After a short absence, we're back with a new update. This time a smaller one, but featuring a new armored map, a reworked infantry map and fixes for some long outstanding bugs.

Maps

Armored Yaryshivka

Yaryshivka is a new armored map set in Ukraine at the end of the Donets Offensive of spring 1943.
The wide open steppes of eastern Ukraine make ideal hunting grounds for the Tiger tanks of the Panzergrenadier Division "Grodeutschland". The Soviets will have to use speed and cunning to outmanuever the heavy German armor and take command of the battlefield in this chaotic domination-style map.

Reichswald

On the infantry side of things, Reichswald has been reworked to better suit the Advance game mode and has received a much needed facelift to go with it. This classic map now has new forests, widened map boundaries, reworked objectives and an overall snowier aesthetic. Set in its namesake forest during Operation Veritable, Reichswald sees Commonwealth forces facing off against German Fallschirmjger in the early spring of 1945.
As a side note, this overhaul was made entirely in Blender using our new "BDK" tool for map development which will finally see public release later this month!

Changes

Black Day July

• Fixed some minor historical inaccuracies in roles.
• Moved Allied setup phase boundary back to prevent potential spawnkilling issues.
• Adjusted vehicle respawn timers to be more in line with other maps.

Cheneux

• Reworked the From Rahier, Farm and Crossroads objectives.
• Increased all Allied objective lockdown timers by 80 seconds.
• Added a static radio in Allied main spawn.
• Added some additional cover in the fields around the Farm objective.
• Reduced Axis StG44 availability significantly: Corporal can now only choose between G41 and G43, rather than G43 and StG. Axis Assault Trooper roles were reduced from 5 to 3.

Dog Green

• Removed time gain award from all objectives and instead set the map to a static 25 minute round timer.

Grain Elevator

• Added a new objective.
• Removed ticket bleed from the German team.
• Significantly increased starting tickets for the German team.

Mahknovo

• Removed a fence panel behind the Post Office objective to allow easier access to the objective.

Bug Fixes

Editor Click Delay

While not an issue that affects most players, for those who have ever tried using the Red Orchestra SDK, you're likely aware of a long outstanding issue where selecting actors, objects, surfaces, etc. would cause the tool to become unresponsive for a short period of time (5-10 seconds or more). While there were some workarounds for this behavior in the past, nothing could actually fix the issue and over the years it became an increasingly major roadblock to DH map development. Finally, however, at long last and with a huge thanks to developer Metallicafan212, the RO editor has been fixed and now functions more or less as intended.

Mortar Animation Bug Fix

Eagle-eyed observers probably noticed that the mortar operator could have a full-body seizure when firing the mortar shell. The cause of this was eventually traced to an obscure animation bug in the engine, and the issue has finally been fixed!

Inconsistencies Between Turret and Hull Schrzen

• Turret Schrzen now provides protection against AP bullets (PTRD) and HE shells under 8.5cm in caliber.
• Turret Schrzen now only defeats HEAT projectiles if the angle of incidence is over 45 degrees.
• Added protection to the rear of turrets where appropriate (mid to late-war Panzer IV and Panzer III models). Previously skirts on the rear of these vehicles was purely cosmestic and offered no benefits.

Italy Update Progress

[quote]Soldiers of the US 1st Infantry Division storm the beaches of Gela, 1943.[/quote] The Italy update is progressing steadily and we've hit a number of key milestones recently:

• All new player models have been completed.
• All new vehicle models & animations have been completed.
• New maps are being finalized and polished after a number of successful internal playtests.
• Italian voice lines have been recorded, edited and completed. You can hear a sample of some of the voice lines below!

[url=https://www.patreon.com/posts/105060155]
There is still plenty left to do of course, but we are feeling on track to comfortably get the update finally released before the end of the year. We know it's been a very long wait, but we know it will be worth it. The quality of the content going into this update is head and shoulders above anything in the game thus far. As we get closer to release, we will be revealing in detail what is coming in the update including the vehicle line-up, map line-up and a bit of a deep dive into some development "tales-from-the-trenches", explaining some of the new systems that were developed for this update and technologies that will help sustain the game into the future.
[quote]The gunner of the Semovente 47/32 is fully animated cranking the yaw wheel in multiple positions.[/quote] A reminder also that donations are always welcome on our Patreon! Community donations help us keep the game servers and our development infrastructure funded. See you on the battlefield, Darklight Games