Sail off the starboard bow! This week we are leaving shore to take a look at one of the vessels that will be included within Holdfast: NaW at our Early Access release. This 2-Gun Schooner modelled after the ‘Axel Thorsen’, packs quite the unique and original design for a sail ship. While these vessels were primarily used as coastal patrol and harbour defence, under a good crew their powerful armaments can inflict serious damage on far larger warships.

Go to the link below to check out the in-game footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9DJFvM_ioQ
While sailing around on the 2-Gun Schooner, one of our dearest developers did a great job at aiming his spyglass in the other direction. However, don’t your worry, he’s well suited for the Captain’s role. Three cheers for the good fellow!

This gunship is armed with two 46-pounder long guns situated on two rotating platforms at it’s front and back. These cannons are much larger than is common aboard a warship and so pack a tremendous punch.



With careful, diligent and tactful use of this ship, a good crew can have a significant impact in the game. Due to its size and lateen-rigged sails, this ship manoeuvres much more nimbly than the larger vessels so it can potentially leap into strike before dancing away from danger. One should never forget the devastating might of the 46-pounder guns under the hands of a good gun crew!

This ship will also be present in many of our coastal assault maps, making it ideal for destroying coastal defences before leading the landing party ashore.

Each and every sail has an effect on how fast it can make the ship go and it’s turning rate. Lateen rigged sails will give you greater manoeuvrability while square rigged sails will give you better speed.

Square-rigged sails however, reduce your capability of sailing into the wind. This means that it would be best to lower them if you want to go towards that direction. Lateen sails are triangular in shape while square rigged sails are more rectangular.

Sails for each ship are grouped up and can be raised using the ‘W’ key or lowered using the ‘S’ key. The ship will gain speed according to the amount and type of sails raised rather than by direct user input. It isn’t like stepping on the gas!

To allow for even further control over a ship for those who wish to master the art of sailing you can raise or lower a specific sail group by using the number keys (1 to 6). For instance, one of our biggest ships has 6 separate groups of sail while the 2-Gun Schooner shown in this blog has only 3 groups.

We did this, of course, to give ship combat more tactical depth and to encourage competitive play to occur on our oceans as well. Under skilled hands, these ships will move gracefully through the water until the enemy fills them with holes of course.

Holes? Yes! Our ships are fully destructible with cannon shots breaking parts of the ship that they hit. Want to immobilise one of these gunships? Try destroying her mast to cripple her before boarding. Are the enemy cannons doing you damage? Break them!

We also have plans on making the ships steer according to how far the captain's wheel or tiller is turned. This is because we would like to change the mechanics for ship steering to properly reflect steering an actual vessel.

You will press the ‘D’ or ‘A’ keys to rotate the captain’s wheel a certain amount of degrees depending on how hard a turn you would like to make. The ship’s wheel will visually turn according to the direction you’re steering towards. Much like the ship’s speed, this means that it will increase the complexity of the system to give players a chance to further increase their skills.



You’ve most likely already caught a snippet of the following map from the video of the 2-Gun Schooner. Harouti Islands is a naval only map which features several large rock formations and tropical islands that offer a great deal of cover. Make good use of these natural formations to outwit or flank your enemy.




Thanks for joining us in the water! As we get inexorably closer to an Early Access release we are increasingly focused on finalising the game mechanics and assets needed to create a standalone quality release which we can then build on. Having firm foundations will mean we can push higher than if we attempted to rush something out of the door so thank you all for being patient with us.

Feel free to join in the discussion for the following blog hereand tell us what you think.

Until next time, may good health be yours.

Sail off the starboard bow! This week we are leaving shore to take a look at one of the vessels that will be included within Holdfast: NaW at our Early Access release. This 2-Gun Schooner modelled after the ‘Axel Thorsen’, packs quite the unique and original design for a sail ship. While these vessels were primarily used as coastal patrol and harbour defence, under a good crew their powerful armaments can inflict serious damage on far larger warships.

Go to the link below to check out the in-game footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9DJFvM_ioQ
While sailing around on the 2-Gun Schooner, one of our dearest developers did a great job at aiming his spyglass in the other direction. However, don’t your worry, he’s well suited for the Captain’s role. Three cheers for the good fellow!

This gunship is armed with two 46-pounder long guns situated on two rotating platforms at it’s front and back. These cannons are much larger than is common aboard a warship and so pack a tremendous punch.



With careful, diligent and tactful use of this ship, a good crew can have a significant impact in the game. Due to its size and lateen-rigged sails, this ship manoeuvres much more nimbly than the larger vessels so it can potentially leap into strike before dancing away from danger. One should never forget the devastating might of the 46-pounder guns under the hands of a good gun crew!

This ship will also be present in many of our coastal assault maps, making it ideal for destroying coastal defences before leading the landing party ashore.

Each and every sail has an effect on how fast it can make the ship go and it’s turning rate. Lateen rigged sails will give you greater manoeuvrability while square rigged sails will give you better speed.

Square-rigged sails however, reduce your capability of sailing into the wind. This means that it would be best to lower them if you want to go towards that direction. Lateen sails are triangular in shape while square rigged sails are more rectangular.

Sails for each ship are grouped up and can be raised using the ‘W’ key or lowered using the ‘S’ key. The ship will gain speed according to the amount and type of sails raised rather than by direct user input. It isn’t like stepping on the gas!

To allow for even further control over a ship for those who wish to master the art of sailing you can raise or lower a specific sail group by using the number keys (1 to 6). For instance, one of our biggest ships has 6 separate groups of sail while the 2-Gun Schooner shown in this blog has only 3 groups.

We did this, of course, to give ship combat more tactical depth and to encourage competitive play to occur on our oceans as well. Under skilled hands, these ships will move gracefully through the water until the enemy fills them with holes of course.

Holes? Yes! Our ships are fully destructible with cannon shots breaking parts of the ship that they hit. Want to immobilise one of these gunships? Try destroying her mast to cripple her before boarding. Are the enemy cannons doing you damage? Break them!

We also have plans on making the ships steer according to how far the captain's wheel or tiller is turned. This is because we would like to change the mechanics for ship steering to properly reflect steering an actual vessel.

You will press the ‘D’ or ‘A’ keys to rotate the captain’s wheel a certain amount of degrees depending on how hard a turn you would like to make. The ship’s wheel will visually turn according to the direction you’re steering towards. Much like the ship’s speed, this means that it will increase the complexity of the system to give players a chance to further increase their skills.



You’ve most likely already caught a snippet of the following map from the video of the 2-Gun Schooner. Harouti Islands is a naval only map which features several large rock formations and tropical islands that offer a great deal of cover. Make good use of these natural formations to outwit or flank your enemy.




Thanks for joining us in the water! As we get inexorably closer to an Early Access release we are increasingly focused on finalising the game mechanics and assets needed to create a standalone quality release which we can then build on. Having firm foundations will mean we can push higher than if we attempted to rush something out of the door so thank you all for being patient with us.

Feel free to join in the discussion for the following blog hereand tell us what you think.

Until next time, may good health be yours.

Drum roll, please. You heard me! Make wood hit leather because today we are taking a look at the musician class. This time around, we also coupled it with some in-game footage to give this class the proper attention it deserves.

In-game footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6guIAV4Yl4
The objectives user interface to the left of the screen, the buff icons as well as the menu to select music from shown in the video, are all placeholders.

The music system is designed with cooperation in mind. A team-mate playing a tune in your vicinity can be joined at any point in the tune. Tracks are selected from a list that are colour coded to show which songs are being played around you (yellow) as well as which song you are currently playing (green).

We have selected a list of music associated with the era from upbeat tunes like Rule Britannia to slower ballads such as Over The Hills and Far Away. Each tune has an accompanying percussive element to it for joint play. The idea was to represent many iconic sounds and to have players share this experience with each other.

The British Grenadiers
Lilliburlero
Men of Harlech
Rule Britannia
Over The Hills and Far Away
Hearts of Oak
Spanish Ladies
La Victoire est à Nous
Pas Cadencé
Auprès de ma Blonde
Le Chant de L'Oignon
Cadet Rouselle
Trois Jeunes Tambours
A drum roll
A selection of tunes by Bach for the violins.



Role: Support

It takes powerful lungs and a constitution of stone to play a fife into battle. This class supports nearby allied troops with bonuses.





Traits
Musician - Inspiring presence. You increase firearm reloading speed of nearby allies when playing music.

Resilient - A strong sense of duty. This trait slightly increases the HP of the fifer to give him a better chance of survival in battle.

Weaponry
Pistol - Single-shot muzzle loaded firearm limited by its short range. Pistols can be reloaded more quickly when compared to other firearms. A solid defensive choice for a front-line support unit.

Sword & Sabre Briquet - The French musicians come equipped with a sabre briquet while the British have a sword available at their disposal. Sometimes the fighting gets uncomfortably close, even for a musician.

Equipment
Fife - There is a reason that a high pitched mouth instrument was used on the battlefield; you can hear the higher notes playing across the field of battle despite the deeper sounds of fierce conflict. Pierce the orchestra of war with your tunes.



Role: Support

An old favourite; Drums are the percussion of war, inspiring warriors with their thudding tempo since man first learned to kill. Like the fifer, nearby allied troops are supported with bonuses.





Traits
Musician - Inspiring presence. You increase firearm reloading speed of nearby allies when playing music.

Resilient - A strong sense of duty. This trait slightly increases the HP of the drummer to give him a better chance of survival in battle.

Weaponry
Pistol - Single-shot muzzle loaded firearm limited by its short range. Pistols can be reloaded more quickly when compared to other firearms. A solid defensive choice for a front-line support unit.

Sword & Sabre Briquet - The French musicians come equipped with a sabre briquet while the British have a sword available at their disposal. Sometimes the fighting gets uncomfortably close, even for a musician.

Equipment
Drums - Thud, bang, crash and WAR! You know that chaos is around the corner when the war drums start to beat the percussion of battle.



Role: Support

The violinist isn’t just for jaunty dancing tunes in small taverns, ship crews need their morale regular kept high by their ship’s musician prancing around the deck. We have a variety of deckhand outfits which the violinist will use. Keep the ship moving!





Traits
Musician - Inspiring presence. You increase firearm reloading speed of nearby allies when playing music. Violins make infantry more accurate, everyone knows it!

Resilient - A strong sense of duty. This trait slightly increases the HP of the violinist to give him a better chance of survival in battle.

Weaponry
Pistol - Single-shot muzzle loaded firearm limited by its short range. Pistols can be reloaded more quickly when compared to other firearms. A solid defensive choice for a front-line support unit.

Cutlass - A brutal slashing weapon primarily associated with naval troops. A scary choice for a close encounter, stay away from the violinist’s sword arm.

Equipment
Violin - A slender neck, gracefully curved body and smooth finish. In the hands of a master, it sings like the haunting Siren’s call. In the hands of an unskilled layman, it screeches like chalk on a wall.



Here’s a little extra something! You can find these scattered across a variety of maps, find them and become a master pianist in the midst of the chaos of war.




This was a brief glimpse into a selection of different musician classes that we have currently in the game. We have plans to increase this roster as the game progresses. On top of that our hope is to expand the music available to play by hiring professional musicians to introduce later in the game’s development. Our priority at the moment is creating a stable, cohesive build for an early access release.

Currently, our thoughts for the benefits musicians give to players is that when a group plays together, a further bonus to friendly player’s reload experience will be applied. We are keen to hear feedback on this system and others like it from our early access adopters. Feel free to head over to our forums here to join in the discussion.

Once again thank you for taking the time to read this and know that it brings us one week closer to getting the game into your hands!

May good health be yours.

Drum roll, please. You heard me! Make wood hit leather because today we are taking a look at the musician class. This time around, we also coupled it with some in-game footage to give this class the proper attention it deserves.

In-game footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6guIAV4Yl4
The objectives user interface to the left of the screen, the buff icons as well as the menu to select music from shown in the video, are all placeholders.

The music system is designed with cooperation in mind. A team-mate playing a tune in your vicinity can be joined at any point in the tune. Tracks are selected from a list that are colour coded to show which songs are being played around you (yellow) as well as which song you are currently playing (green).

We have selected a list of music associated with the era from upbeat tunes like Rule Britannia to slower ballads such as Over The Hills and Far Away. Each tune has an accompanying percussive element to it for joint play. The idea was to represent many iconic sounds and to have players share this experience with each other.

The British Grenadiers
Lilliburlero
Men of Harlech
Rule Britannia
Over The Hills and Far Away
Hearts of Oak
Spanish Ladies
La Victoire est à Nous
Pas Cadencé
Auprès de ma Blonde
Le Chant de L'Oignon
Cadet Rouselle
Trois Jeunes Tambours
A drum roll
A selection of tunes by Bach for the violins.



Role: Support

It takes powerful lungs and a constitution of stone to play a fife into battle. This class supports nearby allied troops with bonuses.





Traits
Musician - Inspiring presence. You increase firearm reloading speed of nearby allies when playing music.

Resilient - A strong sense of duty. This trait slightly increases the HP of the fifer to give him a better chance of survival in battle.

Weaponry
Pistol - Single-shot muzzle loaded firearm limited by its short range. Pistols can be reloaded more quickly when compared to other firearms. A solid defensive choice for a front-line support unit.

Sword & Sabre Briquet - The French musicians come equipped with a sabre briquet while the British have a sword available at their disposal. Sometimes the fighting gets uncomfortably close, even for a musician.

Equipment
Fife - There is a reason that a high pitched mouth instrument was used on the battlefield; you can hear the higher notes playing across the field of battle despite the deeper sounds of fierce conflict. Pierce the orchestra of war with your tunes.



Role: Support

An old favourite; Drums are the percussion of war, inspiring warriors with their thudding tempo since man first learned to kill. Like the fifer, nearby allied troops are supported with bonuses.





Traits
Musician - Inspiring presence. You increase firearm reloading speed of nearby allies when playing music.

Resilient - A strong sense of duty. This trait slightly increases the HP of the drummer to give him a better chance of survival in battle.

Weaponry
Pistol - Single-shot muzzle loaded firearm limited by its short range. Pistols can be reloaded more quickly when compared to other firearms. A solid defensive choice for a front-line support unit.

Sword & Sabre Briquet - The French musicians come equipped with a sabre briquet while the British have a sword available at their disposal. Sometimes the fighting gets uncomfortably close, even for a musician.

Equipment
Drums - Thud, bang, crash and WAR! You know that chaos is around the corner when the war drums start to beat the percussion of battle.



Role: Support

The violinist isn’t just for jaunty dancing tunes in small taverns, ship crews need their morale regular kept high by their ship’s musician prancing around the deck. We have a variety of deckhand outfits which the violinist will use. Keep the ship moving!





Traits
Musician - Inspiring presence. You increase firearm reloading speed of nearby allies when playing music. Violins make infantry more accurate, everyone knows it!

Resilient - A strong sense of duty. This trait slightly increases the HP of the violinist to give him a better chance of survival in battle.

Weaponry
Pistol - Single-shot muzzle loaded firearm limited by its short range. Pistols can be reloaded more quickly when compared to other firearms. A solid defensive choice for a front-line support unit.

Cutlass - A brutal slashing weapon primarily associated with naval troops. A scary choice for a close encounter, stay away from the violinist’s sword arm.

Equipment
Violin - A slender neck, gracefully curved body and smooth finish. In the hands of a master, it sings like the haunting Siren’s call. In the hands of an unskilled layman, it screeches like chalk on a wall.



Here’s a little extra something! You can find these scattered across a variety of maps, find them and become a master pianist in the midst of the chaos of war.




This was a brief glimpse into a selection of different musician classes that we have currently in the game. We have plans to increase this roster as the game progresses. On top of that our hope is to expand the music available to play by hiring professional musicians to introduce later in the game’s development. Our priority at the moment is creating a stable, cohesive build for an early access release.

Currently, our thoughts for the benefits musicians give to players is that when a group plays together, a further bonus to friendly player’s reload experience will be applied. We are keen to hear feedback on this system and others like it from our early access adopters. Feel free to head over to our forums here to join in the discussion.

Once again thank you for taking the time to read this and know that it brings us one week closer to getting the game into your hands!

May good health be yours.

Greetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another developer blog for Holdfast: Nations At War. Today we’ll be talking about two classes which are perhaps considered to be some of the most iconic units commonly available to be played on land based scenarios - The line and light infantryman.




Role: Offense

Part of the rank and file. Excels at killing other infantry.





Weaponry
Bayoneted Musket - Muzzle loaded firearms equipped with a pointy end. They’re your best bet at making quick work of your enemy if things get up close and personal.





Role: Offense

Quick-footed skirmishers. Make use of their increase in running speed to navigate around the battlefield.





Traits
Skirmisher - Drilled with knowledge on skirmishing tactics. Your musket reload speed is slightly increased and your melee combat damage slightly decreased.

Light-Footed - Fast and nimble. Your running speed is slightly increased.

Weaponry
Bayoneted Musket - Muzzle loaded firearms equipped with a pointy end. They’re your best bet at making quick work of your enemy if things get up close and personal.

Sword - The French light infantryman comes equipped with a sabre briquet.





The list of available weaponry to combat your enemies with is set to become much greater than before thanks to the feedback from our community.

We are currently working on seven new firearms to compliment classes in the army military branch. No longer will these classes be equipped with sea service muskets!


In our previous developer blog, we have mentioned that we’ve set up a discord channel for our community to reside in. It’s been great getting to know you all. We do hope to see you there soon if you haven’t made up your mind yet!

You can join in the community discord channel down below:
https://discordapp.com/invite/XsHBUNs


In our next developer blog, we’ll be revealing a support class which will surely be a sight to behold.

Until next time, feel free to join in the discussion for the following blog here and may good health be yours.

Greetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another developer blog for Holdfast: Nations At War. Today we’ll be talking about two classes which are perhaps considered to be some of the most iconic units commonly available to be played on land based scenarios - The line and light infantryman.




Role: Offense

Part of the rank and file. Excels at killing other infantry.





Weaponry
Bayoneted Musket - Muzzle loaded firearms equipped with a pointy end. They’re your best bet at making quick work of your enemy if things get up close and personal.





Role: Offense

Quick-footed skirmishers. Make use of their increase in running speed to navigate around the battlefield.





Traits
Skirmisher - Drilled with knowledge on skirmishing tactics. Your musket reload speed is slightly increased and your melee combat damage slightly decreased.

Light-Footed - Fast and nimble. Your running speed is slightly increased.

Weaponry
Bayoneted Musket - Muzzle loaded firearms equipped with a pointy end. They’re your best bet at making quick work of your enemy if things get up close and personal.

Sword - The French light infantryman comes equipped with a sabre briquet.





The list of available weaponry to combat your enemies with is set to become much greater than before thanks to the feedback from our community.

We are currently working on seven new firearms to compliment classes in the army military branch. No longer will these classes be equipped with sea service muskets!


In our previous developer blog, we have mentioned that we’ve set up a discord channel for our community to reside in. It’s been great getting to know you all. We do hope to see you there soon if you haven’t made up your mind yet!

You can join in the community discord channel down below:
https://discordapp.com/invite/XsHBUNs


In our next developer blog, we’ll be revealing a support class which will surely be a sight to behold.

Until next time, feel free to join in the discussion for the following blog here and may good health be yours.

Greetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another developer blog for Holdfast: Nations At War. Inside a recording studio in London, we’ve brought together a team of native English and French speaking voice actors to record a great selection of orders, cheers, taunts and roleplaying shouts.

Continue reading the developer blog on our website to listen to these shouts:
Developer Blog 7 - Voice acting. Vive L'Empereur!


We're now on Discord. We're plenty busy working on the game but we'll be sure to find the time to say hi.

We would highly appreciate it if you were to spread the word around about the community Discord channel to your friends. We do hope to see you there soon!

https://discordapp.com/invite/XsHBUNs


Until next time, may good health be yours.

Greetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another developer blog for Holdfast: Nations At War. Inside a recording studio in London, we’ve brought together a team of native English and French speaking voice actors to record a great selection of orders, cheers, taunts and roleplaying shouts.

Continue reading the developer blog on our website to listen to these shouts:
Developer Blog 7 - Voice acting. Vive L'Empereur!


We're now on Discord. We're plenty busy working on the game but we'll be sure to find the time to say hi.

We would highly appreciate it if you were to spread the word around about the community Discord channel to your friends. We do hope to see you there soon!

https://discordapp.com/invite/XsHBUNs


Until next time, may good health be yours.

Instead of our usual Q&A blog, we have an exclusive and rather lengthy interview we did with Historia Games for you this week. Interested in taking a look at yet another class for Holdfast: Nations At War? Or perhaps a sneak peek at one of the maps we’re working on right now? Go ahead and check the interview out!

Click on the 'In English' tab to read the interview.
Historia Games - Holdfast: Nations At War Interview

We’re working as hard as possible to bring Holdfast: Nations At War into your hands this year. Feel free to join in the discussion for the following blog here.

Big thanks to everyone for your support and may good health be yours.

Instead of our usual Q&A blog, we have an exclusive and rather lengthy interview we did with Historia Games for you this week. Interested in taking a look at yet another class for Holdfast: Nations At War? Or perhaps a sneak peek at one of the maps we’re working on right now? Go ahead and check the interview out!

Click on the 'In English' tab to read the interview.
Historia Games - Holdfast: Nations At War Interview

We’re working as hard as possible to bring Holdfast: Nations At War into your hands this year. Feel free to join in the discussion for the following blog here.

Big thanks to everyone for your support and may good health be yours.