Hey all!
We hope you’re all enjoying our latest update to Battalion 1944, Major Update 2. The comments, feedback and overall positivity from the community surrounding the game has been a real motivator to make sure Battalion is the best version of itself it can be. After the release of Major Update 2, our team moved straight to working on the next updates.
Major Update 3 is currently in development and has strong emphasis on improving the overall experience for new Battalion players. It's such a substantial game update that we also intend MU3 to enhance the current Battalion experience even further for existing players. After internal discussions, we’ve decide to push Major Update 3 back to enable us to add even more features, polish them and make sure we nail the full intended Battalion 1944 experience before we push the game again to the wider Steam community.
Major Update 2 improved Battalion's core competitive experience by leaps and bounds. Major Update 3 aims to bring user experience improvements to the game which will make the overall experience more enjoyable for more casual players. But as Battalion’s early access journey continues the game is taking big steps towards its full release as a finished game.
Today however, we wanted to announce an extremely important update we’ve been working on for Battalion that will be going live in early September in a patch we’re dubbing ‘Update 2.5’. Although this update isn’t a ‘Major Update’, due to it being less focused on new content - It does contain significant improvements and changes to the game that have been long time community requests.
Third & First Person Scale Rework
Note: The following rework is quite difficult to explain in words without actually seeing and playing the changes in action, so please ask questions and watch the gifs too!
Players have always noticed something feels slightly ‘off’ with Battalion. There is an ever present issue that is the root cause for many of Battalion’s core problems. Battalion’s characters, were too small. An early mistake in development caused a knock on effect throughout the game - and Battalion’s scale issues have been punishing to your experience thus far.
“Something just doesn’t feel right”
“Players look weird in 3rd person”
“Jump height is broken”
“I can barely see him!”
“The character is not smooth in the air”
Effectively over two years ago when we started Battalion, we didn’t respect the scale of the original blockout version of the game enough when it came to creating the 3D visuals you see today.
We have spent the last 6-8 weeks recorrecting this issue and we have seen the massive benefit and knock on effect it has had on the game. Below, we have detailed the steps we have taken and the changes to both scale and movement we have made, to solve the following issues.
Increase Character Scale
Increased the character scale/size by 16%.
This means characters are now nice and chunky, allowing for an increased feeling of hit registration with larger character models to plow your bullets into..
Rescale Environments
We’ve modified every single doorway, window, and headshot angle to compensate for the larger character model. Classic FPS games have large window/door frames to allow 1-2 players to easily pass through - these new standardised heights have been retroactively applied to every single enterable building - making for a hitch free experience when maneuvering from indoors/outdoors.
Movement Speed Very Slight Increase
Overall movement speed has been increased very slightly so that first person doesn’t feel sluggish with the new larger character scale. We’ve also fixed previously incorrect movement values of certain weapons - meaning eco SMGs are now faster than Heavy weapons etc
Overall Jump Height Reduced
Jump height has been reduced significantly as an effort to combat the ridiculous looking ‘bunny hop’ third person animations that has dampened the game’s feel since launch. The new (less springy) animation makes the game feel more grounded - and less ridiculous compared to previous versions of Battalion where you would’d see soldiers jumping their own height around corners. The change still retains a good feel of height gain in first person - and no longer looks cartoon-like in third - whilst retaining the same 1-1 first to third person movement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJYkJaYAINc
Strafe Jump Mechanics Improved & Distance Increase
A very common complaint we’ve received is that our strafe jump wasn’t effective enough and didn’t emulate the games that Battalion 1944 was influenced by closely enough. This unintentionally meant players who picked up the game Day 1 could manoeuvre just as well as a player who would put in hundreds of hours.
To make up for the loss of overall jump height - after weeks of refinement - we’ve come much closer to what we believe are the correct values that fit Battalion 1944’s ethos as a classic shooter for the modern era. The change feels liberating and is much closer to how Battalion 1944 was intended to feel from launch day - with skilled movement and map flow now feeling smooth like butter rather than a sluggish chore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PraALzZHA6Y
Crouch Jump Height Gain Heavily Reduced
Now that vault has been improved both back in MU2 and with further vaulting improvements coming to Update 2.5 - we’ve taken the decision to remove the legacy crouch jump mechanic from Battalion 1944. The reason crouch jump was previously so high in MU1 and earlier (it was above the players own head height!) was the lack of a solid vault. The game has since changed.
This change has the added benefit of reducing the ridiculous height gain in third person animation from crouch jumps vs regular height jumps.
To replace crouch jumping - we’re adding subtle options for gaining height within the levels themselves, such as many more vault volumes, ladders and nicely laid props to enable players to move smoothly throughout the levels whilst still retaining the ability to be able to maneuver vertically when needed. Combined with the new strafe distance and overall smoother, less clunky, movement - we can’t wait to see the new spots players find with the new and improved mechanics.
https://youtu.be/oynU3iHXRQ0
Landing ‘Viewbob’ Smoothed Depending on Height of Drop
When landing your camera will now ‘bob’ slightly lower than previously to feel smooth when moving around the games maps, as well as giving players crucial info of how far/hard they’ve fallen. The higher you fall - the larger the viewbob.
However - if players smartly and smoothly jump up to a higher surface they will not receive a viewbob or any landing sound, increasing that feeling of movement & momentum when you jump up to higher surfaces and chain skilled movements around Battalion’s maps.
This improved visual viewbob affects landing in ADS, hip fire, crouch and landing into prone.
https://youtu.be/lG0kMdt8GCM
Added Slight Deceleration After Landing Consecutively
To bring Battalion’s movement mechanics more inline with the titles Battalion 1944 takes inspiration from, we have added deceleration after landing. Each consecutive jump slows the player closer and closer to walk speed. Effectively, this means you can not jump as far after landing when trying to sprint & strafe jump consecutively again and again. Knowing when and where to jump, strafe and manage your stamina is more important than ever.
https://youtu.be/laAmDE3IvyU?list=PLv_u6kEQpiVdKqxyKZvhgggtXwfzY1zOc
Movement Audio Improvements
As previously mentioned - moving around levels in Battalion felt like a chore. Part of this issue is to do with audio. After studying some of the most fluid FPS titles of the last 2 decades - we’ve tweaked how much sound is being played to the player for minor movements. For example when jumping up to a point of higher elevation, you will no longer make a sound.
These audio changes include how much sound is made when jiggle peeking, going into/out of ADS is now silent, the amount of sound played when transitioning into sprint or making minor positional adjustments on the ground or on a ladder. All these factors add up to the smooth feel of classic FPS titles which has taken to this point in development to have the time and manpower to polish. The result is a much smoother, fluid feeling game.
General Movement Fluidity Improved
A combination of lower jump height, increased strafe distance, small audio tweaks and a concoction of new acceleration/deceleration values have created a much smoother experience. We can’t wait for you to check out the new subtle game feel changes for yourselves after the 2.5 release!
https://youtu.be/u9-zEGh0-is
More Update 2.5 Previews To Come!
Just like with our Major Update 2 preview posts - we have many more exciting features, updates and improvement coming before the Update 2.5 release. Following the development of a game and seeing it improve can be just as rewarding as creating the game itself, and we want to keep encouraging you guys to get involved in Battalion’s development.
Keep an eye on our social media accounts for the very latest news coming soon in the near future!