Holdfast: Nations At War has been updated. Rain fiery hell on allies and foes alike with the all-new rocket artillery! Carry ladders through the ongoing onslaught and scale those towering walls in an attempt to capture a fortification before the artillery makes its first breach.

There’s plenty more to look out for in this update! Exclusively available for the British Empire, the rocketeer class has been included in the empire’s army selection of classes. You’ll also find that round shot fired from field guns now bounces off the terrain.

Have a read at our latest blog post for all the details. Before you do so, take a quick look at the trailer for this gameplay-oriented update.

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

Intended for long range bombardments, rockets can be relatively inaccurate. Fear not, however! You’ll be able to send rockets flying at a relatively fast pace and one of them is bound to hit your intended target.

We always place team-play at the forefront with the use of artillery pieces and the rocket launcher is not an exception to the rule. Well trained crews are sure to triumph over others.

Here are some of the steps a crew must go through to operate the rocket launcher. From moving it about on the field of battle to sending your very first rocket flying its way.

Carry The Rocket Launcher - Stage 0
Nearby the spawn location of either faction, you’ll find a rocket launcher present. These launchers can be moved around on the battlefield as you can already do so with cannons. Look at either end of the packed launcher and press ‘E’ to take control over the launcher.



Assist Carry The Rocket Launcher - Stage 0
A secondary player can interact with the launcher to assist with moving it around the field of battle at a faster pace. Look at the back of the launcher then press the ‘E’ key once to do so.



Unpacking & Packing The Rocket Launcher - Stage 1
Move the rocket launcher to your desired location then drop it by pressing the ‘E’ key once. While the launcher still retains its packed state, look at the box interaction icon and hold down the ‘E’ key to unpack it.

Unsure about the location you’ve placed your launcher at? Go ahead and pack the thing up to carry it once more. Hold ‘E’ while looking at the box interaction icon to pack the launcher.



Aiming The Rocket Launcher - Stage 2
Providing full control to the crew over the relative direction to send rockets flying towards, launchers can be aimed directly after they have been unpacked. Look at the back of the launcher where the crosshair interaction icon is present and press ‘E’ once to aim the launcher.



Selecting Your Rocket - Stage 3
Search for a rocket stack close to your vicinity then interact with it by pressing the ‘E’ key once and you’ll be presented with a user interface that’ll allow you to equip a shell rocket.



Similar to what can be done with an ammo box, rocket stacks can also be carried around by the rocketeer or cannoneer classes. Be sure to have one close to the launcher’s vicinity!



Loading Your Rocket - Stage 3
Load up the rocket launcher with an explosive shell rocket by looking at the right or left emplacement on the launcher and holding down the ‘E’ key. Maximise the launcher’s rate of fire by having two players load rockets on either emplacement at the same time.



Launchers loaded with rockets are also prone to explode if destroyed. It’s not a delightful experience if you’re on the receiving end of this so you better watch out.



Firing The Rocket - Stage 4
Ignite the rocket by looking at the rocket loaded on the emplacement by pressing the ‘E’ key once and wait until it fires away.



If you’re lucky enough to hit your target, you’ll send those poor fellows flying away with a hint of explosion.



Rocketeers are the latest addition to the already growing selection of classes available in Holdfast: Nations At War! Staying true to their history, this class is exclusively reserved to the British Empire. They come equipped with a spyglass, a sword and a pistol. All of these tools will surely come in handy in your efforts to bombard targets at a distance.

Rocketeers also have priority over the use of rocket launchers followed by cannoneers.



Round shot fired from field guns will now bounce off the terrain decimating through enemy lines. Once a shot loses its momentum, it will also continue rolling on the terrain giving you a better indication of where it has landed.



Be the first in line for the forlorn hope! Your chances of survival are slim but someone must perform the glorious deed. Carry ladders close to a fort’s wall then raise them up to create additional entry points for the assaulting allied infantryman. Here’s how it all works out.

Carry The Ladder - Stage 0
Nearby spawn locations you’ll find multiple ladders that can be carried around. Locate a ladder then press the ‘E’ key once to start moving it around.



Assist Carry The Ladder - Stage 0
A secondary player can assist with carrying the ladder. This will provide an additional boost in speed at which the ladder can be moved. This can also be done by pressing the ‘E’ key once while looking at the ladder.



Place The Ladder - Stage 1
White shaded ladders present next to various fortifications and other buildings mark down the location for where a ladder should be placed. Once you have moved nearby one of these markers while carrying a ladder, you will receive a notification informing you that the ladder can be placed by pressing the ‘E’ key.



Raise The Ladder - Stage 2
Raise the ladder by pressing the ‘E’ key.



Let the capturing of the fort’s walls ensue.



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



Here’s a detailed changelog containing all the new features, quality of life additions and fixes you’ll find in this update.



Changelog 28 - Game Version 0.26.7013.5330

New Game Features
• Rocket Launchers! Intended for long range bombardments, rockets can be relatively inaccurate. Fear not, however, you’ll be able to send rockets flying at a relatively fast pace and one of them is bound to hit your intended target.
  » Input the following command in your server configuration file to adjust the rocket launcher’s respawn time: artillery_rocketlauncher_respawn_timer 130
  » Launchers can be found on most of the current maps including plains maps intended for organised play.
  
• A New Class. Rocketeer! Staying true to their history, this class is exclusively reserved to the British Empire. They come equipped with a spyglass, a sword and a pistol. Rocketeers also have priority over the use of rocket launchers followed by cannoneers.
  
• Cannonball Bounce! Round shot fired from field guns will now bounce off the terrain decimating through enemy lines.
  
• Carriable Ladders! Carry ladders close to a fort’s wall then raise them up to create additional entry points for the assaulting allied infantryman. Carpenters have priority over the use of ladders.
  
  Bug Fixes
  
• Fixed an issue which caused players aiming a mortar to retain some of their player’s visuals obstructing the camera.
  
• Fixed an instance were players would join their previously selected server is they pressed the ‘Enter’ key while searching for a server or changing their name.
  
• Attempted fix towards an issue which resulted in the rain sounds cutting off.
  
  Quality Of Life
  
• You are now able to auto move rocket launchers, ladders and cannons by pressing the ‘NumLock’ key.
  
• You are now able to separately control artillery related audio sounds through the ‘Artillery’ audio slider.

There’ll be more gameplay-oriented additions and improvements to existing core mechanics coming your way soon. Once again, we thank you for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.

We’re working on the next update.

- Anvil Game Studios

After the release of the first BETA featuring the rocketeers, we’ve been putting our efforts on bug fixes, polishing and various other additions based on community feedback. Check out our latest blog post for a detailed list on what we’ve been up to.

Here’s a list of all the additions you’ll find in this BETA. We’d also like to extend our thanks to everyone for checking out the previous release. We’re actively listening to feedback on our Discord.

List of Fixes & Additions

• Slightly reduced the audio for rockets when they’re flying or being ignited.
  
• Players can now control sound related to artillery pieces through the ‘Audio’ slider from the game’s options.
  
• Smoothened the rocket’s trajectory. They still retain their inaccuracy but look nicer while they’re raining hell down on friends and foes alike.
  
• Made it easier to interact with the rocket stack.
  
• Solved an issue where the white circle reload indicator got stuck on screen if the rocket artillery got destroyed while you’re loading it.
  
• Solved an issue which caused the rocket launcher to clip inside the terrain when dropped on a slope.
  
• Rocket launchers can now only be packed or unpacked by the Rocketeer or Cannoneer classes.
  
• Improved the looks of the rocket trails.
  
• Increased the rocket’s fuse timer to reduce the rocket’s rate of fire.
  
• Solved an issue were the rocket launcher would snap when aimed downwards.
  
• Solved an issue which prevented you from igniting rockets if you have a rocket equipped.
  
• Fixed an error in the localisation which caused the unpacking interaction to state that you should press instead of hold ‘E’ to perform the action.
  
• Fixed various exceptions being outputted on the client.
  
• Removed multiple debug logs as we’re now preparing for the update’s release.
  
• Solved an issue that caused the Cannoneers to have priority over Rocketeers when it comes to the use of rocket launchers.
  
• Solved an issue which caused other players to appear to be sliding away when ramming, loading or aiming a cannon.
  
• Improved the rocket and ladder collisions to prevent instances where they could clip inside buildings, underneath the terrain or other objects on the world map. If you face similar issues, kindly report them on our Discord.
  
• Solved an issue which caused the carriable ladders to retain a white shaded colour after they have been raised.
  
• You will now find more positions to raise carriable ladders on Fort Pierre.
  
• Solved an exception that was being outputted on Fort Schwarz.
  
• Solved an issue with the rocket launcher spawning slightly under the terrain on Tahir Desert.
  
• Solved several instances where players got stuck in an animation after using the rocket launcher or ladder.
  
• Adjusted the velocity of round shout fired from field guns.
  
• Tweaked the bouncing mechanics of the round shot.

Known Issues

• Players aren't receiving damage when an explosion from a rocket that has hit the terrain occurs.
  
• There's a specific instance that causes players to be unable to raise a ladder after it has been placed.

Would you like to have a go at what’s to come? Join us in the BETA! Hop in on our Community Discord to do so. You'll find all the details on 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.

Everything present in this BETA is still a work in progress and bugs are to be expected.

https://discordapp.com/invite/holdfastgame



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

- Anvil Game Studios

As we’re now nearing the release of the upcoming update, it’s time to begin public testing. Besides the introduction of the rocketeer class, we also have a few surprises for some never-before revealed gameplay content that’ll be coming into the game!

Have a quick read at the latest blog post to participate in the BETA.

We’re quite sure that most of you good fellows following our blog posts are already aware that we’ve been developing the rocketeer class and all related artillery mechanics for the upcoming content update. However, there’re also a few other things in the works planned for release with the same update!

Round shot fired from field guns and various other artillery pieces will bounce off the terrain cutting through enemy lines. You’ll also find that ladders across different game mode are no longer pre-placed. Through the ongoing onslaught, the attackers have to carry ladders and place them adjacent to a fort’s walls serving as additional entry points to the fortification.



Would you like to have a go at what’s to come? Join us in the BETA! Hop in on our Community Discord to do so. You'll find all the details on 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. Work on improving rocket trajectories and tackling other issues with cannonball bounce is still ongoing.



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! There’ll be plenty of bug fixes coming along in this one. We’ll also be introducing a few quality of life additions requested by the community. Have a read at our latest blog post for all the details.

We have updated the 'vapuriloadtester.exe' server helper program. With this updated helper program, game servers will be able to automatically reconnect back to the lobby if the lobby server goes under maintenance.

Please download and update the server helper program. You can do so from the ‘holdfast_naw_public_server’ Dropbox folder.





Changelog 27 - Game Version 0.25.6996.26291

Game Core
• Performed a minor game engine upgrade.
  
  Quality of Life
  
• You can now connect to a server by pressing the ‘Enter’ key.
  
• Players can now display voice phrases in chat. It will come in especially handy for all those fellows leading regiments during events.
  » Enable ‘Shouts In Chat’ from the ‘Game’ settings to display phrases in chat.

Bug Fixes
• Solved an issue with a memory leak occurring on the game server after map load.
  
• Solved an issue with the Naval Battlefield server crashing after long periods of run time.
  
• Attempted fix towards an issue with weather sounds cutting off.
  
• Attempted fix towards an issue that caused the musician tunes to cut off during volley fire.
  
• Solved an issue with the game hanging on exit.
  
• Solved an issue with the attacking and defending factions being inverted in the scoreboard.
  
• Solved an issue with loading the moveable field gun while standing in front of its barrel.
  
• Solved an issue with the private admin chat introduced during the previous update being restricted to the team the player joins.
  
• Solved an issue with field guns randomly killing friendly players when friendly_fire is enabled.
  
• Solved an issue with cannonball kills displaying an incorrect kill distance in the kill feed.
  
• Solved an issue with spacing in the kill feed user interface.
  
• Solved various exceptions that occurred on the client during map load.
  
• Solved various exceptions that occurred on the server.
  
• Attempted fix towards a recurring error that sometimes occurs on the client when a player carries an item.
  
• Solved an error that was being outputted on the client related to audio.
  
• Solved an issue with incorrect audio files being assigned to the weather system. Static sounds no more.
  » If the weather sounds are slightly too high in volume, you can adjust them through the game’s 'Audio/Weather' settings.

Be sure to keep an eye out for the Rocketeer’s BETA in the coming days! Once again, we thank you for your support and as always, may good health be yours.

Feel free to chat with us on Discord.

https://discordapp.com/invite/holdfastgame

- Anvil Game Studios

Holdfast: Nations At War has been updated! This time around we’ll be pushing forward more performance optimisations and another game engine upgrade. It was a hefty bunch of work but we’re sure that the community will appreciate the increase in performance.

We have also been keeping ourselves busy with gameplay-oriented content that will be coming your way relatively soon! Be sure to have a good read at our blog post for a sneak peek of what’s to come.

First and foremost, we’ll be starting with a recap of everything that has been going on during our previous BETAs leading to this update’s release.

Time is our most precious asset. It is in everyone’s best interest that we dedicate time towards optimising our development workflow as this contributes towards producing content at a faster pace.

The entire project that Holdfast: Nations At War is developed in was given a well-deserved cleanup to reduce load times and all the models, code files, audio, animations, shaders and indeed everything else required to make a game function was sorted out for the developers to have easier access to.

Every minute we save from having to wait for a task to be completed, be it code compile times or general project responsiveness, will instead be going towards additional content or more optimisations.



Speaking of more optimisations, as this was our prime focus for this specific update, we’ve gone ahead and performed another major engine upgrade. This was a necessary step forward before we could deliver on our promise to further optimise the game as this exposes the team to newer technologies that can be utilised towards this effect.



Characters being one of the major bottlenecks in performance when a lot of players are on screen have received direct optimisations. We’re already seeing a good reduction in CPU usage on those massive 150 Player servers by utilising some of the newer technologies made available to us after the game engine upgrade.

Those individuals not limited by an older GPU will experience better framerate.



Players can now enjoy a much better-looking dynamic skybox and weather system due to changes we had to undergo while performing the game engine upgrade. We do hope that this fresh new look is to your liking!

It is important to note that the volumetric clouds introduced with this new time of day and weather system utilise more GPU resources than the one present in the version before this update. If you’d like to trade off looks for performance, simply go to your ‘Video’ settings and lower down the ‘Skybox Quality’ setting to ‘Low’.



We’ve also been looking into a solution to remedy the intermittent latency spikes present on the Naval Battlefield game mode. Functionality to ram and load cannons by holding the ‘E’ key aboard naval vessels has been temporarily disabled to confirm if this was indeed the cause.



As a quality of life addition for all of those individuals hosting events, we’ve introduced an admin chat channel that is specifically reserved for discussion amongst those with administrative privileges on a particular server.

You’re now also able to make use of some basic shortcut commands through this new admin chat. This functionality was all accessible through the ‘F1’ console but we thought that it would be especially convenient to have shorter versions of some of the most used commands accessible through this chat.

Here are the shortcut commands we’ve introduced.

Shortcut Commands
• Administrators can broadcast a message by typing ‘/bc’ in the admin chat channel followed by their desired message.
  » /bc <message>
  
• Administrators can switch to a map by typing ‘/mr’ in the admin chat channel followed by a value according to the rotation set in the server configuration file.
  » /mr <map rotation id>

Thanks to the continued growth of the team since the game’s release on Early Access, we now have more hands working on various aspects of the game. These range from various themed updates targeted towards optimisations, bug fixes as well as bringing new content into the game.

Yet another new class, the Rocketeer will be making their glorious introduction into the game with the next update! We won’t be revealing everything just yet but you should also expect to see other gameplay-oriented additions with the same update.

What’s better yet is that we won’t keep you waiting for too long before you can get your hands on this. The next update will be going into BETA testing during the coming week or the one after.



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



Players that have updated to Game Version 0.24 will be unable to see servers that are still using the previous version in the server browser. We had to undergo changes to the lobby system’s backend due to the engine upgrade.

You should also make sure to update all the game server files present in the ‘holdfast_naw_public_servers’ folder. A new ‘Mono’ folder has been included that is required for servers to run. All the respective DLLs have been updated as well.



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



Changelog 26 - Game Version 0.24.6984.29141

Game Core
• Project Cleanup. Optimised our development workflow as this contributes towards producing content at a faster pace.
  » Removed all unused meshes, textures and terrains to lessen the load on our project and reduce wait times.
  » Refactored multiple scripts to make them more accessible to the developers.
  » Restructured the entire project for the developers to more easily locate particular items.
  
• Game Engine Upgrade. A necessary step forward before we could deliver on our promise to further optimise the game as this exposes the team to newer technologies that can be utilised towards this effect.
  
  Optimisations
  
• Character Optimisations. One of the major bottlenecks in performance when a lot of players are on screen have received direct optimisations. Players will experience a better framerate on those massive 150 Player servers pending that they weren’t already previously limited by an older GPU.
  
  Graphical Additions
  
• Time of Day & Weather System. Players can now enjoy a much better-looking dynamic skybox and weather system due to changes we had to undergo while performing the game engine upgrade.
  » The volumetric clouds introduced with this new time of day and weather system utilise more GPU resources than the one present in the version before this update.
  » If you’d like to trade off looks for performance, simply go to your ‘Video’ settings and lower down the ‘Skybox Quality’ to ‘Medium’ or ‘Low’.
  
• Additional commands to better control the time of day and weather system have been included. You can find all the commands detailed below.
  » rc nature weather preset <Weather Preset> <Transition Time>
  - Weather Preset: Calm, Calm2, Calm3, Calm4, Fog, Fog2, Fog3, Snowy or Storm
  - Transition Time: 5 - 60
  » rc nature time timeOfDay <Time>
  - Time: 0 - 24, 13.5 = 1.30 PM
  » rc nature time dynamicTime <Input>
  - Input: true or false
  » rc nature time dynamicTimeSpeed <Speed Multiplier>
  - Speed Multiplier: 0.01 - 1
  
  Quality Of Life
  
• Admin Chat Channel. We’ve introduced an admin chat channel that is specifically reserved for discussion amongst those with administrative privileges on a particular server.
  
• Admin Shortcut Commands. You’re now also able to more easily access some of the most common administrative tools by typing shortcut commands in the admin chat.
  Administrators can broadcast a message by typing ‘/bc’ in the admin chat channel followed by their desired message: /bc <message>
  Administrators can switch to a map by typing ‘/mr’ in the admin chat channel followed by a value according to the rotation set in the server configuration file: /mr <map rotation id>
  
• Made muting functionality more easily accessible through the Round Players ‘P’ panel.
  
• Players are no longer able to hide private messages sent by server administrators by toggling the ‘Broadcasted Messages’ user interface settings.
  
• You can now separately control weather sounds through the ‘Weather’ slider under ‘Master Volumes’ in the Audio settings.
  
  Bug Fixes
  
• We’ve pushed forward a tentative fix for the sudden latency spikes that players sometimes experience on the Naval Battlefield game mode.
  
• Fixed a bug where the confirmation text was being incorrectly displayed after a particular administrative action was clicked on in the Round Players ‘P’ panel.
  
• Fixed a spelling mistake on one of the spawn points present on Fort Imperial.
  
• Fixed various issues related to naval vessel destruction.
  
• Fixed an issue where players could go inside one of the props present on Dutch Canals.
  
• Fixed an issue with one of the bridges on Dutch Canals not being correctly placed.
  
• Fixed a bug were one of the mortars on Fort Imperial could sometimes incorrectly collide with an invisible object causing it to explode prematurely.
  
• Fixed a bug that was causing one of the ammo boxes on Fort Winston to become invisible.
  
• Fixed a bug were players couldn’t spawn as a Cannoneer on the Highlands map.
  
• Fixed various floating props on Ernest Ridge.
  
• Fixed an issue with players getting stuck underneath the watchtowers on King George.
  
• Fixed an issue on the Sacred Arena map which sometimes caused players to spawn behind the map’s border inside the church.
  
• Players are no longer able to walk on the metal flag poles present on Fort Arena.
  
• Fixed an issue with incorrect textures being assigned to the Prussian fife.
  
• Fixed an issue with players floating when interacting with cannons aboard ships or near the coast.
  
• Fixed an issue with players floating when interacting with the captain’s wheel on the 2-Gun Schooner.

We’d also like to convey our heartfelt thanks to all those good fellows that joined us during our BETA Testing! Thanks to your gracious efforts we can ensure that fewer hiccups occur during an update’s release.

Due to the unprecedented amount of development work that had to be undergone during this update, something could always have gone amiss even after all the testing. If you do experience any issues, please do let us know by posting on our Steam Tech Support board. You can also do so on Discord.

We have plenty of great content lined up for this year! Be sure to stay tuned. Until next time, may good health be yours.

We’re working on the next update.

- Anvil Game Studios

For King George! March gloriously at the sound of drums, fifes and pipes as Holdfast: Nations At War is now 50% off for the duration of Steam’s Lunar 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.

Have a read at our blog post for a brief insight into what we’ve been up to.



Thanks to the continued growth of the team since the game’s release on Early Access, we now have more hands working on various aspects of the game. These range from various themed updates targeted towards optimisations, bug fixes as well as bringing new content into the game.

One of the upcoming updates currently undergoing its testing phase will feature various game optimisations that will improve framerate on high player count servers. Another update in the works will also bring with it player-built defences that’ll change the dynamics of the battlefield.

To celebrate the Lunar New Year, we’ll be ending this progress update by showing off a new uniform that’ll be introduced in Holdfast: Nations At War with yet another update. Keep an eye out on our future blog posts for more about this!



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



We’d like to wish a happy new year to all of our Chinese followers and until next time, may good health be yours.

- Anvil Game Studios

Following the game engine update, we’ve been focusing our development efforts on more optimisations. You’ll also find that the good majority of bugs present in the previous BETA no longer present as we polish things through in preparation for this update’s official release.

Characters being one of the major bottlenecks in performance when a lot of players are on screen have received direct optimisations. We’re already seeing a good reduction in CPU usage by utilising some of the newer technologies made available to us after the game engine upgrade. Those individuals not limited by an older GPU will experience better framerate.

We’ll be sure to dedicate more time towards game optimisations even after the update sees a full release.



Game engine upgrades are quite the task! With almost every nook and cranny of the project Holdfast: Nations At War is built on requiring iterations to support newer technologies, one would expect to face a few bugs along the way.

In this update, we’ve tackled most the issues reported by members of our fellow community participating in the BETA and several others that came through during our internal testing.

Here’s a brief list of some of the bugs we solved from the previous BETA.

List of Fixes
• Fixed a bug with interaction labels not being correctly positioned.
  
• Fixed a bug with interaction icons rendering over all objects in the map.
  
• Fixed a bug with birds not animating correct and being assigned an incorrect texture.
  
• Fixed a bug were the atmospheric fog on Tahir Desert was excessive.
  
• Fixed an error which prevents players from loading some of the maps on Naval Battlefield.
  
• Fixed several errors that were being produced when players interacted with various objects around the map.
  
• Fixed an issue with reflection on the water present on land-based maps.
  
• Fixed several issues related to destruction on ships.
  
• Fixed an issue with some of the weather sounds being loud.
  
• Fixed an issue with the weather not transitioning correctly when switching from one preset to another.
  
• Fixed an issue were Cannoneers weren’t present on the Highlands map.
  And many more.

As a quality of life addition for all of those individuals hosting events, we’ve introduced an admin chat channel that is specifically reserved for discussion amongst those with administrative privileges on a particular server.

You’re now also able to make use of some basic shortcut commands through this new admin chat. This functionality was all accessible through the ‘F1’ console but we thought that it would be especially convenient to have shorter versions of some of the most used commands accessible through this chat.

Here are the shortcut commands we’ve introduced.

Shortcut Commands
• Administrators can broadcast a message by typing ‘/bc’ in the admin chat channel followed by their desired message.
  » /bc <message>
  
• Administrators can switch to a map by typing ‘/mr’ in the admin chat channel followed by a value according to the rotation set in the server configuration file.
  » /mr <map rotation id>

Would you like to have a go at what’s to come? Join us in the BETA! 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.

You will be unable to see the BETA server in your server browser unless you download the game version present in the BETA branch. We had to undergo changes to the lobby system’s backend due to the engine upgrade.

https://discordapp.com/invite/holdfastgame



We would like to extend a special thanks to all of those good fellows who joined us in our testing. Your feedback is always greatly appreciated. Once again, thank you very much for your support and as always, may good health be yours.

We’re working on the next update.

- Anvil Game Studios

After the team had a few short days of holidays, we’re now back at it once again! Since the start of the new year, we’ve been focusing on optimising our workflow and upgrading the game’s engine in preparation for the performance optimisations to follow.

More about this in our latest blog post.

Time is our most precious asset. It is in everyone’s best interest that we dedicate time towards optimising our development workflow as this contributes towards producing content at a faster pace.

The entire project that Holdfast: Nations At War is developed in was given a well-deserved cleanup to reduce load times and all the models, code files, audio, animations, shaders and indeed everything else required to make a game function was sorted out for the developers to have easier access to.

Every minute we save from having to wait for a task to be completed, be it code compile times or general project responsiveness, will instead be going towards additional content or more optimisations.



Speaking of more optimisations, as these are up next on our list, we’ve gone ahead and performed another major engine upgrade. This was a necessary step forward before we deliver on our promise to further optimise the game as this exposes the team to newer technologies that can be utilised towards this effect.

In this update, we released all the underlying changes that came with the engine upgrade on the BETA branch for everyone to access. This is so we can test the foundations of the client-side optimisations to come with a broader player base. We would greatly welcome your participation in doing so!



Players can now enjoy a much better-looking dynamic skybox and weather system due to changes we had to undergo while performing the game engine upgrade. We do hope that this fresh new look is to your liking! Join us in the BETA to check it out.



We’ve also been looking into a solution to remedy the intermittent latency spikes present on the Naval Battlefield game mode. The root caused was narrowed down to a specific occurrence that happens due to physics of which we’re now testing a fix for in this BETA update.



It should be plenty clear by now what our plans are up next. Characters being one of the major limiting factors causing a bottleneck in performance (when a lot of players are on screen) will be receiving optimisations. It's going to be a hefty bunch of work but it'll greatly benefit the game.

Keep an eye out for our future blog posts.



Would you like to have a go at what’s to come? Join us in the BETA! 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.

You will be unable to see the BETA server in your browser unless you download the game version present in the BETA branch. We had to undergo changes to the lobby system’s backend due to the engine upgrade.

https://discordapp.com/invite/holdfastgame



Look forward to what’s to come this year! Expect us to release new content based on some of the most-requested gameplay features by the community and additional improvements on the game’s core mechanics.

Once again, thank you very much for your support and as always, may good health be yours.

We’re working on the next update.

- Anvil Game Studios

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