Today we’ll focus on two parts of the content coming with the Vanguard Edition: the exclusive skins and the soundtrack.

First we’ll post a blurb by Yuriy, Visual director for the game, who will expand on the process behind the creation of the beautiful models in the game. We’ll also post all the cosmetic skins coming with the Vanguard Edition.

Then we’ll leave the microphone to Evgeny Shchukin, the composer behind the amazing and thrilling OST. Disclaimer: the soundtrack won’t be an exclusive to the Vanguard Edition, we’re looking into making it available separately after launch.

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The Models in Broken Arrow

Creating models for Broken Arrow is a complex, but quite interesting process, in which there is a constant balancing between three variables: Optimisation, Visual beauty of the model, Asset production time.
We always proceed from the principle that the main character of our game - a unit, be it a tank, SPHr, or infantry squad - should look as authentic as possible. For this 3D team has developed its own pipeline, sometimes with quite specific tools that are used in production. There is no point in describing our pipeline in detail, but few points are worth mentioning.

Realism is your best friend:
Despite the large scale of the wargame and technical limitations (texture size, polycount, etc.) associated with it, we're trying to validate models authenticity, so players won't have much doubts regarding how historically accurate models are. So, at some point we've introduced a rule saying that the validation of the unit should be based on real life reference, such as photo or video record. This approach drastically mitigates any risks.

Here, for example, is an intermediate stage of checking the model of American armoured personnel carrier ACV, where the hull dimensions are already similar to the real ones and it remains only to fit the elements of the model to their rightful places.

You've got to know the subject and be aware of your actions - a 3D Artist is pretty much a jack of all trades)

Any vehicle is a large and complex mechanism, consisting of thousands of parts that make each machine unique, endowing each unit with its own charisma. A unit should not just look beautiful, but should convey the ‘soul’ of a real combat vehicle, be interesting to study from all sides. Metal texture, layers of paint, inscriptions, detailing - all this is very important to display, even despite the technical limitations.

The whole world is a reference
A set of references and visual oversight is of great importance to the artist. Each of our artists has his own personal folder with various photo and video references. Such folders may occupy dozens of GBs on a hard drive. Chipping, welding, priming, paint texture - it all helps to ‘revive’ the look of the equipment in the game. Not washing the car can also be useful - photographed textures of dirt and smudges can be easily found in our models.

What is interesting, some characteristic chips/textures/contamination are transferred into the game almost unchanged, and sometimes in unexpected ways. For example, for the M60, the texture of the moulded turret is originally a photo of ordinary sand on the beach, converted to normal.

Not washing the car can also be useful - photographed textures of dirt and smudges can be easily found in our models

Camouflages - personality to the max!
We pay special attention to the creation of camouflages, because they allow us to achieve the best visual flavour for the vehicle. In camo production we try to keep a fine balance between historicity and personality of the vehicle. Due to this, sometimes we have to make compromises - for example, in order to use the camouflage that actually existed, characteristic for this army on later vehicles, i.e. we have some ‘semi-historical’ colouring (for example, modern iterations of Abrams tanks in MERDC camouflage of the 70s), or to use a composite image, where some elements were found in photos of real vehicles. We paid special attention to the Vanguard edition camouflages, as we didn't just want to strike a balance between authenticity and personality - we wanted to capture the spirit of each specialisation through these camouflages. We hope we have succeeded!

F-16

The camouflage of our F-16 is inspired by the real camouflage of this machine, it is F-16 #87-0241, from the exercise of 12 August 2001. We think it captures well both the character of the aircraft (swift and skittish, like a tiger) and the character of the entire Striker deck - a swift, stunning strike on the enemy.

F-22

The F-22 also has a real-life prototype - from a photo of Santos Caceres, who captured this stealth fighter on his camera as it took off from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada on the morning of 19 November 2021. We don't know much about this type of coating, but it makes the F-22 look particularly spectacular, as does the entire US SOF spec - Unquestionably high-tech tool for solving the toughest problems on the battlefield.

KA-52

This camouflage has a special place in the hearts of our artists, as it relates to the KA-52's nickname - Alligator. Thus we think it builds a strong connection with KA-52's character. This coating is real, for the first time this KA-52 has been shown to the public at the PARIS AIR SHOW 2013. We think that this paint job expresses KA-52's nickname in the best possible way. Be careful not to be deceived by the relative slowness of this model - it has very sharp teeth and strong armour like a real alligator. So does RF airborne spec!

Abrams M1A2

The camouflage of this vehicle - a collective image of the entire armoured power of the United States Inspired by the real prototype, this camouflage has been creatively redesigned to emphasise all the strongest aspects of the tank - strongest armour, accurate gun, pure power and inevitability. As well as the entire deck of the US Armoured Brigade - a steely, unstoppable avalanche on the cutting edge of the attack.

T-14 Armata

It's also a special camouflage for artists. This vehicle refers to the colouring of Soviet tanks from WWII. The IS-2 steel machine, the crown of the power of the USSR tank building, echoes the spirit of the T-14 Armata - the crown of modern tank building, emphasising the connection of the tank building school. In our opinion, this camouflage, although never applied on the real T-14, corresponds very well to the spirit of both the vehicle and the whole deck as a whole - there is no task for the Guards Tank Brigade that it could not deal with

These are just a few of the inspirations for all the skins going in the Vanguard Edition. Here are all the skins, 1 per each specialization. Let us know what you think in the comments down below.

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The Music in Broken Arrow

My musical background is deeply rooted in electronic music. Alongside my colleague Alexander Tochilkin, who leads the audio department in our team, we have traveled a long path through the electronic music scene — releasing vinyl records, performing at festivals, and building our artistic voice. Over time, we transitioned into the world of sound design and interactive music. I have created extensive sound design for a variety of visual projects, as well as dynamic soundtracks for games and installations.

As a passionate gamer since childhood, I have always been a big fan of game music — from the early days of Atari, through the iconic Mega Drive and SNES soundtracks, to modern masterpieces like Battlefield 2042 and Cyberpunk 2077.

When it comes to references and inspirations for the Broken Arrow soundtrack, I would highlight artists such as Johan Skugge & Jukka Rintamäki (Battlefield 3 and 4), Brian Tyler (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3), and P.T. Adamczyk and Marcin Przybyłowicz (Cyberpunk 2077). I also draw inspiration from the classic soundtracks of Sega Genesis and SNES games, cinematic scores like Black Hawk Down, Tenet, and Inception, music from crime documentaries for creating tension, and classical orchestral works for their epic quality.

In terms of production, I primarily work on a PC using Reaper or Ableton as my main DAWs. I make extensive use of virtual synthesizers such as Serum, Massive, Diva, and numerous sample libraries like Native Instruments Kontakt, complemented by various effects — from guitar pedal emulations to retro reverb units. Hardware plays an important role too: our custom-built modular synthesizer provides unique electronic textures and glitch effects, while vintage synths like the Roland JP-8000, D-50, and the Soviet Polivoks deliver powerful basses and lead sounds.

My creative process typically begins with a rough sketch based on the required theme — whether it’s an aggressive trailer piece or a subtle ambient background track for the game. I then proceed to arrangement and instrumentation, followed by mixing and final mastering — all of which I handle myself. Alexander has also contributed some outstanding tracks to the soundtrack, particularly during the early stages of Broken Arrow's development.

Another major part of my work is the dynamic music engine we developed. Built using FMOD middleware, it consists of numerous small musical pieces of varying intensity and mood, designed to react dynamically to in-game events, battle intensity, and different gameplay phases. As a result, players experience a musical background that is assembled in real time and adapts seamlessly to the flow of the game. The system is highly flexible, offering a unique auditory experience in every match. In addition, within the mission builder, players can select specific music tracks for key gameplay moments or even upload their own OGG files, providing an extra layer of personalization. That’s the foundation of our dynamic music engine.

Here's my Polivoks synth. We bought it with Alexander a long time ago - a bus driver brought it to us from another city. That time it didn't cost much, since many elderly people were getting rid of old Soviet stuff and it wasn't fashionable again yet. Now it's a pretty solid deal. It is a very aggressive analogue unit from the 1980s, made by Formanta USSR. Harsh raw basslines, fat leads slightly out of tune, weird noises - here's what it applies to. As far as I know Trent Reznor also used it in his massive Doom OST. Mine is also "charged" with a light garland, since 50% of the time I work at night, and the unit itself doesn't have any display or lights to see the knobs and parameters.

This is Dave Smith Instruments Evolver. A little beast of a synth from a legendary engineer who developed the iconic Prophet from the 80s which made a huge impact on almost every record of that time. This is an analogue/digital desktop synth with 4 sequencers, allowing to do interesting computerized yet warm and fat complex sounds and sequences. It can also do roaring bass and lush leads. I bought it from our colleague Vova Valder who is now producing videos for Broken Arrow. I also customized it with non-stock knobs which I took from an old Akai MIDI controller.

This is a modern clone of the legendary Roland TB-303 synth famous for its iconic "acid" basslines. This TB-3 version has some additional features and a touch screen for sequencing. You can hear such sounds at the end of "An Idea for an Ambush" and "Burning Gasoline". 303 brings a good amount of tension and danger to a music track.

And here's my Peavey Tracer electric guitar from 1989. American-made baby of yellow color. Along with electronic music I'm also into rock and metal stuff. My favs are Sepultura, Gojira, All Them Witches and good old power metal such as Blind Guardian. TBH I mostly program heavy guitars on a PC computer with the help of Kontakt libraries and virtual amps and pedals such as Brainworx Rockrack or Neural DSP stuff - the Gojira signature is one of my favourites. But I believe there are still some lines and sounds in the OST made on this old yellow Peavey with my hands on it.

We continue to expand and refine the soundtrack — and there’s much more music on the way for Broken Arrow!