Welcome back to another Verdun Community Development Update. This week we have a great announcement and tons of content to show!

Test build live!
The test build for the upcoming content update is now available for selected testers! In the coming weeks we will trial the massive content and all its aspects (including gore, new artillery abilities, flamethrowers, 73 weapons and more) with the community.

If you are reading this and think, “I would like to join as well!”, look no further. You can sign up for the testing group here. Upon joining the test group, you will be able to give feedback and receive a key for the Verdun testing application. You will be able to keep having the regular verdun client installed side-by-side.
So what is in this update? The past months we have teased quite a lot, but there is still so much more to show:



Champagne
This week we’ll also be revealing a little more info about the upcoming map titled “Champagne”. This map is based on the champagne front. A somewhat forgotten front, it saw major fighting in both 1915 and in the final offensive of 1918 which saw a major U.S breakthrough. The frontline is situated between Reims and the Argonne and consists mainly of open farmlands and hills. Many of these hills such as the “Main de Massiges” (“The hand of Massiges”) were heavily fortified.
Combined with the fact that the front was largely static between 1916 and 1917, Champagne serves as inspiration for a totally different style of map which is entirely centered around the fighting within the complex lines of trenches. This should really contrast with the other maps where large portions of the fighting takes place in or around nomansland. Another iconic element which has been added to the game through Champagne is also that of night fighting.
Our level designer has created some of our most stunningly realistic trenches in this new map, that really should do justice to the extensive and chaotic trench networks that could be found on the western front. Take a look at these teaser images (which also incorporate some of the upcoming new squad types)


“German "Pionier" squad conducting a night raid on the champagne front using a flamethrower. Note the entrenching tools carried by the pioneers as well as their distinctive canvas-covered stahlhelm. Also in the image is a soldier wielding the artillery luger (with 32-round drum magazine) The ‘Pionier’ class officer is using a C96 pistol for this raid”


"French Night attack in the champagne sector, 1915. French troops wearing their mid-1915 transitional uniform attack the German stronghold at the "Main de Massiges" ridge. Note the french officer wielding a m1892 revolver."


"German sentries fighting off a night assault, possibly American, champagne front 1918. The iconic German "Sappenpanzer", which (while mostly impractical) saw fairly common use among German sentries."

New feature: bullet extraction
New in the upcoming update is also animated extraction of the empty cartridges.



New Gasmask: The Small Box Respirator
Last week we introduced the new first person animations for the French gasmask, the M2. This week we can show you the newly added SBR (Small Box Respirator). It has a distinctive tube and comprises of two main components, the mask and the box filter - usually carried in a bag and placed on the chest.

Note the iconic tube and a different experience from the current M17 mask

Chauchat M1918 .30-06 “The worst”
The U.S didn’t have much in the way of a lightweight machine gun come 1917, so when it entered the war, the U.S forces were issued with French Chauchat LMGs. The U.S later developed the m1918 due to a series of issues that were commonly faced by soldiers within the front lines. Primarily, the open sided magazine (which had been a major issue for French soldiers in the mud of the trenches) was replaced with a boxed magazine and a conversion to accept .30-06 rounds.

The M1918 will be used by U.S marine squad by the close combat support role. The .30-06 round gives a slightly different performance from the french m1915 chauchat. The fact that it was frequently ditched by troops in the field because of jamming will be reflected in the fire rate of the weapon.


The team personally observed these distinct magazines dug-up in the meuse argonne region

The C96 also received a great reloading animation of its stripper clip. This is just one of the many items you will be able to try in the test version.

The C96 cannot be reloaded mid-clip



Screenshots of the Week

“Gas alert in a German Trench”

That will be all for this update. We hope to see a lot of applications for the closed test build and see you on the front!

Welcome back to another Verdun Community Development Update. This week we have a great announcement and tons of content to show!

Test build live!
The test build for the upcoming content update is now available for selected testers! In the coming weeks we will trial the massive content and all its aspects (including gore, new artillery abilities, flamethrowers, 73 weapons and more) with the community.

If you are reading this and think, “I would like to join as well!”, look no further. You can sign up for the testing group here. Upon joining the test group, you will be able to give feedback and receive a key for the Verdun testing application. You will be able to keep having the regular verdun client installed side-by-side.
So what is in this update? The past months we have teased quite a lot, but there is still so much more to show:



Champagne
This week we’ll also be revealing a little more info about the upcoming map titled “Champagne”. This map is based on the champagne front. A somewhat forgotten front, it saw major fighting in both 1915 and in the final offensive of 1918 which saw a major U.S breakthrough. The frontline is situated between Reims and the Argonne and consists mainly of open farmlands and hills. Many of these hills such as the “Main de Massiges” (“The hand of Massiges”) were heavily fortified.
Combined with the fact that the front was largely static between 1916 and 1917, Champagne serves as inspiration for a totally different style of map which is entirely centered around the fighting within the complex lines of trenches. This should really contrast with the other maps where large portions of the fighting takes place in or around nomansland. Another iconic element which has been added to the game through Champagne is also that of night fighting.
Our level designer has created some of our most stunningly realistic trenches in this new map, that really should do justice to the extensive and chaotic trench networks that could be found on the western front. Take a look at these teaser images (which also incorporate some of the upcoming new squad types)


“German "Pionier" squad conducting a night raid on the champagne front using a flamethrower. Note the entrenching tools carried by the pioneers as well as their distinctive canvas-covered stahlhelm. Also in the image is a soldier wielding the artillery luger (with 32-round drum magazine) The ‘Pionier’ class officer is using a C96 pistol for this raid”


"French Night attack in the champagne sector, 1915. French troops wearing their mid-1915 transitional uniform attack the German stronghold at the "Main de Massiges" ridge. Note the french officer wielding a m1892 revolver."


"German sentries fighting off a night assault, possibly American, champagne front 1918. The iconic German "Sappenpanzer", which (while mostly impractical) saw fairly common use among German sentries."

New feature: bullet extraction
New in the upcoming update is also animated extraction of the empty cartridges.



New Gasmask: The Small Box Respirator
Last week we introduced the new first person animations for the French gasmask, the M2. This week we can show you the newly added SBR (Small Box Respirator). It has a distinctive tube and comprises of two main components, the mask and the box filter - usually carried in a bag and placed on the chest.

Note the iconic tube and a different experience from the current M17 mask

Chauchat M1918 .30-06 “The worst”
The U.S didn’t have much in the way of a lightweight machine gun come 1917, so when it entered the war, the U.S forces were issued with French Chauchat LMGs. The U.S later developed the m1918 due to a series of issues that were commonly faced by soldiers within the front lines. Primarily, the open sided magazine (which had been a major issue for French soldiers in the mud of the trenches) was replaced with a boxed magazine and a conversion to accept .30-06 rounds.

The M1918 will be used by U.S marine squad by the close combat support role. The .30-06 round gives a slightly different performance from the french m1915 chauchat. The fact that it was frequently ditched by troops in the field because of jamming will be reflected in the fire rate of the weapon.


The team personally observed these distinct magazines dug-up in the meuse argonne region

The C96 also received a great reloading animation of its stripper clip. This is just one of the many items you will be able to try in the test version.

The C96 cannot be reloaded mid-clip



Screenshots of the Week

“Gas alert in a German Trench”

That will be all for this update. We hope to see a lot of applications for the closed test build and see you on the front!

Welcome back to another Verdun update. This week we are still working heavily towards the launch of the next content update. A special news update will be released to inform you once we near completion and as we iron out some final touches.

This update also marks the beginning of a new sort of weekly update which will focus more so in in-game features, squads and new maps. To avoid confusion; the term weekly “weapon wednesday” as we called them in the beginning will no longer be used. (This being in part due to us having little in the way of new weapons to create as we finished most of the western front!).

Content Update
So what are we up to? Well our current plan for the upcoming content update is to deploy this on a separate testing game instance, so that you will be able to play both the regular matches and help us test the new content. The testing will be private initially, but should open up in the weeks to come. More information on this will follow soon.

We’re also excited to show the first impression teaser of the new map. The map is nearing finalization in terms of layout and content and it will be part of the upcoming content test. It will combine some long-requested community features. Take a gander:


More map impressions in our next updates!

Features
Now we’d like to tease some of the new features that have kept us busy. For a starters we have redone ALL the animations for all the first person weapons. Also weapon sights have been edited and they look a lot more immersive, for instance in this image:


The Belgian Kar 89 with updated sight picture

We also updated FP gas masks and added the allied French and British/American masks as first person models (No more German gas masks for all nations!) Here is a little teaser of the M2 mask:

Updated lens textures for more immersion


Cool work in progress stuff
As a bonus little for the 24 hour update delay we’d like to demonstrate an awesome new feature that we are currently working on as part of the gore system: Updated Ragdoll physics/animation hybrids. Gore will be part of the upcoming content update testing phase. Some elements have been polished since our initial trials in October and it is now ready to test again.


Seamless blending between animation and ragdoll

Next timewe shall reveal more features and some animated gifs of the verdun gore system (dismemberment being one of them)

In addition to the new weapons and animations, Unity 5.3 allows for a new kind of Physically Based Rendering technique which allows for a nicer representation of metals in-game. Our artists have worked tirelessly since new years to update weapon materials (as was as working on all of the other things). Here an example of some of the new material work.


The ruby was also reworked

Performance
In addition to all the content production, we have seen a massive gain in FPS increase across the board. The last few updates have a statistically measured 30% increase since December. Optimization is still ongoing as we find ways to deal with verdun’s detailed environments in more effective ways. We are specifically looking at lower-end machines this week.


Screenshots of the Week

“Gas cloud engulfs a trench, western front 1915”

That will be all for this update. We hope to inform you as soon as possible on the launch of the update test.

Welcome back to another Verdun update. This week we are still working heavily towards the launch of the next content update. A special news update will be released to inform you once we near completion and as we iron out some final touches.

This update also marks the beginning of a new sort of weekly update which will focus more so in in-game features, squads and new maps. To avoid confusion; the term weekly “weapon wednesday” as we called them in the beginning will no longer be used. (This being in part due to us having little in the way of new weapons to create as we finished most of the western front!).

Content Update
So what are we up to? Well our current plan for the upcoming content update is to deploy this on a separate testing game instance, so that you will be able to play both the regular matches and help us test the new content. The testing will be private initially, but should open up in the weeks to come. More information on this will follow soon.

We’re also excited to show the first impression teaser of the new map. The map is nearing finalization in terms of layout and content and it will be part of the upcoming content test. It will combine some long-requested community features. Take a gander:


More map impressions in our next updates!

Features
Now we’d like to tease some of the new features that have kept us busy. For a starters we have redone ALL the animations for all the first person weapons. Also weapon sights have been edited and they look a lot more immersive, for instance in this image:


The Belgian Kar 89 with updated sight picture

We also updated FP gas masks and added the allied French and British/American masks as first person models (No more German gas masks for all nations!) Here is a little teaser of the M2 mask:

Updated lens textures for more immersion


Cool work in progress stuff
As a bonus little for the 24 hour update delay we’d like to demonstrate an awesome new feature that we are currently working on as part of the gore system: Updated Ragdoll physics/animation hybrids. Gore will be part of the upcoming content update testing phase. Some elements have been polished since our initial trials in October and it is now ready to test again.


Seamless blending between animation and ragdoll

Next timewe shall reveal more features and some animated gifs of the verdun gore system (dismemberment being one of them)

In addition to the new weapons and animations, Unity 5.3 allows for a new kind of Physically Based Rendering technique which allows for a nicer representation of metals in-game. Our artists have worked tirelessly since new years to update weapon materials (as was as working on all of the other things). Here an example of some of the new material work.


The ruby was also reworked

Performance
In addition to all the content production, we have seen a massive gain in FPS increase across the board. The last few updates have a statistically measured 30% increase since December. Optimization is still ongoing as we find ways to deal with verdun’s detailed environments in more effective ways. We are specifically looking at lower-end machines this week.


Screenshots of the Week

“Gas cloud engulfs a trench, western front 1915”

That will be all for this update. We hope to inform you as soon as possible on the launch of the update test.

Welcome to another weekly Verdun update! First of all the entire development team wishes you a happy 2016. During the christmas truce a massive 12.000 christmas cards were sent from the frontlines and the whole event received quite some attention on the web.

Secondly we want to update you on the development of the game. Over the past few months we have showcased our new arsenal, we’ve had 17 weekly (or near enough!) updates and have written around 35 pages of update text. We will continue to update with more other media which will showcase the progress towards the upcoming free content updates. This week we’ll keep it snappy as there is a lot to prepare for the forthcoming launch of the free content.

M1917 Wechselapparat “Wex” Flamethrower

The German Wechselapparat Flamethrower or ‘wex’ was developed in 1917 after successful but outdated Kleif flamethrower. Flamethrowers had seen use since the early years of the war, one of the first recorded uses being during 1915 near Verdun. As the war progressed flamethrowers grew in complexity as well as size - including the famous british Livens flamethrower. Come 1917 the Germans were in need of a lighter weight, more adaptable flame thrower - capable of being handles by one or two crew members. The ‘wex’ saw effective use in 1917/18 and was the basis for a number of flamethrowers including the Model 40 German flamethrower and portable No 2 British flamethrower in WW2.



The Wex will be used by German pioneer troops to counter the U.S marine squads. With limited range and fuel capacity, the wex will be a tricky weapon to master… however given the correct handler, it could quite possibly be the deadliest weapon to see action on the fronts of Verdun.

Verdun Beginners group
During the holidays, the people behind the verdun league and other community members have started an official verdun beginners group geared towards helping the crazy amount of new recruits who joined in during the christmas sale. If you are new to the game and want to become better you can sign up here.

Game development status
We did not cease development during the holiday season. In fact we made great strides on the performance front in the last two weeks with the new clustering technique for the levels. Several community members with some long standing issues are now reporting their performance being improved considerably on the testing branch. This should go live soon.

Content update
We are happy to report that the free content updates are on the horizon now. While we are still working to finalize all all of it, we can state that there will be new squads, weapons, map and more coming your way pretty soon. We are not releasing any statement on the timeframe at this point, however we are in the final stages of production and deployment on most fronts to give you an indication of its status.

Screenshots of the Week

“A shell claims the life of an unteroffizier, Argonne sector, 1915”

Awards
We were also awarded IndieDB’s 2015 editors choice “Best Multiplayer”, and we were in the top 10 players’ vote. Thanks for voting for us!



That will be all for this week. Next week more info on the deployment of the free content!

Welcome to another weekly Verdun update! First of all the entire development team wishes you a happy 2016. During the christmas truce a massive 12.000 christmas cards were sent from the frontlines and the whole event received quite some attention on the web.

Secondly we want to update you on the development of the game. Over the past few months we have showcased our new arsenal, we’ve had 17 weekly (or near enough!) updates and have written around 35 pages of update text. We will continue to update with more other media which will showcase the progress towards the upcoming free content updates. This week we’ll keep it snappy as there is a lot to prepare for the forthcoming launch of the free content.

M1917 Wechselapparat “Wex” Flamethrower

The German Wechselapparat Flamethrower or ‘wex’ was developed in 1917 after successful but outdated Kleif flamethrower. Flamethrowers had seen use since the early years of the war, one of the first recorded uses being during 1915 near Verdun. As the war progressed flamethrowers grew in complexity as well as size - including the famous british Livens flamethrower. Come 1917 the Germans were in need of a lighter weight, more adaptable flame thrower - capable of being handles by one or two crew members. The ‘wex’ saw effective use in 1917/18 and was the basis for a number of flamethrowers including the Model 40 German flamethrower and portable No 2 British flamethrower in WW2.



The Wex will be used by German pioneer troops to counter the U.S marine squads. With limited range and fuel capacity, the wex will be a tricky weapon to master… however given the correct handler, it could quite possibly be the deadliest weapon to see action on the fronts of Verdun.

Verdun Beginners group
During the holidays, the people behind the verdun league and other community members have started an official verdun beginners group geared towards helping the crazy amount of new recruits who joined in during the christmas sale. If you are new to the game and want to become better you can sign up here.

Game development status
We did not cease development during the holiday season. In fact we made great strides on the performance front in the last two weeks with the new clustering technique for the levels. Several community members with some long standing issues are now reporting their performance being improved considerably on the testing branch. This should go live soon.

Content update
We are happy to report that the free content updates are on the horizon now. While we are still working to finalize all all of it, we can state that there will be new squads, weapons, map and more coming your way pretty soon. We are not releasing any statement on the timeframe at this point, however we are in the final stages of production and deployment on most fronts to give you an indication of its status.

Screenshots of the Week

“A shell claims the life of an unteroffizier, Argonne sector, 1915”

Awards
We were also awarded IndieDB’s 2015 editors choice “Best Multiplayer”, and we were in the top 10 players’ vote. Thanks for voting for us!



That will be all for this week. Next week more info on the deployment of the free content!

It’s Christmas Truce!
World War 1 has a merciless dark side, yet also a surprisingly human side to it. In 1914 French, German and British troops held a remarkable truce during Christmas. During this truce, soldiers from the Entente and Central Power threw snowballs at each other, exchanged Christmas greetings and sang carols together. Soldiers who wrote Christmas cards from the trenches to their loved ones, had many stories of this extraordinary event, even mentioning that a number of football matches were held between the two sides. This stood in stark contrast with the massive death toll unheard of in the history of that time, marking WW1 as one of the bloodiest wars the world had ever seen.

This extraordinary event must not be forgotten, certainly not today. Live and let Live!

From December 22 – January 4 2016 the game Verdun will reproduce the WW1 Christmas Truce. This is done by releasing a new dedicated winter map where players can throw snowballs at each other, play a few football matches, sing along with Christmas carols and write Christmas cards to their loved ones. Sharing these cards might even win you an extra Steam key for your friend or enemy…

https://youtu.be/LyHI-XUtHYg

Verdun game will have a 40% discount during the whole Christmas Truce. Also, the Verdun team will be streaming this event together with Twitchers; BaronVonGamez, Squire and PhlyDaily on the 23rd of December at 4pm Eastern time (GMT-5) - https://www.Twitch.tv/VerdunGame. Enjoy the Holidays!

It’s Christmas Truce!
World War 1 has a merciless dark side, yet also a surprisingly human side to it. In 1914 French, German and British troops held a remarkable truce during Christmas. During this truce, soldiers from the Entente and Central Power threw snowballs at each other, exchanged Christmas greetings and sang carols together. Soldiers who wrote Christmas cards from the trenches to their loved ones, had many stories of this extraordinary event, even mentioning that a number of football matches were held between the two sides. This stood in stark contrast with the massive death toll unheard of in the history of that time, marking WW1 as one of the bloodiest wars the world had ever seen.

This extraordinary event must not be forgotten, certainly not today. Live and let Live!

From December 22 – January 4 2016 the game Verdun will reproduce the WW1 Christmas Truce. This is done by releasing a new dedicated winter map where players can throw snowballs at each other, play a few football matches, sing along with Christmas carols and write Christmas cards to their loved ones. Sharing these cards might even win you an extra Steam key for your friend or enemy…

https://youtu.be/LyHI-XUtHYg

Verdun game will have a 40% discount during the whole Christmas Truce. Also, the Verdun team will be streaming this event together with Twitchers; BaronVonGamez, Squire and PhlyDaily on the 23rd of December at 4pm Eastern time (GMT-5) - https://www.Twitch.tv/VerdunGame. Enjoy the Holidays!