Apr 18, 2022

Holdfast: Nations At War - AGS | Refleax

Embark to the Gallipoli peninsula with the lads from down under! Holdfast: Frontlines will take to a new front in this major update. It will introduce a new amphibious landing scenario, Ottoman and Australian forces DLC, heavy artillery ship turrets and steamboats amongst other new gameplay mechanics. There's also plenty of new maps coming to the game!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdEL_tOvU6U

In conjunction with this update, Holdfast: Nations At War and all its DLC’s are on sale for a limited time! You can pick up the base game at 65% off and all its DLCs at 15% off. We look forward to welcoming plenty of new good fellows within the much-beloved community.

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

Take a read of everything coming in this action packed update below and have a sneak preview of some additional content making its way into the game very soon. Be sure to join us on Discord for all things Holdfast!

http://discord.gg/holdfastgame

New Battlefields

Heroes Landing

Board the rowboats and make for the shoreline! Fighting up the steep cliff sides against well dug in forces will challenge even the strongest of man.

Featuring the new invasion gamemode, ship turret artillery, steamboats mounted with machine guns, climbing ropes and the Australian and Ottoman forces DLC, Heroes Landing offers a new amphibious landing experience. Fight your way up from the shoreline and through the local town that leads to a coastal fortification waiting to be besieged.

Sacrifice

This medium sized battlefield blanketed in snow features 3 defined trench lines to defend and attack from. Stand your ground, or climb over the top and under into the bunker systems that run below. Just make sure to watch your step in the burning wheat field or you may meet a very hot unfortunate end.

Berkton Green

Going for a stroll in this park may not be the greatest of choices, although it may look peaceful and pleasant, its land will soon be tarnished and tainted by the scourge of war. Fight for control of the central church, seize the town's factory or ransack the marketplace in this medium sized battlefield coming this update.

Al Uddin Ruins

As promised in our roadmap, new Linebattle focussed maps will be making their way into the Napoleonic Era side of the game. Al Uddin Ruins, is the first of this new series of Linebattle maps coming to Holdfast: Nations at War. The ruins of Al Uddin will now be host to the calamitous yet glorious battles of the Napoleonic Era and has been designed with the competitive gameplay Linebattle enjoyers all know and love at the forefront.

Expanding Coalitions

Fight for the glory of the Ottoman Empire and enlist in the good Aussies from down under with the new Ottoman & Australian Forces DLCs. Both DLCs along with the previously released American Forces DLC now feature unique voice acted cheers, shouts and insults.

A special thanks to streamers GassyMexican and Inrictus for lending their voices for the Americans and Australians. We look forward to hearing their wonderful shouts and cheers throughout the battlefield.

Content present in Holdfast: Nations At War DLCs is purely cosmetic. It doesn’t and never will impact gameplay. Your kind generosity will be put to good use and bring this genre of roleplay warfare games which all of us are fond of into the limelight.

Australian Forces

Join the lads from down under in their conquests for King and Country. Secure the beachhead with the valiant men from the 6th Victoria Battalion in the campaign for Gallipoli. Fall-in! Australia needs you now.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1960220/Holdfast_Frontlines_WW1__Australian_Forces

Ottoman Forces

Fight with the bravest of the brave for God and glory! In defence of their homeland, take up arms with the 57'nci Piyade Alayı to fend off the invader. The fate of the Ottoman Empire rests in your hands.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1960210/Holdfast_Frontlines_WW1__Ottoman_Forces

Roleplay Features

Carriable flags have been implemented across all battlefields on the Napoleonic side of the game. Players can now charge into battle carrying the colours of their nation by simply picking one up from their spawn.

Capturing the colours of the enemy was certainly a valiant achievement of the soldiers of the time, any man carrying these banners into battle may very well be inspiring his fellow men but shall also be placing a very large target on themselves.

A Look Ahead

Since the release of Frontlines the team has been hard at work on multiple areas of Holdfast, ranging across Nations at War to Frontlines. The expansion of our team has allowed us to dedicate more resources and time working on additional content to both sides of the game and we look forward to revealing more in the near future.

Join us in wishing a warm welcome to Stan! Yet another fellow member of the existing Holdfast community who we've pulled from the ranks to join as a Level Designer & Game Developer. Look forward to seeing more of his creations in future updates.

In the meantime, take a look below at a sneak preview of content that will be coming to Holdfast soon.

Be sure to take a read of our development roadmap blog post to find out what else will be coming to Holdfast in the future.

Changelog 77 - Game Version v2.3.8143.25218

New Features

● Invasion Game Mode. Repel the invader in defense of your homeland! This siege-inspired game mode will see factions on either side struggle to capture or hold territory over multiple locations on the battlefield.

● Ottoman & Australian Forces. Take up arms with the 57'nci Piyade Alayı to fend off the invader or fight for King and country with the valiant men from the 6th Victoria Battalion.

● American Forces VA. Unique cheers, shouts and insults for the doughboys.

● 4 New Maps. Heroes Landing inspired by the iconic Gallipoli campaign, Sacrifice, Berkton Green and Al Uddin Ruins.

● Black Forest is now playable on the Army Battlefield and Army Conquest game modes. Join an Army Front server to check it out.

● King George is now playable on the Army Conquest game mode. Join an Army Front server to check it out.

● Desert Plains 1 (S) is now playable on the Army Battlefield and Army Conquest game modes. Join an Army Front server to check it out.

● Dreadnought Gun Turrets. These truly fearsome weapons of war are tasked with shelling land to soften defenses for the landing parties to make a foothold.

● Steam Boats. Equipped with an MG, these boats are tasked with ferrying men on shore.

● Pick up the colours! With this new roleplay feature players can now charge into Napoleonic battles carrying the colours of their nation by simply picking one up from their spawn.

●Introduced unique announcer audio queues when domination is in effect whilst playing the Offensive game mode.

● Introduced camera shake when firing Napoleonic Field Guns and Mortars.

● Introduced a function allowing us greater control over the map vote history count. We can now base this on the number of players in a particular server.
» IE. It'll provide us with the ability to set history counts to a higher value so the same map would appear as part of the voting selection less often.
» This will be adjusted over time on official servers as we gather more data.

Holdfast SDK

● Scripting functionality for the Holdfast SDK makes a comeback. You can now once more enjoy the Commander Battle game mode.
» Join the following Discord for more - Holdfast Commander Discord.

Gameplay & Misc

● Improved the background healthbar flag image for the Aussies.

● Updated fire particles on all maps and campfires.

● Restricted players from going inside the barn on Causeways.

● Restricted Sappers from building defenses in the openings of the defender spawn on Fort Salettes.

● Restricted Sappers from building defenses in the attacker spawn on Heartmound.

● Replanted the big tree on the hill left of the attacker spawn on Island Plains 1 (L).

● Shrunk the broken tree to the left of the defender spawn providing better visibility for those artillery pieces left behind spawn defences on Island Plains 1 (L).

● Lowered the water levels to prevent players from almost submerging themselves fully on Island Plains 1 (L).

● The toppled barbed wire fence on Mansion near the objective G point no longer deals damage.

● Smoothed the shoreline on South Sea Castle to allow players to more easily get out of the water from swimming onto the beach.

● Restricted players from going outside the borders using cavalry units on Tahir Desert.

● Blocked several locations to prevent players from going out of the map borders on Port Nile.

● You can no longer go underneath the terrain using field guns on Marquette.

● You can now lower the Napoleonic rocket launcher platform further to the ground.

Optimisations

● Optimised the player connection and disconnection flow. It no longer causes framerate to drop on the server. This should greatly aid the public play experience.

● Optimised the cannonball ragdoll corpses and physical projectiles.

● Optimised ship spawning and instansitation.

Server Administration

● Use the following command to automatically sink rowboats and steamboats that aren’t being used.
» rc set autoKillableBoatCooldownTimer 60

● Use the following command to spawn WW1 artillery pieces through object overrides.
» FrontlinesMoveableHeavyMortar
» FrontlinesHeavyMortar
» FrontlinesLightHowitzer
» FrontlinesHeavyHowitzer
» FrontlinesHowitzerAmmoboxMoveable
» FrontlinesHowitzerAmmobox
» FrontlinesMortarAmmoboxMoveable
» FrontlinesMortarAmmobox
» FrontlinesStaticMachineGunAllied
» FrontlinesStaticMachineGunCentral
» FrontlinesMachineGunAmmoboxMoveable
» FrontlinesMachineGunAmmobox

● Use the following command to define a map vote history count based on the number of players in a particular server.
» map_voting_history_count_verylow 1
» map_voting_history_count_low 2
» map_voting_history_count_medium 4
» map_voting_history_count_high 10

● You can now alternatively use the ‘Offensive’ parameter instead of ‘FrontlinesOffensive’ to enable this game mode.

● Removed Elf’s built-in Auto-Admin since mod functionality is now back in action.
» eLFs Auto Linebattle Admin V1.0

● Use the following commands to configure cavalry related mechanics.
» rc set vehicleAllowCollisionSlowdown true/false
» rc set vehicleAllowDamageRearing true/false
» rc set vehicleAllowDamageSlowdown true/false
» rc set vehicleDamageResistanceMultiplier 1

● Use the following command to allow or disallow artillery pieces from firing.
» rc set allowArtyFiring true/false

● Use the following command to control the cooldown timers for rowboat and steamboat spawners.
» rc set rowboatCooldownBetweenSpawns 30
» rc set gunboatCooldownBetweenSpawns 60

● Use the following command to disallow ships from getting stolen by one faction or the other. IE. Stop the defenders from sallying out using the attacker's ships.
» rc set allowShipStealing true/false

● Server administrators are now provided with the functionality to mask a player’s name from the Round Players ‘P’ menu.

● Rc commands are now tracked in the admin actions log file.

Localisation

● Revisited the German translation. Special thanks to these good fellows for their helping hand.
» Friedrich
» Julian von Hipper

● Revisited the French translation. Special thanks to these good fellows for their helping hand.
» Skyold
» Teonino
» Kanuk
» Leiloan

● Revisited the Italian translation. Special thanks to these good fellows for their helping hand.
» Aranos92
» Thor Tellino
» Jack Aubrey
» Barba Rossa
» Andrea
» Meschia

● Revisited the Spanish (European) translation. Special thanks to this good fellow for their helping hand.
» SirTosky

● Revisited the Portuguese (Brazil) translation. Special thanks to this good fellow for their helping hand.
» Tatic

● Revisited the Russian translation. Special thanks to these good fellows for their helping hand.
» Turkmenbashy
» yav4ik
» ImmuneDiamond
» Eustis
» CorporalCorgi

● Revisited the Czech translation. Special thanks to these good fellows for their helping hand.
» Fainey
» Thompson

● Revisited the Dutch translation. Special thanks to this good fellow for their helping hand.
» Fortune

● Revisited the Swedish translation. Special thanks to these good fellows for their helping hand.
» Ingvarsson
» Nordahl
» Baudino

● Revisited the Romanian translation. Special thanks to this good fellow for their helping hand.
» Alexaroth

● Revisited the Chinese (Simplified) translation. Special thanks to this good fellow for their helping hand.
» Lengeka

● Revisited the Chinese (Traditional) translation. Special thanks to this good fellow for their helping hand.
» Lengeka

● Revisited the Greek translation. Special thanks to these good fellows for their helping hand.
» Papanikoles
» Dredd

● Revisited the Polish translation. Special thanks to these good fellows for their helping hand.
» Szime'on
» Swayze.Express
» Czechu

● Revisited the Korean translation. Special thanks to these good fellows for their helping hand.
» SNG
» HRDG | Lemonid
» HRDG | KayYou

Bug Fixes

● Solved an issue with the Kaiheilia integration appearing in the Chinese (Traditional) language setting.

● Solved an issue where rockets remained visible on the ground after exploding.

● Solved an issue where water puddles looked like oil spills.

● Solved an issue where the British Officer could sometimes spawn missing a head.

● Solved an issue where the server wouldn’t automatically restart if the thread was stuck.

● Solved an issue where the objective announcer audio was unintentionally playing on Conquest and Siege game modes.

● Attempted fix towards an issue which causes players to turn invisible on Naval Warfront servers.

● Solved an issue which enabled players to double jump using gesture animations.

● Solved an issue which stopped melee strikes from going through water.

● Solved an issue which caused servers to lock out if the map history count exceeded the number of available maps in a rotation.

● Solved an issue where all footstep sounds defaulted to the dirt audio.

● Solved an issue where scaled buildings didn’t play nicely with destruction.

● Solved an issue which removed all pain and grunt related audio from the game.

● Solved an issue which enabled blocking sounds to be heard from all over the map irrespective of the distance.

● Solved an issue which enabled all classes to pack and unpack a rocket launcher. Packing, unpacking and aiming is now reserved for Cannoneers and Rocketeers.

● Solved an issue with the Italian intractable flag showing up as Russian.

● Solved an issue with rocket launchers and ladders not being able to go over bridges and other obstacles.

● Solved issues with floating trees on multiple maps.

● Solved an issue with vultures rendering behind clouds.

● Solved an issue with the hedges on Causeways being too bright.

● Solved an issue with metal doors on the factory storage structure being assigned the wrong material type.

● Solved an issue with metal doors being damaged with melee weapons.

● Solved multiple inconsistencies across the attacking and defending staring locations on all Nations At War maps.IE. They will now be consistent across all maps where attackers and defenders spawn for the different game modes.
» Attackers on Army Assault will spawn in the same general location as the Attackers on Army Conquest.

● Solved an issue with objects popping inside houses on Aspern.

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Army Conquest game mode when playing on Aspern.

● Solved an issue with water being too elevated atop of the dam on Aunby Valley.

● Solved an issue with the players swimming above water on Aunby Valley.

● Solved an issue with gaps being visible between the water and rocks where the river starts at the bottom of the dam on Aunby Valley.

● Solved an issue where players could clip through the rock cliff near the defender spawn on Aunby Valley.

● Solved an issue which caused players to float when walking on the bridge present on Balamor Bay.

● Removed the swivel guns on Black Forest when the Army Assault game mode is in play.

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on Camp Salamanca when the Army Assault, Army Battlefield and Army Conquest game mode is in play.

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on Canyon when the Melee Arena game mode is in play.

● Solved an issue with mushroom props floating above ground on Countryside.

● Solved an issue with the rat on Countryside going through the terrain.

● Solved an issue with building props disappearing before the building collapses on Countryside.

● Solved an issue where one of the rifle props on Countryside was assigned an incorrect texture.

● Solved an issue where the outer terrain on Crosshills was a part of the playable area.

● Solved an issue on Desert Plains 1 (S) where twice the Carpenter class slots were present instead of the Sapper when playing the Army Conquest game mode.

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Army Conquest game mode when playing on Desert Ruins.

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Army Conquest game mode when playing on Dutch Canals.

● Solved an issue with the dirt mound defenses not rendering properly on Fort Christina.

● Solved an issue with the terrain surrounding the gates on Fort Al Farid.

● Solved an issue that caused players to get stuck on the bridge outside the fort on Fort Al Farid.

● Solved an issue with flag poles not displaying correctly when the Kingdom of Italy faction is in play on Fort Arena.

● Replaced a remnant of the old trees with the new ones on Fort Darial.

● Solved an issue with the sandbags in the attacker dugouts looking stretched on Fort Darial.

● Solved an issue with the defender rockets on Fort Darial being immobile.

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Army Conquest game mode when playing on Fort Schwarz.

● Solved multiple visual issues on the ground in the upper section of Fort Salettes.

● Solved an issue with a void appearing on a section of Fort Sallettes’ outer terrain.

● Solved an issue where snow particle effects remained visible when inside Fort Salettes.

● Solved an issue with rocks going amiss near one of the tunnel entrances on Foxhole.

● Solved an issue with mesh faces missing when the bunker was destroyed on Foxhole.

● Solved an issue with props despawning before a building collapses on Freurlund.

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Army Assault and Army Battlefield game mode when playing on Glacier.

● Solved an issue with capture points on Glacier when playing the Army Siege game mode.

● Solved an issue with the ice material type on Glacier.

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Army Conquest game mode when playing on Glassy Plains 1 (L).

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Army Conquest game mode when playing on Glassy Plains 2 (L).

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Army Conquest game mode when playing on Glassy Plains 5 (L).

● Solved an issue with the river flowing incorrectly on Glassy Plains 5 (L).

● Solved an issue with the waterfall on Glassy Plains 5 (L).

● Solved an issue where the player floated above the water when swimming on Heartmound.

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Army Conquest game mode when playing on Highlands.

● Slightly raised some of the spawn points in an attempt to solve issues surrounding cavalry on Highlands.

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Army Conquest game mode when playing on Island Plains 1 (L).

● Solved an issue with the out of bounds river on Linburg morphing unnaturally.

● Solved an issue with props despawning before a building collapses on Mansion.

● Solved an issue with props despawning before a building collapses on Marre.

● Solved an issue with the capture location of the trench objective on Marre.

● Solved an issue which enabled players to hide inside one of the rocks near objective B on Marre.

● Solved an issue with one of the benches in the attacker spawn being submerged underground on Marre.

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Melee Arena game mode when playing on Sacred Arena.

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Army Conquest game mode when playing on Sacred Valley.

● Solved an issue with the terrain being too rugged under the bridge on Sacred Valley.

● Solved an issue with the water level on Sacred valley so players don’t submerge themselves while running.

● Solved an issue with the firewood sticking through the wall on Sacred Valley.

● Solved an issue with the water level on Sharpton. It no longer causes the player to submerge or float when swimming.

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Army Conquest and Army Battlefield game modes when playing on Snowy Plains 1 (L).

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Army Conquest game mode when playing on Snowy Plains 2 (L).

● Solved an issue with an unwanted collider near the well on Spanish Farm.

● Solved an issue with props despawning before a building collapses on St. Peter’s.

● Solved an issue with spawn indexes being swapped on the Army Conquest game mode when playing on Tahir Desert.

● Replaced the remnants of the old bushes with new ones on Tahir Desert.

● Removed a small patch of misplaced grass terrain texture on Tahir Desert.

Stay tuned from more of us this year! Until then, may good health be yours. ːrheartrː

- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Wrexial, Walki, Jackson, Rejenorst, Harper, Storey, UberJuice, Stan & Winston (The Cat).

Mar 3, 2022

Game Update. Bug Fixes & Additions

Holdfast: Nations At War - AGS | Refleax

Greetings good fellows of the Holdfast community! After the most exciting release of Frontlines, we’ll be pushing forward the first patch featuring bug fixes, optimisations amongst other additions. Come have a read of our latest blog post for all that needs knowing.

Expect more gameplay focused content to hit the game in April.

https://discord.com/invite/holdfastgame

Changelog 75 - Game Version v2.1.8096.40598

Bug Fixes

● Solved an issue where sometimes players turned invisible.

● Solved an issue with incorrect decimal numbers being read on server and client files when a language other than English is involved.

● Solved an issue where certain actions of the game chat could crash the game during the round’s end.

● Solved an issue where cavalry against cavalry collision wasn’t working as intended.

● Experimental fix towards an issue which caused squad camps to not show correctly in the spawn menu.

● Solved an issue which was causing naval servers to crash when a ship or a boat despawns.

● Solved an issue with incorrect clean-up occurring on interactable objects when it gets destroyed.

● Experimental fix towards an issue causing players to get stuck after they spawn.

● Solved an issue with the Mauser’s bayonet being incorrectly positioned.

● Solved an issue with the Fieldguns in Nations At War being difficult to interact with.

● Solved an issue with certain modded uniforms appearing in white when using the UBER shader.

● Solved an issue with certain modded uniforms appearing in pink when a mobile shader was involved.

● Solved an issue where players would be presented with a config error when launching the game.

● Experimental fix towards and issue which caused settings to reset on launch.

● Solved an issue where cannonballs where not penetrating through objects.

● Solved an issue where the damage radius of mortars and rockets was smaller than initially intended.

● Solved a memory leak with explosions on the server.

● Solved an issue where cannons where not recoiling correctly.

● Solved an issue where players didn’t play the crouching animation when aiming a cannon.

● Solved an error which occurred when players respawned.

● Solved an error which occurred when a player fired his firearm.

● Solved an issue when explosions erroring out if the player disconnects from the server.

● Solved an issue where grenades damaged individuals standing behind the protection of artillery shields still received damage.

● Solved an issue where players got stuck in position after spawning.

● Solved multiple issues revolving around the opening and closing of squads.

● Solved issues with line shader placement on the terrain.

● Changed the way the settings file is saved to try to avoid corruption.

● Solved an issue with one of the officers missing a head.

● Solved an issue where the ‘Fire’ command was not being correctly synched.

● Solved a bug with the locked server’s filter.

● Officer flags now use the correct material.

● Solved an issue with the artillery related UI not showing when an artilleryman takes over a piece from another player.

● Changed the rocket launcher to once again allow for freer downhill and uphill aiming.

● Solved an issue with horse saddles not looking as intended due to low mipmap priority.

● Solved an issue with lights from lanterns and other objects not rendering correctly when look from certain angles.

● Solved an issue with missing textures appearing in purple on Blackforest.

● Solved an issue with weather particles leaking inside the tunnel on St Peters.

● Fixed an issue with the river on Mansion not producing particles when shot at with a firearm.

● Solved an issue with one of the buildings not producing dust particles when destroyed.

● Solved multiple issues with incorrect particles and sounds playing when shooting at specific objects with a firearm.

● Solved an issue with the biplane on animating. You can now see it flying around as the battle rages on.

● Solved an issue with warnings appearing due to missing sounds on terrain.

● Solved an issue with the rainbow being too close to the playable terrain on Blackforest.

● Solved an issue with some of the barbed wire props not dealing damage.

● Solved an issue where players had to deconstruct barrels after exploding in other to build them again.

● Solved an issue with cannonball trails erroring out on low graphic preset options.

● Solved an issue with musket particles not appearing as intended when the particle is out of view.

Optimisation

● Optimisation passes on touch bending for grass interaction.

● Optimisation passes on the snow weather effects.

● Optimisation passes on the animator.

● Optimised and adjusted the explosion and smoke effects.

● Optimisation on data packets being sent to early prior to joining the server.

● Introduced an additional function to aid players with below the recommended RAM requirements to launch the game.

● Players now default to full screen borderless rather than full screen exclusive.

● Optimised the ocean to gain a significant FPS boost.

● Optimised the game’s user interface.

● Optimised cannon, grenades, mortar, shell and other physical projectile objects.

● Optimised the main menu scenes to reduce RAM usage.

Gameplay

● It should now be much easier to place a line whilst playing as the Infantry Officer class.

● Adjusted the detection of the line marker placed by the Infantry Officer class so players can more easily get the buff while standing behind it.

● Reintroduced all missing spawnable objects.

● Squads no longer output player join and leave messages in chat.

● Introduced new direction indicators for when an officer spawns a table.

● Officer respawn points are now hidden when aiming a firearm or using an artillery piece.

● Engineer and Sapper pre-placement buildable object identifiers now retain the rotation of the previously placed object.

● Grassy maps on both Nations At War and Frontlines now have less of a chance to randomise weather.

● Grassy maps will no longer feature snowy weather pre-sets when randomising weather.

● Adjusted the frequency of certain snowy weather types on snow maps.

● Adjusted the ocean and the terrain surrounding the river on Island Plains.

● A different big tree on Island Plains has magically reappeared.

● Blocked off swimable areas on the Mansion map.

● Introduced some more boxes to make windows passable on Foxhole.

● You can now shoot through the window barricades on Foxhole.

● Changed how the Sapper menu works to be more responsive when swapping weapons.

Quality of Life

● You can now launch the Round Player ‘P’ panel when the match is at an end or voting initiates.

Misc

● Introduced a new loading screen on Foxhole.

● Introduced a sample ‘serverconfig_frontlines_default.txt’ to dedicated servers.

● The DLC text label now supports localised languages.

● Removed multiple unnecessary log messages.

Localisation

● Updated the Chinese Simplified and Chinese Traditional languages (Lengeka).

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

Until then, may good health be yours. 💕

- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Wrexial, Walki, Cameron, Jackson, Rejenorst, Harper, Storey, UberJuice & Winston (The Cat).

Feb 17, 2022

Frontlines Released. March into WW1!

Holdfast: Nations At War - AGS | Refleax

Take your orders and make way to the frontlines with the release of Holdfast’s most ambitious and biggest update yet. After a year's worth of development we are pleased to announce ‘Holdfast: Frontlines’ a free World War 1 total-conversion DLC releasing as a show of thanks to our most beloved community.

Frontlines has been completely integrated into the base game, meaning all current Holdfast owners will obtain the expansion at no additional cost by simply updating their game. Similarly, if you do not own the game you will gain access to both Holdfast: Nations At War and Holdfast: Frontlines by purchasing it.

Have a look at the release trailer for this major update.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQbmVTfsqp8

Those looking to take their first steps in Holdfast, either on the battlefields of the Napoleonic Era or into the no man's lands of the Great War will be able to pick-up Holdfast for a massive 60% off for the 2 weeks preceding the release of Frontlines.

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

Before taking to the front, be sure to take a read below of all that comes to Holdfast with the release of this major update.

Experience the Great War!

March into the Great War and experience the battlefields of World War One, featuring, new factions and playable classes, artillery pieces, infamous machine guns of the time, grenades, rifles, squads and camps serving as forward positions, additional role-play features, plenty of destruction, 7 unique maps and a brand new game-mode ‘Offensive’.

Whether you prefer shelling enemy footholds, defending trenches at the frontlines, leading squads or supporting your team by constructing defences there will be plenty for you to sink your teeth into.

Faction Coalitions

The 1st World War as the name suggests encompassed the globe, bringing nations into conflict that were previously separated by sometimes thousands of miles. Frontlines features two coalitions that each represent the scale of the war - The Allied Powers and the Central Powers. These factions house within them nations of their own.

The Allied Forces consist of troops from the British Empire, France, Australia and the United States as part of the American Forces DLC. Each nation is represented uniquely and is class specific. For example, the Engineers of the Allied Powers consist only of the good fellows from down under. Currently, the Central Powers are made up of German infantry only, however, we’d love to represent the additional nations of the Central Powers in future updates to continue representing those who took part in this historic conflict.

Fight for King and Country or for the Kaiser! Pick your side and engage in the greatest of wars.

New Classes

As war tactics and technological advancements developed so did that of specialised roles within the ranks. As is the case with Holdfast: Nations at War, Frontlines will also feature unique classes that offer specialised traits and abilities. The classes featured in Frontlines at launch are Officers, Riflemen, Combat Medics, Artillerymen and Engineers.

No matter your play style you will be able to find a class that best suits your personal war efforts! Take a read into the specifics of each class below.

Infantry Officer

Soldiers have always needed leaders, great tacticians and fearless decision makers. Officers in Holdfast: Frontlines are more important than ever with the introduction of squad system mechanics and squad camps to provide forward spawn positions for your men. Equipped with a quick firing revolver, despite having a short range, officers can quickly eliminate enemy troops at close range in rapid succession if required. Officers also carry smoke grenades with them to provide cover for their squad to advance.

Abilities

High Command - An officer in command. You are able to issue orders to the rank and file.

Traits

Distinguishable - Stand out from the rank and file. You appear differently on the minimap.

Resilient- A strong sense of duty. Melee damage dealt to you by other players is reduced by 15%.

Light Footed - Agile and equipped with a great understanding of the surrounding terrain. You are able to quickly move about increasing your running speed by 7%.

Rifleman

As infantry rifles became increasingly improved, riflemen soon took over the face of battlefields with their sharp accuracy, firing rate and new-found maneuverability with the abolishment of line-formation. These men come not only in large numbers but also pack a punch being equipped with a bayoneted rifle and hand grenades.

Abilities

Rank & File - Drills, drills and more drills. Your extensive discipline allows you to receive firearm accuracy and melee damage bonuses from orders given by officers.

Additional score is given for killing or maiming someone while following officer orders.

Guardsman - Duty bound to guard the high-command. You reduce the damage dealt to nearby allied officers and medics by 8% (Stacks 8 times).

Bayonet Handling - Drilled in the handling of bayonets. Charge with a bayonet equipped and make use of your trusty rifle as a makeshift spear in melee combat or detach it from your weapon to gather a 5% increase in firearm accuracy.

Press the ‘T’ key to attach or detach your bayonet when equipping a rifle.

Traits

Orderly - Strength in numbers. You significantly increase your chances of surviving shots from firearms at longer distances when engaged in combat as a group.

Following an officer’s order to hold ground will activate this trait.

Medic

With the nature of the war, casualties and injured soldiers were ever more prominent and as such required medics to push themselves to their limits in the horrors of the war. The Combat Medic class, as the name suggests, provides medical assistance on the frontlines for those lucky enough to just escape death. Equipped with a rifle for defence and smoke grenades for healing cover, medics can ensure attacks and defences to not falter by keeping soldiers alive.

Abilities

Medicine - Well versed in the field of medicine. You are able to heal wounded players.

Bandage - Duty bound to guard the high-command. You reduce the damage dealt to nearby allied officers and surgeons.

Traits

Distinguishable - Stand out from the rank and file. You appear differently on the mini-map.

Engineer

With the stalemate of trench warfare, engineers played important roles in attempting to break that said stalemate. Provide your team with important on-the-fly defences, reinforce the trenches or build carryable machine guns and ammo boxes to support your fellow men.

Abilities

Engineering - Well versed in the construction of military works. You are able to enact various defensive emplacements and artillery.

Explosives Handling - Well versed in the handling of explosives. You are able to carry explosives.

Traits

Distinguishable - Stand out from the rank and file. You appear differently on the mini-map.

Artilleryman

Utilising Howitzers and Mortars the artillerymen of the time carved chunks out of both man and land. These wielders of such great destruction and power can reign hellfire down upon the enemy, using howitzer shells or mortars. Artillerymen can also provide a large smoke screen to aid allied troops by firing smoke shells.

Abilities

Artillery Operator - Trained in the operation of various artillery pieces. You have sole ownership over the use of howitzers, mortars and other artillery.

Grants the ability to see where your mortar shells land as well as a range indicator to fire shells with great precision.

Traits

Light Footed - Agile and equipped with a great understanding of the surrounding terrain. You are able to quickly move about increasing your running speed.

Artillery Pieces

Artillery was synonymous during the Great War and could quite literally shape the face of the battlefields of the time, both physically and metaphorically.

Frontlines introduces 4 new artillery types - Light Howitzers, Heavy Howitzers, Fixed Heavy Mortars and Heavy Mortars. All pieces come with unique traits that will be better suited to specific scenarios.

Heavy Howitzers feature a slower firing rate but have increased damage and area of effect, perfect for bringing down well defended structures. In contrast, the Light Howitzers are easier to manoeuvre and feature a faster firing rate perhaps more appropriate for targeting infantry.

Mortars offer a way to reach parts of the battlefield usually unobtainable by conventional artillery cannons due to their nature of soaring over the battlefield rather than through it. This unique ability of Mortars make them a nightmare to escape as cover offers little protection. Heavy Mortars require a longer setup time, manoeuvring into position but allow you to position them exactly where desired. Fixed Heavy Mortars require no setup time as they have been pre-placed in specific strategic positions to offer optimal bombardment coverage of capture points and strategic positions.

Given the right crew these artillery pieces, if combined and well organised, can devastate the battlefields of Frontlines and push your team forward to victory!

Machine Guns

Arguably the sole cause for trench warfare, the invention of the machine gun changed wars forever. Although making you a target, utilising machine-guns can ensure your teams defensive lines hold and used correctly machine guns can provide cover for advancing charges over the top and cut a way through to enemy lines. Frontlines features both fixed and carryable machine guns constructed by engineers.

Those who take the side of the Allied Forces can expect to use the iconic Vickers machine gun and those of the Central Powers are provided with the dominating Maschinengewehr 08. Pressing the ‘Rick Click’ mouse button while aiming with this gun will zoom in providing you better visibility of the enemy.

Grenades

Storm trenches, blow up defences and provide support for your team with the introduction of grenades. Genades can be used to break deadlocks with well dug in enemies, provide smoke screens against machine gun fire and blast enemy built defenses and squad camps to smithereens.

Aim a grenade by holding the ‘Left Mouse’ button then release it to throw. Quick throws are also a possibility and can be achieved by tapping the ‘Left Mouse’ button rather than holding it.

Rifles

With a level of accuracy never reached before, the introduction of rifles changed how wars were fought forever. Their faster firing rate, reload times and compact size make the muskets of the Napoleonic Era feel futile in comparison. Those who are skilled marksmen will be able to eliminate enemies instantly by a headshot kill, dropping the enemy where they stand and ringing out a ‘ding’ that will surely send shivers down the spines of anyone close by.

The infantry class’s rifles specifically come with detachable bayonets that players can swap to and engage in close melee combat should the enemy breach their defences.

Squad Camps

With the increased scale of warfare, squad camps provide a way for players to set up forward positions to quickly engage back in combat should they fall victim to death. These camps are placed by Officers and can be spawned on unlimited amounts of times by their squad members.

Should you find an enemy encampment, quickly destroy it using explosive grenades or shooting at it with your firearm to push that squad back to their team’s HQ.

Roleplay Features

Roleplay has always been at the forefront of Holdfast and its community. Frontlines will be no exception, the release of Frontlines introduces plenty of new roleplay features to bring the war to life. Play rock, paper, scissors with your fellow trench-men, take a snooze on a bed while others bravely fight on, play classical musical instruments such as the new cello, surrender to your enemies and much more.

Can’t decide who’s going over the top first? Why not settle it with a good old fashioned game of rock, paper, scissors. Simply open the gesture menu by pressing ‘v’ and select your desired outcome.

Fought to the last man against all odds? There's no shame in surrendering. Be aware as warcrimes are often committed during these most dire times.

Are the frontlines too much? Have you fallen sick or taken a bullet wound? Head to the medical beds and rest up, the medics will keep you in good health and get you fighting fit ready for battle once more. Players will heal up when resting.

Good soldiers follow orders! March to the front with splendid discipline by using the new ‘March’ gesture. This gesture will shoulder your rifle while still allowing you to march onwards with your squad.

Go over the top! Utilise ladders across the battlefield and in trenches to reach new heights. These ladders can be used by pressing your ‘E’ or ‘USE’ key respectively whilst looking at one.

Bring music to all with the Gramophone. These wonderful music players bring joy to us all during the most harrowing of times. These can be found pre-placed around various locations on maps and feature both songs appropriate to the Allied and the Central Powers

Patriotism runs rampant. Carry a faction’s flag from your Headquarters and make with it to the frontlines! Should you drop your flag and leave it defenceless, the enemy can capture the flag in a display of dominance. You will also benefit from a 10% increase in movement speed while carrying the flag.

Sound the call to go up and over the trenches! The trench whistle is available as part of the officer’s utility selection similar to how a spyglass functions. Select the whistle by pressing the ‘J’ key to send out a signal for your men to charge over the top!

Become the next Mozart with a click of a button. Play tunes together with cellos and pianos creating a beautiful orchestra.

These are only a few of the many new roleplay features you can expect to find in Frontlines. We look forward to seeing them put to good use.

Destruction

One of the most destructive wars in history, destroying earth, brick and man. Destruction in Frontlines is taken to another level yet to be seen in Holdfast before. The good majority of structures in Frontlines can be brought down to its foundations by artillery.

Take a look at the scale of destruction you can cause in the examples below.

Battlefields

Inspired by WW1 battles, the battlefields of Frontlines feature all of the aspects of WW1 warfare, featuring trenches, rail-lines and trains, bunker systems, machine gun nests, dugouts, impact craters and much more. Holdfast: Frontlines at launch will feature 7 uniquely designed maps all offering different playing experiences and settings for both large scale and small scale battles.

Freurlund

Set in and around a recently abandoned rail-yard within steep snowy mountains, Freurlund pushes players to their limits, battling not only the enemy but also the harsh environment it features. Men can find solace from the steeps down in the rail-yard, the central point of the map, but only for some time, as it will soon turn to a war-torn battlefield as players fight over the capture point and control of a usable locomotive train to shunt troops to and from your HQ to the front.

Marre

Once a prosperous town and industrial powerhouse, Marre has been reduced to ruins and has had its land carved out by lines upon lines of boggy trenches. Featuring a central capture point atop a hill, players will battle it out for control of this great vantage point and its surroundings.

Mansion

Battle over a bespoke mansion set on the coastlines of France. Mansion brings close quarters combat to a whole new level, once inside the mansion players must navigate through it’s narrow hallways and passages to battle within the great hall and capture this important position. Those who may find themselves claustrophobic may prefer to focus their efforts on the town and railway station that overlooks the mansion. Both positions are equally as important to ensuring victory.

Countryside

A small countryside village that once sat quietly beside its flowing river. This smaller battlefield offers little respite from the war and will quickly throw you into intense small scale combat against your foes. Utilising cover to your full advantage is key for victory on Countryside.

St. Peter's

Foxhole

Two opposing trench lines overlook a derelict town within a valley surrounded by barbed wire, mortar craters and bodies. Artillery barrages have left this land for ruin so watch your step and stay alert, you never know what or who is lurking in the rubble.

Wasteland

The Offensive Gamemode

Offensive is a new domination inspired gamemode that requires teams to capture points linearly to progress through the battlefield. IE. You must capture A and B before moving on to C. A ‘tug-of-war’ ensues as both teams converge to capture the same point or multiple pronged locations

Each team will start at an initial Headquarters that is uncapturable and must then head towards neutral capture points sequentially, eventually meeting the enemy in the middle to begin the ‘tug-of-war’.

Forward camps placed by officers will be put to good use as both teams coordinate assaults on the offensive. Capture points back from entrenched enemy units in defense of capturable points through flanking maneuvers.

Should a faction manage to capture all points on the map, they will find themselves the victor through ‘Domination’. Giving those that are on the brink of loss through ‘Domination’ with a fighting chance for a glorious comeback, a 120 second timer will count down before a win is declared through domination unless the team is able to capture back a minimum of 1 capture point.

Good teamwork is integral for victory on the Offensive gamemode. Join a squad and stick close to them to ensure you’re doing your part in the war efforts.

Support Us. American Forces

Featuring the brave fellows of the 103rd Infantry Regiment (2nd Maine), part of the famous Yankee Division. It brings the American Forces to Holdfast, allowing players to fight for the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Those who purchase the American Forces DLC will gain access to playing as the 103rd Infantry Regiment (2nd Maine) Officer and Riflemen skin. They are equipped with the M1903 Springfield Rifle ready to turn ‘No Man's Land’ into ‘Yankee Land’.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1906771/Holdfast_Frontlines_WW1__American_Forces/

Content present in Holdfast DLCs is purely cosmetic. It doesn’t and never will impact gameplay. Your kind generosity will be put to good use and bring this genre of roleplay warfare games which all of us are fond of in the limelight.

Graphical Remaster

Frontlines is not the only new addition to Holdfast. We also spent considerable time re-crafting our environments for Nations At War - The game’s beloved Napoleonic setting to provide improved graphical fidelity and new weather presets. These graphical changes have been made to not only bring the game up-to-date but to also further immerse you within the experiences of Holdfast.

Changing the over 50+ maps that we already have in the game was no easy task, but we felt it necessary to bring Nations At War up to the same standard and quality we’d be setting with Frontlines. The graphical overhaul also introduced new weather presets such as snowstorms, sandstorms, various calm presets and many more, all now also featuring volumetric lighting.

Take a look at the preview sliders below to view the graphical improvements that come with this update.

Players on lower end specifications can now also make use of a spatial upscaling algorithm to reduce graphical settings while retaining some visual quality. Navigate to the video tab in the settings menu to select an upscaling profile that best suits your needs.

250 Player Event Battles

Event and community servers can now support up to 250 players per server! While this player count will not be reflected on official servers, as it remains important to keep gameplay and performance as consistent as possible, those who own their own servers will now be able to accept 250 players onto their servers running the Nations At War game type.

The increased player count means even more Holdfast goodness packed into one server. Get involved in these large scale events by joining the community discord server today! 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.

http://discord.gg/holdfastgame

Until then, may good health be yours. ːrheartrː

- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Wrexial, Walki, Cameron, Jackson, Rejenorst, Harper, Storey, UberJuice & Winston (The Cat).