Greetings!
We have another exciting devblog for you, this devblog will discuss some of the more last few mechanics as well as some non-armoured changes that will come with the overhaul update.
We also want to let you know that we will be live over on Twitch with our Tea Time with the Devs stream on October 22nd @ 6:30 PM Pacific | 9:30 PM Eastern | October 23rd 1:30 AM UTC
Additionally we will be running a public playtest of the Armour Overhaul from October 22nd @ 7:30 PM Pacific | 10:30 PM Eastern | October 23rd 2:30 AM UTC until October 24th @ 2 PM Pacific | 5 PM Eastern | 9 PM UTC
If you missed the past Armour Overhaul devblogs you can find them here:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/736220/announcements/detail/3094511057696989330
https://steamcommunity.com/games/736220/announcements/detail/3037095871635357739
https://steamcommunity.com/games/736220/announcements/detail/2977426980059880961
TEA TIME STREAM & ARMOUR OVERHAUL PUBLIC PLAYTEST
First up on our topics for this devblog is the announcement for our Developer Livestream “Tea Time with The Devs” where we will show off what we have been working on since the last devblog.
We will be live over on our Twitch channel https://www.twitch.tv/postscriptumofficial October 22nd @ 6:30 PM Pacific | 9:30 PM Eastern | October 23rd 1:30 AM UTC
We hope you will join us and have a look at what we have been working on, we are excited to show it off to you all.
In addition to the Tea Time stream, we will be hosting a weekend-long Public Playtest for our players to try out the new mechanics in either Armoured or combined arms in our new game modes. As well as the many other changes that have come with the game.
The public playtest will run on a special Beta branch that you can access starting October 22nd @ 7:30 PM Pacific | 10:30 PM Eastern | October 23rd 2:30 AM UTC until October 24th @ 2 PM Pacific | 5 PM Eastern | 9 PM UTC by following the small guide below:
NOTE: If you do not see the validation-branch yet, it has either not gone live yet, or you need to restart Steam. The beta branch will become available at the designated time above. We will also post on our Discord, Twitter and Facebook when it does go live.
HOW TO OPT INTO BETA BRANCHES
- Right-click Post Scriptum in your library.
- Press the “Properties” button and navigate to the “BETAS” tab.
- Select the dropdown and opt into “Validation-Branch”
Post Scriptum should now start updating the game and after it finishes you will have the new Armour Overhaul build. Once the test is over you just do the same steps but opt out of any branches.
ARMOURED GAMEMODE & KING OF THE HILL
Next up, we want to speak about the new Armoured gamemode that will replace the old Armoured mode, the objective is very simple and reminiscent of the old gamemode, but some new mechanics are here.
Both teams are given a preset set of tank sections, each with their own respective tank, each section can spawn up to 3 tanks at any given time, but it is recommended that you focus your crew on a single tank as occupying multiple tanks can mean you are at a disadvantage.
On the map is a single capture zone, randomized on map restart, the capture zone once captured by either team will cause tickets for the other team to bleed at a rate of 1 ticket per second. Each team has 1200 tickets.
There is also a new resource type called “Crew Count”, which both teams have 100 of. Each player represents a single Crew and each death will lower Crew Count by 1 for your team. If you lose all 100 crew members your team loses, a single tank is only worth 1 game ticket, this means that it is usually better to abandon a tank rather than die with your tank when you know it is not possible to recover the tank.
https://medal.tv/clips/68755954/d1337rjygTqA?invite=cr-MSw0M0wsMjExMDEzODIs
When a friendly crew member dies, 1 crew is removed from the Crew Count pool allocated to your team. If you lose all 100 it's game over.
On all Armoured layers there is a new type of Spawner that acts as a forward tank crew spawn, so that crew may regroup with their tank without having to go from the main base.
Armoured Spawner / Teleporter Exterior
Armoured Spawner / Teleporter map icons
On top of this, the spawner also acts as a teleporter. When players enter this bunker they will be teleported back to the repair station at their main base, this allows crew members who have abandoned their tank to save their crew member count to quickly regroup at their spawn.
https://medal.tv/clips/68755854/d1337h9ickGz?invite=cr-MSxwek0sMjExMDEzODIs
Armoured Spawner / Teleporter in action
For non-armoured we have a new gamemode as well, called King Of The Hill. It might look similar to Armoured but it is not the same.
King Of The Hill (KOTH) is made for regular gameplay, it has similar gamemode rules as Advance And Secure in that both teams will be attacking and defending, when one team captures the objective the opposing team will start bleeding tickets. Additionally MSP's are not available, but FOB's for both teams are available.
This gamemode is going to require teamwork and cooperation between all sections in order to successfully hold the objective and bleed the enemy dry of tickets. At a later stage, we are looking to make the point randomly move around the map over the course of a game.
NEW HULL BREAKING MECHANICS
https://medal.tv/clips/68755476/d1337clXFuL2?invite=cr-MSxYdlYsMjExMDEzODIs
Video above shows an Sd.Kfz 234 "Puma" armoured car being hullbroken. (take note of the tank icon in the compass on the lower left for hull component health)
We have been working on finishing the Armour mechanics with some particular focus on the state of Armoured Cars within Post Scriptum.
One big complaint was that Armoured Cars could take a large amount of damage as well as tanks feeling like shell sponges that just absorbed shells.
The latest mechanic to be introduced into the Overhaul is “Hullbreaking” this mechanic will serve as a backup to the armour system, the way it distinguishes itself from the hull HP from the old system, is in how its underlying mechanics take effect. It serves as a way to ensure tanks, in particular, light tanks can’t take an unreasonable amount of damage.
When a tank or armoured car is hull broken, the tank will start to slow burn, meaning it can no longer be repaired, the crew is not instantly killed, but have some time to abandon the vehicle before it burns down.
The easiest way to explain hull breaking is that each shell in the game is split into 4 damage types. 20mm, 40mm, 75mm & 88mm. They represent the amount of damage is dealt with tanks, the larger the damage type, the higher the multiplier.
Each tank in the game has one of the following hull types:
Armoured Cars / Recon Tanks (1000 Hull Component Health)
Medium / Light Tanks (4000 Hull Component Health)
Heavy / Super Heavy Tanks (6000 Hull Component Health)
This means that the larger the tank, the longer and harder it is to hull break them. Large tanks like heavies aren’t likely to easily be hull broken and require a significant amount of shells, to the point where you are more likely to set the tank on fire or damage enough components to destroy it.
But a single hit from a large calibre tank like M4A3E8, Firefly or Tiger is enough to knock out an armoured car, by compromising the hull. In order for the mechanic to take effect, the shell will need to hit and penetrate through the chassis. If you strike a component and the shell is stopped like a transmission or engine, the hull will not be broken, as the engine is likely to absorb the shells damage.
HANGAR
https://medal.tv/clips/68756284/d1337bsMsoKV?invite=cr-MSw2NzAsMjExMDEzODIs
In the Hangar you can spawn any vehicle and see various informational statistics about each vehicle. Great place to get to know your tank as well as those of your opponent.
The Hangar is a new introduction to the update, it’s accessible from the main menu and serves as a way to get information about our tanks, directly from the game. Once you are in the Hangar you have the ability to view any tank in the game, switch between Armour thickness mode, X-Ray and Regular mode. You also have the ability to check penetration, ammo types, seat quantity and more relevant information to your tank.
All of which should help you better understand the tanks, without needing to go to an external source.
COMMUNITY FEEDBACK CHANGES
The last topic we want to discuss diverts away from Armour Overhaul for a little bit, so let’s quickly discuss what has been going on outside of the Armoured changes.
The first big change is that the defending team on Offensive now has access to FOB’s, this was a big request from our community and we agree that this change would benefit the gameplay, go to with this change we have decided to remove all of the defenders hard spawns from Offensive. These are the spawns that are on the locked cap zones for defending teams.
These changes are done to help force more cooperation between infantry and logistics on the defending team.
Another change is that the UI got a bit of a makeover to make everything consistent. This means whether you’re repairing a tank, entering a truck, healing, reviving or building deployables the UI is the same and consistent across the board, we have more changes planned for after the overhaul. We have previously shown this in past devblogs, but haven't spoken about the change until now as we were still working on it.
We have also based on community feedback brought in gameplay tips during the loading screen process, these are helpful bits of information that you might not know about the gameplay mechanics, such as how Stamina is affected by suppression. You can see some examples below
The last minor change is that Hedgehogs have been rebalanced for the game, the cost is going from 50 build points to 150, as well as the limit on FOB’s is now 4 instead of 8. It should now also be much more difficult to block off entryways with hedgehogs.
Summary
And so we have come to an end of this devblog. The Armour Overhaul has come a long way and is close to completion, we hope you will join us at our Tea Time as well as the Public Playtest this weekend!
Sincerely,
Periscope Games
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