Today marks the release anniversary of Verdun! You can now find the game with a 70% discount, the soundtrack with 50% off & the Film Memoir mode is available for all for a timely period.
It’s almost time to get your assault on Monte Grappa started! Don’t forget, alongside this update will come the new weapons, Mac support and the Expedition Units Pack DLC. Be sure to check out our previous devblogs on these as well in case you’ve missed them.
While along the course of the Piave all attempts at a breakthrough by the Austro-German troops were unsuccessful, the objective of the German General Otto von Below's was Mount Grappa. This range of mountains represented the keystone of the whole Italian front: winning its 1,770 meters meant that it would be possible to move into the plains of Veneto and leave behind both the Asiago plateau as well as the river.
On 20th November, the Austro-German troops occupied Mount Tomba and Fontana Secca, but three days later they were driven back to their original positions. Even lieutenant Erwin Rommel, already a protagonist at Kolovrat with his battalion of Württemberg, failed to break through because of his lack of knowledge of these peaks.
Want to read more about the history of the Battles of Monte Grappa? Read our devblog here.
For now, let’s take a closer look at the upcoming map and its objectives!
The battle for the Sacred Mountain
Your match will start out in Nomansland, a wooded area that has suffered a lot of damage from previous fighting. Trenches run through this dense forest, as well as a stream of water.
For the German Assault team, your first main objective will be Monte Tomba first, continuing along the ridgeline of the mountain towards Monte Palon and further beyond.
Your A & B objectives will be a Bunker Forest Capzone and a destructible objective which is a communications bunker, which can be found on the top. You’ll see stone barracks and resting areas on the backside of the mountain ridges.
Be wary of the steep climb! But then again, it’s a mountain top, so what did you expect ;)
If the Germans are successful, they’ll advance to Castel Cesil, a fortified area above the forest. This is one of the main objectives for the section of the map. The other one will be a heavy artillery piece that is located in the valley.
This area of the map will have several fortified positions that provide great overlooking areas, may it be the forest or the valley. This valley will also be a big divider between the two objectives! So be sure to be strategic in your plans for assaulting and defending them. Will the your team's snipers make those shots count, or will the Germans separate the defenders amongst the objectives in an efficient manner?
The third main objective will be Monte Palon, another destructive objective. Here your goal will be to blow up (or defend) the munition stock of the artillery gallery. This section of the map is especially interesting since it has multiple cave systems to defend or sneak around in.
If you’re afraid that the enemy might be camping out in the caves, you can always try to advance through the center, where you run into the main trench ‘artery’, which runs along the mountain ridge. Or maybe you find your own special route towards the objective?
And there it finally is, the snowy mountain top! Destroyed trenches, cratered landscapes, artillery batteries and crestling hills & valleys paint your final objective - Cima Della Mandria.
Your final A & B objectives will be a capzone and a destructible artillery battery. On the right side you’ll find a crashed ‘Caproni’ bomber leading towards the main trench in the area, leading to this final destructive objective. The final fight for glory on this Holy Mountain is shaping up to be a fierce one, so be sure to make it count!
Now to round it all up, here’s a flyover of the Monte Grappa Map.
Mehr Musik
You asked for the Isonzo OST to get updated with the German’s theme and the instrumental/piano version of Rinasceremo Insieme, so we did! Starting today, you can find these songs in your soundtrack folder as well!
Did you know that the piano reprise of Rinasceremo Insieme was actually earlier in the making than one with lyrics? The piano version used to be a guide track for the development team and the Tenor vocalist initially.
A few months ago, our landscape artist Kian, who's responsible for the map flyovers, was browsing the pieces of music that were created for the game and saw this one fit for the Piave flyover. That's when Bart, our composer, did some minor mix updates to make the track fit nicely on the Isonzo soundtrack album.
If you don’t own the Isonzo Soundtrack yet, you can get it now with a 20% discount!
This update adds more logging and potential fixes for cases where players would fall through the ground. We are still actively working on the remaining issue, but it should improve your experience in the meantime.
We apologise for this ongoing issue and we will keep you posted as we have more news.
Devblog #53 - Upcoming new weaponry!
Hello soldiers!
It is time for another devblog. May is slowly approaching, but to ease the pain a bit, we’ll take a look at some upcoming weapons.
In case you’ve missed it, the Monte Grappa map will be released in May! Be sure to check our updated roadmap as well.
As some of you already noticed in the screenshot from the last devblog, one of the weapons you’ll be getting with this update is the Revolver Orbea Hermanos - Tettoni 1916.
The Revolver Orbea Hermanos - Tettoni 1916 is a Spanish copy of the Smith & Wesson Double Action .44. pistol and was imported by F. Tettoni of Brescia for the Italians, and chambered for the 10.4mm Ordinanza Italiana ( the same round used in the Bodeo revolver). The need for weaponry was high during WW1, especially for handguns. Several Spanish manufacturers filled this need for countries such as France and Italy.
Although this model was imported for the Italians, it was never ‘officially’ adopted into the Italian military at the time. However, many Italian officers used the weapon during their service in WW1, which you’ll also be able to do in Isonzo.
The Orbea Hermanos started their company in the 1880’s and was the only company listed in Eibar (Spanish city) as an ‘arms factory’. In 1883 they obtained a permit that would be valid for 20 years, where they would make a revolver based on the Smith & Wesson First Model DA. Over the years, they would manufacture multiple variations.
Orbea still exists to this day and focuses primarily on manufacturing bicycles, helmets and other cycling related items.
Gasser Gunner
The Gasser M1870, designed and manufactured by Leopold Gasser, was originally adopted by the Austro-Hungarian army for cavalry use. By the outbreak of WW1, this borderline obsolete firearm was pressed into military service once more.
Genuine Gasser-made products are marked 'L. GASSER PATENT WIEN' or 'L. GASSER OTTAKRING PATENT', and often carry the Gasser trademark of a heart pierced by an arrow.
Chambered for the hefty 11.3x36mmR, this revolver has an open-frame model, with the barrel unit attached to the frame by a screw beneath the cylinder arbor. The pin was screwed into the barrel unit and fitted into a recess in the stranding breech. From the right side, the cylinder was gate-loaded, and beneath the barrel there was a rod ejector - held in place with a handy thumbscrew.
Below the cylinder on the right side of the frame was an unique safety bar; it carries pins that pass through holes in the frame to engage the lock mechanism. Slightly retracting the hammer allows one of these pins to move inward, preventing the hammer moving forward again when released. After this, the pistol was safe to carry safely while being loaded.
Gasser also made several commercial versions of this weapon, which overall had a better finish. Other variants of the revolver were produced in smaller calibers such as the 9mm Gasser-Kropatschek M1876.
The Gasser family of revolvers also included the famous Montenegrin revolvers, ownership was even made mandatory by Nicholas I of Montenegro in 1910, enshrining it in Montenegrin culture at the time.
Dre(i)yse M1907
Finally, there’s another gun that will join your arsenal! The Dreyse Model 1907 is a semi-automatic pistol designed by Louis Schmeisser, which he named after Nikolaus von Dreyse, designer of the Dreyse Needle Gun.
For its time, the gun had an interesting feature; when it was ready to fire, the firing pin projected through the back of the breech block. It had a .32 ACP with a 7 round detachable magazine that's interchangeable with the Browning 1900.
During WW1, it was mainly used by Austo-Hungarian & German officers. Examples issued to the Imperial German Army will have an acceptance proof above the ejection port on the right as well as the normal Crown N commercial proofs on the left side of the frame and slide near the trigger.
This update provides several bug fixes, but also extra tracking and logging for the falling through ground issues. We understand this is very frustrating and it is a priority for us to fix these issues. Thank you for your patience!
This update is about 130 MB. We increased the network version, so make sure you update before playing if you want to play online.
Fixes:
Fixed hands sometimes staying in wrong position after switching weapons
Fixed left arm staying behind while prone and equipping some tools or weapons
Improved character turning and prone movement animation in third person
Fixed missing reloading animation for HMGs in third person
Fixed movement animations not starting when player moves slow with a controller
Fixed the indicator for recently unlocked equipment not showing up in the the Main Menu Barracks
Stability and performance improvements
Special Bread Event !
Hello soldiers !
It’s April Fools but this is all but a joke. Breadsonzo is a reality! This weekend, you can find special pieces of bread on Dolomiti & Piave.
Your goal is to find 10 different pieces of bread at the end of the event. If you do so, you’ll obtain a special medal and you can call yourself a breadwinner!
How to find the bread
Enter a public or custom match on Piave or Dolomiti and collect the bread
Each sector has several amounts of spawn points for the bread
Spawn points will be randomizer for each map
Each sector on Piave will spawn 2 breads in random spots
Each sector on Dolomiti will spawn 5 breads in random spots
Collect 10 breads total during the length of the event to get a Breadwinner medal
Same bread can be collected by more than one player
We hope you’ll enjoy this special event, dedicated to you all, our breaderens 🍞
Devblog #52 - Expedition Units Pack highlight
Hello soldiers !
As you know, the new upcoming map in Isonzo will be Monte Grappa! Along with this new map will also be new weapons and a new DLC pack for the Germans - the Expedition Units Pack !
And there’s more news! We’ve finally updated the roadmap, and as you can see, you can expect to conquer Monte Grappa this May! And what's that; do you spy the new addition as well? Yes, a special Piana map will come to Isonzo as well, with even more content !
But that’s news for a later devblog. For now let’s take a closer look at the Expeditions Units Pack DLC ! And remember, these DLC’s are purely cosmetic and DO NOT impact the game at all with perks or buffs.
Expedition to the cold
This pack will contain 48 items, regarding the Gebirgsjäger and Alpenkorps - all ready and geared up for the cold temperatures. Furthermore, there will be the Royal Bavarian Lifeguards and extra heavily kitted out, grenade laden stormtroopers.
Overall it will contain:
12 German Uniforms
24 German Headgear Items
2 Facial Items
7 Facial hair items
3 Faces
For now, let’s take a look at some of the items!
Smart usage
One of the exciting items in this DLC pack is originally part of the Sappenpanzer, also known as ‘Brustpanzer’, ‘Grabenpanzer’ or even as the ‘lobster armor’. The name derives from the word ‘Sappeur’ or ‘Sapper’, which was the word used to describe someone who was employed to to engineering and constructing tasks during sieges. It also relates to the word ‘ Sappen’, which was also a different word for ”above-ground approach roads'' aka trenches.
As you might have guessed, this armor was mostly worn by assault troops and engineer corps. They would wear this armor due to the danger of being at the frontline of the conflict. The armor was made out of tempered steel breastplate that was 22 mm (0.87 inch) thick, weighing an average of 9 (19.8lb) to 11 kilos (24.2lb). It had the typical ‘feldgrau’ color and first saw battle in 1916.
Ofcourse, this piece of equipment didn’t come without any complications. Soldiers wearing them found it difficult to throw grenades or use a rifle. Additionally, the weight of the plate was a considerable disadvantage. This led to several changes that were made at the end of 1917. A backstrap was added, part of the plate was cut away to allow a soldier to shoulder his firearm and hooks were added for heavy loads. At the very least, a belt was added. Between 400,000 and 500,000 breastplates are thought to have been manufactured between 1916 and 1918. Here you see a picture of the armor, which makes it easy to see where it got his lobster nickname from.
To accompany the armor, an add-on for the helmet was introduced as well. The Stirnpanzer was a brow plate for the 1916 Sahlhelm that was worn. This was a thick reinforcing brown plate that was attached to the helmet, mostly to protect the soldiers from sniper shots. Weighing over 2kg (4.4lb), it made the helmet very heavy and uncomfortable to wear. This is why the soldiers came with an alternative usage, and this you’ll be able to do in Isonzo as well.
To give themselves the extra protection the plate gave, without having the extra weight on their head, soldiers started to use it as a protective face plate. This allowed the soldiers to move around their head freely and gave the face extra protection from bullets and other debris they might encounter during their assaults, such as grenades.
Going to Monte Grappa means that you should dress accordingly. Which brings us to the ‘Schneeshuhersatsabteilung’, also known as the Snow Shoe Battalion, which is very fitting. First seen in 1914 in Münster, they were called the Austrians (die Österreicher), as the uniform was unknown to the public, but had some resemblance with the Austrian uniform.
This new uniform was characterized by the ’Schneeschuhmütze’, from which the mountain cap from the mountain troops later developed. The uniform was of gray-greenish color, and the jacket reached the hip area of the soldiers, which was named the Litewka. This coat is also very easily recognizable with the two ‘S’’es on both sides of the collar. Instead of the usual tight field trousers, the Schneeschuh’s trousers had a wider crotch area. Additionally with the uniform came woolen gaiters up to the knee and ski boots (later mountain boots). A backpack instead of a knapsack held their other equipment such as, Skis with Huitfeld0F28 or Bligeri bindings 1F19. The men who were wielding machine guns were also given snow tires. Furthermore, ski poles, gloves and snow goggles, a warmer coat and woolen blanket completed the equipment they were given.
During the winter, a white camouflage clothing was provided, to be worn over the Litewka. And for the ones who were sent up the mountain, a mountainstick was given, although many pictures show them with ‘normal civilian’ walking sticks, which were sufficient enough.
As the hat didn’t provide any protection (but was comfortable for the soldiers), it was replaced by the leather Jägertschako in February 1916, and in July the same year, they were assigned the Stahlhelm as protection against snipers and fragments. Despite these upgrades for their safety, many soldiers continued to wear their original hat (which was forbidden).
This pack will be released in May, alongside the Monte Grappa map. The price will be $9.99. We know you guys can’t wait until you get to fight on this sacred mountain but for now, enjoy this new screenshot !
Additionally, keep your eye out for something else coming to Isonzo soon 🍞
Update v43227
We have a small update with fixes for you today. It also contains some preparations for a starchy surprise this weekend. Keep an eye out for the next blog for more info!
Fixed Kar98 AZ and Kar88 Carbines not tracking for the Recon I challenge
Fixed missing bayonet for the G98 in the Marksman class
Fixed bots clipping trough objects on the Piave bridge
Fixed missing periscope tags on the minimap
Fixed Marksman Scout and Stalker perk icons
Fixed wrong weapon showing in barracks after swapping teams
Skipping reward screen no longer hides reward renders in the After Action Report
Stability improvements
Devblog #51 - The Battles of Monte Grappa
Hello soldiers !
We hope you’ve been enjoying Isonzo and the latest Piave map ! We’re aware that with this update, a new ‘fall through map’ issue has arised. Please know that we’re aware of this and looking into solving this issue (alongside other reports). Here you can find an overview of Known Issues and the FAQ if you have any questions.
Besides this, we’re currently also working on bringing you the final map of the Caporetto expansion, the well-known (and requested) Monte Grappa map ! We can’t give you a release date yet, but what we can do is provide you with some information on the Battles of Monte Grappa.
Most Important Pillar
The Battles of Monte Grappa were a series of battles that were fought at the end of 1917 until the end of 1918.
The first battle is well-known for putting the Austro-Hungarian advance to a halt after the Summer Offensive of 1917. Previously when he was still chief, Cadorna had ordered the construction of multiple fortresses in the mountain, making the mountain impenetrable. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans were unable to take the mountain’s summit during this first battle. For the Italians, their front was not stabilised along the Piave river and their number of casualties were significantly lower.
The second battle was complementary to the Battle of Piave River, which took place on June 15-23 1918. This is seen as a decisive victory for the Italians and beginning of the end for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In January 1918, General von Hötzendorf wrote to his wife “We can no longer coin on victory in Italy.”.This front was easier to defend for the Italians, as it was shorter, now chief Diaz had the opportunity to reorganise and re-equip his army. Due to this, combined with increased rations and pay, the morale and discipline of the Italian soldiers was restored.
Now with new and stronger spirits among the Italian soldiers, the support of the home front grew as well (or moderate amongst the working class). The battles got the name battaglia d'arresto, ‘the Stop Battles’, and the mountain became a symbol for this new defensive war and survival of the homeland; resulting in the unification of Italian political forces.
The third and final battle of Monte Grappa started on October 24, 1918. Being part of the final Italian offensive, the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, 9 Italian divisions attacked the Austro-Hungarian’s position at the mountain. The task of the Italians was to ‘simply’ hold the front line and follow up the enemy when they retreated. The task of opening the attack and taking on the strongest positions fell to the Fourth Army, led by Lieutenant-General Gaetano Giardino.
Though they increased their forces, outnumbering the Italians in divisions, the soldiers were too worn down and the army began to do a general retreat on October 28. when Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic & Slovak Republic) declared their independence from Austria-Hungary.
A sacred place
Shortly after the war in 1922, the Italian government declared Monte Grappa sacred and immortal to the Fatherland. Later in 1935, a military monument was built on the mountain, turning it into a destination for patriotic pilgrims and history fans.
Meanwhile on the Western- & Eastern Front
Starting today until the 26th, you can join the March Offensive in Verdun & Tannenberg ! All casualties in Frontlines- & Maneuver game modes will be added to the total losses. The winning side will be whoever suffers the least amount of killed and wounded soldiers.
Grappa in Isonzo
As stated before, we can’t give you a release date for the Grappa map, for now. As always, we’ll continue to update you all on future content, so be sure to look out for a map devblog regarding Monte Grappa ! For now, enjoy this screenshot !
See you later soldiers!
[RESOLVED] EU server browser issues
UPDATE:
ːchasseurː The issue has been resolved on our network partner's end. You can continue playing on the EU server! ːchasseurː _______
Previous post contents:
We are aware of issues with the EU server browser and "Play Now" functionality. Servers seem to disappear from the list, leaving them running but making it impossible for new players to join via "Play Now" or the server browser. We have investigated this and it seems unlikely that the issues were caused by this week's patch.
From what we've seen, all our games are affected on all platforms, however it only seems to target players on the EU server.
The issues seem to be with our networking partner, we are getting in touch with them to see what can be done.
In the meantime, we're working on a temporary solution so you all get the opportunity to play. Especially with the latest Piave map and weekend coming up. We may make changes to our region selection, for example by disabling EU and/or replacing it with a nearby region.
For now (to ensure a full match) EU server players are advised to switch to another region yourself through the Main Menu.
We're sorry for the inconvenience, we're aiming to solve the issue ASAP. Be sure to keep an eye out for future updates on the matter.
