Return to the era of canon and musket with the new linebattle-themed major update! It’s time to take a break from the Great War front and fall in to rank and file on the great battlefields of Napoleon.
Holdfast: Nations At War will receive a major update in August/Early September. All hands will be on deck, polishing off this content update for the games Napoleonic front. This update will bring some of the biggest new additions and changes many of which where requested by our community.
Linebattles are a staple of the Holdfast community and they will be receiving the attention they duly deserve. Be sure to join us on Discord!
New Class. The Sergeant
Arriving on the battlefield will be the new Sergeant class, coming with its own unique abilities that will support other members of the rank and file during brave charges. Keep in touch as we undergo its development for more specifics.
Equipped with a musket and spontoon, these dashing fellows will maintain discipline and order throughout the raging battle.
New Artillery. The Howitzer
Explode terrifying howitzer rounds above the dwindling ranks of the enemy with the new Howitzer Artillery piece.
Effective at short to mid range, this new addition to the battlefield will crush morale and thwart off mass assaults from foes. Well drilled artillerymen will be able to arch shots over hills and explode shells above the enemy by adjusting the fuse prior to firing.
Additionally, the explosive damage from field guns will now be removed to make way for this new beast of the battlefield.
Character Customisation & Progression
Personalise your Holdfast experience with the introduction of character customisation and progression. Holdfast players across both Nations At War and Frontlines will initially be able to pick a head for their character from a variety of options and also set a voice pitch. Customisation will be class specific, allowing players to create unique ‘characters’ for each and every class available in the game.
By playing on officially hosted Anvil Game Studios servers, players will unlock additional faces featuring beards and battle-ridden scars to showcase their veterancy as they gather experience.
Regiment Ranks & Banners
To further expand on customisation within the game, regiment leaders will now be able to assign preset rank images to their custom ranks within their regiment. Players will then have this rank image shown in-game next to their name and also on the round scoreboard.
We will also be working closely with regiments to bring in additional imagery for their regiments banner customisation tool to truly allow them to represent their regiment as they desire.
Would you like to submit a unique symbol for your Holdfast regiment? Hop in Discord and take a look at the #enlistment channel to gather access to the officers mess.
Battlefield Atmosphere
Improving the battlefield atmosphere has been another key focus of this forthcoming major update to build upon the general ambience of the smoke filled battles of Nations At War. New reload animations for muskets and changes to the 1st person camera are some of the new features coming with this update.
“The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies” - Napoléon Bonaparte
Linebattle Maps
New, specifically made, linebattle maps will be making their way into the game with this major update. Featuring interest points and designed with competitive play at the forefront, these new maps will provide a fresh take on gameplay.
We’ve worked alongside some of our tremendous Holdfast SDK artisans to bring in some of the community's favourite custom modded Linebattle maps into the game alongside our own. Take a look below at a preview of some of the maps coming in this update.
Hudree Marsh
Avignon by Charles E. Jesus
Class Rebalance
A first pass review of all the infantry-based Holdfast: Nations At War classes! We’re wanting to make sure that there is a reason for players to choose one class over another and for these decisions to not only feel balanced but also be appropriate for gameplay.
We’ll be changing and improving some class abilities to give increased meaning to class selection and teamwork. Line Infantrymen will also be given an accuracy buff to help bolster their presence on the battlefield.
Additional changes will be made and new buffs added to classes across the board.
Faction Coalitions
March into battle shoulder to shoulder with soldiers from other nations. Re-enact the grand battle of Waterloo with this new addition to the private event sector of Holdfast.
Server owners will now be able to enable Faction Coalitions, allowing soldiers of the British army to fight alongside those from the Prussian, and Russian armies. Those who wish to fight under the banner of Napoléon will also find themselves marching with those good fellows from the nations of France and Italy.
Grenadier Regiment DLC
Stand side by side with your fellow elites in dashing new uniforms with the release of the Grenadier Regiment DLC.
Content present in Holdfast: Nations At War’s DLCs is purely cosmetic. It doesn’t and never will impact gameplay. Your kind generosity will be put to good use and bring this genre of roleplay warfare games which all of us are fond of in the limelight.
"Some talk of Alexander, and some Hercules. Of Hector and Lysander, and such great names as these. But of all the world's great heroes. There’s none that can compare. With a tow, row row row, row row row. To the British Grenadiers!" - A Banger
Changing The Meta
Feedback taken from our regiment meetings indicated a present issue with the current linebattle meta. Artillery for some time now has been dominating the meta of linebattles, slowing the experience down and punishing indiscriminately any brave fellows who do decide to abandon the safety of cover.
We will be re-balancing the artillery pieces to reduce the amount of kills a player can get from a single cannon shot. Field-guns will no longer have explosive damage with the introduction of the new Howitzer artillery piece. Howitzers will also have limited range and only be effective at short to mid ranges.
Holdfast SDK 5.0
Coming in a separate update before the release of the linebattle one, the Holdfast SDK will receive a massive update that includes new modding functionality for atlasing custom uniforms and over 1500+ additional new props to use within the creations of our wonderful artisans. But what sort of change will this bring to the community?
● You can reduce the download size of your uniform collection for your regiment by packing textures into an atlas.
● You can optimise your uniform collection by packing textures into an atlas reducing draw calls. It takes some experience to do but this will greatly reduce the impact a mod uniform has on the client FPS.
● We were made aware that some events place a limit for the number of mods a regiment can feature in a particular event due to the complexity involved in putting them in each and every map rotation. Now you can simply package all your uniforms into one bundle and you’re good to go.
● The ability to have multiple variations for an existing uniform. IE. Randomly change the colour of the pants for your Line Infantry uniform when the player spawns with it.
We will also be giving more opportunities for modded content creators to get their creations into the game officially. We have already begun porting over some of the communities most played custom linebattle maps into the game and we look forward to seeing what will be created with the coming update to the SDK tools.
Enlist In A Regiment
Rise through the ranks of a regiment, support your fellow soldiers as a musician, artillery, surgeon, or remain a humble line infantryman as your regiment clash against other regiments in organised and competitive events.
Regiments are organised in-game groups or clans who hosts and participate in both private and public events. These events range from hardcore linebattles, ceremonies, melee tournaments, training, and many more that varies depending on the regiment.
Those who are interested in playing in an organised and competitive setting should consider joining a regiment and can do so by visiting the in-game regiment registry enlisting to one of their choosing.
Stay tuned as there's much more in store for Holdfast this year!
Big thanks to Crout and Binghampton for their lovely shots.
Until next time, may good health be yours. ːrheartrː
- Anvil Game Studios
Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Wrexial, Walki, Jackson, Rejenorst, Harper, Storey, UberJuice, Stan & Winston (The Cat).