Skirmish Line News

We hope eveyone has had a great start on the new year! To start the year off, I would like to announce that Skirmish Line will be leaving Early Access some time during the Spring. After spending 2018 in Early Access, we have been consistently patching and refining the gameplay and believe the game is coming together nicely.

2018 saw major changes to Steam's visibility algorithm. This has unfortunately dampened the revenue flow for Skirmish Line, and we will be forced to slow down development. Rather than keeping the game in Early Access without regular updates, we will be finalizing the last batch of content. To this end, we will be preparing one last major patch for 2019 followed by an update on the Unity engine, which will hopefully fix some of the issues a few users have reported. We will be emphasizing bug fixes and stability issues prior to its full release.

This does not mean support for Skirmish Line is over! By switching over to a slower development cycle, we are hoping to introduce new content that we cannot normally produce under the faster development cycle of Early Access. We have two DLCs planned for 2019, a new "hero" unit with full voice acting and a larger DLC featuring a new game mode with a new mechanic, along with a variety of new units, upgrades, and support options.

Build 0.93 Okinawa features a new difficulty setting, currently consisting of Normal and Easy difficulty. Normal difficulty will maintain roughly the same difficulty as from Build 0.92 Singapore while Easy difficulty features fewer special wave spawns, slower progression of enemy units, and reduced penalties for having larger squads. Furthermore, all medals and achievements will still be obtainable on Easy difficulty.

While the game has been primarily balanced around reaching wave 100 with a fresh profile, we realize that many of our players desire a more casual experience. We hope the addition of the difficulty modes will make the game both accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

We'd also like to remind everyone that the Christmas event will be live from December 15th to January 7th!

We will be taking a break for the holidays. See you folks next year!


-Difficulty settings have been added for Defense in Depth and Sector Defense modes.
-Units that do not suffer from reduced scan times in pillboxes will now use an alternate aiming sprite.
-New pinned sprites for machine gunner units.
-Removed the Bunker Troop trait from Imperial Guard machine gunners.
-Santa now has a unique class icon.
-Added an option to hide the Quartermaster button.
-Direct link to the official wiki added on the menu.
-Added a fix to prevent the game from being stuck in endless retreat.


-Updated main menu UI.
-Soldiers advancing on Sector Defense are now granted an additional experience point.


-Fixed an issue where deselecting soldiers while having a handheld ordnance order with mouse3 would result in a soldier being forced to throw their handheld ordnance when being reselected.


-Fixed an issue where Japanese Officers were unable to properly conduct a binocular scan.
-Fixed a critical bug in Campaign mode where the camera would be warped, freezing the player's controls.
-Sprite adjustments to the ??? unit.
-Updated Chinese localization.

Reminder: Thanksgiving event ongoing right now!

For those of us who have played Mud and Blood 2, the "bunker strat" was the dominant setup present in virtually every high wave count setups. When we designed Skirmish Line, we wanted to make the game distinct from Mud and Blood 2, which included moving away from the idea of machine gunners in bunkers. This meant we built the game and balanced it without bunkers and without high killing power machine gunner units. We wanted every unit and every option to be useful. We wanted players to have a huge range of options and competitive strategies without relying on specific builds.

Thanks to the feedback from our players, we have seen many different strategies with high wave counts. We believe now that the game has achieved those goals. Build 0.92 Singapore will now make the previously locked behind defense prep structure, the pillbox, now available for construction. The pillbox is a "bunker" like building that offers the best protection in the game at the cost of slower reaction time. As in Mud and Blood 2, machine gunner units will be able to operate inside of pillboxes without penalty. We hope to see some new "bunker strat" setups to join the existing strategies already in play!


-Commonwealth voices added!
-Added Timed Democharges!
-Added new Japanese enemy: Flagbearers!
-Flare effect replaced and updated!
-Soldiers will now suffer morale loss if veteran officers are killed.
-Vehicles, emplacements, and decoys now benefit from directional cover against small arms fire.
-Adjusted overshooting value on rocket infantry for more variation.
-Decreased time inbetween enemy smoke shells.
-Flamethrowers now damage vehicles.
-Machine gun and anti-tank emplacement/nests now take damage from flamethrowers before set on fire.
-Machine gunner troops no longer take scan time penalties inside of pillboxes.
-Raised accuracy and melee skill cap from 100 to 1000.
-Increased cap on camo rating from 0.9 to 0.95.
-M45 Quadmount and M19 Dusters will now fire at enemy transport planes!
-M45 Quadmount and M19 Dusters will ocasionally kill paratroopers on arrival.
-Special Forces trained Medics now heal friendly units below 0 hitpoints at 2x rate.
-Sarge's passive event abilities now only apply to soldiers within his immediate vicinity.
-Officers will now boost the morale of nearby soldiers when his passive event ability is triggered.
-Officer experience boost decreased from 2 to 1 points.
-Increased Officer accuracy bound from 5-60 to 5-70.
-Increased Grenadier Molotov throw rate from 0.1 to 0.2.
-Decreased scatter on AT Gun Nest from 66 to 62.
-Signaler morale boost reduced to a flat 2 morale boost for soldiers under 40 morale.
-Decreased health of Aerial Resupply Zones from 2000 to 1600.
-Increased speed of Suicide Trucks from 14 to 15.
-Increased damage on Suicide Truck explosions.
-Reduced speed of Grenadiers from 12 to 11.
-Increased morale for Command Officers from 55-80 to 65-100.
-Reduced armor of Type 95 Kurogane from 65 to 60.


-Japanese pillboxes added.
-Japanese Palisade formations added.
-Japanese rocket infantry added.
-Added new enemy defensive positions and assault waves.
-Advance area guide UI added.
-Removed irrelevant UI elements.


-Pillboxes may now be constructed!
-Shotguns are now available by default.
-Enemy soldiers gain increased accuracy and melee dependent on wave count, by 1 per 100 waves.
-Munitions Dumps will now refund Munitions Dumps.
-Added and modified various defense prep layouts.
-Advancing on Sector Defense is no longer automatic. Advancing is now a Decision order.
-Vehicles now have to be in-zone in order to advance forward on Sector Defense.
-Advance area guide UI added if an advancing order fails.
-Increased price of Medical Crates from 10 to 12 Command Points.
-Reduced price of ANZAC Commando from 65 to 60 Command Points.
-Increased price of Purified Demon Gates from 60 to 70 Command Points.
-Reduced price of Munitions Dump from 30 to 25 Command Points.
-Reduced price of Mines from 12 to 10 Command Points.


-Increased armor penetration on Bush Rifle from 0 to 10.
-Increased damage on Bush Rifle from 50-120 to 50-125.
-Increased damage on shotgun from 8-29 to 9-31.
-Increased damage on M1 and M3 Carbine from 7-23 to 8-24.
-Increased burst on M3 Carbine from 5-8 to 6-9.
-Increased clip size on M3 Carbine from 3 to 4.
-Increased damage on M3 Grease Gun from 7-19 to 7-21.
-Increased damage on M1 Thompson from 9-24 to 10-25.
-Increased burst on M1 Thompson from 5-8 to 8-12.
-Decrease clip size on M1 Thompson from 4 to 3.
-Raised price on M1 Thompson from 18 to 25 Command Points.
-M1919A4/Stinger burst length changed from 25-35 to 20-30.
-M1919A4 clip size changed from 5 to 4.
-M1919A4/Stinger accuracy modifiers changed from 0.7/0.4/0.2/0.005 to 0.7/0.5/0.3/0.01.
-M1919A4/Stinger damage increased from 10-25 to 11-25.
-Increased damage on M1911 from 10-40 to 15-40.
-Reduced scatter on M20 Utility bazooka from 40 to 30.
-Increased damage on Gammon Bombs from 160 to 200.
-Increased armor penetration on Gammon Bombs from 75 to 85.


-Player should no longer be able to access the Command Menu after the score screen shows up.
-Immediate Support and supply drops should no longer reset the "Active Strike" modifier.
-Enemy rocket infantry should no longer benefit from the accuracy bonus from an Officer Concentrate Fire order.
-Concentrate Fire orders will no longer suffer accuracy loss against targets in cover.
-Exploding suicide soldiers will now properly die when inside of a pillbox.
-Exploding flamethrower troop will now die when inside of a pillbox.
-Air sirens should no longer play when the an enemy smoke screen support strike is called.
-Fixed an issue where weapon speed modifiers were not being applied properly.
-Fixed an issue where soldiers would continue firing their weapons after being forced into melee combat.
-Fixed an issue where soldiers would no longer animate properly after being pinned down.
-Fixed an issue where vehicles small arms were ignoring trench cover bonuses.
-Fixed an issue where units in melee were being healed for the full amount instead of the intended 90% heal reduction.
-Fixed an issue where calling in a supply drop would lock up future options for support calls.


-Fixed an issue where Officer deaths counted as Sarge deaths.


-Fixed an issue with Officers resulting in memory leaks and unpredictable behaviors.


-Updated Chinese localizations.
-Fixed an issue where AA units would bug out after firing at enemy paratroopers.


-Fixed an issue where soldiers would vanish if next to an explosion inside of a pillbox.
-Fixed an issue where a signaler becoming incapacitated would allow the player to call on subsequent artillery strikes.


-Moved the advance screen UI to be underneath all map objects.
-Fixed an issue where mobile cover soldiers would repeatedly yell upon being shot at.
-Fixed an issue where incapacitated injured troops would appear and be functional on the next sector on an advance order.


-Flagbearers will now spawn sooner.
-Mobile cover now trigger mines.
-Decreased scatter on T34 WhizBang 75mm from 90 to 80.


-Conscripts now gain +20 hitpoints after Special Forces training.
-Reduced price of Digger squad deployment from 250 to 180 requisition points.
-Increased accuracy bounds of Thompson SMG from 1.75/1/0.5/0.01 to 2/1.25/0.5/0.01.
-Increased accuracy bounds on BAR from 0.7/0.35/0.15/0.01 to 0.8/0.425/0.2/0.01.
-Increased accuracy bounds on Johnson LMG from 0.75/0.4/0.2/0.01 to 0.85/0.5/0.25/0.01.


-Type 97 Chi Ha now armed with a 47mm cannon.
-Type 97 Chi Ha armor increased from 100 to 110.
-Decreased scan time for AT Gun Nest from 15-30 to 15-25 seconds.
-Decreased price of AT Gun Nest from 105 to 90 Command Points.


-Fixed an issue where crewed vehicles would prevent the campaign mission from ending.


-Breakthrough waves will now only show up on waves 50+
-Imperial Guard Flane Unit assault will now arrive starting on wave 45+ instead of wave 35+
-Reduced price of Paramarine Reinforcements from 200 to 160.
-Paramarine Reinforcements now drops a squad of 4 soldiers instead of 5.
-Flagbearers will now spawn as soon as wave 1.
-Sarge moved to Support category.


-Increased minimum spotting time on enemy officers from 4.5 to 5 seconds.
-Fixed an issue where the first Munitions Dump built would refund itself upon being built.
-Reduced price of Thompson SMG from 25 to 20 Command Points.

Build 0.91 Sangshak is focused on reworking the most fundamental AT weapon in the game, the bazooka. We found bazookas were too effective at long ranges and could serve reliably as anti-infantry weapons. To this end, bazookas now have a chance of overshooting their targets. The likelihood of overshooting is contingent on the soldier's accuracy. This change should make vehicle strategies more viable all while making rockets less effective at "sniping" soldiers.

And don't forget: the Halloween event is still ongoing!


-Munitions Dump now affect hand grenade purchases.
-Flamethrowers now have increased burn chance from experience.
-Bazookas can now overshoot targets. The likelihood of overshooting is dependent on the soldier's accuracy skill.
-Bazooka troops' accuracy increased from 10-55 to 20-75.
-Increased max damage of Brush Rifle from 100 to 120.
-Raised price of Landing Zone from 50 to 60 Command Points.


-Fixed a critical issue with the Russian localization.


-Adjusted Teishin Shudan spawn modifiers to be less punishing on earlier waves.
-Adjusted accuracy modifiers on rocket AT weapons.
-Reduced chances of spawning Bazooka troops on Random Squad deployment.
-Reduced price of Thompson SMG from 20 to 18 Command Points.
-Reduced price of Shotgun from 20 to 10 Command Points.


-Fixed a bug that was resulting in certain Allied troops benefitting from Banzai Charge bonuses.
-Fixed a bug where Naval Interdiction, Jeep Raid, SitReps, and Paramarine Reinforcements would allow the player to call on artillery strikes while a strike is currently active.
-Fixed an issue where decrewed vehicles would continue to play an engine sound.


-Smoke will now properly obscure vehicles and emplacements from being spotted and fired upon.
-Adjusted accuracy modifiers on M9A1 Bazooka.


-Resized AT Grenade UI image
-Increased minimum damage of Brush Rifle from 30 to 50.
-Reduced price of Munitions Dump from 40 to 30 Command Points.


-Paramarines will now be attracted to DropZones.
-Enemy Officers will no longer be able to spot past palisades.
-Removed the max scatter radius on Knee Mortars (decreasing their overall accuracy).
-Knee mortar explosions are now slightly weaker than normal mortar explosions.


-Fixed layering issues with various structures.
-Reduced size of muzzle flash on HMG Nest.
-Reduced health on Teishin Shudan from 120 to 100 hitpoints.


-Enemy paratroopers are now attracted to Designated Resupply Zones.
-Jeeps should no longer be abandoned upon retreating to the next position.


-Palisades will now block explosions.
-Officer experience boost reduced from 5 to 2 experience points.
-Destroyed objects should no longer block line of sight.
-Fixed a graphical issue where enemy soldiers would side-step during fog.


-Armored Cavalry now spawns an additional Jeep unit.
-Reduced price of Combat Stimulants from 25 to 15 Command Points.
-Reduced price of Palisade from 25 to 20 Command Points.
-Camouflage now capped at 0.9.
-Warrant Officer speed restored to 18.


-Fixed an issue with Sarge making accuracy checks on his bazooka with his primary weapon.

Build 0.90


-Status icons (at the bottom left) will now autoadjust position to fit comfortably on the UI.
-Reduced max damage bonus on soldiers ranged weapons from experience by 50% (now capping at 25% extra damage from 50%).
-Capped maximum accuracy value to 90% after modifiers.
-Engineers now repair additional hitpoints based on their experience value (up to 50% more).
-Reduced the scatter reduction bonus from experience from a max of 50% to 25.
-Sarge now uses a M1 Bazooka instead of a M9A1 Bazooka.
-Signalers radio adjustments now caps at 20 experience.
-AT Grenades, AT Mines, and suicide bombers now deal double damage versus armored units and emplacements.
-Reduced max accuracy on Signalers from 75 to 65.
-Reduced max morale on Signalers from 75 to 70.
-Reduced reload time on T40 Whizbang rocket racks from 90-200 to 90-180 seconds.
-Reduced reload time on T40 Whizbang 75mm cannnon from 25-50 to 20-30 seconds.
-Increased health on Sarge and Santa from 100 to 120 hitpoints.
-Raised long range of M1 Garand Rifle from 475 to 500.
-Raised long range of Johnson Rifle from 475 to 510.
-Increased penetration value of suicide bomber explosion from 120 to 150.


-Added new unit: M8 Greyhound Armored Recon!
-Added new unit: Jeep!
-Added new structure: Munitions Dump!
-Added new support option: Long Range Patrol Unit!
-Added new Special Forces training option for ANZAC Commandos.
-New Immediate Support Reinforcement Group: Armored Cavalry!
-Added new unit: M20 Armored Recon available from Immediate Support call-ins.
-Half of the Conscripts from the People's Platoon reinforcement group are now armed with Chiang Kai-shek Rifles.
-Reduced Immediate Support special wave bonus success chance from 10% to 5%.
-Rebalanced Random Squad deployment and included previously missing soldier types.
-Increased the rate at which special waves spawn on later waves.
-Increased chances of Breakthrough waves from players' asset.
-Breakthrough waves will now appear starting at wave 40 (previously wave 50).
-Adjusted Breakthrough waves for more brutal spawns on later waves.
-Reduced max wind up time on enemy support strikes from 45 to 30 seconds.
-Digger and Flame squad deployment now begin with 10 Command Points.
-Decreased cap of bonus command points from 15 * wavecount to 10 * wavecount.
-Added in the Megadeath Sniper Assault wave, Megadeath Mortar Assault wave, and the Megadeath Banzai wave (to put a stop to those overachievers out there)!
-Raised Hot Chow price from 20 to 25 Command Points.
-Raised Forward Observation Post price from 60 to 75 Command Points.
-Raised Signaler price from 30 to 35 Command Points.
-Increased armor value on M3 Stuart from 90 to 95.
-Updated text description of Forward Observation Post.


-Added in the new "Vehicle" renown tree.
-Campaign mode now locked until player reaches wave 40 on either Defense in Depth or Sector Defense.


-Fixed a bug where poor weather was not affecting players' ability to deploy airstrikes on Defense in Depth and Sector Defense missions.
-Fixed an issue that was preventing passive artillery from being triggered.
-Paramarines now properly receive the "Occupied Hands" when equipped with a Recoilless Rifle.
-Fixed an issue that would result in Grenadiers firing at vehicles with an invisible weapon.
-Fixed an issue where soldiers on Campaign mode would sometimes not show up on the map.
-Fixed an issue where soldier count was not being properly updated after failing a campaign.
-Fixed an issue where the player would be prompted with the logistics reset menu upon entering the logistics purchase menu.
-Fixed a few localization text in the Campaign menu was that not being properly localized.
-Fixed an issue with the Holiday Medals that would not recognize them as being completed.
-Fixed an issue where soldiers would attempt to move after being given an individual order to deploy hand ordnance weapons (such as rifle grenades).


-Fixed an issue with the Quartermaster menu in Campaign Mode.
-Ranger Tab now grants 1 experience point from Special Forces Training.
-Slightly increased the size of the M8 and M20 Recon Cars.


-Jeeps will no longer be left behind when advancing on Sector Defense.
-Fixed an issue where crew members would separate from the vehicle when advancing on Sector Defense.


-Toned down passive artillery chances.
-Soldiers now properly check for line of sight on decoys.


-Fixed an issue where crew members would be converted into soldiers on the players' roster.
-Conscripts will no longer yell when being ordered to move.
-Lunar New Year Medal should no longer be attainable outside of the event cycle.


-Fixed an issue where renown was carried over across campaigns.


-Passive artillery has been disabled.
-Enemy offier observation time is now reduced based on number of assets the player has on field.


-ANZAC Commandos now armed with Owen Gun by default.
-Reverted price of M1 Garands from 12 to 10 Command Points.
-Fixed an issue with the machine guns on Jeeps not fading away properly.
-Decreased time in between paratroopers spawning.


-Fixed an issue that was resulting in Oni demon kills being counted multiple times across game sessions.


-Special Forces trained Flametroopers are now immune from catching on fire from burning objects. They can still catch on fire from direct flame attacks.
-Reduced Command Points gain on the Jack in the Box challenge from 7 to 6 Command Points per turn.
-Increased size of Munitions Dump.
-Reduced health of Pillboxes from 2000 to 1200 hitpoints.
-Reduced price of Flametroopers from 35 to 30 Command Points.
-Increased accuracy on Raider Jeep's BAR from 35 to 40.
-Increased accuracy on Raider Jeep's HMG from 25 to 30.
-Increased accuracy on HMG Nest from 35 to 40.