Nov 22, 2022

Steam Awards! Vote Holdfast - A Labor of Love

Holdfast: Nations At War - AGS | Harper

As yet another year comes to a close and we prepare for the holiday season, we can take a step back and reflect on the record breaking year Holdfast had in 2022 a whole 5 years since we first released it into Early Access back in 2017!

A Labor of Love

This year was a big year for Holdfast starting with the release of Frontlines, the free World War 1 expansion for the game, which instantly broke our concurrent player count records. The Linebattle 2.0 major update also introduced many long requested features and player customisation and progression, the Anvil Game Studios team more than doubled in size and even Fred returned again to cause havoc on Halloween.

The best part is, we’re only just getting started… Holdfast is very much a labor of love for the team, we are committed to continuing to support the game as we have been doing so for the past 5+ years since its release, you can expect big things coming in 2023, we want Holdfast to go down in the history books.

Nominate Holdfast

The time of year has come around once again for the Steam Awards, this is your opportunity to cast your vote and nominate games for various awards. We ask kindly when voting for Holdfast this year that you select the ‘Labor of Love’ nomination. :CatsHeart:

This category best fits Holdfast not only because of our team's love for the game but also the love and dedication that the great Holdfast community has for it too, without your ongoing support this record breaking year and the years to come would not be possible.

Head on over to the Holdfast storepage today and cast your vote to nominate Holdfast for the Labor of Love award.

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

An Early Christmas Gift

Of course, we wouldn’t be able to let this year come to a close without ending it with a bang so here’s a sneak preview of what (or in this case who) is coming to Holdfast in December this year.

Join us on discord.gg/holdfastgame.

As always and until next time, may good health be yours.

- Anvil Game Studios

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

Nov 18, 2022

Kick-Off! Battlefield Forger Contest 2.0

Holdfast: Nations At War - AGS | Refleax

Artisans! Dust off your paint brushes and re-import your project for the 100th time today because the Battlefield Forger contest returns once more for its second ever competition allowing fellows from our community to bring their brilliant creations into Holdfast.

Following the success of the first contest in 2020, which brought in an impressive 24 entries, this contest will now be held over a longer duration and also allow multiple entries for both the Napoleonic and WW1 sides of the game. Alongside maps, uniform modders shall also be tasked with creating a unique uniform or set of uniforms for an existing faction within Holdfast.

The Battlefield Forger contest this year is bigger and better than ever with more opportunities and prizes for those involved. Make sure to take a read of the entire blog post for all the contest details.

Winter Great War uniforms by Binghampton.

Contest Overview & Prizes

If you are reading this then we’re already off to the races! Starting from the release of this post the Battlefield Forger contest has already gotten underway.

The contest commenced on the 18th of November 2022 and will run respectively until the 18th of January 2023. During this time artisans can create and submit either a new battlefield or custom uniform into the contest via the official Discord. Artisans that desire to do so can also submit both a map and a uniform into the contest as these will be judged separately from one another.

For more details and contest guidelines take a read below to ensure your submission will be accepted into the competition. Should you fail to follow these guidelines your entry will be disqualified. Purely cosmetic entries to the contest may be included as DLCs in the game.

Contest Entry Categories
● Map Forger - Submit your Frontlines or Nations At War map creations.
● Uniform Forger - Submit your Frontlines or Nations At War uniform creations.

Contest Prizes
● 1st Place - Entry is officially added to the game, a copy of Holdfast: Nations At War - Collector's Edition along with another copy of Holdfast: Nations At War to share with your friends. Awarded the verified artisan role.
● 2nd Place - A copy of Holdfast: Nations At War - Collector's Editions. Awarded the verified artisan role.
● 3rd Place - A copy of Holdfast: Nations At War to share with your friends. Awarded the verified artisan role.

Contest Guidelines
● You will be given until January 18th 2023 to submit your entry.
● You may submit a maximum of 2 entries per era (4 in total).
● Your entries must be playable upon submission and well optimised (test before you submit).
● If making a map, you may only use the in-game objects found within the SDK tool.
» Custom assets may be considered only if they are of quality and you own the copyright to them.
● You may use any ground textures you desire as they may be replaced should you win.
● You may choose any official gamemode for your map to be played on.
● You may freely work in groups should you desire.
● Your entries design should be playful, unique and stand out but also appropriately mimic general themes of battlefields and uniforms officially in the game.
● Uniform entries must aim to be as historically accurate as possible. However, leeway to historical accuracy can be given to ensure better class recognisability.
● Uniforms should aim to be around the range of 16,000 triangles (without heads).
● Aim to create a well-balanced battlefield fitting to a specific gamemode.
● Your map must be a maximum of 450 x 450 in playable size (out of bounds can extend beyond this).
● You may submit previously made maps / uniforms provided they have NOT been in a previous contest.

For any queries in regards to the contest please reach out to Harper#0410 on Discord.

Entering The Contest

Whether you are new or a veteran to the uniform and map making tools of Holdfast the competition remains open to all. Take your time and get creative, the winner of our first competition hadn’t even made a map prior to their entry and still walked away with the glory.

Obtaining the artisan role in the official Holdfast Discord is a requirement for entering the competition as it’ll allow you to submit your battlefield to the contest seamlessly. To acquire this role simply visit the #getting-started modding channel and press the reaction emoji below the post. This will assign you the artisan role and give you access to all available modding community channels including the #forger-submission channel.

Once your entry has been created you’ll need to submit it via the #forger-submission channel. Be sure to include a workshop link and one or two images that show your creation in all its magnificence.

Once your entries have been submitted, grab a nice cup of tea and sit back while the judging phases commence. Check the #getting-started channel to get going.

http://discord.gg/holdfastgame

Meet The Judges

After the contest comes to a close it will then be time for the judging process to commence. Returning from the previous panel of judges will be Refleax, the producer of Holdfast; Rycon, the games lead artist; Harper, our media specialist and of course Storey, our resident structure and level designer. Joining the judging panel for the first time this year will also be none other than our character artist Jackson and Stan who joined the team earlier this year as a level designer.

After the contest comes to a close the judging panel will take some time to go through each entry and rank them in comparison to one another. The team will then come to a unanimous decision on the placing of entries and ultimately the winners of this year's contest.

A Word From Willy

We caught up with the first ever winner of the Battlefield Forger contest, Willy. Willy’s entry into the first competition was the first map they had made, despite this, Willy’s map Aspern checked all the boxes and impressed the judges, so much so that it would go on to win the competition and be officially integrated into the game.

“Around the time when I was beginning to think if game design was something I should seriously consider as a career, Holdfast dropped a map making contest. I decided to try it out as I thought it would be an excellent opportunity.

It was a massive shock seeing the results, even though I felt proud of what I created, it was still my first ever project in Unity so seeing Aspern sitting in first place brought a massive amount of happiness and a good confidence boost in my abilities. Aspern getting voted so often still to this day puts a massive smile on my face.” - Willy

We look forward to seeing what the Holdfast modding community can create.

As always and until next time, may good health be yours.

- Anvil Game Studios

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

Oct 25, 2022

Spooky Season! Night of The Freds

Holdfast: Nations At War - AGS | Refleax

Holdfast’s very own protagonist has returned with the Plague Doctors at his side to do his eternal bidding. He’s not exactly delighted with all you fellows shooting him from cannons last Halloween and now he’s back for a taste of that bittersweet revenge. All you UNGRATEFUL MONGRELS shall rise and accompany the army of the dead to fight, chant, sing and shout for the glory of your one true Emperor - Monsieur Fred!

Before taking on…. or joining the mischievous Fred and his minions check out the trailer for Night of The Freds.

Running throughout Steam’s Scream Fest, this limited time event will feature 4 new ‘possessed’ heads which when selected provide you a selection of unique shouts, cheers and insults to bask in Fred’s everlasting magnificence. A zombie gesture and additional Halloween themed content is also available within the game. Holdfast is now available at a 55% discounted price along with the DLC’s that will feature a discount of 20% over the course of the event.

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

Fred’s Minions

Throughout the course of this limited time event, players will be able to select from 4 new ‘possessed’ head variants that also feature unique demented voice lines. These ghoulish heads with their ripped skin and glowing eyes will be sure to strike fear into the heart of the enemy and scare those who are not steadfast on the battlefield.

The new zombie gesture will also replace the current surrender animation during the event to further amplify the experience for those that take particular joy in matters concerning the underworld.

Stay tuned for more from us soon and do join us on Discord for everything Holdfast.

http://discord.gg/holdfastgame

Once again we thank you for your generous support and as always, may good health be yours. ːrheartrː

- Anvil Game Studios

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

Oct 20, 2022

More Unlocks! Muppet, Jolly & Hammer

Holdfast: Nations At War - AGS | Refleax

Holdfast: Nations At War has been updated! Lace your boots and make your uniform presentable for inspection as this update to the game will introduce 4 new unlock-able heads, version 6 of the Holdfast SDK providing modders with many more functions for the character editor alongside a whole slew of bug fixes.

Take a read below in more detail of all that will be coming in this update, you never know what you may find…

Heads, Heads And More Heads

With the release of this update 4 new heads are now available in the game. These chaps feature some rather prominent facial expressions that will have your fellow rankers questioning what you’ve been through and seen throughout the war.

New Unlocks
● George ‘Muppet‘ Burton unlocked at Silver 3 (Rank 30)
● Thomas ‘Shellshocked’ Baker unlocked at Decorated 2 (Rank 55)
● Albert ‘Jolly’ Saxton unlocked at Decorated 3 (Rank 60)
● Frank ‘Hammer’ Chapman unlocked at Valour 1 (Rank 65)

Anyone looking to further increase their collection of heads and has not already done so, can obtain a free special head by joining the official Holdfast Discord server via the ‘Escape’ menu while playing a match.

SDK Version 6 Released

New modding systems arrive to the SDK further expanding upon the new additions made in-line with the Linebattle 2.0 update. Uniform modders will have a range of new tools available to them to further streamline the uniform creation process.

Created by ApexPhantom

Artisans can now set up their modifications to use the base Holdfast heads unlocked through progression when creating uniforms. In addition to this, mod packs featuring heads can also be created by artisans. The full list of SDK changes and new features can be found in the change log below.

Content Creator Spotlight

The number of Holdfast content creators has grown rapidly over the last year and every day more and more new faces are sharing their Holdfast experiences for the world to see. With the addition of the content creators corner in the official Holdfast discord it is now easier than ever to get connected and network with other like minded creators in the Holdfast space.

We caught up with veteran Holdfast streamer Pirate Gamer 123 and the ever entertaining BippityBoppity to find out more about why they make content for Holdfast.

Pirate Gamer 123
http://twitch.tv/pirategamer123

“I’ve been streaming for 9 years now. I wanted to share the silly things I do when playing games and meet other people who share similar passions in gaming. The Holdfast community is amazing. No round of Holdfast is ever the same as the last. There is always someone to bear witness to my awful moments in melee and I like laughing together with people around the world.

There's never a dull moment and it makes me feel very special and warm inside that the AGS team not only engages with streamers but also talks to us on a personal level. Feel like part of a long distance family.

The Holdfast content creators are more than happy to help with anything and a fair few of us Holdfast streamers have gotten to know each other and support each other too. We are always looking to meet new people/streamers.”

BippityBoppity
http://twitch.tv/bippityboppityzippityzop

“I've been streaming for about 5 months now, my first stream was playing Holdfast! I've played the game for over a year, I didn't think of really getting into streaming and content creation until I watched some YouTubers play the game like SovietWomble and 5uhDude.I knew I wanted to make funny videos from Holdfast to put on YouTube, and figured streaming it on Twitch was a great way to help guide viewers there!

The best Twitch and YouTube content I've gotten out of Holdfast has been with other Holdfast content creators! You have to lean into the craziness, so be sure to join special events held by different regiments like Star Wars and The Great Emu War. Checking out the Holdfast Discord is a great place to start, and there's always people willing to play.”

Something Terrif..ying Is Coming!

Rumors have spread of fallen men rising from their bitter ends, an envious force has returned for revenge and soon he will arrive at the front. We must prepare or else our end will be one of chaos and peril. Ready your muskets men and aim for their heads, for soon it will be the Night of the Freds!

Enlist to stop this evil from taking over Holdfast… or do Monsieur Fred’s bidding on the 24th of October 2022 and register your interest in this limited time event on our official Discord.

Join the 'Night of The Freds' event here.

Changelog 83 - Game Version 2.9.8328.21711

Count
● 4 new features and improvements.
● 7 additions to the Holdfast SDK.
● 21 bug fixes.

Click here for the full change log.

Changelog 84 - Game Version 2.10.8328.21711

Count
● 4 bug fixes.

Click here for the full change log.

Stay tuned for more Holdfast soon and as always, may good health be yours.

- Anvil Game Studios

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

Sep 10, 2022

1st Series. Words From The Game Director

Holdfast: Nations At War - AGS | Refleax

Greetings good fellows of our beloved community. First and foremost let me start by thanking every one of you lot for your most generous support and for being with us throughout this delightful journey. I can speak for everyone here in the team that it has been a great pleasure working on the game and seeing you enjoy the content we create.

Some of you might be asking the question of what’s the next big step for Holdfast and the team. I’ll be answering some of your questions in this decently sizeable post.

Anvil Game Studios is currently undergoing a major restructuring of its workflows, pipelines and schedules. We will be better defining the responsibilities and roles everyone in the team plays within the company based on each individual’s core strengths and aspirations. Why are we doing this? We want to ensure that our planned growth doesn’t come at the cost of lesser-quality releases or the sanity of everyone whom I have the greatest of pleasures working with.

Within the next year, we will be bringing new folks into the flock. As we have done so before, we will first look to recruit talented individuals within the confines of our community. The team will continue to grow as we embark on more ambitious updates for Holdfast and beyond.

Our sights are now set on a series of releases leading into 2023 that will bring Holdfast into the new age. Rather than continuing to pile on the many features that Holdfast sports, we will place the good majority of our development schedule focusing on improving existing content to deliver a smoother experience. We’re already doing this with Linebattle 2.0 by improving on performance, the fluidity of the game’s animations and its audio-scape.

To go hand in hand with the above-mentioned endeavour, we have been revisiting our planned update release strategy to ensure the longevity of Holdfast while keeping in mind the needs and wants of our community. We want you to be able to enjoy Holdfast and all that it has to offer for the years to come!

We will also be moving a few features from the previously released roadmap to future updates. But does this mean that the next foreseeable releases will be lacking in fresh new content? Most definitely not. We are committed to delivering improvements to existing content alongside new maps, a new… Austrian faction and more.

How will we be bringing Holdfast into the new age?
● Polishing the game’s existing animations.
● Improving the first-person view.
● More passes to redefine the role classes play on the battlefield.
● Increase gratification for kills.
● Expanding on the recently released progression mechanics.
● Improving replayability and player retention (more maps, roleplay features etc).
● Revisiting old props and game models.
● Further improve our sound-scape.
● Redesigning our dated user interface.
● Dishing out more optimisations to the game.
● Bug fixes and stability.

Our update release strategy has been fine-tuned with something big we have in store for Holdfast in 2023. This will ensure the longevity of the game for the years to come. We’ll be sure to bring you in on this as we reach closer to this huge release!

I’m sure you’d also be interested in knowing what we’re planning for near-future updates so without further notice, here’s what to expect. Be sure to join Discord if you’re looking at getting in touch with us or wanting to provide us with feedback.

What’s in store for Holdfast in the near future?
● Napoleonic Austria.
● More additions to Holdfast’s soundscape.
● Engine upgrade.
● Feature allowing artisans to select the recently introduced new faces through the Holdfast SDK.
● Festive content! We’ll be planning ahead for some lovely Fred lore additions this Halloween.

http://discord.gg/holdfastgame

If you haven’t checked out the Linebattle 2.0 update, we welcome you to do so!

We’ll be on Discord listening to feedback.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/589290/view/3301723568224735001
That’s all for my first TED talk. I look forward to sharing with you our goals, thoughts and direction in similar posts. You have my word that we will always stay true to our core values of promoting player-to-player interaction, encouraging roleplay and placing community at the forefront.

Until next time, I thank you once again and may good health be yours. ːrheartrː

- Andrew ‘Refleax’ Farrugia
Game Director

On behalf of all the great folks at Anvil Game Studios.

Sep 8, 2022

Linebattle 2.0! Customisation & Progression

Holdfast: Nations At War - AGS | Refleax

Fall into line and ready your musket with the release of the Linebattle 2.0 major update for Holdfast: Nations At War. Featuring player progression and customisation, the sergeant class, a rework of the game’s classes, new animations for all firearms, improved audio and much more.

Celebrating this anticipated release, we’re slashing the price of the game to 65% and all its respective cosmetic DLCs to 15-20%. Now’s a better time than ever to join the beloved Holdfast community! We hope to see you soon on the battlefield with us.

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

Before taking a read below of all that will come with this major update to the game, why not first check out the update’s cinematic release trailer?

Grenadier Regiments DLC

Releasing alongside this update is the Grenadier Regiments DLC. Stand side by side with your fellow elites in dashing new uniforms available now.

Content present in Holdfast’s 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.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2107250

Progression & Customisation

Battle-hardened soldiers will now be able to cosmetically display their skill through Holdfast’s new player progression and customisation mechanics.

Customisation is per faction and per class while also being tied into your class level. After reaching certain class levels players will be able to select from 17 new unlockable heads in the game, equip other nations' muskets, and melee weaponry and specify the pitch of their character's voice for shouts and calls.

Cavalry classes will also be able to unlock and select different horses to ride on.

Sergeants & Rocketeers

The sergeant arrives! This fearsome new class on the battlefield has the ability to order similar commands with buffs as the officer class to the rank and file and comes equipped with a long spontoon to face off any brave fellows who should dare challenge them.

Previously something only specific to the British Empire, the rocketeer class is now playable across all factions in Holdfast: Nations At War. Previous to this update this class served little to no gameplay purpose but it has been now redesigned to specifically excel at the use of rocket launchers.

Squads & Class Redesign

A variety of classes featured in Holdfast: Nations At War throughout this update have undergone a
considerable rework to ensure classes not only have a place but also a purpose on the battlefield. This is the first version in a series of redesigns towards this effort.

Significantly reducing the amount of downtime and running spent on the game’s Napoleonic front, the flag forward position mechanic accessible to the officer class has now been redesigned to feature a squad system. Everyone apart of the squad including the officer himself will be able to spawn on this forward position making it easier to play the game in groups where the most fun is to be had. Additionally to this, more classes can now spawn on these forward positions.

Sappers now also have the ability to build ammo depots that can be strategically moved and placed around the battlefield to ensure everyone remains well equipped. Ammunition has been reduced across all weapons in balance with this.

Carpenters looking to deal some real up close and personal damage with their two-handed axe can now enter a berserk mode by pressing their ability button (default ‘Q‘) allowing them to swing their axe in additional directions while having a slight run speed increase.

There’s plenty more to this first version of the class redesign! The full extent of the class rework changes can be found within the class selection UI under the abilities and traits section and within the changelog of this blog post.

Animations & Audio

As part of our ongoing efforts to improve Holdfast, this update brings with it brand new animations for all firearms across the game’s Napoleonic front (excluding melee weapons). Featuring new reload and firing animations for both the muskets and pistols, new bayonet attaching and detaching animations and new healing animations for the surgeons amongst other animation tweaks and improvements.

As a result of these new animations, surgeons healing and soldiers attaching or detaching their bayonets can now perform these actions while crouching.

Reloading and firing sounds for muskets and pistols have been completely reworked. A small collection of maps now also feature unique in-world ambience sounds to further develop the atmosphere of Holdfast’s battlefields.

In-world audio across all maps is an ongoing process, those wishing to get a taste of what is to come on the audio front of the game should head down to the docks on Port Nile or sit with a picnic under the great oak tree on Ravenstone.

5 New Battlefields

In this release, we’re introducing 5 new linebattle-themed battle maps. Engage in heated volleys or glorious bayonet charges on Al Kimar Pyramids, Avignon, Pillerone Pass, Vanoise Heights or Hudree Marsh. Hop in, stand shoulder to shoulder and make your stand on these new battlefields!

Game Optimisations

Efforts to optimise the game for low to high-end PCs have continued throughout the development of the Linebattle 2.0 update. Bringing Holdfast to a wider audience by making the game increasingly accessible will continue to be at the forefront of development to further aid in bringing this leading title in the roleplay shooter genre into the limelight.

Experiment with different graphic preset settings in the game to gather the performance to graphical fidelity balance that you desire. This will not be the last time you’ll be hearing from us working on optimisation-oriented updates.

Map loading is now also significantly faster.

Community Discord

Whether you’re interested in modding, participating in community events or just wanting to get involved deeper within our great community, the Holdfast Discord 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 (clan) recruitment, game support, suggestions, history discussion and more.

http://discord.gg/holdfastgame

Changelog 81 - Game Version 2.7.8286.30379

Count
● 20 new features and improvements.
● 7 optimisations.
● 4 user interface additions.
● 41 bug fixes.
● 4 miscellaneous additions.

Click here for the full change log.

Due to the unfortunate event of the team catching a touch of that COVID that’s been going around, we had to delay the release of the Napoleonic howitzer to the next update - Don’t you worry, however, there’s still plenty to enjoy in this update!

Big thanks to Ed, Charles E. Jesus, Mattrobes, Skyold, Nitropunch and all those good fellows who joined us in the testing prior to this update’s release.

Stay tuned for more Holdfast soon. As always, may good health be yours. ːrheartrː

- Anvil Game Studios

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