Jul 5, 2021

Squad 44 - SnazzyDuckling

Greetings!

Since the launch of the SDK in December last year, our modding community has been getting familiarised with our modding tools. Since then many amazing mods have spawned, ranging from simple layers, maps, gameplay changes to full conversion mods.

Since many new mods are being created by incredibly talented people, we felt it would only be right to spotlight individual mods and modders so that we can all see the amazing amount of work and effort being put into modding.

This new series will put focus on anything and everything modding. We will look at mods in development, mods that have been released, updated and anything in between.

So if you are a modder with a burning passion and a mod you want to tell the world about, you can find more information about submitting your mod via our Official Modding Hub Discord.

So let us take a deep dive into the world of modding and what these modders are currently up to.

Shifting Sands Community Mod

Created by: The Shifting Sands Team

Our first stop on our list is the North African desert featured in the Shifting Sands Community Mod, which aims to bring the North African theatre of WWII into Post Scriptum. This mod is currently in development and not yet released.

This mod was started a little over a year ago before the SDK was even released and since then, their team has only grown with many more talented individuals.

They say that their key motivation for doing this is their passion for the history and the story of the campaign in North Africa, and it quote "Has to be one of the most dynamic fronts of WWII, which is why we think it is perfect for portraying it in-game."

This is certainly something we can agree with, and we cannot wait to see what challenges await soldiers in the African deserts.

The team also explained what their current focus is and where their development efforts are currently.

The team said that they are currently focused on the year 1941 and the Siege of Tobruk with the relief efforts by the British 8th Army. They mention that most of the fighting was done in the rocky desert within the fortified perimeter, so it'll be a very different landscape for players of Post Scriptum to fight over.

And the team talked about how they plan to make a realistic portrayal of the battle. They mention that they have done a great amount of research about the areas that people will be fighting in, as realism is something they take seriously and want to portray correctly.

As this mod is portraying an earlier period of the war, the team also includes completely new vehicles to reflect this. These include tanks, armoured cars, and personnel carriers from both sides that are currently not in-game. The team did a lot of research on the vehicle models and camouflage to make sure it was all authentic and in the process, have learnt a lot about the North African campaign, something that will come in handy for the future development of the mod.

Now a little personal note from the team:

We know the community has high expectations of the mod, and we intend to rise to that and deliver something that has all the great features of Post Scriptum, transported into a completely different environment – with all the new vehicles, weapons, and atmosphere. If the player gets the feeling of immersion when they play the mod, we will know we have done a good job!

And if you are interested in keeping up to date with the progress made by the team, you can join their official Shifting Sands Community Mod discord.

Simonskall

Created by: Tyler Ernest

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2382579481

Next up is a map created by Tyler Ernest or Tyler_E on the Modding Hub. The map is called Simonskall, and it is based on the town of the same name located in the Eifel region of Germany, historically it was part of the battle over Hurtgen Forest in November 1944.

Hurtgen Forest was famous for being very difficult to traverse for armoured forces, which is still true in this map. We think the level of detail that has gone into making a historically authentic map is amazing, and we can't wait to see what else Tyler can bring to the modding scene in the future.

What makes this map so special, and why should you care about Simonskall?

Well, first of all, it's a map of traditional Post Scriptum size, with the map being 2.5 km by 2.5 km. That's a pretty good size map for both your infantry and vehicle needs, although given it's based on the Hurtgen Forest, maybe be careful with the vehicles.

Other than the nice size, it also comes with its own custom historical factions and layers, new weather conditions, custom map assets as well as some fictional layers, including the Fallschirmjäger.

Tyler was so very helpful to include a bullet point with the current map features that you should know about:

https://gfycat.com/windinganotherarabianhorse
(GIF real-life comparison)

- 2.5KM by 2.5KM size map.
- Custom Factions (Historical divisions + Some not so historical, like Fallschimjager layers).
- Custom forest floor textures.
- Many custom historical buildings (by Gunslinger).
- Satellite heightmap terrain.
- 8 Different Offensive Layers with different layouts and times of the day.
- 1 Invasion layer.
- 5 Weather conditions.
- Custom 3d models of small props at the main bases.
- Custom foliage assets
- Custom highly optimized grass from UE4 marketplace which adds around 20 FPS (give or take), all while looking better map-wide than the vanilla grass textures/mesh.

Now that is very impressive stuff! But of course, being a map based on a real historical location, knowing the history goes a long way to understanding the decisions made by the level designer.

So have a little history lesson from Tyler himself:

Simonskall is a town located in the Eifel region of Germany. It was part of the Hurtgen Forest Campaign in November 1944. The Hurtgen Forest was famous for being difficult to traverse for armored forces. That remains true in this map.

The Hurtgen Forest occupies a rugged area between the Rur River and Aachen. In the autumn and early winter of 1944, the weather was cold, wet, and cloudy, and often prevented air support. Apart from the poor weather, the dense forest and rough terrain also prevented proper use of Allied air superiority, which had great difficulties in spotting any targets. The dense conifer forest is broken by few roads, tracks, and firebreaks; vehicular movement is restricted. Conditions on the ground became a muddy morass, further impeding vehicular traffic, especially heavy vehicles such as tanks.

So it definitely sounds like a challenging place to fight, but it also sounds like an interesting place to fight doesn't it?

Tyler again summarises what he believes makes his map unique and what makes it an interesting level to play, so let's hear what he has to say. He also mentions the extent he has gone to ensure that the map is as authentic as it can be to the real location, this is no easy feat.

This is a very unique map and takes place in a completely different location than all of the other Post Scriptum maps. A lot of the stock maps generally feature flat terrain, whereas Simonskall is very hilly and rugged terrain.

The inspiration for this map was to create something new and lesser-known while still being something people could relate with for WW2 fans, historians, and players alike. I started studying towns in the Hurtgen Forest for a future map and was interested in how rugged the terrain was in this particular valley/area and how it could be interesting for gameplay. I tried my best to recreate the location from satellite maps, height map terrain, and various pictures and videos of the area.

The gameplay experience in this map can be very different from the other maps in the game. For example, there is a large plateau-like farm area to the north of the map, which lends itself well to armoured engagements and long draw distances for sniping, whereas the rest of the map is extremely rugged and hard to navigate for vehicles.

Infantry has an edge in the other areas of the map. The large gorge across the entirety of the map is very interesting for armoured engagements as well.

And of course, Tyler went into detail about the future plans for the map:

The map itself is 99.9% finished. However, there may still be some lingering bugs which I encourage people to post bug reports on the workshop page for the map if they see something. I also plan on replacing the current US player models with the upcoming Chapter 4 winter player models, given the fact this map takes place in November. The Sherman firefly placeholder tank will also be replaced by a Chapter 4 tank at a later date. Please also note this isn't a 100% accurate recreation of the location and never claimed to be. However, I personally think it's a pretty good recreation given the fact it was created by one person with a limited budget and resources.

And if all of this still hasn't convinced you of the quality and attention to detail put into the map, here is an even hosted on the Simonskall map showing off just how well done this map is.

Girls und Panzer: Real Sensha-Do!

Created by: KV Productions

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2414809400

Onwards to our last and probably least historical mod, but a weirdly interesting concept.

Girls und Panzer: Real Sensha-Do! Is a mod that brings to the game… Well, Sensha-Do!

And if this concept still eludes you well, mod creator KV will explain what Sensha-Do is.

Sensha-Do is a fictional sport and martial art originating from the anime “Girls und Panzer” in which players battle with real tanks, although with security measures in place to prevent the usual consequences of battling with real tanks.

In that universe, it is a very well known and loved sport, with school teams partaking in it on big tournaments which are televised for everyone to see.

This mod aims to use Post Scriptum’s detailed and realistic tank combat framework and SDK to create a “Sensha-Do Simulator” A game where you can play Sensha-Do as closely as possible to what is depicted in the anime. So far, this has been a four-month process, and lots of work still has to be done, but the current Mod is already a certainly unique experience of crazy tank combat.

So, school girls duking it out in tanks? What a weird but cool concept, but just how difficult and involved was it to make a cartoon concept come to life in Post Scriptum?

KV continues to explain what it took to create this mod.

Firstly, war and death elements had to be removed due to this being a harmless sport. The death screen was replaced with “You got Knocked Out” tank explosions were swapped around by a puff of smoke and a white flag poking out (Like in the Anime) Infantry, which had been replaced by anime characters resembling the ones that practice Sensha-Do in the show, was made invulnerable and blood and gore was removed.

Next, a new game mode had to be done. There are two types of battles in Sensha-Do.

Annihilation: Where a team has to wipe out the opposite team to win andFlag Tank: where each team has a tank which, if killed, loses them the game.

Since flag tank game mode would not work in a public server with respawns, an annihilation-style game mode was created, where each team would start with the same amount of tickets and every tank destroyed would result in a loss of one ticket.

For organized tournament battles, a flag item was added to allow marking flag tanks as such. Anime versions of maps were created, using this game mode.

The Mechanics needed to be improved or adapted to fit the new gameplay style, so many things were added and tweaked. Most tanks were made to die when flipped, long cannon barrels were given collision which would stop them from turning in narrow streets, and allowed them to break if hit too hard, handbrake code was tweaked to allow tanks to have drift FX like in the show, crash effects were improved, camera shake for impacts was added, tanks were made to “die” in one penetration like in the show, but their speed and handling was also tweaked to be a lot more agile and fun.

Lastly, no Sensha-Do game would be complete without Sensha, or tanks. Post Scriptum has a very nice selection of tanks, but more were needed, repaints, different variants, and all-new vehicles were added (Some with the wonderful models by Chapter: Mercury, which they gave permission to use) Currently the mod features more than 25 different tank variants, and that selection is always growing with more tanks being added almost on a weekly basis.

Of course, a lot more than this has also been made and is being worked on, anime-style graphics with cartoon outlines, different characters with unique items,physics-based antennas, detachable side skirts and other parts and much more

This week I was focusing on getting ready for the mod’s latest venture, which is a tournament dubbed “The Real Sensha-Do Summer Cup” it is intended to span three months until September when autumn starts and aims to make the mod more lively by allowing players to form teams, challenge each other with flexible schedules, and give them more motivation to play by allowing them to earn points and tournament currency, buy better tanks and even get the chance to win custom-made content like tank skins, custom characters and even whole new tanks being imported. This tournament recently started this weekend and is going well so far with seven teams have signed up and the first battle has gone smoothly, and I am personally looking forward to seeing it grow and become more active and fun.

With most of the mod’s foundation already laid, the way forward for the mod looks like it’s going to be relatively comfortable, adding more and more tanks of all kinds and nations is a big priority, so is making new maps, characters and items, and getting the team coordination down so all the people who volunteered to help can work on new features as well. New characters are also on the horizon as well as more ambitious projects that feature a whole amphibious vehicle framework and many more ideas that I will be trying out eventually.

With the armour overhaul probably coming soon though, I plan to attempt to take full advantage of that when it comes out to add new features, and with hopefully more SDK updates on the horizon that open up new possibilities, I am also hoping to be able to push the limits of what is doable right now and really put out some unorthodox and crazy content

If fighting against schoolgirls in tanks, drifting around Carentan sounds like your kind of mod, then you should definitely grab this mod, or maybe even join the Girls und Panzer Mods Discord Server

And with that we have come to the end of this very first modding spotlight, we will try to do these on a monthly or bi-monthly schedule, with many new mods on the way, we cannot wait to tell you about all the interesting things happening in our modding scene.

Sincerely,
Periscope Games

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