Welcome to Role Guide #10!

This week we’re looking at a role that can take out infantry from afar, strike fear into Officers and eliminate VIP targets before disappearing undetected – the Sniper.

If you missed the previous guide where we looked at the Engineer, you can catch up here.



As a Sniper, your primary goal is to eliminate enemy infantry, with a focus on taking out important targets such as the enemy Commander, Officers and Machine Gunners.

Paired with a Spotter, who leads your two-man Recon unit, you become a formidable force that can successfully engage enemy infantry outside of their optimal combat ranges, even taking them down before they know you’re there.

Snipers are the only infantry role in Hell Let Loose that receive a scope on their weapon. Because of this boon, a team may only have two Snipers active at any one time. In order to spawn in as a Sniper, a Recon unit must already have a spotter in-place.




Infantry and VIP Target Elimination

You’re a sniper. Armed with a scoped, bolt-action rifle your presence in a battle will strike fear into the enemy forces. Few can hope to contest you at range, so use that to your advantage.

How you choose to fulfil this rather broad duty will depend on three things:

1. Your Commander’s battleplan
2. Your Spotter’s orders & information
3. Your current situation

Your Commander’s battle plan

If your Commander shares an overall battle plan with the Officers under their command, you can expect some specific orders to come your way.

You could be given orders to support a specific attack, defend a sector or focus on taking out important or highly dangerous members of the opposing team. As an infantryman, the Sniper can be very impactful in a battle, so being a team player is vital.

Your Spotter’s orders & information

The Spotter is your Officer. You may be in a two-man unit but respecting the chain of command is important!

Equipped with a submachine gun and pair of binoculars, your Spotter will provide close quarters protection, as well as target scouting for you. Listen out for their calls and watch for markers being placed on the map. Their field of view will be wider than yours whilst you look down your scope, so heed their warnings and follow their orders.

Your current situation

Sometimes even the best laid plans can put you in a bad situation. You could be penned in, cut off behind enemy lines or even ambushed as you snipe.

Knowing how to act can make the difference between life and taking a trip to the respawn screen. Do you engage and fight your way out? Do you take advantage of there only being two of you and opt to hide until a safer moment?

Know when to pull the trigger and when to live to fight another battle.


Scouting & Reconnaissance

Just because you have a rifle, it doesn’t mean you have to go firing it all the time!

The benefit of being part of a small, independent unit means you can be inconspicuous should the situation demand it.

Snipers are the perfect role for sneaking behind enemy lines, flanking strongpoints and relaying enemy movements and numbers back to the Officers. Just image how rewarding it’d be to have a devastating bombing run called in by the Commander thanks to your coordinates!

• M1903 Springfield Sniper Rifle
  
• M1911 Pistol
  
• Mk2 Grenade
  
• Bandages

• Karabiner 98k Sniper Rifle
  
• Walther P38 Pistol
  
• M43 Stielhandgranate
  
• Bandages

Aim ahead - The rounds fired from sniper rifles are affected by both bullet travel time and bullet drop. When aiming at a moving or distant target, both must be accounted for. Just because the target is in your crosshair, it doesn’t mean your bullet will hit! Lead your target and/or aim above them when necessary.

Keep topped up - Reloading a bolt-action rifle is a slow process when compared to other rifles. When you get the opportunity, always ensure your rifle is loaded. A Sniper with an empty rifle will be of little effectiveness during a battle.

Hold your breath - When scoped in, Snipers benefit greatly from holding their breath. Simple hold the shift key and your aim will steady, allowing for pinpoint accuracy. Keep in mind that you can’t hold your breath forever, running out of breath before firing or breathing again will throw off your aim and you’ll have to retarget.

Mind games - Sometimes, the enemy knowing that you’re in the area is as powerful as your rifle. Forcing them to keep their heads down, not push forward or use their finite smoke grenades to move forward. Veteran Snipers will be able to wield this to great effect.


Hell Let Loose is available to Wishlist now:

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Hey everyone,

Today we’re incredibly excited to share with you the news you’ve all been waiting for…

Hell Let Loose will launch on Steam Early Access June 6th 2019!

To celebrate this announcement we’ve released a new trailer as the US and German forces prepare to clash in fierce combat.

https://youtu.be/SORGy9QRMJI



New recruits looking to fight on the frontline can now secure their place in three upcoming betas ahead of Early Access launch, as well as kitting themselves out with two exclusive pre-order helmets by pre-ordering now!

Backer Note: All levels of Hell Let Loose Crowdfunder Backer will receive the pre-order helmets.

New recruits can enlist for battle via two different pre-order options:


Purchase the Soldier Pack for Hell Let Loose and receive:

• 1 x Steam game code with access to the full game as well as up to three betas before Early Access launch.
  
• 2 x Additional beta keys to share with friends. Each key will grand access for up to three betas ahead of Early Access launch on June 6th. These codes will cease to function on completion of the third beta.
  
• 1 x German M42 Helmet Cover with Sniper Veil (in-game cosmetic)
  
• 1 x US 505th 82nd Airborne variant (in-game cosmetic)

This is for the players and clans looking to head to the frontline with a full unit to fight alongside! The Unit Pack for Hell Let Loose contains:

• 6 x Steam games codes with access to the full game as well as up to three betas before Early Access launch.
  
• 6 x German M42 Helmet Cover with Sniper Veil (in-game cosmetic)
  
• 6 x US 505th 82nd Airborne variant (in-game cosmetic)
  
• 10% discount!

If you pre-order, you’ll be able to take part in our upcoming beta on Friday April 5th at 11am BST / 6am ET / 3am PT, as well as the two that follow.

Prepare to fight across a brand new map: Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, as players recreate a critical engagement between the 101st Airborne Division and the German Wehrmacht on D-Day!

The beta will also feature the sprawling, dense woodland of our Hürtgen Forest map, where players will engage in the fierce battles between American and German forces that occurred in the winter of 1944.

This is a great opportunity to play Hell Let Loose ahead of Early Access launch, meet the crowdfunder community, join a Division (Clan) and give us your thoughts on the game before it launches!



As we mentioned at the start of this post, we’re incredibly excited to share today’s news with you. We’ve been working and playing alongside our crowdfund community for over a year now, tweaking the game and further crafting it into an experience we hope our players will love.

The best bit though? We haven’t even started Early Access yet! All of the work we’ve done so far has taken place in closed alpha & beta settings, but today that begins to change. As the pre-order goes live we’re opening up the doors for even more players to get stuck into the game and be a driving force in our welcoming community.

To our crowdfunder community, thank you for your support and passion in getting us to this point, and to those new players joining the community ahead of Early Access launch by pre-ordering, WELCOME TO THE FRONT!

This is just the beginning.

Black Matter & Team17

Hey everyone,

Welcome to Developer Briefing #17. This week we’re glancing forward as we look at some of the upcoming content coming to Hell Let Loose!

Please keep in mind that the following is just a portion of what we’re working on, with the rest currently being held in a crate marked ‘Classified’ at headquarters.

We’re not attaching dates for when the different pieces of content will arrive just yet, but as we head towards Early Access launch you can expect further clarity and information as we lock in the content from our side.


As the team become happier with the state of play with the Panther and Sherman tanks that are already in the game, we can take the crucial steps to implement the next set of vehicles into Hell Let Loose.

Currently, it looks like trucks will be the next addition, giving players extra mobility options for both themselves, and supplies. Support, Anti-tank, Engineer and Officer roles rejoice!

Beyond that you can expect to see the addition of further armoured options, both on the heavier and lighter sides of our current offering…


Vaulting waist-high walls is coming! That’s right, you’ll soon be able to haul yourself out of trenches, over fences and even over conveniently short walls.

This should address those awkward situations when you’re pretty sure you should be able to make the jump, whilst also giving you a more authentic, tactical approach to engaging with battlefield terrain.


Continued refining of all animations, including TPP and FPP to give players a more engaging, responsive experience. This ranges from running animations to how soldier models respond to certain actions, such as bullet hit flinching and new context-sensitive death animations.


We’ve been working extensively across the entire soundscape of the game according to the feedback given to us in the last playtest. Every single weapon sound has been revamped as we move closer to a quality we’re happy with. The distance fall-off on all weapons has been drastically increased to give better directionality and to make the battlefield more alive.

As we continue to work on audio, we’ll be paying special attention to the handling of external and interior vehicle noises, environmental interaction audio with gunshots, as well refining existing sounds.

This kind of content will be done in stages as the team works on implementation and player feedback.


Currently Hell Let Loose offers one game mode - Warfare - an intense tug-of-war down a single sector capture line. While we’re confident in the experience it offers players, we know there’s further work to do in better integrating the way resources, strategic freedom and Commander abilities work within this system. We’ve been pouring over the feedback channel in Discord, reading all the brilliant forum posts and have been having ongoing internal discussions as we brainstorm ways to add further complexity to this gamemode.

Having said that, we’re not stopping there. The team are also working on two other game modes that will give players and the wider community more variation and options in the style of gameplay they experience in Hell Let Loose.

The two modes currently being worked on are under the working titles of “Invasion” and “Campaign”. Whilst maintaining the core gameplay of Hell Let Loose, these modes will offer different experiences to what’s available right now - with a particular focus on returning the greater strategic decision-making abilities to the players while maintaining the important player-density. Much of the challenge behind Hell Let Loose metagame design is balancing the resources, map layout, player density and strategic freedom players have.

We’re keeping tight-lipped while we work on the more detailed aspects of these modes, but we hope the names we’ve provided will give you something to work with!


The Commander isn’t finished just yet! He’s still got some more Orders to come his way. From abilities that have a physical (and painful) presence on the battlefield, to more supporting Orders, the Commander still has some additional functionality to give players the ability to carve out their own playstyle, rather than adhering to one template.


You know of Hurtgen Forest and Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, but did you know the team are already actively working on the next two maps?

We’re pleased to share with you that both Foy and Utah Beach are currently in active development and will be the next battlefields that you’ll be clashing on in the future.
Now this Developer Briefing has been pretty wordy compared to our usual set-up, so lets get some eye candy in here!

Below is an in-game image taken from Foy, a snow covered map that will give players whole new challenges to face, or turn to their advantage, in the heat of battle. Set in the Belgian village of the same name and made famous by Band of Brothers, Foy combines a dense destroyed urban environment with rolling fields and pine forest - giving one of the most diverse player experiences so far. Foy is largely finalised and is about to enter an optimisation pass. Don’t worry - we’ve got a whole folder of reference photos for winter uniforms.


You’ve got to admit, Foy will certainly be a ‘cool’ map!


We’ve been working hard to make sure the technical aspects of the HUD and UI are functioning correctly as we move towards Early Access. As a result of that, the look of them could really do with some love. We’re going to be working across all UX, UI and 2D graphic elements within the game to give the game the same front-end visual polish that you find in the maps themselves.


When you’re on the frontline, your soldier should be able to help reflect the individuality of the player controlling them. We also appreciate that not everyone looks the same!

To address this, we’re currently working on the implantation of a cosmetic system for Hell Let Loose. This will start with the ability to pick a helmet for your soldier, before being expanded to include head and uniform options for each role.

All customisations will be authentic, with nothing untoward or fantasy for that time period being included. Our design intentions here are twofold:

• To enable players to roleplay as an historical unit
  
• To allow players to show their experience in their appearance

We WILL NOT be using loot boxes in this system.



That wraps up this week’s Developer Briefing! We hope you liked what you read. Of course, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments below!

Just remember, this is a portion of what we’re working on and we’ll be sharing more with you all both on the lead up to and beyond Early Access launch.

P.S. The Flamethrower is coming along nicely…


Hell Let Loose is available to Wishlist now:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/686810/Hell_Let_Loose/

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Welcome to Role Guide #9!

This week we’re looking at a role that excels at sector control and area denial – the Engineer.

If you missed the previous guide where we looked at the Anti-Tank, you can catch up here.



As an Engineer, your primary goal is to hold key areas for your team.

Key tactical locations such as strongpoints, chokepoints, trench systems and urban areas are where you’ll shine. Armed with both anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, as well as a wide range of deployables such as barbed wire, sandbags and tank traps – A good Engineer can single-handedly contribute to holding back an enemy force far greater than their own.




Area Control & Territory Denial

The Engineer is equipped to lay devious traps for the enemy. Anti-personnel mines and anti-tank mines will quickly dispatch any infantry or vehicles that don’t spot them.

Unlike deployables, mines don’t require supplies to be used. Instead, you start with a fixed amount, much like grenades.

When taking enemy territory, or contesting an area, it’s always worth making use of your mines. As an Engineer you’ll need to plan ahead. Ask yourself “Where will the infantry attack from?”, “Where would they run for cover?” and leave traps accordingly. The same can be said for tanks, which will normally be found on roads or chokepoints.

Engineers also have access to deployables such as:

• Barbed Wire
  
• Tank Traps
  
• Sandbags

Barbed Wire and Tank Traps are fantastic tools at slowing an enemy advance, having to be manually dismantled by the enemy or navigated around. Sandbags not only provide cover but will give your Machine Gunner a handy place to pop their bipod for sustained suppressive fire.

In order to use deployables, an Engineer must be in proximity of a supply box, provided either by a Support role, or a Commander’s supply drop.

Vehicle Repair

Your trusty wrench isn’t just for deploying fortifications, it also serves a second, very useful purpose – it can repair damaged tanks and other vehicles.

A damaged tank can quickly be identified by looking for smoke and sparks from a certain part, or parts, of the tank. This will normally be from the turret, tracks and/or the engine. A second way to spot a damaged tank is to listen out for the wails and shouts of a disgruntled tank crew, saddened that their pride and joy has more than a few dents in it.

To repair the tank, simply approach it at any angle with your wrench equipped and follow the on-screen prompts. Take note, repairing a tank is a long process, leaving both the Engineer and tank vulnerable during this period.

• M1 Carbine
  
• M2 Anti-Personnel Mine
  
• M1A1 Anti-Tank Mine
  
• Wrench (building and repairs)
  
• Bandages

• Karabiner 98k
  
• S-Mine Anti-Personnel Mine
  
• Tellermine 43 Anti-Tank Mine
  
• Wrench (building and repairs)
  
• Bandages

Tanks for the cover – When repairing a tank or other vehicle, always put yourself in a position away from enemy fire. The tank can happily take small arms fire, your solider cannot.

Mine-d your step – AP mines can be used both inside and out. If you’re garrisoning a building, pop one at the building’s entrance to stop overly zealous soldiers from quickly storming your location.

Engineering victory – Prior preparation and foresight for the battle ahead is vital for this role to be most effective. Deploying mines and fortifications takes time, your chances to place defences will be severely limited and outright dangerous during a battle.

Friendliest fire – Both AP & AT mines can’t be set off by your own team, whether they’re on foot or in a vehicle, so don’t worry about accidentally team-killing an ally. However, friendly bullets and explosives can set off your mines.


Hell Let Loose is available to Wishlist now:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/686810/Hell_Let_Loose/

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Hey everyone,

Welcome to Developer Briefing #16! This week we’re happy to share the news that the next Hell Let Loose closed beta is arriving in April. Details below:


Start date: April 5th
End date: April 8th

• Existing players: Crowdfund backers who had access to the previous betas.
  
• New players: Recruit tier backers will now be given access to closed betas (watch those inboxes!).
  
• ?????: News on participation for those outside of the crowdfund community coming soon.

For the first time in a closed beta, players will have access to two maps to fight on, Hurtgen Forest and Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.

That’s right, Sainte-Marie-du-Mont is back after its first outing in last years Alpha. Revamped, improved and ready for action, players will be fighting through fields, trenches, hedgerows and the town itself as they battle sector by sector to secure strongpoints in both rural and urban environments.

To prepare you for the impending battle, we’ve gathered some reconnaissance shots from the front:


Every building in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont can be entered, garrisoned and fought for.


The buildings aren’t just empty husks, they are lived in, damaged or even abandoned mid-breakfast. Each house interior tells a story.


Expect fierce fighting in chokepoints such as roads and alleyways.


Small farm buildings can be the perfect place for a Machine Gunner, or even a sneaky spawn point!


Gardens with short walls can be the perfect place for an ambush, if you’re brave enough.


The sweeping fields provide a stark contrast to the close quarter battles of the town.


This house may appear abandoned,but watch out for traps and soldiers laying low!

• VOiP enabled on death and in redeployment screens
  
• Text chat enabled on redeployment and round end screens
  
• New map screen maps
  
• Default gamma and mouse sensitivities fixed
  
• Nameplate visibility settings for users
  
• Ongoing UI improvements
  
• Ongoing sound improvements across the board
  
• Ongoing optimisation
  
• Fix for tank bouncing and desync.
  
• Fix for tank collision when making contact with an object.
  
• Fix for gunners sight becoming unaligned in tanks
  
• Improvements to TPP animation
  
• New character models
  
• New FPP and TPP animations
  
• Bombing run optimisation & fixes
  
• Bug fixes
  
• And more!

We hope this advanced look at the next closed beta has got you excited for your return, or first visit to Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and Hurtgen Forest.

The team have been working hard since the last beta and we’re all looking forward to joining you on the frontline and hearing your feedback.

Next week we’ll be providing some more information regarding the closed beta and more!

Watch this space…


Hell Let Loose is available to Wishlist now:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/686810/Hell_Let_Loose/

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Welcome to Role Guide #8!

This week we’re looking at a role that strikes fear into enemy armour - the Anti-Tank.

If you missed the previous guide where we looked at the Support, you can catch up here.



As an Anti-Tank, your primary goal is the elimination of enemy armour.

Whether you’re attacking the enemy tanks with your personal anti-tank weaponry in an infantry assault, setting up an anti-tank gun for zone control and stopping power, or supporting your own tanks to give them an edge in battle, you’re the infantry role that keeps tankers up at night.




Destroying Tanks

Surprising nobody, the Anti-Tank’s top priority is… Destroying enemy tanks! As the only infantry role that can proactively combat a tank on the frontline, you are a vital presence when fighting in an area which features enemy armour.

Equipped with either the Bazooka or Panzerschreck, your focus should be hitting the tank in its weaker locations – namely the rear, sides and tracks. Aiming at the front of a tank will be far less effective due to the thick armour that’s present there, however in times of desperate need this approach is better than nothing.

Keep in mind that the range of your personal anti-tank weaponry is limited to short-medium. If you attempt to rocket a tank at longer ranges, you’re highly likely to miss and draw unwanted attention to yourself and your unit. Note: This will not make you a popular person with your unit.



Area Control & Deterrence

Anti-tank guns are the jewel in the Anti-Tank crown. This powerful deployable is able to provide fire support across a wide field of view, bringing the pain to enemy tank crews and infantry alike.

Positioning either your M1AT or Pak40 on high-ground, or at the end of a chokepoint creates an incredibly daunting scenario for your opposition. With both high range and firepower, these weapons of war can make short work of a tank and decimate infantry.

However, in order to deploy anti-tank guns on the battlefield, you’ll need a box of supplies. These can be provided by both the Support and Commander roles. No supplies, no anti-tank gun. To deploy an anti-tank gun, simply select your wrench and choose where to build it within the placement radius of a supply box.

Anti-tank guns have a two-man crew, one aiming and shooting whilst the second reloads. The gun can be operated with a one-man crew, albeit at a reduced rate of fire as the crewman is required to switch seats after each shot to reload.

Once deployed, any allied soldier can man the anti-tank gun, freeing you up to pursue enemy armour on foot if the situation demands it.

• M1 Garand
  
• Bazooka
  
• Mk2 Grenade
  
• Wrench (M1AT)
  
• Bandage

• Karabiner 98k
  
• Panzerschreck
  
• M43 Stielhandgranate
  
• Wrench (Pak40)
  
• Bandage

Surprise attack – Going loud at the first sign of a tank isn’t necessarily the best strategy. Sometimes allowing the tank to get closer gives you a greater opportunity to hit its weak spots and stop it returning fire. When next to a tank, you can also outrun the pace at which its turret turns, just watch out for angry crewmen jumping out to fight you in person.

Know the danger zones – Even if the turret isn’t facing in-front of the tank, avoid running past the driver’s viewport. The driver has access to a hull mounted machinegun and will make short work of any infantry that strays into their view.

Not one and done – When using the Bazooka or Panzerschreck, keep in mind that it will normally take multiple shots to take down a tank. Get ready to move or face a counter-attack from the tank and its supporting units. To maximise your chances of quickly taking down a tank, including a potential one-shot, aim for the rear where armour is weakest.

Piece by piece – There will be occasions where taking the time to destroy a tank on foot isn’t safe or a viable option. In this case it can be a wiser move to attempt to damage the tank before moving on and letting your allied armour, artillery or reinforcements take it out. For example, damaging the tank’s turret will reduce its turn speed, whilst damage to the tank’s tracks will severely hamper its mobility – perfect for a swift escape.

Swarm – What’s scarier to a tank than one Anti-Tank role? Two, three or even four! In intense combat situations, teaming up with Anti-Tank soldiers from other units can devastate enemy tanks, whether that’s via an ambush or sustained combat. An unsupported tank will quickly fall to rapid rocket fire from multiple sources.


Hell Let Loose is available to Wishlist now:

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Hey everyone,

Welcome to Developer Briefing #15. This week we’re giving you the first look at our updated map overviews that we’re in the process of implementing into the game!

If you missed the previous Developer Briefing, where the Game Director for Hell Let Loose, Max, stopped by to share some feedback on our recent closed test weekend, you can read all about it here.



Recently, the team have found themselves in a position to spend some time improving the presentation and authentic feel of the map overview that our players use as they fight on the frontline.

When approaching this update, we were keen to achieve the following goals:

• Create a visually rich map.
  
• Deeper tactical application during battle.
  
• Easy to read.
  
• Simple visual language that highlights key locations.
  
• Terrain features identifiable through using the map.
  
• It looks like a map that would be used from that era.

This then gives our players a tactical, authentic map that can be used for advanced planning on both attacking and defensive strategies by providing a true lay of the land.




Aesthetic but lacking tactical use.




Mapping the path to victory!

As you can see, the example above now includes much more detail, including trenches, tank traps, bridges, roads, forestation and map contours (height).

We’ve not including the in-game sector, strongpoint and HQ overlays in the above image so that you can get a real good look at what you’ll be playing with.



As we work towards getting this into player hands, we’ll be working on things such as icon legibility and tactical application. If you have any thoughts on how you’ll be using the new map overview design, let us know in the comments below!

Hell Let Loose is available to Wishlist now:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/686810/Hell_Let_Loose/

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Welcome to Role Guide #7!

This week we’re looking at a role that enables your team's dream strategies to become a reality – the Support.

If you missed the previous guide where we looked at the Assault, you can catch up here.



As a Support, you are the fuel that feeds your team’s strategy. Working closely with your Officer, Engineer and Anti-tank roles, you will provide them with the means to deploy game changing spawn points, heavy weaponry and fortifications.


Placing Supplies



The pinnacle duty of the Support, placing supplies. As the only role that actively carries supplies in their loadout, your use of this valuable resource will be instrumental in executing your team’s strategy.

Once a supply crate is placed, certain deployables can be built in a set radius around it.

As mentioned in the introduction, your supplies can be used in a wide variety of ways with different roles:

• Officer – Garrison (Teamwide spawn)
  
• Anti-tank – Anti-tank Gun
  
• Engineer – Fortifications (Sandbags, barbed wire etc)

Support players spawn with one supply crate in their inventory and once it’s placed, it can’t be moved. When committing to using your supplies make sure they’re in the best possible location for their purpose.


Support the attack


A Support soldier prepares for battle in the shade.

Once you’ve deposited your supplies, you should focus on joining the Rifleman, Assault and Automatic Rifleman roles at the front, taking on the enemy and pushing the objective.

Equipped with either an M1 Garand or the Karabiner 98k, as well as grenades, the Support can stand toe to toe with the Rifleman and put a dent in the enemy team’s plans.

• M1 Garand
  
• Mk2 Grenade
  
• Bandages
  
• Supplies

• Karabiner 98k
  
• M43 Stielhandgranate
  
• Bandages
  
• Supplies

Supply and demand – Don’t just throw your supplies down at the first opportunity. Communicate with the roles that make use for them to ensure your supplies are placed in the most tactically viable location.

Eyes on the prize – Supplies can be destroyed by the opposing team! If you leave yours unguarded and the enemy find it, your supplies won’t be around for long. On the flip side, feel free to remove any enemy supply crates you encounter by moving up to them and following the on-screen button prompt.

Supports united – If your Commander decides to create a fortified location, or base, on the frontline, multiple Support roles will have to work together to ensure enough supplies are deployed to create the Commander’s plan. Talk to your Officer and use proximity chat to co-ordinate with your fellow Support players for maximum efficiency.

Support the attack – Your role may be called Support, but you’re equipped with a loadout that lets you hold your own on the frontline. Once your supplies are down, don’t shy away from combat. Show those other roles what Support players can do!


Hell Let Loose is available to Wishlist now:

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Hey all,

Welcome to Developer Briefing #14!

This week, Hell Let Loose's Game Director, Max, has stopped by to share what we've learned from our recent closed test weekend as well as what you can expect from that moving forward.

We'd love to hear what you think, so feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below and over on the forum.



Hi everyone,

A very large thank you to those who jumped into our impromptu weekend playtest.

Our key goal for this test was to understand the exact player density needed per sector in order to achieve a battle that had the intensity of World War Two frontline combat. We wanted to test on Hurtgen again, as it would allow us to directly compare to our previous playtest, in which we had tracked player density and also the way battles evolved.

We know that it's quite frustrating to play the same map again, and we thank you for taking the time to help us test. While these tests are less exciting than normal, they’re critical in helping us to refine the whole experience before we start to actively market the title. We'd like to reassure you that playtests in the future will be announced in advance and broadcast more widely to make sure you have plenty of warning. We're very excited to begin mixing in Sainte-Marie-Du-Mont and to get feedback on new quality of life changes, bug fixes, sound improvements and animation improvements.

We've tracked all feedback in both the feedback channel on Discord, on our forums and in conversation with the team. After each playtest we essentially compile all recorded issues or opinions, break them into categories (audio, animation etc.) and then work to triage the issues out into order of importance. At the moment, we're focusing very much on making sure the core gameplay is stable, optimised and (most importantly) fun for our Early Access launch later this year. Our launch is going to formally mark the beginning of our journey, in which we'll be balancing bug fixes and quality of life upgrades with added features and content. We have a good idea of what we want our 1.0 version to look like, and we’re planning out the most effective way of getting there.

Our highest priority right now is making sure that we have a solid foundation to work on. By ensuring that the key pillars are in place, we can then begin to focus on adding new maps, weapons, vehicles and other goodies to the game.


It can be gruelling to sift through all the qualities of the game that people disliked most, but it’s the best way for us to improve what we’re doing. Below I’ve broken down some broad observations from the community that align with what we experienced. We feel it’s important that you feel heard and know whether or not we’ve listened to the feedback given.


The entire dev team played throughout the weekend in order to get a good feel of how the new meta affected the gameplay experience. Our reflections were similar to the community - we were having more frequent tangible and intense combat situations. The combat also felt more direct and much more precipitous (with several moments where our victory was snatched away). We found that vehicles mixed in nicely and could either use their infantry line for close defence, or they could push into the open (and potentially be rewarded with a rocket in the back!) and act as a spearhead. We also found that artillery was able to be used effectively on points, but not so overpowered that it became impossible (though we’ll keep an eye on this). We found that while some sectors would become incredibly intense, working with the Commander to drop supplies and flank - or to call in a bombing run - allowed us to approach each situation with freedom to escape the butchery.

That said, while the general sentiment is that the player density is great and there is a much more consolidated front, the soul of the sector gameplay we initially described is diluted. We can see that we've compromised the level of strategic freedom that we described in the Kickstarter. If you’re a community member who feels frustrated by this, I’m keen to let you know that our key task now is to introduce additional features that add and emphasise greater strategy and RTS elements of the game. For the Warfare gamemode, this means looking at implementing secondary objectives and reworking how resources are acquired in order to give each team the ability to effect their resource flow in a more meaningful way (eg. building a Fuel Dump to generate fuel). It also means looking at our upcoming Offensive gamemode and making sure there is a decision-making process in every attack.

Essentially, we now have great data that gives us a threshold for player density per 100m for what we'd consider a great World War Two battle. Our key task now is to introduce additional features that add and emphasise greater strategy and RTS elements.


In addition to the metagame, we identified a wide variety of issues to fix (and many that already are as of this week), such as being unable to use VOIP or chat during the pre-deployment phase, or when in the deployment map waiting to respawn.

From tank physics to gamma levels, we’re working through fixing the bugs.


Players consistently reported that while the sound directionality was better, it fell off in volume far too fast and the actual quality of the weapon sounds themselves could do with more work.
As such, we’ve been reworking the distance ranges and aspects of the fall off (which bounce quite widely around and lower the ability to discover the source of the sound). You can now hear firearms much further away - increasing the total feeling of battle and making it much easier to pinpoint the origin of fire.

We’ve also begun work on improving the quality of the sounds themselves. We’re keen to make sure it’s a satisfying experience and that each sound fits properly into the soundscape.


Many players reported feeling like some actions and animations were unnecessarily clunky. There are many smaller tweaks we’re implementing in order to make the entire experience more fluid and less like you’re fighting the controls.

In all, we’re working hardest to make sure the first-person player experience is as solid and satisfying as can be. We’re also working hard to finish and fix any large visual bugs you may see in third person (snaking being a good example!). During Early Access, we’re keen to do a large improvement on many aspects of the systems we’re using - feet adjusting for the terrain beneath them, additional actions (like lean, vault, dive) and slightly tilting the player into their angle of movement so that their body leans satisfyingly as they corner. We’re also looking at friction-per-surface for vehicles and infantry.


It became quickly clear that tanks were having an incredibly hard time crossing the map. To fix this, we’ve opened up a gap in the centre to make it less of a snakes-and-ladders experience in crossing from one side to the other. We also noticed that Jacob’s Barn tended to be the area players enjoyed defending the most. There were some locations in the map that felt unfinished and needing additional cover. We also felt that some more compounds would strengthen the diversity of experiences you’d have while fighting across the map. We’re going to be doing a small terrain and cover pass on the map in order to fix these issues and make the map that bit more enjoyable to fight over.


We’ve got bigger and bigger playtests lined up for the near future that will give an opportunity for those outside of the backer community to participate, as well as bringing in our patient Recruit tier backers. As you can imagine, the more data we have from a higher volume of players will enable us to make sure our infrastructure is well established for our Early Access launch. We’ll be mass-messaging these to ensure you have the time and notice to take part. We’re very excited to continue polishing the core experience for Early Access. We’re very thankful for the fantastic community feedback and for your patience as we tweak and alter aspects of the game.

In addition to the testing, we’ve been busy planning out our Early Access development schedule. For us, the Early Access release is still only the beginning of the development of Hell Let Loose. We’ve got lots of features to add across all aspects of the game, and we’re excited to release the roadmap so that you can come with us on the journey.


Hell Let Loose is available to Wishlist now:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/686810/Hell_Let_Loose/

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