Vive L'Empereur! Fight for your Emperor with a musket in hand as Holdfast: Nations At War is now 60% off for the duration of Steam’s Winter Sale. Join the community and participate in weekly organised events.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/589290/Holdfast_Nations_At_War/

It would be great if you can help us spread the word around about the sale to bring this genre of Musket Warfare games that we all love in the limelight. We want to continue strengthening the following behind the game as it grows and develops.

Read more about what's to come in our latest blog post.



We’d like to reaffirm our dedication towards pushing forward frequent game updates. With the recent introduction of two additional developers, Dylan ‘Wrexial’ Abela and Alistair ‘PingPong’ Azzopardi we have been delivering content at a much faster pace. We’re looking forward to bring new members into the team as the following behind the game grows.

Have a look at the trailer for our most recent major update! Moveable Artillery. Expect more game updates to follow soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jztiwMnY5gc
Game Updates

• Army Front! Battlefield, Conquest and Siege game modes all in one rotation.
  » Multiple improvements to the Army Conquest game mode based on community feedback.
  
• 9 New Maps! Fort Pierre, King George, Ernest Ridge, Fort Salettes, Fort Schwarz, Snowy Plains 3 (L), Grassy Plains 3 (L), Desert Plains 1 (S) & Snowy Plains 1 (S).
  
• Melee Combat Mechanics! Direct improvements towards melee combat. More work will follow on this mechanic in a future update based on community feedback.
  
• Melee Arena Game Mode! Come up with new strategies on how to best your opponents before the arena gates open throwing you in a single-life team-based battle to the last man standing. Melee weapons are your only arsenal.
  »6 new maps specifically designed for the Melee Arena game mode.
  End of Match UI! Strive for the very top before the match ends to boast about your standing.
  
• Game Engine Upgrade. This was one of the largest undertakings that the team has undertaken to date.
  
• Server Optimisations. Multiple server optimisations to stabilise performance over long periods of run time and reduce latency when a lot of players are in close proximity.
  
• Customisable Crosshairs. A much-requested quality of life addition that gives players full control over their crosshairs.
  
• Recruitment Channel. A dedicated chat channel that regiments (game clans) can use to advertise their own group.
  » If you aren’t too keen on seeing recruitment messages, we’ve also included an option that allows you to disable this channel through the ‘Game’ options.
  
• A New Class! Cannoneer. The go-to class for dedicated artillerymen. They have a priority over the operation of field guns and indeed all of the other artillery pieces present in the game.
  
• Moveable Artillery! Move artillery around on the field of battle. Assist another player to move the gun at a faster pace.
  
• New Artillery Mechanics! Well trained crews will triumph over others as the new artillery mechanics have been designed from the ground up with team-play at the forefront.
  » Carry ammo boxes to supply ammunition for field guns.
  » New loading and ramming mechanics for artillery pieces.
  » Moveable field guns will recoil back once they are fired. You can no longer automatically push the cannon forward on the field guns to encourage team play.
  
• A New Shot! Grapeshot. Artillery can be loaded with grapeshot which is especially effective against infantry.
  
• Quality of life additions, performance optimisations, bug fixes, gameplay balancing and a whole lot more.

Player built defences will be making an introduction into the game with the release of the next major update! Well placed defences will turn the tide of battle in your favour. There’ll also be a new class coming along with this update.

There’ll also be other updates besides the ones we’ve mentioned coming to the game leading to the release of the next major update. One of those updates being that we’ll be providing players with the option to vote for their own maps after the round ends.

Here’s a first-hand look at one of the uniforms for the class that will be assigned the role of building defences. As always, we’ll keep you up to date on our progress.



Looking for a good bunch of fellows to play the game with? Do join our Discord! Linebattle events were players are encouraged to play in formations relevant to the Napoleonic era are hosted by the community through the week.

Discord is also a great place to be to stay in touch with the game’s development. Feedback is always greatly welcomed. We look forward to seeing you there!

https://discordapp.com/invite/holdfastgame



Once again, thank you for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.

We're working on the next update.

- Anvil Game Studios

Holdfast: Nations At War has been updated! We’ll be pushing forward additional bug fixes and iterations focused on game balance.

Here’s the entire changelog for this update.



Changelog 25 - Game Version 0.23.6927.34248

Bug Fixes
• Multiple attempted fixes towards spawning related issues on the Naval Battlefield and Coastal Siege game modes.
  
• Fixed an issue which caused blood effects not to appear when a player was killed by grapeshot.
  
• Fixed an instance which caused the player to get stuck with a ramrod in hand if they got hit while ramming a cannon.
  
• Fixed an instance which caused the player to get stuck with a ramrod in hand if a ship sunk while they’re ramming a cannon.
  
• Fixed an issue which caused the swivel guns on the 8-Gun Schooner to retain the cooldown timer that was present pre the introduction of the time-based loading and ramming for artillery pieces.
  
• Fixed an issue which caused the player’s user interface to disappear after the match ended on the Melee Arena game mode.
  
• Fixed an issue which caused the gaussian blur present behind the end of match and spawn menu interfaces not to be visible.
  
• Attempted fix towards an issue which sometimes causes the player to get stuck in an animation if they’re killed while moving a field gun.
  
• Fixed an issue which prevented other players from seeing cannons animating while you’re using them.
  
  Game Balance
  
• Increased the damage of the larger variation of the grapeshot.
  
• Reduced the drop of the larger variation of the grapeshot.
  
• Prevented the mortar’s barrel from recoiling after firing as it is already increasingly difficult to line up a shot with this particular artillery piece.
  
• Slightly increased the speed at which a cannon moves and rotates.
  
• Reduced the health points of wooden palisades found on various maps so they can be destroyed more quickly.
  
• Reduced the health points of the chevaux-de-frise props found on various maps so they can be destroyed more quickly.

Once again, thank you very much for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.

- Anvil Game Studios

Holdfast: Nations At War has been updated. Make ready the guns as the all-new teamplay oriented artillery mechanics are here! Move artillery on the field of battle, carry ammunition, bring a quick end to nearby infantrymen with grapeshot and support the fight from the rear with the new Cannoneer class.

There’s plenty to look out for in this update. Better spot enemies at the distance with the improved spyglass, another map to continue adding to an already vast selection of game levels, user interface additions and more.

Before you have a read at the blog post, check out the trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jztiwMnY5gc

Assemble the artillery crew and support the fight from the rear! Well trained crews will triumph over others as the new artillery mechanics have been designed from the ground up with teamplay at the forefront.

With plenty of mechanical changes centred around artillery, we’ve sectioned the blog post into several steps that one must go through to operate a moveable field gun. You’ll also find some of these mechanical changes present on various stationary guns.

Moving The Field Gun - Stage 0
Nearby the spawn locations for each faction, you’ll now find field guns that can be moved around on the battlefield. Look at either of the gun’s wheels, press the ‘E’ key and you’ll be able to move the gun around.

Moving an artillery piece isn’t restricted to a specific team. Want to go for the rather risky endeavour of stealing the opposing team’s cannon? You can very well do so with these new mechanics.



Assist Move The Field Gun - Stage 0
A secondary player can interact with the other wheel enabling the gun to move at a faster rate. Each and every class in the game is able to assist with moving the field gun so your chances of finding someone willing to help out is greater.



Selecting Your Shot - Stage 1
After you’ve moved the field gun to your desired position, you should look for an ammo box close to your vicinity to select a shot of your preference. Press the ‘E’ key once and select either the round or the new anti-personnel grapeshot.



You can also carry ammo boxes around the field of battle. As you can imagine, it’s going to be especially convenient not having to constantly run back to your spawn to pick up ammunition. Find a fellow Cannoneer willing to do the task and work together to operate the gun.

Ammo boxes can be carried around by pressing the ‘E’ key once and selecting the ‘Carry Ammo’ option. To drop the ammo box, scroll up or down with your mouse wheel or press one of the number keys to switch to another weapon.



Loading Your Shot - Stage 2
Go to the front of the gun and look directly at its barrel with ammunition in hand. Keep hold of the ‘E’ key until the round user interface indicator fills up to load your shot in the cannon.



Guns loaded with ammunition will cause an explosion if destroyed. Be sure to stay out of harm’s way! Moveable field guns will also respawn after two minutes if destroyed.



Ramming Your Shot - Stage 3
Now that you’ve loaded your cannon, you need to ram your shot down the barrel. Keep hold of the ‘E’ key until the round user interface indicator fills up to ram your shot. You’re now ready to fire the cannon.



Firing The Gun - Stage 4
Head to the back of the gun, look at the barrel then press the ‘E’ key once to aim the cannon. Pick your target well then fire away! It is highly recommended that you have another player assisting with ranging targets using a spyglass.



Upon firing, the field gun will recoil backwards. Moveable field guns are intended to function in this manner instead of being automatically pushed forward to promote teamplay.



By now it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there’s a new shot that players can choose from. Swivel guns, field guns, carronades and various long guns can be loaded with Grapeshot which is especially effective against infantry.



The go to class for dedicated artillerymen! Cannoneers have a priority over the operation of field guns and indeed all of the other artillery pieces present in the game. These range from various long guns, carronades, mortars, as well as swivel guns.

They also come equipped with a spyglass which is especially useful to range targets at long distances. There’ll be more coming to this class in due time when development of the class system update begins.

French Empire


British Empire


Kingdom of Prussia


We’ve given the spyglass a well-deserved overhaul! First and foremost, we significantly increased the viewing distance when looking through a spyglass. It’ll come in especially handy for the artillery crewman in charge of ranging targets.

The underlying code-base that makes this system function has also been re-designed to prevent various instances which caused players to get stuck viewing the spyglass. We’ve also cleaned up most of the interface while using a spyglass and improved its looks.



Bring out the guns and batter Fort Pierre’s walls! Make good use of moveable field guns to open multiple entry points for the assaulting infantrymen by pouring led into the wooden palisades.

It does indeed seem quite fitting to introduce a siege map along with this update. Join one of the official Army Front servers to check it out.



As the number of objects that you can interact with on the map increases, we required an additional feature to help players better identify their location. Once a player gets close to an interactable object, they will be presented with an icon marking down its location.

For the scope of this update, we’ve placed interaction icons on all moveable and stationary artillery pieces as well as ammo boxes. We’re planning on expanding this system for various other points of interaction present on various maps including lanterns, pianos, sitting, climbing rigging and more.

We’ve also made sure to provide players with the option to disable interaction indicators. You can find this in the game options under all the other user interface settings.



After we iron out any issues that may have slipped through the cracks due to the latest introduction of the artillery update, we’ll be splitting our development efforts between quality of life additions and the next major update.

Let’s head off with the most exciting of announcements. Player built defences will be making an introduction into the game with the release of the next major update! Well placed defences will turn the tide of battle in your favour.

In the near future, we’re planning on providing players with the option to vote for their own maps after the round ends. Even though this is a relatively smaller addition compared to the gameplay-oriented features that’ll be coming in the next major update, it has been highly requested by the community so we’ve set our sights on doing just that.

There’ll also be other updates besides the ones we’ve mentioned coming to the game leading to the release of the next major update. As always, we’ll keep you up to date on our progress.



Looking for a good bunch of fellows to play the game with? Do join our Discord! Linebattle events were players are encouraged to play in formations relevant to the Napoleonic era are hosted by the community through the week.

We look forward to seeing you there! Stay in touch.

https://discordapp.com/invite/holdfastgame



There are plenty more additions to go through but the blog post is already getting rather lengthy. Have a look at the list below for the entire list of additional features, bug fixes, improvements and content that you’ll find in this update.



Changelog 24 - Game Version 0.22.6925.42022

New Game Features
• New Artillery Mechanics! Well trained crews will triumph over others as the new artillery mechanics have been designed from the ground up with team-play at the forefront.
  » Move field guns on the field of battle. Assist another player to move the gun at a faster pace.
  » Cannoneers are able to carry ammo boxes. It’s extremely convenient to have this present nearby a field gun to use at a moment’s notice.
  » You are now required to hold down your ‘E’ key to load a shot.
  » Guns must now be rammed after a shot is loaded.
  » Moveable field guns will recoil back once they are fired. You can no longer automatically push the cannon forward on the field guns to encourage team play.
  » You are now required to go through the same process of loading and ramming while operating a stationary artillery piece.
  
• Artillery Respawn. Moveable field guns will respawn back to their initial spawn location after two minutes. They will also be repairable in a future update.
  » Server administrators can configure the time it takes for an artillery to respawn after it gets destroyed by inputting the following command in the server configuration file: artillery_fieldgun_respawn_timer 130
  
• Grapeshot! A new artillery shot that is especially effective against infantry.
  
• A New Class! Cannoneer. The go-to class for dedicated artillerymen. They have a priority over the operation of field guns and indeed all of the other artillery pieces present in the game.
  » Cannoneers also have their own chat channel to communicate in.
  
• Spyglass Overhaul! You are now able to view players at a much greater distance while looking through the spyglass. This will come in especially useful for ranging targets.
  
• A New Map! Fort Pierre. Make good use of moveable field guns to open multiple entry points for the assaulting infantrymen by pouring led into the wooden palisades.
  » Input the following parameter to play this map on your community server: map_name fortpierre.
  
• Interaction Indicators. Once a player gets close to an interactable object, they will be presented with an icon marking down its location.
  » You can disable these indicators from the game options under all the other user interface settings. Look for Interaction Indicators.
  
• Dutch Canals. This map has received quite the overhaul with bridges being added to create pathways over canals and additional houses and trees to serve as cover. We’ll be re-visiting other maps to improve their playability in future updates.
  
• Most of the maps present in the game received various iterations to support moveable artillery. A hefty bunch of work!
  
• We’ve made sure to include two moveable artillery pieces on every map specifically designed for organised play.
  » You’ll also find additional stationary artillery pieces present on some of the maps.
  
  Quality of Life
  
• We implemented a system that ensures the order of classes in the spawn menu remains consistent with the exception of the Training Grounds map were classes from both the Navy, Army and Coastal branches are present.
  
• Changed the font used for all interaction labels in the game so it becomes more readable and added a slight fade to all of the interaction labels.
  
• Included additional sounds to all artillery pieces.
  
• The list of official servers available to join in the ‘Join Other Server’ panel has been updated.
  
• Changed the colour of the recruitment channel to make it more distinguishable from the rest.
  
  Game Balance
  
• Implemented a system that restricts players from loading specific shots in certain artillery pieces. You are no longer able to load round shot in swivel guns. Instead, they can now be loaded with a smaller iteration of the grapeshot.
  
• Upon firing an artillery piece, the gun’s barrel will slightly recoil. This is being done to further increase the skill gap.
  
• You’ll now find more ammo boxes on the 8-Gun Schooner. These contain the smaller version of the grapeshot to load swivel guns with.
  
  Other Additions
  
• Included additional spawns near the barn on Highlands when played on the Army Conquest game mode.
  
• Change the spawn limits for the Garrison Arena map when played on the Army Conquest game mode.
  
  Optimisations
  
• Solved an instance which was causing a dip in framerate when an explosion was caused.
  
• Optimised various particle effects in the game.
  
  Bug Fixes
  
• Fixed a bug which caused the sound when pushing a cannon forward not to play.
  
• Fixed a bug which prevented firearm trajectories from showing when a server administrator set the drawFirearmTrajectories to true.
  
• Fixed a bug which caused players to get stuck in an animation after using a spyglass.
  
• Fixed a bug which caused players to get stuck looking through a spyglass forcing them to respawn.
  
• Fixed a bug with the wheels not animating correctly when a cannon is being pushed forward.
  
• Fixed a bug which caused the particles produced when a shot from a firearm hits a snowy terrain to be not very visible.
  
• Fixed a bug which caused players to get stuck behind the rowboat passage on King George.
  
• Fixed a bug which prevented players from using any weapons while walking on one of the rowboats present on King George.
  
• Fixed a bug on Fort Sallettes which prevented players from going in certain rooms.

We’re working on the next update. Once again, thank you very much for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.

- Anvil Game Studios

Holdfast: Nations At War - BETA has been updated! As the upcoming major update is nearing its release, it’s now due time to host the very first BETA Test for the Artillery focused update. We won’t be going into all the fine details just yet as development is still ongoing but here are some of the things we’ve been up to.

Moveable field guns, a new artillery shot type, carriable ammo boxes, a new class, multiple adjustments to most of the existing maps and more! This new gameplay mechanic has been designed with team-play in mind.



Would you like to have an early go at what’s to come? Come join us in the BETA! Simply hop in on our Community Discord to do so. You'll find all the details in the #announcements channel.

It’s a great chance for you to provide us with feedback before the update sees a full release and help us make sure that everything is working as intended while you’re at it.

https://discordapp.com/invite/holdfastgame



Everything present in this BETA is still a work in progress and bugs are to be expected. We’ll be working on stabilising and balancing all the new features throughout the coming week.



Once again, thank you for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.

- Anvil Game Studios

Holdfast: Nations At War has been updated. Named after King George himself, we’ll be introducing yet another map in this week’s release! Join the rank and file as Holdfast: Nations At War is now 50% Off for the duration of Steam’s Black Friday sale.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/589290/Holdfast_Nations_At_War/

It would be great if you can help us spread the word around about the sale to bring this genre of Musket Warfare games that we all love in the limelight. We want to continue strengthening the following behind the game as it grows and develops.

More about what’s to come in our latest blog post.

Strive for control over two war-thorn camps. Situated near the coastline, a lighthouse stands to overlook the possibility of an invasion. Along the paths leading to these camps, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to outwit your enemies as you attempt to break through their defensive positions.

Designed with the intent to promote quicker more action paced gameplay, King George is playable on the Army Battlefield and Army Conquest game modes. Join one of the Army Front servers hosted in various regions to check it out!

Here’s a first-hand look at the map.







We’d like to once again affirm our ongoing dedication towards pushing forward frequent game updates. To this effect, we recently introduced two developers, Dylan ‘Wrexial’ Abela and Alistair ‘PingPong’ Azzopardi to help produce content at a faster pace. We have also optimised our development pipeline to allow us to bring more members into the team as the game grows.

Here’s a very brief list of what we’ve been up to during the past few months.

Game Updates

• Army Front! Battlefield, Conquest and Siege game modes all in one rotation.
  » Multiple improvements to the Army Conquest game mode based on community feedback.
  
• 8 New Maps! King George, Ernest Ridge, Fort Salettes, Fort Schwarz, Snowy Plains 3 (L), Grassy Plains 3 (L), Desert Plains 1 (S) & Snowy Plains 1 (S).
  
• Melee Combat Mechanics! Direct improvements towards melee combat. More work will follow on this mechanic in a future update based on community feedback.
  
• Melee Arena Game Mode! Come up with new strategies on how to best your opponents before the arena gates open throwing you in a single-life team-based battle to the last man standing. Melee weapons are your only arsenal.
  »6 new maps specifically designed for the Melee Arena game mode.
  
• End of Match UI! Strive for the very top before the match ends to boast about your standing.
  
• Game Engine Upgrade. This was one of the largest undertakings that the team has undertaken to date.
  
• Server Optimisations. Multiple server optimisations to stabilise performance over long periods of run time and reduce latency when a lot of players are in close proximity.
  
• Customisable Crosshairs. A much-requested quality of life addition that gives players full control over their crosshairs.
  
• Recruitment Channel. A dedicated chat channel that regiments (game clans) can use to advertise their own group.
  » If you aren’t too keen on seeing recruitment messages, we’ve also included an option that allows you to disable this channel through the ‘Game’ options.
  
• Quality of life additions, performance optimisations, bug fixes, gameplay balancing and a whole lot more.

Expect more updates to follow soon.



We’re going to stick to our plans and focus on artillery mechanics for the upcoming major update. The majority of the groundwork required that will allow players to move field guns around on the battlefield is already in place. Our sights are set on having a BETA up in the next few weeks.

Until then, have a good look at a couple of uniforms for the Cannoneer class that will be introduced in the same update.

Prussian Cannoneer


British Cannoneer


French Cannoneer


Looking for a good bunch of fellows to play the game with? Do join our Discord! Linebattle events were players are encouraged to play in formations relevant to the Napoleonic era are hosted by the community throughout the week.

We look forward to seeing you there.

https://discordapp.com/invite/holdfastgame



Here’s the entire list of additional features, bug fixes, improvements and content that you’ll find in this update.



Changelog 23 - Game Version 0.21.6899.27024

Game Features
• A New Map! King George. Now playable on the Army Front official servers.
  
  Quality Of Life
  
• The official server list found in the ‘Join Other Server’ panel has been updated. If you are unable to see servers in the lobby, you can use this to connect to any of the official servers.
  
• You will now find a link to the official Holdfast Discord in the game’s ‘Escape’ menu. We wanted to make sure that joining the community on there is more easily accessible.
  
• Re-designed a section to the top right of the main menu that re-directs players to various places were our community resides.

Game Balance
• Capturing all flags in the Army Conquest game mode will no longer end the match.
  
• Re-positioned the spawn points on Snowy Plains 2 for the Army Battlefield game mode.
  
• Reduced the time it takes before the Army Battlefield and Army Conquest game modes end in the official Army Front rotation from 25 to 20 minutes.
  
• Reduced the number of reinforcements on the Army Battlefield game mode to balance everything in accordance with the above-mentioned change.
  
• Re-visited the rotation of the Plains maps in the Army Front rotation so the maps that can more easily encourage line battle engagements to occur are rotated more frequently.
  
  Bug Fixes
  
• Confirmed fix for a bug which reduced firearm accuracy over long periods of server runtime.

Once again, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the regiments and indeed the entirety of the community for their support.

We’re working on the next update and until next time, may good health be yours.

- Anvil Game Studios

Holdfast: Nations At War has been updated! During the previous week, we set our sights on upgrading the game’s engine and in this update, we’ll be doing just that. There’ll also be various bug fixes and quality of life additions being added.



Changelog 22 - Game Version 0.20.6895.29194

Core Development
• Holdfast: NaW's underlying game engine has been updated to the latest stable release. We’ve done this in an effort to improve both server and client-side stability.
  
  Features
  
• A dedicated ‘Recruitment’ chat channel that regiments (game clans) can use to advertise their own group has been added into the game.
  » Player’s advertising their regiment in the chat channel will be displayed in a different colour to help distinguish them from the rest gathering greater visibility.
  » If you aren’t too keen on seeing recruitment messages, we’ve also included an option that allows you to disable the channel through the ‘Game’ options.
  
  Quality of Life Additions
  
• The ‘Round’ chat has been renamed to ‘All’ chat.
  
• You will now always find chat channels in the same order irrespective of the class you are playing.
  
  Bug Fixes
  
• Fixed a bug which caused all players to become invisible forcing everyone in the match to re-join the server.

More game updates to follow soon.

Once again, thank you very much for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.

- Anvil Game Studios

Holdfast: Nations At War has been updated. We have a new map for everyone to check out in this week’s update! Ernest Ridge.

Situated atop a hill lies a small village where we expect a lot of mayhem to ensue as both teams push one another back and forth for control over the position. If you’re not looking forward to a frontal assault, there’s plenty of natural cover that will allow for flanking manoeuvres.

Have a go at the map yourself by joining one of the Army Front official servers! Ernest Ridge is playable on the Army Battlefield and Army Conquest game modes.







Do you have any ideas for maps that you’d like to share with us? You’re more than welcome to do so. Post in the thread below and we’ll get back to you. We’ve taken inspiration from a community-designed game level for one of our upcoming maps.

Map Concepts - Share with us your Ideas!

Once again, we’ve spent a good majority of this update’s development time on plugging leaks that degraded client-side performance over long periods of play time. Here are a few more details on what we’ve been up to.

List of Optimisations

• Optimised various instances which were causing framerate to plummet when a lot of players spawn at the same time.
  
• Optimised client-side VoIP performance.
  
• Optimised an instance that occurred when a player switches their weapon.
  
• Optimised the scoreboard.
  
• Optimised player name tags.
  
• Optimised the terrain shaders.

Optimisations targeted toward improving frame-rate will be ongoing throughout Holdfast’s full release.

Looking for a good bunch of fellows to play the game with? Do join our Discord! Linebattle events were players are encouraged to play in formations relevant to the Napoleonic era are hosted by the community throughout the week.

https://discordapp.com/invite/holdfastgame



Here’s the entire list of additional features, bug fixes, improvements and content that you’ll find in this update.



Changelog 21 - Game Version 0.19.6893.28555

Game Features
• A New Map! Ernest Ridge. Now playable on the Army Front official servers.
  » Designed by Harper.
  
  Optimisations
  
• Optimised various instances which were causing framerate to plummet when a lot of players spawn at the same time.
  
• Optimised client-side VoIP performance.
  
• Optimised an instance that occurred when a player switches their weapon.
  
• Optimised the scoreboard.
  
• Optimised player name tags.
  
• Optimised the terrain shaders.
  
  Bug Fixes
  
• Attempted a fix towards solving more instances were players experienced bad quality audio when other players spoke using VoIP in the game.
  
• Attempted a fix towards an issue which sometimes causes the server to hang.

Expect more map releases to follow in the next few weeks as we progress through the artillery focused update.

Once again, thank you very much for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.

- Anvil Game Studios

Holdfast: Nations At War has been updated! We’ll be pushing forward fixes for issues which prevented players from selecting custom names, adjusting audio, graphical and game settings. There will also be a whole lot of underlying changes in preparation for the artillery focused update to follow in the next few weeks.



Changelog 20 - Game Version 0.18.6887.27221

Bug Fixes
• Fixed an issue which prevented players from selecting a custom name.
  
• Fixed an issue which prevented players from adjusting audio, graphical and game settings.
  
  Optimisations
  
• More optimisations to improve stability.
  
  Preparation
  
• A whole lot of underlying changes in preparation for the artillery focused update to follow in the next few weeks.

Once again, thank you very much for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.

- Anvil Game Studios

Holdfast: Nations At War has been updated! Game Version 0.18 will bring with it the much-requested multiple rounds for the Melee Arena game mode, an announcer that broadcasts your glorious achievements in the arena, multiple bug fixes, optimisations and changes based on community feedback.

After the release of the Melee Arena game mode, we received plenty of requests from our community asking for this mode to support multiple rounds. A match can end relatively quickly especially when skilled players are involved!

The victor in the Melee Arena game mode is now determined based on the number of rounds won before the match ends. Players will play a total of 15 rounds before switching to the next map significantly reducing the wait time between rounds.

We’ve also made sure that the number of rounds played is configurable by server administrators. It’ll certainly come in handy for all those good folks hosting melee oriented tournaments.

Melee Arena Official Servers

• Anvil Game Studios Official EU4 - Melee Arena
  
• Anvil Game Studios Official NA4 - Melee Arena

Let others know of your glorious achievements in the Melee Arena game mode! As you ramp up your kill streak, an announcer will broadcast your name to everyone in the match. This feature wouldn’t have been fully complete if it wasn’t voice-acted so we made sure to get that in with this update as well.

Here’s a look at what the announcer will broadcast based on the kill streak that you gather. It is going to be quite a challenge to achieve some of them!

Announcer Kill Streaks

• Kill 3 Players In A Round - Killing Spree!
  
• Kill 4 Players In A Round - Dominating!
  
• Kill 5 Players In A Round - Unstoppable!
  
• Kill 6 Players In A Round - Oh, That’s Brutal!!

A good majority of this update’s development time was invested into plugging leaks that degraded performance over runtime, fixing an issue that negatively impacted accuracy when players fired in third-person and a variety of VoIP related problems.

Optimisations targeted toward improving frame-rate will be ongoing throughout Holdfast’s full release.

If you are still experiencing issues with VoIP after this update, kindly let us know of this by posting a thread in the ‘Tech Support & Reports’ board.

Go to the Tech Support & Reports board



Are you looking to participate in one of the many public line battle events hosted by the community? Share with us your feedback and suggestions about the game? Or perhaps even searching for a good bunch of like-minded players to join or form your own regiment (clan)? Discord is a great place to do just that.

We look forward to seeing you there!

https://discordapp.com/invite/holdfastgame



Here’s the entire list of additional features, bug fixes, improvements and content that you’ll find in this update.



Changelog 19 - Game Version 0.18.6886.26661

Game Features
• Multiple Rounds! The Melee Arena game mode now supports multiple rounds. Reduce the wait-time. You can find the new server configuration commands for this game mode below. These need to be set per map rotation.
  » round_spawn_close_timer_seconds 35 - Set the time it takes before the arena gates open for the first round. Set this higher than the timer below to allow some time for players to load the map.
  » round_spawn_close_timer_seconds_between_rounds 20 - Set the time it takes before the arena gates open for all the round to follow after.
  » amount_of_rounds 15 - Set your desired number of rounds to play before the match ends. The value that you set here must be an odd number to ensure that there is always a victor.
  
• Announcer! Let others know of your glorious achievements in the Melee Arena game mode. As you ramp up your kill streak, an announcer will broadcast your name to everyone in the match.
  
• VoIP quality has been improved.
  
  Optimisations
  
• Plugged several leaks that were degrading performance over long periods of play time on the client.
  
  Quality Of Life Additions
  
• Renamed the ‘Listen Locally’ option to ‘Test Microphone’ so players have a better understanding of what this feature does.
  
  Bug Fixes
  
• Fixed an issue that negatively impacted accuracy when firing in third-person.
  
• Fixed a bug which was causing certain players to hear robotic-sounding audio when other players spoke through VoIP.
  
• Fixed a bug which was causing certain players to be unable to hear other players speaking through VoIP. If you are still experiencing the issue after this update, try installing the redistributable linked below.
  » Click on the following link to download the redistributable
  
• Fixed a bug that was causing the End of Match screen to disappear very quickly in the Melee Arena game mode.
  
• Fixed a bug were an incorrect faction would be displayed as the victor at the end of match screen.
  
• Attempted fix towards a bug that sometimes causes players to spawn on a ship of the enemy faction whilst playing on the Naval Battlefield game mode.
  
• Attempted fix towards a bug that sometimes causes an incorrect number of ships to appear in the spawn menu whilst playing on the Naval Battlefield game mode.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused an incorrect faction icon to show in the top bar if you spectate a match without joining the round.
  
• Fixed an error that was being outputted when hitting an enemy player.
  
• Fixed an error that was being outputted when playing on Fort Salettes.
  
• Fixed an error that was being outputted when playing on Caribbean.
  
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to go inside the well on Fort Winston.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused an incorrect particle to show when players hit a snowy terrain.

We’re working on the next update. Development on the artillery focused update is ongoing.

Once again, thank you very much for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.

- Anvil Game Studios

Holdfast: Nations At War has been updated! We’ll be pushing forward a hotfix for Game Version 0.17 before we head over to the next one. You don’t have to update your community game servers as this hotfix is backwards compatible with the previous update.



Changelog 18 - Game Version 0.17.6879.25959

Bug Fixes
• Solved an issue which prevented death and hit sounds from playing.
  
• Solved an issue that was degrading client-side performance when a player starts swimming in the Naval Battlefield or Coastal Siege game modes.
  
• Solved an issue that caused the enemy faction’s deaths not to be visible for the top five players at the end of match screen.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the text of players which achieved over 100 kills to be split into two lines during the end of match screen.
  
  Quality Of Life Additions
  
• Your character will now continue to auto-run if you minimize the game. The escape menu will only become visible when you hop back into the game.

Look forward to the release of multiple rounds for the Melee Arena game mode next week.

Once again, thank you very much for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.

- Anvil Game Studios