We're back with the notes for an intermediate update coming out this weekend, and an update on our OP Husky Stage 2 release plans in May. By the time Update 1.0.2.4. goes live over the weekend, I (Xenophon) will be abroad and out of office, so I want to touch bases with the community on our plans for Stage 2 before I travel to the Czech Republic.
Update 1.0.2.4 Notes:
Gameplay:
- AI can play historic OBs in custom scenarios.
- Same-nation hostile unit shading. For instance, if you are playing UK against an Allied Operation Husky OB, hostile UK units will be overlayed by a dark shader to distinguish them from your own.
Order of Battle Updates:
- Added remainder of UK 1st Airborne Division to the Allied OP Husky OB for use in custom scenarios. This includes the 2nd and 4th Parachute Brigades, and attendant artillery/support units. These units were historically assigned to UK 8th Army during OP Husky and featured in early operational planning, but were not ultimately deployed to Sicily due to air transport shortages.
- Numerous updates to Italian 6th Army, including revisions of artillery composition for several coastal divisions, new coastal battalions, and fixed corps assignment for several independent units.
- Corrected TOE of UK Paratroop AA batteries 1942-1944, they were unrealistically large.
- Corrected TOE of 103rd Panzer Abteilung (3rd Panzergrenadier Division) in 1943, it was one company short and missing its command tanks.
- Fixed various minor issues in several OBs, including typos in unit short names and incorrectly set unit parents.
Fixes/Tweaks
- Fixed a rare bug that allowed below 1 to 1 odds skirmish combats to inflict excessive casualties on the stronger side.
- Tweaked air hub spawn points on Sicily and Sardinia to promote more varied invasion scenario spawns.
Operation Husky Stage 2 Release Plans:
We anticipate full release of stage 2 in the latter half of May, with a public beta earlier in the month, much like the Reinforcements update beta last year. I will be out of office and halfway across the globe in the lovely city of Prague for the next two weeks. After I return, I will prepare a new gameplay video showcasing the upcoming pre-set scenarios alongside the major interface improvements we’re cooking up to release in Husky stage 2.
State of Development:
We have been quiet over the last month as NS2 Archimedes was busy preparing to (successfully!) defend his PhD dissertation and I have been preparing for my trip to Prague. However, progress continues on the new scenarios. We have fully functional OP Husky, OP Firebrand, and OP Brimstone (July and September variants) in closed beta testing now. At this point we’re still working on some of the special rules, such as temporary immobilization for garrison units and withdrawal mechanics before these scenarios are ready to go live. Likewise, Case Axis cannot enter testing until these rules are implemented. Finally, we’re going to exchange the OP Brimstone (May) scenario for something very different from the other scenarios coming in the OP Husky lineup, I’ve left a hint below!
Note For Kaspersky/Avast Antivirus Users
On a final note, several players brought it to our attention that Kaspersky and occasionally Avast antiviruses throw a false positive with CAOS. We will be implementing the appropriate code signing certificate as part of OP Husky Stage 2 to resolve this false positive permanently.
In the mean time, have a fantastic Easter from all of us here at NS2 Games and I’ll be back in May to show off the new features we’ve been working on!