It’s finally here!

This update brings the long-awaited anti-tank weapon overhaul, the addition of new weapons, and a large number of gameplay tweaks.

It has been a long hard road to get this update out, as we’ve had to develop new skills, tools and processes on top of creating all of the new assets.

This release brings us ever closer to our long-standing quest of completely overhauling all of the infantry weapons to a higher standard.

Overhauled Weapons

The following weapons have had their models, textures and animations completely overhauled. Not only the first-person models have been updated, but the third-person animations for these weapons have also been completely redone! We now have a skilled third-person weapon animator, so look forward to more upgrades to the third person animations in the future.

M1A1 Bazooka

• Model, textures and animations have been completely remade.
  
• Reload duration has been reduced from 17 seconds to 8.3 seconds.
  
• Melee has been removed.
  
• Sights have been properly re-calibrated.
  

Raketenpanzerbüchse 54 (Panzerschreck)

• Model, textures and animations have been completely remade.
  
• Reload duration has been reduced from 11 second to 9 seconds.
  
• Increased weapon sway.
  
• Reduced projectile spread considerably.
  
• Melee has been removed.
  
• Added 2 new skin variants (dunkelgelb and snow)
  

PIAT

• Model, textures and animations have been completely remade.
  
• Can now be deployed on its monopod similar to machine-guns.
  
• Must be deployed in order to reload.
  
• Reload speed has been reduced from 12 seconds to 5 seconds.
  
• Melee has been removed.
  

Bren Gun

• Model, textures, animations and sounds have been completely remade.
  
• Melee has been removed.
  

New Weapons

M9A1 Bazooka

This new weapon features a unique optical reflector sight that makes it much easier to acquire targets. The M9 Bazooka officially replaced the M1A1 Bazooka towards the end of the war and has a projectile with slightly more penetration power than its predecessor. You'll see this variant of the Bazooka in late-war battles.

Sturmgewehr 44 (ZF 4)

The beloved STG44, now with a ZF 4 telescopic sight! This is an incredibly rare weapon that can be found as a pick-up on a number of late-war maps.

ZB vz. 30

This is a new Czechoslovakian light machine-gun, a close relative to the British Bren gun in both form and function. You'll find this weapon in the hands of some Volkssturm and Waffen SS soldiers.

Soviet and LWP Radio Operators

At long last, the Soviets and Polish armies now have been issued the A7 Transceiver and Radio Operator roles, bringing them to parity with all other factions.

Weapon Changes

• Many weapons have had their rate of fire adjusted to better match their real life counterparts. In general, you may notice many sub-machine guns now fire very slightly slower.
  
• The MG42 can now be fired from the hip after being readied.
  
• The MG34 can now be fired from the hip without needing to be readied.
  
• The DP-27 can now be fired from the hip without needing to be readied.
  
• The DP-27 magazine now visibly spins as the magazine is emptied, allowing for the user to see roughly how much ammo is left a glance.
  
• Rocket weapons now use the SwitchFireMode (default X) command instead of the Deploy (default N) command to change the firing range. This change was made to accommodate the fact the PIAT can now be deployed.
  
• Added a new contextual hint that tells the player how to switch firing ranges on weapons that support it.
  
• Slightly lowered the horizontal recoil of the Fallschirmjägergewehr 42.
  
• Slightly lowered the fire rate of the Maschinenpistole 38/40/41.
  
• Added a recoil curve to the M1 Garand, so rapid successive shots will increase the recoil per shot.
  
• The Fallschirmjaegergewehr 42 can no longer be resupplied by friendlies. (This change is made because unlike the BAR and Bren, German squad doctrine did not require each member of the squad to carry ammunition for the weapon).
  
• All sniper rifles have had their sights zeroed for 100m. This should alleviate the feeling that sniper rifles consistently shoot too low.
  
• Many weapons have had their names changed to be more specific (e.g., sniper rifles will now display the name of the scope type being used).
  

Gameplay

• The mechanic where ammunition supplies would decrease as the round progressed has been removed.
  
• Squad leaders can now use their shovels so long as a squadmate is within 50 meters of them (increased from 25 meters)
  

Bug Fixes

Fixed a bug where players who were in vehicles or on anti-tank guns wouldn’t be counted as a nearby squadmate for squad leaders trying to use their shovels to build.

Vehicles & Guns

• The APDS accuracy has been dramatically improved, in line with real-world data.
  

Miscellaneous

• The map voting system has been changed so that each player gets 1 vote, instead of voting power being a function of the player’s score. Legacy patrons are still granted extra voting power based on patronage tier, though the patron system will be phased out and replaced later this year.
  

Maps

Butovo Advance

• Fixed issue with the Panther entering an unspawnable state after Axis captured Pena River.
  
• Reworked final objective to be easier for Axis to capture.
  
• Reduced Axis ticket gain from capturing Pena River and North Woods objectives.
  

Fury Advance

• Fixed an issue that prevented Allied mortar operators from deploying around the starting area.
  

German Village Advance

• Fixed an issue where teams would be unable to mark targets for artillery thoughout most of the map.
  
• Fixed an exploit that could allow users to get outside of the map bounds.
  
• Increased Allied tickets slightly.
  
• Replaced flag statics on the map with new models from Matty.
  

Hedgerow Hell Advance

• Added missing Radio Operator role to Axis team.
  
• Replaced anachronistic Wirblewind with Sd.Kfz. 234/1 (20mm Armored Car).
  

Kasserine Pass Advance

• Fixed missing weapons for US Radio Operators.
  

Lutremange Domination

• Added territory nodes to both main spawns to allow for infantry to spawn in vehicles near the main spawn.
  
• Replaced Greyhound with Stuart and Easy 8 Sherman with M4A3 76W.
  
• Reduced intensity of artillery for both teams.
  

Lazur Chemical Plant Defence

• Expanded protection minefield for allied spawns to prevent spawn killing.
  
• Increased tickets for both teams significantly.
  
• Fixed a bug where many materials had incorrect impact effects.
  
• Fixed an issue where certain doors could not be destroyed with satchels.
  

Myshkova River Advance

• Updated lighting, terrain and objects on the map.
  
• Increased objective capture speed and reduced players needed from 8 to 6.
  
• Replaced G41 with SVT38 for Axis roles.
  
• Moved M34 grenades from Rifleman to Combat Engineer roles.
  
• Reduced amount of Axis SMGs available.
  

Noville Advance

• Swapped teams so that Axis are now attacking.
  
• Reworked objectives with new volumes and requirements to be more similar to Wanne.
  
• Added M18 Hellcats replacing previous US M10 Tank Destroyers.
  
• Added StuG 3 Ausf.G Assault Guns and Sd.Kfz. 251 Halftracks to Axis.
  
• Added objective spawns for both teams.
  
• Added additional spawn protection minefields for both teams.
  
• Added Radio Operators for both sides.
  
• Increased fog distance slightly to give better visibility on the map.
  

Rakowice Advance

• Removed large watchtowers from the map.
  
• Removed bunker blast door at airstrip.
  
• Fixed issue where players could respawn instantly in some cases.
  
• Removed grenades from Soviet Carbine Rifleman role and reduced role availability to 3.
  
• Added additional objects and changed terrain to provide more cover in certain areas.
  
• Replaced MP40 with MP41 for Axis Squad Leader role.
  
• Reduced time needed to capture objectives.
  

Rederitz Advance

• Implemented new Volkssturm Machinegunner role with ZB30.
  

Stoumont Advance

• Added missing Radio Operator role to Axis team.
  

Rhine River Clash

• Removed objectives neutralisation requirement, but halved capture rate (objectives will take the same amount of time to capture, but double neutral situations will be impossible).
  
• Increased objective lock down timers from 4 to 8 minutes.
  

Wanne Advance

• Reworked danger zone to reduce situations where team lines would be too close to an active objective.
  

Map Variation Removals

A number of maps have been removed as they have been superseded by other versions or are too unpopular to justify maintaining. These maps are:

• Cambes en Plaine Clash (superseded by Advance version)
  
• Fury Clash (superseded by Advance version)
  
• German Village Defence (superseded by Advance version)
  
• Godolloi Push (superseded by Advance version)
  
• Hedgerow Hell Clash (superseded by Advance version)
  
• Jurques Day Two Advance (generally considered to be a worse version of the original)
  
• Noville Push (superseded by Advance version)
  
• Pariserplatz Push (superseded by Advance version)
  
• Reichswald Push (superseded by Advance version)
  
• Winter Stalemate Advance (the Clash version plays better)
  

What's Next!?

The next major release we are working towards is the addition of the Italian faction and the Sicilian campaign. This is a large undertaking that requires new maps, weapons, vehicles, player models, voices and more. We don’t have a solid date for when this will be released, but we have a couple morsels to tease here. We are really looking forward to bringing in a whole new theatre to the game!


Monte Cassino (Razorneck)


Niscemi (Razorneck)

See you on the battlefield,
Darklight Games