Hell Let Loose News

Hello Community,

The day is here!

Our Early Access period has been an extremely busy one for the whole dev team. When we released the game in June of 2019, we knew that there were several key pieces of tech under the hood that were either unfinished, or needed a serious rewrite if they were to stand the test of time. Even basic functionality, such as vaulting and leaning was not yet in the game. We had two vehicles, no progression system, no customisation system, no Commander abilities, no nodes and a single game type. In short, we had our work cut out for us!

Over the past two years, we’ve worked hard to build out and rewrite much of the necessary core infrastructure to make sure that working on Hell Let Loose into the future is a far easier experience, and that we can maintain a standard level of quality across the project. We want to thank you all for supporting us during this period - offering feedback and following the project as it’s progressed. It means a huge amount to us.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We also want to welcome all the new players who’ve just picked up the game - whether in the last month or on our release. We’ve opened up some new channels in our Discord overhaul to assist you in getting into the game - be it asking questions or finding a unit to play with.

Lastly, we want to thank our original Kickstarter backers. Your support was what enabled us to begin this journey almost four years ago. We know that crowdfunded projects are always a huge risk - more often than not failing to materialise at all. We want to thank you for taking a chance on us, and we’re excited to continue fulfilling our mandate.

Roadmap 2021/2022

Leaving Early Access can best be described as the end of the beginning. With that in mind we’ve put together two roadmaps for you to take a look at.

The first shows the journey we’ve been on - to bring you up to speed, and the second shows you the future ahead for the coming year and a half.



We’re committed to continuing to deliver our usual large scale updates, but will be working to balance these with smaller and more critical patches to solve urgent issues. We’re very excited to continue to polish and expand Hell Let Loose.



Obviously, we’ll be watching feedback immediately after the launch to determine any changes that need to be made, and we’ll also strive to add greater detail by releasing smaller roadmaps with more information as updates are released and if priorities change.

We hope you’re as excited by the future of Hell Let Loose as we are!

DLC

Keep an eye out for the release of our free Silver Vanguard DLC, as well as an optional paid cosmetic DLC - “Lethal Tide”. The best way to learn how to acquire the Lethal Tide DLC is to follow our social channels, as it will be available to purchase on the Steam Store as well as other unannounced locations.

Unlock access to join the Silver Vanguard and take to the front lines with an array of unique helmets and uniforms. Roll up your sleeves and get stuck into the thick of it with the German

forces, blend into the background in the Soviet “Ameba” camo helmet or take to the US tanks and show off the “Hell on Wheels” jacket!


Free for all current Hell Let Loose owners, or anyone that plays Hell Let Loose before the 10th August 2021.

Please note: This will become available to download at 5pm BST / 6pm CEST on July 27th.

Silver Vanguard pack contains:

• German Forces – "Rolled sleeves" uniforms for 11 roles.
  
• US Forces - “Hell on Wheels” jacket for Tank Commander’s and Tank Crew
  
• Soviet Forces - SSh-40 Covered Ameba helmet
  

Early Backers

If you are an early backer, expect an email with your DLC key bundle over the next few days! This will include the Italian camo for the Major backers reward and the Lethal Tide DLC free as thanks for your early support.

[h3]Update 10 Changelog
[/h3]

Disclaimer:
There were 1500+ tracked changes to the game for Update 10. We’ve tried to include absolutely everything we can below with regard to them, and had to summarise smaller changes to fit within the word count. Any oversights are entirely accidental and not intentional.

Eastern Front

• Added Stalingrad map
  
• Added Kursk map
  
• Added Katyusha Strike Commander ability
  
• Added RUS uniforms
  
• Added ZIS-2 AT-Gun
  
• Added Soviet Artillery Piece
  
• Added RUS vehicles including:
  
• T-34 medium tank
  
• IS-1 heavy tank
  
• Ba-10 recon vehicle
  
• ZIS-5 truck
  
• Added RUS weapons including:
  
• DP-27
  
• Mosin Nagant 1891
  
• Mosin Nagant M38
  
• Mosin Nagant 9130
  
• Mosin Nagant 9130 Scoped
  
• SVT-40
  
• SVT-40 Scoped
  
• PPSh-41
  
• PPSh-41 Drum Mag
  
• PTRS-41 Anti-Tank Rifle
  
• Nagant M1895 Revolver
  
• Tokarev TT33 Pistol
  
• RDG2 Smoke Grenade
  
• RG42 Frag Grenade
  
• Satchel Charge
  
• PMD-7 AP Mine
  
• TM35 AT Mine
  

Western Front

• Added Sainte Marie du Mont v2
  

Meta

Removed resource cost from vehicle roster spawns - Vehicles that are automatically spawned will no longer consume resources. This is designed to remove the uncontrollable Fuel cost to the Commander, to create greater strategic impact on vehicles spawned and resource handling.

Nodes provide a flat rate income of +10/min per node - Based on feedback from the community, the additional gain of resource income that came with the control of enemy sectors was tipping the scale too far in one direction, resulting in a steamroll.

Change to an ambient resource gain of +10/min - Because teams don’t have control over what sector they’re required to capture, it never really made sense to delegate specific resources to a sector. Resource gain tied to sector control created a compounding imbalance the further the attacking team pushed the defenders back, causing a steamroll.

When a sector is captured the team capturing gains 25 of each resource, the team losing loses 25 of each resource. This represents a non-compounding benefit/loss to the gaining or losing of a sector to prevent steamrolling but still reward victory or defeat in a sector.

Changed the Encouraged ability to double ambient resource generation for 5 minutes - This was required to bring the ability in line with the resource changes.

• Changed Offensive mode active sectors from 2 to 1
  
• Balanced starting resources
  
• Increased Commander ability costs
  
• Reduced team limit on nodes from 4 to 3
  
• Increased manpower bleed during overtime from -1 to -5 to reflect new resource values
  

Armor
For an in-depth explanation on the following changes read here: https://bit.ly/DevBrief135

• Added a new hitbox collision system
  
• Added a new vehicle physics system
  
• Added an Engine component to all vehicles
  
• Tracks do not transfer damage to the Hull unless the shell continues to hit and penetrate the Hull armor
  
• Refactored the armour weapon/ballistics system
  
• The switch seat duration for tanks is now dependent on its class
  
• The enter/exit duration for Tanks is now half the switch seat duration
  
• Removed collision from tank barrels
  
• Added smart material system for all Russian vehicles
  
• Adjusted Armor collision behavior
  
• Adjusted Armor health values
  
• Adjusted Armor damage values
  
• Reduced muzzle smoke from tank barrels when firing
  
• Increased repair speed of Blowtorch & Repair Station
  
• Improved FX for penetrating, non penetrating and ricocheting shells
  
• Improved reliability of projectile Impact/Ricochet FX
  
• HE shells can now damage tank tracks
  

Tweaked HQ automatic vehicle spawns to the following:

HQ#1
Light Tank
Transport Truck
T-34/76 (RUS ONLY)

HQ#2
Medium Tank
Supply Truck
Transport Truck

HQ#3
Recon Vehicle
Transport Truck

Gameplay/Features

• Re-enabled bullets traveling the direction of the weapon’s barrel
  
• Enemies marked by the Recon plane/vehicle are now displayed to the Support role.
  
• Removed the ability to hip fire Machine Guns without bracing.
  
• Artillery dispersion increased to 2m-20m
  
• Satchel Charges can now be placed in friendly HQ sectors
  
• Updated Field Manual and Hints
  
• Reduced the height and density of foliage
  
• Updated Controller mapping for Infantry
  
• Added new Controller functionality
  
• Added a new Gun Crewman loadout to the AT role containing the AT-Gun
  
• Reduced the size of OPs and added a shine effect
  
• Improvements to Ultrawide support
  
• Slightly reduced crouched run speed
  
• Continued game-wide optimisation passes
  
• Optimised bombing run explosion
  
• Optimised TPP muzzle flash
  
• Optimised multiple VFX
  
• Increased Satchel Charge damage
  
• Removed distance limitation on AT-Guns
  
• Updated GER manpower nodes with authentic pattern
  
• Allowed reloading while falling to fix irritating bug when stepping off small steps while reloading.
  
• Adjusted Kar98k’s front sight
  
• Disabled the ability to reload Launchers while sprinting
  
• Improved the reliability of placing fortifications on certain terrain
  

Animation

• Introduced a TPP flinch animation when a player is shot
  
• Improved the TPP vaulting animation
  

HUD/UI

• Added the server name, gamemode and map name to the scoreboard (Can be toggled in settings)
  
• Redesigned the Main Menu UI
  
• Allowed players to mouse over a locked loadout to see its contents
  
• Spawn location list numbers start at #01 instead of #00
  
• The vote kick interface now uses the same pop up style as the invite to unit notifications
  
• Commander abilities are displayed in the Text Chat with their location when used by the Commander
  
• Added a keybind for dismissing Hints
  
• Updated tank component icons
  
• Updated sector icons
  
• Updated Controls options UI
  
• Updated the in-game loadout background
  
• Leaving a server now returns the player to the Enlist screen
  
• Enabled zooming in on the character in the Barracks
  
• Recolored Garrison and HQ map icons for better readability
  
• Added a “Ping” visual effect that highlights the player’s location when opening the tactical map
  

SFX

• Added new SFX for multiple weapons
  
• Added new SFX for multiple vehicle engines
  
• Added SFX when vehicles collide with an object
  
• Added SFX when entering/exiting a vehicle
  
• Added SFX when switching seats in a vehicle
  
• Added SFX for Coaxial and Hull mg reloads
  
• Added SFX to Outposts and Garrisons
  
• Added SFX that signals the final 30 seconds of the match
  
• Improved SFX for penetrating, non-penetrating and ricocheting shells
  
• Lowered the volume on truck horns
  
• Replaced steady aim inhale sound with exhale sound
  

Visual Improvements

• Updated the Community AA to produce a sharper image
  
• Reworked weapon Scopes to eliminate visual jittering (This is WIP and will continue to be improved upon in upcoming updates)
  

Trucks

• Machine Guns are now able to damage Trucks
  
• Strafing Runs are now able to damage Trucks
  
• Improved ability to climb steep terrain
  

Localization

• Fixed many instances where a word or phrase was not localized in non-english languages
  
• Implemented localisation for achievements and rich presence
  

Server Administration

• Added an icon to display the player’s location while using the Admin Camera
  
• Added the ability to adjust movement speed while using the Admin Camera (Scroll wheel by default)
  
• Added the ability to zoom in/out while using the Admin Camera (Q/E by default)
  
• Locking on to a vehicle in Admin Camera now places the camera higher behind the vehicle
  

Bug Fixes
[Fixed] MG34 and MG42 are missing default zoom when ADS
[Fixed] Players receive no damage when in the Artillery seats from Tanks' MG/Coaxial weapons
[Fixed] German Recon Vehicles’ Coaxial MG34 firing VFX is misaligned with the barrel
[Fixed] Player's are not awarded XP points if multiple level 0 ghost structures are upgraded to level 1 within the 60 seconds XP cooldown
[Fixed] Placing small ammo, explosive ammo, or medical supplies box on any team uses the German Satchel placement animation
[Fixed] On offensive mode, attackers are unable to place a garrison once the Defenders HQ becomes the active sector
[Fixed] Certain projectiles have no collision with players who are seated in trucks
[Fixed] From TPP, the cannon of the Tiger tank jitters when rotating
[Fixed] Player can cancel a reload on the MG34 and Walther P38 by switching weapon
[Fixed] Machine Gun reload animation does not play when leaving deployed state after beginning a reload
[Fixed] The engineer can dismantle friendly HQ repair stations
[Fixed] The speedometer of light tanks can be stuck between 6-11km/h
[Fixed] The acceleration audio for the light tanks is incorrect if the user quickly shifts up gears whilst driving
[Fixed] After initiating a vote to kick, pressing twice the "Y" or "N" button counts as a second vote for the vote initiator
[Fixed] The placed airhead icon slightly overlaps with the dropping airhead icon
[Fixed] AT-Gun scope is offset
[Fixed] The title may crash when quitting the game after after a natural map transition
[Fixed] If the player enters the Admin Camera while prone on the front of the tank causes the vehicle to fly
[Fixed] Running over / Colliding with players in a vehicle causes a short repeated SFX / audio issue
[Fixed] Multiple issues present on MG42 animations while bracing
[Fixed] Multiple visual issues with the M1A1 Thompson weapon
[Fixed] Accepting the request to join a unit after changing teams will put the player in the squad of the enemy team
[Fixed] Supply Trucks are observed to slide slightly when on an angled surface and standing still
[Fixed] Social media links are not appearing on Front End menu
[Fixed] Changing stance to prone or crouched after vaulting can cause US players to appear standing when viewed in TPP
[Fixed] When leaning using the M1 Carbine, player's hand goes through the gun
[Fixed] Amount of aim offset for a Tank changes when the tank is at an angle
[Fixed] Players are unable to place satchel charges on the treads of the enemy tanks
[Fixed] The external cargo on the US Heavy 75 and Heavy 76 tanks have no projectile or bullet collision or passthrough functionality
[Fixed] Locking on a vehicle while the vehicle is being destroyed, locks the camera inside the vehicle until the user unlocks it
[Fixed] The "unlock from target" Admin Camera button has no functionality when the targeted vehicle is destroyed.
[Fixed] Toggle Clip button "J" has reversed functionality for Admin Camera
[Fixed] The Admin Camera HUD does not display the Sector Progress Bars
[Fixed] The player still has collision with vehicles while using the Admin Camera mode
[Fixed] The US Small Ammunition box, Medical Supplies box and Explosive Ammo box have identical models when held in hand
[Fixed] Player can become stuck inside assets/terrain when revived in certain conditions
[Fixed] Placing a deployable no longer takes priority over movement
[Fixed] The satchel will float when placed on the front of the German Medium Tank
[Fixed] Animation issue present when leaning and having a Bazooka or Panzerschreck equipped
[Fixed] Various Player created structures are observed to not award any combat score when dismantled
[Fixed] Spamming the "Join" button and spamming "Y" when popup message appears, on a locked Squad in the deployment screen can cause the player to crash the game
[Fixed] Inconsistent level requirement for the "Raider" loadout in the Assault role between teams
[Fixed] Blood VFX on player models has been observed to noticeably flicker
[Fixed] The Enlist screen is inconsistent when referring to the US team
[Fixed] Unit member names for Infantry Units are misaligned when displayed on the in-game HUD
[Fixed] Map does not open with an "On Press" instead it opens with an "On Release" when using the default Map key
[Fixed] Unable to switch off "Show chat for new message" toggle
[Fixed] UI icon for favourited servers does not remain highlighted when selected on the 'Enlist' screen
[Fixed] Pressing the default open map key [M] during an open text chat will open the in-game map
[Fixed] Occasionally the user is unable to change the Fullscreen Resolution
[Fixed] Redeploy Button is still accessible when dead on the KIA screen
[Fixed] Enlist screen sometimes shows 'Text Block' placeholder when servers have not yet loaded
[Fixed] When changing role from "Officer" to "Commander" without leaving your unit, the "Leader Settings" button remains on the deployment screen.
[Fixed] Opening the "Barracks" for the first time after playing a game with one of the factions, the loadouts presented in the initial page are inverted for each role.
[Fixed] The 'Deploy' button will remain red after selecting a new spawn point during the deployment countdown
[Fixed] Switch Team button is usable for a split second when Team Switch is on cooldown
[Fixed] Players will not receive the "Failed to Deploy" message when the spawn they are attempting to deploy on is destroyed
[Fixed] Some Hints and Field Manual entries display debug text
[Fixed] Hints will be interrupted if a newer hint is triggered
[Fixed] Strong Point icons do not go grey when the sector is contested
[Fixed] Text chat becomes non-functional if pressed and re-pressed while aiming down sights
[Fixed] Changing a keybinding removes the player's ability to return to the frontend via the [Esc] key
[Fixed] Many situations which should trigger hints do not
[Fixed] [TPP] The satchel charge can clip through the player model when performing a climb animation
[Fixed] [TPP] The US Supply Crate is clipping through the player model when performing vault/climb animation
[Fixed] [TPP] The German and US resupply boxes are clipping through the player model when performing climb animation
[Fixed] [TPP] The German Supply Crate is clipping through the player model when performing vault/climb animation
[Fixed] [TPP] The animation for the Support Role holding the Supplies is misaligned with the Player's left hand
[Fixed] [TPP] As Support, the Supplies placement animation is misaligned with the character model

Utah
[Fixed] An instance of misaligned foliage textures

Hill 400
[Fixed] A rock which can be exploited to see through
[Fixed] Several trees clipping through a stone fence

Foy
[Fixed] A barbed wire asset with missing functionality
[Fixed] An asset displaying a pink texture when viewed from a distance
[Fixed] Multiple misaligned assets

Omaha
[Fixed] Invisible collision present in a specific area
[Fixed] Multiple floating assets on the beach
[Fixed] Multiple assets clipping into objects or terrain
[Fixed] Multiple misaligned mudbanks
[Fixed] A roof of a shed clipping through the side of the house next to it

Carentan
[Fixed] Z-Fighting visible on Brick wall texture
[Fixed] Multiple clipping fences
[Fixed] Gaps visible between Brick wall assets
[Fixed] Multiple assets clipping into objects or terrain
[Fixed] Section of misaligned dirt track
[Fixed] Area on the map that vehicles can all get stuck on
[Fixed] Deployable equipment can’t be placed on Sidewalk / pavement

Hurtgen
[Fixed] Multiple floating/misaligned assets
[Fixed] LoD transition issue with a building row asset

Sainte Mere Eglise
[Fixed] Multiple locations where the player was able to become stuck

Purple Heart Lane
[Fixed] Multiple floating/misaligned assets
[Fixed] Multiple assets clipping into objects or terrain
[Fixed] The edges of certain parts of terrain are visible
[Fixed] Invisible collision present in multiple areas of the map
[Fixed] LoD issue present on the ground in areas with very shallow water

Known Issues
Below are known issues in U10 which have already been fixed in the upcoming Patch 16:

• The supply crates in the back of Supply truck have no bullet collision
  
• [SMDM-O-GER] Defenders can push until they reach the attackers' HQ if the first point is not captured.
  
• [SMDM-O-US] Defenders are unable to access the entirety of the first initial HQ strongpoints.
  
• [FOY-O-GER] Attackers Commander is unable to spawn vehicles on the right-side HQ
  
• Some performance hitches can occur on the Stalingrad map depending on density of location and specific hardware.
  
• Marine Uniform sleeves have a stretching issue in FPP.

We will be fixing the following with a new method for U11:
Sniper scope reticles can become misaligned with the scope during certain animations
We also want to reiterate that armour physics and driving experience is still a work in progress and will be subject to additional polish.

Game Articles

We have had some great articles and reviews of our Full release during a sneak preview with NME, and Gamestar.de

You can read these and a few others below.

NME
https://www.nme.com/reviews/game-reviews/hell-let-loose-review-2999404

GAMESTAR
https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/hell-let-loose-shooter-test-review,3371944.html

ScreenRant
https://screenrant.com/hell-let-loose-game-review/

PCGamesN
https://www.pcgamesn.com/hell-let-loose/review-10


Thanks to the entire community for the support during Early access!

See you on the Eastern Front o7

Hey everyone,

Welcome to Dev Brief #137!

This week's Brief is a special one as it's the last one before we leave Early Access next week and enter Version 1.0, heralding the arrival of the Eastern Front and Soviet forces.

To say the whole team is excited is an understatement, we can't wait to take this next step with you, our awesome community.

This huge next step will be one of many as we continue to further grow Hell Let Loose post Early Access. We'll be sharing more of what that looks like as part of Tuesday's Launch Dev Brief which will feature our 2021 / 2022 Roadmap.

For those eager to dive into Update 10's Changelog we'll be posting that here on Steam on Monday 26th.

Now, back to today's brief as we've only got some things we think you'd appreciate seeing...




We’re extremely happy to finally reveal the full Eastern Front Trailer, which premiered last night on Twitch as part of Twitch Gaming's The Weekly!

It captures a huge amount of hard work that the whole team has put in - from the levels, to the animations, sound, characters and so much more. We really hope you enjoy it!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
URA!




To celebrate all the incredible support you as our community have given us during the ups and downs of our Early Access period, we’re excited to announce that we’ll be giving all current owners of Hell Let Loose the “Silver Vanguard” DLC pack.

It’s a small way that we wanted to say thank you for coming on the journey with us. Take a look below to see the full contents. We also want to let you know that we’ll continue to rotate previous DLC (Summer / Winter Warfare Packs) in case you didn’t pick it up the first time.

As is the case with past DLCs, Silver Vanguard is only for a limited time during our release.



How do I get the Silver Vanguard DLC?

It’s free for all current Hell Let Loose owners, or any customer that purchases Hell Let Loose before the 10th of August 2021. We'll reveal the specific redemption details as part of our post on Tuesday 27th July.

What is in the Silver Vanguard DLC?

Unlock access to join the Silver Vanguard and take to the front lines with an array of unique helmets and uniforms. Roll up your sleeves and get stuck into the thick of it with the German forces, blend into the background in the Soviet “Ameba” camo helmet or take to the US tanks and show off the “Hell on Wheels” jacket!

Silver Vanguard pack contains:

• German Forces – "Rolled sleeves" uniforms for 11 roles (helmet not included).
  
• US Forces - “Hell on Wheels” jacket for Tank Commander’s & Crew (helmet not included).
  
• Soviet Forces - SSh-40 Covered Ameba helmet
  

Onwards to the weekend!

That wraps up this week's briefing!

We hope you enjoyed the trailer. Let us know your thoughts and favourite moments in the comments, as well as what you're looking forward to the most with the arrival of the Eastern Front next week.

Have a great weekend everyone!

We'll see you on the frontline.

Hey everyone,

We hope you're all having a great week and honing your strategies ahead of the arrival of the Eastern Front on the 27th!

Today we're sharing an exciting bit of news with you as tomorrow we'll be premiering the full Hell Let Loose - Eastern Front launch trailer as part of Twitch Gaming's The Weekly Show!

Not only that but Max will be talking all things Hell Let Loose and answering questions live for about half an hour on Stream.

Trailer Premier & Interview Stream

You'll want to head over to the Twitch Gaming channel via THIS LINK to catch everything live!

Time & Date

Trailer Premier: 7:30pm BST / 8:30pm CEST / 2:30pm EST / 11:30am PST on July 22nd.

Make sure to arrive 5-10 minutes early so you don't miss the premier, we look forward to seeing you there!

In the meantime here's a couple of screenshots from the trailer to tide you over...





We'll be back in the next day or two with our pre Version 1.0 Dev Brief!

See you on the frontline!

Hey everyone,

Welcome to Dev Brief #135!

This week we're got a big one for you as we delve into and detail the armour overhaul coming in Update 10 on July 27th.

From the changes themselves to new additions and our reasoning behind them, today we're pleased to be in a position to sit down and go through everything with you.

A lot of these changes have been inspired, guided and provoked from community feedback, so thank you to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts with us on armour throughout Early Access.

Right, let's rev the engines and get stuck in...




Hi everyone,

We’ve been working very hard on our continued armour rework - the majority of which will be landing with Update 10. We’ve incorporated feedback from across the entire community and it’s meant reworking many areas of our code and logic - including both projectiles, armour, the way armour functions on the vehicles, and the componentry of each piece. Alongside this, it’s also meant reworking the complex driving models for every vehicle in the game in order to get the best possible outcome - that balances expectation with reality.

It has also touched the base roster, ammo quantities, vehicle costs, sound effects, visual effects and many more aspects (such as no longer allowing AT to reload a launcher/AT rifle while sprinting!), as we rebalance the entire armour spectrum in line with adjusted line-ups and the coming new medium tank offerings for both the US and German forces (Sherman for the US and Panzer IV for the Germans).

In Hell Let Loose, armour is designed to function largely as it did in real life - with tense duels, surprise attacks from superior positioning and requiring the support of the surrounding team (when it comes to protecting the flanks from infantry attack).

Armour Hit Boxes

The largest rework by far has to manually build and apply accurate armour hitboxes to all vehicles in the game. One of the large issues previously was projectiles would strike small pieces of geometry on the exterior of a vehicle (like a hook or spade or edge) and it would lead to random outcomes (be in a bounce, non-penetrating explosion or penetration).

This led to very unsatisfying gameplay, where some vehicles could be destroyed in a single shot, or some other totally random outcome. In reworking all of these hitboxes, we’ve now assured a very binary outcome that can both be learned and relied upon. We have found that this now produces better armoured encounters in which crews are able to clearly understand the combat taking place.




Hit Statuses

In line with our efforts towards eliminating the randomness of armoured combat, we’ve reworked both the sound and look of penetrating shots, non-penetrating shots (ones that explode on the side of the vehicle) and ricocheting shots. They are now far more distinct and should help crews keep much better track of how the action is progressing. In addition, the tank shell flyby sounds have been greatly improved, leading to a more dramatic soundscape on the battlefield.

Ricocheting

Non-Penetrating

Penetrating

Resource Costs

In reworking the way Resource Nodes function and accumulate resources, we’ve rebalanced costs of vehicles to match. Our ultimate desire has always been to create relative scarcity of Fuel, that would then force a Commander to make greater strategic decisions with their armour crews to decide which vehicle would be best to bring in to supplement the base roster of vehicles. Something we were missing from our “Company of Heroes” comparisons was a distinct battle order by which a Commander would bring in specific vehicles. We are keen that every decision the Commander makes is driven by necessity and not by endless surplus.

Scarcity of Heavy Tanks

As we begin to introduce more medium tanks to the game, we’re keen to rebalance the base roster (the default line-up each team receives in order to make sure they’re viable from a vehicle perspective). As such, we’ve removed Heavy Tanks from the default line-up to make them rarer and more intentional in their use. We want their presence on the battlefield to reflect a concerted choice and strategy, rather than business-as-usual. In doing so, one of our aims is to shift the standard vehicle effectiveness down - towards medium tanks, light tanks and eventually assault guns. Until this time, Heavy Tanks have often seemed like the majority of the vehicles on the battlefield - which does not reflect the historical weighting and lead to problems elsewhere - such as needing standard anti-tank players to field equally powerful weapons to destroy them.

Ultimately, the sight of a Tiger 1, Jumbo and IS-1 (and eventually the Tiger II, IS-2 and Pershing) should be rare, exciting and terrifying to the enemy, and indicate specific intentions of the Commander.

Engine Component

In line with rebalancing armour and the introduction of anti-tank rifles, we’ve added the engine components to vehicles in order to allow different, less-potent forms of anti-tank weaponry to effectively hinder and nullify armour in ways that aren’t a simple critical-kill.

It is now possible to knock out a vehicle's engine by penetrating the engine bay - resulting in its total immobilisation.

Manoeuvrability and Gears

We’ve worked hard on the manoeuvrability and gear ratios in this rework. We’ve attempted to emulate the real principles of driving in greater manoeuvrability at low gears, while straight line speeds are higher but less manoeuvrable. However, this is still a work-in-progress as we figure out the best mixture of handling.

Physics

We’ve made several improvements to our physics handling and the interrelationships between different vehicles, as well as to the way in which we handle collisions. This has resulted in:

• Reduced the likelihood of getting stuck between objects
  
• Reduced the likelihood of vehicles bouncing off objects at speed
  
• Reduced the ability for lighter vehicles to knock around heavier vehicles
  
• Reduced the jittery behaviour of vehicles while stationary or between objects
  
• Fixed visual stepping on tank barrels as they move
  
• Improved the ability for trucks to climb steep angles
  

Sound Effects

Alongside every other improvement, we’ve worked on the following sound effects:

• Added SFX when colliding with objects
  
• Added SFX for entering and exiting vehicles
  
• Added SFX for switching seat in vehicles
  
• Updated Tank Engine and Tracks SFX
  
• Updated Turret traverse SFX
  

Continued Improvements

As always with Hell Let Loose, we’ll continue to improve this gameplay as we introduce a variety of new vehicles into the game. We can already see the need for a potential armour degradation mechanic in the near future to emulate the failure of a particular surface.

Armour rework Summary

The below changelist is subject to change based ongoing balancing and community feedback after the U10 update.

Added Engine Compartment

• Shuts off the Engine and prevents an Engine start
  
• Disables at 0% HP
  
• Enables at 100% HP
  

Adjusted vehicle health and damage

• Mirror matchups will result in ~2 shots to kill
  
• Shooting a higher classed Tank requires 2-3 shots to kill
  
• Shooting a lower classed Tank requires 1-2 shots to kill
  
• Reduced Handheld-AT damage to require an additional rocket to destroy Heavy Tanks
  
• Increased AT-Gun HP to compensate for the PTRS damage and require 2 handheld shots
  

Adjusted Tank Armor Ratings

• Increased frontal armour for most Tanks requiring precise shots or flanked angles
  
• Increased side Hull armour on some Tanks requiring handheld AT to shoot the rear
  
• Increased Turret Cupola armour so it’s no longer a go-to easy weak spot
  

Adjusted Behaviour of certain areas of Armor

• Tank barrels can now ricochet
  
• Turret cupolas can now ricochet
  
• Turret cupolas now only transfer damage to the Turret and not the Hull
  
• Tracks can now be damaged by HE shells
  
• Tracks can no longer be exploited to bypass the Hull armour
  
• Tracks will not ricochet shells
  
• Miscellaneous items attached to vehicles no longer deal damage to the Hull when shot
  

Other improvements

• Removed exploitable locations on Tanks that tricked the system into thinking the shell was impacting the rear/side of the Tank
  
• Disabled the ability to reload the Bazooka and Panzerschreck while sprinting
  
• Improved reliability of the correct impact/ricochet FX being played
  
• Increased the repair speed of Blow Torches and Repair Stations
  
• Increased Satchel damage to instantly destroy any vehicle
  
• Removed collision from Tank barrels to eliminate jittery movement
  
• Allowed Satchels to be placed on the Tracks of Tanks
  
• Slightly reduced muzzle smoke produced from Tank barrels when firing
  
• Added new FX for shells that hit but do not penetrate
  
• Adjusted the FX for ricocheting shells to be more distinguishable
  
• Updated vehicle seating UI
  
• Updated vehicle component icons
  
• Adjusted gear speeds to be more uniform
  
• Allowed MGs to deal damage to Trucks
  
• Removed Heavy Tanks from automatic HQ spawns and added a Transport Truck to each HQ
  
• Removed resource cost from HQ spawns
  
• Added SFX when colliding with objects
  
• Added SFX for entering and exiting vehicles
  
• Added SFX for switching seat in vehicles
  
• Updated Tank Engine and Tracks SFX
  
• Updated Turret traverse SFX
  
• Increased duration for entering and exiting Tanks
  
• Increased duration for switching seat in Tanks
  
• Refactored vehicle weapons to support Ballistics
  
• Introduced Smart Materials to the interior and exterior of new and some existing vehicles
  
• Shells no longer travel at a weird offset when firing on uneven terrain
  

IS-1

The IS-1 was an early variant of the Soviet Stalin heavy tank, developed from the battle-proven KV type. The KV was one of the most well-armoured heavy tanks at its point of introduction, but by 1942 was vulnerable to experienced anti-tank teams and heavier German armour. In addition, it was slower, more expensive, and no more heavily armed than the now large numbers of T-34 tanks rolling off the production lines.

The decision was made to improve the armour and armament of the KV, which would enable it to retain its battlefield niche. The resulting redesign would be named IS-1, after Joseph Stalin. The chassis, iterated on the KV, deleted the hull gunner position and instead had the driver seated in a centrally located compartment. Its weight was used more efficiently with critical components being better armoured while actually being lighter than the KV. The turret retained the three-man configuration of the KV, but was fully cast and fit the powerful 85 millimetre D-5T gun.

The IS-1 performed well, but the T-34 would eventually be up-gunned with the same 85 millimetre gun. Thus, experiments to put increasingly larger guns in the IS hull would continue and the definitive production variant would be the massive 122 millimetre gun armed IS-2.




BA-10

The BA-10 was a Soviet armoured car from the Second World War. A pre-war design placing an armoured hull over a Ford AA-derived chassis, the BA-10 had a somewhat ungainly appearance and a high centre of gravity. It was armed with a 45 millimetre gun, giving it excellent firepower for its weight.

The BA-10 found itself somewhat poorly suited to the rigors of Eastern front combat. Its thin armor and high profile made it vulnerable to fire, and tracked vehicles proved to be better at traversing the poor roads that stretched across the Soviet Union. Where available, it would use its speed to serve as a reconnaissance vehicle instead.




Onwards to the weekend!

That wraps up this week's Dev Brief!

We hope you enjoyed our deep dive into the armour overhaul. It'd be great to hear what you think, so share your thoughts with us in the comments section.

July 27th is rapidly approaching, so you won't have long to wait until you can get stuck into these sweeping improvements.

Have a great weekend everyone!

We'll see you on the frontline.

Hey everyone,

Welcome to Dev Brief #134!

This week Max and the team have got together to give you some bitesize updates on a few different areas of the game.

From optimisation to particle FX and the addition of new audio and visual meta components we're taking a quick look under the hood!

Make sure you stick around until the end too as we'll be revealing some of the new, free customisation items that you'll be able to unlock in Update 10, as well as sharing with you some more details on the Soviet inventory!

Let's get stuck in shall we...




Hi everyone,

We would like to thank the community for jumping into the PTEs and offering fantastic feedback. It’s great to know what you’re enjoying, and the constructive notes are guiding our continued work - be it gameplay, bug fixing or optimisation. Thanks for working with us to continually improve the coming Update.

We will continue to run PTEs over the next couple of weeks to ensure that we have a stable build for U10. Bug fixing and optimization is always a key focus, and we are doing our best to eliminate as many issues as possible before launching out of Early Access.

We are also keen to reiterate that we will be running more thorough PTEs for future updates, as we feel it’s a great opportunity to iterate on fixes and identify large scale issues.

On a final note, we’d appreciate it if the community joined us in helping keep content from the PTEs under wraps by not streaming, discussing or posting photos of the PTE across any open channel and instead give their feedback in the directed locations. We would prefer to be able to keep running these testing sessions and our ability to keep this content a surprise will have a large impact on whether we continue or not.


Optimisation

Hell Let Loose is a tough beast to optimise! With 100 players and concurrent physics on all vehicles (as well as 10+ multi crewed vehicles per game) - it’s definitely a challenge.

That said, we’re working hard to instance, merge and build HLOD out for all maps - including our new Eastern Front maps. Alongside this, we’re reducing poly and triangle counts, as well as looking at our different settings to see if we can assist lower-end players in squeezing out the best possible performance without compromising gameplay (ostensibly by removing shadows or foliage completely).

So far, our PTE’s have shown increased performance across the board and we still have more to do. Like everything in game development, it’s a tricky balance between visuals and optimisation. As we introduce different LODs within the game we also need to adjust them to maintain as high a quality visual as we can.


Particle FX

Particle FX have been an area that were largely untouched since we began work on Hell Let Loose. We’re currently in the process of onboarding a full time FX artist who will work over the existing FX - including muzzle flashes, ambient fires, back blasts and more. Initially though, we’ve gone through and optimised a huge number of these elements in a way that is visually unnoticeable to the player. That said, you can expect both increased performance gains plus a visual fidelity increase over the coming updates. We especially need to nail these aspects down prior to our Fire update.




We’re doing a pass on many smaller map elements that are crucial to the meta. These have largely gone untouched for the entire duration of development, and we knew that we needed to revisit them.

Sound

Where appropriate, we’ve attached authentic radio clips from each of the forces to both OPs and Garrisons. This is to enable players to get a sense of proximity to a spawn, as well build the immersion of the battlefield soundscape.

Look

Hell Let Loose has hugely dense maps - visually in terms of realistic battlefield clutter and also in terms of gameplay elements - players, ammo boxes, supply boxes, mines, vehicles and much more. Many of you will also know that the meta of Hell Let Loose largely hinges on the placement and destruction of the OP, Airhead and Garrison spawn points, as well as interacting with other small objects such as ammo boxes. There are many times where even experienced players will come within range of the enemy spawn point, but due to intense clutter or bad luck, will fail to see it until players spawn on it, leading to either a successful attack being thwarted due to their failure to find a small object, or a mass spawn-kill as they mow down the recently spawned players.

Instead, we have been road testing a slight shine on battlefield objects of meta significance to increase decisiveness in attack and defense, as well as increase battlefield awareness (without you needing to constantly toggle the HUD to see icons, or open your map).

The shine only occurs when within 30m of the key object, and is limited to objects that demand crucial player interaction (OP, Garrison, Airhead and Ammo Boxes). You will still need to interact with the objects as you always have - as well as learn the difference in appearance between them.

Size

Spawn points are the bread and butter of Hell Let Loose, and their placement can make the difference between winning and losing. We’ve road tested a smaller OP size that is uniform across all forces. It’s far easier to place in trenches and much less obstructive, and the same sizing means that no force experiences a disadvantage when placing them.

We will be applying the same logic to Garrisons in future updates - both making them easier to place, as well as bearing a similar sized visual signature.



Discord - Join the Community

Over the next couple of weeks we will be making some changes to the Discord. This will essentially be an audit to ensure we have all the correct and up to date information, as well as designated locations for different conversations about the game.

The Discord has grown enormously over time, and as a result we’ll be restructuring elements of it so that each channel functions better and all types of player - for dyed in the wool veterans, those experiencing technical issues, those keen to provide feedback, those looking to group up or join a clan and finally a location where newcomers can feel welcome.




Here is a sneak peak at a couple of the new free cosmetics coming to Hell Let Loose. We will be following up on how these items will be unlocked/acquired before U10 launches on July 27th.












More of the Soviet Inventory

Lastly this week, here are a few more items that will be included in the Soviet inventory.

RGD-2

The RGD-2 was a smoke grenade type mass-produced in the Soviet Union. Visually little more than a cardboard tube, it was activated by striking the washer included in the body of the grenade against the ignition match. After a few seconds, smoke would billow from either side of the housing. It was available in a number of different smoke colors, and is still being manufactured today.

RG-42

The RG-42 was a fragmentation grenade of Soviet manufacture. A simplified alternative to the complex stick-type RG-33, the RG-42 was able to be produced in smaller factories and workshops. The smooth cylindrical outer shell contained both the explosive charge and a number of steel sheets designed to fragment on detonation.

POMZ

The POMZ was a type of Soviet anti-personnel mine. A simple fuzed TNT charge with a fragmentation sleeve, the POMZ was attached to a wooden stake and embedded in the ground. It was triggered by tripwire, which could be tied to another stake or otherwise attached to the environment.


Onwards to the weekend!

That wraps up this week's Dev Brief, thanks for stopping by!

As you likely already know we have an incredibly exciting month ahead of us as we gear up to leave Early Access on July 27th and welcome in the arrival of the Eastern Front!

Leaving Early Access heralds the next step for Hell Let Loose and we can't wait to take it with you.

Have a great weekend everyone!

We'll see you on the frontline!