While we continue to work on the first implementation of artillery to the game we thought it a good time to show you all a bit of some of the other content we're working on which is to be released at some point after the introduction of artillery as well as give you all a brief update about the progress of the artillery development itself. But first we have a new sale to announce!



Part of the Steam Lunar New Year sale for the next 4 days, War of Rights is now 40% off! We hope you will all join us in giving the new recruits that are about to swell the ranks the warmest of possible welcomes!



The development of the cavalry army branch is progressing nicely, we think (we hope you will agree!). It being a major content addition coming to the game after the introduction of artillery, we hope you're looking forward to be exploring its uses on the field of battle as much as we are.

For now, we're pleased to be able to show you the very first in-engine screenshots of several cavalry horses complete with all of their tack, supporting CSA specific as well as Union specific variations as well!





The introduction of artillery into the alpha as soon as possible remains the absolute priority of the team. A lot of work is currently being done in order to make the limber chests functional in-game, allowing the players to not only move the limbers themselves in order to keep the ammunition supply as close as possible to any cannon or battery on the move, but also to allow the crew to open the limber chest lid, select each shell they wish to pick up individually (consisting of several different shell types) as well as the option to move over the tray of tools (which hides half of the shells in the limber chest) to the other half of the chest, exposing the remaining half of the ammunition of the chest for usage.

It is quite the task from a systematic as well as animation setup point of view but we're happy to let you all know that we're making progress in allowing the above stated to happen.



That's all for now - we hope you're looking forward to be greeting the new players welcome as well as the introduction of artillery and the eventual addition of cavalry as much as we are!

We hope you all had a nice Christmas and that you are now looking forward to a new decade of PC gaming as much as we here at Campfire Games are!

We realize there’s a lot of interest about how the development of artillery, one of the core features of War of Rights is shaping up and so we thought it a good idea to give you a brief rundown of some of the issues still keeping us from releasing the first version of it as well as a video showcasing two of our developers interacting with a cannon in a networked environment. The video displays a number of issues (and misses quite a few as well), some more serious than others that should make it clear why artillery is not yet released to the public.

(Note that the 2nd shot was the first time we actually tried to aim the cannon at the firing range target - we thought that went pretty well!)


As you can see in the video above, a number of animation issues are currently present - both in regards to general animation polish but also in relation to characters turning invisible for a period of time after having left the different positions of the cannon as well as characters currently glitching out when the cannon is moving over an uneven/sloped ground, sometimes resulting in falling through the ground (not shown in the video).

One of the major things that still need to be implemented is the ability to pick up shells from the limber chests (hence why an invisible shell was loaded into the gun in the video above).

While we do have firing sounds for the artillery we’re currently lacking most other sounds related to manipulating the piece.

That being said, we hope you will agree with us that the development of the first version of artillery is indeed headed in the right direction.

We will continue to push on in order to get it out to you all as soon as possible. Until then, we would like to wish you a very happy new year and also thank you for supporting the development of the alpha for yet another year.

We would also like to welcome the many new players who have decided to fill the ranks during the Steam Winter Sale - we are happy to have you and we hope you’ll enjoy the alpha and its great community.

We can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store for the development of WoR!

War of Rights is currently 50% off at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/424030/War_of_Rights

Part of the Steam Winter Sale 2019, War of Rights is now 50% off!

Get the game at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/424030/War_of_Rights/

Campfire Games would like to wish all of our veteran players as well any fresh recruit a happy holidays - we hope it's a good one!

- Improved the player interpolation. The new version will result in a more accurate representation of what the player you are looking at is actually doing while at the same time keeping player stuttering at an absolute minimum. Some of the benefits of this is that when a player is charging you, it is much less likely that he will be able to stab you while still being 5 meters away from you. We have made a video showcasing the difference between this version and the previous version which you can see below.



- Fixed a crash if admin console commands are executed while not connected to a server.

- Fixed the desertion messages on Picket Patrol and the Drill Camp not triggering.

- Fixed morale shouts not triggering on morale change and on FinalPush and Last Stand.

- Fixed an issue where a player would be unable to spawn if the player joined the server just as the skirmish area on the server was switching to the next area.

- Prevented players from switching weapons if they are carrying the flag.

- Fixed a number of flag animation issues caused by having been in right shoulder shift before picking up the flag.

- Fixed being able to perform melee thrusts while kneeling and also an issue that would make it look like the player was at the ready while he was in fact in melee mode.

- Fixed the reported instances of spawning inside various objects and being stuck by increasing the size required to be able to spawn on the flag bearer. If no free space is available you will spawn at the location of the flag bearer.

- Fixed several broken assets on Harpers Ferry.

- Updated fog volumes on Antietam, Harpers Ferry and South Mountain.

- Fixed several doors opening the incorrect direction on Antietam and Harpers Ferry.

- Set the game splash screen as the default loading screen when returning to the main menu from a level.

New Counter attack mechanic added to the skirmishes gamemode

• A counter attack by the defending team is triggered when the attacking team captures the point of contention when the morale state of the defending team is above Breaking.
  
  
• The length of the counter attack is determined based on the morale state of the defending team - the more morale the longer the counter attack.
  
  
• If the counter attacking team manages to retake the point of contention before the counter attack timer runs out, it will gain a morale boost, putting it at the same morale state as the attacker.
  
  
• If the counter attack timer runs out before the point of contention is retaken, the counter attacking team will lose the match.
  
  
• The end game events Final Push and Last Stand can trigger during a counter attack.
  
  
• A counter attack can happen several times during a skirmish round.

- Added an overtime mechanic to the Skirmishes gamemode. This will trigger if the attacker or counter attacker is in the process of capturing the point of contention as the timer runs out. The overtime mechanic will be canceled if more defenders than attackers are inside the point of contention.

- Removed the endgame event Last Stand's requirement of having to stay inside the point of contention. The defenders in Last Stand are now free to move about as they please.

- More than doubled the capture speed of the point of contention in order to increase the chance of counter attacks happening.

- Improved the networked interpolation of player positions. This will make the movement of other players on your screen respond a lot faster to the movement data your client receives from the server. In theory this will also make it easier to move in a cohesive line formation as you can much more accurately adjust your own position to the position of the player in front or next to you.

- General level detail pass of Antietam.

- General level detail pass of Harpers Ferry.

- General level detail pass of South Mountain.

- Added gabions to the artillery redoubts at Harpers Ferry.





- It is now possible to vault over certain parts of the artillery embankment models found on Harpers Ferry.

- Prevented players from spawning under the ground at Sherrick and Roulette Farms, Antietam.

- Optimized the proxies of various models.

- Added several new interior props.

- Optimized the destroyed cornstalk models.

- Added a new splash screen when starting the game.

- Made the dropped flag not collide with players in order to avoid players being pushed around by it.

- Moved the on-screen popup message slightly up as well as increased their background opacity in order to provide an easier time of aiming.

- Fixed a few animation issues related to the officers using revolvers.

- Rebel Yells and Union Huzzahs now only trigger from players that are In Formation.

Part of the Steam Halloween sale, War of Rights is currently 50% off!

Partake in truly team-oriented, historically authentic & immersive massive Civil War battles!

Grab your copy at:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/424030/War_of_Rights/

- Made the long lasting weapon smoke slightly darker to reduce the amount it burns out.

- Fixed a bug where first choosing to spawn on the base, then instead clicking the flag and pressing deploy, would result in the player spawning on the base anyway.

- Fixed a bug where a player would be unable to spawn if the player had left a server while it was in last stand. When joining a new server where Last Stand was not active, choosing the team which on the previous server had entered Last Stand, would result in a message being shown that the team had run out of tickets with the player unable to proceed and then being forced to restart the game.

- Added (Spectating) in front of player names in the tab menu who are spectating with the free flight camera. While in this spectator mode, their names are now also colored dark Grey. This only happens for regular players. Admins will not get the (Spectating) tag added to their names and their name color will remain Red or Black, depending on what they have chosen in the admin UI.

- For admins, the chat will now post a message whenever somebody starts and stops spectating using the free flight camera.

- Made the nametags be visible on players from both teams while using the free flight camera.

- Updated the artillery embankments throughout Harpers Ferry.


CSA battery, Loudoun Heights, Harpers Ferry - A playable location come the artillery update

- Added new weapon fire particle effects with much more detail.



- Fixed a long lasting memory leak.

- Improved the camera offsets while freelooking for more realistic camera movement.

- Fixed some doors that previously couldnt be shot through.

- Visual updates to Harpers Graveyard area, Harpers Ferry.

- Prevented the Union team from being able to reach the 2nd stonewall and fire down into the CSA spawn of the Harpers Graveyard skirmish area.

- Visual updates, Maryland Heights area, Harpers Ferry.

- Overhauled several interior props.

- Added more items into the houses across all levels.

- Added the last two skirmish spawn screen and deployment screen overview maps for the South Mountain skirmish areas, Cox's Push and Anderson's Counterattack.

- Fixed some of the rank icons in the spawn UI missing for some of the regiments.

- Added class images of the remaining CSA regiments on the class selection screen - the last Union regiment images will soon come.

- Minor visual updates, Bolivar Heights Camp, Harpers Ferry.

- New Naval gun platform and texture.

- Gave all flag materials a pass to normalize their specular and brightness settings.

- Added several missing flag bearer spawning exclusion areas on Harpers Ferry.

Today marks the 157th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam and we thought what better way to honor and remember the anniversary than to give you all an update on the progress of some of the most anticipated features of War of Rights currently in development!

We’re very excited to be detailing some of the progress we’re making regarding the implementation of the initial artillery system into the game as well as a small sneak peek about some very cool things to come in the time after the introduction of artillery.

One of our programmers, Michael will guide you through the progress below.

Hello everyone!

For those of you who don’t know me my name is Michael and I have been a programmer at Campfire Games for 3 years. I am responsible for a lot of the notable systems including: the formation system, the weather system, free-looking, spectating, the admin tool, officer orders, capture zones and more. Currently, I am committed to two of our most important roadmap features which I am here today to talk about!

Arriving soon will be one of the most requested and anticipated additions to War of Rights, the artillery! Here is a brief rundown of what to expect and where we are now.



The very first artillery implementation which we’re quickly headed towards will be a work in progress (as most if not all things in an alpha are) and will thus feature both limited game mechanics as well as a lot of new exciting bugs for you to enjoy.

That being said, it will feature the core mechanics of functional artillery:

• Different artillery classes with different tools and weaponry.
  
• Unlimited artillery crew slots - if a team wishes to use all available battery pieces (or none) they can do so.
  
• Pushable cannons (by wheels) by two players at once.
  
• Ammunition and powder pickups from limbers.
  
• Different types of loads (such as explosive shell and canister shot).
  
• Horizontal aiming adjustments by lifting the tailspike of the cannon.
  
• Vertical aiming adjustments by turning the elevation screw of the cannon.
  
• Firing by fixing a lanyard to a primer and pulling it.
  
• Recoil from firing will require the cannon to be pushed back to its initial position in order to maintain accurate fire.
  
• Pushable limbers in order to make sure that the supply for the cannon can be moved with it should it be deemed a good idea to relocate the gun.

Here’s a short list of some of the things we’ll be looking to bring to the artillery system in later released iterations:

• Artillery specific team damage punishment system (the first release of artillery will have friendly fire turned off).
  
• Chance of normal and catastrophical misfires without proper maintenance of the cannon.
  
• Dry sponge & worm tools for properly clearing stuck embers after firing.
  
• Chance of explosion when hitting the limbers.
  
• Chance of explosion when hitting the shell while it is being carried over to the gun for loading.
  
• Vent hole plugging step while loading.
  
• Fence destruction.
  
• Horse drawn artillery.

At the time of writing all the hard work of many individuals is converging and we are now putting it through rigorous testing while ironing out the remaining issues. We hope you will enjoy this forthcoming feature as we continue to deliver the most authentic and engaging civil war experience we can muster.



Below is a flowchart of the structure of the artillery, or transport system as it is being called internally.





So when can you expect to get your hands on the initial artillery release? We do not know yet but great advances are currently being made each day in order to ensure that the release isn’t too far off.

We look forward, in great anticipation, to experiencing artillery with you all and your invaluable feedback as we continue to press on!


For the initial artillery implementation we’ve also expanded the drill camp map with two new Artillery specific drill camps and firing ranges - one for each faction as well as given it a major detail overhaul throughout the entire level.

You’ll deploy in the artillery camp of your faction when spawning as an artilleryman in the level. There you’ll be able to drill positioning, loading and practicing your aim at the range alone or with a trusted band of crewmates.
























(Game-ready low poly render of a chestnut horse recently completed by our Character Artist, Pat)

One of the benefits of the supporting framework for the artillery, known internally as the transport system, is that it has been built from the ground-up with cavalry in mind. Our forethought has already slashed the development time for cavalry in half and you will all be seeing it sooner than you likely think!


(Game-ready low poly render of a brown horse recently completed by our Character Artist, Pat)

Lastly, working on both the artillery and cavalry has been a welcome challenge at Campfire Games. It is our first venture that has really concentrated all the departments together to deliver some of our most complex additions to the game yet. It has been a real pleasure to work more intimately with much of the team. From the late nights of spit-balling gameplay mechanics to the long afternoons of arguing about the viscosity of soil, these deliberations have made this my favourite project so far!

That’s all for now. Until next time, have a good one!

- Fixed a long standing and regular crash issue.

- Fixed players not being able to type in the ingame chat during the endgame screen.

- Made the colors get damaged when the flagbearer gets killed.



- Updated several spawning exclusion areas throughout the levels for better flag bearer spawning results.

- Cleaned up the respawn game logic for the various game modes, which should help make death to respawn UI process much more reliable.

- Fixed various bugs with the Picket Patrol game mode.

- Several additional interior props added throughout the levels.

- Several visual updates to the Harpers Graveyard skirmish area.

- Several map boundary adjustments to the Harpers Graveyard skirmish area in order to limit flanking the enemy via running on the cliffside of the area.

- Fixed Freelook not being visible on other players.

- Slightly improved the performance on Very High settings if your system is GPU bottlenecked.