Tannenberg - legolas
East Prussia Map - Extended Preview



More news from the Front! This latest edition of Frontline News focusses on the East Prussia map, giving you a closer look and inside information. For the occasion level designer Sjors Janssen takes to the stand, to share his experience in recreating this area for Tannenberg:



‘’East Prussia is the first map we developed with Tannenberg's new 32 vs 32 playstyle in mind. Its setting is inspired by the area of northern Poland. What really sets this map apart is the vast amount of forest. The forest offers a lot of variation, with its bordering managed woodlands, meadows, lakes, simple country roads and the odd farm. Following the frontline of the depicted scenario, there are heavily guarded and partially overrun positions of the Central Powers, heavily bombarded sectors with torn up trees, and collapsed trenches.




What's been really new to the development of this map within the 1914-1918 WW1 game series are the open ranges and the scale of the environment. We've spent a lot of time improving the look and feel of the natural environment with the creation of indigenous vegetation and new rendering tech.



We always look closely at the photo sources available from that time, to try and recreate the types of defensive structures that were designed during WW1. What has been really exciting to me personally is our stride to include recognisable elements of local culture close to the front line. We've been careful to select building styles, ways of harvesting grass, livestock, hedges and styles of fencing to provide a more authentic feel to what the cultural landscape would have been like historically.’’ - Sjors Janssen, Level Designer



We hope you enjoy these posts with our personal stories and experiences, from different members within our team. Frontline news will return early next month with a brand new extended preview, focussing on another aspect of our upcoming Tannenberg release.
Tannenberg - bramlegolas
East Prussia Map - Extended Preview



More news from the Front! This latest edition of Frontline News focusses on the East Prussia map, giving you a closer look and inside information. For the occasion level designer Sjors Janssen takes to the stand, to share his experience in recreating this area for Tannenberg:



‘’East Prussia is the first map we developed with Tannenberg's new 32 vs 32 playstyle in mind. Its setting is inspired by the area of northern Poland. What really sets this map apart is the vast amount of forest. The forest offers a lot of variation, with its bordering managed woodlands, meadows, lakes, simple country roads and the odd farm. Following the frontline of the depicted scenario, there are heavily guarded and partially overrun positions of the Central Powers, heavily bombarded sectors with torn up trees, and collapsed trenches.




What's been really new to the development of this map within the 1914-1918 WW1 game series are the open ranges and the scale of the environment. We've spent a lot of time improving the look and feel of the natural environment with the creation of indigenous vegetation and new rendering tech.



We always look closely at the photo sources available from that time, to try and recreate the types of defensive structures that were designed during WW1. What has been really exciting to me personally is our stride to include recognisable elements of local culture close to the front line. We've been careful to select building styles, ways of harvesting grass, livestock, hedges and styles of fencing to provide a more authentic feel to what the cultural landscape would have been like historically.’’ - Sjors Janssen, Level Designer



We hope you enjoy these posts with our personal stories and experiences, from different members within our team. Frontline news will return early next month with a brand new extended preview, focussing on another aspect of our upcoming Tannenberg release.
Jun 23, 2017
Tannenberg - legolas
Tannenberg Hub: Frontline News June
Welcome to the first edition of Frontline News! We wanted to include you in some of the hard work going on behind the scenes, by adding personal stories to the content that we share.

Below you’ll find additional intel relating to the two most recent Tannenberg previews that we posted, provided by Jim ‘Volcol’ Chilton, lead artist and newborn YouTube celebrity (thanks to the video video from The Great War)!



German Infantry 1914
Germany entered the Great War in 1914 with a well-equipped and quite substantial force. Able to mobilise up to 4.5 million men (including reserves) in 1914 alone, the German army was a formidable force. The uniforms and equipment in 1914 somewhat mimed the uniform and equipment used in previous conflicts on the European battlefields. Like most armies, the German regular was largely issued with aging equipment – which included often impractical headgear and uniform colour schemes. The famous pickelhaube for example being a common sight on European battlefields for decades. The infantryman shown also has equipped a Gewehr 88 rifle, instead of the Gewehr 98 rifle. The scale of the European armies in WW1 often saw many units equipped with older rifles.

In creating the new artwork, we have drawn from our experiences with Verdun and how our character art techniques have changed down the line. Using a new approach from the start of Tannenberg character creation has enabled us to get much better material definition, with next to no performance impact. The creation of the new artwork has also allowed us to further improve the visuals of the equipment and uniforms, as well as open up doors to more improvements in the foreseeable future.



Mosin 91/07 carbine
Like many nations around the turn of the century, there was an increase in demand for a common weapon design that could be easily converted between infantry and carbine variants. Russia was no exception to this trait, and upon adopting the Mosin Nagant M91 for the Russo/Japanese war, limitations were recognised. Seeing the urgent need for a more compact weapon for machine gun units, sappers or even artillery crews, the carbine was commissioned. With around 300,000-350,000 of the rifles produced, this seemingly high number (enough rifles to equip the British Expeditionary Force at least twice) is dwarfed by the millions of M91 rifles produced.


Coming from Verdun, weapon artwork should also see great improvements with new texture/material processes and game engine upgrades. Audio improvements - with historical accuracy guaranteed by C&Rsenal - and a more accurate representation in animations should help provide a much more immersive experience with the new weapons. The Mosin carbine is already proving to be a formidable weapon in the right hands.

Feel free to join us on Discord , if you want to chat some more about this subject (or any other subject for that matter).

Cheers!
Jun 23, 2017
Tannenberg - bramlegolas
Tannenberg Hub: Frontline News June
Welcome to the first edition of Frontline News! We wanted to include you in some of the hard work going on behind the scenes, by adding personal stories to the content that we share.

Below you’ll find additional intel relating to the two most recent Tannenberg previews that we posted, provided by Jim ‘Volcol’ Chilton, lead artist and newborn YouTube celebrity (thanks to the video video from The Great War)!



German Infantry 1914
Germany entered the Great War in 1914 with a well-equipped and quite substantial force. Able to mobilise up to 4.5 million men (including reserves) in 1914 alone, the German army was a formidable force. The uniforms and equipment in 1914 somewhat mimed the uniform and equipment used in previous conflicts on the European battlefields. Like most armies, the German regular was largely issued with aging equipment – which included often impractical headgear and uniform colour schemes. The famous pickelhaube for example being a common sight on European battlefields for decades. The infantryman shown also has equipped a Gewehr 88 rifle, instead of the Gewehr 98 rifle. The scale of the European armies in WW1 often saw many units equipped with older rifles.

In creating the new artwork, we have drawn from our experiences with Verdun and how our character art techniques have changed down the line. Using a new approach from the start of Tannenberg character creation has enabled us to get much better material definition, with next to no performance impact. The creation of the new artwork has also allowed us to further improve the visuals of the equipment and uniforms, as well as open up doors to more improvements in the foreseeable future.



Mosin 91/07 carbine
Like many nations around the turn of the century, there was an increase in demand for a common weapon design that could be easily converted between infantry and carbine variants. Russia was no exception to this trait, and upon adopting the Mosin Nagant M91 for the Russo/Japanese war, limitations were recognised. Seeing the urgent need for a more compact weapon for machine gun units, sappers or even artillery crews, the carbine was commissioned. With around 300,000-350,000 of the rifles produced, this seemingly high number (enough rifles to equip the British Expeditionary Force at least twice) is dwarfed by the millions of M91 rifles produced.


Coming from Verdun, weapon artwork should also see great improvements with new texture/material processes and game engine upgrades. Audio improvements - with historical accuracy guaranteed by C&Rsenal - and a more accurate representation in animations should help provide a much more immersive experience with the new weapons. The Mosin carbine is already proving to be a formidable weapon in the right hands.

Feel free to join us on Discord , if you want to chat some more about this subject (or any other subject for that matter).

Cheers!
Verdun

Before there was Battlefield 1 there was Verdun, a "realistic" First World War multiplayer FPS released in 2015 by M2H and Blackmill Games. It obviously wasn't as much of a hit as EA's big-budget shooter but its unique, unforgiving approach to online combat found an audience—enough to justify a "standalone expansion" called Tannenberg, announced today and scheduled to come to Steam later this year. 

Tannenberg brings the Russian Empire into the fight on the Eastern Front, in a very different style of fighting than that seen in Verdun. "The Russians and Austro-Hungarians played a huge part in the First World War and we're looking forward to portraying their contribution," Jos Hoebe of Blackmill Games said. "The Eastern Front didn't see the same trench warfare as in the West. In Tannenberg we offer players the experience of a more mobile side of the war which many people may be unfamiliar with." 

The game will feature a new 64-player mode that "captures this more mobile nature of battle." Squads will have access to new, highly-detailed weapons,  and there will be new landscapes to fight over as well, including snow-covered fields, forests, burned villages, and mountainside pastures. And of course, as noted in the Steam listing, there will be plenty of "horrendous gore."

Verdun's "realism" means that it's not the most accessible gaming experience you're liable to have. Most of my time with it has been spent crawling through mud toward where I think the fight is, and then getting killed by someone I didn't see. But I like that there's a place for games like this to thrive, and I hope that Tannenberg does just as well, even if I won't miss those deathtrap trenches. It's slated to come out later this year. 

Tannenberg - Blazy013
Experience intense First World War infantry combat on the Eastern Front with the upcoming Tannenberg!

https://youtu.be/sE32n9kUddU

This is a standalone expansion to Verdun, the first realistic World War One FPS. As the second entry in the 1914-1918 WW1 Game Series, Tannenberg will be packed with the same historical accuracy, attention to detail and meticulously designed combat as Verdun, applied to a lesser known but no less intense theater of WW1.



Tannenberg features scenarios inspired by battles from throughout the war, in locations ranging from dark forests near the Russian border to snowy plains and burned villages. This is not the trench warfare of the Western Front! Expect to fight across open fields, and adjust your tactics accordingly. Choose your role from a variety of squads and weapon loadouts, and unlock more as you play!

More details will be released as we get closer to release. Make sure to add Tannenberg to your Steam wishlist now!
Tannenberg - Blazy013
Experience intense First World War infantry combat on the Eastern Front with the upcoming Tannenberg!

https://youtu.be/sE32n9kUddU

This is a standalone expansion to Verdun, the first realistic World War One FPS. As the second entry in the 1914-1918 WW1 Game Series, Tannenberg will be packed with the same historical accuracy, attention to detail and meticulously designed combat as Verdun, applied to a lesser known but no less intense theater of WW1.



Tannenberg features scenarios inspired by battles from throughout the war, in locations ranging from dark forests near the Russian border to snowy plains and burned villages. This is not the trench warfare of the Western Front! Expect to fight across open fields, and adjust your tactics accordingly. Choose your role from a variety of squads and weapon loadouts, and unlock more as you play!

More details will be released as we get closer to release. Make sure to add Tannenberg to your Steam wishlist now!
Verdun - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alice O'Connor)

World War 1 FPS Verdun is off to the Eastern Front in a standalone expansion this year, developers Blackmill Games and M2H have announced. Named simply Tannenberg [official site], after 1914’s Battle of Tannenberg, it’ll see the Russian Empire scrapping with the Central Powers from forest to plains. Verdun is fairly serious as shooters go, more Red Orchestra than Battlefield, and Tannenberg will continue that with new men, maps, weapons, tactics, and all that. Check out the announcement trailer: … [visit site to read more]

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