Jun 6

Esport Manager: Road To Major - AdamTheBandit

Hey everyone!

Before any match kicks off, teams will engage in a crucial map veto (ban and pick) phase. The game will feature a pool of 7 maps for these strategic showdowns where banning and picking maps will be done using an intuitive drag-and-drop system.

How the Veto Works: Format by Format

The map selection process is determined by the match format:

Best of 1 (Bo1)

The objective is to narrow it down to a single decider map where you gotta know that you can outplay the opponent and secure the win, it is more about confidence than anything else!

Team 1: Bans 1 map

Team 2: Bans 1 map

Team 1: Bans 1 map

Team 2: Bans 1 map

Decider: The last remaining map is played

Best of 3 (Bo3)

Teams pick their preferred maps and ban others, leading to a potential three-map series. Ban the one you do not know how to play or the one that the other team has been drilling and you would not stand a chance. Either way, make sure to pick the best one for you!

Team 1: Bans 1 map

Team 2: Bans 1 map

Team 1: Picks 1 map

Team 2: Picks 1 map

Team 1: Bans 1 map

Team 2: Bans 1 map

Decider: The last remaining map is played if needed.

Best of 5 (Bo5)

A more extensive selection process for longer series. This is about stamina, and endurance. It is going to take several hours and dedication to get this one home, but if anyone can do it, it might as well be you!

Team 1: Bans 1 map

Team 2: Bans 1 map

Team 1: Picks 1 map

Team 2: Picks 1 map

Team 1: Picks 1 map

Team 2: Picks 1 map

Decider: The last remaining map is played if needed.

Strategic Insights

To help you make informed decisions during the veto, the screen will display key statistics for each map, specific to each team and as we covered in previous dev diary, you will get some insights from your inbox as well to make you extra prepared.

Winrate: Your team's success rate on that particular map.
Matches Played: The number of times your team has played on that map in the last 3 months.

Jun 6

Mud and Blood DDay patch

Mud and Blood - urb Games

Good day folks urb here,

I'm glad to release this patch just in time for the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings. This update introduces new mechanics to both Classic and Campaign modes, giving players greater control over their builds and long-term strategies.

The highlight for Classic is a new system of power-ups called Directives, a mechanic inspired by what we observed in Trench Mode, which now enjoys a solid, dedicated player base. At its core, this system rewards perseverance and survival with powerful, one-time-use abilities.

After some back and forth with the community, we’ve implemented a reward structure that kicks in every 50 waves. Each directive is randomly rolled with a rarity tier and can be stored for later use or triggered immediately. They’re stackable, so if you're going for the Guerrilla Warfare ribbon, you might find it pays to hold on to a few.

Currently, there are two types: TP Surge and Mass Resolve, each with five tiers of power. They pack a punch. At wave 100, you’ll get to pick between two directives. At wave 150, that becomes three — and so on.

The system is designed to be modular and expandable, and I plan to add more directive types in future updates. As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome.

We also got new enemies in this patch:

The first new unit is the Feldgendarmerie, essentially a German military policeman. These soldiers come with a slight health boost and, if positioned near a road, can redirect traffic along that route making them a tactical asset worth eliminating early. Often used by high-ranking officers as close protection, they’re frequently armed with MP41s.

Visually, they’re easy to spot: bright red armbands, long green raincoats, and a tendency to loiter near roads. While they’re not especially brave, don’t underestimate them when cornered, they can hold their own in a fight.

Puma: The Sd.Kfz. 234/2 "Puma" was one of Germany’s most advanced armored cars of the war fast, well-armed, and designed for deep reconnaissance in hostile territory. Historically, it packed a 50mm KwK 39 cannon, giving it enough firepower to threaten light armor while staying mobile on rough terrain. Its eight-wheel drive and relatively low profile made it a favorite among seasoned recon crews.

In Mud and Blood, the Puma fulfills a similar role: a nimble, armored threat that shows up to support light infantry elements and press weak spots in your line. Uniquely, it carries a squad of Jägers strapped to its hull, who dismount when the vehicle reaches contact meaning you’re not just dealing with the Puma’s gun, but also a flanking infantry team if you're not careful.

Treat it like a wolfpack scout if you spot it, assume there’s more trouble behind it.

Speaking of the volksturm they got a new AI coded just for them so they can move more as a light infantry detachment, exploiting gaps and probing with fast retreat. Let me know what you think but I feel ultimately all archetypes of enemy should have their entire dedicated AI routines in future versions.

We have a new map asset The manor:

Manor: Large country estates or manoirs were a common feature of the Norman countryside, and many were repurposed by the Wehrmacht and SS as local command posts, supply depots, or officer billets. In Mud and Blood, manors act as enemy strongpoints, often housing staff officers, Feldgendarmerie, and elite units. These positions are not lightly held and may be defended with machine guns, booby traps, or vehicle patrols.

However, once cleared, manors are a goldmine. Crates of captured equipment, heavy weapons, and valuable lootables can be found inside a rare windfall for outfits like the 29th Infantry Division, who are often undersupplied and overcommitted. If your squad is low on gear, sweeping and securing a manor might be your best shot at resupplying just be ready to fight room by room. The manor spawns in campaing with the new BC vultures nest.

We have also bridges now:

Bridges appear in Classic and at times in Campaign mode under the A Bridge Too Far battle condition. They are destructible, provide minimal cover, and take up a fair bit of space making them both a tactical asset and a liability.

Historically, bridges were critical choke points during the Allied advance across France, and the Wehrmacht knew it. Expect the enemy to do what they've done best so far: dig in on the far side, mine the approaches, and set up interlocking fields of fire across the span. Bridging a gap under fire is a brutal affair, and you’d better believe they’ll be waiting.

In the A Bridge Too Far battle condition, your objective is to rush forward and relieve an isolated airborne element tasked with holding a critical bridge until your arrival. The mission will fail if all airborne troops are killed or if the Germans manage to destroy the bridge.

This setup creates tense, cinematic moments and some truly memorable war stories — reminiscent of scenes from the film of the same name. I’m really proud of how this one turned out, and I can’t wait for you all to get your boots muddy and try it for yourselves.

Since we’re on the topic of Battle Conditions, there’s one in the Campaign called Killzones. The premise is rooted in historical reality: German forces, often lacking real-time radio communication, would pre-zero artillery onto likely crossing points, road junctions, or chokeholds. These areas were marked subtly a disturbed patch of ground, stacked stones, a splash of colored brick dust and monitored by forward observers positioned well outside your immediate AO.

At first, you won’t know what to look for. But after a few near-death experiences, you’ll start to recognize the signs. And you’d better because stepping into one of these killzones is almost guaranteed to trigger a lightning-fast artillery strike. Veterans of the front learned to spot and avoid these patterns like their lives depended on it. In this case, so will you.

There’s a new weapon in the game: the MP41 a fairly rare submachine gun most commonly carried by Feldgendarmerie units. Mechanically, it shares many internal components with the MP40, but features a wooden stock instead of the folding metal one. This makes it slightly bulkier, but also more stable for deliberate, aimed fire especially when firing from the shoulder.

Historically, the MP41 was produced in limited numbers by Haenel, and was issued mainly to rear-line or security forces, not frontline infantry. Its hybrid design combining the MP40’s proven internals with a more traditional stock was seen as a compromise between modernity and familiarity.

In-game, it comes with a distinctive sound profile, and you'll usually find it in the hands of German military police or officers' bodyguards.

We’ve also added a new grenade launcher: the Leuchtpistole. Though fairly rare on the battlefield, this single-shot flare gun turned grenade launcher serves a specialized role — especially useful when you need to lob an explosive through a narrow window or tight doorway.

Originally designed to fire flares or signal rounds, German forces later adapted the Leuchtpistole to launch explosive grenades such as the Wurfkörper 361, effectively turning it into a lightweight, direct-fire launcher for urban or close-quarters use. While offering better speed and range of delivery compared to a hand-thrown grenade, it’s also more cumbersome to reload and handle, especially under pressure.

In-game, this translates into a capable but situational weapon, particularly effective in urban settings where line-of-sight is limited and window shots matter. When looted from a fallen German soldier, it typically comes with three rounds, making it a valuable — if temporary — asset in clearing out stubborn positions.

Finally, I’ve added 21 perks for soldiers in campaign mode. These are passive abilities that subtly but significantly influence a soldier’s performance in combat. We're talking about things like throwing grenades further and faster, executing tactical reloads, moving more quietly, or being harder to suppress under fire.

Perks are designed to reflect small advantages gained from experience, temperament, or training the kind of edge that doesn’t break immersion or turn your trooper into a superhero, but makes them feel like seasoned, capable warfighters in the chaos of battle.

They’re also a big part of customizing your squad, encouraging you to pay attention to who survives, and how you want to shape your team's capabilities over time. Some perks are rare. Some synergize beautifully. Others only shine in very specific situations just like real soldiers.

Finally, here’s the full list of features in this patch.

Trench mode has a new airborne drop card
Blood footprints now appear when walking in gibs
Enemy master snipers will hide between shots — notably painful during Campaign
Fixed a bug where dirt roads wouldn't spawn vehicles or count as roads in the logic
Added the alarm item — when used, the side that activates it gets reinforcements equal to all non-gibbed casualties within a 300px radius
Fixed Pak 36 not showing up in the Rat Pack BC
Added bridges to map assets across all biomes
Added BC Killzone, where Germans have preset artillery zones
Added BC Bridge Too Far, where you must secure a bridge before all the airborne troops die
Added Flak 30 to classic spawn tables for emplacements
Kettenkrads are now less obsessed with doing donuts before leaving
Fixed an issue where advanced support was called too early in Campaign when hardcore D-Day was selected
Increased the range and likelihood for Germans to target tents and supply depots with support
New grenade: Contact Grenade — explodes instantly on impact. Not great indoors, perfect for hitting tight formations fast
New German vehicle: the Puma — can carry up to 4 Jägers and deploy them into combat
Panzerfaust 2: now has better range, travels faster, hits harder against armor, but has a smaller frag radius
Molotovs, Blendkörper, and other throwable breakables won’t break in water — they can be picked up and thrown again
Added descriptive text to Bangalores
Fixed Bangalore model angle — no more sideways deployment
Reduced the MG RoF on Sd.Kfz and Kübels, making them proper infantry support instead of gunboats
Fixed Allied vehicle decrewing only spawning the commander
Ace Tiger crew now grants +15 XP
Added a Manor — a large building where enemy staff officers spawn. Rumored to contain juicy actionable intel
Added a rare item: Actionable Intel — use it to flip Osttruppen soldiers to your side
Destroyed trap doors now provide improvised cover — basically a hole in the ground
Reduced debris size for destroyed trap doors
Broom function now cleans more aggressively to improve performance on lower-end rigs
Added failsafe to prevent off-screen Emplacements in Ashen
Shrek crews will now hunt isolated vehicles in late-game Classic — be advised
Shotgun-wielding Commandos now automatically slam-fire
Wire and entanglements will unstealth any troops caught in them
Allied troops stuck in wire may draw German support and ordnance fire
German AI now reacts more situationally to disturbed vegetation
Troops stuck in entanglements raise German awareness and trigger tactical reactions
Reduced Land Mattress signature by 25% (less counter-battery risk); increased staying time by 2 mins per rarity in Campaign; increased AT radius by 25px for Nebel and Land Mattress
Added new German unit: the Feldgendarmerie (MP) — tough, and able to direct traffic if near a road
Reworked squad menu medal display, especially for soldiers with large stacks
Replaced skill icons with perk icons in squad panels
Campaign now features a perk system with 21 new perks
New weapon: MP41
New lootable: Leuchtpistole — a pistol-shaped grenade launcher, especially good at lobbing explosives into buildings
New lootable: Alarm Kits — can spawn reinforcements for either side
Fliegerfausts are now operational and lootable from Luftwaffe soldiers
Enemy commander AI in Trench Mode is now more reactive to player behavior
Enemy HQs now have cooldowns to reduce vehicle spam, especially on D-Day
Added Directives a game-changing mechanic in Classic mode with strong modular potential

This one was a blast to work on. It adds a bunch of new variables to the mix, making every fight more dynamic, more brutal, and more satisfying both to watch and to survive.

After two years on the stove, Mud and Blood has racked up 49 patches. We’re now sitting on 11 enemy types, over 50 weapons, 35 vehicles, 74 battle conditions, 80 ribbons, and more than a few hard-fought stories of close calls, bad beats, and righteous victories.

Keep an eye on this one — looks like we’ve got a second Mud and Blood master in the making. Running a D-Day landing on Master Mode (the highest difficulty), clearing out a Manor, and dropping a few senior officers along the way. Plenty of close calls. At this level, one bad move and the whole squad’s gone.If you're into Mud and Blood, this kind of run speaks for itself.

We have other folks fighting the good fight here as well

MJ doing pretty good in Brutal mode (the mode right before Masters) it's worth having a look to see how MNB can be played at that level how and when to move.

Here’s War Panda running training mode and putting in the work. Nothing wrong with learning the ropes before stepping into the meat grinder.

Here we got Tutle, always a blast to watch him maneuver and trade blows — especially in a no-intel battle condition. Pure grit, free ballin' across St-Lo.

New campaign player hitting the beach for the first time always cool to watch someone catch the rhythm mid-chaos. Baptism by fire, the grunt way.

Last but not least, it’s old Lance, punching through Brest one bloodied tile at a time. Him and I ain't top-tier, but we’ve been in enough fights to know which way the rounds are flying. Let them young masters flex — we’ll be at the old man table, trading scars ;)

That said, let’s all keep in mind that D-Day was quite the shit show in real life, and we’re all very lucky to be safe and playing vids when you stop to think about it. Let’s count our blessings sure enough, one of mine is being able to make this game for you folks. Until next time.

Respectfully

p.s. are we ready for Recondo or what?

urb