!
Cooperative mode status
Sadly, all our efforts during 5.0 development were focues on improving single-player experience. Coop is not gonna recieve new animations or models in this update. But hopefully those can be somehow implemented in the future. This is compicated matter because coop mode is using separate engine branch which is very different from single player one.
Enemy Territory Single-Player 2.0
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2600685791
Wolfenstein Enemy Territory Single-Player will recieve a lot of improvements as well. Its author William Faure took a full advantage of the new RealRTCW features. Here is a short breakdown.
Choose your class
Yes, you read that right! As you can see in the screenshot below, the PLAY menu not only got a slight overhaul, but it's also coming with a new option to choose a class! Woohoo!
Classes directly affect the player's starting loadout in the missions. Each class is inspired by those from Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, complete with different arsenals and even exclusive items!
Foliage Tech
RealRTCW 5.0 implemented foliage tech from Enemy Territory. We are aimed to bring this to Forest and Dark levels once their remaster are ready. But you can experience this tech now in Enemy Territory maps! Oh sweet grass!
Cabinets. Cabinets everywhere.
Another element that will be exclusive to the RealRTCW version of the mod starting with Version 2.0 are health and ammo cabinets, the very same ones featured in Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory at the same locations, and an evolution to those featured in the Warbell expansion, released last year.
Community Highlights
I also want to mention two authors who had been given early access to the RealRTCW 5.0.
They did an amazing job reviewing 5.0 changes. You can check out their videos below!
I think this is it!
RealRTCW 5.0 was in development for the good two years. The road to it was bumpy and sometimes very frustrating. But I think this is the best RealRTCW iteration we ever did. I'm proud to release it and I'm proud to have my name behind it!
I wanna thanks everyone who helped me along my way. William Faure for bringing a lot of stuff on the RealRTCW table and also taking a full advantage of the stuff I coded in, AidenDemon for making those maps remasters, and my favorite voice actors - General Red Strategist and Matt the Cat who made Malta HQ much more alive with their voices!
I also wanna thank beta testers who provided a valuable feedback.
Sorry If I hadnt fixed the things you reported, we'll get to it!
Anyway. I hope you all enjoy RealRTCW 5.0! Have fun!
WolfETPlayer
Get Psyched!