Tank Squad News

[h2]Dear Tankers![/h2]

Welcome to our 77th Development Status.

[h2]Tutorial work progress[/h2]
This should be here on premiere - but we did not manage to finish it on time. Right now we’re working on it for two weeks and still it needs more cooking.

As the game progresses in development we might revamp the tutorial and it’s content or add new one, but for now the tutorial is going to be divided into 3 separate parts:

• Battle Basics
  
• Multi Crew handling
  
• Repair Section
  

The topics we cover in the tutorial are mostly taken from your questions and suggestions - how to spawn in your own squad, how to change camera controls or aiming controls etc.

There won’t be a next patch without finishing this part of the game. In future, when we add, for example, loader gameplay we will need to add this new part to multi crew tutorial. Or a new tutorial part totally, when we extend commanding our forces through formations, aggressiveness control, waypoints, control through map etc.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Game optimization stages[/h2]

We divide the optimization into a few stages - from issues that can be fixed very fast and have big impact to total overhauls of certain parts of the game.

[h3]Stage 1[/h3]
Our current Stage 1 of optimization is focused around:

• clearing the stutter when the units spawn in or when the game spawns explosions. We have already noticed big and unnecessary loading of assets when player is already spawned and has control over his camera
  
• reducing memory usage (players with lower VRAM report very big issues because of this)
  

[h3]Examples[/h3]

1. First infantrymen that had unique weapons or inventory loaded all of the textures, materials and animations when he was spawned onto map - we have added pooling system for inventory as well as few other fixes and this big stutter is gone
   
2. First explosion on any terrain caused big calculations on that terrain to instantiate a copy of terrain data to work on - this also was a big stutter
   
3. Destruction of few wooden houses caused the game to recalculate navmesh - which wasn’t really necessary
   
4. Sandbags, wooden fences, debris - all of this has been loaded by the main thread, synchronously - also caused stutters when a big explosion happened near a trench or fortified position. (we still need to add some limiter to how many physical objects we allow at the same time. We have noticed even after this fix that having hundreds of physical wooden planks and sandbags that fly around is bad. We have an idea how to replace it or optimize it but that must wait for next stage of optimization)
   
5. Tanks when spawning in used very unoptimized method that searched around the scene for various stuff - causing very big stutter upon spawning
   
6. Tank crewmen spawned with their equipment with them, which also prolonged the spawning process - we switched to giving them the inventory when they left the tank.
   
7. When player spawned in his infantry or AI tank squad all of them spawned in the same frame, causing massive lag - now it’s divided into few seconds per one tank and one second per soldier
   

There is more, and more to come - we are building the game almost every day and check if - after spawning in - the game stutters at any moment. Then we deal with the issue and test it again and again. The main goal is to get rid of what we can without very big changes - but we already see that we are reaching a point where only changing to the newest multiplayer system can help - as some of the optimization issues come from the core of that system which we are not able to change at all. From what we understand, the new version has some of this solved - but changing to that version is a total overhaul that can take a few weeks at least.



[h2]When we can expect new patch 1.1.2?[/h2]
Besides tutorial and optimization Stage 1:

• big changes to how game handles knockout of a vehicle
  
  • should be harder to kill the player and easier to kill enemy AI
    
  • enemy AI now correctly decreases their morale that can lead to panic and evacuation of the tank
    
  • if tank wants to retreat and still can move and has smoke grenades it’s going to launch it
    
• AI shooting dispersion fix - we found out that AI always hit where they wanted to, our dispersion logic was not working and in the end the game allowed them to have 100% accuracy
  
• player vehicle camera and vehicle movement issues - added interpolation and a way to overcome the physics issues when interpolation is on
  

First, we need to finalise the tutorials, and then we can plan the release of the next patch.

Thank you and have a good weekend!
DeGenerals

[h2]Dear Tankers and Mechanics![/h2]

[h3]Sitrep[/h3]
Welcome to the newest game update! Another portion of game improvements, bug fixing and general QoL improvement after yesterday big patch 1.1.0.

[h3]Changelog 1.1.1[/h3]
Below is the list of changes being made:

Added:

• 
  

Fixed:

• Fixed droped weapons not being despawned
  
• Weapons wrong ammunition amount for first magazine
  
• Refreshing weapon ammo for current weapon ui
  
• Fixed weapons reloading time
  
• PPSHa and Nagant Pistol vfxs adjustment
  
• PPSHa recoil changes
  
• Keyboard aiming not working properly with vehicle driving
  
• Soviet repair scene - fixed animation of a guards
  
• Fixed C1M5 outro
  

Modified:

• Changed game version from 1.1.0 to 1.1.1
  

[h2]Known issues:[/h2]

• Chinese localization is under heavy improvements currently
  
• missing tutorial - bigger subject
  
• Currently, everything is sitting on one processor core, which means that the rest of the resources, e.g. the GPU is waiting and only for example 20% of the graphics card can be in use. So there is a lot of potential to free up, which will result in an increase in FPS, better textures because more can be allocated, etc. So in basic words - no matter what GPU you have, the better CPU the better game will have performance - This is huge thing that we need to address in upcoming updates
  
• of course there is more...
  

Thank you for your support, we are working. See you next time!
DeGenerals

[h2]Dear Tankers and Mechanics![/h2]

[h3]Situation report[/h3]
As we announced earlier, the day has come for the release of a major update that adds another campaign — mini campaigns of only five missions, the first of which is Soviet. With the release of this patch, we have taken a significant step forward.





[h3]The Soviet mini campaign is set in 1943[/h3]
The new Soviet campaign consists of five battle missions in which we will play with the armoured forces of the Red Army. The campaign is set in a similar period to the first German campaign, around July 1943.

Mission names:

1. C2M1 - Steel Rain
   
2. C2M2 - Airport Defence
   
3. C2M3 - Mud Panthers
   
4. C2M4 - Railroad Assault
   
5. C2M5 - Last Bastion
   

As for missions, tactics and how to play: What you have played so far as the Germans does not work. There are no heavy tanks here that can withstand everything. Use smoke a lot and direct off map support. Be prepared for it to be harder because you will be more mobile.

[h3]Roadmap[/h3]


We have almost entirely completed Stage 1 of the roadmap. We have added the option of playing as a second faction in the game, which opens up the possibility of adding more sides to the conflict. We have added a new Soviet campaign comprising a total of five missions. We have also added a Soviet repair station. The Germans now have additional anti-aircraft (AA) and anti-tank (AT) guns (Nebelwerfer 41, Pak 38 and Flakvierling 38) as static weapons, providing further targets during missions.



Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to add the KW-I tank with a 75 Kwk 40 L/48 gun, which was taken over by the Germans. We were unable to finish the repair and battle tutorials in time — our ambitious plans exceeded the time available to us. We wanted to release the tutorial before this update, but unfortunately this will have to wait. We apologise for the delay, but you will have to wait until we have completed all the tasks related to the tutorial. Among other things, we need to record lines of dialogue and adequately test these scenarios.
Steam Workshop/Modding

In addition to the tutorials, adding modding support is also on the agenda. In general, we will implement STAGE 2 and STAGE 3.

[h3]General game improvements[/h3]
Over the past few weeks, we have also been struggling with the design and texture consumption/RAM requirements. We have managed to reduce the number of loaded textures, which will contribute to lower RAM consumption. The topic of multithreading and supporting the use of more CPU cores is also on the agenda. As we mentioned, when we start this, we will unthread the game for at least a few months.

[h3]When next update?[/h3]
Most likely tomorrow. Also.

Since we are testing / reporting bugs / fixing them / making new bugs as well and making new builds this cycle is repeated few times a day we decide to launch a new beta / branch called "unstable" here on Steam.

If you switch on Steam over from default from unstable branch you will be able to play newest builds before they will be published on default branch / announce here on Steam. If you are willing to try new builds feel free to switch over it or keep your game on default branch.

[h3]Steam Summer Sale[/h3]
To celebrate the sale on Steam, our game will be with a -10% discount.



[h3]Changelog 1.1.0[/h3]
Below is the list of changes being made:

Added:

• Crane icon indicator on repair stations
  
• KV-1S - new tank
  
• Nebelwerfer 41
  
• 5 cm Pak 38 (AT)
  
• 2 cm Flakvierling 38 (A)
  
• Soviet Kursk 1943 (Mini campaign) 5 missions
  
• Possibility to change faction colors from permanent to configured color per faction for example Red Army as always Red
  

Fixed:

• Keybinding vehicle horizontal movement inputs
  
• Some enemy tanks were spawning at each other on SM5 skirmish mission
  
• Chinese fonts
  
• P_UI_Settings tab label size
  
• Teamwork achievement now should work
  
• In vehicle UI reticle shaking
  
• Camera framerate when using TP vehicle camera
  
• Panther A aiming through gunner sight will no longer use roof mg as prediction for crosshairs
  
• Infantry squads that were spawned during mission always died as a whole even if only one soldier died - not it's fixed
  
• Exchange in Quartermaster now works
  
• Side mission now resets correctly the wreck limit
  
• When using customization manager in repair section the vehicle we're working on should correctly display the decals
  
• Fixing spalling issues
  
• Fixed Campaign C1 and C2 outro display - game should now launch outro after compliting last mission before mission summary/voting
  

Modified:

• Changed game version to 1.1.0
  
• Removed time fuse for air bombs
  
• Increased power of M13 Katyusha rocket
  
• Offmap Support indicator icons for artillery, airstrike, rocktes, mortars and smoke
  
• Optimized spawning few destroyable objects around scene, in progress
  
• Optimized explosions spawning in impacts and smoke for first time during game
  
• Bomb penetration values and ranges have been increased
  
• Gear for soviet and german infantry, containing more frag grenades and AT grenades
  
• German campaign now has more assault infantry instead of static mg-42 or mg-34 based infantry squads
  
• Updated physics on vehicles which makes their movement smoother for camera
  
• KV-1 wheels textures color tint
  
• Texture Sizes reduction
  
• Steam Branch config - added support for "unstable" branch on Steam
  

[h2]Known issues:[/h2]

• Chinese localization is under heavy improvements currently
  
• missing tutorial - bigger subject
  
• Currently, everything is sitting on one processor core, which means that the rest of the resources, e.g. the GPU is waiting and only for example 20% of the graphics card can be in use. So there is a lot of potential to free up, which will result in an increase in FPS, better textures because more can be allocated, etc. So in basic words - no matter what GPU you have, the better CPU the better game will have performance - This is huge thing that we need to address in upcoming updates
  
• of course there is more...
  

Thank you for your support, we are working. See you next time!
DeGenerals

[h2]Dear Tankers and Mechanics![/h2]

Welcome to our 76th Development Status.

[h2]A few words from us[/h2]

It's been just over a month since we released our game. We would like to thank you very much for your support. We appreciate your activity and suggestions, and the fact that you have placed so much trust in us. I am working hard to deliver what we promised in the published roadmap for May and June. There is still a lot ahead of us, including many ideas for campaigns, vehicles and typical 'quality of life improvements', which we are gradually implementing with each patch. We hope that we can continue to develop the game with you

[h3]Current situation[/h3]

Last week, we released one patch (version 1.0.12) and two hotfixes. We have not been able to release a major patch on fridays as we have done so far, due to the fact that we are preparing new content and improving what we find as new things appear when we add them. Additionally, we are constantly trying to optimise the game, including reducing RAM consumption by cleaning up the project, which carries the risk of unintentionally breaking something.

[h3]When release of Soviet mini campaign and new content?[/h3]



We plan to release a major patch, version 1.1.0, at the start of the Summer Sale on Steam on 26 June. As we did when the game was released, we will also be live streaming. As last time, we will be available to react and fix any issues that arise.

[h3]New content we are working on[/h3]

KV-1S



In addition to the missions, we have added a new KV-1S tank to the new campaign, and we are also trying to make a command version of this tank so that when you play the Soviets you can also have a mobile spawn point.



We have added a few visual elements to the KV-1S to make this tank slightly different from the KV-1, such as containers, toolboxes, barrels and ropes. Please note that these elements can fall off while driving and be reinstalled at the repair stage.









Opel Blitz



We have also been working on adding an Opel Blitz-type running truck. This truck will be used as a target to be destroyed in the first mission of the Soviet mini-campaign. As for driving capability, this will be possible. One suggestion is the possibility of some form of force pool editing for the selected campaign. We think this would be a great addition to the game. This would make it possible to freely configure and build force pool, including squads with specific unit vehicles. It will also open up the possibility of adding for example a Ferdinand to the game so that he can be played in another campaign where he was not originally available, if anyone wants to do so.

As a new feature, we have added selectable smoke shells when playing with Soviet tanks. Without the smoke screen, it is much harder to play against the Germans. We have also added the ability to call in air strikes with a smoke screen for both Germans and Soviets. Currently, smoke shells are only available for the Soviets; the Germans have smoke grenade launchers installed.

As for the KW-I with a 75 mm KwK 40 L/48 gun as a captured version by the Germans. The subject has not yet moved. It is simply waiting in line for its turn.

[h3]Ballistics Examination Mode[/h3]



We are working on a new tool for the game - a ballistics testing mode that would be accessible from the main menu. After many reports of erroneous armor values or strange situations in which the game does or does not allow armor to penetrate, such a tool could help visualize our current system and its shortcomings.

[h3]Tutorial - situation report[/h3]

The tutorial is still in production, we already have a design of what and when to show to teach the player the basics of the game. The whole thing is unfortunately delayed due to the need to fix current bugs and fixes that are more important.

[h3]So, whats up for today?[/h3]
In summary, today's update involves fixing bugs resulting from previous patches and implementing player suggestions. The fast pace of development has resulted in a lot of bugs and a lack of time for thorough testing and playtesting.

[h2]Changelog 1.0.13[/h2]
Below is the list of changes being made:

Added:

• Giving orders is possible when in mid peek
  
• VO for APCR, Smoke and HEAT rounds
  
• Smoke Screen offmap support
  

Fixed:

• StuG loader peeking
  
• Smoother vehicle movement when rotating camera toward same direction + smoother reticles/crosshairs movement
  
• Not spawning all vehicles when spawning in squad
  
• Church and big wooden houses now correctly collapse upon hit
  
• Infantry and Vehicles spawned by orders menu not being visible properly
  
• Order markers not removing after squad death
  
• Game freeze on timeout
  
• Client calling artillery now correctly lowers the offmap count for himself
  
• Custom settings correctly copy settings of unapplied presets
  
• Sound for engines etc for player when peeking, using binocs and using mg on roof is now correct
  
• Buying wrecks limit now is correctly synchronized so no more negative values can happen
  
• Acacia tree on various terreins should not be correctly destructible
  
• C1M9 navmesh fixes
  
• Added navmesh obstacle to rocks and bridges on SM4 (Nechaevka mission)
  
• SM3 AI navmesh should now allow better behaviour for tank AI squads
  
• Pak40 can now correctly rotate to shoot
  
• Offmap smoke support now correctly generates ai block vision
  
• Refreshing current gear, when changing throttle mode
  
• stucking during loading screen when playing online
  
• Vehicle tpp camera behaviour fixes
  
• Pak40 not shooting at enemies
  
• vehicle physic performance tweaks
  
• Fixed slow drving while peeking out or entering AI vehicle
  
• Game should now correctly show the track and wheels state right upon breaking them
  

Modifed:

• Changed game version from 1.0.12.2 to 1.0.13
  
• Recycling any module recycles whole vehicle
  
• Single Player session won't have vote time that counts down when waiting for player decision
  

[h2]Known issues:[/h2]

• for those who played demo version before: black/grey screen (temp fix is to remove local files from C:\Users\XXXX\AppData\LocalLow\DeGenerals\TankSquad and launch the game to generate fresh files)
  
• Currently, everything is sitting on one processor core, which means that the rest of the resources, e.g. the GPU is waiting and only for example 20% of the graphics card can be in use. So there is a lot of potential to free up, which will result in an increase in FPS, better textures because more can be allocated, etc. So in basic words - no matter what GPU you have, the better CPU the better game will have performance - This is huge thing that we need to address in upcoming updates
  
• of course there is more...
  

Thank you and have a good weekend!
DeGenerals

[h2]Dear Tankers and Mechanics![/h2]

[h3]Sitrep[/h3]
Welcome to the twelfth update of the game! Another portion of game improvements, bug fixing and general QoL improvement.

EDIT2:
We again had to rebuild the game as there was a null reference exception thrown when player was on repair scene
[h3]Hotfix Changelog 1.0.12.2[/h3]
Fixed:

• Sound and shooting bugs with character weapons
  
• Shooting sfx still playing while reloading
  
• wrong animations with retreating/surrendering and suppresion fire
  
• Achievement for TextBook victory has been reset and correctly assigned a condition that checks if the battle was a combat mission (not proving grounds for example)
  
• Game will no longer save the game when launching proving grounds scene
  

EDIT1:
We had to immidiately rebuild the game as PzIIIM could not be spawned, adding it here
[h3]Hotfix Changelog 1.0.12.1[/h3]
Fixed:

• Pz III M ability to spawn
  
• Panther driver being able to peek
  
• Issues related to MP40 and Luger
  

[h3]Changelog 1.0.12[/h3]
Below is the list of changes being made:

Added:

• Angle of attack information about damage in kill-cam and in wreck damage browser
  

Fixed:

• Panzer IV H frontal armor mesh/shape to correctly cover a 20mm slope for 80mm frontal armor (the 20mm was in front of 80mm and caused troubles)
  
• Panther A frontal gearbox/inset armor split from side armor - it was only 62mm and upon penetration it caused the tank to be knocked out when in reality it didnt really do much
  
• Aim prediction should now be better at predicting shots that actually deal damage to target
  
• Vehicle parts pushing entire vehicle after fell off
  
• Game won't create 2 save files every time it needs to save
  
• Game now saves when battle ends in a win, immidiately when the battle summary menu appears (it doesnt wait for returning to repair section)
  
• HE explosions now correctly treat armors
  
• Enforce difficulty option now changes the interactability of other difficulty buttons in session creation menu
  
• Choosing custom difficulty settings copies current difficulty preset options
  
• Achievements to kill enemy units no longer work if you kill allied units
  
• When battle finishes and the animation of battle summary starts the killcam UI will no longer be visible (happened when you died after battle has been won)
  
• Session Creation UI now correctly copies all difficulty settings
  
• Buy Wreck button interactable state is now correctly reset upon starting new battle or opening the menu again (it sometimes just did not reappear)
  
• Not being able to Refill/Rearm while peeking out of vehicle
  
• Being able to peek out from commander slot in KV1
  
• Ribbentropp platoon battle area fix
  
• StuG III G had painted balkenkreuz on textures that couldn't be changed in customization
  
• T-34/76 on arcade vehicle drive data had wrong values
  

Modified:

• PzBfWg VI E unit decal moved to rear of the tank (front track was covering visibility)
  
• Battle Summary mission voting time moved up to not cover a voting counter
  
• Spalling from penetration, APHE explosions and HEAT jet generation are now postponed untill the game checks that projectile has hit an interior compartment of the tank. Without this the game ballistics system caused issues of destroying tanks without penetrating the main armor
  
• Energy from explosions required to detach non-essential parts is now lower
  
• Game should now make a better choice when displaying the armor that was the main reason of penetration or damage in a tank (both in kill-cam and in wreck damage browser)
  

[h2]Known issues:[/h2]

• Chinese localization is under heavy improvements currently
  
• missing tutorial - bigger subject
  
• Currently, everything is sitting on one processor core, which means that the rest of the resources, e.g. the GPU is waiting and only for example 20% of the graphics card can be in use. So there is a lot of potential to free up, which will result in an increase in FPS, better textures because more can be allocated, etc. So in basic words - no matter what GPU you have, the better CPU the better game will have performance - This is huge thing that we need to address in upcoming updates
  
• of course there is more...
  

Thank you for your support, we are working. See you next time!
DeGenerals