Men of War II (BW) News

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Hi, friends.

Our Easter and May Day greetings to you all! Hope your holidays were the same as ours - passed in work and joy. And you are cheerful, in a good mood and ready for a new diary about the results of recent months of work. The main priority of these months was the metagame, and we talked about it a lot lately. So much that we even fed up. Therefore, today we will pause and talk about the rest of the stuff: new features, units, models, speech lines, AI improvements, usability, and a variety of snipers.

Every strategy fan knows that harvesters have their own work, and devastators have their own. And they are not interchangeable. The same for the game development. While some are engaged in the metagame, others - in other things.

• Return and improvement of the inventory. Don’t say later that developers can’t hear the grumbling in the community - we can. Inventory definitely will be reworked but we have a head start. And after that, maybe, we’ll find some way to bring back the ammunition.
  
• Convenience of use. Made a simple launch of singleplayer, PVE and PVP sessions, tips on the metagame interface (this is the last time about the meta, we swear).
  
• Repair of repair mechanics. Now tankmen are able to repair several broken components at once if there are enough “working hands”. Progress is displayed on the repair icon.
  
• AI. Vehicles can shoot from all guns now. So while you are using direct control and trying to aim the thinnest armor plate, machine guns won’t be treacherously silent towards enemy infantry. Rejoice all!
  
• Rebalance of battalions. Also we added a new one. Panzergrenadier tank regiment is now available only for Germany. It comes with its Inability to take the regular infantry, air defense units, and 6th lvl tanks, but it compensates with slots for top motorized infantry which is otherwise inaccessible to other commanders. The sight to behold: Armored personnel carriers with infantry, Panzergrenadiers and Brandenburgers in combination with tanks … If you want to implement a blitzkrieg within the game session - Panzergrenadier tank regiment is just for you!
  
• Training days for units. All special infantry has learned how to disguise. Saboteurs and other stealth infantry also can see areas of view of other units. So it has become a bit more profitable to cross the front line, to spoil the blood in the enemy's rear, to be brave and bold.
  
• Improved fortifications. The ability to strengthen the position no longer works instantly, and some tanks have received this feature. Why only some? Because we are testing how useful it will be. Do you think tanks need additional protection like that?
  
• Voice lines. The first three hundred are already voiced and added to the game. Units become angry, desperate, and pleased with the player. They live, in a word. Unfortunately only in Russian for now.

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And we pursued on to set up the balance as usual. At this time, we take the example of not the balance of units, battalions or factions relative to each other, but the balance of effort and resource of the player’s attention to the advantage gained. It is no secret that snipers have always been quite dangerous in GEM games and this, undoubtedly, corresponds to reality. But you must admit, this is not fair when there are units, which just need to be spawned to be successful. At the same time, to destroy these units you need to conduct an entire search and neutralization operation. In reality, the life of a sniper isn't that easy. While he is looking for a target, he can be the target for another sniper. Therefore, in Soldiers: Arena, we want to reflect two more important things: the priority of target selection and the possibility of a snipers duel. And over the past few months, snipers have experienced many ups and downs. We increased the noise level of the shot and the time of aiming depending on the distance to the target. But at the same time gave them camouflage bushes and target priorities so that snipers would destroy not the easiest, but the most dangerous infantry targets (machine gunners, snipers, AT-riflemen, etc.). In the future, we plan to add special rules for visibility zones for this group of units, so that snipers can detect each other and create the possibility of the sniper duel at its best.

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By the way, you asked many times how regular snipers differ from elite ones. We should start with the fact that this is not the only types of snipers in Soldiers: Arena.

• The sniper (regular) has basic shooting skills, the usual viewport and Mauser 98k (Germany) or the Mosin Rifle (USSR) and they need a lot of time to reload after each shot.
  
• The sniper from the saboteurs squad - has the same weapon as the regular one, but proficient shooting and stealth skills, and therefore is not visible throughout the entire line of sight of the enemy viewport.
  
• The sniper from the Brandenburg squad is very similar to a saboteur, but arrives on an armored car along with other Brandenburgers.
  
• The sniper from the NKVD squad is the Soviet analog of the Brandenburger, but walks on foot. The main advantage is that he can detect stealth infantry.
  
• Jaeger Sniper (Germany's collector’s unit) - can detect hidden infantry and have an additional weapon - a machine gun.
  
• Elite snipers - have stealth skill, grenades, several AP-mines and, most importantly, semi-automatic sniper rifle Gewehr 43 (Germany) or SVT-40 (USSR), thanks to which they shoot more often. They are available only in the sabotage and reconnaissance battalion.
  

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There should have been a regular section about funny bugs (and it was already written), but doubts arose as to its usefulness. What do you think, is it worth returning? Or we have place only for the informative stuff in the diaries, but not for the “bloopers”? Leave a comment “+” if you need to return it or “-” if you need to bury it. That's all for today. We wish you all the best as usual!

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Hi, friends.

Today we will talk about the metagame and changes in its interface, new units in the USSR tree and post-match statistics. Because most of the updates of recent months are associated with the metagame, and because diaries are here to inform you about the development process. And if the word “statistics”, for example, doesn’t touch your soul or excite you, but rather evokes a rattling boring nothing ... That does not mean that we shouldn’t talk about it. And maybe you just don’t know how important and interesting statistics are!



We have already written that work on the metagame is the final straight before the release of the Early Access. And no one can underestimate the importance of this work. Here we talked a little about the Soldiers: Arena metagame, its interface and the principles underlying them. Meta is the first and last thing a player sees, and most strategic decisions are made there. In the battalion constructor, he will decide how to play and with what, and only after that he will implement the chosen strategy in session. In the technology tree - a player will think how to spend the accumulated experience, which commander to open and which branch of units to focus on in the first place. Collect allies, communicate with them, go into battle against AI, players or go through a cooperative campaign - also will take place in a metagame. All this and much more should work like a clock so that the player can enjoy the gameplay of Soldiers: Arena. It's hard to enjoy, when matchmaking can’t find opponents, or the Play button does not work for example.

But performance isn’t the only thing. For insrance, matchmaking, the convenience of the battalion constructor and the presence of graphics for the needs of the test were desirable, but not necessary. The number of alpha testers is not so large, and we had the opportunity to bring in everyone. And explain to everyone where to click to create a battalion, to join the session and play. But in the Early Access we would like to avoid complicated tutorials on how to play and use placeholders where artworks should be.

By the way, it is precisely because of the fact that not all artworks have been drawn yet and added to the game, that today we are showing interface sketches, not screenshots. We are pleased to inform you that the largest and most important part of the metagame's functionality works as it should and the much smaller part left to be done.

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The sketch above shows the window with the results of the battle. There you can see the basic data about the session: its duration, earned silver, experience and free experience. In the lower right corner of the battalion's icon the damage done in battle is also indicated. For many, the damage and the number of enemy units destroyed is a universal indicator of the contribution to the victory (or loss). But the attentive reader knows that Soldiers: Arena is not so simple and the fight does not boil down to these two indicators. This means that this data will not be enough for the player.

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By clicking on the icon of the battalion, you will go to personal statistics and be able to find out all the most important about each unit of each Franz Stammer: how many units were caused, lost, how much they caused damage and gained experience. And here we close the cycle, which began with the creation of the battalion and continued through the session itself. According to statistics and the results of the battle, you can understand whether your strategy good or bad, find weak points in it and fix them in the battalion constructor.

In the lower left corner, you can see statistics on earned and spent silver. It is worth saying that in Soldiers: Arena you will not lose silver in any case, but the amount earned will directly depend on your actions. And here we take into account some other things besides the damage caused:

• Ground control - silver earned for territory control. If you play as an infantryman, and in this column, you have a lower value than the allied tankman - this is a serious reason to think about your deck and actions in the session.
  
• Fine and Compensation are the statistics of spent and received silver for a “friendly fire”. In Soldiers: Arena you need to try hard to harm the allies. But those who are trying this hard must pay for allies repairs from their own pockets.
  
• Capture - silver for the capture of enemy vehicles.
  
• Repair is an item of expenditure for the repair and replacement of your units. Consequently, the more cautious you play and the less you wear your units in the face of the enemy, the more profitable the session results will turn out.
  

In a game where there are support units, it is illogical to boil it all down to the damage dealt. Will engineers be able to compete with tanks in this category? It is doubtful. And that means they have to earn experience differently. The game should encourage with experience and silver the correct performance of combat missions. And in the future, we are going to further deepen this system. Removing the wounded from the battlefield; shooting tracks to immobilize the retreating enemy; storming a group of buildings; creating or destroying engineering structures; grabbing the flags, etc. These listed things are no less important than the damage dealt.

When a game encourages you to fulfill your role and gives feedback in the form of statistics, it is much easier to understand what to do and how. Even for a newbie. Especially for a newbie. In Soldiers: Arena you do not control only one unit for the whole battle and a lot of things happen usually at the same time on the map. So it is easy to get lost in your feelings and analytics of the battle. Detailed statistics can help shape your battalion based on cold and ruthless numbers, not on preferences and expectations. If the scouts do not justify themselves for the tenth battle in a row, but you continue to order them to storm the machine guns ... Maybe you should think about using them correctly or replacing them with an armored car for instance.



For a developer, statistics are even more important than for the player. Especially in such a difficult game with a huge amount of mechanics. In the past diary we wrote that the system is more important than particulars and the situation with statistics is another confirmation of this. We started collecting data from the very beginning of testing, and partly because of this we can now enjoy a good balance already in the early beta. The statistics that the player sees are only a small part of what we collect and use to set up the game. We collect such statistics for each commander and each unit: frequency of use, number of battles conducted, win rate, average values ​​of experience and silver earned in battle, the average duration of the battle, damage done and much more. Based on this data, we group the units according to their complexity, the potential “payback” in the battle and the average contribution to the victory and immediately fix the imbalance.

However, in some moments you can notice an obvious imbalance even without statistics. In the USSR technology tree, there were significantly fewer premium units than in the German ones. And that means less opportunities for development in the branch not starting from the beginning and less unique gameplay. Therefore, we decided once again to shoot two birds with one stone: to correct the imbalance and to fulfill your request. You asked to add Lend-Lease units to the USSR tree, and we did it. So you will be able to drive your Churchill, Sherman and Valentine without waiting for the release of a new playable nation.

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By the way, we are still discussing what data should be shown in post-match statistics, so we are happy to read your ideas in the comments. Wish you all the best!

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Hi, friends.

There are a number of questions that you ask more often than others, but not as often as ‘That One’. Today we would like to answer them in a diary. To answer with details, to share some far-reaching plans and, most importantly, explain why things go as they do. Cause we respect the dialogue. And also because sometimes you are perplexed with things that are obvious to us, and we in turn are perplexed at your perplexity. So in order to make Perplexed city uninhabited and leave only young Travolta to walk along its boring empty streets, we wrote this diary.



The question of having an editor is logical, but it is ahead of time. Indeed, usually a release from Best Way comes with a new version of the GEM, and an editor in addition. But the primary role in this bundle is always the game. Everything is done for it. And while Soldiers: Arena remains in Early Access and even some time after - it makes no sense to even talk about the editor, as there is no sense in choosing a university for an unborn child. What kind of editor will be needed for the game will become clear after its release. In any case, Arena can live without an editor, but an editor without Arena - very unlikely. So henceforth we will talk about things that come first.



Developing a game with limited resources is always a matter of choosing priorities. The button “Do it all at once!” doesn’t seem to work, but when there’s a choice between investing in gameplay or investing in picture, there’s basically no choice. Because the gameplay without graphics can be catchy, and the graphics without gameplay - very unlikely. So the first thing we took care of was the basis of the basics. For Soldiers: Arena it is the “Front line” mode and meta-game. Working in tandem, they complement each other and give freedom for experimentation. At the same time they encourage an experienced player who knows complex mechanics, and without punishing (not so much at least) a beginner who only recently learned about the MoW series. In the game, even the most unexpected decks work, and units never lose their relevance simply because Arena is not limited to how to destroy unit with another unit. A BMW motorcycle with a machine gun, even at the end of the third echelon, can frighten artillery in the rear and group infantry around him, and this is much more important and more difficult to implement than the new BMW model or the animation of climbing into the sidecar.



The main priorities are working rules and a good foundation that will withstand future add-ins. With a working system and rules, content can be added very easily. Remember, the button “Do it all at once!” still can’t be pressed much. For example, you can add a lot of units and beautiful models to them, and then see that half of them duplicate each other, or are just boring, or simply do not bring anything new to the gameplay. Therefore, we first invented and implemented a system that makes it possible to add almost anything without devaluing the units after the creation of new ones. Then we added draft models to it, to have something with which to test and moved on to other vital issues.



For clarity, let's use the example of the 37-mm Škoda vz.34 UV cannon (also known as PaK 37 (t)), which is planned to be added to the game. As you already know, units come in three types: common, premium and collector’s units. Each of the common ones have their own function, place in the tech tree and a set of interesting mechanics. PaK 37 (t) is not suitable for this category because it is not very different in characteristics from the Pak 38, which is already there, and it was rarely used, so it would be strange to see it in each session. Premium units feel good with their unusual gameplay and the ability to skip a few steps in the tech tree. And it’s not the right place for PaK 37 (t) either, because there is nothing unusual in its gameplay. Collector’s units are usually represented by rare modifications of the base vehicles or ones from small series or just units that do not fit into the first two groups. They are not in the tech tree and cannot be purchased. You can only have them as a reward for the battle. This means that you need no resources except luck to have them, and their competitive advantage over the others is precisely their rarity. So PaK 37 (t), of which very few were created (and even less captured - just 113 units) fits perfectly here. Having designed a working system at the beginning, we achieve several goals simultaneously:

• Without the extra headache and damage to the balance, even the most controversial unit can be added.
  
• We reward the user with a rare unit that can show off in front of the allies and do it completely free of charge.
  
• Immediately we get +5 points to realism! Historically rare species - rare indeed in the game.
  

New models, sounds and animations look more pleasant in PR materials and, of course, help to immerse the player in what is happening on the screen, but they complement the gameplay, and not vice versa. And here we come to the Square of Mutual Perplexity, on which there is already a demonstration with the banners “Fight to death to old death animations”, “2009 graphics!” and “You killed the old interface. Don’t even dare to add a new one! ”. Friends, it may happen that the graphics remind you of 2009 because you are looking at a dummy model originally from 2009. Compare, for example, KV-1s on the cover and KV-1s in the screenshot below.

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Yes, you are not mistaken - this is the KV-85 on the screen. The sooner you start testing, the better. So the dummy model is just perfect for the needs of the test. We have not replaced all the models, animations and sounds with new ones, not because we don’t want or can’t. It is not really that difficult. The deal here is that this process is rather long ... or expensive. And the “Do it all at once!” button seems to be stuck ...



Here is an example with animations. Recently we remade the system melee combat. Now, if an order is given to go melee, the infantry shoots on the run until it gets close to the enemy and then uses knives, bayonets, or engineer shovels to commit to the brutality. Now it works better and more logically than in previous GEM games, but the work is not yet finished. There is, for example, a conflict of undergoing firing assault on trenches and melee combat. Because of this, it is still impossible to order to storm the trench, shooting on the run, and to stomp the enemy with your boots once you are in. Pretty sure, there will be more improvements on the basis of testing. And at this stage, there is no point in ordering many animations, so that it does not turn out that the infantry can perform aikido and karate, while there is nowhere to put these animations, because the bayonet is suddenly more practical.



And something really cool of recent times - we started working with sounds. Because where there are certainty and enough resources - we support the “picture” with all we have. Especially since it's not just about graphics. Adding atmosphere to the game and make the units livelier is undoubtedly important. But even more important is that the units give feedback to the player on what is happening and make the gameplay clearer. A commander should receive information about the course of the battle from his fighters, right?



Over 300 lines of the first priority were written and ordered: unit select, penetration and non-penetration, destruction of units, repair, shot down trucks, destroyed guns, ricochets, etc. For each event, we tried to make at least five different lines. To make it live, diverse and informative. The fighters will enjoy your overall success and express concerns about the chosen course for embrasures. Below is a screenshot with examples about the destruction of certain types of units.

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We have a lot of content in our plans for the future: new campaigns for a cooperative walkthrough, perks and customization of units, a global map, events, new factions, battalions and much more. But it takes time. BTW these three hundred lines are only a small part of what we need. And if you have a desire to try yourself writing them, feel free to write in the comments your variants. Maybe some of them will go into the game. You can start with the orders “Attack!”, throwing a grenade and the death of a unit. Wish you all the best.

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Hi, friends.

We’ll show some infantry gameplay in this diary. Just to make your wait for the release more pleasant, and discussion in the comments will now be more specific. This was shot during the real session with testers - so it is really hard to come up with something more live than that.

Try not to pay attention to the bug in the display of the cursor. They extremely rarely grow to such sizes. We shall fix it soon.

https://youtu.be/3lVCwtZSfXM

These moments are only a small part of what can and should be shown about infantry gameplay. No matter how badly we want to recreate the whole picture of what is happening ... even having recorded the session from beginning to end, we are unlikely to achieve the goal. Just compare this video with the previous one and notice how much the meditative howitzer gameplay differs from the one of infantry. The picture changes every time the battalion changes: the Bruegel infantry burrows their teeth into the front line, Malevich’s tanks crush resistance along the way, and Bryullov’s artillery depicts the “Last Day of Pompeii”. So we just continue to show interesting and characteristic moments of gameplay, and you would be able to see the whole picture during your first game session.

You most likely noticed that the color scheme, interface and icons have changed a bit since the first video. Work continues and this is not the last change. Do not worry, we realize that the interface should not be overloaded. We also want more realism wherever it does not interfere with the gameplay. And here we have a great solution. In a multiplayer game, the main thing is informativeness and nothing can be done about it. The more you know about the enemy, the faster you get this information - the greater the chances of winning. But in a single-player game, where there is more time to make a decision, we can seriously think about atmosphere and minimalism. Pay attention to the screenshot from the single-player mission, where the interface and icons live by completely different rules. And finally take rest to your nervous system.

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Do you like such a format of diaries? Would you like to see more videos and less text or vice versa? What units / battalions / kind of troops would you like to see next time? Wish you all the best.

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Hi, friends.

Thanks for the words of support and feedback on the latest video. Thanks for the constructive (and any other) criticism too. As always, we have read everything and in today's diary we will give feedback on your feedback. Also you’ll read some about the results of the last months, settings, and bugs that were in the video, but already fixed and other.

How naive we were, deciding that the Early Beta footage inscription would save us from kicks into the fps dropdowns, jabs into the work-in-progress interface, and van-dame-like split kicks straight into the T-34-85 dancing on the trench. Okay. Thanks to that we have stuff to discuss today and can show with examples: wherever we can, we keep our promises. We promised that in Soldiers: Arena it will be possible to play on an average PC and even recorded the video on this kind of PC. Promised to show real gameplay without editing, and showed without editing how really slowly Pastorazzi plays with howitzers. We promised to quickly fix bugs and hear your wishes - so we fix and we hear.

Animation bugs. A known problem but we just did not have time to fix it before shooting the video. Notice how smoothly and gently the T-34-85 now rides over the trenches.



Sound. We have already become used to the sounds in the game and, apparently, did not pay attention to how the sounds of small arms brought pain to the ears. German submachine guns and machine guns sounded louder than similar weapons of other nations. Corrected. We customized the models of sound spreading. The main focus is now on big explosions and big guns. Added the whistling of mortar mines and the sound of the semi-automatic AT-rifle EW.141. In general, it has become much more pleasant, but the work must go on.

Interface. Still in work and in some places it will change beyond recognition, Including the icons that we added to the game a couple of days before shooting the video. But you wished to customize the display of interface elements: And we have this already. If information about units and the battlefield is less important to you than realism and cinematic images - you can always turn off almost everything. By the way, opponents of health bars can’t hate us anymore. Cause, technically, these are the health rhombuses, so ... checkmate!

The size of the map seemed too small some of you, guys. The attentive reader knows that the size of the map adjusts to the number of players. This is one of the ways to achieve the perfect balance of epic and realism to deliver maximum impact and read what is happening in the session. Soldiers: Arena is a strategy game about a full-scale ground encounter and fierce battles along the entire front line, and a hidden enemy quest. The width of the optimal map for a 5 vs 5 fight looks like this.



In addition to the usual work on the balance of battalions, fixing bugs, creating new models and special effects, we also did these:

• Realistic projectile flight paths. When changing the type of shell, the gun changes the angle so that the armor-piercing flew along a flat trajectory, and the HE shells flew along the plunging one. HE were less likely to fly past the target and better get into the trenches and buildings, and AP shells from, for example the ML-20, will not be casting steel hail and throwing your tank into rock bottom.
  
• Fine tuning of shells and caliber dependencies. For example, the larger the HE caliber, the greater the effective range of the fragments and the damage they inflict on the vehicles. The seismic effect was increased for large calibers also, so that 155 mm now obliterates a trench with a single hit. And 100+ mm shells now break vehicles modules from one damaging hit.
  
• “Arty preparation” mode has been added. This is a variant of firing a position, but without an aiming buff after each shot and accelerated by 33% reload. Good for playing with an artillery battery, when accuracy is less important than an overwhelming and demoralizing effect. Perfect for clearing the territory before allied infantry advance and stopping the offense. It works only for units intended for this. Scare infantry with armor-piercing volleys from ZIS-2 battery isn’t a great idea anyway.
  
• We test mechanics related to experience, unlocking new units and balance of the techtrees. We corrected the distortions and adjusted the cost in order to have a more or less working model of the development of the player and the technology tree by the start of the EA. Most of us have already managed to form our favorite decks, and those who want to continue to use them have to farm like an ordinary player. Strange feeling.
  
• Usability and general understanding. We’re changing interfaces, icons, tips, hotbars, etc., to simultaneously give the player full information about what is happening on the battlefield and not clutter building up on the screen. This task is not an easy one, given the Arena's hardcore nature and the huge volume of what is happening on the screen, but we have good progress made already.
  

Fought with bugs. In addition to the units dancing in cyclical animations, there were other fun things. For example, the modified shell trajectories did their deal in providing us with comedy. Armor-piercing shells fired from howitzers continued to apply gravity rules for HE, so they very quickly got tired of fighting the weary air of the ‘International-Standard-Arena’ and fell half-way to the target. Some units after the concussion refused to follow orders and dig up the trenches, believing that they had suffered enough and were too old for this sh... shovel work. But the most tragicomic was not even a bug, but a flaw in the rules, was when the cannon remained attached to the carrier after the death of the driver. When someone tries to steal your carrier - it is even strange ... why did someone need it? But when someone is hijacking your carrier with a cannon attached to it and a full artillery crew - this is the officially recorded peak of shame for the player in Soldiers: Arena. And, fortunately, you won't be able to endure it.

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As you can see, the game is constantly changing; and videos, gifs or screenshots show exactly the current state, and not the final one. Therefore, do not despair if something does not please you and keep calm. Wish you all the best.