12 August

Development Blog #21

The developers of Blitzkrieg 3 will soon bring you Version 0.9, which is designed to integrate all of the game’s elements. We told you about some innovations in previous devblogs, and now it’s time for you to know about them in more detail. Today’s episode of the Developer Diaries will explain how difficult it was for the team to prepare this version, what objectives we had in mind, what we had to abandon, and what made our programmers stay awake for days on end.

More on the Campaign and Additional Missions

When creating the campaign, we wanted to build an integrated story and tell you about key milestones in the war for the Axis countries. It was equally important for us to emphasise the heroism of ordinary soldiers, their bravery, and their contribution to the common cause. We turned to Boris Yulin, a military historian, to help us make the missions as realistic as possible. Boris has firsthand knowledge of the Blitzkrieg game series, as he helped develop the very first one. This time he personally chose missions for the campaign, as well as sharing his extensive factual knowledge with us.
We couldn’t overlook other battles in World War II. In addition to the 7 main campaign missions, you can also look forward to 9 additional ones. We’ve tried to make them as historically accurate as we can. During combat missions, you will only be able to use and get as a reward units and military hardware that existed in that time period.

New Economy and Counter System

It’s not easy to implement a new economic system. We needed to rethink and rework a lot of things. We completely dismantled the counter system and then put it back together again from scratch.
We couldn’t introduce any vehicles or units into the game before without greatly affecting the balance. When we introduced the rarity system, it helped us get rid of a number of issues and also make the combat system more varied.

UX/UI

Konstantin Verbitsky, Senior UX/UI Designer
“We’ve spent six months working on the version that you’re going to see very soon. As well as carrying out minor updates, we were creating a completely new product. We had to make a lot of changes: some things in the game were inconsistent and badly represented, and some screens looked too bulky. We’ve made all UI elements simpler, and now information is displayed in the right amount just when you need it. Now you can see the backbone of what we’ve been working on. All the screens will get more detailed in the versions to come. When you look at the screenshots, you can check out how many changes we made on a single screen. This is the global map screen, where you will receive information on your progress and success.”





We’ve changed the look of the screens, added new icons and developed an artistic solution to the rarity system. The game looks really different now. We hope that you’ll like the final result!



Programming

Our employees focused a great deal of their efforts on adding the trench system in this version. It turned out to be harder than we thought. To give you an insight into the difficulties involved, here are some comments from Artyom Pavlenko, our senior programmer:

What are trenches from a player’s point of view?
Just holes in the ground that an infantryman jumps into and runs around in...

But what are they from a programmer’s point of view?
A separate world with its own traversable map and pushout system. When a unit enters this world, they go through special teleportation channels formed just as their path is generated. At this point the unit becomes amorphous, and their physical body doesn’t exist in either world. At the same time, their prototype continues to encounter other units in the external world. When their amorphous body reaches the other world, their physical prototypes gets teleported into the trench to interact with the bodies that are only located in that trench. Sometimes the teleportation fails, and they end up in an untraversable area, a free zone in the external world. This results in the cataclysm of a misplaced unit existing in the external world...

We apologise that you will have to wait a little while longer for the trench system. To keep your spirits up in the meantime, please take a look at the results of our programmers’ work. The code has made it possible for tanks to go through trenches and for infantry to run under vehicles standing above trenches.




Tedo80 (Steam):
Will this game have medals and ranks like previous games in the series?

We intend to introduce an achievements system.
You will receive them as you go through the tutorial and make progress for winning battles in a certain way and successfully performing difficult tasks with individual units. For example, destroying a certain number of troops with strike aircraft or maintaining control over all the howitzers on the map.
We don’t have any other plans about similar incentives right now.


Our upcoming plan is to analyse your feedback to improve the game and make it more interesting. The contents of the next episode of the Developer Diaries will directly depend on your response to this version.

5 August

Development Blog #20

Work on update 0.9 is going full blast. The purpose of this developer diary is to acquaint you a little more thoroughly with the latest version of the game.

In today's post:
1) A little about the update
2) Temporary unit shop
3) Trenches
4) New vehicle models announced
5) Future developments


1) We’ve been hard at work on the latest version and wanted to show you the fruits of our labors as soon as possible. You might have some comments, or you might be looking for flaws in this version. We ask that you take a knowledgeable approach to the situation and tell us about any issues you find. We appreciate all your reports of errors and/or bugs. Help us make the game better!

2) Update 0.9 introduces a full campaign for the “Axis” countries. However, the historical chronicles and missions available in the deluxe and strategic editions of the game will not be available yet when the new version is released.

3) Many players would like to know whether or not their progress will be reset when the new economy is introduced.
Our answer: no. There will not be a wipe.
Why?
We feel like it’s important to save your progress and observe how the new economic model works during various stages of progress in the game.
If you still want to start the game over again, we can reset any base of your choosing. For example, you could save your progress for the Allies, but wipe the USSR.
To reset one or all of your bases, email us at support@blitzkrieg.com and enter “wipe” in the subject line. You’ll need to attach two screenshots to the message: one of your base and one of the leaderboard.

We’re planning to do a full wipe when the game launches. Until then, we aren't going to make these sorts of undertakings mandatory.

4) Since we’re only launching an “Axis” campaign, we expect that the vast majority of players are going to want to play as that faction. We’re temporarily disabling the ban on attacking members of your own coalition (the priority will still be on attacking members of the opposite coalition).


We’ve already mentioned several time that we're going to introduce a new economy to the game.
Because of this, we had to think about how to transfer your progress from the old system to the new one.
In the beginning you will be given a certain number of units. You will earn new squads and vehicles by winning battles. You will be able to purchase units similar to those that can be won in battle at the shop. The shop will only be available for a limited time. Your progress will be transferred into a special currency. You can spend this currency on units, fortifications, and barricades.


You’ve been asking for them!
You’ve been waiting for them!
And your cries have been heard by our team! :)

In update 0.9 you will be able to entrench vehicles just like in the previous games in the series, as well as dig trenches. The introduction of this mechanic will significantly impact combat tactics: you will now be able to prepare to meet the enemy.

You will only be able to use the new commands in battle (in the future you will also be able to give similar orders at the base).

Entrenching vehicles
Once a unit receives your orders, it will take up a firing position. It will dig a trench around itself or place sand bags in front of itself and to the sides. Carrying out this order reduces the damage the vehicle will take, but, needless to say, it will also prevent it from moving.

Entrenching infantry
The new system allows you to dig a trench wherever you want. All infantry units other than snipers can dig trenches. Trenches are made of segments between which soldiers can move freely.
If your units are in a trench, their dodge chance is increased, and their damage from AoE attacks is reduced.
If you manage to kill all the enemy soldiers in a trench, your units can occupy the trench and fight from there.

Here’s a screenshot of a trench during peacetime (men chatting, snacking and hanging out with women — everything’s normal) and one that’s expecting an enemy attack.




We are proud to announce that the roster of units has been almost doubled. In this edition we will show you another new tank and two news SPGs that will be entering the game. In upcoming updates all the vehicles available in PvE will become available in PvP one way or another. For example, if you get the Maus as a reward for completing a mission, you will be able to deploy it both in the campaign and in multiplayer.

The stars of today’s announcement are:

KW-2


Wespe


M10 Wolverine



Ivan Loktinov, Programmer
“When the code doesn't work the way you expected...”



Danil Dvoryaninov, Junior Producer
The update schedule for our project reminds me of the Wheel of Samsara. The karma you earned in the last version determines the number of bugs in the next one. I’m doing my best to lead a just work life and break the sinful cycle of rebirth!



Vadim Yakovlev, Lead Quality Assurance Specialist
Here’s an illustration of how bugs jump from one programmer to another:




In this section we review the most frequently encountered questions/complaints/suggestions and tell you which aspects of the project we're still working on.

1) Tutorial/manual
We often see requests for an in-game tutorial. We haven’t been ignoring this feedback. The project is still in development. Things are changing all the time. However, the tutorial needs to be exact and practical, so it won’t appear until close to launch.
As soon as the primary goals relating to gameplay, balance, and economy have been met, we’ll start working on it.

2) Saving your game
We are planning to add an option to save your game.
It will only be available in historical missions.
We’re doing this so you can pick up from where you left off when playing long missions.
This option will be introduced in upcoming updates.

3) Lobby
You will be able to create private games soon. You will not earn rewards for winning these battles.
You will be able to partner up with your friends in the lobbies and predetermine the outcome of the battle together. You will earn units and vehicles for winning matchmaking games with your friends. The units that can only be obtained by beating the campaign will not be among these rewards.

4) Transferring crews
In upcoming versions of the game you will be able to transfer your crews from one vehicle (tank, SPG) to another.
For example, let’s say that during the first phase of the war you have a tank that you used to complete all the missions from this time period and have saved up some experience (it's linked to the crew).
If you transfer the crew to a vehicle in the second time period, the soldiers will lose a little experience (they’ll have to get used to the new vehicle). Transferring an old crew to tanks in the next time period is better than going into battle with green recruits. The old war dogs will show their worth on the battlefield.

5) Upgrades
In upcoming updates you will gain access to upgrades (they’re linked to historical periods). As a spec ops commander, you work with the most advanced tech that the regular army doesn't have access to.
When you get an upgrade, it is applied to all the vehicles it can be used with.
For example, let’s say you get reinforced tank treads. This upgrade will be instantly applied to tanks and SPG’s.

See you in the next blog!