Hell Let Loose - itsmeBenB_T17
Hello all,

Welcome to our maiden PTE of Objective Mode in Hell Let Loose!



Before we dive into the modes, let’s take a moment to provide some context around this content.

Members of the community may recall the original 2023 roadmap which featured Objective Mode. These maps were a series of prototypes that differed from the standard Hell Let Loose Warfare and Offensive modes. However, following the release of the 2023 trailer, development priorities shifted, and Objective Mode was temporarily deferred to align with the new direction.

As promised in a previous Q&A, we’re now excited to share the progress made before that shift by bringing you two completely new, work-in-progress maps. Each are at a different stage of development, as well as one map being a solo project that utilises the promising gameplay opportunities presented by Objective Mode.

Note: These are test maps, so you’ll encounter known issues such as placeholder UI, incomplete tactical maps, and unfinished game logic.

With that said, let’s take a look at the new mechanic, and dive into three different scenarios.

New Mechanic - TNT

We are testing a new mechanic in these modes - TNT. This mechanic will be used by the attacking factions on each map to achieve the objectives. When the player is using the supported role listed below, they will have a TNT weapon in the weapon slot.

Note: The TNT can currently only be used for planting on the objective, it will not work on vehicles like satchels.

TNT - Planting
  • The attackers can access the TNT via the weapon wheel when they are playing as the appropriate role
  • When the TNT is selected, pre-set points will flash up on the object
  • When a pre-set point is unreachable, it will be greyed out
  • When a pre-set point is reachable, it will turn green


TNT - Defusal
  • The Defenders must defuse the TNT to keep the Plane intact
  • They can do this by locating the TNT device, then holding interact [F] to defuse it
  • This can only be achieved when in range
Note that any role can do this.


The following attributes are consistent across all 3 maps:

Details

Plant Time: 5 seconds

Detonation Time: 60 seconds

Disarm Explosive Time: 3 seconds

Supported Roles:
  • Commander
  • Officer
  • Engineer
  • Support
  • Anti-Tank
Map #1 - El Alamein
The theme of El Alamein is destruction, the British Forces control the Airfield and the German Forces' operation is to destroy the Lancaster Bomber planes to effectively halt the British advance in N. Africa.

Therefore the British Forces have the advantage, the planes are in their territory, and are closer to their HQ. The challenge is for the DAK to break British lines, and destroy their planes.

Notes:
  • All forces can build OPs/Forward Positions in “neutral territory”
  • The British Forces have 3 pre-placed Garrisons
  • Each Plane has 100 pre-placed supplies at each Plane to aid defence during the warm-up period
  • Territory will never change hands
  • Turn-back volumes are added so players cannot enter enemy territory - all gameplay should take place within neutral territory

Map Setup

Map Size: Custom



Player Count: 100 players - 50 v 50

Game Mode: Destruction

Match Time: 33 Minutes - 30 Minutes Gameplay

Warm Up Time: 3 Minutes



Forces:
  • British 8th Army (Defenders)
  • German DAK (Attackers)
Win Conditions:

British 8th Army (Defenders)
  • Allow the 33 minute timer to elapse with at least 1 plane intact
German DAK (Attackers)
  • Destroy all 4 planes within the allotted match time
Gameplay

The British 8th Army have 4 pre-placed planes that they must protect:



Note: As all 4 planes are active from the start, they can be destroyed in any order.

Map #2 - Brécourt Battery

The theme of Brécourt Battery takes heavy inspiration from Band of Brothers, and is the content that we were working on at the time of the 2023 trailer. This is a small map where the U.S. Forces must destroy the 4 Gun Batteries placed near Brécourt Manor. The goal for the German Forces is to protect those guns at all costs. With that in mind the German Forces have the advantage of territory, which is representative of the real life battle.

Notes:
  • The map size/territory is fixed, and won’t change hands
  • The grid setup is a test of how we can free up our reliance on it as a system
  • The U.S. Forces do not have access to any vehicles
  • The German Forces have access to vehicles but they cannot be respawned
  • Neither forces have any tanks
  • Commander abilities are limited
Map Setup

Map Size: Custom



Player Count: 50 players - 25 v 25

Game Mode: Destruction

Match Time: 33 Minutes - 30 Minutes Gameplay

Warm Up Time: 3 Minutes



Forces:
  • German Forces (Defenders)
  • U.S. Forces (Attackers)
Win Conditions:

German Forces (Defenders)
  • Allow the 33 minute timer to elapse with at least 1 gun intact
U.S. Forces (Attackers)
  • Destroy all 4 guns within the allotted match time
Gameplay

The German Forces have 4 pre-placed guns that they must protect:



Note: As all 4 guns are active from the start, they can be destroyed in any order.

Map #3 - Danzig Post Office

The Danzig Post Office is a historically sympathetic Hell Let Loose map based on a true story. The Objectives are two fold on this map, and as such, are split into two different phases.

Notes:
  • As we don’t currently have Polish forces in the game, we have used the British (Allies) for players to use their Polish Airborne DLC Uniform
  • Neither Force has access to any vehicles
  • Commander abilities are restricted
Map Setup

Map Size: Custom - 400m x 400m



Player Count: 50 players - 25 v 25

Game Mode: Phased

Match Time: 33 Minutes - 30 Minutes Gameplay

Warm Up Time: 3 Minutes



Forces:
  • British Forces (Defenders)
  • German Forces (Attackers)
Win Conditions:

British Forces (Defenders)
  • Allow the 33 minute timer to elapse with the generators intact (Phase 1)
  • Prevent the Danzig Post Office Capture Point from being captured within the allotted time (Phase 2)
German Forces (Attackers)
  • Destroy the generators within the allotted time (Phase 1)
  • Capture the Danzig Post Office within the allotted time (Phase 2)
Gameplay

Phase #1 - Generators
There are 2 generators placed in the Post Office and adjacent Police Station. In the first phase, the attackers must destroy both of these. It is left up to the players to decide how to achieve this, as both generators can be destroyed in any order.

Phase #2 - Danzig Post Office Capture Point
For phase #2 the objective for the German Forces is simply to capture and secure the Danzig Post Office, whilst the British must defend it. The Capture Point behaves like Offensive, once it is captured, the match is over.

What Objective Mode is
  • A series of tests to play Hell Let Loose matches with mechanics that don’t revolve around Capture Points and territory control
  • An opportunity to delve into the code base of Hell Let Loose and experiment with different map sizes and dimensions and even player counts
  • An opportunity for the community to see what game development is really like, to see maps at various stages of development and completion
  • A “what if?” scenario which is not necessarily based on historical events but is historically sympathetic within the Hell Let Loose space
  • A mode that can be explored further if there is enough community appetite for it
What Objective Mode is Not
  • Final content that will be released in Hell Let Loose in the near future
  • A mode that could be released after addressing 25 v 25 player count issue
  • Finished mechanic logic such as: tanks and bombing runs being unable to destroy the planes in El Alamein being unrealistic
  • Completed maps/modes in terms of visual fidelity - Danzig in particular is still in early blockout
  • A mode that prioritizes territory control in order to win - The 2nd phase of Danzig is the only time that a Capture Point is the objective
  • Work that has come at the expense of the 2025 roadmap - Since the direction was pivoted back in 2023 these maps have had only one person working on the prototypes
    The Purposes of Objective Mode and this PTE
      To dive further into the scope of what Hell Let Loose could be, by utilizing mechanics that aren’t centred around Capture Points and territory controlTo gauge community interest in the mechanics and setups of the maps presented in these modes. We are particularly keen to hear your thoughts on:
  • A 25 v 25 environment
  • The map sizes
  • The TNT mechanic
  • The destruction gameplay loop

Known Issues
For today’s session, there is a list of unfinished items/bugs that we’re aware of, including:
  • Placeholder icons
  • Unfinished game logic - i.e. bombing runs, satchels, tanks cannot destroy the objectives

Streaming & Recording PTE Sessions

You are welcome to both stream and record PTE footage, but as these sessions are showing unfinished work, it’s always good to let your individual communities know that the footage is from a PTE session, where you might encounter unfinished items, bugs and other issues.

Feedback Questions
Once you have completed a game and are ready to provide feedback, please use the forms below!

How to Take Part

Check your Steam Library for the Hell Let Loose (Public Testing) application, or re-download it from the Steam store, you’ll want to boot this version up to take part in the PTE!

Once you’re in and have selected a server, you’ll be able to test out the new game mode!


Please note:
Because PTEs are run on development servers that have logging activated, you will experience a slight decrease in performance. You will also not earn any XP and your progress will not be carried over to the live game.


Community Events:
A number of our War Correspondents will be running community events over the course of the weekend. This includes RazBora, TheFreshBakedGoods and SoulSniper who are doing a joint event for the PTE.

The event is open to everyone so be sure to check out the details below so that you don't miss the action.

Draft Haus / SoulSniper Objective Mode PTE Event
Date/Time: Saturday, June 7 2025 1:00 PM EST
Where: Hell Let Loose PTE Application
Maps: Danzig Post Office & Brecourt Battery
Teams: 25v25 (50 Players)
Format: Play 2 rounds of each 50 player map so each team gets a chance to defend and attack

Notes: There will be no password for the server or assigned teams. Just join at the posted time and play!


Hell Let Loose - itsmeBenB_T17
Hello Everyone,

Welcome to the PTE for Patch 17.1, this patch will come with quite a few Quality Of Life improvements which we hope you will all appreciate!

Please find below a list of extensive changes that have been made / are currently being worked on by the team, we’d love to get your feedback on all of this prior to the release to make sure we can evaluate and make changes based on your feedback!

At the bottom of the sheet you will find a feedback form that we’d appreciate if you filled out.

The map rotation for this PTE is going to be:
  • Kharkov - Offensive - RUS
  • Foy - Offensive - US
  • Kharkov - Warfare - Night
  • Mortain - Warfare - Overcast
This rotation should allow you to experience all the changes that have been made, also feel free to use the new Explore menu to test out changes made to the bipod and any other weapons!

Along with this patch will come a lot of general bug fixes and improvements! A full list of which will as always be delivered to you with the final changelog when the patch goes LIVE in the near future!

New Features

Medic Improvements

As part of the ongoing effort to improve Medic gameplay, the Design team has tuned several in-engine values to improve both both performance and playability. As a result of this, the following values now apply:
  • Full HP on revive
  • Medic bandage speed is now 2s (this also applies to self bandaging)
  • Revive speed for all Forces has been reduced to 2s
  • Medic revive XP increased from 30 to 75
  • Being revived by Medic XP increased from 30 to 75
This PTE also introduces the Medic ‘Call & Response’ system, allowing downed players to request a revive. Medics can respond using the radial ping marker system, helping prioritise revives and reduce unnecessary journeys across the battlefield.

It’s important to note that this feature is still in development and will not be included in Update 17.1. Player feedback during testing will help shape its final version.



Bipod Rework

The bipod system has been significantly overhauled for more flexible and realistic deployment, improving the overall gameplay experience.

The system now detects objects in the player’s deployed path, rather than relying on hardcoded limits. This reduces instances of clipping into static objects. Deployment inside objects is no longer possible.

Pitch angles now reflect the height of the surface, allowing a wider range of weapon rotation. You can aim lower from low surfaces and higher from elevated ones.

Server-side checks now ensure valid deployment surfaces, fixing issues where deployment would cancel mid-animation. Standing and crouching now share the same deployment limits, eliminating the need to change stances to check for valid deployment surfaces properly.



Soviet Winter Camo - Kharkov

Following the overwhelmingly positive reception of Elsenborn Ridge, we're bringing the same winter tank camo style to the tanks in Foy and Kharkov.





Winter Camo Updates - Foy







LOD Improvements

The Technical Art team has begun addressing LOD-related issues raised by players, including abrupt LOD transitions (e.g., between LOD 0 and LOD 1), inconsistent screen size thresholds, uneven triangle density, and large assets using too few LODs.

The initial focus is on barbed wire assets, along with the setup of optimised LOD materials for use on the lowest LODs.

LOD 0 was already efficiently configured with minimal overdraw. However, performance decreased noticeably when transitioning to lower LODs
  • The optimised LOD material is set to be opaque to reduce the fill rate of masked materials seen at a distance
  • As texture mapping blurs masked textures, switching to opaque textures improves performance with minimal impact on visual quality
The barbed wire assets have been updated to LOD more efficiently. Previously LOD 0 was on screen from a screen size of 1.0 to 0.1, meaning over 6,000 triangles were occupying the screen space. This has now been balanced so that LOD 0 is visible until 0.5 screen size, after which it transitions and to a model with 50% fewer triangles, remaining until 0.1 screen size.



Another issue affecting distant objects is the use of Hierarchical Level of Detail (HLOD) systems, which optimise performance by merging meshes into lower-detail proxies. These clusters reduce triangle count and material complexity, allowing many objects to render at distance without a performance hit.

However, problems arise when HLOD transitions occur too early, as the system relies on player to object distance without accounting for zoomed views through binoculars, scopes, or tank optics. In these cases, higher-detail models are not restored when expected.

Barbed wire assets, in particular, did not benefit from HLOD passes and appeared overly low poly at distance. The Technical Art team has addressed this by removing barbed wire from HLODs, allowing them to LOD more effectively on their own.

Original Barbed Wire HLOD Proxy

Barbed Wire Removed from HLOD Proxy

Post Match VOIP

Players can now retain voice communications for the Leadership and Squad channels during the post-match flow, this allows players a grace period to discuss the match, or plan out next steps for the upcoming match.

Players will notice that a “MUTE ALL” button has been added next to “PERSONAL STATS”, this allows the player to quickly mute all players in the team.



Flare Illumination

In response to community feedback, the Technical Art team is working to enhance flare gun effectiveness in night-time scenarios. We’re currently exploring ways to improve the spread of the particle light associated with the gun's visual effects (VFX) to increase its reach. Feedback is welcome as we continue refining this effect.



Admin Camera Lighting Effects

Following recent updates to the admin camera, there has been a request to introduce filters. The Technical Art team has explored various existing filters used by the community and has created a set of presets designed to enhance the overall experience. Below are examples using Colour Look Up Tables (CLUTs).

2 Strip Colour Treatment

Bleach Bypass

Black and White (Red Filter)

Black and White (Blue Filter)

Modern 35mm

1940’s Colour

1940’s Colour (Variation)


These are then combined with additional post pro settings available in the engine, such as shadow intensity, bloom, chromatic aberration, film grain and vignetting. Below is a demonstration of these camera effects.



Practice Range Improvements

The Practice Range now allows players to sample all available loadouts, regardless of their current in-game role rank. This enables testing of every weapon within a safe, controlled environment.



New Maps with Dynamic Weather

Dynamic weather has been integrated into several legacy maps. The Technical Art team is currently evaluating appropriate lighting and weather conditions to incorporate effects such as snow, rain, and sandstorms across these maps. The new weather manager allows each map to deliver a distinct and immersive experience due to it’s flexibility.

Below are short videos showcasing the transition of light to extreme snow both in Foy (available to play in the PTE) and Kharkov (available to play on release).





Improvements to Fog

Community feedback highlighted concerns over excessive fog and difficulty with sightlines on some of the newer night maps. It was found that Elsenborn Ridge (night) had an acceptable level of fog and lighting exposure which the team are using as a basis for improvements.

Based on evaluation and feedback, El Alamein, Omaha Beach and Hill 400 were found to have acceptable intensities of fog, with El Alamein’s fog intensity being welcomed in addressing overly long sightlines.

Kharkov, Sainte-Marie-du-Mont (SMDM), Driel, Carentan, St Mere-Eglise (SME), Utah Beach, and Stalingrad were found to be excessively foggy.

These have all been updated to leave longer sightlines.

Kharkov - Original Fog Settings

Kharkov - Updated Fog Settings

Sainte-Marie-du-Mont - Original Fog Settings

Sainte-Marie-du-Mont - Updated Fog Settings

Driel - Original Fog Settings

Driel - Updated Fog Settings

Carentan - Original Fog Settings

Carentan - Updated Fog Settings

Sainte-Mère-Église - Original Fog Settings

Sainte-Mère-Église - Updated Fog Settings

Utah Beach - Original Fog Settings

Utah Beach - Updated Fog Settings

Stalingrad - Original Fog Settings

Stalingrad - Updated Fog Settings

Stalingrad - Updated Fog Settings


Explore Mode

A new “Explore” tab has been added to the Enlist screen. This section allows independent exploration of each map at a player's own pace, separate from standard gameplay.

In Explore Mode, the player can:
  • Explore every section of the map
  • Play as any role
  • Use faction/role appropriate vehicles
  • Use faction appropriate artillery


In Explore Mode, the player cannot:
  • Gain XP
  • Win/Lose Matches
  • Capture any Capture Points

Official DX12 Support

Hell Let Loose on PC platforms now uses DirectX 12 as it’s rendering API, offering performance gains during gameplay. Due to the variety of PC setups, we understand that issues may arise with this change. Therefore, an option to switch back to DirectX 11 will be made available in the Video Settings section of the Settings menu.

Additional Upcoming 17.1 Features

Here are some additional features coming to 17.1 that won’t be in the PTE but are scheduled for the full release:

Tobruk Improvements

In response to community feedback regarding the stepping effect of the VFX around large buildings, the Technical Art team has developed a new system to enhance VFX occlusion.

This improved system applies volumes around large structures and has now been implemented in Tobruk. Below, you will find a comparison showcasing the improvements made before and after the implementation.



The environment art team has made some visual improvements to the building exterior textures to add more bullet and shrapnel damage giving the town area a more war torn look. Also more ground scatter has been added where it is possible without affecting performance. The town building interiors have had more muck and scatter added to make it feel more lived in.







New RCON Abilities

New features have been added to RCON for Update 17.1. Server owners will now have the ability to change the following parameters for their servers:

Match Timer
The overall match timer is now more flexible, with server owners allowing them to be adjusted within the following ranges based on game mode:

Note: The new timer range for Offensive mode is divided by 5 for each Capture Point phase, so a match timer of 300 minutes would give each Capture Point a 60 minute timer for example.

Warm-up Timer

Note: Due to the way that Offensive mode “Warm-up” periods are dictated by its global spawn wave system, we have not yet added the ability to control this but it is something we are open to exploring with future RCON quality of life features.

New Maps with Dynamic Weather

Mortain
The technical art team has now updated the Mortain overcast scenario from the older rain VFX to the newer dynamic rain.



Please note that server owners will have the option to disable dynamic weather with the launch of version 17.1. However, this feature is not available in the PTE.

Work In Progress

These PTE sessions are a way for you as a community to feedback on Hell Let Loose work in progress, which means we can look to implement your feedback before a patch or update is released. Although we can currently only hold public testing sessions on Steam, we encourage everyone to take part to be able to share feedback.

You may encounter some placeholder assets / areas that do not look completely finalised, this is still work in progress but should give you a good idea of how the final map will look / feel

Known Issues
  • Mute All is present on the scoreboard during gameplay
  • Explore Mode has placeholder UI
  • R.O.A uniform's Third Person Perspective hands are missing
Streaming & Recording PTE Sessions
You are welcome to both stream and record PTE footage, but as these sessions are showing unfinished work, it’s always good to let your individual communities know that the footage is from a PTE session, where you might encounter unfinished items, bugs and other issues.

Feedback Questions

Once you have completed a game and are ready to provide feedback, please use the forms below!

How to Take Part

Check your Steam Library for the Hell Let Loose (Public Testing) application, or re-download it from the Steam store, you’ll want to boot this version up to take part in the PTE!

Once you’re in and have selected a server, you’ll be able to test out the new game map!


Please note:

Because PTEs are run on development servers that have logging activated, you will experience a slight decrease in performance. You will also not earn any XP and your progress will not be carried over to the live game.


Community Updates

Hey everyone, Ben back with some community updates.

Firstly, we want to give a huge shoutout to everyone who has been submitting clips for our 'Best of the Community' series. It's been great to see so many phenomenal entries, and we loved being able to do an episode all about the Competitive Scene in Hell Let Loose. From admin cam casting, to clutch plays, enjoy our latest episode, co-hosted by the voice of comp DasAltberg, over on our YouTube channel.



If you would like to be featured in future episodes, be sure to submit your videos, artwork, or clips via our Discord server.
https://discord.gg/HellLetLoose

Community Events

D-Day Event - 6th June
Alongside events that we are throwing, we wanted to once again shoutout BR1 Gaming who are back with another 'Road to D-Day' event. This year's event will bring together both PC and console communities, with matches set for both platforms. If you're interested in taking part or want to donate to their charity of choice, be sure to visit their website and register today. 



Testimonial Event - 7th June
Another incredible event happening next weekend will be the testimonial event between 82AD and ESPT.

For those who may not have heard, Myrk — a former member of 82AD and ESPT — tragically passed away in an accident earlier this month. His legacy within the competitive HLL community, particularly in these two teams, is profound. His unmatched passion, sharp tactical mind, and genuine willingness to help others left a lasting mark on everyone who had the privilege to play alongside him. Myrk was instrumental in shaping how 82AD and ESPT approached arty and arty defence in past metas, long before the strategies we use today came into play.

Inchon captured his essence best:
"I first started playing with Myrk back in 2021 and quickly realized I needed to spend as much time with him as possible. His passion for HLL was infectious, and more importantly, his approach to helping others — always positive, never judgmental — was something rare. Whether you were a veteran or brand new, he'd jump into comms, pull up Stratsketch, and send a password for a private server. Time flew by as he shared his deep knowledge, great humour, and most importantly, his time. From 2022-23, Myrk helped us grow structurally as a team and introduced ideas that still shape our gameplay today."

To honor his memory, we’re hosting a testimonial match between 82AD and ESPT. We’ll start with a fun arty phase — all guns firing, defences built — before going into current meta rules. The match takes place on HLL’s newest map, Tobruk.

If you would like to donate, the group's have set up a fundraising page to help support Myrk's family.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/myrk-gaming-event

The event will be livestreamed on DasAltberg's Twitch channel on Saturday, 7 June 2025.
Games starting at 11am PST | 2pm EST | 7pm BST | 8pm CEST



War Correspondents

And as always, our War Correspondents have been creating some excellent content for us all to enjoy. Here's what they have created recently:

Alpine Sniper


Soul Sniper


RazBora
https://www.tiktok.com/@raz_bora/video/7507794988332322091

DasAltberg


PTE Reminder

As a final reminder, please ensure that you share all feedback and bugs from this weekend's PTE via the below forms:


Thank you all and enjoy the PTE!
Hell Let Loose - itsmeBenB_T17
Hi all,

We’d like to start off by saying a big thank you to the community for their involvement with the recent VE Day 80th Anniversary Hell Let Loose event, and for the generous donations made towards SSAFA.

The reason for this developer briefing is that we have recognised that communication between the development team and the community has slowed recently, and we would like to address that. Typically, our developer briefings are centered around PTE’s and official updates to the game. Going forward, we’d like to take a different approach by giving you more frequent glimpses into what the team is working on between major updates. With that in mind, we’re excited to share some behind-the-scenes progress on the roadmap and offer a closer look at our development process.

We're excited to announce that we'll be running multiple PTEs in the coming months, featuring both upcoming features from future updates, as well as experimental content we’d love your feedback on. Stay tuned for more details in upcoming dev blogs.

Notes:
  • Everything you see here is work-in-progress at various stages of development, and is subject to change.
  • The content shown in these developer briefings is not an exhaustive list of everything coming to the game, and will be spread out across various updates and briefs.
  • Do comment, and give feedback on anything that you see whether positive or constructive.

Maps

Objective Mode

As promised in the live Q&A, we’d like to invite the community to take part in several paused maps and modes from back in 2023. We’d love to know your thoughts on the modes as a whole, how/if they fit in Hell Let Loose, and whether we should continue exploring this direction (either by adapting these mechanics into the larger maps or developing them as standalone experiences).

The following maps will be available to test in an upcoming PTE.

El Alamein (Destruction)
Objective Mode - El Alamein

Brécourt Battery (Destruction)
Objective Mode - Brécourt Battery

Danzig Post Office (Destruction into Capture Phase)
Objective Mode - Danzig Post Office

More details to follow in an upcoming PTE.

Stalingrad Map Refresh

Level Design

After extensive research into the community sentiment behind Stalingrad and reviewing the map in engine, the Level Design team have started work on making improvements to the map, firstly by adjusting the HQ spawner positions for a more balanced experience.

HQ Blockout

The team has completed a blockout pass of pre-placed cover to protect players when immediately spawning in. This has been done to varying degrees across all German Force and Soviet Force HQ’s.

Stalingrad Map Refresh - Capture Point - HQ Blockout

Iterations on the central Capture Points have focused on cover, gameplay routes, and a sense of Capture Point identity. As with all map refreshes, our goal is to enhance the existing experience (building on what’s already there, rather than taking away from it).

Capture Point - Train Station

Stalingrad Map Refresh - Capture Point - Train Station

Stalingrad Map Refresh - Capture Point - Train Station

Capture Point - Carriage Depot

Stalingrad Map Refresh - Capture Point - Carriage Depot

Stalingrad Map Refresh - Capture Point - Carriage Depot

Environment Art

The Art team have also been making some significant headway in improving optimisation in Stalingrad:

Material Reduction and Collision Improvements:
Some of the details used to populate the map had redundant amounts of material slots and overly complicated collisions. This caused larger draw calls and slowed things down. Some have been reduced from 18 materials down to around 4 or less and had unoptimized decals removed. Here are some examples of reductions without losing fidelity.

Basic Example of Material Reduction

Collision Improvements/Optimisation 30-6

Izba Optimisation and Cleanup

The burned out Izba’s had similar unneeded material slots, collision in need of improvement and were merged in a non-optimized way. We’ve improved this to aid gameplay (such as player traversal issues) and draw calls.


This process allows us to make some significant gains on the overall performance in the map, without compromising on quality.


Features

Medic Rework

With the Medic role, we have gathered feedback and begun to address a lot of the key issues raised about the gameplay experience. The aim is to bring the current forces into parity in terms of timings, to tweak the core game loop, and to make the role a more attractive experience to play.

  • Medic Revive Speed decreased from 2.4s to 2s
  • Soviet Medic Revive speed brought into parity from 3s to 2s
  • Downed players are now revived to full health
Medic Rework - Soviet Revive Speed & Full Health

Note: We currently have our animators tweaking the animations to match the new speeds.

  • Medic Revive XP increased from 30 to 75
  • Getting revived by a Medic XP increased from 30 to 75
Medic Rework - Post-Match XP

  • Medic Self Bandage Speeds decreased from 2.4s to 2s
Medic Rework - Self Bandage Speeds

  • Medic Bandage Ally Speeds decreased from 3.9s to 2s
Medic Rework - Bandage Ally Speeds

Bipod Rework

The bipod system has been reworked to allow more flexible and realistic deployment by detecting objects in the player’s deployed path, rather than relying on hardcoded limits. This aims to reduce instances where the players body could be pivoted into hard surface objects.

Pitch angles have been improved to reflect the surface height, allowing for greater range, like aiming lower from a low ledge or higher from a high one.

Deployment checks are now handled server side to fix issues where players would initiate a deploy, but get cancelled out of it mid-animation. Additionally, both standing and crouching now use the same deployment limits, removing the need to switch stances to test deployment spots.

Prone Position
The range of motion has been unlocked, so that players are no longer restricted to the previous bounds. They can now turn a full 360 degrees.
Bipod Prone - First Person Perspective

Bipod Prone - Third Person Perspective

Crouch Position
Another common issue is using the bipod through open windows. By unlocking the system, we can now control the range of motion to make using the bipod more viable through windows. The next steps are to add collision checks to prevent any excess clipping through objects.

Bipod Crouch - First Person Perspective

Bipod Crouch - Third Person Perspective

Post-Match VOIP

Players can now retain voice communications for the Leadership and Squad channels during the post-match flow, this allows players a grace period to discuss the match, or plan out next steps for the upcoming match.

Post-Match VOIP

As mentioned previously, this is this first in a regular series of updates of what the development team are working on, a sneak peak at the future of Hell Let Loose, and your chance to share any early feedback and thoughts. Until next time, see you on the battlefield.

Community Updates

Hey everyone, Ben here — your Hell Let Loose Community Manager!

Over the past couple of months, we’ve been working hard to ramp up our community engagement and bring you closer to the heart of the action. One of the highlights so far has been our very first episode of ‘Best of the Community’, which we had the pleasure of live streaming with the incredible RazBora.

If you missed the stream, don’t worry - the full VOD is now available on our YouTube channel, ready for you to watch at your convenience. Be sure to check it out and see some of the awesome community moments we featured!

Our next episode is due to air on Thursday 29th May 2025, and will be all about the Competitive HLL Community. If you are a member of the competitive scene, and would like to show of your best clips or what it is you do in the space, head over to our Discord channel and submit your entries today. I'm excited to be joined by the incredible DasAltberg - our resident HLL Comp expert. 



As well as the first 'Best of' stream, we also ran a phenomenal charity event on May 8th celebrating the 80th Anniversary of VE Day. This was an amazing 3.5 hour stream, where alongside some community games casted over by our War Correspondents, we also had five incredible interviews from members of our community. If you are interested in watching these interviews be sure to head to our YouTube and find them in the Community Interview playlist we've created. You can also watch the full VE Day VOD of the stream on our YouTube as well. 

We would also like to thank everyone who donated to the fundraiser we did during the stream for the SSAFA. If you are still interested in donating, the fundraiser will remain live till the end of the month. 

Community Events

Alongside events that we are throwing, we wanted to shoutout BR1 Gaming who are back with another 'Road to D-Day' event. This year's event will bring together both PC and console communities, with matches set for both platforms. If you're interested in taking part or want to donate to their charity of choice, be sure to visit their website and register today. 

This will be taking place on June 7th 2025, with the first match starting around 4:30pm EST. 

Here is BR1 with a bit more information on the event itself:

"Since its inception in 2021, BR1Gaming has embarked on a mission to support veterans and unite gamers for a meaningful cause. This year, they have decided to focus their fundraising efforts with the Fisher House Foundation, this renowned foundation is dedicated to taking care of our nation’s wounded, injured, and ill service members, veterans, and their families. As of 2025, BR1Gaming has successfully raised $11,498.22, a testament to their commitment and the generosity of their supporters. Through their endeavors, BR1Gaming has not only raised vital funds but has also raised awareness about the challenges faced by veterans, fostering a community of compassion and support among gamers."



War Correspondents

As always, our War Correspondents have been creating some phenomenal content for us all to enjoy. Here's what they have created recently:

TheFreshBakedGoods


Gebatron


SoulSniper


DasAltberg


Razbora


Thank you for reading this dev brief! Next up for Hell Let Loose will be some PTE's which we cannot wait for you to join!

Have a wonderful weekend.
Hell Let Loose - itsmeBenB_T17
"Thank you to everyone who has jumped into Update 17 of Hell Let Loose!
The team has loved seeing your reactions to the new map, Tobruk, and everything else the update brought to the battlefield.

Of course, with any major release, a few bugs have crept through but we've been hard at work squashing them. Today’s hotfix addresses several of the issues you flagged, and we're pleased to share that it's now live.

A huge thank you to everyone who reported bugs and shared feedback across Steam, Discord, Reddit, and social media. Your support helps us improve the game for everyone.

We hope you continue to enjoy Tobruk. See you on the front lines!"

– Team17 & Expression Games.
Below are some key fixes and improvements that are incoming with this latest hotfix patch.

XP Bug Fixes:
We have noticed that a lot of people reported that Support Effectiveness XP is immediately granted to users who ping enemy locations, allowing them to confirm locations via the scoreboard. To combat this, we are doing the following:
  • Rewarding player XP and scores for accurate marks or pings on the tac-map has been disabled.
  • XP and scores for accurate markers or pings are only rewarded to the player upon: the players death, the player leaving the server or the match ending.
Bug Fixes
  • [A6] Players could see beneath the map and fall through in sector A6 of Tobruk.
  • Damage indicator remained permanently on screen after redeploying.
Admin Camera Fixes
  • Missing keybinds for Admin Camera in the keybindings menu.
  • The R key still has no functionality when unlocked from a target, but that button prompt has been removed. When locked to a target it still has the original functionality of Toggling locked rotation
Environment Fixes Across Tobruk
[I6] Unnecessary fence removed.
[J5] Certain area looked too symmetrical.
[D8] Road spline texture visibly splitting.
[A8] Disconnected power cable pole.
[I7] Unnatural ridge without landscape painting.
[I7] Fallen electrical pole clipping with environment.
[I3] Floating assets covered by terrain layer.
[I3] Crates partially blocking tent entrance.
[J3] Poor fence blending at top British HQ.
[F8] Broken blue door fallen out of a green door frame.
[F8] Terrain covering a house foundation.
[D8] Missing pavement poly face at the sea wall.
[B4] See-through cliff terrain in sector B4.
[C7] Misaligned terrain inside a mud pile.
[I5] Rocks missing player collision.
[B4] Guard Room strongpoint missing on the tactical map.
Intense shadows on windows and doors in multiple locations.
[H3) Misaligned terrain in sector H3.
[D5] Misaligned house with the ground in sector D5.
[F8] Clipping through walls in Admiralty House.
[E6] [E7] Boxes missing player collision.

Other Fixes
  • Field Manual – Tobruk entry partially obscured in the Locations tab.
  • DAK Panzerdivision & Afrikakorps Tropenfeldbluse – Stretched arm textures.
  • Purple Heart Lane Map – Rare lightning strikes.
Improvements
You may also notice an improvement to the interiors across Tobruk as well, courtesy of our art department

Future updates
Unfortunately, not all identified issues were able to be added into this hotfix. That being said, we wanted to make you aware of the following bugs that are currently being addressed which will release in a future hotfix update.
  • Loading into queue UI disappearance - Thank you to all the players who have noted this issue. Although frustrating we wanted to assure this bug does not impact your spot in the queue and only visually removes the UI showing you exactly what spot you were in.
  • The Leichte Afrika Division Uniform on Support, the backpack is clipping with the fuel tank.

We appreciate your continued support and patience as we work through these fixes!
Hell Let Loose - itsmeBenB_T17
Hello Everyone,

Update 17 has deployed on all platforms!

This update brings the release of the brand new Tobruk map, Dynamic Sandstorms and some Quality of Life Improvements!


The Second Siege of Tobruk was a short lived battle set in Tobruk - Libya that saw the capitulation of the British defences, within a single day. Set on 20th June of 1942, the Second Siege of Tobruk featured the successful campaign of the Deutsche Afrika Korps against the British 8th Army, as the harsh summer sandstorms rolled in. Aside from the close-quarters combat of the city proper, the map also features various caves, aptly named the “Desert Rat Caves” after the defenders of Tobruk, who were often referred to as the “Rats of Tobruk”.

Tobruk comes with the following game modes:
  • Warfare
  • Offensive British
  • Offensive German
  • Control Skirmish
New Map - Tobruk

Watch the Tobruk Deep-Dive Video Overview:


Map Rationale
When planning what kind of thematic map we wanted to create, we referred to the existing maps that are currently available to players to help us decide. As a team, we decided that this map could be:
  • A desert map that is different to El Alamein yet feels cohesive in nature
  • An opportunity to provide players with new fighting experiences including: caves, creeks, accessible rooftops and the overall blend of urban and rural areas
  • A map that incorporates dense urban areas but does not restrict vehicles/armour
  • A map that has diverse Capture Point themes that contrast each other yet remain thematically cohesive overall
The desert nature of Tobruk has given us the freedom to experiment with the natural topography, allowing us to create interesting natural areas unique to this map. We had concerns about the open flat plains that the desert provides, however, we addressed this issue by utilising natural rock formations and sand dunes which provided cover but retained the authenticity of a believable desert landscape.


Tobruk - High Resolution Tactical Map

🖱️Full info on Tobruk's Capture Points.












Changelog

Features
General
  • Improvements made to the XP System
  • Improvements made to the dynamic weather system
  • Improvements made to the Flamethrower
Maps
Tobruk - The following time of day scenarios have been added:
  • Morning
  • Day
  • Dusk
The following game modes have been added for Tobruk:
  • Warfare
  • Offensive British
  • Offensive German
  • Skirmish
Updated Tobruk themed main menu


Updated Tobruk themed loadout screen


Updated Soviet Practice Range:
  • New distant landscape added
  • Reworked materials
  • Added new roads and snow details
Updated lighting for the Soviet Practice Range:
  • A new skybox was added to create a more dramatic morning setting
  • Tuned fog settings to ensure they worked well with the lighting conditions
  • Updated HDRI, again tuned so that the specular values are less harsh
  • Tuned direct lighting settings to be slightly more pink and less intense
  • Tuned post-processing to add a subtle blue filter

Weather System
The technical art team has collaborated closely with the programming team to improve the weather system originally developed for Elsenborn Ridge and Purple Heart Lane. This updated system introduces greater flexibility and adds an extra layer of randomness to the weather patterns. In the previous version, the weather would cycle through various intensities at predictable intervals (e.g. every 2 to 5 minutes), always ending in an extreme setting before cycling back down. The new system alters this behaviour, making it less predictable when an extreme weather event will occur. As with the original system the transitions have a time range and cool down time range, however, from here we can breakdown each of the scenarios to give them separate weighting. We can control how long it will stay at medium compared to heavy or extreme, we can control the maximum amount of occurrences for each scenario. This also means that when it reaches a heavy scenario it can sometimes move back to mild or medium rather than always going to extreme.

As part of our plan to expand the dynamic weather system, we are now able to introduce sandstorms to Tobruk. The sandstorm features four distinct modes, beginning with a light flurry of dust and sand particles and escalating to a full-blown sandstorm. The extreme setting reduces visibility, creating intense dust clouds and particles around the player. These moments offer players an additional layer of dynamic cover, and with the updated system, the occurrence and duration of these events are now less predictable.

Due to the nature of the sand dust and cloud particles the technical art team needed to update how the occlusion system worked. Traditionally the system was handled this way:
  • Capture a world aligned top down heightmap
  • Particles then sample the heightmap using their world position
  • If the particle’s own height is lower than the sampled heightmap, that particle is occluded/hidden
With the updated method we do a small ray-march for each pixel in the direction of its motion. We do this to check the distance that it will get occluded in the future and we use that distance to start reducing the opacity before it reaches the occlusion boundary.



Environment Art - Expression Games

Flamethrower Buffs
The following buffs have been made to the flamethrower to allow it to destroy more buildable structures:

Previous Behaviour - Previously could destroy:
  • Garrison
  • Outpost
  • Forward Position
New Behaviour - Now is able to destroy:
  • Fuel Node
  • Manpower Node
  • Munitions Node
  • Repair Station
  • Supply Drop
  • Ammo Drop
  • Ammo Box
  • Supply Box
  • Explosive Ammo Box
  • Medic Box
[/i]
  • Garrison
  • Outpost
  • Forward Position
  • [/list]Based on feedback from the community after the PTE, the following changes have also been made:
    • Flamethrower effective range increased from 23m to 35m
    • Flamethrowers now suppress enemies


    Structure Durability
    Player built structures now have varying durability levels. These are categorized as Light, Medium and Heavy. Upgrading structures will increase their durability. This will allow us to explore how various weapons interact with different structures.
    • Bunker (Tier 1) - Light
    • Bunker (Tier 2) - Medium
    • Bunker (Tier 3) - Heavy
    • Barricade (Tier 1) - Light
    • Barricade (Tier 2) - Medium
    • Barricade (Tier 3) - Medium
    • Hedgehog - Medium
    • Belgium Gate - Medium
    • Barbed Wire - Medium
    Precision Strike
    The first change we have made, along with the new structure durability, is that precision strikes can now destroy Light and Medium structures, giving commanders a tool to break through tough enemy defences.

    Previous behaviour - Previously could destroy:
    • AT Gun
    • AT Mines
    • AP Mines
    • Ammo boxes
    • Supply Boxes
    • Medic Boxes
    • Garrison
    • Outpost
    • Forward Position
    • Fuel Node
    • Manpower Node
    • Munitions Node
    • Repair Station
    • Supplies
    New behaviour - Now is able to destroy:
    • Bunker
    • Bunker Upgrade 1
    • Barricade
    • Barricade Upgrade 1
    • Barricade Upgrade 2
    • Hedgehog (US & BRITS)
    • Belgium Gate (GER & DAK)
    • Barbed Wire
    [/i]
  • AT Gun
  • AT Mines
  • AP Mines
  • Ammo boxes
  • Supply Boxes
  • Medic Boxes
  • Garrison
  • Outpost
  • Forward Position
  • Fuel Node
  • Manpower Node
  • Munitions Node
  • Repair Station
  • Supplies
  • [/list]
    New ways to get XP
    As a first step to promote some positive play, we’ve added more ways for the player to gain XP whilst playing the game as it is intended to be played. These include the following:
    • XP for accurate infantry marks/pings
    • XP for accurate vehicle marks/ping
    • XP for accurate OP/Garrison Markers
    • XP for suppressing enemies
    • XP for kill assists
    Bug Fixes
    General
    • Recon Outposts layer on top of all other outposts
    • Player icons may block the ability to click on outposts
    • The active Outpost icon fails to layer on top of other outposts
    • Microphone Check Settings Reset After Closing Game
    • HQ spawn timers freeze while the "Unit Join Request" pop-up is on the screen.
    • All British helmets sit too high on the character’s head
    • Aim down sights triggers read/write of the input.ini file multiple times per ADS
    • A crash will occur after performing a network disconnection and then reconnecting and progressing past the IIS

    Map Specific
    Sainte-Mère-Église
    (I8) Additional stone wall on the road
    (G4) Deploying on an outpost placed next to the house causes the player to become stuck in the building
    Sainte-Marie-du-Mont
    (H8) Players can use an Airhead to spawn into an inaccessible area
    Purple Heart Lane
    (E2) The player can become stuck inside the building after deploying
    Omaha Beach
    (D6) Players can spawn in a locked building
    Kharkov
    (F1) Misplaced artillery prevents the player from exiting the seat
    (F1) Floating artillery
    Foy
    (F4) Two buildings are overlapping
    Elsenborn Ridge
    (H3) The player gets stuck between a sandbag wall and a pile of barrels
    (D10) The snow is not blending correctly with the road and ground
    (C2) There are wooden boxes and pallets without snow in the open
    (HF) (H3) Missing polygon face at the end of a trench network
    (H8) Small seam that the user can see out of the game world
    (H4) Big snow pile with furniture appears low resolution
    (G6) Misaligned snow terrain
    (C5) A little bit of snow texture is poking through the roof asset on the interior side.
    (C3) The Back face of a rockface that is alongside a road is missing

    DLC
    Deutsche Afrika Korps

    Deutsches Afrikakorps: At the helm of the Afrikakorps, command directed sweeping offensives across North Africa. With Tobruk in their sights in June 1942, they launched a coordinated assault to seize the key port and strengthen Axis control.

    21. Panzerdivision: As one of the Afrikakorps’ primary armored divisions, the 21st Panzer Division advanced toward Tobruk in June 1942. With tanks at the forefront, they aimed to smash through British defenses and secure the key stronghold.

    90. Leichte Afrika Division: The 90th Light Afrika Division operated across North Africa, specializing in fast, flexible warfare. In June 1942, they advanced on Tobruk, tasked with breaking through its defenses and seizing the vital port for the Axis.
    British Eighth Army

    Eighth Army:Eighth Army Command oversaw pivotal battles throughout the North African Campaign. After the defeat at Gazala, miscommunication led to the Tobruk garrison failing to evacuate in time. This resulted in the formation of an ad hoc defensive force tasked with preventing Axis forces from capturing the port.

    Cameron Highlanders: The Cameron Highlanders saw action across North Africa, enduring the hardships of desert warfare. In June 1942, they braced for the Axis assault on Tobruk, ready to defend the strategic port against the advancing forces.

    1st Armoured Division: The 1st Armoured Division took part in some of the largest armored battles in the Western Desert Campaign. After defeat at Gazala they retreated East, with elements breaking off during the disarray to resupply at Tobruk.
    Long Range Desert Group

    LRDG:The eyes of the British Eighth Army in North Africa, the Long Range Desert Group tracked Axis movements deep behind enemy lines. This unit supplied vital intelligence to Allied forces, helping to turn the tide of the Western Desert Campaign.
    Hell Let Loose - itsmeBenB_T17
    We hope you enjoyed what we brought to the game last year, and we’re excited to share what’s coming next. As Hell Let Loose continues to evolve and grow, our next four major updates bring the following content:

    🗺️ Two brand-new maps, in two very different locales.
    🔧 A map refresh of Stalingrad, refining the player experience and addressing long-standing performance issues.
    ⛽ Powerful new vehicles to shift the tide of battle.
    🔫 DLC content bringing new thematic cosmetics to further personalise your loadout.
    🎉 And much more!

    🗒️ Please note that this roadmap highlights just some of the key additions coming to the game. Each update will also include a variety of new content, quality-of-life improvements, and bug fixes. As we progress we’ll be diving deeper into each update to share more details with you all.

    📽️ This starts on Friday 21st March 2025, where we will be hosting a live Q&A with the game devs. Keep an eye on our socials this week for more details.
    ❓ If you would like the devs to answer your questions, be sure to submit them in the Hell Let Loose Discord server or on our Hell Let Loose Reddit.
    Question submissions will close on Thursday 20th March.



    We are super excited for another year of Hell Let Loose and cannot wait to experience these updates with you. Thank you for your continued support— see you on the frontlines!
    Hell Let Loose - itsmeBenB_T17
    Hello All,

    Welcome to the PTE for Tobruk! We’ve got a lot of exciting things for you to play around with.

    Map Rotation

    • Warfare - Morning
    • OffensiveBRIT - Morning
    • Warfare - Day
    • OffensiveGER - Day
    New Map - Tobruk

    Historical Overview
    The Second Siege of Tobruk was a short lived battle set in Tobruk - Libya that saw the capitulation of the British defences, within a single day. Set on 20th June of 1942, the Second Siege of Tobruk featured the successful campaign of the Deutsche Afrika Korps against the British 8th Army, as the harsh summer sandstorms rolled in. Aside from the close-quarters combat of the city proper, the map also features various caves, aptly named the “Desert Rat Caves” after the defenders of Tobruk, who were often referred to as the “Rats of Tobruk”.

    Map Rationale
    When planning what kind of thematic map we wanted to create, we referred to the existing maps that are currently available to players to help us decide. As a team, we decided that this map could be:
    • A desert map that is different to El Alamein yet feels cohesive in nature
    • An opportunity to provide players with new fighting experiences including: caves, creeks, accessible rooftops and the overall blend of urban and rural areas
    • A map that incorporates dense urban areas but does not restrict vehicles/armour
    • A map that has diverse Capture Point themes that contrast each other yet remain thematically cohesive overall
    The desert nature of Tobruk has given us the freedom to experiment with the natural topography, allowing us to create interesting natural areas unique to this map. We had concerns about the open flat plains that the desert provides, however, we addressed this issue by utilising natural rock formations and sand dunes which provided cover but retained the authenticity of a believable desert landscape.


    Tobruk Hi-Res Tac Map

    Tobruk Capture Points

    Guard Room
    Starting with the North West of the map, we have the Guard Room Capture Point. This German Capture Point features a bespoke building that was repurposed into a storage space for the upcoming assault, rocky terrain, reinforced buildings and a variety of verticality. As with all Capture Points here, vehicle access is not limited and is aided with the addition of a long open main road and branching dirt pathways.


    Tobruk Guard Room

    Tank Graveyard
    This desolate wasteland known as the Tank Graveyard Capture Point, is the result of a previous German armoured assault attempt on Tobruk which ended in defeat. Now all that remains are the artillery craters and tanks from both factions that lay in ruin. From dead tanks and large craters, to clouds of smoke and exposed rock formations, players have a variety of cover options to aid their advance. Though the result of the terrain proves vehicle navigation to be trickier, the winding paths and deeper terrain provide cover for vehicles for strategic attacks.


    Tobruk Tank Graveyard

    Division Headquarters
    At the South West of the map we have the German makeshift base, the Division Headquarters Capture Point. This Capture Point was a staging ground for the German Forces’ assault on the city. With large rock formations, enterable tents and trench networks, players of all role types are offered a variety of cover.


    Tobruk Division Headquarters

    West Creek
    The next Capture Point revolves around a terrain feature new to Hell Let Loose, desert creeks. With a blend of rocky terrain, sparse foliage and various depths of the creek’s bed, the addition of this themed topology creates unique and interesting gameplay that provides players with the opportunity to utilise different tactics. Though the creek spans roughly 4 sectors in length, the West Creek Capture Point focuses on the widest part of the creek and its surrounding compound and focuses heavily on the more natural elements of the map.


    Tobruk West Creek

    Albergo Ristorante Moderno
    Towards the centre of the map we have a Capture Point that contributes to the dense urban area, Albergo Ristorante Moderno. Whether you’re using the accessible rooftops to utilise the high ground, or using the planks connecting them as a pathway to reach further into the city, the rooftops in the Albergo Ristorante Moderno Capture Point provides players with a fighting experience new to Hell Let Loose.


    Tobruk Albergo Ristorante Moderno

    King Square
    Making up the other half of the dense urban area, the King Square Capture Point mostly comprises second-story buildings and encourages close-quarters battle in the lower courtyard areas. This is a direct contrast to its counterpart Albergo Ristorante Moderno which mainly features single-storey buildings to aid rooftop fighting. We have not limited vehicle access in these urban areas, but instead, have provided many roads and alleys to account for all playstyles. So whether you’re infantry on foot or armour in tanks, this area caters for all play styles.


    Tobruk King Square

    Desert Rat Caves
    Another Capture Point that provides players with a new gameplay experience is the Desert Rat Caves. As the name suggests, this area will allow players to participate in close-quarter battles within a small cave system. This area is full of verticality and does not limit vehicle access in most areas. Players will be able to walk and climb into the caves, offering flanking abilities and other strategies to tactically advance.


    Tobruk Desert Rat Caves

    Church Grounds
    In the heart of Tobruk, we have the Church Grounds Capture Point, which focuses on the area surrounding the church. We decided to not have the church itself in the hard cap to help mitigate against spawn camping, however, the church is fully accessible, including the spire to retain that Hell Let Loose gameplay that appears in other maps.


    Tobruk Church Grounds

    Admiralty House
    Near Tobruk’s harbour, we have the Admiralty House, a large structure that saw a collapse of its western wing after a devastating airstrike. Though the building itself is non-enterable, players will be able to scale the building’s rubble or utilise the facades and walkways in order to take the risk of its exposed rooftop vantage point.


    Tobruk Admiralty House

    Abandoned Ammo Cache
    One of the key attributes of the Abandoned Ammo Cache Capture Point, include the mixture of open desert road for flanking opportunities, and a warehouse that features towering ammo crates both inside and outside to provide strategic cover.


    Tobruk Abandoned Ammo Cache

    8th Army Medical Hospital
    The 8th Army Medical Hospital Capture Point has many enterable buildings for close quarters battle and rooftop access for long range attacks and interesting crossfire opportunities. There are open courtyards to aid tactical advancements, and many flanking opportunities for vehicles.


    Tobruk 8th Army Medical Hospital

    Supply Dump
    This Capture Point provides a lot of verticality with 4 large two storey apartment buildings. Though the apartments are non-enterable, the apartment's walkways are accessible, with stairs to the second storey too. The Supply Sump Capture Point provides a variety of sightlines in all directions and an open courtyard space that allows vehicle access and large towering cover to either attack or help defend the apartment buildings.


    Tobruk Supply Dump

    Road to Senussi Mine
    The next Capture Point is the Road to Senussi Mine. This area features a long open desert road and plenty of verticality from the watch tower, large sand mounds, sand dunes, rock formations and tunnels. The Capture Point tells the story of the British Army who would load supplies onto mine carts, and transport them through the tricky desert landscape with relative ease and speed.


    Tobruk Road to Senussi Mine

    Makeshift Aid Station
    The Makeshift Aid Station Capture Point provides a variety of tactical advantages with the tents and the wide open approach for vehicular assaults. The road networks and dirt track paths also offer the players flanking opportunities.


    Tobruk Makeshift Aid Station

    Cargo Warehouses
    The Cargo Warehouses Capture Point features large enterable warehouses that allow for close quarters combat and also vehicle access. There are also off-road opportunities and a variety of areas that provide flanking opportunities.


    Tobruk Cargo Warehouses

    Other new features

    Weather System
    The technical art team has collaborated closely with the programming team to improve the weather system originally developed for Elsenborn Ridge and Purple Heart Lane. This updated system introduces greater flexibility and adds an extra layer of randomness to the weather patterns. In the previous version, the weather would cycle through various intensities at predictable intervals (e.g., every 2 to 5 minutes), always ending in an extreme setting before cycling back down. The new system alters this behavior, making it less predictable when an extreme weather event will occur.

    As part of our plan to expand the dynamic weather system, we are now able to introduce sandstorms to Tobruk. The sandstorm features four distinct modes, beginning with a light flurry of dust and sand particles and escalating to a full-blown sandstorm. The extreme setting reduces visibility, creating intense dust clouds and particles around the player. These moments offer players an additional layer of dynamic cover, and with the updated system, the occurrence and duration of these events are now less predictable.


    Heavy Sand Storm GIF

    Flamethrower Buffs
    Flamethrowers now deal more damage to trucks. Additionally they can now destroy the following items, giving the flamethrower more utility on the battlefield:
    • Resource nodes
    • Supply and ammo crates
    • Supply and ammo drops
    • Forward positions

    U17 Flamethrower Buff

    Structure Durability
    Player built structures now have varying durability levels. These are categorized as Light, Medium and Heavy. Upgrading structures will increase their durability. This will allow us to explore how various weapons interact with different structures.
    • Bunker (Tier 1) --> Light
    • Bunker (Tier 2) --> Medium
    • Bunker (Tier 3) --> Heavy
    • Barricade (Tier 1) --> Light
    • Barricade (Tier 2) --> Medium
    • Barricade (Tier 3) --> Medium
    • Hedgehog --> Medium
    • Belgium Gate --> Medium
    • Barbed Wire --> Medium
    Precision Strike
    The first change we have made along with the new structure durability is precision strikes can now destroy Light and Medium structures, giving commanders a tool to break through tough enemy defences.

    Player Testing Environment

    Work In Progress
    These PTE sessions are a way for you as a community to feedback on Hell Let Loose work in progress, which means we can look to implement your feedback before a patch or update is released. Although we can currently only hold public testing sessions on Steam, we encourage everyone to take part to be able to share feedback.

    You may encounter some placeholder assets / areas that do not look completely finalised, this is still work in progress but should give you a good idea of how the final map will look / feel

    Known Issues
    • Airhead can be placed inside a couple of the buildings around the map
    • Dust storm flickers upon the players spawning after a mass redeploy
    • Strafing runs are limited where they can be placed on the map in certain orientations
    • A specific building asset is placeholder in sector E7
    • Sandbag floating in the sky in sector F6
    • Seam in the ground seen in Sector H8
    Streaming & Recording PTE Sessions
    You are welcome to both stream and record PTE footage, but as these sessions are showing unfinished work, it’s always good to let your individual communities know that the footage is from a PTE session, where you might encounter unfinished items, bugs and other issues.

    Feedback Questions
    Once you have completed a game and are ready to provide feedback, please use the forms below!

    How to Take Part
    Check your Steam Library for the Hell Let Loose (Public Testing) application, or re-download it from the Steam store, you’ll want to boot this version up to take part in the PTE!

    Once you’re in and have selected a server, you’ll be able to test out the new game map!
    [/b] https://forms.office.com/e/2ts89DtxS9
  • Share Bug Reports:
  • [/b] https://forms.office.com/e/Phkn3bjvX9
    [/list]
    Please note:
    Because PTEs are run on development servers that have logging activated, you will experience a slight decrease in performance. You will also not earn any XP and your progress will not be carried over to the live game.
    Hell Let Loose - G_Medlin
    Hello everyone,

    We hope you've had a great start to the year! We've just pushed a new build live for U16 comprising the following fixes:

    • [VOIP] Disconnecting and Reconnecting the headset will cause the Voice Channels to lose the functionality
    • [EGS] The Invite Menus from the pause menu are incorrectly placed
    • [EGS] The game has the EAC icon as the Desktop Icon

    We're still finalising the 2025 roadmap, with news to follow as soon as it's ready to share!

    Thank you.
    Hell Let Loose - G_Medlin
    Hello everyone,

    Thank you for your continued support throughout 2024! We really appreciate the content and feedback you share with us daily.

    Now that Update 16 has been released, we have delivered all content stipulated on the 2024 roadmap! It’s been an enjoyable year for us working on Hell Let Loose.

    We began by wrapping up the British Rework, refreshing El Alamein and improving Update 14’s overall content. Console players received the long-awaited server browser, which allows players to select which maps/modes they want to play and, of course, relieves us of the challenge of selecting a map rotation that appeals to everyone.

    We built two maps from the ground up, beginning with Mortain. From there, we took key lessons and applied them to Elsenborn Ridge, which also featured our new dynamic weather system first introduced in the Purple Heart Lane refresh. The positive feedback for Elsenborn Ridge has been wonderful to read, we thank you for sharing your thoughts, as always, helping us to further refine and improve Hell Let Loose.

    Tobruk

    In early 2025, we leave the intense snow and freezing conditions of Elsenborn Ridge and land at the frontlines of the Axis capture of Tobruk, also known as the Fall of Tobruk and the Second Battle of Tobruk. Tobruk was a deep-water port and therefore a key strategic objective of the North Africa campaign, it was involved in one of the longest sieges of British history. Our new map, is set within the successful Axis offensive and assault on Tobruk at the end of Operation Venezia and will feature the game’s British Eighth Army and DAK forces.


    Looking Towards The Church Grounds

    View Over The East Approach

    Tobruk From The West Creek

    2025 Roadmap

    Internal 2025 roadmap discussions started in the summer and are ongoing. We’ll share the final plan with you as soon as possible next year. We’ve crafted the 2025 roadmap with your feedback in mind and looking at what we can realistically achieve over the next 12 months. We’re acutely aware of the gameplay improvements you’re asking for and our goal is to implement as many of them as we possibly can.

    2025 is going to be a very exciting year for Hell Let Loose! We’re looking forward to being able to share more detail with you in the New Year. Thank you again for your continued support and see you on the frontlines.

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/686810/Hell_Let_Loose/
    Hell Let Loose - G_Medlin
    Hello everyone,

    We hope you're enjoying the winter warfare and challenging visibility in Elsenborn Ridge! Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback so far, we've loved reading the reception and can't wait to share our plans for 2025. Stay tuned for news on the upcoming roadmap.



    If you'd like to join us on our mission from the Labor of Love award, you can vote here!

    Thank you! Exciting years ahead for Hell Let Loose.
    ...

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