Company of Heroes: Blitzkrieg Mod News

Merry Belated Christmas and Happy New Years, fellow Blitzkriegers!



We hope you all got to spend time with your loved ones over these holidays and had whatever end to the year you desired, be it exciting, cozy, calm, or filled with champagne. We toast to your health and the health of your families and friends!

First, a word from Tiger who first broke the news on discord:

Originally posted by Tiger

Happy new year fellow Blitzkriegers!

it's been more than 10 years that our beloved BK MOD being developed.. & in late 2017, thx to the support of the community and the hard work of the Dev team, we also made it to Steam! Which expanded the MOD's accessibility & player base.

The dev team remained committed to updating the game out of pure passion.. particularly @MarKr who spent countless hours working on game patches for many of the previous years, efforts that continued until even today!

It's true - there was a small patch:

Fixes: (v5.3.6)

1. 105mm "naked" howitzer in Defensive doctrine now has the same ammo upkeep as the emplaced version (was 0)
   
2. Urban Stormtroopers limited to 3 squads at a time (from unlimited)
   
3. Sturmtiger can no longer use its ability and rotate in place when it is detracked
   
4. Sturmtiger should no longer be buildable in infantry-only mode
   
5. It should be no longer possible to glitch Commandos glider's cost or get squads for free
   

You may have been wondering about the mod's progress, especially as development slowed and communication paused.. The issue is time, or lack of it. This mod's been in development for over 10 years and over this years, developers have come and go. Last year, MarKr, the head developer, made a small announcement that I believe went largely unnoticed:

Originally posted by MarKr

Hello, this update [5.3.3 Beta, live since 30 June 2023] has gone live and along with it I wanted to officially announce that I step down from active development of BK mod.
I wanted to do it a few times in the past when I got pissed by certain people but now it is more of a combination of other factors in my life that made me decide for this step, arguing with certain people still pisses me off, but that is a secondary reason, not primary. I joined the dev team when I still studied university. During my time as a dev I managed to finish university, get a job, get engaged, have a daughter (1 year and 2 months now), get married, and a year ago we bought a house which we've been reconstructing for the past year. As a result, I don't have as much free time as I would like to have and when I finally get to sit down in the evening and get some time to relax, I want to blow off some steam by mindlessly blowing up some Zeds in KF2 or just playing whatever I currently enjoy rather than go and keep arguing over and over if mortars should be suppression devices or that gun X should have 5% more penetration vs unit Y and whatnot.

I didn't want to leave the game in some half-assed state. While there will always be some people complaining about the state of the game and claiming that "4.8.x was the pinnacle of BK", I think that the game actually is in a pretty good state. Most complaints and suggestions we get these days are not about things that are game-breaking but more about "it would be nice if...". So it is more about flavor than balance at this point, which (I think) means that the balance is more or less right, so I think it is a good time for me to leave now rather than in the middle of some big rework.

There are still changes that I think could benefit the game overall.
For example there were suggestions for changing how the arty upkeep works (heavy arty has no upkeep but can only shoot with ammo trucks around) as that could differentiate heavy arty from the lighter versions and would open options for some new tactical play.
Despite being a controversial topic, I still think that the Tank Damage Reduction (TDR - the "2.0" version) would still be beneficial for the tank game as it would solve complaints such as those about Panthers being "useless because everything oneshots them" or AVRE could keep its short range because it actually could soak a hit from a heavy gun and get close to use its gun from short range. It would also allow the HP to have more impact and not be a pointless stat as it often is now. But these decisions are not for me to make anymore, just sharing some final thoughts.

It is also not up to me but I told Wolf that if he gives my position to someone new, I would prefer if it was someone who won't scrap in 2 quick updates most of the work we've done in the past 6 years and doesn't turn BK into a completely different game. The decision is up to him though.
That being said, I don't want to keep the game in a state where there won't be any updates for months simply because there isn't anyone to work on then, so until some replacement is found for me, I can work on updates. However, I would like it to work the way that someone from the dev team sends me a list of things to change for an update and I'll make them when I have time. But I don't want to participate in the discussions that lead to the final decisions. Hopefully, someone will take the modding position soon and this won't be necessary.

I don't plan to disappear from the community completely. I will still occasionally watch you guys stream your matches, so I'll be seeing you around. Or at least some of you.

It's been a good time spent on BK and it's been a great experience. Guys, stay cool and remember: it's just a game, take it easy! 🙂

As you can see from his message, he is still involved and contributed to the latest patch.. He's just not as active and available as he used to be, given the big changes in his life. I was scarcely active last year due to personal commitments. I'd been looking for and trying to get a new job for a long time last year, and now I'm waiting to find out when I'll be gone for three months training up for the next one. Additionally, after playing BK extensively for the past 8 years, I found myself burnt out and in need of a break.. When I became more involved in 2023 helping out as the BK Communications Specialist and helping moderate the discord channel, the extra amount of time I spent with BK ended up being too much when combined with my job search that started in January of 2024.

Other dev members and members of the moderation team have gone through various milestones in their lives as well, though I'm not at liberty to share the details.

I understand that the Dev Team's communication in 2024 left something to be desired. However, I want to assure you that this mod is not abandoned. While development has slowed due to limited time and resources, I will share another fireside chat as soon as possible to outline the mod's future direction.

I wish you all the best and look forward to sharing more updates with you soon.

Merry (belated) Christmas and Happy New Year's, BK Fans!

We hope you all is well with you and your families. To get the year started, we have another small patch that contains some general changes, some changes with RE Doctrine, and some bug-fixes. I know this patch seems small but please keep in mind we're also running a beta to test what may end up being one of the biggest improvements to the mod to date.



1. The Suppression Mechanic

The 'Suppression' ability has been changed. Players complained on the discord that it was too expensive as an ability and too inconsistent in its effects to justify its use or cost.

1. Now always suppresses target squad after set time, no matter the target's cover or other bonuses
   
2. Time to suppress set to 6-7 seconds
   
3. The squad using the ability is 25% harder to suppress when the ability is active
   
4. Cost reduced to 20 ammunition
   
5. Suppression Volley" in PE (ability gained with G43 upgrade) now also works as "Suppression Fire" ability, so it no longer "slows down" its target but it now guarantees suppression after 6-7 seconds

2. Removed HE shot abilities from US 76mm gun, CW 17 pounder

These abilities were bugged on these guns and either wouldn't fire at all but still use player munitions would the ability would activate, or they wouldn't just never activate as the gun kept rotating and packing up repeatedly. The devs haven't found a fix yet, so these abilities have been disabled for now.

3. Infantry Squad Grenade Change

Infantry squads able to throw grenades get a -5 munitions reduction cost to the grenade ability at Vet 3 and Vet 5. This only applies to the "normal" grenades, not stickies, gammon, sleeved grenades, or stun grenades. These changes were meant to give a light buff to infantry to make them a little easier to use as the game went on without being a heavy handed change that spiraled out of control.



1. RE: Churchill AVRE Changes

1. increased cost to 420MP 50F (from 350MP 40F)
   
2. Increased "Fire petard shot" range to 50 (from 35)
   
3. Petard shot adjusted to always land closer to selected place (won't over/undershoot THAT much anymore)
   
4. When in Hulldown position AVRE now slowly repairs damaged vehicles nearby (range 20)
   Can now spawn, RE Sapper squads as well as 6 pounder and 17 pounder AT guns and Repair Bren
   

RE Glider no longer deploys repair engineers (the ones who passively repair damaged vehicles nearby)The Churchill AVRE has been in an awkward position for much of BK's history, caught in the buff nerf cycle for years because the community has never arrived at a consensus to determine where it truly fits in the British faction and how strong or weak it should be. Mostly recently, players contended that it wasn't really useful in its current state (nerfed from being a tad too strong I believe). So the devs have made a bunch of smaller chages that have been designed to make it more useful on the battlefield while not making it oppressive to face on the opposing side. The RE Glider change was implemented with an eye towards not giving the British too much of an advantage in vehicle repair over other factions. We all remember when Blitz doctrine had those repair bunkers and don't want to repeat that painful experience.

2. RAF Changes

1. RAF can now choose in the 2nd truck if their Commandos glider is deployed with a Commandos squad for standard cost (550MP), or with no squad for 150MP.
   
2. RAF can now choose in the 2nd truck if their Commandos glider is deployed with a Sten Commandos or Enfield Commandos
   

Here, the devs wanted to give the players more flexibility with gliders. Sometimes, someone wants the glider mainly as a reinforcement point in the field, rather than wanting to drop a whole new squad. Now, they have that option.

3.Bren upgrades for Commandos now cost 40 ammo

1. You can no longer get 2 snipers as US
   
2. SAS squad no longer has inconsistent detection radius
   
3. When CW captures Pak36, it will no longer lose camo ability
   
4. Sabotage squad in SE doctrine now properly displays Teller mines
   
5. Penetration values of Bazookas and PIATs vs allied targets set to more reasonable values
   
6. Zeal now provides bonuses when Volkssturm have 7 men squad size and lose 1 man
   
7. Set the penetration of BOYS rifle vs medium tanks to 1% at any range (from 10%)
   
8. Set the penetration of BOYS rifle vs light tanks (practically just Hotchkiss) to 20% at any range (from 10%)
   
9. Lowered speed penalty to Hotchkiss after getting the Stuka upgrade to 10% (from 33%)
   

As always, we appreciate you guys continuing to play the mod and show it the love we think it deserves. Stay tuned for more announcements, in particular the next fireside chat or beta update.

All the best from myself and the dev team to you and yours!

Wald

Hello to all Blitzkrieg fans!

I’m happy to announce Blitzkrieg Mod's newest 5.3.4 Beta Patch. It’s a relatively small patch that is mostly concerned with bug fixes, detailed below:



Allies:

1. Fixed an exploit where you could bypass the limit of 1 for US snipers.
   
2. SAS squad no longer has inconsistent detection radius.
   
3. When CW captures Pak36, it will no longer lose camo ability.
   
4. Penetration values of Bazookas and PIATs vs allied targets set to more reasonable values.
   

Axis:

1. Assault Grenadiers with both G43 and LMG upgrades now properly display the option to switch between Tank Button and Suppressive Volley abilities.
   
2. Sabotage squad in SE doctrine now properly displays Teller mines.
   
3. Zeal now provides bonuses when Volkssturm have 7 men squad size and lose 1 man.
   
4. Penetration values of Bazookas and PIATs vs allied targets set to more reasonable values.
   

Your old replays will not be compatible with this patch.



Don’t worry – we’re not done yet! I’m also happy to announce a new beta – BK Beta Patch 5.3.41! This patch focuses on infantry changes and maps.

[h2]Infantry Combat Changes:[/h2]

Suppression ability change
[expand]
This ability was not used very often because it provided inconsistent results. Sometimes it happened that you spent 40 ammo, clicked on a squad and it didn't get suppressed at all.

We wanted to make sure that the ability actually does what it is intended to do. That is, to suppress the targetted squad every time. We changed the internal working of the ability and now it should always put the target into a suppressed state after aprox. 2-3 seconds after clicking on the target, no matter if the squad is in cover, has veterancy, is elite etc. It doesn't matter how many "received suppression" modifiers the target squad has stacked, they should get suppressed. Note, however, that abilities that "shrug off" suppression (Fireup, Heroic Assault etc.) will still remove the suppression effect that this ability applies.

This ability needs to be tested for possible problems. That may be unintended behavior (e.g. squads still don't get suppressed in some situations) or balance issues - is it still too weak, too strong or "OK", is the cost appropriate to its effect etc.[/expand]
Suppression ability now always suppresses the targeted squad within 2-3 seconds of activation.

Veterancy reduces ammo cost of grenades[expand]
This change was made to make veterancy on squads a bit more rewarding. -5 ammo on a grenade throw may not seem as much but it is still saving you ammo in the long run.

We would like to know if you feel the change is OK, or needs some tweaking. E.g. the cost reductions should come at different vet levels etc.[/expand]

Infantry squads able to throw grenades get a -5 munitions reduction cost to the grenade ability at Vet 3 and Vet 5. This only applies to the "normal" grenades, not stickies, gammon, sleeved grenades, or stun grenades.

Elite Infantry Combat Changes:
[expand]There has been requests to make doctrine-specific infantry sooner available without CPs. We wanted to try this but there is a "but".
Elite infantry with all bonuses and weapon upgrades would be OP and devastating in early game, which is clearly not the intention.
What we wanted to get is a situation where selecting a doctrine will give you earlier access to the "special" infantry that the doctrines in live version only have after investing CPs, but it should be a decision, not a no-brainer. Rangers, Stormtroopers and Gebirgjägers should be in such a position where people don't want to necessarily get them as soon as possible, but maybe get them a bit later when you get your economy going and so potentially losing them won't ruin your game immediately.
If you feel Rangers, Storms or Gebirgs are sort of an "no-brainer pick" in early game, we'll need to come up with some solution to change it. The exception to this is the 101st, as they are more of an "upgraded Riflemen" rather than an elite unit, so 101st squads entering the field earlier than the other doctrinal squads, is an intention.

Report anything that you find off, wrong or broken with this change. We know this will need some more tuning if it should ever get to the live version.[/expand]

1. Ranger squad is available to build in Barracks once Infantry doctrine is selected and WSC is built (LMG and SMG upgrade locked behind CQB unlock)
   
2. 101st is available to build in Barracks once Airborne doctrine is selected and WSC is built (SMG upgrade locked behind 101st Paradrop unlock)
   
3. Stormtrooper squad is available to build in Barracks once Blitzkrieg doctrine is selected and Kriegsbarracks is built (STG44/G43 upgrade locked behind Stormtrooper unlock)
   
4. Gebirgsjäger squad is available to build in Barracks once Luftwaffe doctrine is selected and Logistic Kompanie is built (Scoped G43 and LMG upgrades locked behind Gebirgs unlock)

There have been complaints about the suppression ability, usually concerning the price, saying it's too expensive at 40 munitions for how effective it is. If you guys still think the ability is too expensive, please let us know. We look forward to your feedback on the other infantry changes.

[h2]Maps:[/h2]

There’s been a lot of debate about how campy Blitzkrieg mod has gotten in the past year or two with a whole host of different causes ascribed to this frustrating phenomenon. Due to current constraints the dev team has attacked this problem from a novel angle and that angle is maps. For years, the dev team has tried encouraging players to play BK mod on bigger maps with high resources because BK mod is balanced around PVP. The larger map sizes help account for the larger ranges and therefore give players freedom to maneuver around defenses, rather than limiting them to head on attacks. The higher resources help get away from the rock paper scissors dynamic of the early game. We find that smaller resource games can magnify early mistakes and can sometimes end a game in 5 minutes. There are a large amount of maps such as Autry, Beaumont, Crossfire, Hillaire, and others that are relics from Blitzkrieg Mod's humble beginnings when it was catered to the PVE crowd. These maps, called lane maps, tend to lend themselves to camping because of their narrow designs.

We realized that this map issue consists of two parts. Firstly, there are simply not enough maps. Players are tired of playing the same old maps with the same old metas. The map pool is both small because of the aforementioned lane maps that PVP players avoid and Workshop maps. Because there's such a large variety of expertise employed in Workshop map creation, game-play on those maps is often an inconsistent experience which is often accompanied by replay issues. Secondly, the dev team doesn't have a dedicated mapper with both enough free time or expertise to create new maps or revamp old ones in a timely fashion. The good news is that I came up with a rather elegant solution. We could simply steal use maps from other mods. I’ve asked around and have obtained permission to use maps from Celution from the Eastern Front, Halftrack from the Battle of the Bulge Mod, and Monolithic Bacon from The Great War 1918 Mod. This way we can use maps that have already been lovingly designed, crafted, and play-tested instead of trying our amateur hands at making or editing our own.

Just to be clear - these maps have not been explicitly designed for Blitzkrieg Mod. We have not edited them in any way, except to change their display names slightly in game to reflect their origin and suitability for PVP. I picked maps with an eye for size - medium maps for 1v1s, large maps for 2v2s, and extra-large maps for 3v3s and 4v4s. Whenever there's an exception to this selection criteria, it's because I thought the map had an interesting design despite its small size. We hope you guys will provide feedback on these maps. Please tell us if you like them, don't like them, or if there's any changes you think ought to be made to these maps (perhaps the resource distribution is wonky?). If there are any technical issues with the maps, please report them in the bug section of the steam forum with the BK Beta 5.3.41 in the title.

There will be three waves of betas for map testing. In total, the dev team may add up to 37 maps to the Blitzkrieg mod if you guys like them all. The first map wave will include 15 maps from the Eastern Front Mod and you can see them below:

[expand]Our kind friends at the Eastern Front mod have granted us permission to use 17 maps of theirs in BK mod. Two of these seventeen maps will come in a later beta patch because of technical issues.

1. Vienna - 1v1
   
2. Magnuszew Bridgehead - 2v2
   
3. Battle of Mahiljou - 2v2
   
4. Dom Pavlova - 2v2
   
5. Karachev - 2v2
   
6. Kursk - 2v2
   
7. Stalingrad Railroad Station - 2v2
   
8. Anapa - 3v3
   
9. Dubna - 3v3
   
10. Kiev - 3v3
    
11. Prokhorovka - 3v3
    
12. Seelow - 3v3
    
13. Tali Ihantala - 3v3
    
14. Voronezh - 3v3
    
15. Zhytomyr - 3v3
    

[/expand]
While this may not be a huge update in a game-play sense, this will be a huge update with how much extra real estate we’re giving you guys to fight over. The dev team and I hope you guys enjoy these changes and these new maps.

Lastly, I just want to stress that this bigger update is a beta. These changes are not final until the beta is over and the dev team takes feedback into account. If there are any issues with the maps or any other changes in the beta, they won't go to the live patch until they are fixed. If you need help accessing the beta, please follow these instructions. There will be further updates and changes to this beta but rather than posting a constant flow of announcements, I'll update a single thread in steam beta patch sub forum whenever something changes.

When we're satisfied that everything's working properly and that you guys like the changes, it will go live as patch 5.3.4 and I will update this announcement's title with the date this patch goes live.

Enjoy!

-Wald

Edit: 13 October 2023 - There was a miscommunication between the devs and I, which was my fault. This is not in fact a small patch and a beta patch but actually just one substantial beta patch.

Hey all BK Fans!

I know it's been quite lately so I just wanted to touch base with you guys and tell you our beloved mod is very much alive. Join me by the fire, won't you?



Development continues apace, albeit at a slower pace. This is because two of our dev members have had things come up in their personal lives that take precedence over their online lives. Despite that, the dev team has been busy. There is a small patch in the works, mainly concerned with bug-fixing. It should release sometime soon and when it does I'll post the announcement both here and on discord along with the patch notes.

But that's not the only thing that's in progress. There have been changes to the BK Mod Steam Forum, BK information is being collected and collated to improve player knowledge and understanding of the BK Mod and its systems, and I want your screenshots! There is one more thing in the works but I will save that for the next dev diary.

[h2]BK Mod Steam Forum Changes[/h2]

First you will see that there are three new BK Steam Subforums.
I've made some changes to the BK Mod steam forums. There are now three new subforums:

[expand]

1. Blitzkrieg Mod Patches
2. Beta Patches and Feedback
3. Bug Reporting and Technical Support

[/expand]
The first two sub-forums are incomplete now but when I am done with them, they'll have every patch or beta patch cross-posted into them and a thread that lists every patch and beta patch ever released. The bug-reporting and technical support sub-forum is self-explanatory. I'm doing this as part of one of my directives as dev communications specialist, to make the development of the Blitzkrieg Mod less opaque. That is, it will be easier to see the progression of patches, what was changed when, and why (if possible - many discord conversations that inspired dev patches are lost to the sands of time). In theory, this will help players and devs by answering typical questions related to patches or changes like "Why was X changed and when did that happen?". I expect that the beta sub-forum will become more busy with feedback in the future as all future BK betas get posted in it. As always, I'll be monitoring all these forums and will answer questions as best I can. If I can't answer the question, I'll find out the answer to the best of my ability.

[h2]The Beginnings of a BK Wiki[/h2]

I have a pet project that I've been working that was borne out of my frustration with having to go into Corsix or the game every time I wanted to know a piece of information whether it was how much a unit costed, its weapon stats, its build time, its veterancy bonuses etc, or wanted to compare its stats to any other unit in the game. I realized that I may not be only one who's frustrated by this and also that this barrier to knowledge of the actual stats of the game hamper discussion in the community. Much of dev time is wasted when they are asked to look up stats in Corsix for players who find it difficult to parse corsix or tedious to parse through patch notes. A lot of discussions often go nowhere when people argue about balance when they don't know the actual stats and argue about how things feel in game rather than how things actually are. When it comes to suggestions or proposed solutions to problems, this issue rears its ugly head again because players often suggest things that sound reasonable but are unrealistic or unintended when one considers the actual numbers behind things. I'm not saying this to criticize players but simply stating a fact. It's hard to propose realistic or concrete suggestions when one doesn't know what the numbers behind abilities or stats actually are.

For example, let's say a player has an issue when using the BAR-equipped rifleman squad's suppression ability on an enemy Volksgrenadier squad. He finds it ineffective or too weak for its 40 munition price. It feels like more often than not, it doesn't suppress well enough, if at all. Not knowing how the ability works or what it does number-wise, will cause someone to suggest changes based on feel rather than numbers. They'll suggest changes that will over-tune the ability or that may be completely unnecessary. "Unnecessary - what do you mean?", you ask. I mean that perhaps the player who has an issue with a rifleman squad's suppression ability doesn't know the actual numbers behind cover bonuses. We all know that you can't suppress a squad in a building (building cover) or a trench (trench cover), but did you know that green cover reduces suppression by 90%? If that player knew about cover bonuses, they might then understand they shouldn't use the BAR's suppression ability on enemy squads in green cover. And that is before one factors in received suppression buffs from any other factors such as Officer auras, veterancy bonuses, or doctrinal abilities!

In short, I'm working on a BK Mod wiki that eventually will have all the information you could want about BK Mod, its units, it's patches, various doctrinal abilities, etc. When I make more concrete progress on it I'll put in an update with a link. Here's an example below of some of what I have (it's out of date).

[expand][/expand]
I hope this helps alleviate your fears about BK's apparent lack of development. Chat again soon!

Wald

P.S. Send me your screenshots or post them in the community hub for a chance for them to appear as the next dev diary's cover image!

Hi all, I'm Walderschmidt, the new developer communications specialist.

The developer team noticed that even though communication with the community has improved since they moved their focus from the now ghost-town forum to the BK Official Discord, lots of players still use the steam forum to communicate their thoughts, feedback, ask questions, and talk about the mod. Unfortunately, given the fact that they work on this mod for free, they can only spare so much time to scour the discord channel, incorporate community feedback, develop the mod, and maintain their normal lives at the same time. This often meant that they rarely looked at the steam forums and consequently couldn't take advantage of another source of community input. You can see this by the dearth of updates in the news section.

To fix this issue, they've appointed me as the new dev communications specialist. That means I will keep up with this forum, cross-posting mod updates as soon as they come out on discord, keep tabs on various threads with feedback, and answer questions every 4th Saturday of the month. Simply ask your questions on the Frequently Asked Questions thread and I will spend a few hours answering them to the best of my ability, or finding out the answers myself. Our first Saturday will be this next one on the 26th of August.

To be clear, I'm not a developer (even though it says I have a developer tag in yellow). I'm just a guy who's been playing BK since 2017 and wants to lend a hand to the dev team.

Feel free to ask me any questions here!

Wald