Hello Everyone,

Update 16 has deployed on all platforms!

This update brings the release of the brand new Elsenborn Ridge map, the anticipated Freelook Mechanic, a Dynamic Weather system, along with multiple QOL and bug fixes.



Elsenborn Ridge was a less-documented but integral battle nevertheless in the Ardennes ‘44 campaign of WW2. Set in the Belgian region of Büllingen, just 40 miles away from Foy, the U.S. valiantly tried to hold their position in the small village of Wirtzfeld. With territory having exchanged hands multiple times between the U.S. and German Forces, the U.S. was eventually driven out of Wirtzfeld, and onto the Elsenborn Ridge, where they dug in throughout the brutal December period of 1944, having been forced to abandon crucial ammo and fuel stores near the village.

The map joins the battle between 16-26th December 1944 with the U.S. Forces having established their defensive networks on the Elsenborn Ridge, while the German Forces controlled the village outskirts of Wirtzfeld to the South. The map comes with the following game modes:

• Warfare
  
• Offensive U.S.
  
• Offensive German
  
• Control Skirmish

Update 16 introduces Elsenborn Ridge, a new map set during the Battle of the Bulge - 71 kilometres north of Foy in the Büllingen region of Belgium set during that bitter winter in the closing months of the war.

As our most significant content release since Mortain, we’ve focused on delivering a map that balances performance and visual quality. As with preceding Black Matter maps, we have crafted a biome that reflects the terrain, settlements and the biting cold endured by the troops in this region.

The result is a map which offers an engaging gameplay experience and is visually distinct. We are extremely grateful to the members of our community who took part in our PTEs and have helped drive that vision forward.

Environment Art - Expression Games.

Six new achievements have been added for Elsenborn Ridge.

• Blaze of Glory - Whilst injured, kill an enemy with a Flamethrower on Elsenborn Ridge
  
• Hit the Road Jack - Drive or ride in vehicles for 1 hour on Elsenborn Ridge
  
• Ultimate Price - Destroy an enemy garrison with a satchel on Elsenborn Ridge
  
• Rations for the Ridge - As the Support role, drop 25 Supply Boxes on Elsenborn Ridge
  
• Snow Angel - Revive 50 players on Elsenborn Ridge
  
• See No Evil - Get killed whilst using Freelook on Elsenborn Ridge.

Elsenborn Ridge Night


Elsenborn Ridge Day


Elsenborn Ridge Morning


Elsenborn Ridge Morning


Elsenborn Ridge Tacmap





Freelook has been a highly requested feature in the community, and as frequent players ourselves, it has been a goal of the development team to bring it into the game. Running through fields always has been a risky endeavour with threats always looming. Freelook allows for a 130 degrees horizontal view angle that allows players to scan their peripheries while running, holding a position or even mounted on your MG. This helps to give players more control over their situational awareness which allows for more calculated actions.

Due to some limitations with our character system, such as first person characters not having full bodies, there are some known issues which occur. This includes some visual clipping with certain weapons and uniforms. We are exploring solutions for these issues and will fix them in future updates.

Freelook is mapped to the Alt key on PC and right bumper (hold) on console layout A.




We’ve made waiting in server queues a better experience! Previously, players were stuck on a locked screen with no access to other features while waiting to join a server. Now, you can freely navigate the entire menu while in the queue; customise your appearance, choose your loadout, or explore other options to get game-ready. Queue details are conveniently displayed in a small overlay in the top right corner of the screen, keeping you informed while you wait. We hope that this change puts the downtime to good use, so you’re always in control.




We’re excited to share an update to enhance our community's onboarding experience! We’ve streamlined the UI by removing Basic Training, an overly complex menu with unnecessary loading screens. The two key features from that menu, the Practice Range and Field Manual, are now directly accessible from the main menu. This change simplifies navigation and ensures new players can quickly dive into essential tools that help them learn the game and sharpen their skills. We hope this improvement makes your journey into the game even smoother!




We’ve made some key improvements to the deployment screen to better equip players with critical information while waiting to spawn. One major update is the addition of the game progress bar which allows players to see which capture points are being contested in real time. This gives players the tools to make informed decisions about spawn locations and capitalise on pivotal moments during the match. Also, we’ve refined the spawn list to include more detailed information including; spawn types, their quantities, and individual cooldown timers. These changes aim to support Commanders and Officers in deploying critical spawn points when numbers are running low, while also reducing the friction of checking individual spawn timers for everyone waiting to dive back into the action.

The technical art team have been investigating the introduction of a dynamic weather system to Hell Let Loose, in particular a way to convey the weather that affected troops in Elsenborn Ridge. Troops were subjected to freezing conditions and blizzards affecting visibility.

We needed a system that could change throughout and be as unpredictable as the weather at that time to reflect this.

A set of VFX particles were created consisting of various intensities of snow. As we needed this to be configurable, we decided on a set of presets utilising data assets. This made it easier to drive the intensity of each level of snow.

This meant we could tune each scenario easily in isolation. Each scenario includes parameters referenced from the VFX and lighting to allow us balance intensity and atmospherics.

The VFX scenario was broken down into a set of presets:

• Light snow
  
• Medium snow
  
• Heavy snow
  
• Blizzard snow

The data assets were then accessed by a singular blueprint placed in the map which would blend each preset over time (all of which could be tuned in terms of frequency, probability and transition length). We added the probability of when the transition between each stage would occur in order to add some randomness to it.

The snow VFX behaviour has been improved since the PTE and we have made some changes to each stage to make the snow intensity transition more noticeable. Light and medium snow presets have fewer particles and a lighter feel, while heavy and blizzard presets have a significant increase in intensity. The transitions are now longer and feel more natural with the flow between each stage ramping up and down and not as immediate.

This introduced some challenges for how we would implement this for the online player experience of Hell Let Loose. Changeable weather conditions would need to be consistent over time for each player. The code team worked hard to ensure the levels of snow remained synchronised and consistent throughout.

In addition, the team went through the map to do a series of optimisations including:

• Terrain layer density, reducing the amount of terrain materials used in any one sector to reduce the strain on memory and GPU
  
• Particle quality settings, adding performance scalability for particle spawning
  
• Reducing the material complexity of various meshes
  
• Optimising the number of meshes found in each sector through merging assets and using the Hierarchical LOD system as a proxy for assets further in the distance to reduce the strain on both draw and GPU
  
• Optimising shadow depths throughout the map

Technical Art - Expression Games

This is a very exciting update for the engineering team. Along with freelook, UI improvements and the weather system, we also took the opportunity to overhaul the VoIP system in Hell Let Loose. The game requires heavy communication, and we understand that reliable VoIP is paramount to successful gameplay for Commanders and Officers.

We have introduced fixes for longstanding VoIP connection issues. As a player, this will result in a much smoother and more reliable VoIP experience. To achieve this, we reimplemented the VoIP management system from scratch with an updated version of the Vivox SDK. This was a large piece of work, but we knew that it was the only way to ensure a polished VoIP experience for the community.

Engineering Team - Team17/Expression Games

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3312110/Hell_Let_Loose__Wacht_am_Rhein_Units/

• Freelook mechanic added
  
• “Blizzard Dynamic Weather”
  
• Server Queue
  
• Ability to navigate menus whilst queueing to join a server
  
• VIVOX Upgrade / Reimplementation

Elsenborn Ridge

• Warfare
  
• Day
  
• Morning
  
• Night

Offensive

• Day (Offensive German/Offensive U.S.)
  
• Morning (Offensive German/Offensive U.S.)
  
• Night (Offensive German/Offensive U.S.)

Skirmish

• Day
  
• Morning
  
• Night

• New Elsenborn Ridge ISS screen
  
• New Elsenborn Ridge themed front end menu
  
• Freelook sensitivity added to the control menu
  
• The controller layout graphic was modified to reflect the new layout on a controller (Freelook)
  
• Removed the separate “Training Room” and added Practice Range and Field Manual to the front end for ease of use
  
• Elsenborn Ridge added to the Server Browser Filter

More authentic winter uniforms were added to the U.S., Germany & Soviet Union, including:

German

• Reversible Padded Parka
  
• Winter Covered M42

Soviet Union

• Padded Telogreika
  
• Winter Covered SSh-36

United States

• Wool Overcoat
  
• Snow Jeep Cap

• Map progress bar added to the deploy screen
  
• Timers added to deploy points
  
• Deploy points are split into categories on the deploy screen

• [Corps] U.S. Hair becomes way brighter in the sun
  
• There is no option to filter between the offensive team for the offensive game mode
  
• Certain maps do not have certain time of day/weather conditions, but the server filter does not inform the user of that
  
• Panzer Lehr DLC text is not localized for all non-English languages
  
• The Photosensitive seizure warning is missing localisation during boot flow
  
• Winter heads show clipping when Panzer Lehr Uniform is equipped
  
• 10 minutes after booting the title the servers will no longer appear in the enlist screen and a reboot is needed for them to appear again
  
• Temporary poor network conditions will cause VoIP to stop working until the game is relaunched
  
• The garrison count on the Officer's/Commander's watch is not a global team tally, only local
  
• The title soft-locks when the "Confirm redeployment" prompt is active if a player requests to join a locked unit

• [Factory Asset] Players can climb through a wall

• Cement block presents clipping with terrain in C10

• [A3] A trench has missing collisions

• [C10] Corrupted house asset can be found in sector C10
  
• [F7] House asset present inverted texture on wooden planks
  
• [G1] The Player can become stuck between a fence and house
  
• H2 Gate asset present on a closed fence
  
• A specific house asset presents tessellation issues at the foundation
  
• [C10] Supply truck can get stuck under a gateway
  
• [C7] Player cannot pass through wooden door without crouching
  
• [E4] The roof of a destroyed building found in sector E4 is missing texture parts
  
• [F1] Misaligned road, rocks and grass in sector F1
  
• [G4] The user can flip a tank on the bridge by driving into the cart located on it
  
• H8 A road texture is misaligned with the environment[H6] Destroyed house lacks bullet collision, allowing player to shoot through building and kill other players

• H6 Destroyed house lacks bullet collision, allowing player to shoot through building and kill other players

• [C4] The player doesn't have collision with the grass hill
  
• [E2] Incomplete stone asset
  
• [E3] A tree asset is misplaced inside a stone fence
  
• [E4] Invisible collision near bridge
  
• [F4] Missing collision on a wall inside a house
  
• [F4] Missing player collision on hedges
  
• [F4] Rain is falling through the roof
  
• [F9] The terrain is slightly misaligned with a large bush on a small hill
  
• [G2] Stone wall presents no player collision
  
• Invisible collisions in between hedges.
  
• Telegraph lines are connected out of sequence across the whole map
  
• H9 Trench wall presents missing texture and collision

• [RUS] Floating bottle in attic next to shooting range
  
• [RUS] Tree clipping through house
  
• [RUS] Wooden posts clipping through a wall
  
• If the player highlights the pause menu in the practice range, the subtitle above the Back button says Enlist

• [D7] User can get stuck inside a broken brick tower

Helly everyone,

The Public Testing Environment for Update 16 is live, running throughout the weekend! We'd love to hear your feedback. So please jump in and play Elsenborn Ridge ahead of its release later this year.

• Warfare - Daytime/Blizzard and running throughout the weekend! We'd love to hear your feedback, so please jump in and play Elsenborn Ridge before
  
• OffensiveUS - Morning
  
• OffensiveGER - Night
  
• Skirmish - Daytime/Blizzard

The team is proud to bring to you our next map built from the ground up: Elsenborn Ridge.

Elsenborn Ridge was a less-documented but integral battle nevertheless in the Ardennes ‘44 campaign of WW2. Set in the Belgian region of Büllingen, just 40 miles away from Foy, the U.S. valiantly tried to hold their position in the small village of Wirtzfeld. With territory having exchanged hands multiple times between the U.S. and German Forces, the U.S. was eventually driven out of Wirtzfeld, and onto the Elsenborn Ridge, where they dug in throughout the brutal December period of 1944, having been forced to abandon crucial ammo and fuel stores near the village.

The map joins the battle between 16-26th December 1944 with the U.S. Forces having established their defensive networks on the Elsenborn Ridge, while the German Forces controlled the village outskirts of Wirtzfeld to the South. The map will be coming to the following game modes:

• Warfare
  
• Offensive U.S.
  
• Offensive German
  
• Control Skirmish

Beginning with U.S. territory in the North we have the 99th Command Centre. An operational centre for the 99th U.S. Division holding out on the Elsenborn Ridge. The Capture Point features a logistical tent, some defensive bunkers, as well as some WW1 trenches to help the U.S. forces dig in.




The Gun Battery Capture Point features a strong defensive trench network that the U.S. forces were able to utilise to set up their AA guns in addition to their fearsome Black Dragon artillery guns. Narratively, once the U.S. forces were settled into the Elsenborn Ridge, they rained heavy artillery fire onto the German Forces down at Wirtzfeld. The visibility due to the bad weather was so poor that a lot of the shots were inaccurate.




With the U.S. forces successfully retreating to the Elsenborn Ridge, the rural environment provided little warmth or comfort, so the U.S. established one of many camps for the troops which included temporary mess halls and medical tents.




The Elsenborn Ridge Capture Point serves as an observation post, and the first line of defence for the U.S. forces. It features a defensive trench network, and an abandoned farm house that the troops would use to take turns in keeping watch throughout the countryside.




Farahilde Farm is a farmstead Capture Point that features a traditional livestock farm, with a blend of close quarters fighting within the farmstead, as well as wide open fields for vehicular and long range combat.




The Road to Elsenborn Ridge features a farmhouse that has been converted into a vehicle repair station for the U.S. forces. As such the once open land is now full of broken vehicles and equipment, providing a lot of opportunities for close quarters combat.




The Dugout Tanks are a defensive position that the U.S. used as a vantage point in the Belgian countryside. Using tank turrets that were previously functional even though the rest of the chassis was broken, the U.S. were able to dig in at a particularly troublesome defensive position against the German Forces. The Capture Point features a strong defensive network, with a wide range of flanking opportunities in the wide open terrain on the flanks.

Note: The Dugout Tanks Capture Point will also be used for the Control Skirmish game mode as the active Capture Point.




The Jensit Pillboxes Capture Point features a steep hill that the U.S. utilised to control the main road in and out of Jensit. The pillboxes are temporary structures made from wood and are used to provide devastating ambush opportunities by concealing themselves within the dense forestry surrounding them. It also serves as a staging area for assault forces to move down the map into the German controlled Checkpoint.




The Checkpoint Capture Point is that of a German themed Checkpoint that was often featured in WW2 to control the roads in and out of regions. This particular Checkpoint was key to controlling the main road in and out of Wirtzfeld, so the German Forces put extra emphasis on protecting it by using the nearby barn and protected hillside for storage and supplies.




Moving onto German territory, Erelsdell Farmhouse features a civilian controlled Farmstead, as one of the more relatively untouched areas by either forces, the Capture Point features a more traditional Belgian farmstead with a combination of enterable barns/buildings as well as contrasting wide open fields.




The AA Battery is a Capture Point that has been set up by the German Forces as a means of retaliation against the U.S. Forces on the Elsenborn Ridge. With the exchange of artillery fire through really poor weather conditions being at the narrative forefront, the Capture Point contains an Artillery-themed trench network, surrounded by a mixture of forested areas and open plains that support a variety of tactics and playstyles.


Keen to push our technology forward, we used the improved VFX systems in the Hinterberg Capture Point. Hinterberg is a forested area that was originally held by the U.S. Forces. The German Forces bombarded it with artillery and burnt it down, a key skirmish that forced the U.S. back to the Elsenborn Ridge. The Capture Point features a burnt forest, minimal supplies and defences, and utilises the landscape for a more natural cover experience.




The Supply Cache was originally held by the U.S. Forces. As part of the hasty withdrawal to the Elsenborn Ridge, the U.S. were forced to abandon a lot of the supplies that had been stockpiled, this left the area in a mess and allowed the German Forces to swoop in and steal the remains. The Capture Point is a chaotic space, providing a couple of key buildings overlooking the cap while at ground level, large supply stockpiles provide a lot of cover for infantry focused combat.




During the research phase of Elsenborn Ridge, we learned that the U.S. used the terrain to their advantage quite a lot, and created Foxholes to set up traps for nearby German patrols. The Foxholes Capture Point depicts a no-man’s land area, with hilly terrain designed to provide armour with good vantage points, as well as prominent Foxholes for players to set up ambushes.


Elsenborn Ridge is a map that caters to a myriad of playstyles and strategies; attacking from South to North, Infantry squads fighting over the Fuel Depot Capture Point will get a chance to experience that close quarters combat feeling with danger lurking around every corner while vehicles will have to provide support at a safe distance.

Moving further north, the map opens up to Hinterberg, a burnt down forest section that provides tricky terrain that requires both infantry and armoured vehicles to rely on using the natural landscape to their advantage. It’s here where the Sniper role also comes into its own, offering long distance opportunities down the rolling hills of Belgium.

Next we have the Checkpoint, a roadblock which controls a key road in and out of the region. Here players get a varied mixture of gameplay, the open fields on the approach are a haven for armoured vehicle support, while the intricate web of hillside storage provides infantry with that close quarters gameplay. The changes in elevation of the rolling hills start to make their mark on the gameplay by providing Armour squads the ability to really open up their firepower capabilities

Moving further north way out into the countryside we have Farahilde Farm, infantry squads will have to make tactical decisions when crossing the open fields to reach safety, the armour squads will have high visibility across the vicinity here to cause a lot of damage.

And finally on the Northern part of the ridge we have Gun Battery, a heavily fortified dug-out section full of trenches that allow infantry squads to hunker down while the Armour squads emerge from the treeline ready to push through to victory.


The technical art team have been investigating the introduction of a dynamic weather system to Hell Let Loose, in particular a way to convey the weather that affected troops in Elsenborn Ridge. Historically they were subjected to freezing conditions and blizzards affecting visibility.

We needed a system that could change throughout and be as unpredictable as the weather at that time to reflect these conditions.

A set of VFX particles were created consisting of various intensities of snow. As we needed this configurable, we decided on a set of presets utilising data assets. These made it easy to drive the intensity of each level of snow.

This meant we could tune each scenario easily in isolation. Each scenario includes parameters referenced from the vfx and lighting to allow us to tune the weather intensity and atmospherics.

The VFX scenario was broken down into a set of presets;

• Light snow
  
• Medium snow
  
• Heavy snow
  
• Blizzard snow

The data assets were then accessed by a singular blueprint placed in the map which would blend each preset over time. all of which could be tuned in terms of frequency, probability and transition length. We added the probability of when the transition between each stage would occur in order for us to add a certain amount of randomness to it.

This introduced some challenges for how we would implement this for the online player experience of Hell Let Loose. Changeable weather conditions would need to be consistent over time for each player. The code team worked hard to support in ensuring the levels of snow to blizzard stayed synchronised and consistent throughout.





Freelook is something the community has been requesting in the game for sometime and as frequent players ourselves, it has been somewhat of a personal mission to get freelook in the game. Running through fields always has been a risky endeavour with threats always looming. Freelook allows for a 130 degrees horizontal view angle that allows players to scan their peripherals while running, holding a position or even mounted on your MG. This helps to give players more control over their situational awareness which allows for more calculated actions.

Due to some limitations with our character system, such as first person characters not having full bodies, there are some known issues which occur, this includes some visual clipping with certain weapons and uniforms. We hope to continue looking at solutions for these issues and polishing the system.




For the release of Elsenborn Ridge, we have once again changed the Frontend scene - this time to a full colour night time scene. We wanted to be able to depict the fire and snow which are prominent features in the new map, and perhaps give a sense of the extremities faced during this element of the Battle of the Bulge.

Ability to navigate menus whilst queuing for a lobby

We’re currently working on a requested feature where if you’re waiting to join a server you’re able to freely navigate the menus until you join the server! This will hopefully help reduce frustration in some long server joining times!

This will appear in the top right corner of the enlist screen once you attempt to join a server



These PTE sessions are a way for you as a community to feedback on Hell Let Loose work in progress, which means we can look to implement your feedback before a patch or update is released. Although we can currently only hold public testing sessions on Steam, we encourage everyone to take part to be able to share feedback.



For today’s session, there is a list of unfinished items/bugs that we’re aware of, including:

• [EBR] Certain walls & snowbanks have misaligned collision.
  
• The Wool Greatcoat Winter Uniform has broken cloth physics.
  
• The Wool Greatcoat Winter Uniform fabric is changing shape when the user comes close to the player wearing it.
  
• The German commander body disappears in the Barracks when zoomed in and wearing the 6th Panzer uniform.
  
• The US Engineer when wearing the 16.0 Corps head displays with large black gaps over the face in the barracks.
  
• Machine gunners don’t sit central in the presentation window in the barracks when zoomed in.
  
• The US medic has 2 instances of the Refreshed Winter Uniform.
  
• Exiting Practice Range using Leave Server option will return the player to the deprecated War Room/Basic Training.
  
• [EBR] Pre-Placed German Luchs light tank fails to spawn at German HQ #01 on all US Offensive variants.
  
• [Freelook] Certain pieces of equipment can be used while aiming them with Freelook.
  
• [Freelook] Anti-tank weapons can be aimed with Freelook.
  
• [Freelook] Freelook remains active when entering ADS with weapons which apply a screen overlay.
  
• [Freelook] The user can “aim down sights” while actually looking away from their rifle with freelook.

Please note that Elsenborn is in its final polishing phase, it means you may see:

• Minor collision issues.
  
• Texture issues.
  
• Minor asset misalignment issues.
  
• Performance issues.
  
• Visual effects throughout Elsenborn Ridge are still work in progress.

You are welcome to both stream and record PTE footage, but as these sessions are showing unfinished work, it’s always good to let your individual communities know that the footage is from a PTE session, where you might encounter unfinished items, bugs and other issues.


Once you have completed a game and are ready to provide feedback, please use the forms below!


Check your Steam Library for the Hell Let Loose (Public Testing) application, or re-download it from the Steam store, you’ll want to boot this version up to take part in the PTE!

Once you’re in and have selected a server, you’ll be able to test out the new game mode!

Submit Feedback: https://forms.office.com/e/5tyS1gJ9QR

Share Bug Reports: https://forms.office.com/e/riXw0eZrgb


Because PTEs are run on development servers that have logging activated, you will experience a slight decrease in performance. You will also not earn any XP and your progress will not be carried over to the live game.

Hello everyone!

Update 15.3 is now available on all platforms! This update includes the Purple Heart Lane Refresh, Console Admin Cam, Paid DLC and various bug fixes.

This is the last of the updates for U15, next up is Update 16 - Elsenborn Ridge.


We will be hosting a Public Testing Environment on Steam for Elsenborn Ridge, starting tomorrow! This will run throughout the weekend. Please stay tuned for more information.




Last year, we asked you what map you’d like to see refreshed. After casting your votes, the majority of you decided the map to receive a refresh treatment was Purple Heart Lane.

After analysing the map and sifting through player reports regarding its most frustrating parts, we have addressed the following issues on a wider map scale:

• Insufficient river crossings
  
• Unclear where water can/cannot be crossed
  
• Inconsistent drowning in fields
  
• Lack of cover in and around certain hard caps

The purpose of this refresh was not to take anything away from the legacy map, but to enhance and refine what already exists to respect the tone. Based on community feedback, we have made the following adjustments to the following Capture Points:

• Made some terrain tweaks to reduce drowning in the fields unless prone
  
• Added cover points
  
• Added an extra non-enterable barn for cover

• Replaced a non-enterable building with an enterable version of the same size, to provide elevation opportunities, as well as an additional quicker route through the backyards
  
• Opened up the wall network to allow an additional infiltration point around the compound
  
• Additional cover
  
• Added routes in and over the wall

• Extended the hedgerows to meet up with the rest of the landscape
  
• Added additional side bocage hedgerows to provide cover opportunities for players wading through the water channel
  
• Added foliage
  
• Added cover in the flooded field on the flank

• Adjusted terrain levels to reduce drowning
  
• Added cattle ring cover for players wading through the fields
  
• The player can now walk underneath the footbridge at full height without drowning
  
• The player will drown if they attempt to crouch, this can be prevented by standing up
  
• Added a pontoon bridge crossing point
  
• Added immediate cover for players as they cross the bridge
  
• Adjusted reed foliage around the bridge
  
• Added a tree line of sight blocker

• Created additional dock walkways to get to the other side of the river
  
• Added cover points along this route
  
• Made some tweaks to the landscape to make less of it submerged deep in water
  
• Added a little bit of storytelling with destroyed vehicles and artillery scorch marks
  
• In keeping with the dock theme an additional small dock en route to the bridge with cover has been added

• The water can now be crossed at specific points both on foot and in a vehicle, this will be highlighted both in the environment and on the tactical map

• Made terrain changes so that the deep water is broken up by the land
  
• Created additional cover
  
• Created additional foliage
  
• Added a pontoon bridge river crossing

• Added a trench network in close proximity to the exit of the existing trench network
  
• Added a non-enterable shed building
  
• Terrain pass
  
• Foliage pass
  
• Made terrain changes
  
• Created additional cover
  
• Created additional foliage
  
• Additional cover in the flooded fields
  
• Embankments on the approach for prone cover
  
• Additional storytelling

• Made terrain changes
  
• Created additional foliage & cover
  
• Additional storytelling
  
• Madeleine Farm
  
• Made terrain changes
  
• Made the dirt road more prominent at ground level
  
• Replaced the wall to open up the additional road loop
  
• Adjusted road splines to link up the off-road back to the main road
  
• Built on top of the existing field with additional storytelling and cover

• Updated the rubble affordance position to make it clearer that the player cannot get underneath the arch
  
• Adjusted the terrain in the centre of the bridge to allow the player to move underneath the central arch
  
• Allows the player to fully cross the river at this section, and keeps it in line with the rest of the canal
  
• Created an additional trench network in the field

• Terrain pass
  
• Cover pass in the hard cap
  
• Foliage pass in the hard cap
  
• Ingouf Crossroads
  
• Added a farm compound
  
• Terrain pass on height, blending and painting
  
• Additional foliage created

• Terrain pass
  
• Foliage pass
  
• Created additional cover
  
• Features

With the map refresh of Purple Heart Lane the Technical art team looked at introducing an update to the rain. Initially, this was to address some visual bugs that occurred on Xbox. This allowed us to add some variation to the original effect, allowing us to have some scenarios with no rain or some with a full-on storm.

We have been investigating this as part of an expansion to the levels of snowfall planned for Elsenborn Ridge and adapting the technology to include rain. The system's flexibility has allowed us to add VFX scenarios ranging from light rain to a heavy downpour, coupled with lightning and thunder. The system had to be expanded to include audio level changes that would synchronize with the rain intensity and to also have a delayed trigger to each lightning strike.

Each VFX scenario was broken down into a preset;

• Light rain
  
• Medium rain
  
• Heavy rain
  
• Extreme rain (including thunder/lightning)

This meant we could tune each scenario easily in isolation. Each scenario includes parameters referenced from the VFX, lighting and audio files to allow us to easily tune rain intensity, atmospherics and audio. In addition, there are also controls for the frequency and occurrence of lightning for the extreme rain setting.

Each of these presets was made into a Data Asset that could then be accessed by the Blueprint to blend between over a set amount of time, all of which can be tuned in terms of frequency, probability and transition length. We added the probability of when the transition between each stage would occur for us to add a certain amount of randomness to it. Along with this the lightning that occurs in the extreme level of rain also has a probability factor of when and where it occurs adding to the immersion of the overall effect.

Technical Art team - Expression Games

Admins on console servers can now utilize the power of the admin camera with full controller support!

If you’re an admin on a server (For Console or PC) you will now find that you can enter / exit the admin camera menu via the pause menu




General

• The text under Notice for Armor and Recon in the Create a New Unit menu is misaligned
  
• [15.0] The loading screen for SMDM Day Skirmish shows the Town centre which is not in the skirmish level
  
• [15.0] The loading screen for SMDM Night Skirmish shows the Town centre which is not in the skirmish level
  
• [15.0] The preview image of the Oak Leaf uniform is low resolution
  
• [Console Server Browser] The confirm prompt for the Reset Filter pop-up & the confirm button on the server filter window doubles the input
  
• The search function within "Field Manual" doesn't search for all topics.
  
• The hair is clipping with the Winter head on front end after equipping then on Barracks
  
• [Field Manual] In Vehicles > Seats & Keybindings, the tank section mentions that all heavy & medium tanks have a machine gun for the driver, which is incorrect.
  
• [Field Manual] On the half track page, there is no mention that the half track engine needs to be turned off in order to work as a spawn.
  
• [Field Manual] Under "Satchel Charge" in "Equipment" there is no mention that the satchel charge can be disarmed.
  
• [Field Manual] Under Artillery > Shells in the Combat section, it should be mentioned that smoke shells deal no damage, even direct hits.
  
• [Field Manual] Under Deployables, it would be expected for "Spawn Types" to be the main section, not a sub-section, and for it to cover the airhead, half-track & recon spawns.
  
• Slider value settings that are set by 1 tick above the minimum value, back to the minimum value, will not change as expected.
  
• Flamethrower canisters are severely clipping through the support's backpack on some uniforms.
  
• Garrison cannot be destroyed by nearby satchel explosion
  
• Officer/Commander watch no longer shows how many garrisons are currently built
  
• The M1919 Browning reload audio cannot be heard in TPP
  
• The player is unable to use commander abilities after attempting to use the chat during cooldown
  
• Visual keybinding indicators on pop up prompts are linked to the "Dialog" keybinds instead of "Vote".
  
• When diving to prone and firing a machine gun, the player jumps forwards when they finish firing
  
• The Firefly hull front has weak points on the hatches with only 'Heavy' armour value

Console specific

• [CONSOLE] Joining a party as a PS5 player through T17 overlay causes the VOIP channels to become unusable
  
• [CONSOLE] Party voice chat doesn't work in Frontend when inviting a player through T17 Overlay
  
• [CONSOLE] When player tries to join a server through T17 overlay VOIP is unusable
  
• [CONSOLE] Player cannot switch between Server Message and Key using LB/RB buttons within Deployment Screen

Carentan

• Wheel asset presents snow texture
  
• [D6] Rubble piles have larger than expected Collision, blocking bullets from hitting targets
  
• [C7] Assets in this sector are missing textures, polygon faces or are very noticeably misplaced.
  
• [F7] The Player remains stuck between a chimney and a chair inside of a ruined building
  
• [I3] Door and Brick Wall Textures Overlapping

Driel

• [Driel-O-GER] The pre-placed British Garrisons have the design of the US Garrisons

El Alamein

• [A3] Floating pile of rocks are present in Sector 6
  
• Rock formations across the entire map are presenting poor level of detail
  
• Low textured rock formations are missing player collision
  
• [A3][B3] Floating rock asset is present in sector A3 and sector B3
  
• [F6][Offensive] Assets in this sector are missing textures, polygon faces or are very noticeably misplaced

Hill 400

• House asset changes its texture once the user gets close to it
  
• [I4] Window will show low level LOD and appear as pink when viewed from a distance

Hürtgen Forest

• H4 Missing collision on a boulder

Kursk

• [E10] A fence doorway blocks players from walking through
  
• [F10] Invisible collision present in trench
  
• Invisible wall present on a broken barbed wire asset along trench

Mortain

• Supply and Ammo Drops can be placed in the out of bounds area
  
• [D6] - Tent is slightly misplaced
  
• [G3/H3] The player can catch on fire if driving a supply truck past wrecked trucks in close range

Omaha Beach

• Some bushes don't have any player or bullet collision
  
• [C5] A specific house asset is corrupted

Purple Heart Lane

• [E4] Players can get stuck in water under Douve Bridge
  
• [F2] [F10] Raining inside a couple of houses
  
• [F4] There is some z-fighting present on the brick floor along the docks.
  
• [F7] When walking on the walkway under the bridge, deep water footstep SFX are incorrectly emitted.
  
• H1 Red car has low detail from a short distance
  
• Power Lines across the map presents misalignment
  
• There is a spot present in sector D8 where vehicles start wobbling
  
• Transport and Supply trucks can become stuck in cattle feeder assets.
  
• General LOD Foliage improvements

Practice Range

• [Practice Range] "Select Spawn" option appears invalid in the Practice Range deployment and select role screens
  
• [Practice Range] Deployment screen loses functionality in Practice Range
  
• [Practice Range] White decal can be seen through scarecrow targets
  
• [Practice] Players are not removed from a party when entering the practice range

Remagen

• [F8] Rock assembly is missing vehicle collision.
  
• [D3] Vehicles clip through the rocks near the train tracks
  
• [F8] Rock assembly is missing vehicle collision.
  
• H2 A mudbank is missing vehicle collision
  
• [D3] A boulder does not have vehicle collision

Sainte-Mère-Église

• [C4] Stretched texture on wired fence
  
• [J8] Misaligned barbed wire is present in this sector

Stalingrad

• [I6] [I7] Apartment building roof is missing player collision in multiple spots

Hello everyone,

Public Testing for Update 15.3 is available! We'd love to get your feedback. This PTE runs through the weekend, coming to a close on Monday 16 September.

• Warfare - Overcast / Rain - Dynamic Rain
  
• Offensive (German) - Overcast / Rain - Dynamic Rain
  
• Warfare - Night - Rain / Thunderstorms

Last year, we asked you what map you’d like to see refreshed. After casting your votes, the majority of you decided the map to receive a refresh treatment was Purple Heart Lane.

After analysing the map and sifting through player reports regarding its most frustrating parts, we have addressed the following issues on a wider map scale:

• Insufficient river crossings
  
• Unclear where water can/cannot be crossed
  
• Inconsistent drowning in fields
  
• Lack of cover in and around certain hard caps

The purpose of this refresh was not to take anything away from the legacy map, but to enhance and refine what already exists to respect the tone. Based on community feedback, we have made the following adjustments to the following Capture Points:

Please note the below screenshots are from in engine and not representative of the actual lighting conditions, some images have been added to the bottom of this brief to show you some of the lighting conditions

• Made some terrain tweaks to reduce drowning in the fields unless prone
  
• Added cover points
  
• Added an extra non-enterable barn for cover

• Replaced a non-enterable building with an enterable version of the same size, to provide elevation opportunities, as well as an additional quicker route through the backyards
  
• Opened up the wall network to allow an additional infiltration point around the compound
  
• Additional cover
  
• Added routes in and over the wall

• Extended the hedgerows to meet up with the rest of the landscape
  
• Added additional side bocage hedgerows to provide cover opportunities for players wading through the water channel
  
• Added foliage
  
• Added cover in the flooded field on the flank

• Adjusted terrain levels to reduce drowning
  
• Added cattle ring cover for players wading through the fields
  
• The player can now walk underneath the footbridge at full height without drowning
  
• The player will drown if they attempt to crouch, this can be prevented by standing up
  
• Added a pontoon bridge crossing point
  
• Added immediate cover for players as they cross the bridge
  
• Adjusted reed foliage around the bridge
  
• Added a tree line of sight blocker

• Created additional dock walkways to get to the other side of the river
  
• Added cover points along this route
  
• Made some tweaks to the landscape to make less of it submerged deep in water
  
• Added a little bit of storytelling with destroyed vehicles and artillery scorch marks
  
• In keeping with the dock theme an additional small dock en-route to the bridge with cover has been added

• The water can now be crossed at specific points both on foot and in a vehicle, this will be highlighted both in the environment and on the tactical map

• Made terrain changes so that the deep water is broken up by the land
  
• Created additional cover
  
• Created additional foliage
  
• Added a pontoon bridge river crossing

• Added a trench network in close proximity to the exit of the existing trench network
  
• Added a non-enterable shed building
  
• Terrain pass
  
• Foliage pass
  
• Made terrain changes
  
• Created additional cover
  
• Created additional foliage
  
• Additional cover in the flooded fields
  
• Embankments on the approach for prone cover
  
• Additional storytelling

• Made terrain changes
  
• Created additional foliage & cover
  
• Additional storytelling

• Made terrain changes
  
• Made the dirt road more prominent at ground level
  
• Replaced the wall to open up the additional road loop
  
• Adjusted road splines to link up the off road back to the main road
  
• Built on top of the existing field with additional storytelling and cover

• Updated the rubble affordance position to make it clearer that the player cannot get underneath the arch
  
• Adjusted the terrain in the centre of the bridge to allow the player to move underneath the central arch
  
• Allows the player to fully cross the river at this section, and keeps it in line with the rest of the canal
  
• Created an additional trench network in the field

• Terrain pass
  
• Cover pass in the hard cap
  
• Foliage pass in the hard cap

• Added a farm compound
  
• Terrain pass on height, blending and painting
  
• Additional foliage created

• Terrain pass
  
• Foliage pass
  
• Created additional cover

• No changes

These PTE sessions are a way for you as a community to feedback on Hell Let Loose work in progress, which means we can look to implement your feedback before a patch or update is released. Although we can currently only hold public testing sessions on Steam, we encourage everyone to take part to be able to share feedback.


For today’s session, there is a list of unfinished items/bugs that we’re aware of, including:

• [PHL] H1 Red car has low detail from a short distance
  
• [PHL] F2 F10 Raining inside a couple of houses
  
• [PHL] F4 There is some z-fighting present on the brick floor along the docks.
  
• [PHL] F2 Fog clouds appear inside the first and second floor of the house

You are welcome to both stream and record PTE footage, but as these sessions are showing unfinished work, it’s always good to let your individual communities know that the footage is from a PTE session, where you might encounter unfinished items, bugs and other issues.



Once you have completed a game and are ready to provide feedback, please use the forms below!


Check your Steam Library for the Hell Let Loose (Public Testing) application, or re-download it from the Steam store, you’ll want to boot this version up to take part in the PTE!

Once you’re in and have selected a server, you’ll be able to test out the new game mode!

Submit Feedback: https://forms.office.com/e/qaz1VSSD3H

Share Bug Reports: https://forms.office.com/e/1x1hBZqG7c


Please note:

Because PTEs are run on development servers that have logging activated, you will experience a slight decrease in performance. You will also not earn any XP and your progress will not be carried over to the live game.

Hello everyone,

You can take part in our latest PTE for Update 15.3 tomorrow, 2pm BST - running through the weekend.

This test will focus on Purple Heart Lane Refresh.

We will share full details on map changes in a Developer Briefing tomorrow.

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

Update 15.2 Hotfix is now live on all platforms!

Thank you for your patience and feedback over the past week, as we worked on addressing some key issues that surfaced with this update.

Please see the full changelog below:

Bug Fixes:

• [Enlist] Server list cannot be sorted by ping values
  
• [Field Manual] Multiple entries show action keybindings as "Not assigned"

We’re so happy to see players enjoying the console server browser and have collected your thoughts so far.

Next up is Update 15.3! We’re currently preparing a PTE for this build and will share more details very soon.

Thank you for the support. 🤝

Hello everyone,

Update 15.2 is live on PC!

This update implemented the server browser for console players — a significant task for the team which helps push console versions closer to parity with PC. We believe this is a positive step towards growing the Hell Let Loose community, giving console players the flexibility to decide how they want to play.

This update implements a new RCON feature, Mortain (Dusk), Enlist screen filter and also focuses on bug fixing.

The next update will be more content heavy, and we look forward to sharing news on it soon!

• Mortain (Dusk) - Available for all game modes

[/b][/list]

The team is proud to bring you the next variant for Mortain: Dusk! Set during the stunning warm, summer months of 1944 France, the dusk variant allows players to see the familiar map of Mortain in a completely different light. As we head towards night time the player will see that visibility is naturally reduced, and familiar tactics may no longer be applicable. This visually stunning theme will be rolled out to all game modes; Warfare, Offensive & Control Skirmish.

Hotel De La Poste Capture Point - Mortain Dusk


La Petite Chapelle Saint-Michel Capture Point - Mortain Dusk

• RCON - Custom Capture Point

With this latest update, we've added a new feature to RCON! This new addition gives server owners the power to select which capture points are active during a match. Our goal is to ease the headache for server owners and competitive players who want to organize custom matches with specific capture points. Of course, there are a few limitations to keep in mind:

• To tweak the capture points, your server must be running the map you wish to make changes on. This will trigger a map restart.
  
• Custom map configurations will be deleted once the match has completed, or when the map is changed.
  
• You're unable to adjust the number of capture points. The quantity of capture points in Warfare/Offensive modes remains constant. You can't reduce it below the required number of capture point

Enlist Screen Filter

We're excited to introduce a new filter function for the server browser alongside its console release. Players can now easily find servers based on specific criteria, including Map, Game Mode, Time of Day, and Weather. This enhancement streamlines the search process, allowing you to find matches that align with your preferences much faster than before. This quality-of-life feature will mean you spend less time scrolling through servers and more time enjoying the maps you love most.

General

• Ping is cut off on the server preview when a server is running El Alamein British 8th Army Offensive
  
• [Options] Players will have their settings reset if they join a friend through the PS5 friends system
  
• Sometimes, the player cannot deploy as Commander, despite meeting the career-level requirements
  
• Focus change when switching from heads to helmets
  
• The locked unit officer loses focus of the 'kick player' pop-up if another player asks to join the unit
  
• Text and formatting updates in the Field Manual
  
• Nodes can not be dismantled after being placed
  
• The player's game ID is not displayed anywhere in-game
  
• Unit background image goes outside the box on ultrawide 2560x1080 and 1366x768 resolutions
  
• When the player pauses the game on the scoreboard, they can appear to lose focus with a controller when pressing up

Carentan

• [E6] Invisible wall blocking bullets at the top of the building
  
• [G4] The Tank can get stuck on a rubble pile near an electrical pole
  
• Bushes have LoD issues at various distances
  
• H2 Smoke presents flickering issues

Driel

• [C9] LOD issues when observing trees at around 50 meters
  
• Players can't pass through the doors of some barns.

El Alamein

• [B7] There is a group of rocks that are floating above ground

Hürtgen Forest

• The match flow indicator at the top of the screen is misaligned

Mortain

• Mortain presents performance loss in multiple places on the map
  
• [D4] Brick tiles LOD issues on the stone wall
  
• [E4] Vehicle locomotion is hindered by multiple assets in this sector

Sainte-Mère-Église

• Hay Stash metal frame is missing player collision.
  
• Tree trunks are misaligned with the stone wall

Stalingrad

• [I7] Massive performance drop in sector I7

Utah Beach

• Pre-placed destroyed bunker presents no player and bullet collision

Hello everyone,

Update 15.1 Hotfix is now live on all platforms!

Thanks for your patience whilst we actioned your feedback over the past week. We’ve made some changes to the UI, which shipped with some unintended oddities and bugs.

We’re listening to your feedback and have unlocked the Mortain: Operation Lüttich Units DLC for use on all applicable US/GER maps. This change also applies to everyone that purchased the DLC prior to this hotifx.

Please see the full changelog below:

• [Barracks] The user cannot navigate the Appearance menu with Left-Right DPad until they use either Up-Down on the DPad or a thumbstick.
  
• [Barracks] The highlight on the loadout that is currently equipped vs currently selected is very close to each other & can be confusing.
  
• [Carentan] A single SM_TownHouse_02 asset has excess collision in a doorway, preventing through-access.
  
• [Carentan] Multiple building assets are missing from the map
  
• [Carentan] The rail bridge that leads out of the German mid-HQ is askew and partially blocks the exit.
  
• [Basic Training] Backing out of the Practice Range faction choice will send the player to Main Menu
  
• [Field manual] The "Player Roles" tab can only be accessed through the main screen
  
• Loadout Background is present when the Deploy button is pressed
  
• [Customization] Deployment screen character customization sections content and titles are inconsistent
  
• Inconsistency between Barracks and Deployment screen customization
  
• DLC items are not highlighted and the description is missing when the player switches to Appearance section
  
• Unable to preview DLC Bundle unless switched between Divisions and Preset#1
  
• [UI] Loadout and Appearance tabs do not cycle correctly in LOADOUT screen
  
• 30th Infantry Division and Panzergrenadiers have missing functionality using the Division tab on Consoles
  
• [War Room] Camera transitions from backing out of choices in the war room can be disrupted after repeated backing out
  
• [War Room] Backing out of the practice range faction choice screen, leaves a short delay before the UI appears again
  
• [Corps] When selecting a head in the Barracks screen the Helmet and Uniforms section scroll back to the top
  
• The loadouts focus changes to role selection when pressing the left D-pad

 

• Mortain: Operation Lüttich Units unlocked for use on all applicable US/GER maps.

 
Thank you for your support! Please stay tuned for news on Update 15.2.