Dear Tankers and Mechanics!
today we're releasing another patch with fixes and a few new features.
Better performance
We continued investigating the causes of crashes and added some safeguards—things should be better now. In addition, we’ve made a number of physics optimization changes for infantry and tanks. These changes free up CPU resources. When infantry aren’t visible on screen, we disable their animations, which improves the game’s performance. The same goes for tanks. At long range, we disable their physics (regarding movement and driving - don’t worry) this is a little trick that should improve performance, especially in larger battles.
UI changes
Battle Minimap
A few cosmetic and other changes to the UI. We’ve added a “Battle Minimap” panel, accessible by default with the “M” key which, of course, can be remapped. When you hold down the key, the map panel opens, you’ll see markers there, and you can also place markers using the mouse. It’s a quick version of the battle map designed for navigation and future interactions, such as issuing orders, calling for support, etc.
We’ve standardized the names of game modes during loading—whether for the host or the client—as they weren’t always consistent. Now, when playing a skirmish, it’s labeled “Skirmish,” and when playing a procedural campaign, the same label is displayed for everyone. Similarly, in the Session Browser, we’ve corrected the names and added information about which faction you’re playing as in a given session.
Vehicle weapon panel
The panel at the bottom of the screen where you select projectiles has been slightly updated. Though not completely yet, since we're still testing a realistic look for the projectiles in the UI. With this update changes are not "huge", modification is fairly subtle.
Loading screen
We've added carousels to the loading screen panel. In addition to the controls panel, this section will also feature information about the game's mechanics and other important details; for now, we've posted some promotional (propaganda) material about Ponyri over there.
Force pool creator
UI/UX has been improved here. Every squad has a proper emblem, same goes to an unit inside / part of a squad.
There are more and more minor UI/UX improvements, so expect things like these presented below. For example on a Battle Map, last unit in a squad doesn't have a shadow as a overlay on top of it or during wrecks selection every unit and a squad should have a proper emblem or avatars in-game have a proper color applied :) Lets make game less junky again!
ːtms_hammerː Changelog 1.3.8
Below is the list of changes being made:
Added:
Added a potential fix for a game freeze.
Added performance improvements for movable units and multithreaded pathfinding.
Added an option to disable artillery smoke indicators in the difficulty and simulation settings.
Added options to disable the reload circle and automatic weapon UI display when changing ammunition.
Added the Battle Minimap, accessible with the M key.
Added a background to the penetration feed on the death screen.
Added an animated carousel to the loading screen.
Added placeholder vehicle icons for single-unit squads.
Added a distinct default tank icon for vehicle squads.
Added faction filters to the Spectator UI.
Added faction names to entries in the Session Browser.
Added new internal and external engine sounds.
Added new vehicle collision sounds for impacts with metal objects.
Added revised internal and external sounds for the KV-1.
Modified:
Improved machine-gun sound balance over distance.
Improved footstep synchronization by reducing the distance required to trigger walking sounds.
Adjusted the force applied to trees when they are rammed, based on the size of the vehicle.
Improved Session Browser and session information panel presentation.
Improved the Vehicle and Inventory item UI.
Improved Spectator UI performance by optimizing faction image loading.
Improved the Force Pool Creator interface interaction, every input matter.
Improved image presentation in the Force Pool Creator.
Improved the Session Browser layout.
Improved the Battle Map squad and unit deployment layout.
Updated the T-70 sound events and slightly increased the KV-1 volume.
Improved cannon, impact, ricochet, shell-ejection, and environmental reverb mixing.
Reorganized audio mixer routing to improve compression management and prioritize important combat sounds.
Moved the JU 87 audio to the appropriate effects group.
Adjusted the stereo positioning of internal MG 34 and DT machine-gun sounds.
Adjusted the Panzer III external engine start sound to prevent it from sounding abruptly cut off.
Improved character interaction input handling and corrected crew-slot positioning.
Improved the character movement and AI-controlled movement systems.
Fixed:
Fixed a major issue that could block procedural campaigns containing more than ten missions when reaching a previously completed mission.
Fixed an impossible procedural campaign task that asked the player to purchase a Maus squad during the 1943 campaign.
Fixed player-controlled squads losing their command assignment after loading a battle save.
Fixed the AI Commander not calling artillery strikes on objectives during procedural missions.
Fixed a StuG III aiming issue that occurred when switching from third-person view to the gunner sight while changing to HE ammunition.
Fixed objective timers not appearing when entering an active defensive capture zone.
Fixed incorrect NavMesh data in the Psel Bridgehead procedural mission.
Fixed missing defensive objective configurations in some procedural missions.
Fixed losing control after converting a unit in the notepad.
Fixed manual interaction being available during Battle Map initialization.
Fixed voice-over text overlapping vehicle status information.
Fixed opening the radial menu or pressing R while driving causing the vehicle to stop.
Fixed visible gaps in the StuG floor that exposed the terrain underneath.
Fixed Molotov effects not despawning.
Fixed unnecessary vehicle parts being detached despite not being detachable.
Fixed input loss after pressing F5 and interacting with UI buttons.
Fixed incorrect wreck squad emblems.
Fixed Visual Effect Spawn Position Buffer errors on Morton and other missions.
Fixed the Manual displaying incorrect UI elements when opened with F5 during gameplay.
Fixed player avatars displaying incorrect colors.
Fixed the Battle Map displaying graphics for the wrong game mode.
Fixed incorrect game-mode names in the Session Browser.
Fixed the loading screen not appearing when restarting a battle.
Fixed squad and unit icons being incorrectly used as default UI backgrounds.
Fixed incorrect squad icons being assigned to vehicles spawned in procedural missions.
Fixed objective indicators remaining visible for unselected Destroy and Protect objectives.
Fixed unusual camera angles and trajectories in artillery kill cameras.
Fixed soldiers failing to reach their destinations.
Thank you for your support, we are working. See you next time!
DeGenerals
