Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45 News

Happy Spring everyone!

We're back with another toy for you to play with, along with some map updates!






Select Fallscirmjägergewehr sniper troops will now have access to the ZF42 scope attachment for the FG42. Needless to say, a fully automatic scoped rifle on a bipod will be a force to be reckoned with.

This can be found as a sniper option for Fallscirmjägergewehr troops on the following maps:

• Les Champs de Losque
  
• Stoumont
  
• Dead Man's Corner
  
• Carentan Causeway
  

It has also been added to the following map as a in-world pickup:

• Flakturm Tiergarten
  

Happy hunting!

Developer's Note: This is the first weapon in the game to have both a bipod and a scope!

[h2]Dzerzhinsky Tractor Factory[/h2]

The tractor factory map has been drastically reworked, with a focus on providing more interesting areas to fight in and around, as well as widening the map to allow for more flanking opportunities.

• Reworked Axis spawn.
  
• Added second street at the beginning of the map
  
• Detailed and expanded the courtyard/park
  
• Detailed the original street around the first objective.
  
• Added new building Apartment 5031 which serves as a new initial objective, grouped with reworked building Logistics Bureau.
  
• Added new buildings across the map, replacing many old static models with new ones.
  
• Significantly improved terrain detail with new textures and decolayers.
  
• Reworked South and West Commons locations with new trenchworks and dugouts.
  
• Reworked Administration Building and added new rooms and details.
  
• General detail pass across the map to increase visual fidelity and improve gameplay.
  
• Reworked objective layout and added 3 new objectives.
  

A large thanks to community leveler "$oul$eek" for his work on this map!
[h2]La Cambe[/h2]

• Fixed floating props at the Trenches objective.
  

[h2]Olkhovatka[/h2]

• Improved lighting.
  
• Added some additional statics around the map for more cover.
  
• Removed ticket bleed from Axis.
  
• Removed ticket capture bonus from taking the first objective to compensate for removal of ticket bleed.
  
• Reduced number of tanker roles on both teams to match the number of max tanks.
  
• Reworked tank loadouts:
  
• Increased Sovet max active tanks from 2 to 3.
  
• Increased KV1-E max spawns from 2 to 5.
  
• Removed the Panzer IVs.
  
• Increased the max active Tigers from 1 to 2.
  
• Increased the max spawns of the Tiger from 3 to 6.
  
• This rework is based on the actual units present in the battle (Olkhovatka was mainly a Tiger battle, with support from StuGs, StuHs and Panzer IIIN).
  

[h2]Ten Aard[/h2]

• The far east broken bridge is no longer passable by infantry. This was basically the case before, but it would allow you to pass to the other side, but then be stuck inside a minefield from which there was no escape.
  

[h2]Italy Update[/h2]

The Italy update is chugging along!

There's still lots of work to be done, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we are entering the final stretch phase. We obviously can't put a date on it yet, but we're as close as we've ever been. ;)

Very excitingly, we have also hired a professional Italian voice actor to provide authentic Italian voice lines, and the recording session will be this coming week!

In the meantime, here's a couple of nice WIP shots from one of our new vehicles, the Fiat L6/40.



See you on the battlefield,

Darklight Games

• Fixed a bug where players movement would be hobbled after going from prone to standing when holding the ZB-30.
  
• Fixed missing sleeve textures for some Soviet Rifleman roles.
  

• Fire and Move signals have had a number of changes to address exploits and usability:
  
• The signal transparency is now smoothly modulated based on timing & the viewing angle.
  
• The duration of signals has been reduced from 15 seconds to 10 seconds.
  
• Signals will now be fully transparent if the player's viewing angle is within 2 degrees of the signal.
  
• The signal recipient radius has been reduced from 50 meters to 25 meters.
  

[h2]Pegasus Bridge[/h2]

• Fixed a Danger Zone issue that could allow Allied squad leaders to rally on the German side of the bridge solo.
  
• Fixed an issue with the recapture behaviors of the Town Hall and Corner House objectives.
  

[h2]Maupertus Advance[/h2]

• Increased Axis tickets slightly.
  

[h2]Armored Vieux[/h2]

• Removed NW Farm cap.
  
• Tank balance changed.
  
• Fixed some floaters.
  
• Re-designed last cap.
  
• Added progressive spawns for both teams.
  

[h2]Armored Gran[/h2]

• Added Sherman M4A3E8 for Allies and an extra Panther for Axis.
  
• Fixed Pak43 that were leaning to the side because of bad placement.
  
• Rebalanced some roles.
  
• Reduced +30% ratio to +5% as this had greatly imbalanced the map.
  

[h2]Armored La Champagne Advance[/h2]

• This map makes a return!
  

See you on the battlefield,
Darklight Games

Hello there! We're back with another small patch that introduces a number of bug fixes and level tweaks. If you ever noticed your turret sometimes rotating on its own when entering a tank, this old Red Orchestra bug is finally gone!

But before we dive into the changelog, there's something we need to address.



During the past week you might've experienced frequent disconnects with a Connection Failed error from both official and community servers. We're currently looking into this and contacted Valve, as we suspect this is caused by authentication issues with Steam.

In the meantime, just reconnect if it happens and there won't be any more disconnections for the rest of the session.

Now back to the patch notes.

• Fixed a bug where turrets and cannons would spontaneously rotate on entering them if they were used by another player earlier.
  
• Fixed a bug where players who disconnected from the game as spectator would be automatically assigned to the Axis upon rejoining.
  
• Fixed an exploit where it was possible to place constructions in invalid locations by switching to a smaller construction in the menu during the placement process.
  
• Fixed a bug where active objective spawns could be calculated incorrectly when the objective was linked to multiple active objectives.
  
• [Server maintenance] Fixed a number of errors that would spam the server logs.
  

• Slightly increased the BT-7 HE shell velocity (it was about ~10m/s slower than it should have been, according to sources).
  

[h3]Butovo[/h3]

• Changed blocking boundaries in setup phase to delay Soviet tanks at the first objective.
  
• Reworked tank progression (Soviets will have fewer tanks at the final village, while some other Soviet models like the KV-1E and S will unlock earlier in the game).
  
• Added the Panzer IIIN as an additional fire support option for the Germans.
  
• Increased respawn timers on most Soviet tanks by 20-30 seconds.
  
• Removed Soviet objective spawn from the final village.
  
• Reworked objective Danger Zone influences around the final village.
  

[h3]Klin 1941[/h3]

• Removed Axis ticket bleed from all objectives.
  
• Increased max active Panzer IIIJs from 2 to 3.
  
• Reduced respawn timers for Panzer IVF1 and BT7 tanks by 20-40 seconds.
  
• Reworked all objective Danger Zone influences.
  
• Reduced Axis and Allied tanker slots to match number of active tanks.
  

[h3]Kryuokovo[/h3]

• Changed round time to 20 minutes.
  
• Removed time gain awards from capturing objectives.
  
• Reduced simultaneously available Soviet tanks from 2 to 1.
  
• Reduced respawn timers on all Soviet tanks by 30 seconds.
  
• Changed team balance ratio to be even.
  
• Added additional cover and spawn protection to final Axis spawn.
  

[h3]St. Marie du Mont[/h3]

• Reworked NW, Eastern Road and Church objectives to unlock in a new order: Now when either road is taken, the Church will be unlocked and is grouped with them.
  
• Increased lockdown timers for the above objectives from 250 to 600 seconds.
  
• Reduced initial unlock timer for the Church to 60 seconds.
  
• Removed map-placed Axis HQ construction.
  
• Reworked all objective Danger Zone influences.
  
• Removed Allied ticket bleed from all objectives.
  
• Updated objective spawn locations to offer better cover.
  

See you on the battlefield,
Darklight Games

Welcome back! This update is small, but tightly packed with a number of notable bug fixes, including the fixing of a 15(!) year old bug that has eluded us...until now!

• Fixed a long-standing Red Orchestra bug (15+ years?) where projectiles would not spawn correctly when hipfiring while leaning in multiplayer mode.
  
• Fixed a bug where muting player's voice commands would not work.
  
• Fixed a bug where some constructions could be invulnerable to explosive damage if their origins were under the terrain.
  
• Fixed a bug where players would lose their session's kill count when disconnecting from the server.
  
• Fixed a bug where bipod simulations would not work in multiplayer.
  
• Fixed a bug where a version of the DP-27 would not have it's magazine spin during firing.
  
• Fixed a bug where resetting the game could cause the danger zone influences to be miscalculated.
  

• Increased the number of rounds in the belt of the M1919A6 and MG42 from 150 to 200.
  
• Sandbag constructions no longer automatically despawn if left unbuilt.
  
• Added a bipod turn sensitivity option to the control settings.
  
• The damage model of the HEAT projectiles of the StuH 42 and Sherman 105 have been brought to parity.
  
• The .50 cal now does less base damage to vehicles (i.e., you can no longer shoot a Panzer IV in the rear a handful of times and kill it).
  
• The PTRD has had it's base damage against vehicles reduced, but the chance to damage or destroy components has been increased.
  

[h2]Bremoy[/h2]

• Optimized terrain and deco layers, hopefully increasing performance slightly.
  
• Added small team balance ratio in favor of the Allies.
  
• Reworked all objective danger zone influences.
  
• Removed Allied ticket bleed from first objective.
  
• Reduced Panther max spawns from infinite to 3.
  
• Reduced Sherman MkII respawn timer from 220 seconds to 180.
  
• Increased Sherman Firefly max spawns from 2 to 3 and reduced respawn timer to 180 seconds.
  
• Increased Stuart spawns from 1 to 5 and reduced respawn timer to 200 seconds.
  
• Increased max AT guns of all types for Allies from 1 to 2 and reduced the respawn timer to 120 seconds.
  
• Added Wolverine SP (British M10) with 3 spawns to Allies.
  

[h2]Gran Advance[/h2]

• Infantry version of popular armored map.
  

[h2]Kriegstadt Push USA[/h2]

• Recreated the classic 29th style US faction version (for funsies).
  

[h2]Wacht am Rhein[/h2]

• Fixed bug where Axis would sometimes spawn under the terrain.
  
• Added a new objective.
  

As promised, we have some teaser shots to show from the upcoming Italy update! Our main focus now is finalizing the vehicle roster and polishing up the weapons, as well as implementing stationary machine-guns!

For now, here are some selected screenshots of some in-development items as well as a video showing off some of the new weapons being added!

We are looking forward to bringing this expansion to the game early next year.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]











See you on the battlefield,
Darklight Games

The hits just keep coming! We're back with another brand new map and 2 major weapon overhauls. Without further interruption, here is the change log!



[h2]Winchester 1897[/h2]

The Winchester shotgun has had a major facelift, with a new upgraded texture and completely new first and third person animations from our newest member of the development team, Enfield!



The Winchester started life as a custom asset made by the 29th Infantry Division, and we're excited to see it finally given a full makeover to make it feel powerful and polished.

[h2]Enfield No. 4[/h2]

The Enfield No. 4 has been given a full facelift, with a brand new higher quality texture and animations. With this, we have finally fully completed the modernization of the Commonwealth infantry weapons!





[h2]Additions[/h2]

[h3]Bremoy Advance[/h3]

Bremoy is a small town that saw fierce fighting during Operation Bluecoat, the Allied push further inland to exploit the success of Operation Cobra. Here, British Guards Armored Division and the 15th Scottish Infantry Division came head to head against the German 21st Panzer Division.



The rolling fields that surround the town make for dangerous manoeuvering, especially for infantry. Both sides will need to make good use of recon and armored units to turn the battle in their favor.

[h2]Changes[/h2]

[h3]Armored Iskra[/h3]

• Fixed an issue with the Axis initial spawn not deactivating after setup phase.
  

[h3]Bridgehead[/h3]

• Added Volkssturm rifleman role and reduced number of Heer riflemen to 6.
  
• Added ammo pouch for FG42 roles.
  
• Added G43 to German AT role.
  
• Removed ZF41 from German sniper role (marksman role has these instead).
  
• Reduced number of Panther spawns from 10 to 5.
  
• Fixed bug with Canadian Squad Leaders having duplicate binoculars.
  
• Fixed an inconsistency with some roles using the base RO Kar98k model.
  

[h3]Champs d'Agonie[/h3]

• Fixed corrupted map file.
  

[h3]Cheneux[/h3]

• Added additional cover to the map, particularly around the first objective.
  
• Added a 3 minute delay before Sd.Kfz. 10/5 halftracks unlock.
  
• Reduced Allied respawn time to 8 seconds on the first objective only.
  
• Reduced capture requirements for first objective from 5 players to 3.
  

[h3]Flakturm Tiergarten[/h3]

• Increased Axis ticket modifier by 2 (games were ended in draws too frequently).
  
• Fixed several floating static meshes.
  
• Fixed collision on plants inside of the University building.
  

[h3]Fury Advance:[/h3]

• Changed Manor objective to deactivate when captured by Allies.
  
• Changed Stuart to unlock when Manor is captured.
  
• Added delay to initial Tiger spawn.
  

[h3]German Village[/h3]

• Fixed incorrect rifle on Volkssturm AT loadouts.
  

[h3]Godolloi[/h3]

• Increased Allied and Axis tickets slightly.
  
• Reduced all objective capture speeds.
  
• Changed all objectives to have minimum player requirements to capture.
  
• Reworked some objective capture areas such as Western Roadblock.
  

[h3]Jurques Dusk[/h3]

• Rework of previous Jurques Day Two version with improved performance, new lighting and objectives.
  

[h3]Kriegstadt[/h3]

• Added a limited number of logistic trucks back onto the map.
  
• Added constructions limits.
  
• Removed tank traps which locked German tanks into one street for the Ministry and Bridge objective.
  
• Moved Axis supply cache so it is not as vulnerable.
  
• Moved Flemingstrasse Axis Objective spawn back so it was out of arty range.
  
• Removed howitzers for both teams.
  
• Fixed bug which made Germans unable to capture Offices objective.
  

[h3]Olkhovatka[/h3]

• Added some additional cover and detail near Soviet main spawn.
  
• Added a new building interior in the village.
  
• Added missing Combat Engineer role for Germans.
  
• Added PTRD and RPG grenade to the Russian AT role.
  
• Removed StuH 42, Pz III and earliest model of T-34 to simplify loadout.
  
• Increased Tiger respawn time and decreased availability.
  
• Reduced number of active tanks for the Germans from 5 to 3 and Russians from 4 to 2.
  
• Reduced German MG roles from 3 to 2.
  

[h3]Pointe du Hoc[/h3]

• Added additional cover along the road and in the fields around the MG Position and Barn objectives.
  
• Increased map time limit from 40 to 45 minutes.
  
• Reduced Axis respawn time modifier on the last two objectives from 50 to 30 seconds.
  
• Fixed a bug where some Axis spawns were facing the wrong direction.
  
• Fixed a bug were certain objectives could stay enabled when not intended.
  

[h3]Road to Isigny[/h3]

• Added Osttruppe rifleman role.
  
• Added construction limits.
  
• Added minimum player requirements to capture objectives.
  
• Fixed an issue where Axis could build AT guns behind artillery and minefield protection volumes.
  
• Reduced respawn timer of Marder III to 180 seconds from 400 seconds.
  
• Changed Pz IV Ausf. H to StuG III Ausf. G (352nd ID was equipped only with StuGs, Marders and Flakpanzers in reality).
  

[h3]Stoumont[/h3]

• Added German sniper role with G43 ZF4.
  

[h3]Targnon Advance[/h3]

• Added slight team balance skew in ratio of Attackers.
  
• Reduced player capture requirements for all objectives.
  

[h3]Ten Aard[/h3]

• Increased Axis ticket modifier slightly.
  
• Reworked final Axis spawn minefield to offer better protection.
  
• Fixed some collision issues with some window statics.
  

• Set the default resolution for new installs to 1600x900 instead of 1024x768.
  
• Squads can now be locked with a minimum of 2 members instead of 3.
  

That's it for this one, we'll see you in the next one when we'll have some teaser shots from the upcoming Italy update!

A reminder also that donations are always welcome on our Patreon! Community donations help us keep the game servers and our development infrastructure funded.

See you on the battlefield,
Darklight Games