FRONTLINE NEWS: Spring Update

We have a pretty packed update for Verdun today with a range of fixes and tweaks. We'd love to get feedback on some of these, in particular the MG deployment changes. There should be less clipping, floating, and exploitable positions where you can shoot without being seen. We've been crawling around the trenches in awkward places trying to do strange things with machine guns and have seen significant improvement.

In part this is due to a new deployment system: you now aim where you want to place your MG, or simply hold the deploy button while standing to go prone and deploy on the ground. A red marker will indicate where you will deploy, so you can easily see if particular bits of terrain are legitimate deploy locations or not.

Let us know your experiences with the new MG deployment!

On the opentesting branch there is also a new report function as part of the new user interface! It will be possible for players to report other players for cheating, chat harassment, voice harassment and offensive names. Data is gathered from the match, processed, and passed on to administrators who may then take manual action based on multiple reports. Note that we will not apply automatic bans based on reports.
The new report function in the new UI.


Today's update fixes a range of issues, polishes various aspects of the UI, and makes improvements to bot behaviour. Here are some of the most notable:

General Features
• In the new UI (currently only on opentesting) players can now report others for cheating / toxic behaviour in-game, and add them to a personal ban list.
  
• MG deployment improvements: less clipping/floating, fixes instances where MG players could see & shoot at someone while not being visible themselves.
  
• On Artois, fixed "getting stuck under bridge".
  
• Update to Douaumont fixing tunnel being sun lit on the inside.
  
• Spawn map camera is less close in frontlines .
  
• Fixed being able to switch squad type in squad defense after the first wave
  
• Fixed third person choke animation not playing after dying by gas
  
  Menu Adjustments (in new UI on opentesting)
• Now when you try to join a full squad, instead of attempting to load, no action is taken.
  
• Front selection can now be done via a sub-panel in the main menu, instead of an overlaid menu.
  
• Replaced Private Match banner button with Custom Match game mode button.
  
• Added LOW/MED/HIGH server population indicators. Will also display ping if we have pinged this session.
  
  Bots
• Fixed bots not dying from gas.
  
• Bots will take of their gas mask after exiting gas.
  
• Fixed issue where bots would still know where their target is if it went hidden by smoke/gas after acquiring the target. The first target acquisition was already never possible through smoke/gas.
  
• Fixed bots sometimes not spawning.

Check out the full changelog!


The new UI and tutorial system are very close to release now. We are also planning on removing the 32 player game mode to streamline the main menu and establish a clear focus on the 64 player Frontlines mode. Of course you will still be able to arrange 32 player games via private matches.

Finally, there will be a special event beginning in Tannenberg this Friday. If you've been following our Twitter or Facebook you'll likely have some idea what to expect...