Beyond The Wire News

Our second hotfix is coming in hot after the first week after release as we look to address some performance issues and bug fixing, as well as implementing some changes based on the feedback of the community. Thanks  to everyone for contributing so far with bug reports and game suggestions, we're hoping these changes help the game run better in all aspects! See the full changelog below:




[h2]Gameplay[/h2]
- Changed the min/max damage radius on grenade launcher projectile from 1/15 to 5/12 meters
- Changed the min/max damage radius on F1, M1916 & Mk1 grenades from 5/15 meters to 4/12 meters
- Changed the min/max damage radius on M1916 GL from 5/15 to 6/15 meters
- Increased infantry section size from 6 players to 10 players
- Increased medics per section from 1 to 2
- Decreased size of artillery section from 4 to 3
- Increased grenade count of Assault role 01
- Reduced grenade count of Assault role 02
- Removed team limit on Assault 02 and LMG roles due to UI confusion
- Added binoculars to Artillery section members
- Changed Assault capture rate increase to max out at 10 players
- Reduced max capture rate on Assault game mode from .125 to .05
Adjusted infantry section kit requirements
- Assault 01 requires 5 members in the section
- Assault 02 French Republic & German Empire requires 6 members in section, AEF requires 8 members in the section
- Grenadier requires 8 members in the section
- SL 01 always available
- SL 02 requires 3 members in the section
- SL 03 requires 6 members in the section
- LMG requires 8 members in the section
- Medic requires 2 members in the section
- Rifleman always available

[h2]Levels[/h2]
- Changed last defender spawn volume on Ansoncourt Assault to stretch over the entire playable area
- Added early morning lighting to Ansoncourt Frontlines
- Improved vegetation on Ansoncourt
- Increased brightness of Ansoncourt Assault nighttime lighting

[h2]Optimization[/h2]
- Added new sounds for Feldkanone 96 n.A.
- Optimized player model update rate
- Optimized Gas Mask update rate
- Disabled landscape tesselation on Frise
- Fixed memory leak related to Gas Masks

[h2]UI[/h2]
- Increased visibility of map icons
- Disabled loading screen videos for unknown Windows versions ("N" versions)
- Replaced placeholder SL ability icon
- Removed automatic bolting and fire mode selector keybind from the settings window
- Fixed spawn point UI animation scaling incorrectly
- Decreased soldier map icon size
- Desaturated UI colours (friendly, enemy, section members etc)
- Fixed Assault objective boundaries sometimes not being displayed correctly

[h2]General fixes[/h2]
- Fixed missing texture for field cannon impact effects when hitting enemy infantry
- Fixed environment objects looking muddy on medium settings
- Fixed deployables being difficult to place on uneven terrain
- Fixed playable area on Ansoncourt not reaching level boundaries
- Fixed preparation stage blocking volume on Frise Frontlines not being wide enough
- Fixed Chinese localization in options menu
- Fixed Chauchat distant sounds playing all at once causing audio glitches
- Fixed artillery detachment being referenced as 'engineers'
- Fixed being able to see underground when prone exploit
- Fixed medic icon being too small on minimap
- Fixed a crash that would sometimes occur during loading
- Fixed S98/05 Bayonet texture being misaligned




Stay posted for further updates, Soldiers!

We hope you're enjoying Beyond The Wire so far! The feedback and bug reporting from the community have been a massive help in tracking down these issues and work towards fixes. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we're gathering this feedback and working through critical and game-breaking issues.

In our first post-release hotfix we've addressed issues regarding Simplified Chinese localization, game crashes, Windows 7 players crashing during loading screens, texture quality issues and more!

See the full changelog below:

- Fixed Simplified Chinese localization not rendering correctly due to misconfiguration of the fallback font
- Fixed game sometimes crashing when interacting with emplaced weapons
- Fixed game sometimes crashing when entering an emplaced weapon
- Fixed game sometimes crashing when equipping the Gas Mask
- Fixed game sometimes crashing when spawning limbs after player model gets dismembered
- Fixed team damage not being disabled during preparation phase on Frontlines
- Fixed skybox loading additional a high-resolution textures
- Fixed landscape textures not loading lower resolution variants
- Fixed Frise ground textures not looking wet on Frise Assault v2
- Disabled loading screen videos for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users due to outdated codecs causing a crash
- Increased connection timeout when joining a server to 7 minutes to help players with slower connections and hard drive

Please keep reporting your issues and problems so we can help deliver the best experience for players.

Stay posted, Solders!

The day has finally arrived! After thousands of hours of testing, hundreds of thousands of rounds fired and countless battles over the Zonnebeke Church, Beyond The Wire has launched to Early Access!

Releasing today, 21st October Beyond The Wire is priced at $34.99 USD, €29.99 EUR or £27.79 GBP. There is also an optional soundtrack bundle for an additional cost of $4.99. Players who purchase the OST bundle will get access to all of the BTW soundtrack releases going forward.

Heading into Early Access with a plethora of features and options for gameplay, Beyond The Wire aims to deliver a new WW1 experience concentrating on immersion, action and strategy. Whether leading the charge as an assault troop or guiding fire missions with the artillery detachment BTW has a role for everyone. Below we have highlighted some of the main aspects of this Early Access launch, including main features and content.



Maps Zonnebeke Frise Ansoncourt Development update: Fields of Battle

Factions French Republic German Empire American Expeditionary Forces Development update: Character models

Weapons
https://playbtw.com/early-access-weapon-mechanics-systems/ https://playbtw.com/development-update-armaments/ https://playbtw.com/early-access-arsenal/

Rifles
– Lebel Modele 1886/M93
– Gewehr 1898
– Enfield 1917

Revolvers
– Modele 1892
– Colt 1917

Semi-automatic pistols
– Ruby M1915
– Colt 1911
– Pistole 08
– Lange Pistole 08 (Stick and Drum Mag variants)

Rifle grenade launchers
– M1917 Karabinergranate
– VB Rifle Grenade

Grenades
– Grenade F1
– M1916 Stielhandgranate
– Mk1 Grenade
– M1916 “Geballte Ladung” (6x)
– Handnebelbombe

Melee Weapons
– Improvised Trench Clubs
– S98/05 Bajonett

Tools
– Binoculars
– Wire Cutters
– Gas Mask

Deployables
– Ammo Crates
– Sniper Shields
– Sandbags
– Field Telephone

Emplacements
– Maschinengewehr 08
– Feldkannone 96 n.A.

Off-Map Support
– Heavy Explosive Artillery Barrage
– Smoke Artillery Barrage
– Chlorine Artillery Barrage

See you in the trenches, Soldier!

The latest instalment of developer blogs is a  reveal of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). Closing out the faction reveals, the AEF is the third faction that will be available at Early Access release. Weighing in with some of the highest standards of weaponry and uniform, players will have a tough time in any match-up against this faction.



Despite being a supplier to the Allied Powers, the US had remained neutral before entering the conflict in April of 1917. Mobilising millions of personnel to the war effort, the US was reinforcing the Western Front with 10,000 men per day by the summer of 1918.



Combining their own innovations with many of the entente’s equipment, U.S. forces were thrown into action after a series of successful advances on the Western Front by the German forces. Over the later part of 1918, the American Expeditionary Force played a pivotal role as the Allies finally halted and pushed back the German Empire. The American uniform was one of the best for the Western Front theatre with no expense spared. The fine, thick-soled boots and thick leg strappings handled the landscape hazards well, and the durable brown wool that made up the uniform provided half-decent protection against the weather.



The AEF backpack gear and support equipment were of the highest standard and workmanship, which is not surprising for a country that entered the war later than the rest and not at a point of exhaustion caused by the prolonged campaign. A water flask, first aid kit and other supplementary equipment were attached to the belt in their own pouches along with ammunition. The AEF adopted the gas mask made by the French Army, perhaps one of the most convenient in the entire war.



The haversack formed the basis of the “Field Pack” and carried all of a soldier’s needs such as rations, extra clothing, and all personal items. The haversack often contained a wrapped tent along with pegs, a shovel and a poncho for cold weather and was secured tight, often with 3 straps.



The AEF faction in-game will also have a variety of headgear that is inspired by the items that the soldiers wore during the conflict. NCO's, Commanders, Assault troops, all have specific headgear that allows you to identify team mates, and enemies, quickly.




The American Expeditionary Force will be available when Beyond The Wire launches tomorrow at 10 AM PDT / 5 PM UTC / 6 PM BST. Join us an hour beforehand at 9 AM PDT / 4 PM PDT for a launch livestream with some of the lead devs for a chat and a preview of some of the content we haven't previewed up to now!

After announcing Beyond The Wire back in March the efforts of the team have been fully engaged towards preparing for Early Access release this year. After 5 months of alpha testing, we are now ready to enter the next stage of development and a release to steam.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


With great excitement, we can confirm that Beyond The Wire will be launching to Early Access on Wednesday 21st October 2020 and will be priced at $34.99 USD, €29.99 EUR or £27.79 GBP On launch day we will be hosting a developer livestream as well as spending some time in-game, so stay tuned for more information on that front!



With our release date planned for next week, applications for server hosting licenses are now open! Server licensing is managed by the Offworld Industries Server Hosting team who ensure server's meet standards. Follow their discord link below to join the hosting community and get the full information on this process, as well as any support that may be needed to get your server set up.




OWI Server Hosting Discord