Were back again at long last with a new batch of weapons for you to get your mitts on! The team has been hard at work putting together the upcoming Italian update for the last several months. We are still aiming for a late 2023 release date, though realistically we may have to delay the release somewhat to make sure the release is as stable and polished as we would like. A reminder also that our Patreon supporters get exclusive access to development progress reports (screenshots) and exclusive access to (upcoming) Italian update beta tests. Your donations through Patreon keep the game servers and our development infrastructure running. If you can afford to, please consider becoming a patron! Without further preamble, here are the change log notes:

New Weapons

Karabiner 98k (ZF41) and Marksman role

The Germans have been given a new Marksman role which has access to the new Karabiner 98k (ZF41). Depending on the time frame and units involved, this role has replaced the Sniper role on some maps. The ZF41 is a 1.5x scope developed to provide German squads with a designated marksman optic after lessons learned in the Battle of France. However, following Operation Barbarossa, the Wehrmacht found they had a severe lack of dedicated sniper scopes and pressed the much more plentiful ZF41s into the role. Not designed for such use, it was viewed generally unfavorably by trained snipers given its low magnification and poor field of view. Love it or hate it, Snipers and Marksmen will now be able to adorn their K98ks with this sight on many maps.

Gewehr 98 variants

This update adds the German service rifle from WWI and a couple of its variants into the arsenal:

• Gewehr 98
• Vz. 24
• FN Model M1924

Degtyaryov machine gun DT-29

Primarily meant as a tank machine gun, its been a common sight for it to end up in the hands of infantry after being dismounted from damaged tanks.

Mannlicher M95/30

With its unique straight-pull bolt, this Austro-Hungarian mainstay is now (narrowly) the fastest firing bolt action weapon in the game. It can be found in small numbers in the hands of Germans fighting on the eastern front.

Maschinenkarabiner 42(H)

The predecessor of Sturmgewehr 44, the MkB42 can be found being trialed in small numbers on the Eastern Front.

Weapon Overhauls

• The Fallschirmjger 42 has had its first person animations completely remade, bringing the feel of the weapon more in line with our more recent overhauled weapons.

Miscellaneous

• The British vehicle voice lines have had a radio effect added to them to bring them in line with the other faction's vehicle voice lines.
• The M45 Quadmount now has a dramatically longer reload time to properly reflect the loading of 4 seperate ammo boxes.
• Vehicle gunners will now automatically alert the crew (via vehicle voice commands) that the gun is loaded after reloading a main cannon. This behavior can be changed in the settings menu.
• There is now a new "Use Native Item Names" option in the settings which uses the native weapon names used by the nation of origin.

Bug Fixes

• Fix for bug where cancelling artillery strikes were being refunded when they shouldn't have been
• Fixed an inconsistency in the spotting menu where the number & location of the options would change depending on what the level's game mode was.

Maps

Armored Kasserine Pass

• Reduced German tank spawn times across the board.
• Changed Panzer IV tank models from Late to Early type, to more accurately depict the historical setting.
• Increased Axis and Allied tickets significantly.

Armored Raid to Bastogne

• Fixed collision issues with certain trees/bushes in the mid-section of the map.

Armored Road to Leningrad

• Changed map name from the generic "Road to Leningrad" to "Iskra" (Spark) after the offensive it was based on.
• Changed tanks from 1944 models to more accurate early 1943 models.
• Changed objective layout to better suit the Advance game mode (previously it functioned more as a Clash map).
• Changed attacking team to Soviets.
• Added more detail around the map.
• Added a new final objective.
• Fixed areas where you could fall through the terrain.
• Fixed a bug where teams could run out of tickets before the time limit and no longer be able to spawn.

Berezina

• Increased German tickets slightly.
• Increased objective lockdown timers significantly when captured by attackers.
• Removed objective lockdown timers when recaptured by defenders.
• Reduced objective unlock timers by 20 seconds.
• Fixed pop-in for some objects such as trench supports.

Flakturm Tiergarten

• Reworked tank unlock progression. Allies start with SU-76M immediately and receive T-34-85 after a 3 minute delay. Germans start with Sd.Kfz. 251/22 immediately and unlock Tiger after a 3 minute delay.
• Changed SU-76M to use new LWP skin.
• Changed advancing spawn protection minefields to offer defenders additional time to retreat if they are inside of the area when the minefield activates.
• Fixed incorrect US ammo box texture on resupply boxes inside of the Flakturm.

Klin 1941

• Increased German tickets slightly.
• Increased lockdown timers of final objectives to 5 minutes.
• Removed rally point restrictions from trenches around the final objectives.

La Cambe

• Changed the first objective to disable upon capture.
• Added lockdown timers to all objectives upon capture.
• Fixed infamous floating fire emitter.
• Fixed blue static stove inside the old manor building.

Maupertus Advance

• Reduced all objective capture speeds.
• Reduced Axis respawn timer from 20 seconds to 15 seconds.
• Fixed map boundaries preventing you from using flanks that were otherwise intended to be open.
• Fixed Axis initial spawns not spawning players in the correct position.

Pointe du Hoc

• Added Artillery Officer and Gunner roles to Axis.
• Limited WSS Rifleman roles to 8 (Artillery Gunner roles replace them as unlimited).
• Changed Allies to have +2% team ratio.
• Increased Axis respawn timer to 20 seconds from 15.
• Increased Allied Combat Engineer roles from 3 to 4.
• Removed requirement that objectives be cleared before capture.
• Fixed a bug where Higgins boats could spawn inside of eachother and launch into orbit.
• Fixed floating rocks on the beach.

Poteau Ambush

• Changed minefield boundaries to be more forgiving to both teams.
• Rebalanced Danger Zone influences of all objectives.

Rakowice

• Removed Soviet airstrip minefield, as it was much too close to the final objective and could block Germans from properly defending the final objective.
• Increased kill time of all minefields from 15 seconds to 20 to give vehicles a little more chance to back out.

Valko

• Increased max active Universal Carriers to 2 for Soviets.
• Added limited M3A1 Halftrack spawns to Soviets.

See you on the battlefield, Darklight Games