The first update of the year is here, and its a big one! We wanted to add more distinctiveness to both the squads and sectors in Tannenberg, and thats what this update is all about. But first, a teaser to get you hyped for the release on the 13th! https://youtu.be/fhSr9ZMtk6kGet a closer look at the Bulgarians...

Sector types revamp

Every sector will now have a special trait and advantage associated with controlling it! The key sectors will continue to increase the speed of enemy score drain. Ammunition and artillery sectors will reduce the cooldowns of their associated abilities by 10% - youll be able to use ammo crates and call in artillery strikes more frequently. Recon sectors will increase how long spotted enemies remain visible on the mini-map by 10%. Finally, reinforcement sectors will reduce respawn times by 10%.
Here you can see the new sector types as applied to Poland. There are recon and artillery sectors next to the HQs, the key sector at the Crossroads, and a reinforcement sector to the north with an ammunition supply sector to the south.

Squads and abilities overhauled

We have made a series of changes to squads, abilities and call-ins in order to make every squad more unique and interesting. To start with, each squad can now be broadly categorized as Infantry, Assault, or Support. NCOs from all squads can call in smoke shells to cover an advance, but artillery, gas and recon missions are now linked to specific squads.
Infantry squads are focused on long range combat, with plentiful long rifles, related role perks, and the ability to call-in artillery strikes. The K.u.K Trupp even have access to the superheavy 305mm koda 30.5 cm Mrser M.11!
Assault squads focus on offensive actions, with grenades, melee weapons, and abilities that can negate suppression or increase it in enemies. They also command gas call-ins. Every call-in now has multiple levels, generally along the lines of light / medium / heavy. The heavier call-ins have longer cooldowns, so NCOs have the choice of deploying support more often, or having more powerful support less frequently.
The support squads are capable defenders and can potentially recapture lost sectors faster than other squads - but dont underestimate their power in an attack, where they can act as mobile grenade and ammo supply points and use recon flights to identify enemy defensive positions or spot counter-attacks. Note: Right now only the Austro-Hungarian siege mortar is implemented, the other squad abilities are coming soon!
Support roles now each have one placement ability (put down ammo and grenade crates or field telephones anywhere) and act as a mobile source of ammo, grenades, or telephone connection! We will be looking forward to hearing your thoughts on all these changes - post your thoughts in the feedback thread on the hub!

Many other improvements and fixes!

This update also brings a collection of other changes and squashed bugs. Read some of the most significant below:

Unity version updated to 2018.3.

Always allow sector spawns on all friendly sectors.

Faster mount/dismount time for HMGs.

Spawning is now a lot more responsive! Fixed cases of getting stuck in Spawning.

Cluster spawns within 50m of an enemy capzone is no longer possible.

Various new UI updates, performance optimisations and fixes.

Frommer Stop now has 7 bullets instead of 8.

Exposed spawns in center of Carpathians have been adjusted.

Fixed incorrect "Your NCO called in..." message for actions of other squads (now only display for your own squad call-ins).

Less chance of floating prone people.

Improved gasmask checking on spawn. This should resolve the 'spawning in gas' issues.

Network bandwidth optimisations. As always, check out the full changelog on the forums and dont forget to brace yourselves for the upcoming release on February 13th! Before we go, take a look at one more little teaser!
Not all of the new weapons coming at release are for the Bulgarians Cheers!

[ 2019-01-31 13:14:08 CET ] [ Original post ]