UBOAT News

Dear skippers,

We are back with the next update for UBOAT.

[h2]Quick summary[/h2]
We prepared a quick summary of features added by this update in the following video. We hope that you'll enjoy it:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Merry Christmas![/h2]
First of all we wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! A big thank you to all of you for your great support!

We added a Christmas tree placeable in the control room to get you into the holiday spirit while playing. You can add or remove it by talking with the warehouse worker about upgrading your ship.



[h2]Localisation updates[/h2]
In this version UBOAT is available also in Japanese thanks to incredible work of Surumeika1987, Largo, [JP]AWPsan and 泥遊戯!



There were also major updates to other languages:
- Portuguese localisation update by AlexShuma.
- Czech localisation update by Spid3rCZ.
- French localisation update by FvJ and Placebo.
- Korean localisation update by Zaswedx.
- Chinese localisation update by SparrowSHEN (Q:173678441).
- Italian localisation update by BeeTLe BeTHLeHeM.
- Spanish localisation update by Tordo.
- Turkish localisation update by tokyo.
- Russian localisation update by Hard.
- English localisation update by Steve.
- Polish localisation update.

We and the whole UBOAT community deeply appreciate your work. Thank you!

[h2]New effects[/h2]
We added numerous new effects to the game that increase the immersion during play-time:

- Camera lens is now wetted by water.



- Seawater is splashing on the conning tower during dives.
- Rain is now denser, doesn't rain under the roofs and splashes onto surfaces.
- Marine snow under the sea surface.



- Periscopes now leave a foam trail behind them.
- Rendering was reworked to increase viewing distance in all view modes.
- Periscope eyepiece now has raytraced reflections from the lens.



[h2]Kriegsmarine's Type 1934 destroyers[/h2]
You will now be sometimes accompanied by these heavily armed warships.

In the current version, you will encounter them mostly on Mediterranean during a newly added mission type that we will describe in a minute below.



[h2]Compass[/h2]
We added a compass to the main user interface. It will increase your overall awareness by informing you about nearby enemies, mission objectives and ports.



[h2]Routine hydrophone checks[/h2]
Routinely performing hydrophone checks of your surroundings was quickly becoming old. For this reason, we added a button that performs this procedure automatically. Once you click it, the boat will dive to an optimal depth, radioman will listen there for 5 minutes and then your u-boat will surface and replenish air - all done automatically.



[h2]Escort duties on Mediterranean[/h2]
This update introduces a new mission type - escort duty for troopships travelling towards Africa. You will be assisted by German destroyers acting as the last line of defence, while your own objective is to detect incoming enemies and sink them before they reach the convoy.



[h2]More populated sea[/h2]
In this version we added many small changes that should contribute towards making the sea feel more populated and make it easier to find targets for yourself.

We also ensured that English Channel is more dangerous with numerous warship and aircraft patrols.



[h2]Periscope rework[/h2]
Many things about the periscopes and UZO were improved:

- There are now video tutorials that explain how to use each tool.
- User interface was reworked to give it more self-explaining, organized and practical layout.
- Textures on periscopes were improved, especially on the observation periscope.
- As mentioned earlier, we added new effects that especially affect immersion of the periscopes - their lens will become wet from water and there are now raytraced reflections on the eyepiece.



[h2]Manual mode in FPP[/h2]
We know that this change has been requested a lot - from now on, if you play in FPP and activate a device, you will then enter directly into its manual mode, without entering the intermediate TPP view.

You can also leave the station using a newly added button and remain in FPP all the time this way.

Yours,
DWS

Dear skippers,

A second hotfix for B130 is now ready for download. It brings new bug fixes and general improvements to this release.

This update doesn't affect saved game states in any way.

[h2]Changelog[/h2]
[h3]Localisation:[/h3]
- Russian localization update by Hard.
- Chinese localization update by SparrowSHEN (Q:173678441).
- German localization update by Ruby.

[h3]Crew:[/h3]
- Fix: Diving steers station was becoming unmanned after a shift change (the game was still considering it to be manned though - this problem didn't had gameplay implications).

[h3]Missions:[/h3]
- Fix: After opening a customisation screen of any sailor during tutorial #5, the tutorial popup would remain on the screen.

[h3]User interface:[/h3]
- Fix: It's no longer possible to open other views by clicking on the notifications during the team selection in an external interaction. The selection needs to be completed or cancelled first.
- Regression fix: Changes to some of the gameplay settings in the main menu (like the autosave) weren't applied since the B130 release.

[h3]General:[/h3]
- Improved journal entries about performed inspections to include the target ship's name and coordinates. Also removed the assumption that the ship is neutral from the message.
- Fix: Value of some types of messages wasn't decreasing with the passage of time.
- Fix: Allied ships no longer accept player's ship surrender, if they are intentionally attacked after 8th May 1945.
- Fix: Radio transmissions were active for too short time, if dynamic travel system was enabled in the campaign settings.

Yours,
DWS

Dear skippers,

We prepared the first hotfix for B130. It fixes just one blocker bug. We wanted to publish it, before moving on to other fixes.

This update doesn't affect saved game states in any way.


[h2]General:[/h2]
- Regression fix: After using the hydrophone in manual mode at least once, cursor was permanently staying on the screen, making FPP mode unusable.

Have a nice day ːsteamthumbsupː

Yours,
DWS

Dear skippers,

Today we are ready to release the next major update to UBOAT - B130. This time there won't be unstable version testing and the update shouldn't affect your existing saved game states. Our intention is to keep things this way moving forward as we get closer to leaving the Early Access.

To keep your expectations on a correct level, while this update adds a respectable amount of new content, it doesn't add new ports and submarine pens - we are working on them for quite a long time and plan to publish them in version B131.

Having that said, let's move on and discuss the additions of this update!

[h2]The war is over[/h2]
We completely overhauled how the end of war looks like in the game. With this update, you will encounter historically-based messages from the high command during that time like the Rainbow Order (Regenbogen-Befehl) and surrender instructions on 8th May 1945.

Since you will receive conflicting orders, you will have a choice, if you want to scuttle and leave your u-boat or surrender to the enemy. Technically, nothing will stop you from ending things Rambo-style though.

When you leave your ship, you will now see a nice summary of your u-boat's entire service.



[h2]Fast mission completion[/h2]
We decided to cut some travel time from the game and from now on, you will be able to finish your mission right after completing the main objective. The return trip will happen automatically with an immersive return cutscene.

If you prefer to live through everything in the game, you can disable this option in the settings, but we encourage you to give it a try. It makes the gameplay much more dynamic.



[h2]AOB tool[/h2]
This update introduces AOB tool to the game. It's possible to switch between the regular course tool and AOB at any time and the angles will be converted accordingly! Both tools are now also updated in realtime to reflect bearing changes of your current target.



[h2]Reporting changes[/h2]
We felt that there wasn't enough benefit from taking the risk and sending your reports on the sea. We wanted to fix that problem in this update. Right now your reports will loose some of their original value as the time goes on, since they become less relevant to the command with the passage of time.

There were also other related changes:
- When you dock in a port, all reports are handed in automatically without use of the radio.
- Regular sailors no longer can send radio messages. Radioman officer is required for such a task.

[h2]Damage model improvements[/h2]
We reworked the damage model used for NPC ships to on average make torpedoes with magnetic setting (MZ) more effective than with the impact setting (AZ).

We listened to your feedback and did detailed testing, which confirmed that torpedoes with MZ setting were less effective than AZ ones, while it should be the other way around.

Our testing on medium GRT merchant ships indicated that MZ torpedo had a 65% chance to completely disable a ship, while AZ torpedoes had a 85% chance to achieve that. After this rework MZ torpedoes have a 95% chance to completely disable a medium GRT merchant ship, while AZ torpedoes have 70% chance, which should be much closer to reality.



[h2]Polishing[/h2]
Since we are getting closer to the stable release of the game, our main focus was to polish the existing content and repair problems. Some of such changes include:

- There is now an intro movie played before a new campaign is started.
- New loading hints and backgrounds.
- Crewman's hair now appears under a cap in a fitting way instead of disappearing. There is a model adjustment prepared for each cap-hair pair.
- Many changes to the content added into the journal to improve its readability and organization.
- Balance pass of experience points and Iron Cross points gained for various tasks.
- Added an integration with rich presence feature in Discord.
- Fixed a problem that the music played through the radio wasn't detectable to the enemy hydrophones.
- And much more!

[h2]Full changelog[/h2]

You can read the full changelog of this update here: FULL CHANGELOG.

Yours,
DWS

Get the bundle!

We are also happy to announce that we have joined forces with other titles in the Underwater Prison bundle.
Our special bundle is available to you at a lower and convenient discount - 10% on both of the games!

The bundle includes number awesome and exciting titles:

- Prison Simulator
- UBOAT

Prison Simulator - Get a taste of Prison Life! Become the Prison Guard and deal with dangerous convicts. Prison management, lots of daily activities. Will you become the best Guard in history? Or maybe you'll turn into the worst scumbag this Prison has ever seen?

UBOAT - A simulator of a submarine from WWII era. It is a survival sandbox with crew management mechanics while its primary theme is life of German sailors. The boat is their home, but it can become their grave at any time.