Do you hear that howling in the woods? If you've been keeping an eye on our social media this won't come as a complete surprise, but aggressive wolf packs will be making their way into Tannenberg for the duration of this special event!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwDXkextcWg
From today until April 21 you should keep an eye out for wolves encroaching on the battlefield. Forced by hunger to seek human prey, packs of wolves are dangerous predators. Over the weekend canine interlopers will appear in any battle, and after that they will only appear on winter maps until the end of the event.

'Wolf Truces' were described by various books and newspapers, with Eastern Front combatants sometimes calling temporary ceasefires to deal with particularly aggressive groups of wolves.


For instance this article from the New York Times. While some details are likely exaggerated, it speaks to the real threat wolves could pose.

You will be able to earn a special Wolf Truce medal if you can survive a wolf attack without killing or injuring anyone on the opposing team. The game will not enforce any truce, though it will tell you when a wolf attack begins, and exactly when you will need to cease fire in order to earn the medal.

Over the weekend, there will be one wolf attack event in every battle. After that, there will be one wolf attack event in every battle on a winter map. There will be a minute of warning before the suggested truce period starts (which you will need to respect if you want to earn the medal). Finally, a timer will indicate how long wolves will continue to be attacking. Maintain the truce until that timer ends to earn the medal! You can also see whether or not the truce has already been broken.

Tannenberg will be on sale for 60% off this Saturday 13th!

Yesterday's update fixed a range of issues, polished various aspects of the UI, and made improvements to bot behaviour. Here are some of the most notable:

General Features
• Players can now report others for cheating / toxic behaviour in-game, and add them to a personal ban list.
  
• Fixed third person choke animation not playing after dying by gas.
  
  Menu Adjustments
  
• Now when you try to join a full squad, instead of attempting to load, no action is taken.
  
• Front selection can now be done via a sub-panel in the main menu, instead of an overlaid menu.
  
• Replaced Private Match banner button with Custom Match game mode button.
  
• Added LOW/MED/HIGH server population indicators. Will also display ping if we have pinged this session.
  
  Bots
  
• Fixed bots not dying from gas.
  
• Bots will take of their gas mask after exiting gas.
  
• Fixed issue where bots would still know where their target is if it went hidden by smoke/gas after acquiring the target. The first target acquisition was already never possible through smoke/gas.
  
• Fixed bots sometimes not spawning.

Check out the full changelog!

There is also a new report function which will allow players to report others for cheating, chat harassment, voice harassment and offensive names. Data is gathered from the match, processed, and passed on to administrators who may then take manual action based on multiple reports. Note that we will not apply automatic bans based on reports.

The new report function.


Good luck out there...

We are very excited to announce plans for a new deadly weapon in Tannenberg! Check out the teaser below:
https://youtu.be/yUFx1BBxUNk
Based on flawless advice from reliable 100% unbiased sources, we have implemented the following mechanics related to the new cigarette weapon:

• Smoke transfer - blow smoke in the faces of your enemies to addict them to cigarettes. Watch out for friendly fire!
  
• Nicotine meter - when addicted, if you don’t smoke every 46.4 seconds, you will begin to suffer suppression effects. These will increase until at three minutes your screen will be entirely blurred and shaking wildly.
  
• Cigar class perk - some classes will gain a cigar perk. Cigars suppress your smoking requirement for 80 seconds, and create a double sized smoke cloud which travels twice as far. You can hand out cigars to your allies.
  
• Three on a match - every third player who lights up will have all enemy players instantly gain auto-aim on their head.
  
• Gas resistance - if you can smoke 20,000 cigarettes, you will become immune to poison gas.
  
• Social bonus - If you and an enemy happen to light up at the same time while within 1 meter, you will becomes friends, and count as being on the same team for purposes of friendly fire.
  
• Cut their supplies - Capturing a new ‘smoke dump’ sector type will both hinder your enemies and boost your allies. Enemies will find themselves with unreliable cigarettes which can spontaneously combust when lit, while you and your team will gain access to the Zigarette Ladung 9x, similar to the improvised German bundle grenades.
  
• Kick the habit - survive 24 hours in-game without smoking, and you will no longer be addicted.
  
  "I’ve never smoked a cigarette but I’ve seen them in movies, and I’m confident this will provide an accurate and enjoyable experience. Finally, don’t forget that smoking is bad for your health, and we certainly aren’t intending to advertise cigarettes" - Trench Dog

We have recently put together a historical trailer, showing off the many battlefields featured in Tannenberg now that it’s released, along with the historical battles that inspired each map. Feast your eyes on it here:
https://youtu.be/lv1aKJrosU8
We have some cool things in the works and we’re also working out plans to get more players into the game! We’ll share more about that once we have something to show off. For now, here are a few nice screenshots from our community:


Assaulting a trench following a gas barrage by player M@sterMasco.


An offensive towards the church on the Carpathians, by player Anonim K.


Taking cover for a moment, by player Ssoldat.

We hope to have more to share with you all soon!

We have added both Simplified Chinese and Japanese translations to both Tannenberg and Verdun! This brings our total supported languages up to twelve - check out these screenshots from the game in different languages:



Flakfire produced a great video on how we approach the historical aspects of Tannenberg, including some commentary from our very own Jos Hoebe. Maps, guns and uniforms are discussed along with where we get our information from, which can range from books and diaries (one from a young German officer by the name of Erwin Rommel) to reenactors and YouTube channels like C&Rsenal which are dedicated to weapons or history. Check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEPaXsYdpCI
Tannenberg has been out for almost 2 weeks, and we’re very pleased with the response we’ve had so far. Reviews from GameWatcher and Destructoid, YouTuber BreakTheVices enjoying the new Bulgarian squad, as well as Spanish YouTuber Taison TV battling it out on Poland.

Over the weekend we also saw Westie play, enjoying the new Martini-Henry rifle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJwWeflONSU&feature=youtu.be
We also have more content on the way, with a new squad and two new maps in the pipeline. There will be a new tutorial hint system added and full controller support as well! Also don’t forget the upcoming Spring event… you can check out the roadmap for Verdun and Tannenberg for more. We are still looking into getting Tannenberg on console - we can’t confirm anything yet!

If you're a new player we'd love to hear your feedback after trying the game. You can post in our Bugs and Suggestions sub forum or on our Discord channel! We want to hear from everyone else too, but we're particularly interested in new user feedback.

See you next time!

https://youtu.be/9RW4pfqNyeg
There’s a new map, a new squad, new weapons, more improvements and a secret event announced for this Spring...

Those following our posts here will have seen several teasers for the new Bulgarian squad, but for everyone else... they bring a number of iconic weapons like the Mannlicher M90 carbine and the venerable Martini-Henry rifle! They can call in flyovers by recon planes to spot concentrations of enemy forces, and enjoy balanced loadout options with rifles, pistols and grenades.



A new map is set in the Dobrudja region between Bulgaria and Roumania which has erupted into conflict. With the strategically important waters of the Danube river visible in the distance, there is a central hilltop position to contest, with small fortifications scattered around the hillside leading down to a valley in the north.



After an Early Access period full of updates, gameplay tweaks, and useful feedback, we made sure that every squad has their own distinctive loadouts, and every map has a mix of strategic sectors, each offering their own advantages to the side strong enough to take control.

With the full release comes a great set of translations! Tannenberg now supports the following languages:

• Russian
  
• German
  
• French
  
• Portuguese (Brazilian & Portuguese)
  
• Spanish (Spain)
  
• Italian
  
• Turkish
  
• Polish

Japanese and Simplified Chinese will follow soon after release!

Many thanks to everyone who has played the game during Early Access, provided feedback, and supported us! Enjoy the launch and get ready for the special event - we can reveal it is a ‘sort of’ truce event… but nothing like the Christmas Truce.

Owners of our Western Front game Verdun will get a 25% loyalty discount voucher - make sure to check your inventory!

The Tannenberg release is less than a week away, so what better way to pass the time than a recap of all the teasers we’ve released so far? Let’s start with the new squad.

The Bulgarians are a support squad for the Central Powers. As with the Roumanians, it means that every member of the squad carries extra HMG ammo, and their squad roles have a good mix of rifles and grenades, with some pistols available. The Bulgarian NCO will have access to the special Na Nozh! ability which allows spawning in cut-off sectors, and faster recapturing of a target sector.


A Bulgarian squad posing.


Bulgarian troops in action.

We’ve seen rifles, a shovel, and more so far. Here are some of the new weapons coming with the release:


In order:

• The Russian M1912 trench shovel - a useful tool and deadly weapon.
  
• The Martini-Henry Peabody rifle, an Eastern European and Turk produced variant of the famous rifle used by the British Army.
  
• A Russian ‘Lantern’ grenade - heavy and complex, but effective nonetheless.
  
• A Werndl-Holub rifle, originally adopted by the Austro-Hungarian army in 1867. During WW1 they issued it to some rear-echelon units.
  
• And finally, the Mannlicher M90 carbine!

We haven’t shown off too much of the new map yet… so today there are three new screenshots for you to admire below:


The road leads on to one side’s headquarters on the right, and you can see one of the cornfields near the abandoned supply wagons.


You can see there are many smaller trenches and pieces of cover to break up the slope.


Here we’re looking over one of the small fighting positions at the view outside the battlefield. The Danube is visible in the distance!

Finally, anyone who hasn’t seen the feature trailer yet should check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhSr9ZMtk6k See you in five days!

The first update of the year is here, and it’s a big one! We wanted to add more distinctiveness to both the squads and sectors in Tannenberg, and that’s what this update is all about. But first, a teaser to get you hyped for the release on the 13th!
https://youtu.be/fhSr9ZMtk6kGet a closer look at the Bulgarians...

Every sector will now have a special trait and advantage associated with controlling it! The key sectors will continue to increase the speed of enemy score drain. Ammunition and artillery sectors will reduce the cooldowns of their associated abilities by 10% - you’ll be able to use ammo crates and call in artillery strikes more frequently. Recon sectors will increase how long spotted enemies remain visible on the mini-map by 10%. Finally, reinforcement sectors will reduce respawn times by 10%.


Here you can see the new sector types as applied to Poland. There are recon and artillery sectors next to the HQs, the key sector at the Crossroads, and a reinforcement sector to the north with an ammunition supply sector to the south.

We have made a series of changes to squads, abilities and call-ins in order to make every squad more unique and interesting. To start with, each squad can now be broadly categorized as Infantry, Assault, or Support. NCOs from all squads can call in smoke shells to cover an advance, but artillery, gas and recon missions are now linked to specific squads.


Infantry squads are focused on long range combat, with plentiful long rifles, related role perks, and the ability to call-in artillery strikes. The K.u.K Trupp even have access to the superheavy 305mm Škoda 30.5 cm Mörser M.11!


Assault squads focus on offensive actions, with grenades, melee weapons, and abilities that can negate suppression or increase it in enemies. They also command gas call-ins. Every call-in now has multiple levels, generally along the lines of light / medium / heavy. The heavier call-ins have longer cooldowns, so NCOs have the choice of deploying support more often, or having more powerful support less frequently.


The support squads are capable defenders and can potentially recapture lost sectors faster than other squads - but don’t underestimate their power in an attack, where they can act as mobile grenade and ammo supply points and use recon flights to identify enemy defensive positions or spot counter-attacks.

Note: Right now only the Austro-Hungarian siege mortar is implemented, the other squad abilities are coming soon!


Support roles now each have one placement ability (put down ammo and grenade crates or field telephones anywhere) and act as a mobile source of ammo, grenades, or telephone connection!

We will be looking forward to hearing your thoughts on all these changes - post your thoughts in the feedback thread on the hub!

This update also brings a collection of other changes and squashed bugs. Read some of the most significant below:

• Unity version updated to 2018.3.
  
• Always allow sector spawns on all friendly sectors.
  
• Faster mount/dismount time for HMGs.
  
• Spawning is now a lot more responsive! Fixed cases of getting stuck in Spawning.
  
• Cluster spawns within 50m of an enemy capzone is no longer possible.
  
• Various new UI updates, performance optimisations and fixes.
  
• Frommer Stop now has 7 bullets instead of 8.
  
• Exposed spawns in center of Carpathians have been adjusted.
  
• Fixed incorrect "Your NCO called in..." message for actions of other squads (now only display for your own squad call-ins).
  
• Less chance of floating prone people.
  
• Improved gasmask checking on spawn. This should resolve the 'spawning in gas' issues.
  
• Network bandwidth optimisations.

As always, check out the full changelog on the forums… and don’t forget to brace yourselves for the upcoming release on February 13th!

Before we go, take a look at one more little teaser!


Not all of the new weapons coming at release are for the Bulgarians…

Cheers!

Welcome to the first Frontline News of the new year! We’re going to start by taking a look back on everything which has happened over 2018, and then see what’s coming up in 2019.

We started the year of 2018 by merging the code bases for Verdun and Tannenberg. Although there were a few challenges at first, it set the stage for some big graphical upgrade for Verdun and shared progress for both games.
In April players voted on whether they wanted to see Romanian or Bulgarian troops next. It was a close run thing, but the Romanians just won out in the end. By the end of May the Romanians were ready to join the fighting, and they brought the new Mount Cosna map with them!



Last year's April Fools joke was taking a gentle dig at the Battle Royale craze. Battle Royal: Northern Front would have featured booty crates, jetpacks, and more wild stuff…



The focus was on performance through to September, with a ton of things fixed or tweaked and a big networking update released. As well as general improvements, particular attention was paid to the movement of other players so that they would move smoothly even when experiencing moments of substantial lag. Meanwhile in Verdun the first new squad on the roadmap was released: the ANZACs!



In November we implemented the first version of a new user interface in Tannenberg, revamping everything from the menus to the in-game maps and command wheels. It's still work-in-progress and we have more improvements planned before full release! Once everything is smoothed out, it will be put in Verdun too. The trailer below shows off the changes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfnOYoBHcK4
In October we updated and improved many of the sound effects in the game, and added a new prestige system allowing veteran players to gain prestige ranks in exchange for resetting their level to one and starting over. Here’s a video demonstrating a few of the new sounds that were added:
https://youtu.be/VyIZ2TCCwAQ
It was a special Armistice Day last year, being the 100th anniversary of the day the fighting ended. We posted short stories about 100 people who were killed in the fighting or otherwise died as a consequence of the war.



We also announced that Tannenberg will be released on February 13th, 2019 - and that players could expect a surprise to arrive at launch... we're tight-lipped about details for now, but it's less than two months away now!

The trailer for that also teased the Bulgarians who will be arriving with the release. Bonus points to the keen eyed fans who got the movie reference! Check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyUjCk03a0Q&feature=youtu.be

Here’s a newer teaser image… can you identify the gun?

We will finalize the UI in Tannenberg, release a tutorial, and apply more polish in the upcoming months.
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