Preparation for the "Scorching Rays" update
Two months of intensive work have passed since the "Forest Shadows" update, but now we are ready to present to you the upcoming "Scorching Rays" update. Today we will tell you about our plans, future devblogs and the update itself.
Weapons and vehicles
There is no major update without additions to your armies. This time we focused on the confrontation between the USA and Japan.
Japanese infantry will get a double-barreled shotgun with a deadly addition in the form of a bayonet, while the Americans will receive, for the first time in their research tree, the famous "Chicago Typewriter" - the M1921 Thompson submachine gun with a 50-round drum magazine that managed to prove itself during Prohibition in the USA and on the battlefields of World War II.
Both sides will also get new vehicles too. Japan will be strengthened with an up gunned version of the Chi-Nu, namely the Chi-nu II whose gun will surprise the Allies, as well as the lightning-fast Ki-83 interceptor, a long-awaited addition for attacker pilots. The USA, in turn, will respond with the Churchill VII, a heavy tank with thick frontal armor.
New weapons and vehicles will await you in the update and our traditional blog dedicated to them, which will be published soon, will help you decide what to unlock first.
But there’ll be more than just new unlockables in the update. We decided to increase the combat effectiveness of BR I tanks. The machinegunner will control the hull machine gun on the following tanks: BA-11, Pz.III E, Pz.III B, Pz.III J, Pz.38(t) F, M3 Stuart, M5A1, M14/41 and M13/40.
You'll be able to control the hull machine gun from two positions: the commander's and the machinegunner's position.
In the future, these changes will be implemented for other tanks as well.
We didn't forget aviation either - significant improvements will be waiting for pilots too. For example, we fixed the missing firing sounds of the Spitfire LF Mk IX’s cannons and removed the graphical artifact from the machine gun of the Breda 88 (P.XI)’s gunner. The model of the bomb on the Re.2001 CN was also updated and the effects of all unguided rockets were improved. You'll be able to learn more about these changes and other aircraft related improvements in the patch notes later.
Rework of "Kahif cave village"
One of the main changes of the update will be the complete overhaul and rework of the "Kahif cave village" section of Tunisia. We relied on your feedback and the results of the expanded map BR test in May, where you marked this map section as the most in need of improvement.
Now it will be easier to navigate on this part of the map. New landmarks will make it more memorable and new cover will provide more opportunities for both attackers and defenders. Where now you are greeted by a desert with caves and a few distant houses, an oasis in the middle of the desert will await you.
In the near future, we will show you in detail how Tunisia will be transformed in a separate devblog. Combined with the new hit marks, the battles will once again become much more realistic.
Location changes
In the upcoming update, we focused our efforts on creating more fair, dynamic and intense battles, with special attention to details that directly affect the combat and the immersion.
One of our top priorities was to fix long-standing balance related issues and critical bugs. For example, in the "Lehrter Bahnhof (Invasion)" mission, there was an unusable spawn point for the attackers at one of the capture points that caused various issues with spawning. We also worked on optimizing the navigation of AI soldiers - they will no longer get stuck in buildings in Burma and on certain parts of the streets of Stalingrad, their behavior will become more natural and predictable, which will noticeably enliven the battles.
The map section with the "Hermann Goering strasse" mission also underwent balance improvements. In "Invasion" mode, the boundaries of the battle areas were adjusted for more dynamic and balanced battles, while in "Assault" and "Destruction" modes, the placement of vehicle spawn points were improved, allowing players to get to the center of action faster and have more opportunities to influence the outcome of the battle. Other missions also received smaller improvements: in the "Le Bre" mission, the attack direction indicator became more accurate, helping the defenders prepare more effectively for the assault; in the "D-Day" mission, the placement of cover on the beach was revised to increase the attacking infantry's chances of a successful breakthrough; in the "Oasis" mission, the number of defensive positions at capture points was increased; and in the "Vysokovo Village" mission, both the location of spawn points and the battle areas were adjusted for smoother action.
Interaction with vegetation was reworked too: bushes will no longer block shells and bullets, while the canopy of trees and bushes will have a greater impact on the AI soldiers’ vision. Practice mode was also improved - the flight altitude of bombers will change, weapons will spawn loaded and supply boxes will no longer be destructible. Additionally, we fixed an issue where players spawned at the main spawn points while there was an available one at the capture point.
Desertion related issues
Nobody likes deserters, however punishments should be fair. We analyzed player behavior in battles and decided to make adjustments.
What will change? A "Right to make a mistake" system will be introduced and the known bugs that prevent reconnecting to battles after connection issues will be fixed.
The system will allow players to leave a battle once per day without triggering the two-battle penalty. After leaving a battle, you will need to complete four battles to reset it.
The matchmaker will also distribute pre-made groups more evenly - groups against groups. The only exception is groups formed directly in battles from random players.
Graphical changes
One of the most significant graphical improvements of the upcoming update will be the addition of ray tracing.
The feature will require DirectX 12 and will work with AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards. By default, it'll be disabled to ensure stability.
Should you try Enlisted with ray tracing enabled? Definitely! This technology will significantly improve the visuals of the game by making lighting and reflections more realistic, but for this you will need a powerful graphics card. We recommend using at least an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 or AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT card for 1080p 60 fps.
You will be able to read more about ray tracing in a separate devblog soon.
Additional changes that will add more flavor to battles include updated hit marks, which will improve the look of damage on vehicles and buildings. Each hit will leave a distinctive mark, allowing players not only to enjoy the effects of explosions, but also to follow the course of battle through visual cues.
Changes have been made to the environment too. Our location artists completely redesigned the vegetation on all locations. Simple, monotonous grass is a thing of the past - replaced with more detailed flora that will make the landscapes more vivid and rich.
Also, the annoying bug that made Japanese soldiers bald and spoiled the general feel of the game has been fixed. Now all soldiers have correct hairstyles that correspond to the military standards of the time.
Silver Chest
It also didn't remain unchanged - we have updated its content and appearance. It will contain rewards from past Battle Passes, plus we've also added a new alternative for those who love to assemble the most effective army.
You'll be able to send your old unique Battle Pass soldiers to the rear. Why do this? Because newly obtained BP soldiers will come with maximum characteristics!
On top of all, the addition of Battle Pass weapons to the Silver Chest will not decrease the drop chance of Event weapons!
What's next?
Stay tuned for more news - detailed devblogs about the update are coming soon. Also, look forward to the next "SITREP", which will be released a few weeks after the update.
