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Holdfast: Nations At War News

Field Orders! Pans & Unlocks


Shoulder arms and await further orders! The next major release for Holdfast: Nations At War is here. 

Earn the King's shilling by completing orders and unlock new cosmetics to make your characters stand out from the rank and file.

From Spanish muskets to backpacks, siege map reworks, bug fixes and much more we’ve got you covered. This update brings a whole slew of new additions to the game and complete overhaul of the game's progression system.

Plus the release of the brand new Blackpowder Firearms cosmetic DLC to compliment the new progression systems available in the game.

Blackpowder Firearms DLC
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3320400/Holdfast_Nations_At_War__Blackpowder_Firearms

Before diving in, be sure to take a read below of everything this release has to offer.


[h2]Order In The Ranks[/h2]

One of the largest overhauls to the games progression and customisation system releases with this update. Now, alongside having an individual level for each class, players will have a singular Soldier Rank, displayed on their playercard, with a max rank of 50 which is also tied into the new orders system.


This order system introduces over 120 unique field orders to complete on the battlefields of Holdfast in turn rewarding you with Shillings to spend within the barracks. These Shillings can only be obtained through in-game orders. Chains of orders can likewise be completed to earn additional shilling rewards.



Order tiers are locked through Solder Rank and orders within them can only be completed or progressed if they’re selected in one of the four active order slots. To add an active order, simply navigate to the armoury, select a slot in the active orders container and then select an order to replace it with.



But that’s not all… Show your might and mettle through Feats of Strength that reward you with an even grandeur number of cosmetics to unlock for your player profile and exclusive character unlocks. Keen on featuring a few unique medals for your player profile? Start looking here.

We’ve taken some inspiration from the community for a few of these and also made sure to pay homage and references beloved era films and a solid serving of puns.


If that’s still not enough, you’ll also be able to complete simple daily missions to earn a small amount of extra shillings and gather an XP increase. Should none of them take your fancy, feel free to use a limited re-roll to change the mission to one that's easier to complete but features a smaller reward.


Something key to highlight is that under this new order and shilling system cosmetic unlocks are now universal across all classes. Purchasing a head, backpack or weapon with shillings will unlock it for available classes.

This has unfortunately meant that heads and weapons previously unlocked via class rank have had to be re-locked under the new shilling system. Special player profile unlocks and cosmetics have however been introduced to commemorate those who reached various milestones such as levelling a class to 75 on the previous legacy progression system.

This chain rewarding the most-veteran of players features a new medal, the 'Sweaty' title and the 'Freddy Williamson' head unlocks.



[h2]Just A Touch Of Paint[/h2]

Dropdowns be gone! To accommodate the new cosmetics, a complete rework of the games barracks and in-game class selection spawn screen has been undertaken. This new design brings to the front and centre a plethora of new cosmetic unlocks that can quickly and easily be purchased with shillings and equipped onto your character.



We’ve also simplified a lot of the sections to give way for more clarity and useful information pertaining to your classes.



In the barracks you’ll also be able to easily customise your player profile with a barrel full of new playercard banners, portraits, medals and titles to purchase with shillings or unlock through feats of strength.



[h2]Pans, Backpacks and Guns![/h2]

Every Nations At War firearm has received a new lick of paint and model touch up along with special decorated and rusty variants to select from. Those who wish to go camping may now do so and pack up all their troubles in an old kit bag. Backpacks can now be purchased with shillings via the barracks.



Of course, no camping trip is complete without a bit of food so make sure to pack your pans too! Bonk people on the head, or give em a smack round the chops, with the brand new frying pan sword weapon skin.



Featuring unique hit and block sounds plus a special unlockable gold coated version for those who take their pan action to the highest of levels.

Officers will also find 2 new Legendary Officer Sword skins available for unlock. These are the glistening ‘Napoleon’s Sword’ and a entirely unique looking ‘Yatagan Sword’. Musket enjoyers will also be able to sport the Legendary 'Iroquois Musket'.



[h2]Blackpowder Firearms DLC[/h2]

With valour and glory, march onto the battlefields of Holdfast with a brand new selection of firearms featuring entirely new models and decorated details to make you stand out in the rank and file. From Nock Guns to Sporting Rifles this weapon pack has it all.


The Blackpowder Firearms pack features 6 new unique firearms unlocked by default plus an additional 6 decorated versions that can be unlocked by completing the 6 new feats of strength challenges that are also unlocked by this pack.

Content present in Holdfast: Nations At War DLCs is purely cosmetic. It doesn’t and never will impact gameplay. Your kind generosity will be put to good use and bring this genre of roleplay warfare games that all of us are fond of into the limelight.

Blackpowder Firearms DLC
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3320400/Holdfast_Nations_At_War__Blackpowder_Firearms


[h2]The Great Siege Map Rework[/h2]

Following the previous releases implementation of Squad Camps onto the siege gamemode we’ve been hard at work monitoring gameplay and identifying areas of maps which could play better.

This first pass tackles maps that most needed some attention. Fort Pierre, Al Farid, Darial and Christina have undergone important changes to better improve the experience. Fort Christina and Al Farid in particular underwent some drastic improvements to provide both attackers and defenders an enjoyable and balanced fight.



Other changes were made to most siege maps and can be found in the full change log at the end of the post.


[h2]Achievements Return[/h2]

Fixing the achievements system for the game was also at the forefront of this update and we have now not only made the system far more robust and reliable but we’ve also tied it in to the in-game feats of strength and orders features found within the Armoury.

A complete redesign of the look of the Steam Achievement will now give some well deserved flair to those heard earned feats.



There's plenty more still to come before the years end and beyond. From preparing to head over the top once more, to marching into new found land, there's a lot left in store for Holdfast.

Be sure to take a read of the entire changelog below and keep an eye out for more yet to come. Your support always comes most appreciated and it allows us to continue developing the game we all love. Until next time, may good health be yours. :oheart:

discord.gg/holdfastgame






Changelog 99 - Game Version 2.25.9091.27958

Count 14 new features and improvements.
16 gameplay additions.
2 optimisations.
1 quality of life additions.
4 graphical additions.
8 server configuration additions.
52 bug fixes.

Click here for the full change log.





- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Walki, Jackson, Harper, Storey, UberJuice, Stan, Gest, Matt, Grandayy, Charles:Cute_Rat: & Winston (The Cat).

Holdfast Update! Game Optimisations



Greeting good fellows of the Holdfast community! We're releasing a small update today to dish out a couple of performance improvements. Everyone at Anvil Game Studios is still in awe due to the great reception we received for the recent release of the 'Battlefields Expanded' major content-update and for that, we thank you.

Expect to see more within the year and until next time, may good health be yours. :oheart:

Napoleonic Pack
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/25822/Napoleonic_Pack/

discord.gg/holdfastgame






Changelog 97 - Game Version 2.23.9020.17816


Optimisations (3) Improved performance on high player count servers. Work is still ongoing.
Improved performance on maps utilizing ships.
Solved another instance of performance degradation.

Gameplay Additions (1) Players from one faction will now no longer see the spawn section distances of the other faction. This is relevant to the naval game modes.

Bug Fixes (5) Solved a reoccurring exception when using the surgeon healing ability.
Solved a reoccurring exception when using AMD FSR.
Solved a reoccurring exception when the squad join notification popup is showing.
Experimental fix to address long distance player banner flickering.
Experimental fix for reoccurring exception when entering an officer's or sergeant's line.

Changelog 98 - Game Version 2.24.9021.25039

Bug Fixes (1) Solved an issue with players bugging out when interacting with beds.




- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Walki, Jackson, Harper, Storey, UberJuice, Stan, Gest, Matt, Grandayy, Charles:Cute_Rat: & Winston (The Cat).

Battlefields Expanded! Server Queue

Follow Us On Steam
https://store.steampowered.com/developer/anvilgamestudios


Rally the troops and prepare to march to pastures new with the release of the Battlefields Expanded major update! Featuring the long awaited queue system, 8 entirely new maps, a complete overhaul to existing game levels along with a volley full of features pertaining to Holdfast's squad system and so much more.



Take a read of everything below to get a taste of the scale this update has to offer.

[h2]British Person Simulator[/h2]

Thanks to a complete overhaul of our back-end across previous updates totaling to over 9 months worth of development hours, we’ve been able to develop some long awaited features for the game. One such feature is a server queue system which will now be implemented across all official servers.



When a server becomes full, players wishing to connect will be placed within a queue. As slots become available your position in the queue will advance until you are the next to join. Players will also be prompted to join a recommended server should they not wish to wait around for a slot to become available.

You’re also free to continue browsing the main menu or head over to the barracks to customise your character as you wait in queue.

[h2]8 New Battlefields[/h2]

To compliment the new queue system and to help keep fighting engaging for those populating fresh servers, 8 entirely new maps have been added into the public rotation.

Buckland Banks, Crossroads, Convoy, Domont Gardens, Isle of Wake, Lindisfarne, Tropics and Vestiges are all playable across both the Army Battlefield and Army Conquest game modes. Each map features a unique environment and design along with some new playful additions that’ll make for some good fun.



[h2]Reinventing The Wheel[/h2]

Alongside the new additions to the battlefields of Holdfast. we also took the time to go back and rework some of the game's longest serving maps, some of which dated back to the game's release on Early Access in 2017.

A good majority of these changes were environmental changes, especially the Oak Environment which was entirely overhauled (thanks to the Oak summoning circle 🌳) but with some maps we paid extra attention to the design of their gameplay areas and issue some much needed improvements.

We’ve made sure to pay proper tribute to these classics by staying true to their character while bringing them into the new age. Check out the full change log for a list of all the maps that have undergone a redesign.



[h2]Squading Up[/h2]

This update also brings with it a plethora of quality of life changes, namely we’ve taken a look at the officer squad camp system to further improve the flow of both placing and joining squad camps.

A new ability bind for placing the squad camp has been added for the officer along with the new 'Reinforce' order allowing them to ping a location to direct their squad members. Officers now gather experience for kills earned by their squad members.



Gather up squad mates with greater ease while playing as the officer class! Now players will be able to enlist in your squad simply by running up to you or your squad camp and pressing their ‘USE’ key.



Additionally, all players no yet in a squad will be notified with a small widget when a squad camp is placed for the first time. Simply hold ‘USE’ to join a squad when this quick widget pops up and you’ll respawn at the camp upon next life.



In efforts to improve the general siege experience, attacking forces are now able to employ the use of Officer Squad Camps in order to gain additional attacking positions during a siege promoting a much more engaging gameplay for those on both sides of the engagement.



The locations in which these tents can be placed has been heavily restricted in order to maintain a good game-play balance and reinforcements have been adjusted accordingly.

We look forward to welcoming any and all feedback regarding these changes.

[h2]Quality Of Life Changes[/h2]

Finally a brief look at some of the many quality of life additions we’ve implemented this update. On first game launch players will now be prompted to calibrate their monitors to the desired brightness, this can be adjusted again via the games video settings tab.



For further clarity on intractable objects a new highlight effect will show around objects which you can interact with. Similarly, sapper objects that cannot be built due to a obstruction will now appear slightly transparent.



Faction balancing has also been adjusted to prevent one faction from having an overwhelming number of player on low-pop servers and will reactively adjust according to the number of players in the server.

This post truly doesn’t do justice to the amount of new features, changes and general development time taken for this major update for the game. It comes as part of one of many updates focused to continue with our aim of bring Holdfast into the new era.

Be sure to take a read of the entire changelog below and keep an eye out for more yet to come. Your support always comes most appreciated and it allows us to continue developing the game we all love. Until next time, may good health be yours. :oheart:

discord.gg/holdfastgame







Changelog 95 - Game Version 2.22.9014.15198

Count 17 new features and improvements.
33 gameplay additions.
2 optimisations.
3 quality of life additions.
2 graphical additions.
4 server configuration additions.
99 bug fixes.

Changelog 96 - Game Version 2.22.9015.17582

Solved an instance of performance degradation.

Click here for the full change log.





- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Walki, Jackson, Harper, Storey, UberJuice, Stan, Gest, Matt, Grandayy, Charles:Cute_Rat: & Winston (The Cat).

Holdfast Launches On Steam Deck


Engage in large scale Holdfast battles on the go with the official verification and release of Holdfast: Nations At War on the Steam Deck. From land to sea you'll now be able to partake in all that Holdfast goodness in powerful handheld format.

As part of our efforts to bring Holdfast into the new age, a portion of the team has been hard at work not only making Holdfast accessible for those who prefer to play with a controller but also gaining the verification and official support for the Steam Deck console.



Development with the Steam Deck was pleasantly straightforward and a lot of the game worked with little to no intervention. With a few touch ups and thanks to the Steam Deck's powerful hardware and brilliant design, it happily runs Holdfast and it's shenanigans with great graphical fidelity and at an impressive frame rate.



[h2]On The Horizon[/h2]

Following up this Steam Deck release, next month will introduce the Battlefields Expanded update, the largest undertaking of map reworks we have done to date. Featuring improved gameplay designs, new environments and much more. Every single Nations At War map has been looked over and updated to our current standard.



But that's not all! Alongside the map reworks we will be bringing 8 entirely new public play battlefields that will be made available for both low and high population servers. These maps will compliment the queue system that'll also be featured within this update.



Quality of life improvements have also been on the forefront of this update and part of this will include easier ways to join squads created by officers. Get ready to rally the troops! One of these new ways will be a prompt on the officer itself allowing nearby players to simply interact with the officer to join their squad.



The above is just a taste of a plethora of new features and additions to the game, there's plenty more that'll be dropping with this update. Public testing is currently ongoing with an estimated release scheduled for next month once the testing phase has concluded.

Want to take part in the next Public BETA Test? Head over to our Official Holdfast BETA Discord server to get involved and provide feedback.

Join The BETA Discord

Stay tuned for more to come and until next time, may good health be yours. :oheart:





- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Walki, Jackson, Harper, Storey, UberJuice, Stan, Gest, Matt, Grandayy, Charles:Cute_Rat: & Winston (The Cat).

Summer Sale! XP Event & Update Preview



Summer has officially arrived! Grab yourself an ice cream down the beachfront of Balamor Bay, while you soak up the sun and take a read through this summer sale exclusive preview of things soon to come.



[h2]Summer Sale[/h2]

To celebrate the bright blue skies that are now upon us Holdfast will be partaking in the Steam Summer Sale. Now you’ll be able to pick up the Holdfast: Nations At War base game along with all its DLCs at a discounted price for the duration of the sale.

Holdfast will be reduced by 65% with the DLCs being discounted by up to 60%.

Holdfast: Collectors Edition
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/13424/Holdfast_Collectors_Edition/

Napoleonic Pack
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/25822/Napoleonic_Pack/

[h2]Increased XP Event[/h2]

Get a head start on the final month of this season's leaderboards with this limited time increased XP event. Starting from 26/06/24 and running until 12/07/24 players will be able to gather an increase of 1.5x experience. It's the perfect opportunity to gather a head-start on obtaining medals and those cosmetic unlocks you've always wanted.


You'll also be assisting your regiment to rank up! If you’re not already in a regiment why not enlist today and partake in privately organised linebattles and events. There’s a plethora to choose from and you’ll be bound to find one that suits your preferred playing style.

Check out the Regiment Registry in-game or chat on the official Discord server to enlist in a regiment today.

discord.gg/holdfastgame



[h2]A Sneak Preview[/h2]

Continuing on our mission to bring Holdfast into the new age we’ll soon be introducing a long awaited feature along with some complimentary additions bringing in additional content to the game's Napoleonic front.

A queue system for joining full servers will be implemented within the next major update. If a server is full you will be placed into a limited queue while awaiting for a slot to open. The days of spamming left click will be finally over. :aurapray:



Those waiting in the queue will be able to navigate the main menu, customise in the barracks and view leaderboards while they wait to join. Once a slot opens up you’ll be given an audio and visual alert to inform you that you’ll soon be loading into the game.



To compliment this feature and to encourage more players to join non-full servers we’ll also be adding in a good few smaller scale maps featuring unique designs that can support more engaging gameplay regardless of the player count.

Here’s a preview of two of the new maps ‘Vestiges’ and ‘Buckland Banks’ that’ll be coming with the same update.

Vestiges

Buckland Banks

Stay tuned for more to come and until next time, may good health be yours. :oheart:





- Anvil Game Studios

Refleax, Rycon, Dreas, Walki, Jackson, Harper, Storey, UberJuice, Stan, Gest, Matt, Grandayy, Charles:Cute_Rat: & Winston (The Cat).