Dear skippers,
After a few weeks of intensive work on version B128, we feel that it's now shaped up and is ready for a stable release. With the help of the community we managed to squash hundreds of bugs and improve on all the newly added features.
Full changelog of version B128:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/494840/discussions/0/2935742047979357314
Notice: This version is not compatible in terms of saved game states with the older releases. If your intention is to continue an ongoing campaign, please enter the game properties on Steam, click the BETA tab and switch to version B127.
Main features
Let's remind the two main features of this release:
Map
This is probably the most exciting change in this version. The new map contains dynamic country borders that reflect most historical events of World War II. There are also major battles marked in on the map. We hope that you will enjoy this change as much as we do!
Tutorial
In this version we added 7 tutorial missions into the game. They explain most topics needed to successfully proceed with your career through the game. These missions can be started at any time from any port in the game.
Aside from that, each in-game interface now has a dedicated help system that can be toggled by pressing the question mark icon in the upper right part of the screen.
Recent additions
Aside from the initially announced features, we added much more smaller improvements during the unstable version testing. The most important changes are:
Sandbox
- Unescorted trade ships are becoming less common over the course of war and by the end of the war most of them travel in convoys.
- Convoy escort composition is now more varied and some more historically accurate. More countries will participate in the escort duties.
- Escort carriers, battleships and cruisers are now always hidden inside the formation and don't act as an anti-submarine escort.
Crew management
- New action: Emergency ballast tank blowing, that helps to surface the ship at any cost.
- New action: Ballast adjustment, to compensate negative buoyancy from the leaks, by blowing some ballast from the tanks.
- New action: Preheat and load torpedo task was added to the crew schedules UI.
- Officers now become tired when their energy reaches zero and they start to rest. They won't take orders until they recover at least 40% of the energy or there is any emergency on board (alarm, leaks, wounded crew or panicking characters).
- Added many new backstories for the recruits written by the community.
- Crew now makes noise detectable to the enemy. Switch light to red or blue to let them know to be quiet.
- Torpedo loading and preheating now also makes noise.
AI & naval simulation
- Added Huff-Duff devices on the enemy surface vessels. They are installed starting with 1941 and allow enemies to locate radio transmissions at a range of up to 24 km. Early Huff-Duffs don't allow to pinpoint position, but instead only tell that the radio transmission is originating dangerously close. If enemies detect your radio transmission with an early Huff-Duff, they won't know your position, but only know that you are nearby. Better Huff-Duffs will direct enemies directly at your ship.
- NPC ships are now much better at avoiding the coast and port structures.
- Enemy escorts are much better at deducing possible u-boat position after a torpedo hit, especially at high AI difficulties.
Economy overhaul
- Basic T1 torpedoes, bread and potatoes are now free to ensure that the u-boat will always be able to continue the duty. Only one free type of food is allowed in the warehouse at a time, to disallow gaining discipline bonuses for free.
- Decreased prices of other types of torpedoes to match the new approach. All rewards for assignments and sinking ships were considerably decreased.
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We will now focus on the next major update - B129. Feel free to post your requests and suggestions to participate in the further development.
Please take a look at the initial announcement to read more about all the major features introduced this release:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/494840/announcements/detail/2877195252819396742
Yours,
Deep Water Studio