Hex of Steel News

ADDED

• Capitulation event for the USSR on the Europe scenarios (requires the loss of Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Sevastopol Murmansk and Baku).
  

CHANGED

• Multiplayer compatibility version.
  
• Game settings when hosting a PBEM game will now be properly sent to the PBEM server.
  
• The AI will no longer redeploy its units guarding its borders.
  

FIXED

• You could play a PBEM game with extra mods that were not required by the session and had a gameplay impact on the game.
  
• Mods not displaying their names but their IDs instead (when coming from the Workshop).
  
• Vichy France will now be properly created even if an Axis minor triggers France's capitulation.
  
• No place to deploy german reinforcements on scenario start in Silver Fox (campaign).
  
• P-40N was marked as carrier compatible even though it was not IRL.
  
• You could not upgrade/downgrade a unit to/from itself when it was from another country.
  
• Bug when trying to upgrade/downgrade a unit while having a full list of units in the basket list from previous pre-purchase actions.
  
• De Ruyter Dutch cruiser had wrong start commission date.
  
• UI scaling issues on the mobile version.
  

Hello all!

The beta for 8.1.0 has come to an end and is in good shape for a public release.

Special thanks to all of the people that participated :) Love ya'll!

As discussed previously, version 8.1.0 replaces entirely the old multiplayer server. No data could be carried over, therefore, you will have to create a new account to access online features (both chat or multiplayer, PBEM/realtime).

If you have a PBEM game going on on the old server, you have until January 1st to complete it.
You can install 8.0.7 back from the beta branch system on Steam: (Right-click the game → Properties → Betas → choose ‘8.0.7’)

[h3]ADDED[/h3]

• Brand new PBEM server.
  
• Several new sections in the Manual.
  
• 7.5 cm le.IG 18 and 7.5 cm Gebirgsgeschutz 36 light artillery to Germany.
  

[h3]CHANGED[/h3]

• All base game units end use year has been changed from 1946 to 1949.
  
• Updated all of the realtime multiplayer libraries (we were quite a few versions behind).
  
• Many sections of the manual have been cleaned up and reorganized.
  
• Red color on damage breakdown is now brighter for increased readability on dark backgrounds.
  
• End of turn menu will no longer appear when playing a singleplayer game (when going from one human player to another).
  
• Foreign equipment is now available in the upgrade menu.
  
• When upgrading/downgrading a unit to a modified version of itself, it will no longer be sent to the reserve.
  
• Saving during multiplayer games is now allowed (all).
  
• Rebalanced Low Countries campaign scenario (Axis side).
  
• Finnish F2 Buffalo has been renamed into B-239.
  
• Coastal batteries are now allowed to be deployed on any ocean/sea coastline that you control.
  

[h3]FIXED[/h3]

• Achievement 'Losing a hero' could not be unlocked.
  
• Naval units were affected by land units' ZoC.
  
• Game was loading Custom Heroes data from one folder and saving it into another, leading to data mismatch. Proper location is: GAME/MODS/YOUR_MOD/Custom Heroes/Custom heroes.txt
  
• When opening the 'Statistics' menu before the game's end, if you changed the sorting mode, that could re order the whole list of players.
  
• Move or attack not properly greyed out on units that have the 'move or attack' property.
  
• Typo in the Farragut and Allan M Sumner destroyer classes (USA).
  
• Buildings (units) were showing a non zero upkeep value, even though they had no upkeep value.
  
• 'Better Scientists' policy was not excluded from the menu when playing without the 'Research' setting.
  
• 'Flexible Strategy' policy was not giving any refunds on policies you cancelled after loading a save.
  
• Music player resuming automatically when tabbing out/back in even though you manually paused it.
  
• Europe '45 had a missing airfield VP in Poland and 2 wrong road tiles in Iraq.
  
• AA units could attack enemy planes during bad weather if the tile had an enemy land unit in range.
  
• In some specific cases, air units could become invisible when an enemy land/naval mine was on the same tile.
  
• Upgrading a ship to a carrier was not allowing that ship to launch airplanes.
  
• Fighter planes had their attack SFX overwritten in some cases.
  
• Landing bonus on damage breakdown was showed as red instead of green for Marines.
  
• Some units could remain invisible in some specific cases due to the recent 'cleared FOW saving' feature.
  
• Several upgrade/downgrade cost issues.
  
• Minor localization issues.
  
• Drawings were not refreshed for your allies in real time multiplayer.
  
• Using supply ships/planes in real time multiplayer was not synced.
  
• Germany in the scenario North Africa 1942 had negative manpower on turn 1.
  
• Joining a faction through the diplomacy menu was opening the 'faction creation' popup window.
  
• Sometimes, in very specific cases, some unit in the Order of Battle could display a hero name even though they had none.
  
• FOW on the map was not refreshed in real time multiplayer after a player accepted an alliance proposition.
  
• Weather was not synced properly in real time multiplayer.
  
• Upgrades, downgrades, or update actions were not synced properly in real time multiplayer.
  
• Efficient Modernization policy was applied even when downgrading (money getting in) meaning you'd lose some money (25%).
  
• Code freeze due to units no longer existing in the game being used by events (they will now be skipped/removed).
  
• Localization issue with policy picking confirmation window.
  
• Main menu soundtrack sort of starting to play twice when launching the game.
  
• When trying to draw/erase with the drawing tool in real time multiplayer, it would always modify the active player regardless if it was you or someone else.
  

[h3]REMOVED[/h3]

• Access to previous multiplayer server. (You can still use the old version until January 1st, 2026)
  

[h3]FOR HARMONY MODDERS:[/h3]
Player.Nickname (string) has been removed and replaced by Player.UserId (Guid).
If your mods use this variable, please update them accordingly.

TL;DR:
A full wipe of the old PBEM server will happen on January 1st, 2026.
All data will be erased. You have until then to finish your ongoing games.
I strongly recommend moving over to 8.1.0 — your experience will be much, much better!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello everyone!

Today’s update is a bit special — version 8.1.0 is now live on the beta branch!
(Right-click the game → Properties → Betas → choose ‘8.1.0’)

Why beta? Because this update is huge, and I need your help to test it before full release.
I’ve tested everything I could — now I need YOU to push it further. :)

Where am I going with this? What could possibly require this much effort? Hehe...

[h3]A BRAND NEW PLAY-BY-EMAIL SERVER! [/h3]
Yes, you read that right — I’ve taken two weeks off to learn a new programming language, a new OS, and I’ve rewritten the entire PBEM system from scratch.

Why the rewrite?
The old PBEM server was the only part of the game I didn’t fully control — it was commissioned years ago and had reached its limits in both flexibility and performance.

Now it’s fully mine, fully modernized, and ready for the future!

I also took the opportunity to completely overhaul the multiplayer menu UI — it’s cleaner, faster, and offers more possibilities.

[h3]Highlights:[/h3]

• New public user profiles (custom avatar, bio, stats, and more)
  
• PBEM games now support 2 to any number of players
• Massively improved security (roughly 300% more secure)
  
• Enhanced performance
• HTTPS protocol— no more data corruption issues
  
• Password protection for both realtime and PBEM games (optional)
  
• Moved away from AWS — servers are now directly reachable from Russia without proxies
  
• Full developer control over everything (that’s me!)
  

[h3]ADDED[/h3]

• Brand new PBEM server.
  
• Several new sections in the Manual.
  
• 7.5 cm le.IG 18 and 7.5 cm Gebirgsgeschutz 36 light artillery to Germany.
  

[h3]CHANGED[/h3]

• All base game units end use year has been changed from 1946 to 1949.
  
• Updated all of the realtime multiplayer libraries (we were quite a few versions behind).
  
• Many sections of the manual have been cleaned up and reorganized.
  
• Red color on damage breakdown is now brighter for increased readability on dark backgrounds.
  
• End of turn menu will no longer appear when playing a singleplayer game (when going from one human player to another).
  
• Foreign equipment is now available in the upgrade menu.
  
• When upgrading/downgrading a unit to a modified version of itself, it will no longer be sent to the reserve.
  
• Saving during multiplayer games is now allowed (all).
  
• Rebalanced Low Countries campaign scenario (Axis side).
  
• Finnish F2 Buffalo has been renamed into B-239.
  

[h3]FIXED[/h3]

• Achievement 'Losing a hero' could not be unlocked.
  
• Naval units were affected by land units' ZoC.
  
• Game was loading Custom Heroes data from one folder and saving it into another, leading to data mismatch. Proper location is: GAME/MODS/YOUR_MOD/Custom Heroes/Custom heroes.txt
  
• When opening the 'Statistics' menu before the game's end, if you changed the sorting mode, that could re order the whole list of players.
  
• Move or attack not properly greyed out on units that have the 'move or attack' property.
  
• Typo in the Farragut and Allan M Sumner destroyer classes (USA).
  
• Buildings (units) were showing a non zero upkeep value, even though they had no upkeep value.
  
• 'Better Scientists' policy was not excluded from the menu when playing without the 'Research' setting.
  
• 'Flexible Strategy' policy was not giving any refunds on policies you cancelled after loading a save.
  
• Music player resuming automatically when tabbing out/back in even though you manually paused it.
  
• Europe '45 had a missing airfield VP in Poland and 2 wrong road tiles in Iraq.
  
• AA units could attack enemy planes during bad weather if the tile had an enemy land unit in range.
  
• In some specific cases, air units could become invisible when an enemy land/naval mine was on the same tile.
  
• Upgrading a ship to a carrier was not allowing that ship to launch airplanes.
  
• Fighter planes had their attack SFX overwritten in some cases.
  
• Landing bonus on damage breakdown was showed as red instead of green for Marines.
  
• Some units could remain invisible in some specific cases due to the recent 'cleared FOW saving' feature.
  
• Several upgrade/downgrade cost issues.
  
• Minor localization issues.
  
• Drawings were not refreshed for your allies in real time multiplayer.
  
• Using supply ships/planes in real time multiplayer was not synced.
  
• Germany in the scenario North Africa 1942 had negative manpower on turn 1.
  
• Joining a faction through the diplomacy menu was opening the 'faction creation' popup window.
  
• Sometimes, in very specific cases, some unit in the Order of Battle could display a hero name even though they had none.
  
• FOW on the map was not refreshed in real time multiplayer after a player accepted an alliance proposition.
  
• Weather was not synced properly in real time multiplayer.
  
• Upgrades, downgrades, or update actions were not synced properly in real time multiplayer.
  
• Efficient Modernization policy was applied even when downgrading (money getting in) meaning you'd lose some money (25%).
  
• Code freeze due to units no longer existing in the game being used by events (they will now be skipped/removed).
  
• Localization issue with policy picking confirmation window.
  

[h3]REMOVED[/h3]

• Access to previous multiplayer server. (You can still use the old version until January 1st, 2026)
  

[h3]FOR HARMONY MODDERS:[/h3]
Player.Nickname (string) has been removed and replaced by Player.UserId (Guid).
If your mods use this variable, please update them accordingly.


[h3]Reminder:[/h3]
The current PBEM server will be wiped on January 1st, 2026.
Make sure to finish your ongoing games before that date!


That’s it for now — I can’t wait to see what you think of the new PBEM system! As always, your feedback is invaluable.

Thank you for helping make Hex of Steel better every update :)

[h3]CHANGED[/h3]

• Updated several sections of the manual.
  

[h3]FIXED[/h3]

• Editors could not save data to mod if there were active mods that were missing data.
  
• AA units were still not able to attack land units further than 1 tile away.
  
• New Orleans heavy cruiser (USA) having wrong graphics.
  

[h3]ADDED[/h3]

• New 'Help' section in the main menu, where you will be able to find both the game's Manual, as well as a 'Contact Support' email generator + log file opener. Please use this now to report issues or request for help, as it will contain all of the informations about your installation.
  
• New 'Community' section in the main menu, containing all of the various social network links, as well as the steam community features (achievements, leaderboards).
  

[h3]CHANGED[/h3]

• Ships now apply Zone of Control around them (submarines or submerged units excluded).
  
• Rework of the main menu presentation (buttons layout, menus, sub-sections). Improved clarity.
  
• Language setting has therefore been moved to the regular settings menu, under the 'Accessibility' category.
  
• When pressing the 'delete' button in the Mods menu, if the mod is a Workshop mod, it will now automatically unsubscribe you from it.
  
• Musics will now be played in the main menu if there is a modded video playing in the background, but the game detects that the video has no audio track.
  
• For Harmony modders only: the 'mod' field from GameModification has been marked as obsolete and has been replaced by a protected property called 'Mod'. Please update your code if you are using the old 'mod' field. Simply write 'Mod' instead to use the new property.
  

[h3]FIXED[/h3]

• The 'Private' toggle in the Workshop mod menu will now be properly updated when you are selecting a mod from the list that was made private.
  
• Stats on units counters would not reposition properly when changing the scale of units in the settings.
  
• Workshop mods description in the Workshop menu would not load fully and remain truncated.