GHPC Early Access has been updated to version 20231208.1.
This is a hotfix update primarily intended to fix AI being able to see through large swaths of forest. Several other improvements are also included.
Changelog
Removed "Alt Smoke" control and replaced it with engine smokescreen (note: this may reset your smoke keybinds)
Added muzzle blast VFX to smoke grenade tubes
Adjusted orientation and velocity angle of smoke grenades on launch
Adjusted visual effects for Soviet 3D6 smoke grenades
T-72M1 smoke caps now disappear when smoke grenades are fired
Reduced possibility of 3D6 grenades bursting prematurely in the air
Fixed a bug that led to AI seeing through large amounts of forest
Fixed an issue that switched some artillery batteries to use a "smoke" label in the map screen
Thanks for playing!
GHPC Update 20231208
GHPC Early Access has been updated to version 20231208.
This is a regular update, introducing new features, adjustments, and bug fixes.
New feature: smoke systems
The most notable change included here is a brand-new feature: smoke systems. Vehicles equipped with smoke grenade launchers or engine smokescreen generation now have those systems available in-game. The smoke will blind non-thermal optics (including AI units without thermals) and create an obstruction for laser rangefinders.
A new control has been added to the Vehicle category for quick smoke grenade launch (default key: G), and the rest of the controls can be found in the Q menu. AI vehicles under severe threat are able to launch smoke salvos as well, provided that the relevant crew members are still able to operate the controls.
It's worth mentioning briefly that the smoke systems on Soviet designed vehicles are quite different from their NATO counterparts: unlike the short-range curtain of white smoke grenades used in US vehicles, the standard 3D6 smoke grenades are fired hundreds of meters forward. They are intended as a versatile tactical tool, able to block sight lines and clear space to maneuver in. The East German tanks and BMPs in GHPC have a set of these grenades loaded.
Meanwhile, the Abrams and other US vehicles have a fairly straightforward smoke setup: firing a salvo will blanket the frontal arc of the vehicle in a thick airburst of smoke. In the 1980s, this smoke was not multispectral, meaning thermal optics could see through it fairly well. As a result, some US vehicles are in the unique position of being able to pop smoke and continue to spot and engage targets from behind the cloud. But when using this strategy, be careful - your laser rangefinder will bounce off the smoke and prevent you from getting a firing solution the easy way. Set your range manually or lase ahead of time if you want to fight effectively through smoke.
A note on HEAT rounds
For a very long time, the M456 HEAT-FS-T round fired by US tanks in GHPC has displayed a glaring flaw: due to its fuzing mechanism requiring a good strike on the nose probe, it is easily thwarted by highly angled surfaces. Unlucky shots on the most severe angles of a BMP or BTR hull would often produce unfavorable impacts, crushing the round before it could properly form a penetrative metal jet. This was a frequent source of frustration and even bug reports.
After additional research, we've concluded that in 1985 the US did have a quantity of the successor round in inventory: the M456A2 HEAT-FS-T. The main innovation was - you guessed it - the addition of a shoulder fuze to account for shallow angle impacts. Owing to this fact, we've outfitted all 105mm US tanks with the M456A2 as their standard second slot round, and the M456 is now relegated to reserve supply, which can come into play when logistics are suffering in campaign mode.
Engagements against Pact APCs and IFVs using this new round should involve a substantially higher proportion of first-hit kills, and we think NATO enjoyers will be pleased with the results.
We've got plenty more in the works for GHPC! As always, you can get additional info by visiting our Discord server and YouTube channel. Links are on the GHPC website.
Changelog
Added smoke grenades to vehicles that equip smoke grenade launchers (activated from Q menu or using G key by default)
Added engine smokescreen generation to some vehicles (activated from Q menu)
Added ability for AI units to use smoke grenades in certain situations
Added "instant swap" feature: hold the unit swap key and look at a nearby friendly unit, then let go of the key to take control
Added M456A2 HEAT-FS-T shell (with shoulder fuze) as new default for all US tanks
Added logistics conditions to replace M456A2 with M456 in campaign
Added cloud shadows
Moved 9K111 missile emplacement in tank range to a position from which it can see targets
Reworked a large number of muzzle blast effects
Revised ammo loadout of T-55, including setting APFSDS to the first slot like in all other tanks
Changed BR-412D to a reserve round only used when Pact forces are suffering severe logistics issues in campaign
Adjusted armor properties for Kvartz composite (used in T-72M1 turret)
Reduced armor ratings on trucks
Slightly improved gain on night vision optics
Changed delta-D control to a toggle and made it start enabled by default
Fixed multiple issues in missions that led to stuck units
Fixed an audio issue that led to choppy or distorted sounds when AI fired machine guns
Fixed AI refusing to fire bursts and using entire belts of ammo in one go
Fixed composite armor being disabled in T-64A
Fixed a bug that could lead to the player's view being locked into an auxiliary sight optic
Fixed issues with map overlay sizing on certain screen resolutions
Fixed weapons being able to keep firing by themselves when a menu was opened while firing
Fixed a rare bug that led to infinite machine gun audio after the weapon stopped firing
Fixed commander voice calling for wrong ammo type
Fixed gunner voice spamming "on the way" when using machine guns
Fixed erroneous reporting of optics damage in HUD
Fixed flames not displaying correctly when T-64A was set on fire
Fixed T-64A continuing to fight while on fire
Thanks for playing!
GHPC Update 20231031
GHPC Early Access has been updated to version 20231031.
This is a regular update focused primarily on overhauling core systems.
Happy Halloween! Don't miss the spooky new mission added in this update.
The majority of the team's efforts this time around were devoted to upgrading the game's engine and improving several important foundational systems. This work improves average performance and clears the path toward several major features that will arrive in the future.
GHPC Original Soundtrack owners now have two additional tracks available to them, increasing the runtime by an additional 12 minutes and bringing the total track count to ten.
As always, you can get additional info on what's coming to the game in the future using our Discord server and YouTube channel. Links are on the GHPC website.
Changelog
Added instant action mission "Longer Road" to the Eastern Hills map
Updated the game's core engine to a newer version (this involves too many details to list here and may subtly change several aspects of the game)
Completely replaced vegetation spawning system to eliminate a frequent source of memory leaks and game crashes
Removed vegetation LOD slider due to incompatibility with new systems (this may return in the future)
Mildly rearranged several missions to work with newly altered vegetation system
Overhauled vehicle AI processing system to support upcoming features
Overhauled crew voice controller to improve logical flow, correct several bugs, and support upcoming features
Overhauled mission loading system to support ongoing multiplayer work and improve stability
Fire support controls on the map interface have been updated to show type, cooldown, and the number of missions available to call in
Consolidated mission briefing and mission objectives into the map view
Removed old mission briefing overlay and its associated keybind
Added more detailed track dirt effects
Adjusted various visual effects
Updated TOW emplacement model
Engine and transmission damage now affect vehicle performance proportionally to the level of damage
Mission designers can now break vehicle components at will
Damaged day and night sights will now display a notification on the HUD
Trees now physically affect projectiles like armor
Gunner now only announces "on the way" when the shot is actually fired
Music no longer escalates to "action" level in response to an unarmed target being sighted nearby
Waypoints on 3D HUD no longer display in optic views
Fixed platoon members turning around when they should be reversing
Fixed issues with platoon members keeping formation while on the move
Fixed TC calling out the wrong ammo type in some situations, such as when already loading a different kind of round
Fixed TC not calling detailed shot sensing (over/short/doubtful) in some situations
Fixed CAS and artillery missions giving more uses than intended, up to an infinite number in some cases
Fixed glitchy audio when some machine guns were fired by AI gunners
Fixed PT-76 tracks not showing as hot in thermal optics
Fixed AI gunners in BMP-2 not traversing the turret to scan for targets
Retired Fulda Legacy map and its associated missions due to increasing incompatibility with new game mechanics and rendering systems
Thanks for playing!
"Unstable" test branch released
Greetings!
The GHPC team has been working on some deep changes to the game's core engine, which affect countless systems throughout the game in small ways. In order to make sure these changes are properly ready for a full release, we've created a Steam beta branch we've dubbed the "unstable branch". This will grant access to the GHPC Experimental build, dedicated to testing the new core changes.
This is not a content preview for the next main update - that comes later, and the overall experience of this build is mostly the same as the previous main release. However, if you are interested in helping us make the next release as smooth and bug-free as possible, we would greatly appreciate your participation in the beta. Every issue caught and fixed now will save lots of people from headaches in the future.
We are especially interested in hearing from those who have had issues with game crashes in the past. The new build may solve some of those problems, if all goes as planned.
As a side note, this branch will likely not be a permanent fixture and will be released or hidden based on testing needs. The current build should be available for most of this month.
More information on how to get the test build and how to report issues can be found in this discussion post.
Have a great weekend!
GHPC Original Soundtrack released!
Greetings!
The GHPC Original Soundtrack is now available as add-on content for the base game on Steam! The album includes the main theme, AAR themes, and custom mixed versions of the dynamic mission music.
Any future GHPC music suitable for the OST will be added to the album content automatically.
A selection of higher-quality FLAC files is available in the download for those who prefer it.
GHPC Early Access has been updated to version 20230905.
This is a regular update, introducing new features, adjustments, and bug fixes.
New content includes a new Instant Action mission, a set of vehicle training missions, icons for tracking which missions have been attempted and completed, and detailed post-mission stats in the AAR mode.
This update comes on the eve of a significant milestone for us: one year in early access! Keep an eye out for a dev log post soon, detailing our thoughts on the game's progress and future plans.
As always, you can get additional info on what's coming to the game in the future using our Discord server and YouTube channel. Links are on the GHPC website.
Changelog
Added a new instant action mission to the North Fields map
Added several new dedicated vehicle training missions in Grafenwoehr Tank Range
Added icons to track which missions are unplayed and which ones have been won, color coded by team
Added mission results summary to AAR mode
Added more stats to mission results summary
Removed mission results summary after campaign missions (replaced by the one in AAR mode)
Added new sound effects for aircraft rocket launches
Added doppler effect to CAS planes
Added decals to Mi-8
Reduced RAM burden of AAR data by discarding unimportant shots rather than saving them
Made map icons and text scale based on zoom level
Set default map position and zoom level to focus on player position
Removed fuel lines from T-55 X-ray model, as these did not do anything and do not represent our standard level of detail
Changed default AAR mode to "shots involving player" instead of "player shots" in order to show the full story with less unwanted data to sort through
Mission category headers will no longer appear in Instant Action lists for categories with no matching missions
Increased BMP-1 and BMP-1P AI aim error
Slightly lowered AI vision range in or through forests
Restored munition loads to some flyover jets (non-CAS flights)
Increased suspension damping on M1 and M1IP
Fixed some weather system settings that were causing frame rate issues on some systems
Fixed weather changing too fast
Fixed an issue that caused RAM usage to climb forever every time a new AAR shot was viewed
Fixed an issue that caused some vehicles to be invisible to enemy AI from some angles (this especially affected the M2 Bradley)
Fixed some fire effects visibly traveling and rotating with thrown turrets
Fixed unit and crew losses no longer being counted after the mission was won or lost
Fixed various small issues in missions (thanks for making detailed reports on Discord and Github!)
Fixed T-55 fuel tanks not being set to volumetric mode, causing them to be OP against HEAT rounds and ATGMs in some cases
Fixed an issue where BTR-60 crew could float in midair in some situations
Fixed an issue where armor from despawned vehicles could remain in play
Fixed PT-76B tracks clipping into the ground
Fixed naming issues on PT-76B
Fixed mission timer starting too early in Rally challenge
Thanks for playing!
GHPC Update 20230810
GHPC Early Access has been updated to version 20230810.
This is a regular update, introducing new features, adjustments, and bug fixes.
New content includes two new vehicles and four new Instant Action missions.
As always, you can get additional info on what's coming to the game in the future using our Discord server and YouTube channel. Links are on the GHPC website.
Changelog
Added four new missions
Added PT-76 light tank
Added Mi-8 utility helicopter
Made smoke and fire effects less taxing to render
Improved smoke effects from bullet holes
Improved thickness and persistence of long burning vehicle fires
Improved textures, colors, and effect rendering in sky system
Made vehicle crews slightly more prone to panic bailout when their compartment is penetrated
Fixed some helicopters not being able to reach top speed
Fixed some issues with road setup
Thanks for playing!
GHPC Update 20230622.2
GHPC Early Access has been updated to version 20230622.2.
This is a minor update, primarily intended to get a few specific bug fixes live. Some small-scale adjustments have been included as well.
As usual, we continue to work on the next major features and further optimizations and will release them when they are ready.
Changelog
Fixed a memory leak related to projectile impacts
Significantly reduced CPU load of fragments and spalling
Added CAS to many existing missions
Tightened base dispersion of 25mm gun M242
Lengthened Bradley TOW pod reload time (in the future it will take even longer and require the turret to be turned and locked, but this will do for now)
Fixed a tank flipping itself over in Bumbling Baboons
Fixed T-34-85 using US crew voices
Fixed ammo labeling issue in T-34-85
Thanks for playing!
GHPC Update 20230622.1
GHPC Early Access has been updated to version 20230622.1.
This is a minor update, introducing small adjustments and bug fixes.
Please note: while this patch does feature a couple of optimization-related changes, there are several significant performance issues we are still tracking and working on fixes for. As always, we will release those fixes when they are ready.
EDIT: There was a hotfix at 18:05 EDT to correct aux sight reticles vanishing when M833 was loaded
Changelog
Added CRT screen noise due to impulse shock from recoil and concussion
Reduced performance cost of some fire effects
Fixed excessive slowdowns during bomb explosions
Fixed planes and some helicopters being able to crash yet remain fully intact
Fixed an issue that led units to commit friendly fire if they had recently achieved a clear line of sight on the intended target
Fixed a remaining issue with reticle illumination in auxiliary sights
Fixed crews being able to continue operating vehicles while in the process of bailing out
Fixed sabot petals using a strange drag function that caused them to nearly stop in midair
Fixed NATO tank auxiliary sight reticles not appearing if M774 was loaded
Fixed M774 ammo not visually syncing in ammo racks properly
Thanks for playing!
GHPC Update 20230622
GHPC Early Access has been updated to version 20230622.
This is a regular update, introducing several new features, adjustments, and bug fixes.
New content includes two new helicopters, a new sky system, AI improvements, revised VFX, and a refined Close Air Support (CAS) system.
With this update, roadmap item 2 ("Fire Support") is nearly complete. The main remaining element is a set of future changes to the map screen to show more information and allow finer control of support calls.
As usual, we continue to work concurrently on multiple major features, in order to bring the game ever closer to a completed roadmap and 1.0 release. Stay tuned for more update news! You can learn more on our Discord server or during the bimonthly Twitch developer streams. Links to all our platforms are on the game's website.
Changelog
Added East German "Hind" gunship with new NVA pilot models
Added "Kiowa" scout helicopter
Added new mission in Eastern Hills map
Added dynamic scaling compass that better depicts the currently visible arc of headings
Added heat shimmer for most weapons and effects
Added ability to tie mission events to units spotting targets or taking fire (currently used for Kiowa scout)
Reworked sky rendering with new clouds, stars, and a WIP version of dynamic weather
Reworked AI vision interaction with forests: they can now see a limited distance into trees, with units inside forests having a spotting advantage compared to those outside looking in
Reworked CAS pilot behavior for better search and attack run orientation
Reworked CAS hardpoint system to allow varied loadouts, rocket barrages, and multiple-bomb drops
Reworked CAS weapon selection to match the intended target
Reworked CAS targeting to select the most important targets based on type and proximity to the map marker
Reworked CAS aiming to account for ballistic drop and momentum
Reworked multiple weapon and impact effects
Changed helicopter pilot AI to be less panicky when shot at, especially when already attempting an attack
Fixed unit losses being double-counted in campaign missions
Fixed multiple issues with crew voice flow
Fixed grass and trees not responding to muzzle blasts
Fixed random crashing jets in Bold Limit
Fixed reticles not loading for some users based on file permissions
Fixed Bradley TOW reticle illuminating in wrong color and getting stuck in illuminated state
Fixed Abrams auxiliary sight HEAT reticle not illuminating
Fixed crew obstruction calls treating grass height as a solid obstruction
Fixed an issue that capped helicopters' maximum speed too low
