Before we get to the dev diary, we wanted to thank each and everyone of the many, many thousands of testers who took part in the closed beta.
It was a terrific experience for us and seeing so many people enjoy multiplayer games while sharing their opinions on the game in the private beta channels only reinforced us with the conviction that Broken Arrow is going to be a great game.
The closed beta ends today: as mentioned before, we’ll be back in January with the intention of opening a public demo. We’ll reveal the actual date in early January.
We have one last dev diary for you for 2023, so enjoy the read and enjoy the holidays.
[h2]Dev Diary #7 - A sense of detail[/h2]
Today’s dev diary will be focussing on the development team’s attention to details: the game is overflowing with nice visual details at every level and it is our intention to showcase that.
Textures and modelsThe first thing you notice when arriving in the hangar which serves as background for the main menu is how detailed the vehicles look.
Each vehicle from the good old classics to the most unknown prototypes or the newest machines barely in service have received the same attention. Blueprints and in-depth photographic research are used to be as close to reality as possible.
Customizable elements also received a lot of attention to make sure they are perfectly compatible with the rest of the vehicle.
If you move the camera around and zoom a bit more you will notice even more details like the cockpits of the planes, the weapons they carry and the pylons holding them.
Helicopters are not to be outdone, with a level of customization equivalent to the planes.
Here is a MH-60M IDAP of the special forces equipped with laser guided rockets DAGR and stinger anti-air missiles.
When switching to the infantry tab you will notice that soldiers’ equipment vary from one squad to another to show their role, and each soldier is slightly different from the next with different body sizes and variations in their equipment.
The weapons carried by infantry and mounted on vehicles also received particular attention.
AnimationsTime to launch a battle where all these units will come to life.
Here are just a few of the little things you can notice when you zoom in on the battlefield.
The 2K22 Tunguska is a short range anti aircraft vehicle equipped with guns and missiles. As in reality they can move independently. The unit is also equipped with a radar that can be deployed to increase the detection and firing ranges, it also allows it to intercept cruise missiles.
The 2S1 Tulpan is a heavy 240mm mortar. The shells are so heavy that it’s impossible to load them from the muzzle like other mortars, so instead the tube is lowered and the shells are loaded from the breach by a crane after each shot.
ATGM stands for Anti-Tank Guided Missiles. They are generally stored in tubes that also contain the cable used to guide them. Once the missile has reached its target the tube must be replaced.
Here, a konkurs missile fired from a BTR-90 reloaded from the hatch of the turret.
A Bradley carries 2 ready to launch ATGMs on the side of the turret. Once both missiles are fired they must be replaced using the rear hatch.
In some tanks, empty shell casings are simply dropped at the bottom of the compartment and discarded later. But vehicles with autoloaders generally include an ejection mechanism.
In the game you will see the casing being ejected by the autoloader just like in reality. Autoloaded tank guns are generally slower to reload than their manually loaded counterparts but have the advantage to maintain a steady rate of fire even when the crew is shocked.
The Derivatsiya is a BMP-3 chassis equipped with modern sensors and a 57mm gun shooting airburst rounds very deadly against slow flying aircrafts. It also provides efficient fire support against infantry.
The recoil of the gun is animated, the ejection hatch opens after each shot as a shell casing is ejected and bounces on the ground.
Speaking of recoil, the movement induced by each shot has an effect on the suspension of the unit dynamically depending on the power of the gun and the orientation of the turret. Vehicles in water also swing dynamically with the waves and the recoil of their weapons.
You have the possibility to activate the afterburner on planes that can do it in reality. When you do, flames spout from the engine, a thick smoke forms behind the plane and when the sound barrier is reached you can see and hear the sonic boom effect. In addition, on planes with variable-sweep wings this is accompanied by the animation of the wings switching to supersonic mode.
Some units like the S-300V need to be deployed before becoming operational. This cooldown is accompanied by the animation of the deployment.
Iskander-M deploying its 2 ballistic missiles before shooting. This unit can also be customized to carry cruise missiles instead in which case it is named Iskander-K
Finally the internal parts of the vehicles are modeled and their doors are animated. You can see the infantry filling the compartment when entering in a vehicle or helicopter.
MapsBroken Arrow's maps feature dense, detailed urban areas that rival city-building games.
But suddenly the battle rages on and the enemy leaves you no respite. Bombs fall from the sky and hit a high riser which collapses from the impact.
That's it for today, we hope you enjoyed the dev diary. Merry Christmas and happy new year, see you in 2024.
