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Holdfast: Nations At War News

Napoleon's Rise Release! Holdfast OST


Holdfast updated! The past few months we have been hard at work undertaking one of Holdfast's largest updates to date.

We've upgraded Holdfast's game engine and render pipeline allowing us to utilise new technology for optimisations while also improving the graphical fidelity of the game. Holdfast has never looked better and now as a result of these optimisations will also run smoother and more consistently across various setups.

But that is not all... Your Emperor calls. Napoleon himself marches onto the battlefields of Holdfast along with some iconic uniforms of his past in the new Napoleon's Rise cosmetic DLC available for the game. Plus the official soundtrack for Holdfast is out now!

A brand new urban map featuring new environments themed on the city streets of France will also be playable for all for free.

[previewyoutube]https://youtu.be/tLb7IebbabE[/previewyoutube]
Napoleon's Rise DLC
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2692480/Holdfast_Nations_At_War__Napoleons_Rise

The Plight of War OST
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2692500/Holdfast_OST__The_Plight_of_War

Development efforts targeting framerate improvements on large player count servers are also ongoing and will be present in future updates. This has all been made possible thanks to the above mentioned engine upgrade exposing the team to new tools to further optimise the game.

Just before you go though be sure to take a read of what this update brings down below!

[h2]Holdfast's New Look[/h2]

An entire rework of the games graphics was yet another one of the mammoth tasks throughout this update. No stone was left unturned to bring-forth the new graphics for the game. The entire post processing stack for the game was changed from the ground up and now features some excellent looking sun rays, reflections, colour grading and many more effects to give you the full Holdfast immersive experience.



Many structures and props have been freshly retextured bringing a more consistent and vibrant appearance to the game's battlefields. We also spent some time touching grass as the foliage has undergone a complete rework from the smallest blade to the tallest of trees. Foliage will also interact with players as they move through it, something especially handy for spotting a sneaking carpenter in the wheat fields.

[h2]Slimming Down Holdfast[/h2]

A significant benefit of our work across these months has been that reduction in Holdfast's file size. Given the number of battlefields and faction diversity that Holdfast offers it was inevitable that this would eventually catch up to us and needed remedying.

Thank's to the updated engine and new optimisation efforts we have successfully brought the games install size down from over 40gb to a now much more comfortable 17gb while still maintaining both Nations At War and Frontlines in one game install for all to enjoy.

Its safe to say that we've speed run our way through a most challenging new year resolution - Queue us the Rocky theme.



[h2]Napoleon's Rise[/h2]

Explore Napoleon’s rise to power through this cosmetic content dedicated to the Emperor Napoleon. Lead the armies of France to victory as either First Consul Napoleon or Emperor Napoleon with the 2 new character heads and iconic uniform of the great tactician himself. Players will also be given a new portrait, banner and medal to showcase on their playercard via the in-game barracks.

Napoleon's Rise DLC
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2692480/Holdfast_Nations_At_War__Napoleons_Rise


Rise up in the streets of France with the new French Republican Infantry uniform available for the Line Infantry class, charge forth into the fray as the Imperial Guard Chasseur-a-Cheval or skirmish the enemy as Light Infantry dressed in the dashing uniforms of the Guides a Pied de Bonaparte.


Make use of the the new unique officer gestures that display some of Napoleon's most iconic poses of the time.



Napoleon’s horse Marengo is also available as a horse skin for cavalry players and features the saddle Napoleon would have sat upon.



[h2]Empire City Map[/h2]

Battle throughout the city streets of Empire! This tight urban environment is the first of its kind and offers unique verticality and urban city combat all in one map.



Charge through the grand mansions of nobility and capture the city square or sneak under the city and traverse through the sewage system to flank the enemy. Keep your bayonet fixed and stay alert, there wont be a moments break from the rage of war.



[h2]Original Soundtrack[/h2]

With great pomp and circumstance the Holdfast original soundtrack ‘The Plight of War’ presents to you a plethora of epic renditions of some all time classics to uplift spirits and set the tone as you charge forward to glory.

The Plight of War OST
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2692500/Holdfast_OST__The_Plight_of_War

Featuring iconic songs spanning from the Napoleonic Wars to The Great War this soundtrack brings-forth not only 20 tracks (including instrumentals) but an entire music player available both in the main menu and in-game so that you’ll never be without the choirs of war.



There are many more changes, features, bug fixes and quality of life additions being introduced in this update so be sure to check out the change log! Thank you for your support and until next time, may good health be yours. :oheart:

discord.gg/holdfastgame







Changelog 89 - Game Version 2.15.0000.00000

Count 11 new features and improvements.
2 gameplay additions.
12 optimisations.
10 quality of life additions.
15 graphical additions.
98 bug fixes.
200 additions to the Holdfast SDK.

Click here for the full change log.





- Anvil Game Studios

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

Vive L'Empereur! Releasing 17.01.2024



"To have good soldiers, a nation must always be at war." - Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon's Rise DLC
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2692480/Holdfast_Nations_At_War__Napoleons_Rise

The Plight of War OST
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2692500/Holdfast_OST__The_Plight_of_War

Rally the Old Guard and raise the banners. The Emperor himself will soon set foot upon the battlefields of Holdfast. Here's a sneak peek at what's to come. Napoleon's Rise, a cosmetic DLC for Holdfast: Nations At War will release on January 17th 2024 alongside free content themed around the Emperors rise to power.



There's plenty more coming with this update including an entire graphical overhaul and important optimisations drastically reducing the game's file size. Here's one more peek at what we've been working on.



The orchestra are tuning up! Releasing alongside this update will be the official sound track of Holdfast 'The Plight Of War'. Charge forth with some classic songs ranging from the Napoleonic Era to the Great War.



There are many more changes, features, bug fixes and quality of life additions being introduced in this update so be sure to check out the change log when it releases! Thank you for your support and until next time, may good health be yours. :oheart:

discord.gg/holdfastgame






- Anvil Game Studios

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

Celebrating 6 Years Of Holdfast!

Celebrating 6 years of Holdfast! September 21st 2023 marks 6 years since Holdfast initially released into Early Access way back in 2017. Since then Holdfast has seen multiple evolutions of the game including, new classes, factions, customisation, a free WW1 total-conversion DLC, the regiment registry and most recently the Howitzer artillery piece just to name a few.


The best thing about it all is that we’re not done yet… Anvil Game Studios are committed to further bettering the experience of this game we all love so dearly. Our development efforts for the remainder of the year and the year to come will continue to be focused on bringing the game into the new era and revolutionise this genre of Roleplay Shooters with new features and mechanics for players new and old. Development on more optimisations making the game increasingly more accessible is also currently ongoing.


Celebrating this remarkable feat, Holdfast and all its DLC’s can now be purchased at a discounted price for a limited time. Gather Holdfast on sale at 60% off and all of its cosmetic DLCs up to 55% off.

Base Game
https://store.steampowered.com/app/589290/Holdfast_Nations_At_War/

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

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

Great War Pack
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/25824/Great_War_Pack/

These past 6 years have truly been a blast! The community has grown and evolved in ways that we could never truly have imagined. Your ongoing support and dedication are very much appreciated and we look forward to expanding the great Holdfast community even more.



We wholeheartedly thank you and until next time, may good health be yours. :oheart:

discord.gg/holdfastgame






- Anvil Game Studios

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

Holdfast Updated! Soldier Medals



Following suit with the previous update to the game this one too has a focus on optimisations, quality of life and bug fixing. However, this time this update will bring with it the return of the soldier medals with a whole new design ready to be displayed at your will on your playercards. Head over to the barracks to check these out.



Soldier medals are back! Now that we’ve tested the robustness of the new playercard system we’re pleased to announce the reintroduction of the class medals into the game. These medals have undergone a complete redesign and to better reflect the class they are associated to so you can display your skill as your favourite class with pride.


You can now also apply previously earned medals onto your playercard, display up to 4 medals from the same class medal on your playercard to showcase your veterancy.



The spectate system has also undergone a rework to make transitioning between player specific spectating and freecam easier, now you can easily swap between the two modes seamlessly by simply pressing ‘E’ (this can be rebound). Swapping to freecam from spectate on a specific player will enter freecam on the players position allowing for easy movement between the two modes.



In-game interaction icons have also been redesigned to compliment the latest UI overhaul and make for more distinguishable and understandable calls to action.


On the game optimisation front we've specifically taken a look at map loading times with this release. Our team will continue dishing out more improvements on this front in more Holdfast updates to follow.

Part of this change is an experimental new option for a reduced main menu which can be accessed by inputting -hddMode as a Steam game launch parameter. This lightweight version of the main menu currently in BETA is intended to aid individuals that have the game installed on a hard drive.



Be sure to take a read of the full change log to see the list of optimisations, bugs and quality of life features that have been addressed in this update. Thank you for your support and until next time, may good health be yours. :oheart:







Changelog 88 - Game Version 2.14.8661.23780

Count 3 new features and improvements.
11 quality of life additions.
4 optimisations.
3 graphical additions.
23 bug fixes.

Click here for the full change log.





- Anvil Game Studios

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

Holdfast Updated! Optimisations & Bug Fixes


Holdfast has been updated! Following the release of the Howitzer and UI update we’ve been hard at work fixing bugs, optimising and introducing some requested quality of life features to compliment the update.

Important Notices Individuals having issues launching the game on Steam Deck are advised to use Proton 8.0-3.
Be sure to let us know in #bug-reports on discord.gg/holdfastgame if you experience further issues.

Known Issues We're aware of the chat not unfading when other players type in a chat.



Although extensive BETA testing was undertaken now and again things can slip through the gaps and getting the update into a stable state has been the priority the last few days as a result. Namely, optimisations have been implemented to return the game’s performance back to on par with previous iterations of the game.

Two crosshairs have also been introduced into the Nations At War selection, the 'Nail’ and the ‘Fixate’ crosshairs can now be applied from the game tab in the settings menu.



In addition to this, further customisation of the games UI can now be accessed via the settings, now players can change the colour of the health bar to either a solid red, gradient or dynamic bar.



Be sure to take a read of the full change log to see the list of optimisations, bugs and quality of life features that have been addressed with this hot fix. Thank you for your support and until next time, may good health be yours. :oheart:







Changelog 87 - Game Version 2.13.8650.21866

Count 2 new features and improvements.
6 quality of life additions.
3 optimisations.
1 server configuration additions.
35 bug fixes.

Click here for the full change log.





- Anvil Game Studios

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