Development Status #97

Dear Tankers!

Welcome to our 97th Development Status.

Status report

This week, we have another update on our work on the game, Ferdinand, and the Ponyri. We also had our fair share of struggles with the Unity engine. We’d like to remind you that our game is currently on sale. We’re participating in Steam’s Fall Sale with a 35% discount. Below is what we’ve prepared for you - enjoy the read :)

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Last week was spent wrestling with the project and the editor so we could even create a build. We’re also adding the game to the GOG platform, and that required some work to get a handle on everything related to the game’s functionality.

By Wednesday of this week, we had almost finished work on Ferdinand. The model is now ready for implementation, it’s been split into parts and pre-painted which we already showed you a week ago with the 1.3.9 patch - more in the link below

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Ponyri DLC

We’re continuing the development of the Ponyri DLC, focus now is overall testing but also balancing the game. We’ve decided to remove Panthers and Tigers from the historical campaign and just leave the Ferdinands as the main punch force for Germans in their campaign on Ponyri.

The ballistics values of Pak43 that the Ferdinand is equipped with also allows us to finally find a few last issues with our ballistics simulation, as it should have no problem at all penetrating any tank in the campaign at any distance.

The same can be said about SU-152 HE shells and our explosion ballistics, but that’s a topic for future statuses.

We’ve also received a lot of feedback in last dev status about the problems we’re facing when designing and facing the open/big map problems of just driving around for a few minutes without any contact. We need to implement this feedback as well as our own internal tests produced few ideas to add.

Panzerjäger Tiger (P) Ferdinand - work in progress

We’ve added two versions of Ferdinand: the Standard version and the command vehicle Befehlsfahrzeug. The command version differs visually from the standard version only in that it lacks a cover on the gun mount, has no front mudguards, and features an additional antenna.

Work on Ferdinand is nearing completion. We still need to finish the LODs, and finally, we’ll need to work on the interior. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to create a lavish interior in time for the release—it’s too costly for us at the moment, though that doesn’t mean we don’t want to do it.

New UI features & improvements here and there

Quartermaster & Infantry

We’ve slightly standardized the Quartermaster panel and the infantry management panel in the repair screen. The panel now matches the style of the game’s newest panel: the Force Pool Creator.

The right side is primarily informational; when you select a unit or squad, you’ll see its value or cost if you want to “buy” it from the reserves. In addition, you’ll see unit emblems, unit icons, and descriptions. On the right, there are also buttons that appear depending on the context or situation in the panel. For example, if we select an existing unit in our pool—say, an infantry unit—we can sell it rather than buy it, and so on.

Objective capture of Conquer or Defend

We’ve tweaked the logic and appearance of how we capture or defend a point. Until now, upon entering the zone, a UI panel would appear showing the time remaining until capture based on the number of units and the strength ratio of our units to the enemy’s, and once that time elapsed, we would either capture the point or lose it—if we, as players, or our AI units were destroyed.

Now, first and foremost, this panel will only be visible when we, as players, enter the zone, or when other players enter it, or when our allied units enter it. We will no longer see the panel at the start of the game, for example, by pressing the T key (Tactical View).

After entering a zone - for example, the one we want to capture - the “INFILTRATING” phase begins, during which the game assesses the balance of power between our forces and the enemy’s. Based on this, if our forces are stronger, the zone is “NEUTRALIZED,” which is visually represented by a diamond in the center with the faction’s color; the slider changes its state - it decreases. If enemy forces are equal, a so-called STALEMATE occurs, and the slider does not move in either direction.

If there are no enemy units in the zone or if our advantage is greater, the neutralization bar will reach 0, and the bar will automatically fill up - meaning our units will CAPTURE the zone. Once full capture is achieved, the objective - in this case, conquering the zone - is completed.

The same applies to defense. If we are defending a point and our units are present in the zone, the zone is in the DEFENDING state. If the enemy enters the zone and gains the upper hand, the zone will be neutralized (INFILTRATING). Then, when the enemy begins to occupy the zone, we enter the “LOSING” state—until, and this is important—if any of our units are still alive and present in the zone, we enter the “LAST MAN STANDING” situation. As long as that unit is alive, the enemy will not be able to fully capture the zone, meaning we will not lose the mission or objective.

We still need to come up with the correct name for the counter when the zone is neutralized. These are still issues that need to be worked out.

User reporter

We've made some improvements to the logic of the report reporter. You can now send a photo by selecting the appropriate toggle. We've also made some minor adjustments to the code that checks reports. We really appreciate your feedback. It helps us identify crashes and other strange issues that we aren't always able to catch ourselves.

Vehicle Squad (Units in Squad)

Another small feature I worked on after handing Ferdynand over to Robert for implementation was handling the panel that displays the units in a squad- without having to go into the Orders Menu.

It’s possible that only the units’ call signs will be visible here, along with the ability to switch between spawned units and take control of a specific unit—since it’s already possible in the game to press the appropriate key. This feature is still missing from the UI, so this panel is meant to display it as well. Of course, the option itself can be disabled; it’s enabled by default in Arcade mode and disabled in Simulation mode.