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Campaign Event in Verdun and Tannenberg

We're hard at work on the second Offensive map for the White War expansion, and we hope to have something to share with you all soon! In the meantime, just this Wednesday we released a small update with the following features:
  • Snow goggles are back!
  • Fixed player getting out of bounds errors while in the playable area
  • Fixed players sometimes being invisible to other players while using a mortar or field gun
  • Fixed gore models hovering in player view
  • Fixed some cases where it was possible to bypass weapon limitations
  • Fixed showing wrong profile picture when clicking on a player in the scoreboard
  • Stability and crashing fixes
  • Performance improvements

One minor known issue is that the news section on the home page will incorrectly display an old blog after launching the game. This is fixed whenever you open any other screen and go back to home again.

Many thanks to everyone who has submitted bug reports, it really helps us identify and track down issues like the ones fixed with this update!



[h2]New Campaign Event in Verdun & Tannenberg[/h2]
From today until next Friday 24th, the Second Battle of the Aisne Campaign will be running in Verdun and Tannenberg. Will the Entente or the Central Powers emerge victorious in this epic battle of attrition?

[h3]What is a campaign event?[/h3]
For those who haven’t fought before, our campaign events are special multi-front battles in Verdun and Tannenberg, where every kill is tallied up, and the side which manages to lose the least troops wins. You can earn a medal for participating in the campaign, with a shinier medal for fighting on multiple fronts. The Second Battle of the Aisne Campaign will run from Friday May 17 and end on Friday May 24.



[h2]The Second Battle of the Aisne[/h2]
French General Nivelle planned the Second Battle of the Aisne as a breakthrough offensive for early 1917, following the major battles of Verdun and the Somme in 1916. He expected the German Army to be exhausted. His vision was for a decisive victory in 48 hours, and he put his reputation on the line by threatening to resign if the offensive wasn't approved.

It involved a massive coordination of troops, starting with British attacks towards Arras, then French forces beginning their assault further south in the direction of the Aisne river. Ultimately the battle was not a clear defeat for the French, but Nivelle's grandiose claims about achieving a decisive victory made it feel like that for the soldiers suffering massive casualties in the battle. Morale fell throughout the French Army, with units starting to mutiny - often taking the form of holding a defensive position but refusing any orders to attack. Desertions also increased.

Nivelle was fired and replaced with General Pétain, who moved quickly to stamp out mutinous sentiment with a combination of carrot and stick - though mostly carrot. A small number of soldiers were shot for mutiny, but he mostly put effort into improving food, providing better equipment, increasing pay, and allowing for more leave. This worked, and the morale crisis was defused.



Interestingly, there is some debate as to when the Second Battle of the Aisne officially ended. While mid-May is commonly taken as the end point for it (along with the wider Nivelle Offensive itself), some historians have argued that the Battle of La Malmaison in October 1917 should be considered part of the battle as well, since it built on ground captured during the action in April-May. That would matter because the Battle of La Malmaison was actually a clear victory for the French - credit for which should partially go to Nivelle, if considered part of the Nivelle Offensive.

[h3]Another Battle of the Isonzo[/h3]
Under pressure from France, Italy would launch a new offensive in mid-May to try and build pressure on the Central Powers. Italian Chief of Staff Luigi Cadorna obliged with... the Tenth Battle of the Isonzo. In fairness, this was not entirely Cadorna's choice, with the idea of an offensive along the river suggested by the French. He attempted to change tactics, aiming for an advance across a broader 40km front in contrast to the smaller, shorter actions planned with the previous three Battles of the Isonzo.

Artwork portraying battle between Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers in an earlier battle.

Where the Second Battle of the Aisne was a mixed bag in terms of results, the Tenth Battle of the Isonzo was a clear Austro-Hungarian victory. Key objectives were not achieved, and an Austro-Hungarian counter-offensive (launched even before the Italians had ceased their own attacks) would recapture almost all the lost territory. The whole operation was a devastating blow to Italian morale. Cadorna knew something needed to be done. His solution: the Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo, to be launched a few months later, with the greatest concentration of force yet seen. You can probably imagine roughly how that went.

[h3]Quiet on the Eastern Front[/h3]
In the East, the Russians were no longer fighting under a Tsar - the February revolution had dethroned Tsar Nicholas II, and since March 2 the country was governed by the Russian Provisional Government. There would be no grand Russian offensive until the Kerensky Offensive in June, intended to knock Austria-Hungary out of the war. Instead it would effectively break the back of the Russian Army. But that's a story for another time.

However, it wasn't all revolution and disaster in the East. The Romanians successfully fought off a major German - Austro-Hungarian offensive from July to September, halting the Central Powers advance and inflicting heavy casualties.

[h3]If you want to join the campaign, just hop into Verdun or Tannenberg and play some Frontlines or Maneuver battles.[/h3]

[h2]Good luck out there soldiers![/h2]
We hope your Officers are better leaders than Cadorna...

Update v52445

We released a small patch fixing a couple of general issues, alongside the return of snow goggles!

  • Snow goggles are back!
  • Fixed player getting out of bounds errors while in the playable area
  • Fixed players sometimes being invisible to other players while using a mortar or field gun
  • Fixed gore models hovering in player view
  • Fixed some cases where it was possible to bypass weapon limitations
  • Fixed showing wrong profile picture when clicking on a player in the scoreboard
  • Stability and crashing fixes
  • Performance improvements

The download size is expected to be around 618 mb.

Known issue: The news section on the home page will incorrectly display an old blog after launching the game. This is fixed whenever you open any other screen and go back to home.

The Ascent event has ended

Well done, mountaineers! The mountain was conquered many times - overall the Austro-Hungarian defenders won more often than the attacking Italians, but not by as much as you might think. A mountain is a big place, and it's not easy to observe the entire cliff face from above, or to spot individual Alpini against the rock. For most of the event the Italians managed around to win around 40-45% of the time. A very respectable success rate.

On the other hand, it seems that for all their elegant simplicity, rocks are actually not the most effective weapons. Only 1% of players earned the Rock 'n Roll achievement for killing someone with a rock. And considering how many rocks we've seen in our matches, it wasn't from lack of trying!


[h3]Don't worry! Ascent will be back.[/h3]
As with the special modes for Verdun and Tannenberg, you can expect Ascent to return on a semi-regular basis. This won't be the last time you'll be scaling the 'Queen of the Dolomites'!

[h2]Community Screenshots[/h2]
Most of you were too busy throwing or dodging rocks to indulge in any combat photography, but there were a number of shots we enjoyed from the event.

Cinematic action shot by North_Dumpling.

Aiming down by Golden$Dragon.

Looking up to a long rope by Jan Schovanek.

Not Ascent, but a fantastic shot by Wulfess from earlier this year, who has been taking great screenshots since Verdun!

[h2]What's coming up?[/h2]
There's still plenty on the roadmap for Isonzo! First up will be the third new map in the White War expansion, to arrive later this year along with some new weapons. It's not a huge spoiler to say you can expect some more snow there :)

After that we get into the Solstice expansion, which when complete will include two new maps, each one releasing alongside new weapons and a new cosmetic DLC pack. The fog of war hides when Solstice will go live, but rest assured we'll let you know as soon as there's an updated roadmap with dates.



Until next time, soldiers.

The Ascent Event has been extended!

[h3]You've asked for it: Due to popular demand, the Ascent event has been extended by about a week! The new end date is Tuesday, April 30th at 5:59 PM EDT / 11:59 PM CEST.[/h3]

Thank you for all the kind words about Ascent! It's been a blast to see all of you enjoy the mode and come up with creative solutions to avoid rocks or prevent the Italians from getting too close. We got many requests to keep the event going for a little longer, so we hope you enjoy the additional week.

Once the Ascent event is over, it won't be gone for good either. Ascent will return every so often as the re-occurring event of Isonzo.

See you at the summit!

Here's why you should check out Isonzo in the Steam FPS Fest!

There's a wealth of fantastic FPS games out there these days. If you're looking for a serious WW1 shooter set on the lesser known Italian Front, we've got you covered! Mountain warfare with First World War technology is an intense experience. But what else makes Isonzo stand out?



[h2]Historical Authenticity[/h2]
Since our first game Verdun, we've been committed to bringing history to life in a way that reflects something of the real WW1 experience. Uniforms and weapons are carefully recreated based on research and reference materials (including actually firing many of the guns in-game), and most of the time you'll be using a bolt-action rifle rather than the machine guns or prototype handguns that flood the battlefields in a lot of WW1 games. Of course we have machine guns, sniper rifles, rifle grenades, and other weapon types, but they're generally linked to specific classes or map specific heavy weapons rather than being available for anyone. This also means that melee combat takes center stage when you get into close quarters, for the same reasons it often did in real life.



This doesn't mean that Isonzo is trying to be a playable war documentary. It's a game, and we always keep gameplay in mind. Maps are based on real photos, drawings, and trench maps - but compressed where necessary so you aren't walking for 15 minutes between objectives and to maintain variety. You can see how we use reference material in the comparison shots below:



[h2]Verticality[/h2]
Many of Isonzo's battles are set in or around the mountains of the Alps. To represent these accurately we had to design maps with a lot of variation in heights - for instance this early part of the Dolomites Offensive where the attackers must storm clifftop trenches:



In a lot of FPS games height differences are limited to two story buildings or gentle hills, but we needed a more epic scale for Isonzo. If you skip ahead to 1:30 in the Sabotino map flyover video below, you see how it transitions from a mountaintop objective to sweep down into the valley and bridge. While defenders are usually the ones occupying the high ground, in this map you fight your way up the mountain and then down the other side, giving the unusual experience of defending from below. Watch out for grenades...

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h2]Mustaches![/h2]
The clothing and styles of the 1910s were far more varied than what you see in a lot of FPS games with a modern setting. During the war things progressed quickly as armies moved away from the more colorful uniforms of the last century and towards plainer, simpler uniforms that provided better camouflage. There was also a lot of variety, with less of the standardization seen with modern militaries. Last but not least, mustaches were in fashion - and what fashion!



In Isonzo we represent a wide variety of the clothing and accessories that troops might have worn on the frontlines. Uniforms and headgear are all linked to the different classes in the game to maintain that historical authenticity we mentioned earlier, while facial hair and items like glasses or smoking pipes can be used with any class. Players can expand their selection through our paid cosmetic DLCs which focus on specific themes, like veteran troops or high altitude cold weather gear. These DLCs are only visual, and we don't lock any gameplay features or updates behind them.

[h2]There's more coming![/h2]
We've already released a number of free updates for Isonzo with new maps, weapons, and even a whole new faction... and we're not done. There are more maps and weapons coming, alongside additional paid cosmetic DLC packs.



See you on the battlefield!