Greetings! We are excited to share the experimental build for the largest content update we have ever done in CAOS. Update 1.0.4.4. focuses on Operation Husky, but also brings with it a series of hypothetical scenarios or variants and paradrop gameplay improvements.
See the picture below for information on how to opt-in to the Experimental build if you’re interested in playing new updates early.
New Scenarios:
To play the new historical or hypothetical scenarios, check out the "Premade" section under scenario type when starting a new game.
Operation Husky and Variants:
Recreate the first decisive blow against fortress Europe in Operation Husky and explore two hypothetical variants of the scenario for increased replayability!
Operation Husky (Historical) The straight historical scenario with turn-1 Allied invasion beaches and paradrop landing zones pre-selected and units adhere to their historical arrival dates. Operation Husky+ A variant of historical Operation Husky where the Allied invader can freely select their initial invasion beaches anywhere from Alcamo-Partinico in the northwest to Avola-Cassibile in the southeast.
Operation Husky Expanded A hypothetical, expanded variant of Operation Husky that assumes the Axis had one month’s advanced warning to prepare for the invasion of Sicily. Axis forces on the island and reinforcements enroute are more numerous by drawing on reserves from mainland Italy and Greece. Additionally, the Allies gain access to 7th and 8th Army’s full reserves, including the balance of the 82nd Airborne Division, 46th Infantry Division (UK), and 1st Parachute Division. Expect a tougher fight from both sides. The substantially increased German presence in Sicily's interior in expanded Husky.
Operation Firebrand:
Hypothetical scenario inspired by Allied proposals to launch a French-led liberation of Corsica in autumn 1943, as a sequel to a successful invasion of Sardinia. Historically, as the Italian Fascist regime collapsed following the invasion of Sicily, the invasions of Sardinia and Corsica were never enacted. To bring Operation Firebrand to life in CAOS we assume the invasion of Sardinia was a success, the Mussolini government did not collapse, and the Corps Expéditionnaire Français was activated early to liberate Corsica in October 1943.
Tutorial Scenario
CAOS is also receiving a much-needed tutorial scenario that guides players through basic orders and game mechanics. The tutorial walks players through combat orders, artillery orders, game systems such as Zone of Control, and air system, before turning the player loose to hone their abilities in a hypothetical siege of Sassari scenario.
Gameplay Improvements:
Paradrop Air bridging. Paradrops onto friendly airfields inside friendly air space inflict minimum cohesion loss and do not suffer from drop dispersion. You can now safely air bridge paratroop reinforcements to the front with good air control.
Air Interdiction can now only be conducted inside friendly air zone.
Several updates to the Sicily map including more accurate reflection of the urban sprawl of Palermo, upgraded Alcamo to city status, and added a new Strait terrain type at the straits of Messina.
Several minor updates to the Sardinia map, including the missing beach at Portilocco to make landings above Alghero more feasible.
Interface Improvements:
Movement speed now displayed on unit HUD card.
Static and temporarily immobile status now displayed on unit HUD card.
Outstanding issues before Update Full Release:
Before the Husky update is ready for its full release there are still several content, feature additions, and bug fixes left outstanding.
Withdrawal mechanic for Axis defenders in Husky and Brimstone.
Operation Brimstone, the proposed Allied invasion of Sardinia, a in July and September variants.
AI improvements, particularly regarding AI use of mobile supply depots and responding to attacks on multiple fronts in large scenarios like Operation Husky.
The Allied AI is currently moving units between turn 1 beaches and air landing zones in historical Husky. A hotfix for this is in the works and will go up as soon as it's ready.
Air command automation controls. This will allow players to automate the administrative side of the air command to reduce the tedium of managing massive air rosters.
Install Error Hotfix
We have fixed an install script error that caused CAOS to hang on load for some users. If you experienced the error, follow the quick steps below to make sure you get a fresh install to fix the problem:
1) Right click CAOS in your steam library >> Manage >> Uninstall. 2) Reinstall the game 3) Everything should work.
Have a happy New Year and a special thanks to the players who brought this error to our attention and helped us troubleshoot it.
Update 1.0.4.1 and Merry Christmas!
Greetings! We have a brief update just before Christmas focusing on a couple key combat changes and interface improvements.
Gameplay Improvements:
Update 1.0.4.1 brings a pair of crucial combat changes developed from experience in the historical Crusader/Gazala scenarios. Overruns have been removed from skirmishes to make the battlefield less inhospitable to small units, particularly recon battalions. The effectiveness of artillery fire support in offensive March and Skirmish combats has also been reduced to reflect the difficulty of coordinating fire support in fluid combat environments using the communication equipment and doctrines of the war.
Skirmish combats can no longer trigger overruns. Recon battalions are now safe to roam the countryside without being vaporized by passing panzer regiments.
Artillery fire support provided to offensive march and skirmish orders now scales according to artillery type and training level. Armored artillery, and highly trained artillery suffer lower penalties. See chart below for details:
We’re also including a series of interface improvements following up on player feedback. You can expect to see a few of these in each update moving forward as we work through the backlog of interface suggestions from both ourselves and players.
Air recon missions now display their Line of Sight radius while placing order.
Moved sort by service dropdown menu to the left side of the requisition screen, along with the rest of the sorting features.
Attachment dropdown menu renamed to Change Attachment to better reflect its purpose.
Made neutral placenames a brighter shade of green to improve readability.
Improved visibility of close menu boxes by adding red buttons beneath the X’s on most menus.
Multiple weapon cards can now be opened simultaneously, for easier comparison.
Holiday Break and CAOS into the New Year:
We’ll be taking the next two weeks off for the holidays to spend time with our families, but after we come back the Operation Husky update will go live on the experimental branch shortly after New Year. The Husky update will launch with the Operation Husky, Operation Brimstone (Sardinia), and Operation Firebrand (Corsica) scenarios. We’re also working on a proper tutorial scenario, although that’s not likely to be ready until later in the month. The previously discussed AI update is also still in the works and will gradually roll out across January.
For now, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We’ll see you all again soon!
Update 1.0.3.8 Full Release
Greetings! We’re back with the full public release of the Operation Crusader update!
General Gameplay Additions and Changes:
Added Operation Crusader historical scenario. Recreate 8th Army’s bold offensive to break the siege of Tobruk in November 1941 to January 1942!
Added Random button added to unit pool, when pressed it automatically purchases units for you. This feature is still in development and tends to scatter units all over the deployment box.
Interface Improvements:
Added daily situation report.
New and improved Air Command screen displays more information, more clearly.
Holding Left Shift while buying replacements buys 10 at a time.
Hovering over air units in Requisition screen now displays the squadron’s name in place of its aircraft type.
Armor suppressed in combat reports now also displays armor losses as percentage of total armor involved in battle.
Bug Fixes:
Fixed interface bug that caused Air, Group, and Unit Pool buttons to draw off screen on some more exotic resolutions.
Fixed a bug that could cause connected clients to technically lose in co-op games if the AI opponent surrendered.
Fixed a bug that caused breached minefields to take just as long as unbreached minefields to clear.
Fixed a bug that allowed supply extenders to become infinite supply sources.
Fixed a bug that caused mobile depots to fail to refill their supply when in range of a supply source and a supply extender was stacked on top of them.
Fixed a bug that caused attackers and defenders to receive the same number of replacements in historical multiplayer scenarios.
Fixed mini-map view box scaling on several maps.
Moving Forward:
With Crusader released we’re ready to move full steam ahead with the Operation Husky update. On the road to Husky we’ll be working on an AI update focusing on AI decision making and reducing turn run times, and the new automated replacement system. Each of these improvements will both greatly enhance scenarios like Crusader and Gazala, but will also be necessary to make Husky work.
For now, to our fellow Americans, have a fantastic Thanksgiving and we'll see you all soon after!
Update 1.0.3.8 (Experimental)
We have a new update out on the experimental build, it resolves most of the outstanding, non-AI related issues with the Crusader update, discovered up by players and in internal testing.
See the picture below for information on how to opt-in to the Experimental build if you’re interested in playing new updates early.
Bug Fixes:
Fixed a bug that allowed supply extenders to become infinite supply sources.
Fixed a bug that caused mobile depots to fail to refill their supply when in range of a supply source and a supply extender was stacked on top of them.
Fixed a bug that caused attackers and defenders to receive the same number of replacements in historical multiplayer scenarios.
Hosting multiplayer games as attacker works properly again.
Fixed mini-map view box scaling on several maps.
Attacker scenarios briefings in historical scenarios work properly again.
Known Issues in Experimental Build:
The supply overlay still sometimes incorrectly displays supply extenders as generating supply when disconnected from the supply network; even though they do not, and units inside their range do not receive supply.
If internal build testing goes smoothly tomorrow and on Friday, the Operation Crusader update will go fully live on Saturday.
Update 1.0.3.6 (Experimental)
Greetings! We’re launching an Experimental branch for CAOS, Experimental builds include content from upcoming updates, but will be less stable than the standard live build.
See the picture below for information on how to opt-in to the Experimental build if you’re interested in playing new updates early.
General Gameplay Additions and Changes:
Added Operation Crusader historical scenario. Recreate 8th Army’s bold offensive to break the siege of Tobruk in November 1941 to January 1942!
Added Random button added to unit pool, when pressed it automatically purchases units for you. This feature is still in development and tends to scatter units all over the deployment box.
Interface Improvements:
Added daily situation report.
New and improved Air Command screen displays more information, more clearly.
Holding Left Shift while buying replacements buys 10 at a time.
Hovering over air units in Requisition screen now displays the squadron’s name in place of its aircraft type.
Armor suppressed in combat reports now also displays armor losses as percentage of total armor involved in battle.
Bug Fixes:
Fixed interface bug that caused Air, Group, and Unit Pool buttons to draw off screen on some more exotic resolutions.
Fixed a bug that could cause connected clients to technically lose in co-op games if the AI opponent surrendered.
Fixed a bug that caused breached minefields to take just as long as unbreached minefields to clear.
Known Issues in Experimental Build:
There are several outstanding bugs on the Experimental build of update 1.0.3.6 that we’re working on before it moves to full release.
Hosting multiplayer historical scenarios as the Attacker currently loads you in as defender.
Attackers do not receive their historical flavor briefing at the start of the game in historical scenarios.
Hosts and clients are receiving the same number of replacement points in head-to-head historical scenarios.
Dev Blog 12: Give me the SitRep
Greetings! We’re back with a quick dev blog on some of the core interface improvements coming in the Crusader update.
Air Command Improvements:
The Air Command has been substantially graphically and functionally improved in the Crusader update. Regarding new functions the Air Command now displays air group names, withdrawal dates, and lists twice as many air units (20 as opposed to the old 10). Graphically, the new Air Command cleanly divides information into categories and visually divides statistics into columns to break up the walls of text when you’re running a large air roster.
Daily Situation Report:
The Intel report has been completely reworked into a proper daily Situation Report (SitRep), which pops up at the start of each turn, and can always be accessed in the Intel screen. The SitRep lists key points regarding the current status of the battle in a quick 1-page summary. Details include VPs controlled/current victory outcome. Strength and units destroyed and lost this turn. Strength replaced this turn. Air superiority status. Air missions attacked/lost per side. Finally, unit arrivals/withdrawals.
If you want more detailed information beyond the top-level SitRep, check out the new Losses tab which lists losses this turn/the entire game, and details losses during the this turn per type, per side. Want to know precisely how many Tigers you destroyed last turn? We’ve got you covered! The older, more detailed impulse by impulse turn report and requisition point schedules are also available as tabs on the intel report.
Resolution Interface Bug Fix:
The Crusader update includes a fix to interface issues causing unit grouping, unit pool, and air buttons to draw off-screen for players using some more exotic screen resolutions.
Crusader Release:
We aim to release the Operation Crusader update next week. Progress has been slower than planned as both Archimedes and I have been largely unavailable due to non-NS2 related professional commitments during the last month. But we’re on track now to release Crusader next week and then start working on the very exciting replacement automation system alongside long awaited Operation Husky to follow. Full update notes for Operation Crusader detailing additional UI and gameplay improvements will follow with the update.
Update 1.0.3.3
Greetings! We’re back with an intermediate update paving the way for the arrival of Operation Crusader later in the month. Update 1.0.3.3 improves the supply interface, overhauls air combat, introduces an extended variant of the Tobruk map for custom games, and fixes a several bugs in response to feedback from the Gazala Line scenario.
General Gameplay Additions and Changes:
Frontier Wire map, an extended version of Tobruk stretching to Sidi Barrani in the east and beyond Fort Maddalena in the south. A variant of this map will form the basis of the upcoming Operation Crusader scenario.
Out of supply cohesion loss increased for units experienced training level and above.
Minor additions to Axis and Allied Crusader OBs.
Updated Gazala Line scenario to better represent the fortress at Tobruk during the battle.
Fixed unintended coastal minefield bypass north of Acroma in the Gazala Line scenario.
Added co-op air control to Gazala Line scenario.
Supply Interface Improvements:
Yellow tags now appear on units below 100% supply, orange tags for units completely out of supply. These tags display at all times. No more being surprise to learn your tanks are out of supply.
Supply overlay now differentiates between static supply sources (red), mobile depots (orange), and supply extenders (purple).
Air Superiority Changes:
Update 1.0.3.3 completes the air overhaul initiated in the last update, with extensive changes to the air superiority system. Maneuverability is better incorporated into the combat stat of aircraft, air superiority mission numbers per squadron have been overhauled, and maintenance rates have been comprehensively re-evaluated.
Air Superiority and Air Weapon stat Revisions:
Playtesting the historical Gazala Line and upcoming Operation Crusader scenarios revealed our existing air system undervalued highly maneuverable, but relatively short-ranged fighters such as Spitfires, BF-109s, and MC.202s. The revisions detailed below better incorporate maneuverability into the air combat stat and rework the air superiority mission number calculation which previously excessively advantaged intermediate range fighters such as P-40s against their shorter ranged counterparts.
The list below shows the highlights of the changes for each nation. [expand type="details"]
United Kingdom:
Multirole
Typhoon Ib air combat increased from 57.7 to 70.1
Tempest V air combat increased from 61.5 to 79.7
Tempest V air superiority missions increased from 3 to 3.5 per squadron.
Fighters
Gladiator II air combat increased from 36 to 44.9
Hurricane IIa air combat increased from 42.8 to 52.1
Spitfire IIa air combat increased from 48 to 59.7
Spitfire Vb air combat increased from 53.7 to 66
Spitfire Vb air superiority missions increased from 2 to 3 per squadron.
Spitfire IXe air combat increased from 60 to 73.6
Spitfire IXe air superiority missions increased from 2 to 3 per squadron.
Spitfire XIV air combat increased from 62.3 to 76.5
Spitfire XIV air superiority missions increased from 2 to 3 per squadron.
Spitfire XXI air combat increased from 68.5 to 83.6
Spitfire XXI air superiority missions increased from 3 to 3.5 per squadron.
Bomber/Strike
Blenheim IV air combat increased from 29.8 to 36.7
Mosquito FB.VI air combat increased from 56 to 65.
United States:
Multirole/Fighter
P-26 air combat increased from 28.9 to 35.9
P-36 air combat increased from 35.3 to 44.7
P-40B air combat increased from 46.4 to 53.3
P-40F air combat increased from 48.1 to 58.9
P-40N-5 air combat increased from 50.3 to 61.7
P-38F air combat increased from 50.6 to 61.8
P-47D air combat increased from 56.1 to 68.5.
P-51B air combat increased from 55.2 to 68.2
P-51D air combat increased from 58.1 to 71.4
Bomber/Strike
B-18A Bolo air combat increased from 23.8 to 29.5
A-20B Havoc air combat increased from 42.9 to 50.3
B-25H Mitchel air combat increased from 34 to 37.9
Germany:
Multirole
BF-110 C-4 air combat increased from 42.8 to 52.4
FW-190 F-8 air combat increased from 52.2 to 63.7
/Fighter
BF-109 E-3 air combat increased from 45.9 to 56.5
BF-109 E-4 air combat increased from 48.3 to 59.5
BF-109 F-4 air combat increased from 51.3 to 62.3
BF-109 F-4 air superiority missions increased from 2 to 3 per squadron.
BF-109 G-6 air combat increased from 58 to 70.5
BF-109 F-4 air superiority missions increased from 2 to 3 per squadron.
FW-190 A-4 air combat increased from 59 to 71.8
FW-190 A-4 air superiority missions decreased from 4 to 3.5 per squadron.
FW-190 A-8 air combat increased from 62.8 to 76
FW-190 D-9 air combat increased from 68.7 to 83.3
ME-262 A-1a air combat increased from 104.5 to 125.3
Bomber/Strike
JU-87 B-1 air combat increased from 27.1 to 33.6
JU-88 A-4 air combat increased from 30.6 to 37.6
JU-188 E-1 air combat increased from 32.9 to 41.5
Italy:
Multirole:
RE.2002 air combat increased from 41.2 to 51.1
RE.2005 air combat increased from 56.8 to 69.1
Fighter:
CR.42 air combat increased from 34.6 to 43.1
CR.42 air superiority missions increased from 1 to 1.5 per squadron.
G.50 air combat increased from 37.2 to 46.2
MC.200 air combat increased from 38.1 to 48.2
MC.202 air combat increased from 42.5 to 52.8
MC.202 air superiority missions increased from 2 to 3 per squadron.
MC.205V air combat increased from 57.4 to 70.3
MC.205V air superiority missions increased from 3 to 3.5 per squadron.
Bomber:
CANT Z.1007 bis air combat increased from 33.3 to 40.2
BR.20M air combat increased from 31.4 to 38.2
Ca.311 air combat increased from 22.3 to 27.5
France:
Fighter:
D.510 air combat increased from 34.7 to to 42.7
MB.151 air combat increased from 35.3 to 43.7
MS.406 C1 air combat increased from 39.8 to 49.1
Hawk 75A3 air combat increased from 42.46 to 52.5
D.520 C1 air combat increased from 44 to 54.2
Potez 631 air combat increased from 41.2 to 50.3
Bomber:
Potez 633 B2 air combat increased from 32.1 to 39.9
MB. 210 air combat increased from 20 to 24.8
LeO 451 air combat increased from 38.4 to 47.4
Soviet Union:
Fighter:
I-15 air combat increased from 32.5 to 40.4
I-16 Type 24 air combat increased from 40.1 to 46.1
YaK-1 air combat increased from 46.6 to 57.9
Yak-7 air combat increased from 51.7 to 63.6
Yak-9 air combat increased from 50.1 to 61.9
La-5Fn (early) air combat increased from 50 to 60.6
La-5Fn air superiority missions increased from 2 to 3 per squadron.
La-7 air combat increased from 56 to 68.4
La-7 air superiority missions increased from 2 to 3 per squadron.
Strike/Bomber:
IL-2M3 air combat increased from 41.8 to 50.5
PE-3 bis air combat increased from 45.2 to 55.3
SB-2M air combat increased from 33.1 to 41.1
TU-2S air combat increased from 46 to 59.8
[/expand]
Air Maintenance Revisions:
Maintenance rates now closely correlate with the number of engines an aircraft has, the more engines the slower the maintenance order recovers cohesion. Maintenance rates are further modified by national bonuses, and case-specific modifiers on a per-aircraft basis. Single-engine aircraft average between 17-25% cohesion recovery per turn in maintenance, twin/triple-engine aircraft average around 10-15%. In general, US and UK airframes enjoy highest cohesion recovery from maintenance, while French aircraft typically round out the bottom.
These maintenance revisions add a further layer of strategy to air combat, because powerful bombers, versatile twin-engine multirole, and exotic aircraft such as ME-262s, suffer from slow maintenance rates. If you keep all of your aircraft active constantly, and keep nothing in reserve, you will create an aircraft readiness crisis that you can’t quickly recover from.
Bug Fixes:
Fixed a bug that occasionally caused AI units to skirmish each other in friendly fire incidents.
Fixed a bug that caused the AI to overestimate its casualties and surrender early in historical scenarios.
Fixed a bug that prevented pre-game line of sight makers from displaying properly in the LOS overlay.
Fixed a bug that caused objective highlights to duplicate, making objective value difficult to read on hexes with multiple facilities (forts, airfields, towns, etc.).
Beyond 1.0.3.3:
Operation Crusader is in production for our next update, and after that we’re on to Operation Husky. There are also some outstanding AI issues brought to our attention by community members in the Gazala Line scenario, relating to the AI exposing its corps HQs and abandoning minefield-based defense positions. We’ll look into these either individually as part of the upcoming updates, or as part of a specifically AI-themed update after OP Husky release. In the meantime, here’s a peak at the formidable fortress at Tobruk besieged in the upcoming Operation Crusader scenario.
Update 1.0.3.0: Gazala Full Release
This is just a quick announcement that update 1.0.3.0 is fully released. We’re now working on an interface, bug fix, and air superiority overhaul update aimed for release between now and Operation Crusader. We will also record a head-to-head Gazala Line match between Xenophon and one of our senior beta testers this weekend, so you can expect to see that out next week.
In the mean time, enjoy Gazala and feel free to drop us a line here or on discord!
Update 1.0.3.0: Gazala Public Beta Release
Update 1.0.3.0 Gazala is live on public beta! We’re still working on a crash error in Axis co-op scenarios on Gazala, so we’ll move the update to full update release after that bug is quashed. Everything else is good to go though, so enjoy Gazala Line and the new air/arty update on beta! See the steps below to access the public beta branch and check out the new update.
Accessing 1.0.3.0 Beta:
Right-click CAOS in your steam library. and select Properties
Click on Betas
Select 1.0.3.0 – Public Beta
For the full update notes, see our earlier news post, here. For now, here’s a quick guide to access the Gazala Line scenario, and a run down of what’s coming next.
How to play Gazala Line Scenario:
After opting into the 1.0.3.0 beta, when creating a new game, mouse over the scenario type drop down and select Historical, then set the map to Tobruk and Gazala Line will be automatically selected. All future historical scenarios will be accessible under the same menu.
Click on the thumbnail image below for an example:
Where to next?
Once Gazala is fully deployed we’ll move forward with a series of smaller updates focusing on Operation Crusader and several user interface improvements that we’ve wanted to tackle for quite some time. Following these smaller updates, Operation Husky stage 2 is tentatively planned for release during the final week of August/first week of September.
For now, enjoy Gazala and feel free to drop us a line here or on discord!
