Hell Let Loose News

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to the PTE for Patch 17.1, this patch will come with quite a few Quality Of Life improvements which we hope you will all appreciate!

Please find below a list of extensive changes that have been made / are currently being worked on by the team, we’d love to get your feedback on all of this prior to the release to make sure we can evaluate and make changes based on your feedback!

At the bottom of the sheet you will find a feedback form that we’d appreciate if you filled out.

The map rotation for this PTE is going to be:

• Kharkov - Offensive - RUS
  
• Foy - Offensive - US
  
• Kharkov - Warfare - Night
  
• Mortain - Warfare - Overcast
  

This rotation should allow you to experience all the changes that have been made, also feel free to use the new Explore menu to test out changes made to the bipod and any other weapons!

Along with this patch will come a lot of general bug fixes and improvements! A full list of which will as always be delivered to you with the final changelog when the patch goes LIVE in the near future!



[h2]Medic Improvements[/h2]

As part of the ongoing effort to improve Medic gameplay, the Design team has tuned several in-engine values to improve both both performance and playability. As a result of this, the following values now apply:

• Full HP on revive
  
• Medic bandage speed is now 2s (this also applies to self bandaging)
  
• Revive speed for all Forces has been reduced to 2s
  
• Medic revive XP increased from 30 to 75
  
• Being revived by Medic XP increased from 30 to 75
  

This PTE also introduces the Medic ‘Call & Response’ system, allowing downed players to request a revive. Medics can respond using the radial ping marker system, helping prioritise revives and reduce unnecessary journeys across the battlefield.

It’s important to note that this feature is still in development and will not be included in Update 17.1. Player feedback during testing will help shape its final version.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Bipod Rework[/h2]

The bipod system has been significantly overhauled for more flexible and realistic deployment, improving the overall gameplay experience.

The system now detects objects in the player’s deployed path, rather than relying on hardcoded limits. This reduces instances of clipping into static objects. Deployment inside objects is no longer possible.

Pitch angles now reflect the height of the surface, allowing a wider range of weapon rotation. You can aim lower from low surfaces and higher from elevated ones.

Server-side checks now ensure valid deployment surfaces, fixing issues where deployment would cancel mid-animation. Standing and crouching now share the same deployment limits, eliminating the need to change stances to check for valid deployment surfaces properly.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Soviet Winter Camo - Kharkov[/h2]

Following the overwhelmingly positive reception of Elsenborn Ridge, we're bringing the same winter tank camo style to the tanks in Foy and Kharkov.





[h2]Winter Camo Updates - Foy[/h2]







[h2]LOD Improvements[/h2]

The Technical Art team has begun addressing LOD-related issues raised by players, including abrupt LOD transitions (e.g., between LOD 0 and LOD 1), inconsistent screen size thresholds, uneven triangle density, and large assets using too few LODs.

The initial focus is on barbed wire assets, along with the setup of optimised LOD materials for use on the lowest LODs.

LOD 0 was already efficiently configured with minimal overdraw. However, performance decreased noticeably when transitioning to lower LODs

• The optimised LOD material is set to be opaque to reduce the fill rate of masked materials seen at a distance
  
• As texture mapping blurs masked textures, switching to opaque textures improves performance with minimal impact on visual quality
  

The barbed wire assets have been updated to LOD more efficiently. Previously LOD 0 was on screen from a screen size of 1.0 to 0.1, meaning over 6,000 triangles were occupying the screen space. This has now been balanced so that LOD 0 is visible until 0.5 screen size, after which it transitions and to a model with 50% fewer triangles, remaining until 0.1 screen size.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Another issue affecting distant objects is the use of Hierarchical Level of Detail (HLOD) systems, which optimise performance by merging meshes into lower-detail proxies. These clusters reduce triangle count and material complexity, allowing many objects to render at distance without a performance hit.

However, problems arise when HLOD transitions occur too early, as the system relies on player to object distance without accounting for zoomed views through binoculars, scopes, or tank optics. In these cases, higher-detail models are not restored when expected.

Barbed wire assets, in particular, did not benefit from HLOD passes and appeared overly low poly at distance. The Technical Art team has addressed this by removing barbed wire from HLODs, allowing them to LOD more effectively on their own.

Original Barbed Wire HLOD Proxy

Barbed Wire Removed from HLOD Proxy

[h2]Post Match VOIP[/h2]

Players can now retain voice communications for the Leadership and Squad channels during the post-match flow, this allows players a grace period to discuss the match, or plan out next steps for the upcoming match.

Players will notice that a “MUTE ALL” button has been added next to “PERSONAL STATS”, this allows the player to quickly mute all players in the team.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Flare Illumination[/h2]

In response to community feedback, the Technical Art team is working to enhance flare gun effectiveness in night-time scenarios. We’re currently exploring ways to improve the spread of the particle light associated with the gun's visual effects (VFX) to increase its reach. Feedback is welcome as we continue refining this effect.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Admin Camera Lighting Effects[/h2]

Following recent updates to the admin camera, there has been a request to introduce filters. The Technical Art team has explored various existing filters used by the community and has created a set of presets designed to enhance the overall experience. Below are examples using Colour Look Up Tables (CLUTs).
2 Strip Colour Treatment

Bleach Bypass

Black and White (Red Filter)

Black and White (Blue Filter)

Modern 35mm

1940’s Colour

1940’s Colour (Variation)

These are then combined with additional post pro settings available in the engine, such as shadow intensity, bloom, chromatic aberration, film grain and vignetting. Below is a demonstration of these camera effects.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Practice Range Improvements[/h2]

The Practice Range now allows players to sample all available loadouts, regardless of their current in-game role rank. This enables testing of every weapon within a safe, controlled environment.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]New Maps with Dynamic Weather[/h2]

Dynamic weather has been integrated into several legacy maps. The Technical Art team is currently evaluating appropriate lighting and weather conditions to incorporate effects such as snow, rain, and sandstorms across these maps. The new weather manager allows each map to deliver a distinct and immersive experience due to it’s flexibility.

Below are short videos showcasing the transition of light to extreme snow both in Foy (available to play in the PTE) and Kharkov (available to play on release).

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Improvements to Fog[/h2]

Community feedback highlighted concerns over excessive fog and difficulty with sightlines on some of the newer night maps. It was found that Elsenborn Ridge (night) had an acceptable level of fog and lighting exposure which the team are using as a basis for improvements.

Based on evaluation and feedback, El Alamein, Omaha Beach and Hill 400 were found to have acceptable intensities of fog, with El Alamein’s fog intensity being welcomed in addressing overly long sightlines.

Kharkov, Sainte-Marie-du-Mont (SMDM), Driel, Carentan, St Mere-Eglise (SME), Utah Beach, and Stalingrad were found to be excessively foggy.

These have all been updated to leave longer sightlines.
Kharkov - Original Fog Settings

Kharkov - Updated Fog Settings

Sainte-Marie-du-Mont - Original Fog Settings

Sainte-Marie-du-Mont - Updated Fog Settings

Driel - Original Fog Settings

Driel - Updated Fog Settings

Carentan - Original Fog Settings

Carentan - Updated Fog Settings

Sainte-Mère-Église - Original Fog Settings

Sainte-Mère-Église - Updated Fog Settings

Utah Beach - Original Fog Settings

Utah Beach - Updated Fog Settings

Stalingrad - Original Fog Settings

Stalingrad - Updated Fog Settings

Stalingrad - Updated Fog Settings

[h2]Explore Mode[/h2]

A new “Explore” tab has been added to the Enlist screen. This section allows independent exploration of each map at a player's own pace, separate from standard gameplay.

In Explore Mode, the player can:

• Explore every section of the map
  
• Play as any role
  
• Use faction/role appropriate vehicles
  
• Use faction appropriate artillery
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

In Explore Mode, the player cannot:

• Gain XP
  
• Win/Lose Matches
  
• Capture any Capture Points
  

[h2]Official DX12 Support [/h2]

Hell Let Loose on PC platforms now uses DirectX 12 as it’s rendering API, offering performance gains during gameplay. Due to the variety of PC setups, we understand that issues may arise with this change. Therefore, an option to switch back to DirectX 11 will be made available in the Video Settings section of the Settings menu.



Here are some additional features coming to 17.1 that won’t be in the PTE but are scheduled for the full release:

[h2]Tobruk Improvements[/h2]

In response to community feedback regarding the stepping effect of the VFX around large buildings, the Technical Art team has developed a new system to enhance VFX occlusion.

This improved system applies volumes around large structures and has now been implemented in Tobruk. Below, you will find a comparison showcasing the improvements made before and after the implementation.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The environment art team has made some visual improvements to the building exterior textures to add more bullet and shrapnel damage giving the town area a more war torn look. Also more ground scatter has been added where it is possible without affecting performance. The town building interiors have had more muck and scatter added to make it feel more lived in.







[h2]New RCON Abilities[/h2]

New features have been added to RCON for Update 17.1. Server owners will now have the ability to change the following parameters for their servers:

[h3]Match Timer[/h3]
The overall match timer is now more flexible, with server owners allowing them to be adjusted within the following ranges based on game mode:
Note: The new timer range for Offensive mode is divided by 5 for each Capture Point phase, so a match timer of 300 minutes would give each Capture Point a 60 minute timer for example.

[h3]Warm-up Timer[/h3]
Note: Due to the way that Offensive mode “Warm-up” periods are dictated by its global spawn wave system, we have not yet added the ability to control this but it is something we are open to exploring with future RCON quality of life features.

[h2]New Maps with Dynamic Weather[/h2]

[h3]Mortain[/h3]
The technical art team has now updated the Mortain overcast scenario from the older rain VFX to the newer dynamic rain.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Please note that server owners will have the option to disable dynamic weather with the launch of version 17.1. However, this feature is not available in the PTE.



These PTE sessions are a way for you as a community to feedback on Hell Let Loose work in progress, which means we can look to implement your feedback before a patch or update is released. Although we can currently only hold public testing sessions on Steam, we encourage everyone to take part to be able to share feedback.

You may encounter some placeholder assets / areas that do not look completely finalised, this is still work in progress but should give you a good idea of how the final map will look / feel

[h2]Known Issues[/h2]

• Mute All is present on the scoreboard during gameplay
  
• Explore Mode has placeholder UI
  
• R.O.A uniform's Third Person Perspective hands are missing
  

[h2]Streaming & Recording PTE Sessions[/h2]
You are welcome to both stream and record PTE footage, but as these sessions are showing unfinished work, it’s always good to let your individual communities know that the footage is from a PTE session, where you might encounter unfinished items, bugs and other issues.

[h2]Feedback Questions[/h2]

Once you have completed a game and are ready to provide feedback, please use the forms below!



Check your Steam Library for the Hell Let Loose (Public Testing) application, or re-download it from the Steam store, you’ll want to boot this version up to take part in the PTE!

Once you’re in and have selected a server, you’ll be able to test out the new game map!



[h2]Please note:[/h2]

Because PTEs are run on development servers that have logging activated, you will experience a slight decrease in performance. You will also not earn any XP and your progress will not be carried over to the live game.




Hey everyone, Ben back with some community updates.

Firstly, we want to give a huge shoutout to everyone who has been submitting clips for our 'Best of the Community' series. It's been great to see so many phenomenal entries, and we loved being able to do an episode all about the Competitive Scene in Hell Let Loose. From admin cam casting, to clutch plays, enjoy our latest episode, co-hosted by the voice of comp DasAltberg, over on our YouTube channel.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

If you would like to be featured in future episodes, be sure to submit your videos, artwork, or clips via our Discord server.
https://discord.gg/HellLetLoose

[h2]Community Events[/h2]

[h3]D-Day Event - 6th June[/h3]
Alongside events that we are throwing, we wanted to once again shoutout BR1 Gaming who are back with another 'Road to D-Day' event. This year's event will bring together both PC and console communities, with matches set for both platforms. If you're interested in taking part or want to donate to their charity of choice, be sure to visit their website and register today. 



[h3]Testimonial Event - 7th June[/h3]
Another incredible event happening next weekend will be the testimonial event between 82AD and ESPT.

For those who may not have heard, Myrk — a former member of 82AD and ESPT — tragically passed away in an accident earlier this month. His legacy within the competitive HLL community, particularly in these two teams, is profound. His unmatched passion, sharp tactical mind, and genuine willingness to help others left a lasting mark on everyone who had the privilege to play alongside him. Myrk was instrumental in shaping how 82AD and ESPT approached arty and arty defence in past metas, long before the strategies we use today came into play.

Inchon captured his essence best:
"I first started playing with Myrk back in 2021 and quickly realized I needed to spend as much time with him as possible. His passion for HLL was infectious, and more importantly, his approach to helping others — always positive, never judgmental — was something rare. Whether you were a veteran or brand new, he'd jump into comms, pull up Stratsketch, and send a password for a private server. Time flew by as he shared his deep knowledge, great humour, and most importantly, his time. From 2022-23, Myrk helped us grow structurally as a team and introduced ideas that still shape our gameplay today."

To honor his memory, we’re hosting a testimonial match between 82AD and ESPT. We’ll start with a fun arty phase — all guns firing, defences built — before going into current meta rules. The match takes place on HLL’s newest map, Tobruk.

If you would like to donate, the group's have set up a fundraising page to help support Myrk's family.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/myrk-gaming-event

The event will be livestreamed on DasAltberg's Twitch channel on Saturday, 7 June 2025.
Games starting at 11am PST | 2pm EST | 7pm BST | 8pm CEST



[h2]War Correspondents[/h2]

And as always, our War Correspondents have been creating some excellent content for us all to enjoy. Here's what they have created recently:

Alpine Sniper
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Soul Sniper
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

RazBora
https://www.tiktok.com/@raz_bora/video/7507794988332322091

DasAltberg
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]



As a final reminder, please ensure that you share all feedback and bugs from this weekend's PTE via the below forms:



Thank you all and enjoy the PTE!

Hi all,

We’d like to start off by saying a big thank you to the community for their involvement with the recent VE Day 80th Anniversary Hell Let Loose event, and for the generous donations made towards SSAFA.

The reason for this developer briefing is that we have recognised that communication between the development team and the community has slowed recently, and we would like to address that. Typically, our developer briefings are centered around PTE’s and official updates to the game. Going forward, we’d like to take a different approach by giving you more frequent glimpses into what the team is working on between major updates. With that in mind, we’re excited to share some behind-the-scenes progress on the roadmap and offer a closer look at our development process.

We're excited to announce that we'll be running multiple PTEs in the coming months, featuring both upcoming features from future updates, as well as experimental content we’d love your feedback on. Stay tuned for more details in upcoming dev blogs.

[h3]Notes:[/h3]

• Everything you see here is work-in-progress at various stages of development, and is subject to change.
  
• The content shown in these developer briefings is not an exhaustive list of everything coming to the game, and will be spread out across various updates and briefs.
  
• Do comment, and give feedback on anything that you see whether positive or constructive.
  

[h2]Objective Mode[/h2]

As promised in the live Q&A, we’d like to invite the community to take part in several paused maps and modes from back in 2023. We’d love to know your thoughts on the modes as a whole, how/if they fit in Hell Let Loose, and whether we should continue exploring this direction (either by adapting these mechanics into the larger maps or developing them as standalone experiences).

The following maps will be available to test in an upcoming PTE.

[h3]El Alamein (Destruction)[/h3]
Objective Mode - El Alamein

[h3]Brécourt Battery (Destruction)[/h3]
Objective Mode - Brécourt Battery

[h3]Danzig Post Office (Destruction into Capture Phase)[/h3]
Objective Mode - Danzig Post Office

More details to follow in an upcoming PTE.

[h2]Stalingrad Map Refresh[/h2]

[h3]Level Design[/h3]

After extensive research into the community sentiment behind Stalingrad and reviewing the map in engine, the Level Design team have started work on making improvements to the map, firstly by adjusting the HQ spawner positions for a more balanced experience.

[h3]HQ Blockout[/h3]

The team has completed a blockout pass of pre-placed cover to protect players when immediately spawning in. This has been done to varying degrees across all German Force and Soviet Force HQ’s.

Stalingrad Map Refresh - Capture Point - HQ Blockout

Iterations on the central Capture Points have focused on cover, gameplay routes, and a sense of Capture Point identity. As with all map refreshes, our goal is to enhance the existing experience (building on what’s already there, rather than taking away from it).

[h3]Capture Point - Train Station[/h3]

Stalingrad Map Refresh - Capture Point - Train Station

Stalingrad Map Refresh - Capture Point - Train Station

[h3]Capture Point - Carriage Depot[/h3]

Stalingrad Map Refresh - Capture Point - Carriage Depot

Stalingrad Map Refresh - Capture Point - Carriage Depot

[h2]Environment Art[/h2]

The Art team have also been making some significant headway in improving optimisation in Stalingrad:

[h3]Material Reduction and Collision Improvements:[/h3]
Some of the details used to populate the map had redundant amounts of material slots and overly complicated collisions. This caused larger draw calls and slowed things down. Some have been reduced from 18 materials down to around 4 or less and had unoptimized decals removed. Here are some examples of reductions without losing fidelity.

Basic Example of Material Reduction

Collision Improvements/Optimisation 30-6

[h3]Izba Optimisation and Cleanup[/h3]

The burned out Izba’s had similar unneeded material slots, collision in need of improvement and were merged in a non-optimized way. We’ve improved this to aid gameplay (such as player traversal issues) and draw calls.


This process allows us to make some significant gains on the overall performance in the map, without compromising on quality.




[h2]Medic Rework[/h2]

With the Medic role, we have gathered feedback and begun to address a lot of the key issues raised about the gameplay experience. The aim is to bring the current forces into parity in terms of timings, to tweak the core game loop, and to make the role a more attractive experience to play.

• Medic Revive Speed decreased from 2.4s to 2s
  
• Soviet Medic Revive speed brought into parity from 3s to 2s
  
• Downed players are now revived to full health
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube] Medic Rework - Soviet Revive Speed & Full Health

Note: We currently have our animators tweaking the animations to match the new speeds.

• Medic Revive XP increased from 30 to 75
  
• Getting revived by a Medic XP increased from 30 to 75
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube] Medic Rework - Post-Match XP

• Medic Self Bandage Speeds decreased from 2.4s to 2s
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube] Medic Rework - Self Bandage Speeds

• Medic Bandage Ally Speeds decreased from 3.9s to 2s
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube] Medic Rework - Bandage Ally Speeds

[h2]Bipod Rework[/h2]

The bipod system has been reworked to allow more flexible and realistic deployment by detecting objects in the player’s deployed path, rather than relying on hardcoded limits. This aims to reduce instances where the players body could be pivoted into hard surface objects.

Pitch angles have been improved to reflect the surface height, allowing for greater range, like aiming lower from a low ledge or higher from a high one.

Deployment checks are now handled server side to fix issues where players would initiate a deploy, but get cancelled out of it mid-animation. Additionally, both standing and crouching now use the same deployment limits, removing the need to switch stances to test deployment spots.

[h3]Prone Position[/h3]
The range of motion has been unlocked, so that players are no longer restricted to the previous bounds. They can now turn a full 360 degrees.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube] Bipod Prone - First Person Perspective

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube] Bipod Prone - Third Person Perspective

[h3]Crouch Position[/h3]
Another common issue is using the bipod through open windows. By unlocking the system, we can now control the range of motion to make using the bipod more viable through windows. The next steps are to add collision checks to prevent any excess clipping through objects.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube] Bipod Crouch - First Person Perspective

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube] Bipod Crouch - Third Person Perspective

[h2]Post-Match VOIP[/h2]

Players can now retain voice communications for the Leadership and Squad channels during the post-match flow, this allows players a grace period to discuss the match, or plan out next steps for the upcoming match.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube] Post-Match VOIP

As mentioned previously, this is this first in a regular series of updates of what the development team are working on, a sneak peak at the future of Hell Let Loose, and your chance to share any early feedback and thoughts. Until next time, see you on the battlefield.



Hey everyone, Ben here — your Hell Let Loose Community Manager!

Over the past couple of months, we’ve been working hard to ramp up our community engagement and bring you closer to the heart of the action. One of the highlights so far has been our very first episode of ‘Best of the Community’, which we had the pleasure of live streaming with the incredible RazBora.

If you missed the stream, don’t worry - the full VOD is now available on our YouTube channel, ready for you to watch at your convenience. Be sure to check it out and see some of the awesome community moments we featured!

Our next episode is due to air on Thursday 29th May 2025, and will be all about the Competitive HLL Community. If you are a member of the competitive scene, and would like to show of your best clips or what it is you do in the space, head over to our Discord channel and submit your entries today. I'm excited to be joined by the incredible DasAltberg - our resident HLL Comp expert. 



As well as the first 'Best of' stream, we also ran a phenomenal charity event on May 8th celebrating the 80th Anniversary of VE Day. This was an amazing 3.5 hour stream, where alongside some community games casted over by our War Correspondents, we also had five incredible interviews from members of our community. If you are interested in watching these interviews be sure to head to our YouTube and find them in the Community Interview playlist we've created. You can also watch the full VE Day VOD of the stream on our YouTube as well. 

We would also like to thank everyone who donated to the fundraiser we did during the stream for the SSAFA. If you are still interested in donating, the fundraiser will remain live till the end of the month. 

[h2]Community Events[/h2]

Alongside events that we are throwing, we wanted to shoutout BR1 Gaming who are back with another 'Road to D-Day' event. This year's event will bring together both PC and console communities, with matches set for both platforms. If you're interested in taking part or want to donate to their charity of choice, be sure to visit their website and register today. 

This will be taking place on June 7th 2025, with the first match starting around 4:30pm EST. 

Here is BR1 with a bit more information on the event itself:

"Since its inception in 2021, BR1Gaming has embarked on a mission to support veterans and unite gamers for a meaningful cause. This year, they have decided to focus their fundraising efforts with the Fisher House Foundation, this renowned foundation is dedicated to taking care of our nation’s wounded, injured, and ill service members, veterans, and their families. As of 2025, BR1Gaming has successfully raised $11,498.22, a testament to their commitment and the generosity of their supporters. Through their endeavors, BR1Gaming has not only raised vital funds but has also raised awareness about the challenges faced by veterans, fostering a community of compassion and support among gamers."



[h2]War Correspondents[/h2]

As always, our War Correspondents have been creating some phenomenal content for us all to enjoy. Here's what they have created recently:

[h3]TheFreshBakedGoods[/h3]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Gebatron[/h3]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]SoulSniper[/h3]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]DasAltberg[/h3]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Razbora[/h3]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Thank you for reading this dev brief! Next up for Hell Let Loose will be some PTE's which we cannot wait for you to join!

Have a wonderful weekend.

"Thank you to everyone who has jumped into Update 17 of Hell Let Loose!
The team has loved seeing your reactions to the new map, Tobruk, and everything else the update brought to the battlefield.

Of course, with any major release, a few bugs have crept through but we've been hard at work squashing them. Today’s hotfix addresses several of the issues you flagged, and we're pleased to share that it's now live.

A huge thank you to everyone who reported bugs and shared feedback across Steam, Discord, Reddit, and social media. Your support helps us improve the game for everyone.

We hope you continue to enjoy Tobruk. See you on the front lines!"

– Team17 & Expression Games.

Below are some key fixes and improvements that are incoming with this latest hotfix patch.

[h3]XP Bug Fixes:[/h3]
We have noticed that a lot of people reported that Support Effectiveness XP is immediately granted to users who ping enemy locations, allowing them to confirm locations via the scoreboard. To combat this, we are doing the following:

• Rewarding player XP and scores for accurate marks or pings on the tac-map has been disabled.
  
• XP and scores for accurate markers or pings are only rewarded to the player upon: the players death, the player leaving the server or the match ending.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• [A6] Players could see beneath the map and fall through in sector A6 of Tobruk.
  
• Damage indicator remained permanently on screen after redeploying.
  

[h3]Admin Camera Fixes[/h3]

• Missing keybinds for Admin Camera in the keybindings menu.
  
• The R key still has no functionality when unlocked from a target, but that button prompt has been removed. When locked to a target it still has the original functionality of Toggling locked rotation
  

[h3]Environment Fixes Across Tobruk[/h3]
[I6] Unnecessary fence removed.
[J5] Certain area looked too symmetrical.
[D8] Road spline texture visibly splitting.
[A8] Disconnected power cable pole.
[I7] Unnatural ridge without landscape painting.
[I7] Fallen electrical pole clipping with environment.
[I3] Floating assets covered by terrain layer.
[I3] Crates partially blocking tent entrance.
[J3] Poor fence blending at top British HQ.
[F8] Broken blue door fallen out of a green door frame.
[F8] Terrain covering a house foundation.
[D8] Missing pavement poly face at the sea wall.
[B4] See-through cliff terrain in sector B4.
[C7] Misaligned terrain inside a mud pile.
[I5] Rocks missing player collision.
[B4] Guard Room strongpoint missing on the tactical map.
Intense shadows on windows and doors in multiple locations.
[H3) Misaligned terrain in sector H3.
[D5] Misaligned house with the ground in sector D5.
[F8] Clipping through walls in Admiralty House.
[E6] [E7] Boxes missing player collision.

[h3]Other Fixes[/h3]

• Field Manual – Tobruk entry partially obscured in the Locations tab.
  
• DAK Panzerdivision & Afrikakorps Tropenfeldbluse – Stretched arm textures.
  
• Purple Heart Lane Map – Rare lightning strikes.
  

[h3]Improvements[/h3]
You may also notice an improvement to the interiors across Tobruk as well, courtesy of our art department

[h3]Future updates[/h3]
Unfortunately, not all identified issues were able to be added into this hotfix. That being said, we wanted to make you aware of the following bugs that are currently being addressed which will release in a future hotfix update.

• Loading into queue UI disappearance - Thank you to all the players who have noted this issue. Although frustrating we wanted to assure this bug does not impact your spot in the queue and only visually removes the UI showing you exactly what spot you were in.
  
• The Leichte Afrika Division Uniform on Support, the backpack is clipping with the fuel tank.
  

We appreciate your continued support and patience as we work through these fixes!

Hello Everyone,

Update 17 has deployed on all platforms!

This update brings the release of the brand new Tobruk map, Dynamic Sandstorms and some Quality of Life Improvements!


The Second Siege of Tobruk was a short lived battle set in Tobruk - Libya that saw the capitulation of the British defences, within a single day. Set on 20th June of 1942, the Second Siege of Tobruk featured the successful campaign of the Deutsche Afrika Korps against the British 8th Army, as the harsh summer sandstorms rolled in. Aside from the close-quarters combat of the city proper, the map also features various caves, aptly named the “Desert Rat Caves” after the defenders of Tobruk, who were often referred to as the “Rats of Tobruk”.

Tobruk comes with the following game modes:

• Warfare
  
• Offensive British
  
• Offensive German
  
• Control Skirmish

[h2]New Map - Tobruk[/h2]

[h3]Watch the Tobruk Deep-Dive Video Overview:[/h3]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Map Rationale[/h3]
When planning what kind of thematic map we wanted to create, we referred to the existing maps that are currently available to players to help us decide. As a team, we decided that this map could be:

• A desert map that is different to El Alamein yet feels cohesive in nature
  
• An opportunity to provide players with new fighting experiences including: caves, creeks, accessible rooftops and the overall blend of urban and rural areas
  
• A map that incorporates dense urban areas but does not restrict vehicles/armour
  
• A map that has diverse Capture Point themes that contrast each other yet remain thematically cohesive overall

The desert nature of Tobruk has given us the freedom to experiment with the natural topography, allowing us to create interesting natural areas unique to this map. We had concerns about the open flat plains that the desert provides, however, we addressed this issue by utilising natural rock formations and sand dunes which provided cover but retained the authenticity of a believable desert landscape.

Tobruk - High Resolution Tactical Map

[h2]🖱️Full info on Tobruk's Capture Points.[/h2]





[h2]Features[/h2][h3]General[/h3]

• Improvements made to the XP System
  
• Improvements made to the dynamic weather system
  
• Improvements made to the Flamethrower
  

[h3]Maps[/h3]
Tobruk - The following time of day scenarios have been added:

• Morning
  
• Day
  
• Dusk
  

The following game modes have been added for Tobruk:

• Warfare
  
• Offensive British
  
• Offensive German
  
• Skirmish
  

Updated Tobruk themed main menu

Updated Tobruk themed loadout screen

Updated Soviet Practice Range:

• New distant landscape added
  
• Reworked materials
  
• Added new roads and snow details
  

Updated lighting for the Soviet Practice Range:

• A new skybox was added to create a more dramatic morning setting
  
• Tuned fog settings to ensure they worked well with the lighting conditions
  
• Updated HDRI, again tuned so that the specular values are less harsh
  
• Tuned direct lighting settings to be slightly more pink and less intense
  
• Tuned post-processing to add a subtle blue filter
  

[h3]Weather System[/h3]
The technical art team has collaborated closely with the programming team to improve the weather system originally developed for Elsenborn Ridge and Purple Heart Lane. This updated system introduces greater flexibility and adds an extra layer of randomness to the weather patterns. In the previous version, the weather would cycle through various intensities at predictable intervals (e.g. every 2 to 5 minutes), always ending in an extreme setting before cycling back down. The new system alters this behaviour, making it less predictable when an extreme weather event will occur. As with the original system the transitions have a time range and cool down time range, however, from here we can breakdown each of the scenarios to give them separate weighting. We can control how long it will stay at medium compared to heavy or extreme, we can control the maximum amount of occurrences for each scenario. This also means that when it reaches a heavy scenario it can sometimes move back to mild or medium rather than always going to extreme.

As part of our plan to expand the dynamic weather system, we are now able to introduce sandstorms to Tobruk. The sandstorm features four distinct modes, beginning with a light flurry of dust and sand particles and escalating to a full-blown sandstorm. The extreme setting reduces visibility, creating intense dust clouds and particles around the player. These moments offer players an additional layer of dynamic cover, and with the updated system, the occurrence and duration of these events are now less predictable.

Due to the nature of the sand dust and cloud particles the technical art team needed to update how the occlusion system worked. Traditionally the system was handled this way:

• Capture a world aligned top down heightmap
  
• Particles then sample the heightmap using their world position
  
• If the particle’s own height is lower than the sampled heightmap, that particle is occluded/hidden
  

With the updated method we do a small ray-march for each pixel in the direction of its motion. We do this to check the distance that it will get occluded in the future and we use that distance to start reducing the opacity before it reaches the occlusion boundary.



Environment Art - Expression Games

[h3]Flamethrower Buffs[/h3]
The following buffs have been made to the flamethrower to allow it to destroy more buildable structures:

Previous Behaviour - Previously could destroy:

• Garrison
  
• Outpost
  
• Forward Position
  

New Behaviour - Now is able to destroy:

Fuel Node
Manpower Node
Munitions Node
Repair Station
Supply Drop
Ammo Drop
Ammo Box
Supply Box
Explosive Ammo Box
Medic Box
• Garrison
  
• Outpost
  
• Forward Position
  

Based on feedback from the community after the PTE, the following changes have also been made:

• Flamethrower effective range increased from 23m to 35m
  
• Flamethrowers now suppress enemies

[h3]Structure Durability[/h3]
Player built structures now have varying durability levels. These are categorized as Light, Medium and Heavy. Upgrading structures will increase their durability. This will allow us to explore how various weapons interact with different structures.

• Bunker (Tier 1) - Light
  
• Bunker (Tier 2) - Medium
  
• Bunker (Tier 3) - Heavy
  
• Barricade (Tier 1) - Light
  
• Barricade (Tier 2) - Medium
  
• Barricade (Tier 3) - Medium
  
• Hedgehog - Medium
  
• Belgium Gate - Medium
  
• Barbed Wire - Medium
  

[h3]Precision Strike[/h3]
The first change we have made, along with the new structure durability, is that precision strikes can now destroy Light and Medium structures, giving commanders a tool to break through tough enemy defences.

Previous behaviour - Previously could destroy:

• AT Gun
  
• AT Mines
  
• AP Mines
  
• Ammo boxes
  
• Supply Boxes
  
• Medic Boxes
  
• Garrison
  
• Outpost
  
• Forward Position
  
• Fuel Node
  
• Manpower Node
  
• Munitions Node
  
• Repair Station
  
• Supplies
  

New behaviour - Now is able to destroy:

Bunker
Bunker Upgrade 1
Barricade
Barricade Upgrade 1
Barricade Upgrade 2
Hedgehog (US & BRITS)
Belgium Gate (GER & DAK)
Barbed Wire
• AT Gun
  
• AT Mines
  
• AP Mines
  
• Ammo boxes
  
• Supply Boxes
  
• Medic Boxes
  
• Garrison
  
• Outpost
  
• Forward Position
  
• Fuel Node
  
• Manpower Node
  
• Munitions Node
  
• Repair Station
  
• Supplies
  

[h3]New ways to get XP[/h3]
As a first step to promote some positive play, we’ve added more ways for the player to gain XP whilst playing the game as it is intended to be played. These include the following:

• XP for accurate infantry marks/pings
  
• XP for accurate vehicle marks/ping
  
• XP for accurate OP/Garrison Markers
  
• XP for suppressing enemies
  
• XP for kill assists

[h2]General[/h2]

• Recon Outposts layer on top of all other outposts
  
• Player icons may block the ability to click on outposts
  
• The active Outpost icon fails to layer on top of other outposts
  
• Microphone Check Settings Reset After Closing Game
  
• HQ spawn timers freeze while the "Unit Join Request" pop-up is on the screen.
  
• All British helmets sit too high on the character’s head
  
• Aim down sights triggers read/write of the input.ini file multiple times per ADS
  
• A crash will occur after performing a network disconnection and then reconnecting and progressing past the IIS
  

[h2]Map Specific[/h2]
[h3]Sainte-Mère-Église[/h3]
(I8) Additional stone wall on the road
(G4) Deploying on an outpost placed next to the house causes the player to become stuck in the building
[h3]Sainte-Marie-du-Mont[/h3]
(H8) Players can use an Airhead to spawn into an inaccessible area
[h3]Purple Heart Lane[/h3]
(E2) The player can become stuck inside the building after deploying
[h3]Omaha Beach[/h3]
(D6) Players can spawn in a locked building
[h3]Kharkov[/h3]
(F1) Misplaced artillery prevents the player from exiting the seat
(F1) Floating artillery
[h3]Foy[/h3]
(F4) Two buildings are overlapping
[h3]Elsenborn Ridge[/h3]
(H3) The player gets stuck between a sandbag wall and a pile of barrels
(D10) The snow is not blending correctly with the road and ground
(C2) There are wooden boxes and pallets without snow in the open
(HF) (H3) Missing polygon face at the end of a trench network
(H8) Small seam that the user can see out of the game world
(H4) Big snow pile with furniture appears low resolution
(G6) Misaligned snow terrain
(C5) A little bit of snow texture is poking through the roof asset on the interior side.
(C3) The Back face of a rockface that is alongside a road is missing


[h2]Deutsche Afrika Korps[/h2]
Deutsches Afrikakorps: At the helm of the Afrikakorps, command directed sweeping offensives across North Africa. With Tobruk in their sights in June 1942, they launched a coordinated assault to seize the key port and strengthen Axis control. 21. Panzerdivision: As one of the Afrikakorps’ primary armored divisions, the 21st Panzer Division advanced toward Tobruk in June 1942. With tanks at the forefront, they aimed to smash through British defenses and secure the key stronghold. 90. Leichte Afrika Division: The 90th Light Afrika Division operated across North Africa, specializing in fast, flexible warfare. In June 1942, they advanced on Tobruk, tasked with breaking through its defenses and seizing the vital port for the Axis.
[h2]British Eighth Army[/h2]
Eighth Army:Eighth Army Command oversaw pivotal battles throughout the North African Campaign. After the defeat at Gazala, miscommunication led to the Tobruk garrison failing to evacuate in time. This resulted in the formation of an ad hoc defensive force tasked with preventing Axis forces from capturing the port. Cameron Highlanders: The Cameron Highlanders saw action across North Africa, enduring the hardships of desert warfare. In June 1942, they braced for the Axis assault on Tobruk, ready to defend the strategic port against the advancing forces. 1st Armoured Division: The 1st Armoured Division took part in some of the largest armored battles in the Western Desert Campaign. After defeat at Gazala they retreated East, with elements breaking off during the disarray to resupply at Tobruk.
[h2]Long Range Desert Group[/h2]
LRDG:The eyes of the British Eighth Army in North Africa, the Long Range Desert Group tracked Axis movements deep behind enemy lines. This unit supplied vital intelligence to Allied forces, helping to turn the tide of the Western Desert Campaign.