There is a big update planned for Verdun later this year - regular readers of the Frontline News likely have a good idea what will be featured, but we have some new details to release today!
Our main goals with this update are to make the game more accessible to new players, and to make sure that people can enjoy the game at any time of the day, in all parts of the world on PC and console! We hope this will also lead to players returning more often, since the game will be playable at all times.
Our other goal is to enhance the World War One atmosphere within the game - this is central to the whole vision behind the WW1 Game Series. While compromises will always need to be made for playability, there is plenty of scope for changes to boost player immersion.
New User Interface
We will release an open testing version of the new UI for the Winter Update. Those of you who also play Tannenberg will already have an impression of what to expect here! We will continue to refine and improve the UI in the Tannenberg Early Access, and once we’ve got all the rough edges smoothed off we will release it for all Verdun players. Here’s a mockup of the squad selection menu for Verdun in the new UI:
Part of the user interface we haven’t changed yet in Tannenberg is the games browser - but we have an update planned. It will no longer be necessary to set a password for a private game, it will be easier to find private matches, and there will be improvements to the browser for games of all types. This will be part of the new UI when it is released in Verdun.
New 64 Player Frontlines mode with bot support!
Much has been said about the bots - some people are looking forward to their introduction - especially in quieter areas of the world - while others have concerns. We can announce that bots will be coming to Verdun in a new Frontlines game mode - so nobody will be forced to play with bots. If you like your Verdun experience as it is, you can keep on playing in the current Frontlines mode.
A screenshot of 64 players in action!
The new Frontlines mode variant will feature more than just bots - it will also increase the player count to 64! This will intensify the WW1 ambience and create more epic battles which we think will prove popular with the part of the community who have shown interest in larger scale fights. Naturally as more players join a game, bots will leave, so busy servers will see 32v32 player battles! There will also be gameplay tweaks to factors like call-in cooldowns and grenade loadouts to fit the larger number of squads fighting.The bots will also be available for private matches, where players will be able to adjust the skill of the bots and bot numbers to their satisfaction.
The new 64 player Frontlines mode will provide a slightly more gentle introduction to the game (it’s still trench warfare after all), giving new players some space as part of a larger team to learn the basics of movement, weapons handling, squad loadouts, objectives, and how to navigate the maps. We hope that having a game mode with bots will encourage people to return to the game more often, since they will always be able to play.
There will also be a new spawning UI in the new Frontlines game mode, with an overview map will provide a good indication of where you can spawn, where the enemy are coming from or currently defending, and generally help orient people as they spawn in. It will also be implemented in the current Frontlines. We are aiming to implement this in the current open testing UI for the Winter Update.
A WIP gif of the upcoming spawn UI.
Jumpshooting
One of our guiding principles for each game in the WW1 Game Series is to deliver a historical game capturing some of the WW1 atmosphere, including the difficult situations soldiers would encounter where they had to make tactical decisions. Although we know some players have gotten used to it, jumpshooting does not fit in this vision. We have struggled to take a clear position here as we wanted to find a solution which could keep all players happy, yet from a design perspective it just doesn’t fit the game we want to make, or the ethos of the series.
Therefore it is not something we will continue to support. The removal of jumpshooting is primarily related to the atmosphere in the game: it looks ridiculous. This is also why we didn’t implement it in Tannenberg.
Barbed Wire Rework
The update will also see a change to how barbed wire works. We’ve seen many new players struggle (literally) with barbed wire. In short, it will no longer kill you. New wire will be an obstacle that can reduce your health and stamina while limiting your movement speed, making you a sitting duck if you get caught up for too long, but it won’t kill you.
New Content and Features
There will be several other features as part of the update - for instance, players will be able to vote for the next map once a battle ends! A score penalty for shooting your own team will also be added, along with some adjustments to balance of call-ins.
As for new content, a second squad and a map are on the roadmap, but what squad, and where will the map be based? Here is the first teaser for the next new map...
And the squad? That’s something we’re going to keep under wraps for now - we’ve got to keep some air of mystery around the update! Expect more sneak peeks in these upcoming weeks!
We know we haven’t been as quick to comment on certain topics as we normally are. There were some tough calls to make, so we wanted to take some extra time to review your given feedback carefully and playtest certain changes ourselves.
That’s all for now. We understand that some might be shocked, others will be excited. We ask you all to stay civil to each other and to have some patience to wait and experience the changes.