Douse the Jack-o’-lanterns! The Plague Doctor returns to the frontlines this Halloween, bringing with him a game sale, SDK updates and a spooky new friend to reign terror upon the battlefield.

Be sure to take a read till the end as alongside these additions we will also be taking a look at what the Holdfast modding community has been up to recently and discussing the ‘Big Update’ coming to Holdfast: Nations At War in the near future.

From October 28th until November 1st, Holdfast: Nations At War will be on sale for a massive 45% off!

With the games ever growing public, regiment and modding communities and plenty of future content still to come, now is the perfect moment to fire in volley, storm walls, rain artillery fire and charge on horseback this Halloween sale.

So what are you waiting for? The generals of the British, Prussian, Russian, French and Italian armies call for your enlistment!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/589290/

Why didn’t the skeleton go to the party? Because he was too busy being fired out of a Napoleonic cannon!

Lonely artillery men fear no more as coming with this Halloween update is a new friend to keep you company through the nights. Not only will the plague doctor be returning this spooky season but with him comes a new foe to the battlefield… Monsieur Fred.



For the duration of the Halloween update Monsieur Fred, a talking skull, will replace round-shot ammunition bringing terrible jokes and catchphrases with him. Monsieur Fred is the perfect ammunition to decrease the morale of the enemy by bombarding them with the talking fellow.

Hop into Holdfast and simply pick up a round shot to awaken him at your own risk…



Credit goes to ApexPhantom for the zombified 3e regiment mod.

The Holdfast SDK has opened many opportunities for the community to create their own custom content and experiences. For over a year now players have been able to create some very impressive custom maps, uniforms and scripts which is why we’ve continued to update and improve the Holdfast SDK.

This update improves upon Holdfast’s bots by allowing them to be targeted by rc commands, opening up a treasure-trove of opportunities to create bot oriented game modes and events.

Be sure to take a look at the community spotlight section of this blog to see some of the impressive work already done by members of the community with these new additions. You don't have to update existing modifications with the release of this update - Its backwards compatible.



For the past months we have been teasing the ‘Big Update’ coming to Holdfast: Nations at War, and as we approach closer to its release we are now able to reveal more information about what is to come.

The ‘Big Update’ has been in the works for over a year now and will bring something completely fresh and new to Holdfast, featuring new gameplay mechanics, features and much more. It is the most ambitious update to date!

The continued support of the community has allowed us to bring a new experience to Holdfast and as such we would now like to open Closed-BETA signups for the ‘Big Update’. Signups will be available to all Holdfast: Nations At War players but do keep in mind that spots are limited and you may not be accepted to this wave of tests. It is also subject to a non-disclosure agreement.

The Big Update - Signup Here!

Don’t be too disheartened however if you are not picked as the update will be coming to all of the Holdfast community in the coming year. While you wait though, you could help us put this letter back together. Rycon found it while he was out fishing just off-shore from here in our office in Malta. We tried our best to dry it off but we could still use some extra hands piecing it back together and making it readable. Be careful with it though, it looks rather old.



As mentioned, the support from the community over the years has been integral to the games success and our ability to work on bigger and greater updates for the game. It is because of this that we’d like to showcase some of the brilliant work of our modding community and regiments of the game.

With the SDK scripting update release we’ve already seen some incredible work from the community. One mod that has recently risen to popularity amongst the Holdfast community is C0reDump3r’s Commander mod. The mod allows players to take command of a line of bots and compete against other players in glorious large-scale linebattles. We caught up with C0reDump3r to find out more about their brilliant mod. Anvil Game Studios will be aiding the growing team working on this modification in their conquests by exposing modding-related features and functions present in this update to bring this brilliant idea to fruition.

“It was my friends in my regiment who said commander battle will be fun , then I just decided to make it happen. Recently, I'm planning to add a melee system for bots. I really like the idea of making cavalry bots, so I will definitely try to implement this.” - C0reDump3r



We also chatted with Davwado who has been kind enough to host a public commander battle server so all of the community can command at will!. We asked Davwado why they decided to help out.

“I decided to host the commander battle server purely out of curiosity at first, I was sent a mysterious video showing off some gameplay and was amazed. From this first test server a full community has spawned around it with an almost constant player base only typically seen on the official servers. Mods which alter the gameplay such as this one provide a whole new experience to players, ordinarily you may need 40+ players to play most maps now you can do the same with 4. It fundamentally changes the dynamic of the game. Already we've had close to 600 man battles with a fraction of the people required for a normal linebattle. Hopefully in the future we can have more development leading to more and more unique game modes.” - Davwado



The regiment community has been just as integral in keeping a constant stream of new experiences for players over the past years, their custom events, tournaments and many other activities have been key for players looking to get more out of the standard Holdfast experience. We decided to ask a few regiments members and leaders what brought them to making a regiment in the first place, starting with Jev from the 7.Fuß.

“I first made the regiment to be able to play with my friends and lead a group of people in a manner that was fair and focused on player experience more than anything else. To this day it is still my main drive to continue pushing on and putting the work in, especially during the pandemic. Providing a place for people to unwind, make friends and have a good time has proven and keeps proving to be a great boon not just to those people's fun but often also to their mental health.” - Jev



We asked the same question to Meal of the 21st Jägers.

“I joined my regiment thanks to an older member who loved to be loud and RP in public servers. This drew my attention when I was new to the game, and when he linked his discord I was hooked. As for why I've stayed, what started as a regiment, a couple weekly gatherings to play a specific game for an hour, eventually turned into something I'd be willing to call my second family. I whole-heartedly view the regulars within my regiment as I would a brother or sister. There hasn't been a week in years that we don't laugh until we're in tears during the course of an event, either because of the game itself or the company we share it with. This is something I wouldn't throw away for the world.” - Meal



Whether you’re interested in modding Holdfast, hosting your own community events or just wanting to get involved deeper within our great community, the Holdfast official Discord server is the place to be. It is your central hub for all things Holdfast and houses a plethora of channels dedicated to event and game announcements, regiment recruitment, game support, suggestions, history discussion and more.

Click below to join today!

https://discord.com/invite/holdfastgame







Changelog 71 - Game Version v1.20.7970.28120


Halloween Event

● The Plague Doctor returns! Bring gruelling disease with this class this Halloween.

● Monsieur Fred rattles his way through Holdfast this Halloween.

● Many more goodies from previous events.


Holdfast SDK V3

● Bots are now smarter and can perform their actions more human-like.
» They are able to perform melee actions, pitch their weapon, block as well as fire.

● Introduced several rc commands allowing great control over several other actions to complement the above.
» Switching weapons.
» Rotation.
» Play a voice phrase.
» Equipping a carriable object.
» Switch from walking to running.
» Movement and interaction relative to cavalry mechanics.
» Heal.
» Play an instrument.
» Order commands.
» Interact with in-game objects including artillery pieces and chairs.
» Build defences.

● Go to our Wiki for a full list of commands to use during your modding ventures.
» Modding Wiki - Shared Methods 2
» Modding Wiki - RC Commands
» Modding Wiki - Server Config Enums


Misc

● Updated the server browser list in the 'Join Custom Server' panel accessible through the game's server browser.


Look forward to what more we have in store for Holdfast: Nations At War. From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for making this community an ever-welcoming place filled with wholesome individuals. :rheartr:

You're more than welcome to give us a follow on our new Steam Developer Page.

Until next time, may good health be yours.





- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Wrexial, Walki, Cameron, Jackson, Rejenorst, Harper & Storey

Since the release of the map voting update, it has been rather splendid watching players voting for their favourite maps and controlling the official public servers in a way not possible before.

Additionally, we’d like to extend a thank you to those who submitted bug reports post the release of the update. We are pleased to announce that a good portion of these bugs have now been addressed with the release of this bug fix update along with some small changes to the map voting setup.

Along with reading the changelog, why not also take a look at what the community has been up below to since the release of the map voting and SDK update.

With the recent addition of modded scripts to the SDK the modding community of Holdfast wasted no time creating some already impressive scripts to assist gameplay on community run servers.

There is some real talent within the modding community and we look forward to seeing what is to come next for Holdfast modding. To celebrate this talent we caught up with some of the modders and map makers to showcase some of their brilliant work.

Auto Admin Script by eLF


eLF has been an active member of the Holdfast map making and modding community since the SDK’s release and with the release of the scripting update they have already been hard at work making an auto admin script for private events to manage things such as ‘fire out of line’ and other rules. Take a look at the gif above to see the script in action. We also asked eLF what got them into modding Holdfast, here’s what they had to say.

“Between running linebattle events and competitive matches, I often find myself spending as much time hosting events as playing the game. So once I got invited to the beta for the SDK update, I became focused on automating as much as I could before the update was released. So far I'm very pleased with my AutoAdmins results in the linebattle testing it has completed.”

Modded uniforms by UberJuice


Like eLF, UberJuice has been at the forefront of Holdfast modding since almost its conception and has produced some stunning maps and uniforms during their time.

“Creating mods for Holdfast has motivated me to dive deeper into 3D work. In this past year of making maps and uniforms I have learned a ton of new skills and ultimately a new passion. Regardless if I’m trying to recreate a uniform from an old painting or dressing a chimp up in a British uniform - the creative outlet feels limitless. The greatest reward for it all is seeing a battlefield of players enjoying my work.”

Whether you’re interested in modding Holdfast, hosting your own community events or just wanting to get involved deeper within our great community, the Holdfast official Discord server is the place to be. It is your central hub for all things Holdfast and houses a plethora of channels dedicated to event and game announcements, regiment recruitment, game support, suggestions, history discussion and more.

Click below to join today!

http://discord.gg/holdfastgame






Changelog 70 - Game Version v1.19.7894.19868

Bug Fixes

● Solved a server-side error log related to cavalry units when swapping maps.

● Solved an issue with mods not loading in the correct order.

● Solved a warning on the spawn menu with modded uniforms.

● Removed all unnecessary logs from the map vote system.

● Solved an issue with the new revive admin tool not working as intended due to Discord integration.

● Solved an issue with the new revive admin tool not working as intended when reviving a cavalry unit.

● Solved an issue with the new revive admin tool not working as intended when two administrators revived the same person.

● Solved an issue with the new revive admin tool placing the team’s score on the negative.

● Solved an issue with modded maps using capture points not loading.

● Solved an issue with some gabions having the wrong physics layer applied.

● Solved an issue when striking to the right from horseback. It could sometimes get stuck.

● Solved an issue where mounted attacks from horseback would let go despite the player holding the attack.

● Solved an issue where score applied for healing other players when a map is changing would apply on the next map.

● Solved an issue with some stairs on Port Nile speeding up the player.

● Solved an issue with the Russian officer sword dealing less damage than intended with the up attack.

● Horse to horse collision is now more reliable.

● Attempted a fix for the Officer reinforce order running out prematurely.


Misc

● Solved an issue with the american servers experiencing latency issues.

● Changed the map voting history count on official servers from 3 to 5 maps.


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

You're more than welcome to give us a follow on our new Steam Developer Page.





- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Wrexial, Walki, Cameron, Jackson, Rejenorst, Harper & Storey

A welcome and thank you to all the new players who took to the frontlines for the first time over the Steam Summer Sale! As we discussed in our previous blog post, map voting has finally arrived.

One of the community's most highly requested features, map voting, makes its way onto all Holdfast servers this update but that’s not all. New quality of life features are being implemented, new game mechanics introduced and in this same update, the Holdfast SDK is getting an upgrade too.

This update takes us one step closer to letting the community play Holdfast exactly how they want to. Take a read below to find out more about how these changes and additions will achieve this.

The long-awaited map voting update is here! At the end of the round players will be given the option to select the next battlefield to be played and whichever map receives the most votes will then be played thereafter.

At the end of the round players are now presented with 4 battlefields to pick from. The map's gamemode and factions are also shown. Players are then given a period of time to vote on the map they wish to play next after which the results are then tallied and a winner is selected. It is only at this point that the amount of votes each map gets is shown.







Map voting will also be available to community and private servers. We have provided additional rotation inputs so server owners can customise their map voting exactly as they desire. Likewise, support for custom maps has been integrated into the system to ensure any custom maps loaded with the map voting system will correctly display their name.

Someone taking too long in the outhouse? Kick the door in style and let them know their time is up! This new mechanic allows players to kick down doors in dramatic fashion and really make their entrance as they take buildings and forts alike. Additionally, cannoneers with a ramrod equipped will now receive a 5% speed buff when ramming their cannon. So get kicking and ramming till your heart’s content.



This update also brings along a plethora of new console commands and player menu options to further aid server administrators running events on community servers.

Server admins can now be added to a whitelist which will automatically grant them administrator privileges as they join the server. They will no longer have to log in via the console. Using the new ‘serverAdmins.txt’ file will enable a whitelist allowing the players inputted in this file to access administrative privileges without having to enter a password.

Admins that are whitelisted will be able to join the server directly should it be full. However, this is limited to a maximum of 5 additional slots dedicated for them. Server admins are also given the option to revive fallen men via the Round Players ‘P’ menu. It will instantly respawn them in the location they died.



In contrast to giving life with the new revive feature, the new slap server admin command gives administrators the ability to damage individual players for an amount of damage they specify. Simply type out the command below to slap someone.

rc serverAdmin slap <id> <dmg> <reason>

Linebattle organisers will be able to place a capturable flag that if captured will give the win to the capturing team. This flag can be configured to be spawned after a specific amount of time and act as an anti-camping tool during linebattle events that are taking slightly longer than desired.

Similar to map voting this feature can be configured via rotation inputs. This flag can also be triggered and spawned directly by an rc command. Take a look at these below.

Server Config Commands
● dynamic_capture_point_enabled true/false <default: false>
● dynamic_capture_point_position -11.90 6.26 -59.10 <default: 0 0 0>
● dynamic_capture_point_auto_active_time 120 <default: 0>
● dynamic_capture_point_capture_duration 360 <default: uses map settings>
● dynamic_capture_point_max_capture_player_count 10 <default: uses map settings>

RC Commands
● rc set triggerDynamicCapturePoint

We look forward to seeing this new mechanic put to good use during events.



The latest Holdfast SDK update is the largest update to the SDK since its release. It exposes the ability for the modding community to receive code events when specific actions happen and gives mod creators the option to tag their work making it easier to find on the workshop.

This first step in exposing elements of the game for modders to use. It will give the community the foundations for creating new game modes, conversion modifications, and much more for everyone to enjoy. We have been running a closed-beta with some modding community members running up to the release of this portion of the update which has already yielded some fantastic and very creative results.

As mentioned above, mod makers can now set tags for their creations. When you go to upload your mod via the SDK you will be presented with a menu that allows you to fill out your mod's title, description and select multiple tags that best suit it. Tagging and appropriately naming your modification will make it easy for players to find and subscribe to.



Want to give the latest SDK update a go? Then the Holdfast official Discord server is the place to be! It is your central hub for all things Holdfast and houses a plethora of channels dedicated to event and game announcements, regiment recruitment, game support, suggestions, game modding, and more. Click below to join today!

Subscribe to the @artisan role from the #getting-started channel to get going.

https://discord.com/invite/holdfastgame







Changelog 69 - Game Version v1.18.7887.29184


New Features

● Player Map Voting! At the end of the round players will be given the option to select the next battlefield. Event hosts can make use of this function to allow players participating in their event to vote for a map of their own choosing.
» Input the following commands in the server configuration file to make use of this new functionality.
» » map_voting_enabled true
» » map_voting_duration 15
» » map_voting_allow_same_map false
» » map_voting_history_count 3
» » map_voting_gameplay_modes ArmyBattlefield ArmyBattlefield ArmyConquest ArmySiege

● Custom modded maps can also be made part of the voting selection.

● Linebattle organisers will be able to place a capturable flag that if captured will give the win to the capturing team. Can be configured to be spawned after a specific amount of time and act as an anti-camping tool during linebattle events that are taking slightly longer than desired.
» Input the following command per map rotation to configure this new function.
» » dynamic_capture_point_enabled true or false
» » dynamic_capture_point_position -11.90 6.26 -59.10
» » dynamic_capture_point_auto_active_time 120
» » dynamic_capture_point_capture_duration 360
» » dynamic_capture_point_max_capture_player_count 10

● Use the command below to force spawn the capturable flag while the match is ongoing.
» rc set triggerDynamicCapturePoint


Holdfast SDK

● Artisans may now tag their mod before uploading it to Steam providing it with better visibility.

● Exposed the ability for the modding community to receive code events when specific actions happen.
» Wiki - Script Modding Guide

● Join the Holdfast Discord and apply for the @artisan role to get started with modding.
» https://discord.com/invite/holdfastgame


Gameplay

● Explosive barrels now deal less damage to siege walls providing the defenders with a better fighting chance at holding their ground.

● Someone taking too long in the outhouse? Kick the door in style by pressing the ‘F’ key and let them know their time is up! You are unable to break doors with this method when the Army Siege or Coastal Siege is in play.
» You are unable to kick-open large double doors.

● Win condition interactable object now works in ArmyDeathmatch. Message also displays when the victor is announced.

● A smooth quick zoom animation will play when the player looks through the spyglass.

● Players equipping a ramrod will now load cannons at a faster pace. They will receive a 5% bonus increase when doing so.


Server Administration

● Players can now view the official server rules through the Round Players ‘P’ menu. Administrators can customise this message by using the following command. Use a similar syntax to that of the welcome message to format it.
» server_rules_message <message>

● Using the serverAdmins.txt file will now enable a whitelist allowing the players inputted in this file to access administrative privileges without having to enter a password. Define the location of the serverAdmins.txt file through the following launch parameters.
» serverAdminsFilePath=<path>

● Up to 5 administrators defined in the serverAdmins.txt file are now able to connect to a game server even if it reaches its maximum player count. This will ensure administrators are always able to oversee an event.

● Administrators are now able to revive others through the Round Players ‘P’ menu or by using an rc command.
» rc serverAdmin revive <id> <reason>

● Administrators can now use the command below to despawn all horses from the map. You may still define to spawn just a singular horse by passing an ID.
» rc vehicleDespawn

● Administrators can now use the command below to damage a player.
» rc serverAdmin slap <id> <damage> <reason>

● Administrators can now send a broadcast message without having it show in the middle of the screen. It will only display in the player’s chat.
» rc serverAdmin say <message>

● Administrators may now privately message a player through the rc console instead of just the Round Players ‘P’ menu.
» rc serverAdmin privateMessage <player_id> <message>

● The characterWeaponDamageScale command now also impacts player bullets hitting other players or vehicles in addition to melee damage.
» rc set characterWeaponDamageScale <modifier>

● Introduced a new command allowing players to disable the mechanic used to differentiate between upper body and lower body melee damage.
» rc set meleeLegHitSystemEnabled false

● Administrators may now define an unlimited timer in the Army Deathmatch game mode.

● Map names have been added to the scorelog.txt file.

● Introduced additional functionality for spawned ‘firearm ammo boxes’ and ‘firearm weapon boxes’ to have infinite uses when the max value is set to 255.
» Wiki - Weapon Racks


Bug Fixes

● Tentative fix on ‘Look Vector’ warnings being displayed when Marquette is in play.

● Solved an issue where the Press ‘E’ to Mount tag was shown at the 0,0,0 coordinate rather than nearby mountable horses.

● Solved an issue with warnings being thrown when a cavalry unit spawns on round start.

● Reduced instances of cavalry units being able to go through map borders.

● Solved an instance where players unintentionally faced their demise when standing on one of the house’s rooftops situated on Aspern.

● Solved an issue where text messages sometimes disappeared from chat.

● Solved an issue where sometimes cavalry units equipping a Russian piston can be seen equipped with a ramrod and sometimes not.

● Solved an issue where the incorrect trampling kill log icon was being shown.

● Replaced one of the ammo boxes on Heartmound with one which contains ammo to load swivel guns with.

● Players are no longer able to spawn on captured flag positions when the Army Conquest is in play on Aspern.

● Solved an issue where two of the mortars on Linburg were slightly angled making the trajectory deviate from their originally intended position.

● Solved an issue where the player's swimming animation on Marquette was elevated.

● Solved an issue where carriable ammo boxes placed through the SDK floated when dropped.

● Solved an issue where players spawned on trees on Marquette.


Misc.

● Introduced a tip informing players they can no longer spawn on an officer’s flag once its reinforcements deplete.

● Introduced more prop variants to the Holdfast SDK.

● Players that fall under the terrain will now face their demise after a short while.

● Reduced mod loading time.


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

We're working on the next update. You're more than welcome to give us a follow on our new Steam developer page.

https://store.steampowered.com/developer/anvilgamestudios/





- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Wrexial, Walki, Cameron, Jackson, Rejenorst, Harper & Storey

The ‘Steam Summer Sale’ has arrived and to celebrate we’ll be taking a quick look into what is coming to Holdfast: Nations At War in the near future. You certainly don’t want to miss this one as we will be discussing the summer sale, linebattle events, the modding community and the next update to come!

So take a step back from the frontlines and put your muskets aside while you take a read of what the team here at AGS and this great community have been up to.

Holdfast: Nations At War is now on sale at a whopping 50% off for the duration of the Steam Summer Sale. With the recent release of the new Italian faction, now is the perfect time to put muskets to hand and join in with all that Holdfast has to offer.

So what are you waiting for? The generals of the British, Prussian, Russian, Italian, and French armies call for your enlistment!



Not only will the base game of Holdfast: Nations At War be on sale but so will the cosmetic game DLCs (High-Command, Regiment of the Guard, and Regiment of the Line) and Loyalist Edition of the game. These will be available at 10% off for the same duration.

It has been just over a year since the release of Holdfast’s modding tools and since that time the great fellows of the Holdfast modding community have uploaded an impressive 1,500+ unique maps, uniforms, and other game modifications.

There is some real talent within the modding community and we look forward to seeing what is to come next for Holdfast modding. To celebrate this talent we caught up with some of the modders and map makers to showcase some of their brilliant work.


Open Meadows by Davwado

Davwado has made some truly brilliant maps for the community to use and even placed 2nd in the Battlefield Forger contest hosted last year. We asked Davwado what inspires them when making maps for Holdfast.

“I mod with a few other people in my regiment and we often spend hours looking at landscape scenes in unity which gives us inspiration and ideas for what we can do ourselves. I start with a new idea, it might be a new set of assets, a reference image, or a request and build on it from there. The biggest thing is trying to finish the map in a few days, I always try to have it done within about 3 days as otherwise I'll come up with a new idea and get distracted by working on that.”


Fynske Livregiment Line Infantry uniform by ApexPhantom

ApexPhantom has been making uniforms for regiments within the community for some time now, here’s what they had to say about why they got into Holdfast uniform creation.

“I enjoy bringing life to incredible historical uniforms. They can be challenging, but getting to play as some seriously dashing units is a great reward. But above all, I enjoy seeing the regiments that commissioned these outfits enjoying and using them.”


Sunny Fields by Skyold

From the first release of the Holdfast: Nations At War SDK, Skyold has been at the forefront of the map making community for the game. Their Historical battlefields and custom maps always make for good fun! Here’s what they had to say about their excellent work.

“I decided to start making mods because I wanted to express my creativity and bring some fresh maps into the game. For Sunny Fields, I wanted to try something new with dense tree lines, and I think it looks wonderful.”



It is not just the modding community within Holdfast that has been busy, community-hosted events also continue to bring evenings of fun, competition, and organisation almost 4 years since they first began. We’d like to thank everybody involved, players and admins, for bringing these wonderfully fun events to life each and every week.

We thoroughly encourage any players looking to sink their teeth into organised and regimental gameplay to enlist in one of the many regiments that can be found within the in-game’s regiment registry. Simply head over to the main menu, select regiment registry, and then find the regiment that best suits you.

Before you know it you’ll be marching through Flanders, Portugal and Spain alongside your fellow rankers!

Whether you’re interested in modding, hosting your own community events or just wanting to get involved deeper within our great community, the official Discord server is the place to be! It is your central hub for all things Holdfast and houses a plethora of channels dedicated to event and game announcements, regiment recruitment, game support, suggestions, history discussion, and more. Click below to join today!

http://discord.gg/holdfastgame



One of the community's most highly requested features is almost here! Map voting will be introduced into all official Holdfast public servers and be made available for community and privately hosted servers too via a configuration in the map rotation.

At the end of a round, the battle of muskets and powder will turn to one of democracy as players get presented with 4 map options to vote on. Whichever map receives the largest sum of votes will be played the following round.

Here’s a sneak peek of the system.







As mentioned in our Italian faction release blog, we have something much larger and ambitious in the works for Holdfast and while it is still too early to show anything, rest assured that the team is hard at work bringing ‘The Big Update’ to life! We’re all very excited to show you what we’ve been working on but that will come all in good time…


Thank you for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.





- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Wrexial, Walki, Cameron, Jackson, Rejenorst, Harper & Storey

Holdfast: Nations At War sees the release of another update. After undergoing significant iterations to improve performance, we’ve placed our focus on bug fixes.

Should you experience any issues, do get in touch with us on Discord! We’ll be sure to see to it.

http://discord.gg/holdfastgame







Changelog 68 - Game Version v1.17.7807.22653


Bug Fixes

● Solved multiple instances of players spawning on incorrect positions when selecting a forward position placed by the Infantry Officer class.

● Solved an issue with Aspern’s flags not showing when playing the Army Conquest game mode.

● Solved an instance where weapons could sometimes appear to be transparent.

● The Italian flag when playing on the Melee Arena game mode is no longer missing its pole.

● Solved an instance that caused errors when players contested a capture point.

● Solved an issue where players could find themselves killed when moving atop one of the houses on Sharpton.

● Solved an issue where the in-game chat had more padding between messages than originally intended.

● Solved an issue where empty lines appear in the chat when an administrator mutes an individual.

● Solved an issue where the mortar on Forth Christina was tilted by a few degrees.

● Changed the number of Infantry Officer class slots available to the default 6 for the following maps.
» Aspern
» Lamarsh Fen
» Marquette


Thank you for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.





- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Wrexial, Walki, Cameron, Jackson, Rejenorst, Harper & Storey

Complimenting the release a few days back, we’ll continue dishing out changes targeting optimisations, minor additions, and other quality of life improvements. Come have a read of our latest blog post for all that needs knowing.

Should you experience any issues, do get in touch with us on Discord! We’ll be sure to see to it.

http://discord.gg/holdfastgame







Changelog 67 - Game Version 1.16.7804.15850


Engine Update

● Updated the game engine Holdfast: Nations At War runs on to the latest patch release.


Optimisations

● Optimised multiple aspects of the game to reduce instances of framerate dips when players are spawning during the round.

● Optimised the chat to reduce stutter. This was most significant when players had the show ‘Shouts in Chat’ option enabled.

● Optimised the score log, animator, weapons, player banners, and buff indicators.

● Cleaned a lot of instances causing garbage allocation to improve stability.

● Optimised the following maps to improve performance.
» Autumn Watch
» Marquette
» Heartmound
» Sacred Valley
» Aspern


Bug Fixes

● Solved an issue with players being able to spawn atop the cave on Glacier.

● Solved an issue with one of the cannons on Tahir Desert getting stuck.

● Solved an issue with one of the rocket launcher emplacements on Aspern getting stuck.

● Solved instances of players being able to delay the round by glitching inside a building’s attic.

● Solved an issue with one of the pillars on Marquette being incorrectly textured.

● Solved an issue with the Italian Infantry Officer spawning a flag using the wrong flagpole.

● Solved an issue where the flag flutter sound wasn’t hooked to the ‘Environment’ audio slider.

● Attempted a fix towards an issue resulting in players getting stuck on map load.

● Solved an issue with one of the gates on Port Nile being difficult to interact with.

● Solved an instance where players could be seen T-Posing for 1 frame after spawning.


Quality of Life

● Changed the rc game parameter to feature additional parameters.
» rc game <MapName> <mapRotationIndexToOverload> <GameMode> <AttackerFaction><DefendingFaction>

● Administrators are now able to bypass the spectate and free flight lock.

● Increased the maximum configurable sprint speed of the freeflight camera setting from 90 to 500. It’ll allow event administrators to get to and from areas of the battlefield more quickly.


Game Servers

● Server hibernation now gets disabled during map change enabling the map to load faster.

● Simplified the start script of the Holdfast: Nations At War Windows dedicated server.

● Server hosts can now set servers to hibernate via the command line handler.
» -hibernate - This forces the server to hibernate if empty no matter the config setting.
» -hibernationFPS - This overrides the server's hibernation FPS limit no matter the config setting.


Holdfast SDK

● The Holdfast SDK has been updated to match the latest game engine update. Please download the following Unity version.
» Download Here


Thank you for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.





- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Wrexial, Walki, Cameron, Jackson, Rejenorst, Harper & Storey

Following the release of the Kingdom of Italy, we'll be pushing a smaller update targeting bug fixes, optimisations and other additions.

Should you have any questions about Holdfast or wish to participate in the community more, why not join the official Discord server? It is your central hub for all things Holdfast and houses a plethora of channels dedicated to event and game announcements, regiment recruitment, game support, suggestions, history discussion and more. Click below to join today!

http://discord.gg/holdfastgame







Changelog 66 - Game Version 1.15.7790.34383


Optimisations

● Optimised the Italian flag’s cloth of which shader was causing performance degradation.

● Shortened the Italian flag to match the standard French size. Server administrators must update their game servers for the weapon’s melee reach to match the new size.

● Optimised various uniforms across multiple factions.

● Optimised the weapon models.

● Optimised the carriable ladders to reduce garbage collection and therefore improve performance.


Bug Fixes

● Solved an issue with players appearing to be standing up when swapping their weapon.

● Solved a few grammatical errors visible which were visible when the player opened the voice acting panel.


Quality of Life

● Regiment leader names now load in order of the regiment’s rank on the registry.


Graphical

● Ramrods now detach from the weapon model as the player reloads the musket.


Thank you for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.





- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Wrexial, Walki, Cameron, Jackson, Rejenorst, Harper & Storey

Under the rule of Napoléon Bonaparte, the Kingdom of Italy marches bravely to the frontlines with this major update coming to Holdfast: Nations At War!

But that’s not all! Alongside a whole new faction, Holdfast: Nations At War will be graced with a new battlefield, new achievements, a 55% off game sale, user interface changes and gameplay tweaks. There’s plenty to check out this game update.

Not only will the base game be on sale but so will the cosmetic game DLCs (High-Command, Regiment of the Guard and Regiment of the Line) and Loyalist Edition of the game. These will be available at 15% off for the same duration.

This update took a collaborative effort from members of the Holdfast community and Anvil Game Studios. We’d like to give a massive shout out to all the members who assisted in bringing the Italian faction to life. Take a look further down this blog post to see all the good fellows who made this update possible.

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

Can’t wait to see the beautiful Italian uniforms? Take a look at the Italian faction in all its glory in this faction reveal trailer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxYdOxxLyK8

Headlining yet another major update to come to Holdfast: Nations At War, the Kingdom of Italy joins the fight.

As mentioned previously this update was a collaborative effort and would not have been possible without the dedication and brilliance of the Holdfast community. They aided with the creation of brand new uniforms, research and filming of trailer whilst working hand in hand with the development team every step of the way.

The Italian faction features 16 new uniforms, shouts and calls in the Italian tongue, 4 new playable musician songs and much more! Take a look at a handful of what is included within the Italian faction below.


Italian Infantry Officer (right) & Infantryman (left) of the 7° Reggimento Fanteria di Linea


Italian Flag Bearer (left) of the 7° Reggimento Fanteria di Linea & Surgeon (right) of the Corpo Medico

Italian Hussar (left) of the 2° Reggimento Cacciatori & Dragoon (right) of the Dragoni Napoleone


Marcia Nazionale played by an Italian Drummer & Fifer of the 7° Reggimento Fanteria di Linea

Be sure to jump in game to see the rest of the uniforms, shouts and musician songs.

Musician Tunes
● Ah! Ça Ira
● Marcia Guardia Nazionale
● Marcia Guardia Consolare
● Pas Redoublé

A big thank you from Anvil Game Studios to all the community members who participated in bringing this faction to life! Take a look at who was involved below.

Credits
● Aranos92
● Jack Aubrey
● Giulio Centanni
● Paolo Casali
● Piero Crociani
● FFlopper
● AndreXLVII
● ApexPhantom
● Meschia
● El Deutsch
● Seven7kill1
● Louis Nicolas Davout
● Barbarossa
● Sauron
● Andrea
● Iaen
● McKallister
● Cesco
● Galeazzo
● Jack01
● LuigiN64
● NattivStray
● Helbert
● Trollo
● Trooper
● Maestro
● Mattixroma
● Lepnat_vasquez
● Paololorenzo
● Vittorio Emanuele
● Conte Mascetti
● Dagoryan
● Discadusca
● Mikeyy
● Jeff
● Tarquinius
● Brosandman

The Italian faction is not the only community project coming to Holdfast this update. The winning map of the Battlefield Forger competition, Aspern by Willy, will also be added to the game. More information about the Battlefield Forger competition and its participants can be found here.

Set in and around a quiet countryside town this battlefield will see nations battling it out over control of the towns centre. Flanking riflemen will make good use of the small hills and fields that provide good vantage points if used correctly and Officers will bark orders at men lined behind broken walls for cover.



Well done once again to Willy for winning the competition and having their battlefield officially added to the game.

Regiment members rejoice as achievements specific to the Regiment Registry have arrived! In this update you will be able to obtain 3 new achievements for the following.

● Clan Enlistment
» Enlist and join a game clan through the Regiment Registry.

● Regiment Honours
» Enlist in a game clan and gather 10 match victories.

● Regiment Veteran
» Enlist in a game clan and slay 250 enemies.


Should you have any questions about Holdfast or wish to participate in the community more, why not join the official Discord server? It is your central hub for all things Holdfast and houses a plethora of channels dedicated to event and game announcements, regiment recruitment, game support, suggestions, history discussion and more. Click below to join today!

http://discord.gg/holdfastgame







Changelog 65 - Game Version 1.15.7779.32347

New Features

● A New Nation! The Kingdom of Italy joins the war thanks to a community-driven collaborative effort.
» Unique uniforms for all army branch units representative of the army during the era.
» 4 new marching tunes unique to the Italian fifer and drummer musicians.
» Orders, patriotic shouts, insults and a plethora of other voice-acted shouts unique to the faction.
» A unique victory stinger composed by the talented Sean Beeson.
» You can now select the Kingdom of Italy as your preferred faction of affiliation through the Regiment Registry.

● A New Map! Aspern by Willy. Set in and around a quiet countryside town this battlefield will see nations battling it out over control of the towns centre.

● 3 New Achievements! Regiment members rejoice as achievements specific to the Regiment Registry have arrived.
» Clan Enlistment
» Regiment Honours
» Regiment Veteran

● 2 New Achievements! Slay enemies whilst playing as the Russian or Italian faction.
» For the Fatherland!
» Viva l'Italia!


Backend

● Redesigned the game's backend to be able to support more than 4 factions into the game. Look forward to more in the future!


Gameplay

● Infantry Officers are no longer able to ride on horseback.

● A new setting has been introduced allowing administrators to have officers able to ride on horseback for the purpose of events.
» rc set vehicleHorseForOfficer true or false

● Slightly reduced horse gallop speed but improved maneuverability.

● Players able to mount on horseback will now be prompted with an interaction indicator instructing them to press ‘E’ when looking at a horse.


Quality of Life

● Introduced a search feature to the ‘Handover Regiment’ and ‘Moderator’ panels in the Regiment Registry.


Bug Fixes

● Solved an issue that allowed players to construct defenses outside a map’s borders.

● Solved an issue which sometimes showed players crouching to appear at standing.

● Solved an issue which caused festive trees to show outside season on some maps.

● Reduced the load times of the ever-growing regiment registry.

● Solved an issue with the Melee Arena leaderboard showing in an incorrect state when the extended view was closed.


Hop into Holdfast today and play as the new Italians! There are now more nations than ever at war. The generals of the British, Prussian, Russian, French and Italian armies call for your enlistment! Whose side will you pick?

There's more in store for Holdfast with a much larger, more-ambitious update being in the works. It will take time to see matters come to fruition but do stay tuned and most definitely look forward to what's to come.

Currently the good majority of the team is working on this while we also make time for less-sizable updates leading to its release to keep things going. We're most excited to share more but it’s still too early. Once we have something playable to show, the community will be the first to get their hands on and know about it. :heart:

Thank you for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.





- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Wrexial, Walki, Cameron, Jackson, Rejenorst, Harper & Storey

Another update makes its way to Holdfast: Nations At War! Version 1.14 will see bug fixes targeting cavalry mechanics, map-related issues solved amongst other minor additions. We’re also pushing all necessary back-end changes required to move official game servers over to a Linux infrastructure.

Come have a read of our blog post for more about this release.

Should you have any questions about Holdfast or wish to participate in the community more, why not join the official Discord server? It is your central hub for all things Holdfast and houses a plethora of channels dedicated to event and game announcements, regiment recruitment, game support, suggestions, history discussion and more.

Click below to join today!

https://discord.com/invite/holdfastgame









Changelog 64 - Game Version 1.14.7691.21021

Official Game Servers

● Necessary back-end changes required to move official game servers over to a Linux infrastructure are present in this update.
» It enables us to more quickly update official game servers to the latest version when a new game update is rolled out.

● Introduced a function allowing server hosts to place servers in hibernation mode if no players are connected to it. This will reduce CPU utilisation for idle game servers.
» Input the following commands in the server configuration file to make use of this function: server_hibernation_enabled true and server_hibernation_fps 5.


Standalone Windows Server

● A dedicated Windows OS server for Holdfast: Nations At War is now available.
» Download the server files through your Steam Library. Ensure that you have 'Tools' selection.


Cavalry Fixes

● Reduced the ghost range when striking with melee weapons while on horseback.

● Adjusted the horse’s hitbox to be more representative of the model.

● The ‘Horse Effects’ graphics setting toggle no longer mutes horse audio effects.

● Attempted fix towards an instance which sometimes caused horse-related audio effects to cut off.


Client Optimisations

● Minor optimisations targeting player movement.

● Minor optimisations targeting audio-related functions.

● Performed minor optimisations on Port Nile.


Bug Fixes

● Solved an instance which caused the server to crash.

● Solved an issue with featured servers not un-featuring themselves.

● Solved an issue causing players to get stuck when detaching their bayonet and interacting with a cannon.

● Prevented entry to certain locations on Port Nile which were not meant to be accessible.

● Solved an issue with the floor turning invisible on one of the destructible models on Fort Al Farid.

● Introduce free-flight camera colliders on Glacier.

● Solved an issue with forward positions on Glacier.

● Solved an issue with one of the wall structures next to the church on Lamarsh Fen.

● Solve an issue with an excessive amount of Cannoneers on Marquette.

● Solved an audio-related error that occurred when players hit with a cannon one of the gatehouses present on Canyon and Marquette.

● Solved an issue which caused players to fall underneath Fort Imperial when one of the houses was destroyed.


Game Balance

● Increased the defender’s reinforcements on Fort Darial by 15.

● Increased the reinforcements on Fort Al Farid for the defenders by 40. They also get 30 additional build points.


Atmosphere

● Musket and pistol sounds now come with added base for an additional kick when firing volleys.

● The weather audio slider will now default to 100 from 30 for players launching the game anew.


Graphical

● Changed the white circular banner displayed above player’s heads.


We do most certainly hope that you’re having a decent start of this new year. Stay tuned for more Holdfast updates! Expect new maps, player-suggested additions and major game-play focused updates throughout the year.

Thank you for your support and until next time, may good health be yours.





- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Wrexial, Walki, Cameron, Jackson, Rejenorst, Harper & Storey

If the turkey, stuffing balls and roast potatoes weren’t enough to fill you up this festive season then this most certainly will. Put musket to hand as Holdfast: Nations At War is running an increased XP event from Thursday the 31st of December until Monday the 4th of January 2021 to see us into the new year.

It is a perfect time for players looking to climb the leaderboards to gain some extra experience on their way to the top.



Ram your shot and fix bayonets because over the duration of the event you will be able to gather an additional 50% of experience upon completion of a round! Rank up your favourite classes or stake your claim as the best Carpenter around with this final festive treat for the new year.

Not only will you be able to rank up your soldier at an increased pace but you’ll also be able to collect medals along the way. With the recent addition of the valour medal, this event puts it slightly easier within your grasp.

Soldier Rank


Here’s a look at all the medals you can gather showing your prowess on the battlefield.

Bronze Medals - Soldier Rank 5, 10 & 15


Silver Medals - Soldier Rank 20, 25 & 30


Gold Medals - Soldier Rank 35, 40 & 45


Decorated Medals - Soldier Rank 50, 55 & 60


Valour Medals - Soldier Rank 65, 70 & 75


Regiments will similarly benefit from increased experience collected collaboratively by their fellows in arms. Prestige and gather decorative banners distinguishing your clan as you make your mark on the frontlines!

Regiment Registry


Banners representative of the regiment’s rank will display when an enlisted joins the match.

Regiment Banners - Level 1, Level 50 & Level 70


Regiment Banners - Prestige Rank 1, 2 & 3


Still undecided to take part in one of Holdfast spectacles? Linebattle events which see players en masse make good use of formations relevant to the Napoleonic era are participated by these same regiments throughout the week.

The devastatingly beautiful sound of musketry covers the field as you stand shoulder to shoulder. Enlist in a regiment today and fight for King and country!

Go to the ‘Regiment Registry’ from the game’s main menu and have you pick or simply ask around on Discord. You’ll find plenty willing to show you the ropes.

https://discord.com/invite/holdfastgame



Fight today as Holdfast: Nations At War continues its 60% off discount for the remainder of the Steam Winter Sale. With the recent release of a major content update, you’ll find more Holdfast than ever to experience and plenty of good fellows to play alongside with.

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

Not only is the base game of Holdfast: Nations At War on sale but as are the cosmetic game DLCs (High-Command and Regiment of the Line) and Loyalist Edition of the game. These will be available at 20% off for the remainder of the sale.

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/13424/Holdfast_Nations_At_War__Collectors_Edition/

Now collect your shillings from over there on the drum and make for the frontlines of the action-packed Holdfast battlefields.



Should you have any questions about Holdfast or wish to participate in the community more, why not join the official Discord server? It is your central hub for all things Holdfast and houses a plethora of channels dedicated to event and game announcements, regiment recruitment, game support, suggestions, history discussion and more.

Click below to join today!

https://discord.com/invite/holdfastgame






Happy new year folks.

Once again we thank you and until next time, may good health be yours.





- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Wrexial, Walki, Cameron, Jackson, Rejenorst, Harper & Storey