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Developer Briefing #95 - Grease Gun, New Hitbox System & Flinching!

Hey everyone,

Welcome to Developer Briefing #95!

This week Lead Developer Max is here with a new weapon reveal, new mechanic info and an update on how things are going on our path to Update 8!

Right then, over to Max!


A Message From Max - Metagame, Mechanics and M3 Submachine Guns!


Hi everyone!

We’re hard at work right now on Update 8 and we’re really excited to settle many undercooked aspects of the metagame. So much has changed in such a short time - with us moving so much of the nonsensical and blended functionality out to specific items within the inventory. This is done to enable us to properly build out supply and ammunition economies (no more redeploying!), as well as properly build out experience attribution and the general immersion of the game. As a result, we feel that most roles and loadouts will feel far more detailed and provide a much greater level of cooperation and teamwork.

This week, we’re showing off a highly requested iconic Allied weapon that’ll be added to loadouts in the game: the Grease Gun.


The Grease Gun


The M3 Submachine Gun - better known as the Grease Gun (or “the Greaser”) - is a 30 round submachine gun that was introduced to the Allied forces in 1942. It was designed as a cheaper and lighter replacement for the Thompson submachine gun. It’s worth noting that these perks came at a cost of accuracy when compared to its Thompson predecessor.

However, due to deployment delays due to production issues and further specification adjustments, this weapon did not see widespread use on the frontline during WW2.

In Hell Let Loose, the Grease Gun will function similar to an MP40 style weapon for the US forces - with a 450 rounds/min rate of fire, it’s almost half that of the Thompson. Fed by a 30-round detachable box magazine, we suspect the Grease Gun will be best deployed as a middle to short range CQB style weapon.





We’ll be providing them to a limited number of roles as a special loadout. We’re currently deciding the exact loadouts, but we feel armor crews and other supporting or close range roles will benefit most.





In regards to the German forces, watch this space…


New Hitbox System & Flinching


You may wonder what the use is for a new weapon in a game like Hell Let Loose - where the TTK is so short that nearly every weapon in the game is similarly effective at dropping an enemy.

In Update 8, the introduction of bullet penetration AND a more complex hit box system (including limb detection and flinching when hit) will give specific weapons greater stopping power and effectiveness at certain ranges.

We always want to make sure our design maintains the lethality of weapons - we know that there’s nothing more frustrating than firing on a target and nothing registering - or them soaking up bullets like a sponge. At the same time, we’re going to be using these aspects as a way of increasing the effectiveness of slower bolt action weapons, while also increasing longer range survivability for high rate of fire weapons (ie. being hit in the foot by an MP40 at 300m) and prioritising aim.

We’ll talk more about this in a later dev briefing, but we feel that these additional aspects will give great tactical distinction to each weapon, naturally balance bolt action weapons against faster-firing weapons and will reduce the incidents of instant-death at long range - allowing for more useful medic gameplay.


Onwards to the 100th Dev Brief!


That wraps up todays Dev Brief!

We hope you enjoyed your first official look at the Grease Gun, as well as further information on we're further involving infantry combat.

As always, we really look forward to hearing what you think of today's info drop so feel free to put your thoughts in the comments below or over on the Steam forum.

Have a great weekend everyone!

See you on the frontline.

Developer Briefing #94 - New Engineer Satchel Charges!

Hey everyone,

Welcome to Developer Briefing #94!

This week we have an explosive preview of something new coming to the game!

[h3]Satchel Charges[/h3]

For a long time we’ve known that the Engineer role (among others) was at a distinct disadvantage when it came to battlefield functionality. Whilst the Engineer will have access to a broader array of tools introduced over the coming Updates, we wanted to focus today on the Satchel Charges, as it will form the backbone of the Saboteur aspect of the Engineer role.



How do they work?


The Satchel Charge is a huge explosive - one of the most powerful currently in the game. To use it, simply equip the charge and then select from one of three pre-set fuse time lengths - 30 seconds, 60 seconds and 120 seconds. Once the fuse time is set, place the charge in the desired location and run for cover!



[h3]What are they used for?[/h3]

The best way to think of Satchel Charges is as an enormously powerful timed charge. It can be used to destroy vehicles - though the timed nature of the charge and relatively long placement time will make it a challenge to use in this way. It can also be used to clear buildings, strong points or fortified locations of infantry. The primary risk and reward is that only one can be carried by an Engineer at any time, as well as the longer placement time - balanced against a devastating explosion. Bear in mind that you’ll need to communicate the placement of the charge so that your team around you are aware of the imminent explosion.

In addition to it’s raw destructive power against foes on the battlefield, Engineers will be receiving an overhaul for all deployables. To this end, Satchel Charges will be a key way for Engineers to demolish enemy battlefield emplacements and defenses.

In the future, we’ll also be revising the way specific sectors are captured in Offensive mode. Part of this will be the introduction of objectives that need to be destroyed in order for the sector to be won. Satchel Charges are being introduced now to facilitate that in the future.

There are still several larger design aspects that we’re deciding on - as well as the full future functionality. We’re going to be refining the concept further up to release of Update 8.



See you next week!


That concludes this week's Dev Brief!

We hope this first look at some new explosive content coming to Hell Let Loose gets all of you engineers excited to you know... blow some stuff up!

Also, yes, it isn't Jonno this week. Please be gentle!

As always, have a great weekend everyone and we'll see you next week.

See you on the frontline.

Developer Briefing #93 - A New Tool For Tankers!

Hey everyone,

Welcome to Developer Briefing #93!

This week Max has stopped by to reveal an updated mechanic coming to Hell Let Loose, including a first look at one of a set of new tools that armour and infantry units alike will be getting to grips with.

To turn up the heat on this Dev Brief, here's Max...


A Message From Max - Patch 13 Deployment & New Tools!


Hi everyone,

We’re thrilled to see that Patch 13 solved several endemic issues that were being experienced. We want to assure you that this is nowhere near the end - more that we wanted to attempt a final round of critical fixes before we move seriously towards working on Update 8.

We want to remind everyone that if you are using DX12, there are still some known issues that are likely to cause crashes such as alt-tabbing.

Update 8 may as well be called the “nuts and bolts” update, as so many seemingly peripheral areas of the game are being overhauled in a way that will allow us to lift the total quality, as well as expand functionality and the tactical thought needed to engage with each mechanic.

We’re going to start looking in depth soon at all the features, content, fixes and optimisation that we’ll be introducing in Update 8, but initially we thought we’d chat a bit about repairs!


A Wrench of all Trades, Master of None


The trusty wrench had been an ongoing mainstay in the way we communicate deploying anything into the game world within Hell Let Loose. While it’s quite a nice looking device, it doesn’t make much sense (building a supply box with a wrench anyone?).

Now that we’ve overhauled the animation system, we’re returning to some of the key utilities and refining them in ways we’d always wished to - giving each tool a specific purpose and widening and polishing each utility so it made as much sense as possible.

In Update 8, we’re decoupling the repair function from the wrench and have created a unique tool to fulfil this - the trusty field blow torches carried by the engineers of all forces. It will act much like the wrench, but allows us to be more specific in the function of the wrench (which will now act as a planning and placement tool), while also giving many more loadouts specific utility.

(Please note that these assets have been compressed to fit on Steam, so do not accurately portray the current or final visual quality of this tool)





For a long time we’ve felt that we need to give tank crews specifically the ability to repair their own vehicles. We felt eventually that it’d be interesting to enable tank crews to specify their loadout towards vehicle support, or perhaps re-arming. By creating this new tool, we can now easily assign it to specific tanker loadouts and other roles to create a wider range of utility - enabling players to also specifically tool logistics-focused smaller infantry units (perhaps to just run supplies and transport, as well as repair and re-arm frontline armor). We’re revisiting the way exp is assigned for this and are now able to make this mechanic far more robust and integrated.



As per usual, while this sounds like an easy task - we always want to make sure we make the most beautiful and authentic asset possible - including working on a nice little flame fx paired with a nice sound fx. Additionally, we also want to make sure you’re using the right blowtorch for the right force.

We especially love these assets as they catch the light beautifully and look and sound great in-game.



We also feel they may go well with a Mechanic uniform. Eventually you may even be able to use it to set the enemy on fire - but that’s for another time.

Coming soon we’ll be looking at the supplies rework, wrench functionality and hammer functionality. As always, the team is working on a whole suite of new things to polish and expand the game.


The weekend frontline beckons!


That wraps up this week's Dev Brief!

We hope this first look at some new mechanics and tools coming to Hell Let Loose gets your tactical cogs turning.

Have a great weekend everyone and we'll see you next week.

See you on the frontline.

Patch 13 - PhysX & DX12 Foy Crashes Fix - Live Now!

Hey everyone,

Patch 13 is now live!

Thank you all so much for your patience and feedback whilst we worked on this, it's greatly appreciated.

Check out the patch notes below:

Patch 13 Notes
  • PhysX Crash Fix
  • Fix for DX12 crashes on Foy


For those that didn't know, the PhysX crash could occur when body parts from two different dismembered bodies collided. Not the easiest thing to spot, but thanks to feedback such as "It occurred during a bombing run." and "I threw a grenade then crashed." the team were able to narrow things down, identify the problem and fix it! Also yes, this meant we spent copious amounts of time blowing each other up with tanks, grenades and bombing runs!

We're confident that the above are fixed and shouldn't cause you any further issues, however we will be watching closely to ensure the patch is working as intended.


A Message From Spono - Wilhelm Scream Wrap-up!


The response we have received for the Wilhelm submission has been astounding. The Team would like to issue a profound thank you to all those who took part. It can be a very daunting mission to record and put out your voice to be judged and we sincerely applaud everyone who has passed on their submissions regardless of the outcome.

This perfectly highlights the type of community we are grateful for, one that comes together to influence and shape the production of HLL.

The conclusion of this is still to be decided by the team as we further narrow down recent submissions from this past week. Not only have you provided us with a plethora of varied screams but you have also given us some ideas and direction to what we are really looking for in the future. Speaking of which, this may not be your last chance, despite the submission period coming to an end, based on the quality we have received so far we may run something like this again in the future.

Because of the nature of HLL with fairly long match times and the number of players in each game we will be using a fair few of your submissions to help keep the atmosphere varied. At present in game we only have a few death vocals that can become repetitive, these new additions will certainly spice things up. We will be reaching out within the next few weeks to notify everyone on the verdict of their submission, so make sure you keep those raw audio files handy.

The direction we wish to take dialogue in HLL is a more cinematic approach that fits with the gritty atmosphere. We will be looking for professional and talented voice actors in the future to voice the main bulk of the dialogue.

Once again we cannot thank you all enough for your enthusiasm over the last few weeks. We’ll wrap things up with another look at some courageous efforts submitted by members of the community.


PanZ7#5328
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Brown Sugar#3058
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

RiftyTheSwifty#9071
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

TonyTwoTap7109
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Stay tuned for the results,

We can’t wait to hear you on the Frontline.


See you tomorrow!


That wraps up this week's patch notes! We'll see you tomorrow for Developer Briefing #93.

See you on the frontline.

Developer Briefing #92 - Crash Patch Incoming, New Tanker Uniforms & More!

Hey everyone,

Welcome to Dev Brief #92!

This week we've got some good news on the infamous 'PHYSX' crash fix, a first look at some shiny new uniforms for the Tankers among us and an update on the 'Wilhelm Scream' competition!

Before I hand over to Max and Spono who'll go into all the cool details, I just want to take the opportunity to relay the team's thanks for your patience, bug reports and understanding whilst we worked away on the crash fix. Every report we received helped us track down the root cause and, fingers crossed, address it.

So, you're probably wondering what the cause was, well... It could occur when body-parts from two different dismembered bodies collided with each other in the air, normally following an explosion.

This revelation led to a humorous take on the situation from the incredibly talented Moscatnt, who is equally impressive on both the frontline and canvas!




A Message From Max - Good News!


Hi everyone,

We’re thrilled to announce that after an enormous amount of debugging, we’ve isolated the issue in the physx code that has been causing the most common crash experienced in the game. After nearly five weeks of QA, we are very confident that we have resolved this specific crash, and as a result we’ll be rolling out Patch 13 alongside a fix for DX12 crashes on the map Foy. To make sure we don’t cause any other disruptions to gameplay, we will be limiting the patch to these two crash fixes.

We are in the process of signing off this Patch, and we will update the community on the release date as soon as it’s ready. All going well, this will likely drop on Friday next week.

We want to also note that if you are using DX12, there are still some known issues that are likely to cause crashes such as alt-tabbing.

Meanwhile we’re hard at work on all aspects of the game - content, bug fixes and optimisation. To give you a small taste - we’re working through giving all tanker roles at least two additional uniforms to unlock for both forces. Over the coming weeks we’ll start to do deep-dives on the ways we’re overhauling some underdeveloped aspects of the game, optimising, and generating new content.
















Screaming With Spono - Let’s Hear Your Wilhelm Scream!


Wow, what a response we have had so far to the Wilhelm submissions! So far what we have received from you has been wonderfully harrowing to say the least and we as a team thank you greatly for the “overWilhelming” response. We are well underway in narrowing down the clips that we feel are most suitable and that would complement the atmosphere in game.

If you are reading this and still don’t know what all this means, please check out this link from Dev Brief #90 it has all the submission details.

In response to some questions of what exactly it is that we are looking for, we wanted to keep the description in the Wilhelm Dev Brief minimal to let your creative freedom flourish. We’ve had many different variations of screams, grunts, gasps, gurgles and whelps that have all been exciting and inspirational to listen to. Some members of the community have asked if we are accommodating spoken dialogue within this submission, whilst we are specifically looking for non-spoken audio lines that isn’t to say that somehow and some way we can’t filter in spoken lines, however we are primarily looking for more deathly oral sounds.

As a result of the massive response we have had, we’ve decided to extend the close off time for the submission for at least another week. So if you didn’t get the time to submit, now’s your chance! Submissions will only be accepted as a YouTube link via this FORM*

Here are just a select few clips that contain great examples of what we look for and also the quality of recording we like. These are by far not the only ones we love but we would like to give you a sneak peak at what some members have been up to.


Technical#6400
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


ScreamingMinnie#2180
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


pancake_soup#7050
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


Su5hi#1170
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


Forrest McGilvray#2210
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


Thanks again to everyone who has made a submission so far, and we are super excited to listen to more.

*By submitting to this form you acknowledge and give Black Matter the permission to use your submission for purposes of in-game content, social media, marketing material and in any other manner, platform or format we may choose.


Onwards to Patch 13!


That wraps up this week's Dev Brief.

We hope you're as pleased with the crash fix news as we are and enjoyed your first look at some upcoming Tanker uniforms.

If you're on the fence about giving the 'Wilhelm Scream' competition a shout, go for it! Your dulcet tones may well become part of the frontline...

Have a fantastic weekend everyone.

See you on the frontline.