Hey everyone,
Welcome to Dev Brief #111!
This week we're previewing the MG34 and explaining how it'll fit into the German Machine Gunner's roster!
The team also have an update on where we're at in regards to tackling the current VOIP issues in-game.
Oh and before we get stuck in, you'll also notice that the map we're showing you the MG34 on isn't from the Western Front...
The MG34
The MG34 will be coming to Hell Let Loose in Update 9 for the German Machine Gunner role.
A key aspect when introducing new weapons to Hell Let Loose is considering the difference this weapon will make to the battlefield, and how it will be meaningfully different to whatever is currently available. This is often based on the historical usage of the weapon, technical difficulty in achieving a significant difference (i.e. if the functionality is not something that exists elsewhere in the game and must be custom built) and then lots of testing and feedback with the community.
The issue with having a very low time-to-kill within a game like Hell Let Loose is that bullet damage values more or less stay consistent from weapon to weapon - with the largest factors being reticle shape, recoil strength, recoil pattern, ammo counts and loadout availability.
As a result of this, we’ve designed the MG34 to possess its real life rate of fire (while fast, noticeably slower than the MG42), and also a slightly lower recoil value - enabling greater precision and control. In addition to this, it has a smaller belt size, but a number of belts that matches the ammunition count on the MG42.
While the MG42 is used for pouring huge amounts of lead down range into an enormous “beating zone” (which is what ultimately made it such a unique and fierce weapon) with a large belt size, the MG34 is for more considered and focused fire at the sacrifice of overwhelming fire.
When looking at the spectrum of weapons available to the German forces during WW2, the MG34 was the backbone of the army for the entire duration of the war before being challenged by the MG42 in the later years. As such, we feel that it is appropriate to replace the MG42 with the MG34 as the Standard Issue loadout for the German Machine Gunner role. Fear not though, as the MG42 will be available as the first unlock for the role at level 3.
We also want to note that while we won’t ship the MG34 with a select fire mode, we’ve revisited select fire mode functionality and will be looking at introducing it in the future for all weapons with the setting available.
We’re excited to show off the distinct characteristics of the weapon’s fire sound and functionality below in one of our coming Eastern Front maps! Please be aware that both the texture quality of the MG34, the casing fx, as well as the map are still work in progress with more to be done!
VOIP/Vivox
We want to quickly follow up with the VOIP issues some are still experiencing in game. We are in conversations with our VOIP provider Vivox to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Several fixes have already been made but we want to make sure any final aspects are resolved.
If you do experience VOIP loss, please let us know in the #voip_troubleshooting channel in our official Discord. Some players are managing to reconnect to VOIP by disconnecting and reconnecting their mic/headset. Let us know if this works for you.
Once again, thank you all for your patience and support whilst we investigate this frustrating issue.
Onwards to the weekend!
That wraps up this week's Dev Brief!
We've got lots more to share in the coming weeks, including an updated Roadmap and a community video Q&A so watch this space!
Have a great weekend everyone.
We'll see you on the frontline.