Hi everyone!
We’re excited to bring you Update 3! It’s been absolutely huge for us - especially the mixture of different major features (who knew landing boats could be so logistically complicated?) alongside a highly iconic map and a large number of bug fixes.
We see our time in Early Access as a key period in which we can iterate, expand, optimise and polish content. We’re working hard and fast to bring a balance of new content, while fixing any and all issues that you - the community - raise.
Free weekend
To celebrate the launch of Omaha Beach and the Offensive Gamemode we’ll be running our first ever free weekend!
We’re very thankful for a warm and receptive community. We ask that this weekend you help us to welcome brand new players to the battlefield and give them the best experience possible. As you can imagine, it’s going to get very, very crazy.
Major Content Additions
Omaha Beach map
Omaha has been an immense undertaking. We’ve strived to create the most accurate representation of the Dog Green landing site ever seen in a video game. You can learn more about the process in our dev briefing here. Get ready to jump into a Higgins and cruise into shore for one of the most iconic landings in history.
Offensive Gamemode
You can learn in depth about the second gamemode to come to Hell Let Loose here. Currently this gamemode will be only available on Omaha Beach. We’ll be watching this closely over the weekend as well as playing alongside you in order to make sure we iron out any bugs and make sure the experience is working as intended in a live environment. We’ll then begin rolling out the Offensive gamemode to each current map (as well as applying Warfare to Omaha Beach) in coming patches and Updates. This will include attacker overlays for both teams, creating three significantly different ways to play a single map. We will be creating new weather conditions for each of these overlays, giving you a fresh experience on each map.
All new firearms sound overhaul
We’re gearing up to switch our sound engine over (this will most likely be happening for U5 due to the large level of testing that will be needed to ensure this happens smoothly) and part of that process is rebuilding our firearms sounds to be of much higher quality and much more flexible than our previous systems.
Patch Changelist
Gameplay
- Allow a player to remain zoomed in after firing a shot with the sniper rifle if they continue holding RMB.
- Greatly increase MG deployment flexibility and smoothness. This will continue to be improved as we bring in the new animation systems.
- Created a nice smooth camera dropping to the ground effect for when a player dies. This is to both boost immersion, but also to telegraph the way you died. We feel that the straight cut to the black screen or critical screen doesn’t help players understand the context of their own death. We’ll continue to make this more immersive and useful in understanding the way you died or were critically wounded.
Performance
- Created LODs for all vehicles.
- Use soft references for Scope / Seat Widgets to help with VRAM usage.
- Various VRAM optimisations across all assets.
- Various LOD additions across all character models.
- Various LOD additions across all weapon models.
SFX
- New weapon fire sound for Springfield rifle
- New weapon fire sound for M1 Garand
- New weapon fire sound for K98k
- New weapon fire sound for M1 Carbine
- New weapon fire sound for G43
- New weapon fire sound for STG44
- New weapon fire sound for BAR
- New weapon fire sound for Thompson
- New weapon fire sound for MP40
- New weapon fire sound for MG42
- New weapon fire sound for M1919 Browning
- New weapon fire sound for Colt 1911
- New weapon fire sound for Luger P08
- New weapon fire sound for Walther P38
Visual Improvements
- Added all AA settings to the Options menu to allow players to customise their AA without needing to adjust the ini file.
- Allow option to use stock FXAA and TAA in Options menu.
- Added the ability to turn motion blur on to create a better looking game experience.
- Tanks now dynamically rock backwards from the recoil of firing their main gun.
- Hull and infantry muzzle flashes are now visible when viewed front-on.
- Fixed: Foy loading screen is missing the map name
- Fixed: Building decals can be seen to pop in and out when observed on lower resolutions
- Fixed: There is a noticeable draw distance issue with a particular barbed wire barrier asset found on every map it's in
- Fixed: Incorrect anatomy of dismembered soldier
- Fixed: Multiple uniforms appear to display incorrectly when viewed from range
- Fixed: Multiple small assets have been observed to be missing reflective maps resulting in assets appearing white on the low and medium presets
- Fixed: Inconsistency in text format on the 'Redeploy', 'Leave Server' and 'Quit' confirmation messages
- Fixed: On the Scoreboard, the Mute Icon displays the same tooltip as the Kick Icon
- Fixed: Stuttered FPP sprint animations can be observed when the Player runs inside waist high water
- Fixed: On Utah, LMGs can be deployed in midair on a specific area of the Chapel and cause a graphical issue
- Fixed: Helmets do not change texture when the player dies to an explosive or is dismembered
- Fixed: Inconsistent naming convention is used for "Game Mode" on the Enlist screen
- Fixed: Inconsistency between the punish teammate notification window and the vote to change map/kick player windows
- Fixed: Adjusted gravestone texture set up to be more optimised and more attractive.
Customisation
- Fixed: The Officer M1 Helmet is missing the white bar in the middle of the helmet.
- Fixed: Career Level is displayed as level 1 on the Scoreboard on following matches
- Fixed: Leaving early message will show if the player tries to leave after the match has concluded
- Fixed: Leaving early warning message does not show if the player tries to leave via the deployment screen
- Edited “leaving early” message to reflect the fact that your progression HAS saved, however you won’t earn any of the end of match bonus modifiers (NOTE: you progression has always saved as you play the match however the “leaving early” message made this sound like it wasn’t the case).
- Fixed: Rotation slider resets to the middle without rotating the player model
- Fixed: The US Medic has no armband if they are wearing the winter uniform.
- Fixed: In the Barracks, the M1938 Tanker Helmet's Tooltip has inconsistent capitalisation.
- Fixed: inconsistent capitalization of Allies uniform within the Barrack.
Bug Fixes
RCON
- Fixed: Users are unable to preform some in-game RCon functions to player's with spaces in their names
- Fixed: RCon Client and Console display 'Success' messages when a map that is already in the rotation list is added again
- Fixed: Banned or Punished players can not see the full reason given if it contains spaces
Foy
- Fixed LOD issue occurring some of the log pile assets
Sainte-Marie-Du-Mont
- Fixed: large puddles produce bullet hole decals when shot
- Fixed: a specific rock asset has incorrect collision
Utah Beach
- Fixed: a certain type of grassy terrain on Utah produces stone bullet decals when shot
- Fixed: a specific curtain has incorrect bullet collision
- Fixed: there is a draw distance issue with an outhouse found in A5 of Utah
- Fixed: LOD issues observed with the low poly version of the Repair Station on Utah Beach
- Fixed: the player has no collision with a broken wall inside the church of sector F5
- Fixed: 2 instances of door frames being misaligned with a building wall in Utah
- Fixed: the player is able to get stuck between a stone fence and bushes in sector I6
Hurtgen Forest
- Fixed: a specific concrete fortification has incorrect bullet collision
Known Issues
Currently Working On (in no specific order)
- Server queuing (capped to 6 slots).
- Fleshing out ping system and non-verbal communication - including map marking systems.
- Enabling ability to select customisations options in-game during role selection.
- Enabling ability to tailor loadout during role selection. This will allow us to offer slightly different loadouts per role without limiting content or creating non-historic weapon usage. We are looking at potentially tying this to role level progression (ie. an Officer will unlock the ability to take a G43 at Officer level 3). We want to reward experienced players with greater flexibility without sacrificing historicity.
- Stats system to tie into the Barracks.
- Implementing melee combat.
- Overhauling FPP systems to make them far more fluid and photoreal.
- Overhauling TPP systems to use recorded mocap animations.
- Replacing current fat FPP hands with photoreal hands and integrating new sleeves to reflect new uniforms.
- Working on Western Front urban/countryside map for U4.
- Working on Western Front map for U5 (this will have a focus on armor and bridge control).
- About to add 20 additional German helmet options to the career level progression.
- About to add new uniforms for all US roles in the role level progression.
- Currently working on new uniforms, helmets and heads (including more grizzled and appealing options for heads).
- Setting up new map to be paired with Hurtgen Forest.
- Currently working on the US answer to the Tiger tank.
- Currently working on Scout Cars.
- Continued overhaul of stock UI and HUD features to make them better looking and better functioning - including pinging, marks, Commander screen, role selection screens, vehicle HUDs, artillery HUDs, heavy weapons HUDs.
- Lining up new implementation of audio engine and continued audio overhaul.
- Flamethrower FPP setup.
- Re-assessing supply boxes and ammo boxes to remove ugly “redeploy” gameplay loop.
- Continued visual upgrades and optimisations on all maps and fx.
- Continued bug fixes across the entire spectrum.
Where to next?
We’ll be updating our roadmap shortly to version 3. This will lay out what we have planned for U4 and U5, as well as patches between them.
Animation
Currently, our animation team are separated off from the main project in their own branch. We’ve been looking at FPP and TPP systems that we would consider to be AAA or world-class in their look and functionality and we’re continually jumping in and testing the system as it’s built. The new gunplay feels far more fluid, solid, responsive as well as visually appealing than what we currently have. The upgrade to new photoreal hands, as well as the ability to quickly match the FPP sleeves and hands to your customisation choices are going to take our FPP gunplay experience to where we as developers feel it needs to be. Matched with a ballistics system upgrade, we are keen to roll this out as soon as possible. We’re looking at U5 or U6 for this - subject to testing. A caveat on this, is that finalising these systems will allow us to add new weapons very quickly. This clears the path to add more US and German weapons, as well as begin on new faction weapons. It also enables us to add open vehicles with ease.
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Mapping
We’re very excited to add a new map with a focus on urban warfare in U4. This map is currently in the final development stages and we’re beginning to QA with greater focus. In the background, we’re half way through a new map that’ll eventually be paired with Carentan during the Campaign. It has a distinct focus on armored combat and bridge control. Finally, we’re setting up a new map that will be paired with Hurtgen Forest. Like Hurtgen, this will be dense forest but with a greater emphasis on small villages and industrial sites. Our approach to mapping is to have three in progress at any one time, with no end in sight. In tandem to this, we’re thinking about overhauling both SMDM and Hurtgen to use more optimised solutions, greater asset variation and to create more interesting micro terrain. We’ve learned huge amounts about the type of gameplay our mapping creates and we’re keen to polish and improve on the maps currently in the game. We see Early Access as a great time to do this (before we move forward into new theatres).
Customisation
Our amazing character artists are constantly working on new options to unlock in your progression. You’ll see the first 20 additional German helmets added in U4, shortly followed by more uniform and head variants. We really enjoy creating these, as well as seeing clans and groups roleplay with these on the battlefield.
Audio
When approaching the weapon sound design for Hell Let Loose, we wanted to deliver an experience that would balance realism with cinematics. Using a mix of real weapon recordings and combining them with other related sounds allowed us to create a satisfying and powerful soundscape across all of our weapons. We have taken onboard your feedback and have improved on the fidelity of the sounds as well as enhancing the low frequencies of all weapons to give you the punch you expect when firing.
Weapons contain multiple layers that attenuate and crossfade depending on the distance you are from the firing position, assisting in a more realistic way of judging the distance with the goal of promoting more accurate battle planning on the fly. In particular we had 4 main layers to each weapon: Initial punch, weapon shot, mechanics and environmental report. In addition to this, we have a new system in which we play weapon sounds allowing us to optimise audio much better, helping to reduce performance cost.
In the future you can expect more audio changes and additions for the weapons.
This will include:
- Realistic reflection of the environment you are firing in, whether that be in the forests of Hurtgen, or the fields of Sainte Marie du Mont to the bunkers of Utah beach.
- Ability to judge the direction of weapon fire.
- New weapon foley audio overhaul to match the new animations in the FPP overhaul.
- Audio delay for weapons firing at distance.
- Improvements on suppression audio and bullet flybys.
Thanks - we’ll see you on the beaches!
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