All Quiet in the Trenches News

Two and a half month after our initial release we can announce that our first major update is now available!



It focusses on the trench phase in the game and has the following core features:

• Building/repairing selected defences, barbed wire, ladders, bridges
  
• Longer Trench phases with new tasks, projects and additional features
  
• New trench areas and new defensive and offensive battles
  
• New stories inside and outside the Trench
  
• Expansion of the map
  
• General revision and improvement of existing content
  

If you would like to find out more about the individual features, you can take a look at our Dev Diaries, which we published in advance:

Dev Diary - Constructions Dev Diary - Improving the Trench Phase



And here is the list of the full patchnotes:

Features:

• Added construction feature in trench levels with 35 construction projects
  
• Added the possibility of constructions being destroyed by artillery fire or skirmishes during the trench phase
  
• Added two lieutenant tasks related to constructions
  
  
• Added two new trench levels
  
• Added four new defensive battle levels
  
• Added two new offensive battle levels
  
  
• Added 7 new stories
  
• Added new lieutenant and soldier projects and short event chains in the trench phase
  
  
• Added new trench artillery barrage system: soldiers have to be "convinced" to go out under artillery fire
  
• Added the option to send exhausted soldiers back to camp for a few days
  
• Added an option to ask Lieutenant von Karrsbruck for a new soldier
  
  
• Expanded the map to include south-eastern regions and reworked some existing regions
  

Improvements:

• Trench levels now have a variable length and can get even longer
  
• Soldiers can now also collapse in the trench phase when they are too exhausted
  
  
• Added a new dialogue option when a character has other "!" information available
  
• Reworked prestige/mood icon
  
  
• Project user interface now shrinks, when there are many open projects
  
• Added some more information when trying to get soldiers out of locked projects or when trying to put soldiers into locked or full projects
  
• The location of choices in the journal is now randomised
  
  
• Adapted the first tutorial trench level to use the new systems (for construction and artillery barrage)
  
• Added a few more tutorial steps
  
• Added new icons for soldier healing status
  
• Text tooltips are now also displayed in dialogue and project descriptions
  

Balancing:

• One camp turn now lasts 10 days instead of 12 (resulting in more camp turns until home leave)
  
• Slightly increased chance of being sent to a trench in camp instead of an offensive battle
  
• Minor battle balancing (battles should last a bit longer)
  
• Lieutenant's "Ask for favor" dialogue now only costs prestige if he grants you a favour (previously, refusing could also cost prestige)
  

Bugfixes:

• Fixed a possible error in game-over window
  
• Fixed some pathfinding errors
  
  
• Fixed "Defend into Attack" battle being rated as a defensive mission
  
• Fixed battles that never ended
  
• Fixed one trench level being selected more often than the others
  
  
• Various minor bugfixes
  
• Fixed some typos
  

Others:

• New loading screen added
  
• Various text adjustments
  
• Added some more historical tooltips
  
• Removed grain post-processing in heat waves (didn't look good)
  

Please note that saves from the 0.5.X version will no longer work. However, we will continue to make version 0.5.6 available in the Steam Beta Branch for quite some time.

We're also taking part in #TurnBasedThursdayFest, which starts tonight at 7pm CEST. During the festival, we'll be giving a small discount on All Quiet in the Trenches.

We wish you all a good time with the new update!
Your Totally Not Aliens Team

Hello everyone!

Today the #TurnBasedThursdayFest on Steam begins. We're taking part and giving a 10 % discount on All Quiet in the Trenches.

Feel free to also check out the many other fantastic games at the fest!

On this occassion, we're releasing our first major update later today: the Trench update 0.6!

Hello again,

in today's Dev Diary, we would like to take a closer look at the additional changes that will be coming with the next update.

[h2]Artillery fire[/h2]

We thought about how we could make artillery fire in the trench phase more interesting. Until now, the probability of being injured during a bombardment was higher. We wanted to make it so that you have to carefully weigh up whether to fulfil a task or not. If we had simply made artillery fire even more dangerous, this would not have had the desired effect.

With the new update, all soldiers are now locked during heavy artillery fire in the "Hole up in the bunker" project. If a soldier has to fulfil a task because, for example, food or ammunition supplies are running low, you have to deal with him... and, if necessary, force him to leave the safety of the bunker. Of course, this has personal consequences...



[h2]Longer phases[/h2]

With the additional content, we have decided to tweak the balancing a little and at the same time ensure a slightly longer game experience. On average, the troops will be sent to the trenches more often and a turn in the camp will now only last 10 days instead of the previous 12 days (which means there are more game turns overall). A battle will also last a little longer until one side is ordered to retreat. In addition, the phases in the trenches are slightly longer on average. Sometimes longer than expected...



[h2]Send to camp[/h2]

Spending more time in the trenches? Have we then reduced the general exhaustion of the soldiers? No! On the contrary, new circumstances have been added that can put even more strain on the soldiers... In addition, it is now also possible for them to collapse from exhaustion during the trench phase.

However, it will be possible to send exhausted soldiers back to the camp. There they can recover a little and come back after a few days. In the meantime, they will not be able to perform any other tasks, and if the enemy launches an attack, they will of course not be available...



[h2]What more is there?[/h2]

The old user interface for the reputation with superiors / mood of the soldiers was not understandable for some. We decided to make it a little simpler in order and emphasise the most important elements.



We have implemented an additional dialogue option if a character has several "!" at once. This makes it quicker to collect the countless orders when your trust in Lieutenant von Karrsbruck is on the line.

In today's Dev Diary, we would like to take a closer look at the "Construction" feature that will be coming with Trench Update 0.6.

An important aspect that we would like to expand in the gameplay is the ability to complete optional tasks that not only have a direct impact, but also a potential long-term change. In our initial release version in the tutorial, there was already an option to rebuild a destroyed position. A feature that we did not take up again afterwards... Until now!



"Constructions" are individual areas in the trench, such as defences, barbed wire or ladders. During the trench phase, certain positions may be destroyed by artillery. This may mean that defensive positions in the battle can no longer be manned, that certain routes in the trench become impassable or that the enemy has an opening into the trenches. These areas can then be repaired by your troops.



In addition, some new, defined areas of the trench can be optionally extended. Ladders enable further retreat options, barbed wire directly in front of the trench prevents rapid infiltration. If sufficient capacity is available, new positions can even be built.



We have therefore decided to install new camera zones in the trench phase. This provides a better overview of the trench. The optional projects can be added from there in the left-hand bar.

We first want to see how this feature is received. With the release of 0.6 there will therefore be 35 "Constructions" for the time being.



We have also added 2 new trench levels. These are not only a visual component, but also have an influence on which "constructions" are possible. They also change the starting positions in the event of an enemy attack.

Two months have passed since our early access release version 0.5. Today we are happy to announce the next major update: Version 0.6 will be the "Trench Update" and will focus on the Trench Phase.

Attentive observers will know that this update was not previously included in the roadmap on our homepage. As indicated in our last post, the positive response to the game allows us to add further updates in addition to those already announced. We are very happy about this. The Trench Update is one of them!



[h3]What will be included in the Trench Update?[/h3]

• Building/repairing selected defences, barbed wire, ladders, bridges
  
• Longer Trench phases with new tasks, projects and additional features
  
• New trench areas and new defensive and offensive battles
  
• New stories inside and outside the Trench
  
• Expansion of the map
  
• General revision and improvement of existing content
  

[h3]What about the Battle Update?[/h3]

The Battle Update is moving down one position and is currently planned as the next major update. You can see the adjusted order on our homepage:

https://totallynotaliens.com/aqitt#roadmap

For the following reasons, we thought it made more sense to start with the Trench update:

The Trench phase has received the least attention in our development so far. We have realised that there is still a lot of potential here.

With all the things we had originally planned for the Battle Update, the additional features we wanted to implement and the feedback we received, the Battle Update has also become very large. We didn't want to run the risk of needing half a year for the first update in the worst case, which is why it was logical for us to spread the update out.

A not insignificant part, especially in terms of map design, but also a few features, is therefore already included in the Trench update

[h3]What are we planning for further development?[/h3]

We have also swapped the Gas Update with the Soldiers Update in our roadmap. On the one hand, because we want to ensure that the period up to 1917 is playable earlier. Secondly, we realised that it simply makes more sense: when soldiers acquire new characteristics and abilities during the course of the war, you also want to see their effects over a longer period of time.

We very much hope that these adjustments are in your interest and will enrich your gaming experience. In the future, the roadmap may continue to change depending on current circumstances or feedback, for example by adding new points, swapping updates or splitting them into several parts. As previously announced, this should never lead to something being cancelled, but only happen if it means more content can be added to the game.

We also estimated the development period in Early Access to be 1-2 years before release. Now that we are able to build additional content for the game, we are changing the time frame to ~2 years.

[h3]When will the Trench Update be released?[/h3]

We can't give a firm date yet, but we are planning for an early April release. Most of it is already implemented. We want to add a few more things and then take some time for bugfixing and polishing.