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Holdfast: Nations At War News

Game Update! Tweaks & Balances



Holdfast updated! Continuing strong in our mission of polishing up the game and making it ever more accessible we’re pleased to announce the release of this next update.

Featuring a plethora of quality of life features, optimisations and bug fixes, this release steers us ever closer to completing our mission and eventually what will be one of Holdfast’s biggest releases to date.

More on that in future posts, for now take a look at everything coming with this update down below.

[h2]QOL & Gameplay[/h2]

Quality of life was a key focus of this release. Keeping the game fresh and up to par with modern standards is a key element required to bring Holdfast into the new era.

Capturing the last point on the Army Siege game mode will now immediately end the match. This has been introduced to combat 'backcaping' on certain maps where it was prevalent.

Extended capture zones have been tentatively introduced firstly for Frontlines Invasion maps that feature beach landings. These extended zones allow for more unique capture zone layouts and will eventually make their way into the Napoleonic side of the game should they be required.


A slew of new indicators to better distinguish your characters states have also been introduced. You’ll primarily notice these when reloading, attaching and detaching your bayonet and when performing other actions.



One of the more obvious of these changes is the new addition of showing the playercard of the enemy you have just killed. This will allow you to see the accolades and titles immediate of the player you’ve just bested in combat.



Another part of this update was refreshing the public server experience, this included multiple reinforcement changes to maps along with improved map voting functionality in order to provide a more varied experience on Army Siege, Army Battlefield and Army Conquest maps.

[h2]Event Hosts - A Call To Arms
[/h2]

Are you an enjoyer of all the regimented chaos that Holdfast Linebattles offer? We’re looking for the next generation of Event Hosts to join our team of dedicated volunteers who host the weekly Official Public Linebattle events.

You’ll also be able to take advantage of our Event Host rewards programme featuring unique in-game rewards and free DLC as a show of thanks for your efforts.



So… Think you have what it takes to run these 200+ player events with your fellow hosts? Then enlist today via the form below to get involved.

Event Host Application

[h2]Bug Fixes & Optimisations[/h2]

The team has been very hard at work and making good progress with our optimisation efforts. The last release saw some impressive performance increases and we’ve since been taking good care in addressing any regressions that may have occurred - Check out the massive changelog for all the intricate details.

Multiple RAM-oriented optimisations have been done to improve performance on lower end hardware along with yet another large reduction in the overall file size of the game. Taking it down from 19 Gigabytes to just 17 Gigabytes.

The game engine has also been upgraded to expose even more potential optimisation techniques and methods for future releases.

Do let us know on Discord if you face any issues folks. We’ll be sure to look into it. As always, we thank you for your generous support, and until next time, may good health be yours. :oheart:

discord.gg/holdfastgame



Changelog 107 - Game Version 2.31.9279.18617

Count 14 features and improvements.
30 gameplay additions.
3 optimisation additions.
94 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) & Nelson (The Other Cat).

Game Update! Optimisations V2


Greetings, good fellows of the Holdfast community. Following up on last week’s release, we’re hitting the decks with another update addressing bugs and introducing more optimisations to reduce memory utilisation.

Expect more to follow on this front soon! While it may not be the most exciting of releases, it's a necessity to ensure we can continue supporting and updating Holdfast for the years to come. Our commitment to bring Holdfast into a new age remains ever steadfast.

Do let us know on Discord if you face any issues folks. We’ll be sure to look into it. As always, we thank you for your generous support, and until next time, may good health be yours. :oheart:

discord.gg/holdfastgame




Changelog 106 - Game Version 2.30.9230.24295

Count 3 optimisation additions.
24 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).

Game Update! Optimisations & Community Rewards



Holdfast updated! After some months of dedicated and hard work we’re pleased to announce the release of this performance and optimisation update.

It introduces community rewards and brings forth a whole slew of optimisation that will cater to more consistent and stable framerates and hopefully provide an overall smoother Holdfast experience across the board.

Find out more by taking a read all about it in greater detail below.

[h2]Performance[/h2]

Staying true with our commitment to continue bringing Holdfast into the new age, this rather large optimisation pass we’ve undertaken will be a key instrument into making the game more accessible and playable for generations new and old.



It is a major step forward in our ongoing efforts to support Holdfast and its beloved community for years to come. It certainly wasn’t an easy task but a necessary one and involved looking back at almost 8 years worth of game's art, systems and processes then bringing them up to our current standard.

The art team dedicated time optimising old meshes and where missing introduced new lower detailed meshes that will get rendered at a distance. A good portion of the textures were also optimised to further improve ram usage along with much stricter animation culling. Lastly, the ever-dedicated fellows in the programming team continued doing their magic to reduce RAM and improve CPU utilisation.

All this and more had the added benefit of the games install now being even smaller by a few gigabytes.

This truly only grazes the surface of the work undertaken by the team these past few months. It’s almost impossible to count the many changes made. Expect more to follow on this front in future releases.

Despite the many testing passes this release has undergone, there's of course a chance some bugs may have slipped through the net. Should you encounter any of these then please do report them via the #bug-reports channel in our official Discord server linked at the end of this post.

[h2]Community Contributions[/h2]

A portion of this update brings entirely new rewards for players who go above and beyond the call of duty.

From event hosts to workshop modders and everything in between, those who lend a helpful hand or create something truly special will be granted (by our discretion) a whole slew of new medals and rewards to showcase their brilliance.



We’ll begin awarding theses out in the coming months retroactively and look forward to awarding them to many more of you in the future. If you are wanting to take that next step in helping to grow the great Holdfast community, then head over to our Discord server and get involved.

[h2]Regiments[/h2]

Have the inner desire to stand in the rank and file or sail the seven with a more regimented experiences? Earn your 40 shillings and enlist for a regiment today to participate in 200 player organised events.



It’s easy to apply, there’s plenty of regiments, crews and communities available via the main menu’s Regiment Registry tab. Regiments offer access to private events, unique ranking structures and have that great Holdfast community spirit.

Alternatively you can check out the Regiment Registry in the official Discord server. Our welcoming community would be more than willing to show you the ropes.

discord.gg/holdfastgame

Hop on Holdfast and let us know what your reckon. Until next time, may good health be yours. :oheart:





Changelog 105 - Game Version 2.29.0000.00000

Count 3 optimisation additions.
7 new features and improvements.
2 graphical additions.
7 bug fixes.

Know Issues Using the in-game report a player function disconnects you from the server.


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).

Game Update! Audio Mastering


Good fellows of the Holdfast community we’re kicking off the new year by taking a much-needed look at the game’s audio. Having trouble hearing those valiant officers in command in the chaos-ridden battlefield of Holdfast? Fret no longer as it’s now a thing of the past.

Should you be looking at further customising your experience you can easily do so by heading over to the game’s audio settings. Configure voice chat, weapons, artillery, weather and a whole lot more audio sliders individually.

Wondering about what’s next to come? Continue reading below.

[h2]What’s Next?[/h2]

Performance improvements will be the primary focus of the upcoming release hitting Holdfast this Q1 2025. Despite the major complexities involved in optimising massive 150+ players battles, everyone in the team is committed to delivering a smoother experience.

discord.gg/holdfastgame

Here’s to another great year of Holdfast with you, our most beloved community. You enable us to make this all happen. A thank you and salute from all of us at Anvil Game Studios as we move onwards to yet another exciting year for Holdfast.

Until next time, we wish you all the best and may good health be yours. :oheart:





Changelog 103 - Game Version 2.29.9145.24427

Features & Improvements (1) Performed a multitude of changes to master audio and improve voice chat legibility.
::» Audio settings have been reset to this effect.

Gameplay Additions (4) Adjusted the collisions on Engineer-built sandbags.
Reduced the damage Trench Raiders can tank when shot at by firearms.
::» Introduced a load screen tip to inform players that armoured Trench Raiders can quickly face their demise by landing a headshot.
Players can now change weapons while the Officer Orders ‘Q’ menu is open by using the scroll wheel.
Reload indicator tips no longer show if the player runs out of ammunition.

Bug Fixes (9) Solved multiple recurring exceptions on the client.
Experimental fix towards an infrequent visual error which causes the player’s score to infinitely rise.
Solved an issue which infrequently caused the server to hang.
Corrected a typo in the Hero’s Dread feat description.
Corrected a typo in the Ordinary and Able Seaman feats.
Solved an issue with the Pershing daily mission.
Solved an issue where Engineer-built sandbags didn’t show the dithering effect if players were standing in them.
Corrected a typo in the Shore Watch daily mission.
Solved an issue with incorrect LODs near the cave on Kingsman Bay.


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).

Hop On Holdfast At 75% Off!


Holdfast is now on sale for a whopping 75% off! Dive into the trenches of Frontlines or stand shoulder to shoulder on the smoke filled battlefields of Nations At War with Holdfast's largest game sale to date. Plus all DLC is now available up to 60% off.

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

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/25824/Great_War_Pack/

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

There's never been a better time to hop on Holdfast and engage in all the shenanigans and cinematic chaos of Holdfast. Why not take it a step further by joining our official Discord? From daily public events to regimental communities there's plenty to sink your teeth into by being part of the great Holdfast community.


[h2]Frontlines 2.0! To The Trenches[/h2]

December 19th Frontlines 2.0 released free for all owners of Holdfast: Nations At War. Give the trailer a watch and check out the major release blog post before diving in to the rest.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Read The Blog
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/589290/view/503937773532610926

The initial reception for this update has been brilliant and it's been a blast joining in on the grand charges, raiding of trenches with you fellows and gathering feedback! Today we have issued a small update to address some of this feedback along with tackling some of the bugs. A full list of the changes can be found at the bottom of the blog.

Your support always comes most appreciated. It allows us to continue developing the game we all love and bring this genre of roleplay warfare games into the limelight. We wish you all the best for the holidays and until next time, may good health be yours. :oheart:





Changelog 103 - Game Version 2.28.9120.28855

Count 14 new features and improvements.
12 gameplay additions.
3 Holdfast SDK additions.
1 graphical addition
2 server configuration additions.
19 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).