In these interesting times we have continued to work hard behind the scenes on the upcoming update to the game.
The launch of the game did not go as smoothly as we hoped but that does not mean we have given up on the project. The game has been our passion for years and we are not going to give up now.
What’s taking so long?
Our plan after 0.5.9 went live was to put together a major update and launch it with a fresh marketing push and promotion, including a free weekend. However, adding the new features, testing, bug-fixing and re-testing is time consuming and it has taken far longer than we intended.
The reality is however that we are unpaid volunteers working on the game because we love the project, but we do have to work to pay bills and put food on the table and in these interesting times the new update inevitably has taken much longer.
The good news is the update is (nearly) ready for launch.
Why have we been so quiet?
We have been hard at work on developing, testing and improving the new update. We really appreciate the help of the community and their participation in the tests for the new update. These tests have been vital in helping to identify bugs and the feedback has been invaluable.
As always, the team can be reached on discord.gg/vanguardww2 and we have made a conscious effort in the last few months to respond to the community more quickly in all the usual places.
We could however use more help in keeping the community up to date.
We need help
The game has been a passion project for us for years, but we are looking for more volunteers like us to help. In particular we are looking for help with the following:
- Animation Familar with CRYENGINE or willing to learn
- Sound Design Familiar with Wwise
- Community Manager(s) To help us keep the community up-to-date and promote / build the community.
In the past many of our team have gone onto careers in the gaming industry. They developed their skills and CVs with us and we are proud to have helped them on their way. Perhaps you could be the next?
What can you expect from the next update?
The “REINFORCED” update brings Canadian and elite German forces to the game on a brand-new map, Carpiquet Airfield. The airfield was the location of heavy fighting during the Allies push towards the city of Caen and a critical objective of the Allies during the Normandy Campaign.
Carpiquet features open countryside, the outskirts of the village and the airport itself for a wide range of terrain and tactical options.
In addition to literally hundreds of bug fixes, graphical tweaks, performance improvements and small changes other key highlights include:
- New weapons – the Thompson SMG for the Allies and Stg 44 for the Germans
- A renewed focus on teamwork including the new prompt system, to make the role of NCO’s easier
- New in-game map for locating teammates and giving orders
- Reworked weapon handling to be both more satisfying and more realistic
- New in-game leaderboards
- New objective variations on our existing maps
We have also added a new spectator cam which can be used to fly over the whole battlefield and watch the action unfold. Access to the new camera is restricted to avoid exploitation and cheating so if you would like access for your channel to commentate on games or other creative uses, please contact the team.
When?
We are planning on releasing the new update early in the New Year and we are currently working through the essential fixes and changes from the latest full-scale test.
We are planning a final test in January and assuming all goes well we can then fix the date of the free weekend and start the pre-event promotional push.
That is all for this update. We wish everyone a happy and relaxed holiday and we look forward to meeting you all again on the battlefield in 2021.
Stay safe.