The BIG PATCH IS COMING! Just a few weeks if all goes well... Thank you for everyone's patience. I know it will be worth the wait!

As always you can play this on the test branch on Steam.
Join Discord for details.
Full changelog is available here: https://soldat2.com/changelog.txt

Literally hundreds of improvements have been made over the past 2 months. Here are some notable ones:


A window for waiting for players to join, arranging teams and voting for gamemode, map and modifiers is now part of the experience after joining a server.



Everyone can invite their friends through Steam or Discord with a link that will have them join the game immediately! No more copy pasting IP's and ports :). You can also view player avatar's and Steam profiles on this screen.




Statistics are now calculated during the match such as caps/returns, kills/deaths, accuracy, favourite weapon etc. and viewed as a summary at the end of each game.




Pre-game lobby can be disabled and instead a simple 3-map vote can be used.
This is also what will be used in the new Matchmaking/Gather system.




Many HUD and menu improvements. This is mainly thanks to the help of our testers community. Giving me feedback, suggestions and encouragement!








CTB has returned as Domination!
It's not done yet and there's only one unfinished map called dom_stronghold but it is a sign of what to expect.

Biggest addition is a very wide custom designed map instead of the generated ones.



Best played with "UltraTactical" modifier!



Second biggest addition are base areas instead of flags (indicated by a team colored outline).






Many improvements have been made to the movement system thanks to the support of testers.

Hard-roll is now possible like in Soldat 1. Use it to stop and change direction immediately! An enhancement over S1 is the ability to hard-roll off of walls.




There's a new move called FRONT-FLIP. Works just like back-flip but forward. It's a big change but it has been warmly welcomed.

(darDar showing off movement possibilties)






Dropkick has been replaced with Superman-Dash. Basically doing superman adds the ability to bump into people with your head. If you go fast enough - it's deadly!




Proper status display + ability to join a friends game directly










Lots of work on general cleanup, FPS improvements, sound clarity etc.
Ambient sounds have been added to maps.

Less particles for greater visual clarity.



Tons of customization options including "no backgrounds", "less HUD" etc.



Nicer 3D lighting.



As always you can play this on the test branch on Steam.
Join Discord for details.
Full changelog is available here: https://soldat2.com/changelog.txt

Thanks for reading!
... and back to work for me.
Have fun!
MM

In the past few weeks I've done quite a few new maps and redesigned all the old ones. Take a look! I tried to remain stylistically even, which is something S1 didn't have. Every map follows a consistent Vietnam/Apocalypse theme. There are some original maps and some remakes of classic S1 maps.

DM_ROGUE
(remake of dm_rr from S1)







CTF_WRETCH







DM_ARENA2





DM_ARENA





CTF_CROSSFIRE
(previously ctf_Guardash by darDar)
(there's two color versions - which is better?)





CTF_DOGBITE



DM_EPITAPH



CTF_COBRA



CTF_HORMONE



CTF_ROTTEN




OTHER NOTABLE CHANGES:

There are literally hundreds of improvements and fixes which are too long to mention.
A complete list is always available here:
https://soldat2.com/changelog_recent.txt

MATCHMAKING

Together with Norbo (known for #Gather) we're working on a full in-game implementation of gather/matchmaking. Here are a few screens of the new UI:







In the future there will be more options for finding matches like: players count, maps, ranks/skills, geolocation.

Matchmaking is still not working but everything else is available (as always) for preview in the test version.

We're very close to a new public patch release. I've decided it's gonna be a polished TDM/CTF experience. CTB is removed for later because it will require a lot of custom maps and I don't want to postpone any longer than necessary.

HAVE FUN!
MM

I spent the last few weeks updating yet again the visual style. I'm doing this until I am happy. Other than that I squashed a ton of network and dedicated server issues and we played the test version a bit online with testers. Here are some new map screenshots:

As you can see ctf_laos is constantly going through changes (I'm treating this as my base map - because... Laos is my personal favorite Soldat map ever)

CTF_LAOS



new overgrowth detail texture

CTF_SNAKEBITE




CTF_HORMONE



CTF_GUARDASH




CTF_SILO




In action:



Last but not least GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE with me and the testers playing multiplayer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNgDMTDWqTc

These are not final revisions. I'm still working on the maps.
Test version and latest development news on DISCORD:
https://discord.gg/stW9Jm4Nuk

Stay tuned for the incoming update and have fun!

MM

Big thanks again to all supporters that bought the game in Early Access. I can safely continue developing the game - moving steadily towards full release. Here's the gist of what I've been doing the past month:

(all of this is obviously a work in-progress - feedback appreciated!)

* REMADE MAIN MENU

Clean, minimalist emphasizing a return to a basic style of the game itself

* NEW MENU COLOR SCHEME

Simple militaristic in-game menus color scheme

* ADDED SERVER GREET MESSAGE

A new "Source engine" style greet message when joining the game. Shows basic game info + modifiers + greet message (editable by admin)

* ADDED FLAG CAPTURE CAM AND WIN CAM

If somebody captures a flag or wins a match in deathmatch he/she gets highlighted

* BETTER PERFORMANCER AND FASTER LOADING TIMES
Can't emphasize enough how much time and effort has gone into making this game FAST!
Everything is faster including the dedicated server and in-game editor!

* REWORKED NET CODE
I rewrote a bunch of the netcode and fixed multiple network issues. Net code is MUCH smoother now. However there are some new bugs which I'll be fixing in the upcoming weeks.

* ADDED CLIENT/SERVER C# SCRIPTING
A big addition for modders and server admins. The top-level scripts governing Rules like Capture the Flag have been moved to C# scripts available for everyone to modify. Also game mode files have been moved to editable .json files. Super easy to create new game modes now!

* EDITOR IMPROVEMENTS, FIXES AND BETTER UI LAYOUT

* CLASSIC MAPS REMADE

A community effort - thanks to all the contributors!


dm_rok remade by prototype


All DM Arena maps remade by darDar

* NEW COMMUNITY MAPS







* FUN STUFF FROM THE DISCORD COMMUNITY





* MULTIPLAYER TESTING HAS BEGUN THIS WEEK


Come join if you want to help out!

last but not least...

* I'M REMAKING THE VISUALS AGAIN
I was heading towards a public release this month but after network tests I feel the game isn't up to my standard. I feel the visuals and game feel aren't there. I decided to postpone a public release and return back to the drawing board... So I'm experimenting with improving the visual style. Here's a screenshot of a test called "comics + Apocalypse Now":



Stay tuned for more...

The TEST version - so everything I mentioned here - is available to play on the Steam testing branch.
To access the test version:
1. In Steam Library [right click] Soldat 2 - Properties... Betas... TESTING
2. Password: transhumandesign

Join Discord if you need help,
https://discord.gg/stW9Jm4Nuk

Have fun!
MM

First of all thank you very much if you've purchased the game. I appreciate your support!. I've been taking the time to make an amazing new version! So sorry for the big delay. I know there's not a lot going on in the public version.

But...

There's a lot going on in the test version! I'm working very hard and a lot has been going on under the hood. For example: I've downsized the game from ~600MB to ~217MB.

Also, I've been optimizing the graphics even further. The change of style increased performance enormously but I've done a lot more to increase performance. You can expect even +150FPS gain in the new version compared the current public.

As part of the major rework I've been redesigning the menus (this is Work In Progress so feedback is appreciated):



There's a new option called ProMode which basically desaturates everything gameplay-unimportant and emphasizes what is important:



Blood is redder! :)



And lastly - the community is hard at work having fun with the new map editor:









More updates soon!
And feel free to join our Discord: https://discord.com/invite/Ar3QM7d
It's where everything is happening. You can also find instructions on how to access the test build there.

Have fun!
MM

The last couple of weeks have been very busy development-wise. Lots of stuff done including a fully functional map editor (3 months before estimated time!). But there's still a lot to do. Hopefully I can release it publicly this month.


New urban/apocalyptic style settings.


Stress testing the new graphics - much more FPS now!


Level editor is fully functional and anyone can make maps in it. Still some improvements and fixes are needed. Feedback is welcome.

I made a timelapse video while remaking ctf_hormone. Check it out. You can learn how map making is done in S2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af2dlxZHIIk

I've been working on new game modes. The so called "progressive" game modes.

• Progressive Capture the Flag
  
• Progressive Team Deathmatch
  
• Progressive Reverse Capture the Flag

ctf_hormone with reversed flags!

The progressive gamemodes are team based. They have multiple bases and multiple stages. And the maps are much larger than typical Soldat maps.


just one of multiple stages in a single map

I've also been working on a much larger vision for a new Soldat style gameplay. It can be played by turning on the "MM's Ultra Tactical" modifier. This modifier is designed to work best with the progressive gamemodes and consists of:

• Realistic damage (1-2 shots at most)
  
• Fog of war
  
• Survival respawn mechanics (one respawn per stage)
  
• Slower movement and no jets (but with the same movement mechanics and trick possibilities)

All of this can be played with bots now in the "test" branch on Steam (more info on Discord how to access it).

Last but not least. Our wonderful community has been helping with managing the project. Here's a list of Trello boards with progress, bugs and feature requests:

Public board - https://trello.com/b/X07eK50H/feedbackbugs
Public mapping board - https://trello.com/b/jSUYccls/soldat-2-mapping

Test version board - https://trello.com/b/2b5nFVbO/stylized
Test version editor board - https://trello.com/b/6ym9lPzK/editor

And I can't wait to finish this up and release to public!

Have fun,
MM

Still working on the general graphics overhaul including:
- stylized graphics
- camera and aiming improvements
- bug fixes / performance improvements
- new map editor
- fog of war and a new gamemode

Gameplay video of FOW:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZt795ciz88


New HUD with improved fonts!


ctf_laos


ctf_snakebite

All of this is WORK IN PROGRESS.
Feedback is appreciated!

More teaser graphics and more info on how to access the TEST branch and play this version on...
Discord:
https://discord.com/invite/T8ejr5u

Have fun!
MM

Just a quick note about what I'm working on currently:
- graphics overhaul with stylized graphics
- new polygon style graphics
- camera and aiming improvements
- bug fixes
- new map editor
- fog of war


Working on a new style and effects (like gradient textures + tesselation)


I've been testing different graphic styles...


Fog of war + new environments

All of this is WORK IN PROGRESS. Feedback is appreciated!

More teaser graphics and more info on how to access the TEST branch and play this version on...
Discord:
https://discord.com/invite/T8ejr5u

Have fun!
MM

+ fixed flag getting stuck after drop or explosion issue
+ flag maintains base center position if near base

Changes 0.7.27- 0.7.28:
+ fixed flag sync issue
+ better flag collider
+ better flag unstucking
+ fixed pressing B not unhiding weapon menu issue
+ higher sound limit on low quality settings