Game Update - Networking

05 Sep 2018Developer post

Source: Steam Community (opens in a new tab)

Our latest update features changes and improvements to the networking code, as described in the roadmap. The exact effects will vary depending on how good your network connection is and what servers you typically play on, but the action should be smoother with less stuttering characters.

A laggy player seen through the old networking code.

The same level of lag under the new networking code.

Key Changes

This update also features many more tweaks and bug fixes (see changelog), such as:

Syncing of players made instantaneous - this prevents heavy lag at the start of matches and lag spikes when new players join.

Optimized character models, which should both reduce the GPU load and improve the visual appearance of characters.

Fixed a bug which could cause third person models to be at a different height to the first person view, particularly when prone (this stops other players appearing to be ‘buried’ in the ground).

Trade kill checks now take into account how far a bullet has travelled, which should improve trade kill accuracy for long range shots.

Improvements made to melee stabbing, with better locking on, better handling for stabs from above, and a slight speed boost during stabs.

Improvements to deployable MG rotation and deployment to reduces instances where their third person appearance doesn’t match what the MG player was doing.

Adjustments made to Vosges, Picardie, Flanders, Artois, Douaumont, and Champagne to reduce spawn killing.

Updated Characters

A new optimization pass has allowed us to not only make the characters cheaper in performance terms, but also to increase the detail and variety.

No more silly moustaches, the new tommies are ready to go over the top!

Our character artist James was also able to give some extra attention to smaller details:

The tommy gunner carrying the M1914 Lewis Gun now has the appropriate drum mag pouch.

Part of the optimization was an overhaul to the way we render sleeves, and so we are now better able to match the sleeves and hands to the character. Such as on our gunner with gloves:

Keeping those gunner hands warm, since 1915.

Updated Audio

We started feedback rounds for the Verdun audio overhaul in early April as we prepared to switch to the new FMOD system. Our partners at Game Audio Squad have been working on this project for a while, and are now in the final stages of its deployment. We addressed feedback in no less than 6 feedback rounds in 5 months and the last changes have been deployed to the opentesting branch for about 2 weeks now, gathering further feedback. In order to use the new sounds; either switch to the opentesting branch or add “FMOD FMOD_WIP” to your launch options.

Many features await: an advanced weapon reverb system, C&Rsenal recordings, supersonic cracks and more!

Read the changelog for the complete list.

Don’t forget that you can check out our roadmap to see our upcoming plans for Verdun. If you spot issues in the game or have suggestions, you can post on our support website - vote up the topic if someone else has already made a post, or create one yourself.

Let us know if you see an improvement in networking!