Development Status #81

[h2]Dear Tankers![/h2]
Welcome to our 81th Development Status.

[h3]German captured KV-1B 756(r) work in progress[/h3]

Work has begun on adding the German-captured KV-1 tank to the game. First, we gathered references and familiarised ourselves with documentation on the different versions of the KV-1 tank. First and foremost, we would like to thank the members of our community, including players RideR2 and murkz, for their help in obtaining materials and sharing their knowledge.

German modifications
The Germans based their conversions on captured tanks that were manufactured in 1942. These tanks featured additional reinforcements on the front armour plate. The German changes were minimal. Most captured KV-1s retained the original Soviet radios and equipment. However, German radios and tool sets were occasionally issued.

So, what we are doing
As the KV-1 with the ZiS-5 turret and gun was also accepted into service, it will be labelled as PzKpfw KV-1B 755(r) in the game. For this purpose, we are creating a modified hull with additional accessories and tools, to visually distinguish it from the standard KV-1 version available to the Soviets in the game.

Additionally, we will create a new cast turret. We have not yet made a decision on this. This is because the Germans introduced certain 'cosmetic modifications' to these turrets and also they replaced the main armament with a 7.5 cm KwK 40 gun. This version of the tank will be marked in the game as PzKpfw KV-1B 756(r). We have not yet decided whether the original cast turret will also appear in the game and be available to the Soviets. Time will tell, but if we manage to create it, it will probably be included so in the game we could have:

KV-1 (ZiS-5 gun)
KV-1 with cast turret (ZiS-5 gun)
PzKpfw KV-1B 755(r) (ZiS-5 gun)
PzKpfw KV-1B 756(r) (7.5 cm KwK 40 gun)

Currently, additional elements and accessories for the German version of the hull are being refined. The turret is next in line to be created. More info coming soon.

[h3]Ballistics improvements, ricochets, performance[/h3]
We have discovered that PTRD rifleman did not shoot at all and after fixing that issue we have also improved behaviour for his Target seeking procedure. He prefers shooting at vehicle visors (and later we’ll add shooting at tank tracks or wheels or lower side armor if visible). His shot will also degrade the side skirts if hit multiple times - until they detach.

With ballistics we have found more issues, especially with the 0 mm UI information about penetration and ricochets incorrect calculations. All of this led to misunderstandings and incorrect shot results.

We have disabled also the overmatch math which was causing no-ricochets in some situations that should cause it. For example a zis-5 cannon shot on the roof of a PzKpfw VI H turret at 87 angle resulted in penetration instead of ricochet.

Another issue we found was that enemy AI (and especially on map arty) did not lose their zero-in modifier when they lost sight of enemy or the enemy moved to a new position. This caused increasing difficulty during battle that resulted in great losses on missions like C1M2 (Luchki Airfield) or C1M5 (Steppes) where arty, once we were spotted, kept pounding us until we’re dead - no matter if anybody saw us or not.

In new campaign this is going to change, but more on that in future

What awaits with ballistics:

HE rework - the 150/152 mm howitzer shots or air bombs need to be more deadly when directly hitting tanks.
Moving infantry weapon ballistics to multi-threaded code that we can schedule to later calculations and receive the results later, not in the same frame. This would save lot of performance when big battle starts and the infantry starts to shoot SMGs or MGs
Moving explosion collision detection to multi-threaded code, again to schedule and get results later, not in the same frame. When multiple big explosions happen due to artillery this causes lag that can be lowered (or non existent, who knows)

[h3]Ponyri campaign progress[/h3]
We have started to playtest the Ponyri campaign, for now on scenario missions (old style, as previous campaigns) and not yet the procedural mission that we plan to add. At this point, we already have several test missions along with a blockout version of the village of Ponyri.

The biggest change is the distance of engagements. On such distances our TPP camera or Commander camera just doesn't really work versus our current AI. AI spots us immediately and even after our fixes to their dispersion/AI they hit us after 3-4 shots from 1.5-2 km.

Such distances also really make the Command tanks a golden unit. Ability to spawn closer to the enemy (remember, Command tanks allow you to select them as spawner location) just saves lots of time.

Using binoculars becomes essential here, and destroying targets at such long distances also requires some skill. We want to provide a lot of new mechanics so that players don't get bored driving for several kilometers – we plan to increase the number of command tanks, enable battle stations to move, and manage level design infantry in a simple way during the scenario.

We also have an idea to allow players to be able to convert any tank to Command tank in a repair station - for resources.

Another concept is to allow for some teleportation if the current objective is won and we’re very far from it - example is that we’re in a tank 1.5km from some conquer objective, driving towards it after getting killed while our friends had survived and are capturing that point already.

As you can see we already implemented a simplified version of SU-152 (place holder) that will be taking an important role during missions. Ballistics are working correctly on these distances, so the main issue is AI spotting. This just has to be improved for the new campaign.

[h3]AI improvements[/h3]
We have finally started working on AI, at this moment focusing on their pathfinding and behaviour in formations.

the tanks, especially allied, should no longer just ram each other while trying to reach an objective - on our old maps this is hard to achieve as the distances and spacing is very small (in new campaign this must be addressed, later on that in future dev status)
infantry and tanks moving out of our way
AI will do YMCA dance

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Terrain quality improvements[/h3]
We started a big task that required us to break the game apart to replace some of the textures/materials we used for new ones - this is connected to your feedback about blurry graphics and here we are:

[h3]Known issues[/h3]
Critical bug during soviet campaign
There is a critical bug that occurs on soviet repair scenes and may cause many issues during gameplay.

It is recommended to be on the scene as fast as possible and swiftly start the next mission. We're already preparing a patch that will fix it. We're sorry for all the problems that you may encounter because of it.

Thank you and have a good weekend!
DeGenerals