Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45 News

In the previous release, we've started updating and expanding our STEN lineup, which included the reworked Mark II and the new Mark III. Today their younger and better looking sibling has arrived!

The Mark V is now available to our British airborne units, and you can find it on Pegasus Bridge, Oosterbeek, and various Operation Market Garden maps.

The new SMG is sporting a unique feature: a small detachable bayonet.




Old Red Orchestra veterans might remember the vast plains of this map from the days of old. In this update, Frühlingserwachen is ported to DH and joins the ranks of the Armored Server maps.






[h2]Artillery[/h2]

• Increased distance at which artillery splashes are considered too far off-target and not displayed on the map. The value has been bumped to 150 meters.
  
• Increased lifespan of fire requests to 5 minutes (previously 2.5).
  
• Artillery spotters can now see the hit markers for artillery splashes within range of their marked targets.

[h2]Constructions[/h2]

• Reduced artillery gun costs to 1500.
  
• Fixed the bug that allowed limited constructions (e.g guns) to be replenished past the maximum amount.
  
• Set the maximum amount of allowed artillery guns to 4 per team.

[h2]Weapons[/h2]

• Adjusted proportions on STEN magazine models.
  
• Updated textures on all STENs.

[h2]Characters[/h2]

• Fixed the bug that made character faces disappear on dead bodies with winter head-gear.

[h2]Vehicles[/h2]

• Reduced M7 Priest resupply delay to 10 seconds.

[h2]Maps[/h2]

[h3]Armored Freyneux Advance[/h3]

• Increased Allied tickets.
  
• Removed ticket bleed from Allies (map ends when all objectives are taken).
  
• Gave Allies a little more tank variety (Sherman Jumbo and 105).
  
• Set missing Win music.

[h3]Armored Krivoi Rog Clash[/h3]

• Fixed bugs related to objectives.
  
• Increased Soviet artillery amount.
  
• Added a radio to both team's main spawns.
  
• Set Soviet ISU-152 count by 1.

[h3]Hurtgenwald Advance[/h3]

• Reworked objectives and objective volumes.
  
• Reworked tank loadouts and made tanks unlock after the first 2 objectives are taken.
  
• Gave Allies an AT role to help clear Pillboxes and Pak guns at range.
  
• Increased Allied respawn speed.
  
• Increased Axis tickets slightly.
  
• Added spawn protection minefield to Allies.
  
• Added objective spawn for vehicles once Pak bunker is taken.

[h3]La Gleize Advance[/h3]

• Reworked no-arty and restriction volumes around Axis main to be less restrictive.

[h3]Pegasus Bridge Advance[/h3]

• Reduced Allied respawn timer.
  
• Increased Axis respawn timer at the bridge.
  
• Increased Allied team ratio slightly.
  
• Reduced Axis assault trooper role by 1.

[h3]Wanne Advance[/h3]

• Fixed anti-portals that could cause graphical issues near Allied main spawn.

[h3]Stoumont Advance[/h3]

• Made first objective not re-capturable.
  
• Removed wall along the road behind the Church.
  
• Replaced destroyed half-track static with Panther.
  
• Added AT gun limits.
  
• Disabled vehicle pool constructions.
  
• Reduced the amout of logistic trucks to 2 for both teams.
  
• Added a respawn penalty to Allies at the final objective.

[h3]Smolensk Advance[/h3]

• Fixed static radios.
  
• Added artillery strikes for Allies.
  
• Disabled AT gun constructions.
  
• Removed duplicate Axis Squad Leader role.
  
• Reduced setup phase timer.
  
• Other minor fixes.

[h3]Klin 1941 Advance[/h3]

• Added pre-placed AT guns into the bunkers on the final objective line.
  
• Implemented AT gun construction limits to reduce “gun spam”.
  
• Made the Pz.IV spawns unlimited, but with a slightly increased respawn timer.
  
• Increased tickets for both teams slightly.
  
• Increased ticket bleed for Soviets when both final objectives are taken.
  
• Added a small ticket bleed when a single one of the final objectives is taken in order to pressure Soviet team to counter-attack.
  
• Disabled collision on tiny rubble props in the trenches that causes players to bounce erratically.
  
• Disabled Karma collisions on static fences so that tanks can drive through them (a temporary change before proper destructible fences are put in place).
  
• Added artillery triggers to various static radios on the map.
  
• Added few destroyed vehicles on the approach to the final objective line to give Axis a bit of coverю

[h3]Pariserplatz Defence[/h3]

• Updated Axis spawn points.
  
• Changed respawn intervals for both teams.
  
• Adjusted ticket counts.
  
• Reduced Axis tank count.
  
• Reduced the maximum number of AT guns for Axis.

[h3]Arnhem Bridge Push[/h3]

• Reduced map brightness.
  
• Fixed bug where vehicles would fly at last objective.

[h3]Armored Gran Advance[/h3]

• Fixed bug that made Axis logistics non-functional.
  
• Reduction of logistic trucks to 2.
  
• Deactivated logistics until Hill objective is taken.
  
• Fixed several weird holes on the map at last cap.

[h3]Armored Hill 112 Advance[/h3]

• Added pre-placed AT guns.
  
• Added objective deactivation on the first 2 caps.

[h3]Rederitz Advance[/h3]

• Fixed collisions in trenches.
  
• Fixed the bug where some of the rocks had no collisions.

See you on the battlefield,
Darklight Games

At long last, the artillery overhaul is ready! The new system has been designed from the ground up to be significantly easier and much more enjoyable to use!

The primary changes are:

• All squad leaders are now capable of marking artillery targets
  
• Artillery pieces now have spotting scopes and range tables
  
• Artillery targets now display the range of the targets
  
• Kill feed messages are now sent to artillery operators for artillery kills
  
• The Artillery Observer role has been removed

Squad leaders now have a more robust and intuitive spotting menu when spotting from binoculars. There is also now a 3D widget to pinpoint the target location when placing markers. No more calling in artillery on the tree right in front of you!



One of the primary issues with the previous system was that no one wanted to take the Artillery Observer role because it was, admittedly, kind of lame. This often left mortar operators with no targets at all, firing blindly into the distance. With all squad leaders being capable of calling for targets, artillery gunners will have more opportunities for getting juicy targets.




Each artillery piece (mortars, pack howitzers et. al.) now have spotting scopes for making more accurate fire.






Long asked for, all artillery pieces now have a calibrated range table, which means no more trial-and-error! All you will have to do is some quick mental math to get your artillery landing on target (well, mostly on target).



Developer’s Note: In play-testing, artillery fire was much more accurate and responsive than before, and artillery operators had a more enjoyable time playing due to the improved interface, increased collaboration with teammates, and feedback from kills. We will be closely monitoring how these changes shift the meta, and will make changes as necessary to make sure the artillery is not overpowered or oppressive






To complement the new artillery overhaul, this update also sees the addition of three new “pack” howitzers.

• 75mm Pack Howitzer M1
  
• 76mm regimental gun M1927
  
• 7.5 cm leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18

These howitzers are light infantry artillery, excelling at long-range, accurate fire with a relatively low flight time. However, unlike mortars, their shallow arc-of-fire makes requires favorable terrain and wide, unobstructed fields of fire in order to be effective, making it more difficult to find an ideal firing position.

We are excited to see how soldiers will put these new battle implements to good use!




Baby, it’s cold outside! Our poor soldiers have been freezing their digits and ears off for well over a decade. Finally, our boys have a just received a proper shipment of stylish hand and head-wear to stave off frostbite in colder climates.








The Sten model and animations have been completely overhauled, continuing our long journey to improving the look and feel of our entire arsenal. As an added bonus, there are now two additional Sten variants, the Canadian Sten and the Sten Mk III.

In addition, the rate of fire has been slightly increased to match it’s real-life counterpart, as well making it easier to handle its weapon sway.






[h2]Gameplay[/h2]

• Squad leaders can now instantly spawn on rally points that have one spawn remaining.
  
• Command voice lines are now available to all squad leaders (previously only available to Sergeant roles).
  
• Renamed the surrender feature to “Retreat” so players won’t have to make the hard choice between pride and common sense. There’s no shame in a tactical retreat!

[h2]Visual Effects[/h2]

• New impact effects for .50 caliber and PTRD bullets.

[h2]Characters[/h2]

• Added volumetric epaulets for soviet and polish models
  
• Updated Brodie helmet with improved visuals and added a snowy variant.
  
• Fixed misaligned wrists on character animations.
  
• Fixed 3rd person shovel animations.

[h2]Vehicles[/h2]

• Tiger Tank turret font armor has been reduced to a more accurate value, allowing it to be penetrated by the heavy armor piecing rounds of late-war Allied armor.

[h2]Weapons[/h2]

[h3]M3 Grease Gun[/h3]

• Reduced reverb on firing sound effect.
  
• Miscellaneous animation fixes.

[h3]M1 Garand[/h3]

• Reduced sight bobbing in the idle iron-sighted animation.

[h3]RPG-43[/h3]

• Added mini-parachute model.
  
• Miscellaneous sound and animation fixes.

[h3]Geballte Ladung[/h3]

• Reduced damage radius from 22 meters to 18 meters.

[h3]Panzerfaust[/h3]

• The Panzerfaust may no longer be fired from the hip.

[h2]Maps[/h2]

[h3]Rederitz[/h3]

• Added a trench network stretching across the entire right side of the map.
  
• Added more cover all around the map.
  
• Removed armored vehicles.
  
• Added a physical minefield on the right side of the first objective.

[h3]Bridgehead[/h3]

• Added objective spawns.
  
• Removed all but one of the pre-placed Platoon HQ constructions.
  
• Limited anti-air and anti-tank gun constructions.
  
• Limited active tanks counts and crewman.
  
• Removed several Axis heavy tanks and reduced armor counts for both teams.
  
• Reduced Allied player count bias from 60% to 55%.
  
• Reduced view distance.
  
• Reduced supply amount.
  
• Reduced reinforcements for both teams.
  
• Objectives no longer give reinforcement rewards
  
• Objectives are no longer able to to be recaptured, and will no longer neutralize first.
  
• Objectives take longer to capture.
  
• Level ends with Allied victory if last objective is taken.
  
• Removed the random artillery on the last objective.

[h3]Barashka[/h3]

• Merged Soviet anti-tank and sapper roles.
  
• Reduced Soviet assault roles from 8 to 6.

[h3]Cholm[/h3]

• Removed German armored vehicles.
  
• Added German Mortar Operator role.
  
• Added German Radioman role.
  
• Reduce German spawn time by 5 seconds.
  
• Reduced Soviet T-34 and BT7 reinforcements.
  
• Added a single Soviet KV-1.

[h3]Grey Gods of War[/h3]

• Added Axis spawn protection.

[h3]Kryukovo[/h3]

• Added Axis main spawn protection.

[h3]Vossenack[/h3]

• Increased fog distance.

[h3]Danzig[/h3]

• Reduced round time to 14 minutes.

[h3]Dom Pavlova[/h3]

• Reduced Soviet Machine-gunner rules from 3 to 1.

[h3]Lyes Krovy[/h3]

• Removed Axis respawn bonus.
  
• Shifted team ratio in favor of the Germans.

[h3]Kreigstadt[/h3]

• Removed German logistics trucks.
  
• Added German Panzer IV. Ausf. J.

[h3]Pariserplatz[/h3]

• Plugged the infamous "noob hole" with a dead Tiger — a memorial to all players that got stuck there.
  
• Fixed some Soviet roles being the early-war type.
  
• Merged Soviet anti-tank and sapper roles.
  
• Added Soviet SU-76 and lend-lease Sherman M4A2(76)W.
  
• Removed ISU-152.
  
• Reduced reinforcements and respawn times for a variety of other armored vehicles.

[h3]Prussia[/h3]

• Reduced German spawn time.

[h3]Riga Docks[/h3]

• Added Axis main spawn protection.

[h3]Salaca River[/h3]

• Added Soviet “amoeba” camouflage sniper role.

[h3]Targnon[/h3]

• Moved final Allied spawn to a safer area to prevent spawn-killing.

[h3]La Gleize[/h3]

• Fixed the bug where one of active objectives ended up in a minefield area.

[h3]Gun Assault[/h3]

• Fixed minefields
  
• Reduced team ratio for Allies.
  
• Opened up one of the hedges for an easier access from Axis main spawn to the AT Gun objective.
  
• Fixed spectator cameras.

[h3]Jurques[/h3]

• Added more trenches.
  
• Added a cellar in one of the houses at the last objective.
  
• Various minor bug fixes.

See you on the battlefield,
Darklight Games

Updating levels for today's event.

# Maps

## Arnhem Bridge Push (credit to Mad Death Hound)
- Added x2 6pdr AT guns in the same spots they were in the real battle.
- Reworked lighting and skybox to make the map sunny/day time.
- Increased fog distance.
- Changed fog colour and fixed bugs with the fog
- Added more detail to the "bridge-end" house.
- Re-named all the objectives.
- Added more destroyed vehicles to the bridge.
- Added smoke and fire actors on ruined vehicles.
- Added more boats.

## Ginkel Heath Push
- Reworked lighting and fog.
- Added 2 new barn buildings (credit to 20mmNormandy/Pvt Winter for the long barn).
- Added some miscellaneous static details to the map.
- Added some new fire and smoke emitters.
- Added several Flakvierlings and a single Flakwagon.
- Reworked roles for both teams.

## Oosterbeek Advance:
- Swapped sides: Allies are now defending.
- Removed tanks from the Allied team.
- Reworked objectives and added 1 new objective.
- Re-balanced roles.
- Added spawn protection minefields to both teams.

GitHub

# Maps

## Arnhem Bridge Push
- Lighting fixes.
- Disabled bloom.
- Fixed missing spectator camera.

## Ginkel Heath Push
- Lighting fixes.

GitHub

Hello, everyone!

The new update is looming on the horizon. This Saturday @ 7 PM UTC we'll be running a final beta to get a feel for how the new artillery system will fare in a live game.

The beta test will feature live rounds on Road to Isigny and Stoumont where squad leaders and artillery-men will have to leverage the new indirect fire system to get the upper hand. Mortars and new constructible artillery guns (M116 Pack Howitzer and LeIG18) will be at your disposal.

Don't miss out on the action!



[h2]How to participate in the beta testing?[/h2]

1. Right-click on Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45 in your Steam Library.
   
2. Select Properties.
   
3. Under the Betas tab pick `prerelease` from the drop-down menu.
   
4. Launch the game and join the beta server.

After the event, don't forget to switch back to the normal version. You can do this by selecting `None`.

Make sure to join us on Discord to share your thoughts about the upcoming features and report any bugs you find in the beta release. We appreciate your feedback!

See you on the testing grounds,
Darklight Games

# Visual Effects
- [Bullet impacts] Optimization pass.
- [Bullet impacts] Updated sprites for metal impacts.
- [Bullet impacts] Redone wood and cloth impacts.

# Maps
## Kriegstadt Advance
- [Bugs] Fixed the bug that prevented loading the map (removed bad reference to a missing package in a blocking volume).
- [Bugs] Fixed Axis objective spawn hints on the Bank objective.

## Jurques Advance
- [Bugs] Fixed Axis minefields to disable artillery protection south of the town.

## Gun Assault Push 
- [Level] Added a new objective ("Trenches").
- [Gameplay] Minor balance fixes.
- [Bugs] Fixed loading screen.

## Leningrad Push
- [Gameplay] Changed spawns so they push defenders back when objectives are captured and not on cleared. 
- [Gameplay] Changes to vehicle roster to fix bottleneck near Axis spawn: 
  * T-34 is active initially.
  * KVs activates after the first objective.
  * Heavy KV activates after the second objective.

GitHub