Added new AI routines for PvP and conquest. Including usage of smoke, capturing vehicles, sneaking, etc.
Added new variable players:composition@ for various team a vs team b scripting combinations.
Added new tellermine 43.
Added new tellermine 35.
Added aiming prepare to multiple rocket launchers.
Added minimap approximate locationing feature for artillery.
Added option in game settings to disable selection icons for increased realism.
Added several new recoilless fx.
Added noise detection visors.
Added pionier squad to late war germany.
Added german voiceover for german campaign 1943_02_krasny_bor.
Added T3476 M1940 to regular buy menu of Mid War.
Added new vision logic.
Added new visor to recon vehicles for improved vision.
Added aiming time to rocket artillery like other artillery.
Added ammo in tanks can be detonated by blast damage, but more durable than before.
Added cooldown interval to tier 3 and cooldown and start-countdown intervals to tier 4 squads.
Added SG43 MG and 76mm M1902 to Soviet conquest roster.
Added blast physics to broken fence pieces and logs.
Added missing hatch sounds for IS-2 variants.
Added white phosphorus fx to Soviet 82mm and 120mm smoke shells.
Added altitude haze on all maps.
Added size6 explosions (280+mm guns).
Added size6 to all terrain fx.
Added new time variation of blast06 explosion sprite.
Added missing rim light to b4 x model.
Updated tank AI vehicle mobility (traverse snapping speed).
Updated game accuracy curves for tanks and small arms.
Updated russian localization.
Updated late war German AT miner to use tellermine 43.
Updated 'In Spite of Everything' and made the attacking waves have more variety of equipment.
Updated 7.5cm K.Gr.rot.Pz shell from APC-HE to APCBC-HE.
Updated accuracy past max range to avoid farshooting more effectively.
Updated filler model for AP-type shell damage, interpolation damage is a cubic equation.
Updated artillery accuracy model, increased greately the accuracy of artillery at medium and long ranges.
Updated panzerfausts in squads: All T2 squads use Pzf.30, T3 Pzf60, T4 Pzf 100.
Updated health for all infantry tiers/difficulties.
Updated some interface elements for better readibility.
Updated accuracy of AT guns to be same as tank guns.
Updated selection sprites.
Updated conquest scripts.
Updated mortar crew to be operated by artillerymen in PvP.
Updated vision of scout cars to be homogeneous with the scout infantry.
Updated inventory view.
Updated FX for size5 HE.
Updated shoot animation for avt40 to be similar to StG44.
Updated APCR curve for 47mm pak(t).
Updated grass.set into a modular file.
Updated some textures.
Updated entity manager for new wood pieces.
Updated volume Russian Voiceover (V7 complete), got rid of typo-folder.
Updated black bar on minimap to be less obtrusive.
Fixed netcode bug where soldiers got stuck while boarding vehicle.
Fixed actor squad converging on a single point if you re-select it.
Fixed vitality sync issue.
Fixed resizing lobby issue.
Fixed firing on the move for infantry (more comprehensive changes in the future).
Fixed crew desync on vehicles.
Fixed crew to spawn on MG instead of passenger seat of Kubelwagen and Gaz67b.
Fixed conquest captured cannons use artilleryman breed.
Fixed orders so that squad stand up (immediately) if move order is forced.
Fixed issues with state (particularly eMove order) when a new move order is ordered.
Fixed doctrine not resetting properly when war stage changes in lobby.
Fixed 122mm_m30 from choosing HEAT over HE shells against tanks, even when out of range.
Fixed 105mm_lefh18 from switching to HEAT shells when targeting tanks.
Fixed floating objects on dcg_dubovka.
Fixed (Unbroken SP mission) related to secret objective as the use of 2 tasks for it(secret1 and secret1c) had a bug with task completing before it show up case.
Fixed (Unbroken SP mission) 3 partisans who become user controlled but are not assigned for coop.
Fixed obstacles settings for dshk aa and dshk stand.
Fixed bricks on fence stone 3.
Fixed rus-6-courland pathing issues.
Fixed panzer35t in conquest bot purchase menu.
Fixed passenger seats on stug3g_late.
Fixed in conquest enemy ai airstrike (mostly related to hilltop map) so that planes of altitudes as high as 70 are properly handled by the script.
Fixed mission 1941_12_tikhvin: make sure body with documents cannot be removed via entity manager.
Fixed mission 2-combat: players units cannot be killed during introduction to village and attack against its mg's.
Fixed mission 2-combat: assignment of players cannon at reinforcements end stage
Fixed in rare occasion of cannon becoming unlinked at moment of truck assignment.
Fixed some netcode issues associated with cannons.
Fixed hatch animation and fire fx for IS-2 M1943.
Fixed broken poly on MP Brozha.
Increased binocular and sniper uncover/spot radii.
Increased durability of hulls for heavier vehicles.
Increased dispersion of bursts for smg.
Increased bursts of SMG at closer ranges.
Increased damage of SMG toward max range.
Increased range of vision for tank main guns.
Increased vision fov from 30 to 45 degree for tank driver visors.
Increased detection times for units (time of unit remaining spotted when revealed in fog of war).
Increased loudness of vehicle overlay sounds.
Increased Hull front armor for Panzer 3 Flamm from 50mm to 80mm.
Increased inventory bind distance to 1m.
Increased stability of artillery aiming sight zeroing, to make it more comfortable and useful to shift between near targets.
Increased cost of AA trucks.
Increased cost of F22 from 15 to 20DP.
Increased cost of 57mm Zis-2 from 400 to 450.
Increased cost of 76mm Zis-3 from 360 to 390.
Increased cost of 37mm Pak-36 (with HEAT, late war) from 190 to 200.
Increased cost of 50mm Pak-38 from 270 to 290.
Increased cost of 50mm Pak-38 (with HEAT, late war) from 270 to 300.
Increased cost of 75mm Pak-40 from 440 to 480.
Increased cost of T-70 from 300 to 320.
Increased cost of Panzer 38(t)/F from 300 to 330.
Increased cost of Panzer IIIM from 415 to 430.
Increased cost of Panzer IIIN from 385 to 430.
Increased cost of Panzer IVF/2 from 550 to 580.
Increased cost of Panzer IVG from 565 to 590.
Increased cost of Panzer IVH from 610 to 630.
Increased cost of T-34/85 from 700 to 765.
Increased cost of StuG IIIG from 590 to 600.
Increased cost of Marder IIIM from 500 to 530.
Increased cost of Su-76 from 430 to 440.
Increased cost of Su-85 from 610 to 650.
Increased cost of Su-152 from 980 to 1050.
Increased cost of KV1-S from 680 to 700.
Increased cost of Panther A from 1150 to 1200.
Increased cost of Tiger E from 1180 to 1280.
Increased cost of IS-2 M1943 from 1150 to 1350.
Increased cost of Sd.kfz.231 from 250 to 260MP.
Increased cost of Ba-6 from 240 to 270MP.
Reduced capture release time from 20 to 10s.
Reduced range of strafing aircraft in PvP.
Reduced accuracy of strafing aircraft in PvP.
Reduced HE accuracy toward max range for direct-fire weapons except for SPGs, to make tank vs AT-gun warfare less one-sided where the tank one-shoots the AT gun with HE in the first shot.
Reduced slightly the spacing of infantry in a squad.
Reduced amount of shots required to perform zeroing with artillery.
Reduced rotation speeds of artillery.
Reduced significantly ammunition reserves in artillery. An ammo supply will now be a critical part of usage of artillery.
Reduced rate of fire of artillery.
Reduced chances of AI buying AT rifle squads in conquest.
Reduced aircraft speeds in multiplayer to the singleplayer nominal values.
Reduced kinetic damage of mid caliber shells (88-130mm).
Reduced research point cost of panzer1F from 8 to 3.
Reduced cost of Flammpanzer III in Late war from 25DP to 20DP.
Reduced cost of M42 towed in Mid war from 15DP to 10DP.
Reduced cost of Ba-20 from 155 to 140MP.
Reduced cost of Sd.kfz.221 from 160 to 150MP.
Reduced cost of BT-5 from 300 to 290.
Reduced cost of BT-7 from 310 to 300.
Reduced cost of T-34/76 M1940 from 500 to 420.
Reduced cost of T-34/76 M1941 from 550 to 480.
Reduced cost of T-34/76 M1942 from 600 to 520.
Reduced cost of T-34/76 M1943 from 550 to 530.
Reduced cost of carried ammo box from 100 to 70.
Reduced cost of tripod/stand MGs by 25%.
Reduced cost of 47mm M1937 from 190 to 180.
Reduced cost of kubelwagen MG from 80 to 70.
Reduced cost of Gaz-67/b MG from 90 to 70.
Reduced cost of Sd.kfz.251 from 110 to 100.
Reduced cost of engineering trucks from 100 to 80.
Reduced cost of Panzer IB from 190 to 120.
Reduced cost of T-26 M1933 from 180 to 120.
Reduced cost of Panzer IIIJ/1 from 430 to 400.
Reduced cost of Panzerjäger 1 from 300 to 280.
Removed T3476 M1942 from regular buy menu of Mid War (was meant to be doctrine only).
Removed time limit to tool tips in menus and in-game. Tool tip will display as long as cursor remains on the object.
Note to Modders
Some of the new changes may render mods obsolete. To assist updating of mods, it is required to:
1) Update files in resource/set/stuff/gun to use the new definitions for direct and indirect fire. 2) If you have any modded changes to set/stuff/vision, you should update them.
If you require technical assistance to make your mods work, write us in the Workshop Discussions
We also have the previous game version as 'previous version' in the beta options in the game, for players to revert temporarily if they wish to play their mods until the authors update them.
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront - Herr Flick
Hello friends, we are ready to publish the update you’ve been waiting for! In our last devblog we already highlighted a couple of changes that will be introduced with this update. But we kept the best for last; let’s check out a couple of nice changes you didn’t know about!
What’s new
In the previous Devblog we revealed the upcoming artillery changes and these will be coupled with a global rebalancing of the game. We took the input from our players and testers on these subjects and you will notice the difference. We’d like to thank everyone that contributed to this update!
We have also been working on the AI and we bring the first results with this update. It will make the experience in PvE much more entertaining and challenging. As we mentioned in the previous Devblog Bots have learnt how to use cannons, how to re- crew them, but now are also privy to the benefits of using smoke grenades, sneaking, target prioritizing and stealing your equipment. Much more to come in the future.
We also improved the readability of icons and graphics in the game, and consequently added the option to remove them for those players seeking greater immersion without screen clutter.
During the time we were improving the update before it’s release, we also had time to address some of the annoying netcode issues which players will most certainly be pleased with. We also added new squads, models and a couple of goodies, which we will let you discover.
Note to mod creators
Some of the new changes may render mods obsolete. To make things easier for you, and if you need them, we will provide details for you to quickly assess which technical aspects might need to be updated with the change-log. If you require technical assistance to make your mods work, please tell us in the Workshop Discussions.
Note to mod users
There’s a feature you may not be aware of; you have the possibility to retain the current game version as 'previous version' in the beta options of the game. This allows players to revert temporarily if they wish to play their mods until the authors have had time to update them.
That’s it for the moment. If you want to see all the details of this update, you can check the change log, which has well over 150 entries this time. Our next update will announce the mod of the month winner, Stay tuned!
As the year draws to an end, we look back on the great experience we've had releasing Call to Arms: Gates of Hell. If you agree that our genre is being overlooked, and that Call to Arms: Gates of Hell is a good representative for it; or if you'd like to share our passion and enthusiasm for our project's past, present and future, please consider writing us a review and voting for us on the GOTY awards.
Take this oportunity to buy the game if you haven't already, as the sale nears its end.
Follow our developer website to stay updated on future sales, new games and updates. You may also want to join our official Discord to stay in touch with us more closely!
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront - Herr Flick
Hello everyone,
Two devblogs so close together is quite rare in our case, but that's because it's a special occasion - black friday - and so, we are running a special sale!
Besides the sale we have a fair number of changes to tell you about.
Black friday update
Along with the sale, as is tradition, we will be releasing a game update. This one focuses on balancing and quality of life changes for the entire game, in preparation for the next content update for the winter season.
In this blog, we’ll highlight a couple of things from the update; it would be way too much to detail all the changes. As usual, we will publish a full change log when that happens, so you can find out every detail then. For now, let’s go with the highlights!
We have overhauled the vision system to make it easier to understand. There were many cases where people thought the game was bugged, because some unit could see you but you could not see it, and this was the result of a complex vision model that took details into account like the size of the hatches in vehicles, or the stance of the soldiers plus whether they were in cover (and many other factors). Whilst this system is very complex and adds a lot of potential depth to the game, it is hard to understand and leads to frustrating situations in the battlefield - especially for our newer players. With the overhaul, the laws for spotting are much more intuitive. It can also be more rewarding, if you use the right units. Besides re-assessing it from scratch, we used the opportunity to improve the spotting of armoured cars and to give them more of a role on the battlefield. Additionally, we made it so that the engine noise of vehicles in motion reveals them up to 50 metres beyond the visor distance of your units, which makes the engine-toggle feature in the game much more important to conceal your troops. We plan further key improvements to the vision system in the future.
We have redesigned the artillery (indirect fire weapon) gameplay. We moved away from the RNG model which represented the inaccuracies of real life weapons at range, but this also made them unpredictable and more of a gamble. Although the artillery will feel more reliable, their approximate position will now be hinted at on the minimap when they fire. Since artillery requires several zeroing shots to score reliable hits, the opposing team can now apply proper anti-artillery tactics based on what they can see on the minimap. What’s more, we have made artillery more realistic by reducing their ammo capacity, which was always carried externally to the cannon in real life. Now, you will have to invest into an ammo vehicle to keep your artillery stocked.
We will also introduce multiple upgrades to the AI and bots. The bots have learnt how to use cannons in battle and will make use of them in PvE and conquest. The targeting for bots was further improved, and the tanks under AI control received more realistic traverse movement logic similar to the direct control model. We will continue to work on the AI progressively.
You will also find many other changes related to planes, conquest, infantry combat, netcode bug fixing, interface & game readability, and so much more. But, as we all know, a picture is worth more than 1000 words. You’ll be able to experience this enhanced quality of life when we push the update, which will happen as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, a lot of work is going on behind the scenes and we are very excited for the times ahead. The next faction is taking shape very nicely already and we’ve got our heads down to maintain the momentum.
Did you know?
Of the above updates, several were suggested by our community
Suggestions are welcome, the best place for those is our Discord server
Our Discord server features German channels as well
That’s it for now; enjoy the update and see you on the battlefield!
Follow our developer website to stay updated on future sales, new games and updates. You may also want to join our official Discord to stay in touch with us more closely!
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront - Herr Flick
Header based on a Community screenshot by RUSSTG44
Community members! It is time to talk about our mod competition. We will start the competition today! The aim is to celebrate the best achievements in the Call to Arms - Gates of Hell community, brought to you by mod makers from all over the world.
History
In the development of Call to Arms - Gates of Hell we always wanted to make sure that modding would be as easy as we could possibly make it. The result of our design choices is a moddable game, which is more extensive and refined in terms of mechanics than its predecessors. These refinements raise the bar slightly for mod creators, however with 300 mods available in the workshop right now, we think there is ample proof that it’s not really a problem for our modding community. Last but not least, we decided long ago that we will provide for a modding SDK which makes modding more accessible and, importantly, easier. We have no date set for this to be ready, but it’s on our list and will let you know the timeframe as soon as we can.
With this competition, we aim to put a spotlight on the work that is being done in the community. This is very important work, because - as we all know - there is no such thing as “too much content” for a game. It’s time to put a spotlight on the best mods out there; this is about the rules and about how we plan to run the competition.
The “what” question
Mods in the workshop already should comply with certain rules. On top of that we have our own requirements for this competition. Mods can be anything from custom maps, custom missions, custom mechanics, new units, skins or sounds, to bigger modifications combining one or more aspects. We think it would be unfair to choose from November entries only; the competition is open for all mods that were made for GoH so far. The prize for the mod, which is picked as a winner by Barbedwire Studios, is a key with early access to the next faction. On top, that one wins 2 keys of the next faction to give away to friends after release! If you made your mod with a team, the team can get the sum of 3 early access keys. The winner will be picked by us, and the community winner (who gets a mention in dispatches) will be picked by you! Both winners also get the “Master Modder” tag on Discord.
These are the requirements:
Must be historically oriented (any historical era)
Must be publically available in Steam workshop for the community
Content must be original from the creator, or have permission from other authors to use their work and be properly credited. Using content from other games is only allowed for games made by Barbedwire Studios or Digitalmindsoft.
Contains no nazi symbols or anything associated with war crimes
First we need candidates for the title, for which we will use our website. When submissions are closed, the judging can start. The formal winner is elected by our panel of judges, which consists of developers, publishers and contributors. The community winner will be elected by the community. This is the process:
A competition page is opened on the Barbedwire Studios website
A panel of experts reviews the entries and puts the best ones on a shortlist
The same panel elects the best mod of the month from that list
The shortlist is opened for public voting, which runs for 7 days
The Master Modders are announced on Discord
Both get increased bragging rights
The Studio- appointed winner receives the winner’s keys
Submissions close November 30, 2021, at 23:59 PST
We can imagine that people will start lobbying for their favourite mod now; that’s perfectly okay of course. However, when you visit the workshop, don’t forget to rate that mod you’ve been using for all those hours! It’s time to give something back to the people that have widened the scope of this game, because that’s what it’s all about. In the meantime, you could join our Discord to make sure you don’t miss any of it.
Follow our developer website to stay updated on future sales, new games and updates. You may also want to join our official Discord to stay in touch with us more closely!
Added new units. Soviet ISU-122S, BM-31-12, Lend-lease Universal carrier, Lend-lease MMG carrier, Lend-lease M3A1E1 Scout car, Lend-lease M3A1E3 Scout car transport, Lend-lease Valentine II, Lend-lease Valentine VII, Lend-lease Valentine IX, Lend-lease Churchill III
Added lend-lease doctrine for soviet late war.
Added new mesh-texmod feature, the winter skins can change entire meshes and not just textures. See explanation below.
Added new human soldier 3d models and new headwear 3d models.
Added winter skins/models for multiplayer soldiers on winter maps.
Added winter skins for helmets for soldiers on winter maps.
Added ability to change the spacing between covers of your soldiers by click-and-drag when selecting your soldiers to go to cover. This avoids soldiers bunching up.
Added interaction code to tanks so they can be destroyed (non-repairable) through pierce and blast damage and not always explode.
Added more vehicle fire and death fx.
Added "crew stun" feature to car and truck class vehicles (crews can be stunned by pierce and blast damage).
Added new fuel tank damage fx and death interactions to cars and trucks. You can now target external car fuel tanks.
Added new gun-sights for british vehicles
Added 50-caliber M2, along with new sounds and muzzle effect for it.
Added BESA MG
Added new MP map: 1v1 Crossing
Added new MP map: 2v2 Gelid
Added new MP map: 2v2 Courtyard
Added new MP map: 4v4 Dubovka
Added new MP map: 4v4 Vitebsk
Added new campaign mission for Germany: Krasny Bor
Added new campaign mission for USSR: Courland pocket
Added spanish nationality to blue division soldiers
Added blue division singleplayer breeds
Added new spanish voice actor
Added new soviet voice actor
Added british smoke launchers for lend lease vehicles
Added sound fx to water fx on water barrel
Added ilumination signal flare for singleplayer night missions
Added new sounds for browning M19
Added new Texmods to soviet urban building (sov_2st_build1 )
Added metal break sounds for car/truck engine, body and turret break events
Added peaceful explosion fx to play for car/truck vehicles when crushed (run over) by tanks
Added player soldier talk warnings when near mine sign/mine field in conquest, this talk can randomize and repeat after while if player is near another minefield (same one will not be warned again).
Added 88mm Flak36 camo textures.
Added suspension system to Opel maultier.
Added some dx11 shader cache files
Added missing weather selection to 2v2_industry
Added t26_33 x models winter textures.
Added Pak 36 models winter textures.
Added tank drivers can enter and exit through other hatches if they are closer or driver hatch is blocked.
Updated AI targetting logic - Player-controlled guns won't switch to HE to attack infantry, unless it's already loaded in the chamber.
Updated Improved AI's selection of cannon ammo for various targets
Updated Mortar and Cannon HE shells blast damage and radius formula to account for shell weight and filler amount
Updated texture mip logic so first person reticles do not get degraded on lower graphic settings
Updated Rocket blast energy and radius to scale better in comparison to their real life TNT filler values.
Updated chinese localization
Updated russian localization
Updated several minimaps and graphics
Updated reverse speed of IS and ISU series tanks
Updated m1927 76mm new textures
Updated credits
Fixed several cars and trucks equipped with guns, having the incorrect targetclass. Should result in improved AI targeting of these vehicles
Fixed cannon state sync on multiplayer
Fixed refuelling on multiplayer
Fixed that bazooka icons within a squad show properly.
Fixed fire effects extinguishing with water
Fixed some thickness and penetration logics
Fixed sdkfz234_2 (puma) hull machine gun from MG34 to MG42
Fixed doctrine being wrongly selected when war stage gets changed
Fixed doctrine prices which were inconsistent
Fixed humans showing up in middle of the map in conquest (made active when linked in a vehicle)
Fixed conquest MG linkage on vehicles
Fixed missing icons overhead vehicles
Fixed crew type of DsHK doctrine MG
Fixed humans showing up in middle of the map in conquest (made active when linked in a vehicle)
Fixed and adjusted pather ID sizes for cannons
Fixed large caliber AA guns to fire at aircraft more often
Fixed tanks that self destruct to explode like an ammo explosion
Fixed 152mm ml20 xx visual bug
Fixed Fixed various obstacles and volumes for xx models of cannons
Fixed some details on 88mm Flak x Models
Fixed crew count for doctrine 88mm flak 36
Fixed commander and charger seats in gaz_aaa_72k
Fixed flak 30 invisible suspension
Fixed flak 30 repair animation fixed
Fixed cannon sandbags from being visible in fog of war.
Fixed cannon sandbags to have winter texture when spawning on snow or ice terrain
Fixed collider issues with a few small environment assets
Fixed some texture issues
Fixed crew count for Sig33B in conquest
Fixed volumes and obstacles for wood bridge to help keep vehicles from clipping through sides.
Fixed gun shield volumes for gaz_aaa_72k
Fixed trucks being crewable after body/cabin brea
Fixed localization so that no longer 'mud' terrain is mentioned as exclusively 'snow'
Fixed tiger 1 H cupola LOD1 appearance.
Fixed crew boarding order for sdkfz251c so that the rear MG will be crewed before passenger seats
Fixed soviet vehicle enumerators
Fixed bazooka and AT-rifles to be collectable when on ground and empty/out of ammo
Fixed soviet 45mm APCR penetration
Fixed soviet assault sapper singleplayer breeds to spawn with all items
Fixed hatch sounds for T34 series
Increased tank body component durability when the body component is in broken state to allow for death new events to happen. increased passengers on t-40, t60, t-26-1939
Reduced durability of car and truck armor ~20%
Removed the stowing away of the binoculars when a rotate order comes in. Now you can use this order freely without the soldier stopping the usage of the binoculars.
Removed duplicate pak36 and pak38 AT guns from library
Mention for modders
To make use of the new mesh-texmod feature, the custom winter meshes should be called ---#winter.ply, and the "base" model should contain a ---#winter.dds texture as well, to be able to detect a texmod (you can create a dummy winter texture using a .ebm file). If the mesh has LODs, the winter mesh must be called ---#winter_lod-.ply. The names of the human skins were changed, so you may have to update modded soldier breeds.
About the new tank death feature
Tanks will no longer "always" explode when pierced one more time after the body component is broken. Instead, when receiving additional damage to the point the vehicle is no longer be repairable, the tank will catch fire. This fire has a random chance of causing various ammo explosion events or simply burn the tank. Either of which puts the tank permanently out of action (non-repairable). If the tank is attacked more and has not already exploded, it can explode but requires much more damage than before. In short, users should experience more variety with tank deaths.