Beyond The Wire News

A short update to start of the week on a new feature that’s been recently completed by the development team. As countries engaged all efforts in the war, many divisions and units were deployed and saw action on the Western Front. With this in mind, and committing to our goal of delivering an authentic experience, multiple factions will be seen fighting together Beyond the Wire. Adding a new system for Operation Two, the Harlem Hellfighters and the AEF will be on the battlefield alongside the French. Allowing players able to play as a French unit or as the Hellfighters / AEF when deploying into relevant maps, with both forces fighting side by side.



Section options per team are yet to be finalised. But the system is in the final stages of testing and ready to roll with the next update. This system gives us a great foundation to introduce more sub-factions in future updates before leaving Early Access. There are many heroic units and valorous deeds from The Great War. We are looking forward to honouring them in our own way.



Once Operation Two arrives we’ll be updating our roadmap, including news on the next sub-factions that we have planned! For now though, stay posted Soldiers!

February is soon over and another month of development is complete. With Operation Two: For King and Country lined up for the next update for Beyond The Wire and only a couple of months away, we’ll take a closer look at some of the progress being made on the project.

[h2]British Expeditionary Force[/h2]
[h3]Character Models[/h3]

The British are coming! The player models for the BEF have been completed and ready to be textured. With new equipment, uniform and clothing we’ll have a complete breakdown of the faction closer to release, but for the moment check out these amazing models!



[h2]Poelcappelle, Flanders[/h2]

Work has continued on the fields of battle for Operation Two. With Poelcappelle having been prototyped and now whiteboxed, the dressing of the level has started. This map from the third battle of Ypres will contrast sporadic farm ruins and wide-open no man’s land and will be fought over by the BEF and German Empire.



[h2]Weapons[/h2]

[h3]Berthier Fusil Mle 1907/15[/h3]

As the first world war dragged on, the French army began to suffer a shortage of Lebel rifles. To make up for the deficit, a modified version of the colonial 3-round clip-fed Mle 1907 Fusil was produced, with the main difference of being able to mount the standard Lebel pattern bayonet. The new rifle was initially issued to the Foreign Legion and allied countries starting in 1915, later being sent to regular French infantry units and the segregated African-American regiments of the U.S. Army. It was well-liked for its quick reloading en-bloc clips but found lacking for its capacity of only 3 rounds.



[h3]Reichsrevolver M1883[/h3]

A large, bulky, simple, and reliable revolver – the M1883 was adopted shortly after the founding of the German nation to replace percussion handguns still in service from the formerly independent kingdoms. Firing slowly from a single-action trigger, reloading slowly from individual cylinders, and firing a cartridge slightly weaker than a .45 ACP, it was nothing spectacular by the time of the first world war – but still saw some limited service throughout the conflict.



[h3]SMLE Bayonet[/h3]

The bayonet for the SMLE will see much action in the trenches of the Western Front, both rifle-attached and in hand-to-hand combat.



[h3]No. 27 Smoke Grenade, Mk 1 No. 5 Mills Bomb[/h3]

The British smoke bomb and grenadehigh poly models below showcase the personal explosives that the BEF forces will be engaging with.



[h3]No. 20 rifle grenade[/h3]

The rifle grenade the Brit's will be employing - this intricate model is finished and awaiting the final touches of development.  Standby for the upcoming BEF faction reveal for further detail on the weaponry and equipment that will be coming in Operation Two.




[h3].303 British Vickers HMG[/h3]

Based on older Maxim gun designs, the new Vickers Mk I was adopted by the British army prior to the war. Despite this, there was only a small handful available at the outset, and the British went to France mostly with older Maxim models in service – the Vickers becoming more common by 1915 and 1916. As the war progressed a variety of mounts were produced, such as for anti-aircraft fire or rapid redeployment, many of which were improvised as well. With its bulky weight and water-cooled design, the weapon could sustain accurate fire for long periods of time, and could even be used in an indirect-fire role - creating a 'beaten-zone' which denied the enemy reinforcement routes.



[h3]HMG Animations[/h3]

Further animations while operating heavy machine guns are also on the way. Players using certain mounts of HMG will side-step around the pivot point, adding a much more realistic movement for the operator, and adding to the immersion felt on our battlefields.

HMG Animations

[h2]Sound Design[/h2]

Aiming to deliver even more immersion on the frontline, audio cues have been added when players are shot. There will now be subtle audio feedback depending on the situation, such as when friendlies suffer a headshot around you, or you register a hit on an enemy player.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Faction win/loss theme[/h3]

Another QOL addition coming soon will be the theme music for each faction for round win and loss scenarios. Adding our flare to the recognisable national anthems, these songs will greet you at the end of your battle.

[h3]Changes[/h3]

• Commander Chlorine Gas will no longer contribute to team kills
  

[h3]Fixes[/h3]

• Potential fix for Commander telephone disappearing
  

• Fixed 100m zeroing for RSC M1917
  
• Fixed rifle grenades doing very low amounts of damage
  
• Fixed MK1 Trench Knife not supporting combo attacks
  

• Chateau-Thierry
  
  • Improved navigation on various parts of the map
    
  • Fixed floating foliage
    
  • Fixed sector name for AEF HQ
    
  • Added new out of bounds volume
    
• Fixed interior ambient sound issue on Frise
  
• Fixed black lines and decals on Cantigny and Zonnebeke
  

[h2]Art[/h2]

• Improved visuals of barbed wire asset on team / kit selection view
  

[h2]UI[/h2]

• Fixed 10th player automatically being assigned to a fireteam
  

[h2]Optimization[/h2]

• Improved performance of new wave spawn system
  

[h2]Known issues[/h2]

• Switching Audio quality in the options menu will cause a crash. Please restart the game to prevent that from happening.
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

After revealing Château-Thierry, our February update is ready to ship! Featuring a brand new map, new weapons, gameplay changes and many fixes and improvements, Update 0.9 is live now!


[h2]Gameplay [/h2]
[h3]New[/h3]
- Added Assault and Frontlines layers for our new map, Chateau-Thierry.
- Added the ability to wind-up a melee attack by pressing & holding LMB, and releasing it by releasing LMB. Does not apply to affixed bayonets.
- Added deployable duckboards to Rifleman role

[h3]Changes[/h3]
- Improved overall weapon handling
- Improved pistol weapon handling
- All spawn points now use a global wave timer, respawning the entire team at the same time. Players who get a spawn penalty will be pushed to the next wave.
- Reduced Rally Point placement penalty from 30 seconds to 20 seconds
- Reduced fall damage multiplier from 100 to 50 & Increased safe fall speed from 650 to 750
- Reduced stamina consumption when focus aiming
- Placement of deployables will now get canceled when getting wounded or incapacitated
- Exiting emplaced weapons during a reload will stop the reload animation
- Rally Points can now be placed when nearby section members are in an emplacement
- Bayonet attacks will now interrupt rifle bolting
- Emplacements can no longer be dug down when a player is on them


[h2]Fixes[/h2]
- Fixed Rally Point nearby enemy radius being greater than 5 meters
- Fixed grenade damage not affecting players if the terrain was slightly blocking the impact point
- Melee weapons no longer cause damage on the initial wind-up
- Commander abilities no longer register teamkills
- Inactive capture zones no longer block Rally Point placement
- Commander abilities no longer register teamkills
- Chlorine Gas kills will now be properly attributed to the commander
- Fixed melee not working on Shooting Range
- Fixed stamina bar not being depleted completely when focus aiming


[h2]Weapons[/h2]
- Added RSC Fusil Automatique M1917 to the French Assault role
- Added Colt-Vickers 1915 to the AEF MG section
- Added M1882 Officer’s Sabre to all Infantry Section Leader and Commander roles
- Added Mk1 Trench Knife
- Added Sharpened Spade melee weapon
- Added French Nail melee weapon
- Added M1916 Trench Knife


[h2]Maps[/h2]
- New map: Chateau-Thierry
- Reworked various areas on Frise
- Various bugfixes on Shooting Range
- Various bugfixes on Cantigny
- Various bugfixes on Ansoncourt
- Various bugfixes on Zonnebeke


[h2]Art[/h2]
- Enabled Runtime Virtual Texturing (better blending of objects with terrain)
- Adjusted character jog animation to stop more smoothly
- Fixed various environment assets using non-PBR values
- Improved visuals of wet clothing on rainy maps
- Improved visuals of various tree assets
- Improved visuals of various wooden assets
- Improved visuals of Cheval de Frise assets


[h2]UI[/h2]
- Updated main menu background
- Fixed revive screen showing the name of players who were incapacitated while trying to revive
- Added map icon for Field Phone that appears for commander and signaler
- Added inventory count for Field Dressings and Sandbags
- Reduced low health post processing effects


[h2]Optimization[/h2]
- Disabled cloth simulation on all windmill assets and disabled animation on damaged versions
- Reduced terrain resolution on Frise and Ansoncourt
- Optimized visuals and performance of sandbag assets
- Optimized grass textures
- Optimized falling leaves visual effects by converting them to GPU particles
- Optimized trenches on Zonnebeke
- Optimized burnt tree assets
- Optimized Fokker Dr. I assets


[h2]Miscellaneous[/h2]
- Fixed various server and client crashes
- Fixed players being able to glitch out of the map boundaries when placing a Rally Point close by
- Fixed Field Cannon collision disabling the ability to lean
- Fixed German Ammo Bag not behaving like other ammo bags
- Fixed Binoculars showing ammo count
- Fixed equipment and weapon becoming invisible when player is on an emplacement and it’s being dug down
- Updated bayonet attack and charge screaming sounds


[h2]Known issues[/h2]
- Some wooden assets may have red textures
- Ground textures show black dots / artifacts
- Switching Audio quality in the options menu will cause a crash. Please restart the game to prevent that from happening.

Our latest Fields of Battle article arrives in time for the February update and brings a spotlight to Château-Thierry, the next map to release for Beyond The Wire. Shifting the frontline to the first and second battle of the Marne, this new map is our most geographically diverse to date.


This new field of battle features a variety of small villages, an airfield, farmland, forests, destroyed towns, river crossing, trench lines, ammunition depots, underground bunkers and a large Château situated on the highest point of the map.


Dominating the map is the Chateau, which won't be enterable for this first release as we work on building out the interior. Being a major control point, sections wanting to expand their territory must gain a foothold on the Château grounds before progressing. The large building takes up a capture zone which will need to be defended from all angles if teams are to hold the position.


Entrenched positions and low trenches lead up to the Château, providing cover and elevation to help defend the surrounding area. Entente forces will need to take a dangerous river crossing before pushing through the outer village and on to the Château and will need to call for support from fire support sections to ensure any gained ground is held.


A temporary airfield has been established to help ease the difficulties of resupplying the frontline across land. With this area being critical to the operation of the enemy, forces must prioritise commandeering the landing strip to disrupt the enemies infrastructure. With pitched tents and a secured perimeter making entry difficult, claiming the airfield will carry a heavy cost.


Low stone walls line the edges of farmyards and poppy fields that remain untouched by the shelling, for now. The varying elevation of these fields and outhouses present further difficulties for infantry looking to strengthen the flank.


German HQ is an array of strong points and bunkers interconnected with a shallow trench system. If the German side loses the Château they will need to act quickly to reinforce the area before the Entente forces breakthrough.

Château-Thierry Minimap

With this brand new map just around the corner, we're excited to bring the battle of the Marne to Beyond The Wire. Stay posted, Soldier!