War Mongrels News

When we were making War Mongrels we wanted to tell a historically accurate story about the horrors of war. We didn't really think that one would soon be started just a few hundred kilometers away in a similar fashion.

War Mongrels has been systematically review bombed by Russian players believing the propaganda they've been fed. They dislike the fact that we portrayed Russia also as a World War II aggressor and not just a savior. They believe Soviet Union invaded Poland in 1939 and split it with Hitler as a "defensive measure" meant to fight the Nazi regime. Now it's the same story and the same propaganda of lies when it comes to Ukraine.

We really hope Ukraine will ultimately fare better than Poland did in 1939. If any Ukrainian players are reading this - stay strong! We wake up every day hoping that you had a quiet night and are still fighting.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1101790/War_Mongrels/

INFO REGARDING PRIOR SAVES:
Reminder: we’ve added a new public branch named ‘previous_game_version’ for War Mongrels, which allows you to play the last game version, pre-patched. If you want to continue the game from a saved game state, please switch over to that branch, finish your current chapter, switch back to the ‘default’ branch and continue the journey with the latest fixes.

How: select the game from your Steam game library (not store page).
Click with the right mouse button on War Mongrels and select ‘properties’.
In the settings, move to the right side or down – depending on your Steam version: Properties -> Beta -> Select Beta version, choose the desired version.
It will update the game (rollback to the previous version) of the game.

Changelist 42424:

• [Optimization] Fixed audio in videos on Windows 7.
  
• [Optimization] The game now properly detects your OS language when launched for the first time.
  
• [Tweak] Joachim’s stun now works also on NPCs.
  
• [Tweak] Collisions on picked up weapons now disappear properly - sometimes the picked up weapon could interfere with the line of sight.
  
• [Tweak] A bunch of tweaks to squad reactions, their meeting points and their behavior after save/load.
  
• [Tweak] Tweaks to shooting dogs from a prone position.
  
• [Tweak] You can now stun an enemy who is being charmed by Greta.
  
• [Tweak] Combat mode is now also a suspicious activity, even when not shooting. There was an exploit that could lead to being invisible while being in combat mode.
  
• [Tweak] Removed highlights from the gasoline pool.
  
• [Tweak] Some collision tweaks on nearly all chapters (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12).
  
• [Tweak] Remeshed a part of the minefield on map10.
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed an issue causing the hero to be blocked after he died when hidden in the truck.
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed the behavior of patrolling squads after their leader was killed - in rare situations they were so sad that they didn't go back to patrolling properly.
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed decoy reactions of squads that are in meeting points.
  
• [Bugfix] Heroes in combat mode now properly follow the leader on client.
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed an issue with Ewald’s brawl - it could be broken after using it on a single enemy.
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed the position of nodedoor managers in Chapter 3 - they were too low for some reason which interfered with the hero portrait being shown while inside the nodedoor.
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed an issue with Greta’s flashlight that didn't work on one of the soldiers in Chapter 5.
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed triggers to the quest of spying on officers in Chapter 6.
  

INFO REGARDING PRIOR SAVES:
Reminder: we’ve added a new public branch named ‘previous_game_version’ for War Mongrels, which allows you to play the last game version, pre-patched. If you want to continue the game from a saved game state, please switch over to that branch, finish your current chapter, switch back to the ‘default’ branch and continue the journey with the latest fixes.
How: select the game from your Steam game library (not store page).
Click with the right mouse button on War Mongrels and select ‘properties’.
In the settings, move to the right side or down – depending on your Steam version: Properties -> Beta -> Select Beta version, choose the desired version.
It will update the game (rollback to the previous version) of the game.

Changelist 42052:

• [Optimization] Improved CPU performance of highlights and targeting. Players should no longer experience FPS drops during those actions.
  

• [Tweak] Greta's 'Charm' ability now has a cooldown. Additionally, her other abilities are blocked while 'Charm' is being used.
  
• [Tweak] Scrolling the in-game chat no longer causes the camera to zoom in or out when the chat reaches its end.
  
• [Tweak] The conditions of challenge 'Complete the mission remaining undetected' have been clarified. In order to complete this challenge you must not be noticed by the enemy. Alarms can be invoked.
  
• [Tweak] Enemies will no longer run across the entire level when alarmed.
  
• [Tweak] Tweaks to shooting from a crouched position.
  
• [Tweak] Enemies are much better shooters when they lie on the ground. Be warned :)
  
• [Tweak] Lukas's trap no longer works on allies.
  
• [Tweak] Lukas's trap works on dogs.
  
• [Tweak] Improvements to dog combat behavior.
  
• [Tweak] Lukas and Lead can no longer disarm mines.
  
• [Tweak] Improvements to patrolling logic, specifically when the enemies must return to their patrol route.
  
• [Tweak] Gasoline environmental kill now causes some noise.
  
• [Tweak] Melee combat in combat mode was nerfed. And versus dogs it will always miss, unless the dog is busy biting someone.
  
• [Tweak] Greta's 'Gas' ability can now be used on NPCs too.
  
• [Tweak] Several tweaks to civilian zones and disguises - shooting your way out under those conditions will no longer be so easy.
  
• [Tweak] Using a manhole now counts as a suspicious activity.
  
• [Tweak] Further improvements in AI pathing, specifically in relation to decoys and noises.
  
• [Tweak] Death animation no longer plays after an automatic load.
  
• [Tweak] Bullets are now destroyed before the game is saved. It was possible to save with the bullet flying at the hero and killing him instantly after the load, making such save unusable and the autoload after death feature pointless.
  

• [Bugfix] It is no longer possible to change stances while disarming mines. This caused mines to become stuck in the armed state.
  
• [Bugfix] In rare situations combat started automatically when one of the enemies climbed a ladder. This behavior has been corrected.
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed an issue with enemies improperly reacting upon finding a dead body.
  
• [Bugfix] Characters sometimes shoot through obstacles when prone, due to how we calculated point of origin for shooting. This has been corrected.
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed an issue with achievements not being unlocked retroactively in some cases.
  
• [Bugfix] Ewald's 'Brawl' ability is no longer usable through walls.
  
• [Bugfix] Multiple collision fixes - shooting through obstacles, seeing through geometry, and similar.
  
• [Bugfix] Dogs will now properly react to their master's death, even if some other AI will react to that death event first.
  
• [Bugfix] Civilian NPCs no longer use combat VO.
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed handling of character animations on clients.
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed a few bugs related to enemy line of sight rules.
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed an issue with keyboard shortcuts for executing planned actions in planning mode.
  
• [Bugfix] Autosaves triggered by quest progress will no longer happen when you disable Autosaves in the options.
  
• [Bugfix] Key icons will now consistently stay the same on a specific key, regardless of save or load actions.
  
• [Bugfix] Fixed an issue with the enemy remaining dead after loading a saved game state, even though at the time of save he was alive. Happened for enemies who died of a mine explosion.
  
• [Bugfix] Loading the game with characters hidden inside a manhole or door will no longer cause getting detected by enemies.
  
• [Bugfix] Vision markers are now properly cleared after loading a saved game state.
  
• [Bugfix] Loading the game when in state of combat will no longer allow enemies to ignore heroes.
  
• [Bugfix] Crane environmental kill now properly resets when loading a saved game state and allows the client to use it again.
  
• [Bugfix] Barrel environmental kill now works properly after loading a saved game state.
  
• [Bugfix] Minedetector is no longer being left in the hand after loading a saved game state. It respects the position it was in when the save occured.
  
• [Bugfix] Ammo crates now properly restore their state when loading the game. You can now pick them up again after load.
  
• [Bugfix] Animation of using a medkit will no longer become stuck when loading a game.
  
• [Bugfix] Player playing as a client couldn't pick up a body, if prior to loading a game he hid it. This has been corrected.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter II - Quest markers will now be properly positioned on the screen.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter II - Quest 'Man the MG42' will no longer activate twice after leaving the spot and loading the game.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter III - Fixed synchronization of enemy patrol routes after throwing a decoy.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter III - Non-interactive elements will no longer be highlighted.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter IV - Collision improvements, no more shooting through things you shouldn't be able to.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter IV - Restricted area zone position was adjusted to better fit the gameplay. The visual hints are now perfectly matched with the zone.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter IV - Greta will not 'Charm' dead soldiers anymore.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter V - Watchtower guard will no longer occasionally become stuck in the wall.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter V - Greta now properly stands in her position while talking to the doctor.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter V - Guard waits properly for Greta, before escorting her back to her cell.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter VI - Papers will no longer magically reappear after being picked up when loading a saved game state.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter VI - Skipping the cut-scene in a specific moment will no longer break truck logic and path, which effectively corrects it's position to the designed one.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter VI - Eavesdropping will not count if you are being observed.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter VII - Armory gate animation will now play properly under all circumstances.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter VII - Wooden Logs environmental kill has a better position, so it's more effective.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter VII - Prisoners will not talk to Manfred wearing a uniform when he is in combat mode.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter VII - Fixed blocking issues with keys and loading a game. You should no longer have any problems with those keys.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter VIII - Blockade near the bridge has been moved.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter IX - Quest 'Arrive at the manor with Greta escorted by Manfred' now either fails or succeeds when the papers are being checked, not earlier.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter IX - Papers check cutscene does not play if the guards are already dead.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter X - Fixed visibility issues around the Russian base.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter X - Dogs are now properly a part of their squads.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter X - Berling Soldiers are now on their correct team.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter X - Character portrait will now properly follow the truck after the hero enters the truck, showing the correct position.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter X - After the driver and passenger exit the car, the truck will stop.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter XI - Fixed an issue with enemies being unable to return to their previous positions after being distracted by a decoy.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter XI - Manhole leading to the hospital is now disabled after the third sewer cut-scene. Hiding in it caused a block.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter XI - The quest marker for 'Carry Bandit' is now properly attached and positioned for clients.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter XI - You can no longer break the cut-scene by going in front of the armored car before it plays ;)
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter XI - One of the climbing walls was behaving inconsistently. This has been corrected.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter XI - Outro now properly shows subtitles.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter XII - Fixed an issue where enemies could get stuck on one of the ladders.
  
• [Bugfix] Chapter XII - Fixed an issue which could cause Lead's levitating body to be visible during the Joachim cutscene.
  

The live insect appreciation day falls on June 8, so we decided to celebrate our own digial bug extermination week with a -35% discount for War Mongrels. And you can grab a free soundtrack, while you're at it!

We released the latest big patch last week, so we reckon it's the best time to pick up War Mongrels. Especially since it's such a warm, festive experience just in time for the holidays.

PS. It's not a warm and festive experience. But it's loads of fun in a grim sort of way.

Last large patch in 2021. Thank you for all the reports getting us to this point :) Work continues!

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SAVES: Please remember about the public branch named 'previous_game_version' for War Mongrels, which allows you to play the last game version, pre-patched. If you want to continue the game from a pre-patch saved game state, please switch over to that branch (in Properties => Betas), finish your current chapter, switch back to the 'default' branch and continue the journey with the latest fixes.

Changelist 41602:

[Translations]
• Fixes to Russian and Italian localisations.
  
  [Dog Behavior]
• Many fixes around dogs and their combat, looking for enemies, attack patterns, they also now do not get stuck while observing the watch, they won't also attack through fences.
  
• Dogs are faster now - it is not that easy to run away from them also they do not change into homing missiles after treating them with Greta's gas.
  
• Stopped the dog attack animation upon loading a game.
  
• Dogs cone of attack is now properly coloured.
  
  [Save System]
• Fixes in restoring chain type patrols after loading the game.
  
• There was an issue when if you loaded a game while a throwable (i.e grenade) was thrown it could block the ability to save the game - it is now fixed.
  
• Fixes to the issue where after loading a gamestate after killing the enemy with melee attack he was dead but his model was still standing.
  
• Fixes to the issue where after loading a gamestate after killing the enemy with a trap he was dead but his model was still standing.
  
• Drawer cabinets now behave properly after save/load.
  
• Gasoline pool now saves and loads properly.
  
• We are now checking if a save game is able to create every step of the savegame creating sequence. Before that there was a small chance that we might end with a situation where a save has been created when it should not be. I.E. playable hero being dead after walking on the mine.
  
• Replaced progress with play time in the save/load menu.
  
• There was a possibility that a graphic of the key being carried by a hero could end up being hidden after loading a game.
  
• Fixed an issue with Rubble’s throwing knife being teleported to 0,0,0 after loading a save at a specific timing.
  
• Fixed a weird issue where the GetTimer function could return junk data. May lead to some Timers being ignored after loading the game.
  
• It was possible for the AI to be stuck in reloading an ability - this could lead to save games being blocked - it is now fixed.
  
• Fixed an issue of heroes being stuck in hiding places after loading the game.
  
  [General]
• Fixes to how enemies propagate info about entering combat - fixed some strange cases where enemies would not register our heroes properly.
  
• Fixes in regards to creating dynamic squads of enemies - this fixes the issue of two enemies going to the same decoy even after their squad was disbanded.
  
• Fixes for the AI sometimes not moving together to some decoys if they were in a squad.
  
• Some fixes to how much time a search could take after the enemy was alerted.
  
• It is now possible for the AI to stop observing something and switch to something new.
  
• Fixes to enemies sometimes being stuck in a loop of ignoring an item.
  
• Fixes to the ammo counter in combat mode.
  
• Fix unlocking 'HOLOCAUST... TIMES FIVE.' article along with 'Explorer - Find a collectible' achievement.
  
• A bunch of small items won't now absorb decals from enviro.
  
• Enemies now can move via node doors while being in combat mode, while also they will now use node doors properly when looking for the player.
  
• You can't now charge or pick up bodies through the fences.
  
• Gasoline pools now have proper collision.
  
• Fixed an issue where an enemy could get stuck observing things.
  
• MG42 cones are now a better match with the vision cone.
  
• IsCombatModeEnabled is always false for the dead guy.
  
• Some fixes to how the medkits work.
  
• Fixed an issue with broken lobby and multiplayer session state after client leaves mid travel.
  
• Looking around animation is blocked for enemies that are sitting - fixes the issue of their cone beign misplaced after being gassed by Greta.
  
• Greta is now properly playing her Charm animation if the enemy has a weapon drawn.
  
  [Map02]
• The fence near the separating two parts of the map now blocks line of sight and projectiles to prevent exploits.
  
  [Map03]
• An officer sitting on a bench near the garrison was quite blind. For some reason he was stuck in the collision of the nearby GuardHouse which blocked his perception. He is ok now.
  
• Removed navmesh that for some reason generated underground and could disturb heroes moving in prone positions.
  
• Fixed some projectile collision issues within buildings.
  
  [Map04]
• Fixed an issue with mines not saving properly and not being properly shown.
  
• Fixed some projectile collision issues within buildings.
  
  [Map07]
• Fence doors now behave properly after loading the game.
  
• Removed the unnecessary door that was hidden under the floor.
  
  [Map08]
• Fixed an issue where you could sneak by with Manfred near the beginning of the level and pass the whole market arena.
  
  [Map09]
• Fixed the blocking issue when you killed all officers before rallying partisans.
  
  [Map10]
• Some fixes to the ledges that you can climb on.
  
• Fixed a wall on the German side that did not properly block perception.
  
  [Map11]
• Medkits are now working properly for all heroes.
  
• After picking up an ammo box it stops highlighting.
  
• Tank from the hospital now properly drives through the gate.
  
• Tanks won't be on fire anymore after loading a save before destroying them.
  
• Quest markers for both SDKFZ and Tanks are now properly attached to those vehicles both on the server and the client.
  
  [Map12]
• Rubble now can properly pick up handgun ammo.