- [p]Fixed bug in which wire tiles weren't transferring ownership after a successful offensive.[/p]
- [p]Fixed bug in which communication trenches marked for construction after successful offensives weren't being resumed by the AI.[/p]
- [p]Machine gun units are more proactive about placing themselves in blockhouses or casemates if any are available.[/p]
- [p]Cavalry have been slightly slowed down.[/p]
On the Western Front
Update - June 23
Update - May 25
An update focused entirely on bugfixes and quality of life updates. The main one is turning Add Supplies orders to AOE orders by default, instead of only when the current tile is fully supplied. Having supply and medical units run back and forth is an idea that sounds good on paper, but doesn't translate too well in practice. I'm hoping that this helps manage logistics a bit better even if it's technically less realistic.
That being said, the last few updates over recent months have been mostly focused on AI changes, bugfixes, and quality of life updates. I've added all the major features I planned to add, and some I didn't even plan on adding when I began this project. While I don't intend to stop working on the game entirely, I feel the game is fully-featured and stable enough to justify a full 1.0 release. I'm setting a tentative date of August 8 (the black day of the German Army) as a 1.0 release date. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on the issue.
Bugfixes/Changes:
- Supplying field kitchens and dugouts is now essentially an AOE effect in which units will supply the kitchen/dugout they're standing on as well as nearby ones. Previously this would only happen if the kitchen/dugout the unit was currently on was already fully supplied, now it happens by default.
- If you issue an order to Add Supplies to dugouts by dragging over an area which includes multiple dugouts, units will now move on to other selected dugouts and add supplies to them too rather than just choosing one and sticking with it.
- Fixed bug with event log in which it was not refreshing latest events properly.
- Event log now properly clears out when loading a saved game.
- Infantry and artillery alike will now attempt to reposition themselves closer to company HQ units when repositioning after completing their orders.
- Made units engaging in counter fire less inclined to fire endlessly even when opposing units have already ceased fire.
- Hooked scheduled group functionality into online co-op.
Thanks for playing!
Update - April 24
This update is mostly focused on quality of life issues brought on by recent additions. Namely, I've added the ability to select multiple scheduled orders at a time in the Scheduled Order subscreen so as to make it easier to add orders to groups.
I've also added the ability to limit certain delegated orders to certain areas of interest, in case you want more control over where your staff officers schedule orders.
It is important to note that the staff officer only tries to schedule orders where you want them to if possible. If he is unable to for some reason - for instance, scheduling Repair Trench orders for an area of interest that no longer has any trench tiles in it - then the logic will default to the previous logic in which the repair order will prioritize front line trenches first.
Bugfixes/Changes:
- Can now select multiple active orders in the Scheduled Order screen. This allows you to add multiple orders to a group at a time.
- Can now remove orders from groups.
- Fixed alternate font bug in staff officer portion of HQ screen.
- Fixed potential crash when reassigning Operations officer.
- Spaces in order naming input no longer cause the game to pause and unpause.
- Routed units will no longer cause Valour to go negative.
- Supply units on kitchens that are fully supplied will check and supply nearby kitchens as well.
- Fixed bug in which scheduled orders for artillery bombardments were no longer showing the shell type.
- Attack: (weapon) orders now properly show weapons in list of existing orders.
- Fixed longstanding bug when using raid buttons on the top of the screen in which clicking to call back raiding units would sometimes not work right away.
- Company HQs that are part of scheduled orders no longer hang back and do nothing, instead accompanying their platoons as close as possible to the assigned order area.
- Units now simply go to the nearest cover (non-Plains) tile after a scheduled order is completed, rather than going back to the front lines. The original behaviour was meant to prevent front lines from inadvertently becoming empty after scheduled orders were issued, but it's not particularly user-friendly.
New Localization keys:
- SCHEDULE_ORDER_SCREEN_REMOVE_FROM_GROUP
- DELEGATION_AREAS
- DELEGATION_AREAS_TOOLTIP
Updated Localization keys:
Thanks for playing!
Update - March 18
Some fairly large changes in this update, mostly revolving around Scheduled Orders.
The Scheduled Orders subscreen has been reworked to allow for several new features. First of all is the ability to group scheduled orders together. This allows you to view groups of orders at a time instead of having to constantly scroll through the entire list of orders.
You can now also view scheduled orders by order type and unit type/size. Once an order type is filtered, you can see which units are assigned to that action. Clicking on a specific unit then allows you to see all orders the unit is assigned to. This allows you to manage which units are assigned to which order a little bit more easily.
On top of all of this, I've changed the way orders are issued so that you can directly set the end time rather than guess-timating the duration. Not only is it more clear, it also facilitates the editing of existing orders, although there are a few limitations with editing orders.
The Is Template and Target Area options cannot be edited, as allowing for these to be changed would have required a rewrite of scheduled orders that would have broken existing saves, which I am no longer willing to do. For the same reason, orders are still limited to a day or less - even with the direct setting of end times, there is no way to have an order last for, say, a week straight.
Bugfixes/Changes:
- Fixed edge case in which units would automatically stop suppressing an area.
- Fixed Stunned unit effect label.
- If you select some combination of rifle units and engineers, construction options will now appear in the right-click context menu. The same also happens in underground mode if you select some combination of engineers and tunnelers.
- Fixed bug in which units resetting to Watch Duty after attacking would endlessly churn back and forth between positions instead of reverting to watch duty.
- Fixed bug when playing with fog of war on in which you could click on and reveal tiles the enemy division was building if construction progress was still at 0%.
- Reduced aggressiveness of units near enemy front lines during offensives unless Operations officer is enabled. Having units automatically storm enemy trenches en masse removes quite a bit of control over proceedings.
- Existing orders can now be renamed and edited, including adding new tiles to the order.
- Scheduling orders now allows you to set the end time directly rather than using duration.
- Fixed bug in which artillery units finishing scheduled orders would continue moving forward.
- Fixed scheduled orders for anti-air. I had accidentally removed them when I added attack unit orders for different weapon types.
- You can now view and filter all units currently assigned to scheduled orders, as well as view any orders each unit is attached to.
- You can now filter active scheduled orders by order type.
- Clicking the checkbox on a subordinate unit's name on the unit information popup now only selects that unit and its subordinates. Previously, clicking "Select All" would select all subordinates of the currently displayed unit, rather than just the subordinates of the unit whose checkbox was toggled.
- Tweaked camera scroll speed. Downward and upward scroll are now evenly balanced. SCroll speed now adjusts to zoom level.
New Localization keys:
- SCHEDULE_ORDER_SCREEN_SAVE_ORDER_NAME_BTN
- SCHEDULE_ORDER_SCREEN_REVERT_ORDER_NAME_BTN
- SCHEDULE_ORDER_SCREEN_MODIFY_ORDER_BTN
- SCHEDULE_ORDER_SCREEN_END_TIME_LBL
- SCHEDULE_ORDER_SCREEN_END_DAY_LBL
- SCHEDULE_ORDER_SCREEN_CREATE_GROUP
- SCHEDULE_ORDER_SCREEN_ADD_TO_GROUP
- SCHEDULE_ORDER_SCREEN_REMOVE_GROUP
- SCHEDULE_ORDER_SCREEN_SHOW_AREAS
- SCHEDULE_ORDER_SCREEN_SHOW_GROUPS
- SCHEDULE_ORDER_SCREEN_SHOW_UNITS
Updated Localization keys:
- SCHEDULE_ORDER_SCREEN_ADD_TO_ORDER_BTN
- UNIT_DETAIL_WINDOW_SELECT_VISIBLE
- UNIT_DETAIL_WINDOW_SELECT_ALL_TOOLTIP
- UNIT_DETAIL_WINDOW_SELECT_VISIBLE_TOOLTIP
Thanks for playing!
Update - Feb. 15
A fairly small update, addressing some important issues. I've also reworked the Attack Area orders (and their corresponding scheduled orders). When issuing Attack/Suppress Area orders, you can now hold and drag the right-click button to create an area to suppress. The units selected will select random tiles within the area to attack each tick, although they will not move to attack tiles out of range. This behaviour extends to scheduled orders over an area of interest.
Previously, units would select a random tile in the area of interest and fixate on that one area for the duration of the order. Now they will rotate valid positions automatically.
Bugfixes/Changes:
- Tweaked tile "painting" during offensives again, to allow the defenders to more easily retake tiles.
- Adjusted idle AI during offensives, so there are fewer instances of units standing next to each other idle.
- When assigning units to a scheduled Suppress Area order over an area of interest, they will now change attack targets within the area of interest each turn.
- Fixed bug in which artillery bombardment orders showed up as Attack Area instead of the shell type.
- Attack Area orders can now be dragged, covering a larger area than the actual attack area of the unit. This works for both the right-click context menu and the scheduled order screen. If the area is larger, a random target within the area will be attacked each turn. Note that the unit will not move to attack the area - it will only attack tiles that it is in range for, and will reset to idle if no tiles are found.
- Updated line of sight logic for attacking areas. Units with theoretical line of sight but not true line of sight can still fire upon tiles to suppress them, but will not do any damage. True line of sight is line of sight in which terrain and weather is taken into consideration. Theoretical line of sight is the same logic used for artillery - tiles can be fired upon regardless of terrain or weather, and only elevation is taken into account.
- Fixed potential crash bug during unit rotation when opposing rear supply line tiles were captured.
Thanks for playing!
Update - January 31
Did some further work addressing some feedback in the forums, as well as tracking down and fixing some bugs I ran into myself when playtesting. Most notably, I've exposed some of the underlying base numbers of each unit for those of you who are interested in how the game is balanced. One notable omission, however, is in defensive numbers. The reason is due to the fact that defensive numbers are determined by things that are variable, like the attack type the defending unit is subjected to, as well as any environmental and attribute (morale, readiness, etc) based modifiers. So there's no way to accurately display base defensive stats.
I've also added a couple of new upgrades in the HQ screen:
AA Guns, which increase the range of anti-air batteries.
Fortifications, which unlock the ability to reinforce trenches.
Reinforced Concrete, which unlocks the ability to reinforce blockhouses.
These were already available to the player, but are now behind an upgrade gate.
Bugfixes/Changes:
- Camera controls are now temporarily disabled when scrolling lists in popup windows, like the unit effects list, or the event log.
- Tracked down strange bug when units would attack fortresses underground, which caused them to walk through the ground.
- Fixed bug with fonts when loading saved games from the in-game pause menu.
- Medical and supply units will now be targeted by the enemy if too close to enemy lines.
- Treating wounded and topping up supply dumps/field kitchens no longer lowers readiness.
- Updated tooltips for upgrades to include actual numbers.
- Updated nation descriptions when starting a new game. Perks now contain actual numbers.
- Added more detail to the cohesion tooltip that appears when hovering over it on the unit detail popup.
- Changed 'Recovering' to 'Stunned'.
- Added a new upgrade for dedicated anti-air guns. This will increase the range of artillery assigned to anti-air batteries...to their previous range. The default range of anti-air is now lowered from 8 to 5.
- Fortify orders are now two separate unlockable upgrades - Fortifications for trenches, and Reinforced Concrete for blockhouses. The damage reduction effect of reinforced trenches and blockhouses has been greatly increased.
- The unit stats popup and the Order of Battle screen now display a unit's base stats, such as base attack range and attack strength modifiers, for the sake of transparency and clarity.
- When a brigade is withdrawn, leaving a large gap in the lines, a few companies will now move over to fill the gap a little bit if your Operations officer is active.
- Timer speeds have been slightly increased across the board.
- Localization files now display Steam username alongside the file name. Existing files will have N/A appended, since the Steam username wasn't originally uploaded.
- Valour needed for steel helmets has been lowered to 10,000.
- Steam Cloud saves are now enabled for both Windows and Mac.
New Localization keys:
- HQ_SCREEN_UPGRADE_AA_GUN_BTN
- HELPER_UPGRADE_AA_GUN_TOOLTIP
- HELPER_UNIT_ACTION_TOOLTIP_FORTIFICATIONS_REQUIRED
- HELPER_UNIT_ACTION_TOOLTIP_CONCRETE_REQUIRED
- HELPER_UNIT_ACTION_TOOLTIP_FORTIFICATIONS_OR_CONCRETE_REQUIRED
- HQ_SCREEN_UPGRADE_FORTIFICATIONS_BTN
- HELPER_UPGRADE_FORTIFICATIONS_TOOLTIP
- HQ_SCREEN_UPGRADE_CONCRETE_BTN
- HELPER_UPGRADE_CONCRETE_TOOLTIP
- NUMBERS_TOOLTIP_UNIT_MODS_LBL
- MODS_MOVE_SPEED_BASE
- MODS_MOVE_SPEED_TYPE
- MODS_MOVE_SPEED_TYPE_UNDERGROUND
- MODS_MOVE_SPEED_TYPE_NIGHT_OPEN
- MODS_SIGHT_RANGE_BASE
- MODS_SIGHT_RANGE_ARTILLERY_SPOTTING
- MODS_SIGHT_RANGE_ARTILLERY_SPOTTING_WIRELESS
- MODS_ATTACK_RANGE
- MODS_ATTACK_RANGE_SNIPER_RIFLES
- MODS_ATTACK_RANGE_AREA
- MODS_ATTACK_RANGE_AREA_TILES
- MODS_TILES_SUFFIX
- MODS_TICKS_SUFFIX
- MODS_ATTACK_MODIFIER
Updated Localization keys:
- TITLE_NEWGAME_BRITAIN_DESCRIPTION
- TITLE_NEWGAME_FRANCE_DESCRIPTION
- TITLE_NEWGAME_GERMANY_DESCRIPTION
- TITLE_NEWGAME_AUSTRIA_DESCRIPTION
- TITLE_NEWGAME_RUSSIA_DESCRIPTION
- TITLE_NEWGAME_AMERICA_DESCRIPTION
- TITLE_NEWGAME_ITALY_DESCRIPTION
- TOOLTIP_COHESION
- HELPER_UPGRADE_RIFLE_GRENADES_TOOLTIP
- HELPER_UPGRADE_GAS_MASKS_TOOLTIP
- HELPER_UPGRADE_ENTRENCHING_TOOLS_TOOLTIP
- HELPER_UPGRADE_STEEL_HELMETS_TOOLTIP
- HELPER_UPGRADE_BANGALORE_TORPEDOES_TOOLTIP
- HELPER_UPGRADE_REINFORCED_CARTS_TOOLTIP
- HELPER_UPGRADE_BLOOD_TRANSFUSIONS_TOOLTIP
- HELPER_UPGRADE_THOMAS_SPLINTS_TOOLTIP
- HELPER_UPGRADE_CORKSCREW_PICKETS_TOOLTIP
- HELPER_UPGRADE_WIRELESS_TELEGRAPH_TOOLTIP
- HELPER_UPGRADE_WATER_PUMPS_TOOLTIP
- HELPER_UPGRADE_ARTILLERY
- UNIT_EFFECT_RECOVERING
- NUMBERS_TOOLTIP_UNIT_UPGRADES_LBL
- TOOLTIP_EFFECT_ON_FIRESTEP
Thanks for playing!
Update - Jan. 12
Got some good playtesting in over the holidays, so this update focuses primarily on bugfixes. I focused quite a bit on cleaning up some of the logic around offensives and tile ownership, as the previous system was wildly inconsistent at times. Feel free to ask anything in the discussion forums for clarity, it all helps me out a ton.
Bugfixes/Changes:
- Fixed bug in which some units were not relocating when proceeding to a different sector.
- Idle units only reposition themselves if the Operations officer delegation is turned on.
- Increased brightness of animated sprites to make them more visible.
- Fixed issue with sprites that caused walking animation for rifle units when moving left or right to break.
- Tracked down potential crash after multiple successful enemy offensives.
- Fixed further issues with scheduled order start time refresh.
- Fixed bug with enemy offensive tile calculation, removed tendency to claim small chunks of irregular trenches.
- Ownership of wire and support buildings like kitchens and showers are now properly transferred upon conclusion of a successful offensive.
- Enemy AI consolidating player trenches after successful offensives is now less patchwork and involves more units.
- Fixed alternate font for activity log button and certain setting labels.
- Fixed alternate font for subordinates panel in Order of Battle screen.
- Fixed alternate font in other random places.
- Fixed bug in which having manually delegated units for automated orders would affect aerial tasks, causing the Intelligence officer to schedule aerial missions even when turned off if any units were marked for automation. Aerial missions are not affected by whether or not infantry units have been marked for delegation.
New Localization keys:
- TITLE_SCREEN_SELECT_NATION_LBL
- UNIT_SCREEN_SUBORDINATES_HEADER
Thanks for playing!
Hotfix - Dec. 23
There were a few bugs that went under the radar while I was working on the last update, so I've uploaded a hotfix since they were actively harming peoples' playing experience. I apologize for any inconvenience.
Bugfixes/Changes:
- Infantry units of all types can now suppress entrenched enemies without having to be in the same trench. Previously such units would only attack with a clear line of sight, but I've broken the check up into separate line of sight and line of fire checks. Selecting "Attack Area" will allow units to fire on an area that includes entrenched enemies and suppress them, but will not actually cause casualties.
- Fixed bug in which idle artillery units would retreat to the bottom of the map on their own.
- Fixed bug where units were ignoring 'cancel orders' commands.
Thanks for playing!
Update - Dec. 19
Some more gameplay and AI updates, as well as some quality of life updates. The most notable change is the addition of a new option when delegating tasks to your Operations officer, which lets you dictate how aggressive units will be when helping out nearby friendly units. The trade-off of large distances is that your units will be pulled out of position more easily.
I've also disabled the start time for scheduled orders when a time of day (morning, day, evening, or night) is selected, to alleviate some of the confusion that would arise as a result. I really should have done this sooner, but this sort of thing is where user feedback really helps. I really appreciate all of the feedback I've gotten to date, it helps me immensely since I often become accustomed to the UI without realizing how confusing it might be to new players.
Bugfixes/Changes:
- Added tutorial step in construction tutorial for issuing orders without units selected.
- Pressing ESC (or whatever you mapped it to) now properly closes the unit task context menu when de-selecting units. Previously, units would be de-selected but the context menu would remain on the screen if it was open.
- Unit morale and cohesion now play a part in attack actions.
- Movement speed of all units has been lowered.
- Scheduled order start time is now set to proper time and disabled if morning, day, evening, or night is selected.
- The start time for a scheduled order stops refreshing automatically. Time set in the past will instead automatically be set to the same time for the upcoming day.
- Fixed up stun and suppress effects. The severity of an attack now properly dictates the length of time a unit will be stunned or suppressed for. Previously these states were binary - if a unit that was not previously under attack got attacked, only then would these effects apply. Now the effects are refreshed if the severity of an attack increases.
- Fixed crash bug when opening the Operations officer delegation details dialog in the Headquarters screen.
- Fixed strange bug in which cached cross-fire tiles weren't refreshing when attacking with rifles or machine guns, causing bullet trails that did not match up with the tiles actually being attacked.
- Small-arms attack effects now appear above unit counters instead of below them.
- Grenades now can attack into trenches from open ground, if the attacker is close enough.
- Activity Log button at the top of the screen has been changed into a Tasks button to make it more prominent.
- Added extra step detailing the Event log and Tasks log to the Basic Training tutorial.
- Added Suppress state to Help text, under the Unit Effects topic.
- User can now dictate how aggressive units will be when assisting nearby friendly units locked in melee combat via the delegation popup for the Operations officer.
- Tracked down potential crash when units repeatedly attempt to avoid tile crowding.
New Localization keys:
- CONSTRUCTION_TUTORIAL_BUILD_UNSELECTED_01
- CONSTRUCTION_TUTORIAL_BUILD_UNSELECTED_02
- CONSTRUCTION_TUTORIAL_BUILD_UNSELECTED_TOOLTIP
- CONTROL_TUTORIAL_TOP_RIGHT_LOGS_01
- CONTROL_TUTORIAL_TOP_RIGHT_LOGS_02
- CONTROL_TUTORIAL_TOP_RIGHT_LOGS_03
- CONTROL_TUTORIAL_TOP_RIGHT_LOGS_TOOLTIP
- HELP_TEXT_UNIT_EFFECTS_05_01
- HELP_TEXT_UNIT_EFFECTS_05_02
- HELP_TEXT_UNIT_EFFECTS_05_03
- HELP_SUBTOPIC_EFFECTS_05
- TOOLTIP_DELEGATION_HELP_OUT_MELEE
- DELEGATION_HELP_OUT_MELEE
- DELEGATION_TILES
- ONLINE_NOTIFY_CHANGE_HELP_PRIORITY
Updated Localization keys:
- ACTIVITY_LOG_HEADER_LBL
- EVENT_LOG_HEADER_LBL
- TOP_MENU_BAR_EVENT_LOG_BTN
Thanks for playing!
Update - December 1
One last feature before I focus entirely on optimization and AI improvements. Following on from the last update in which I added Workshop support, you can now upload and download localization files using the Workshop API in the Settings screen. Whatever localization file you currently have loaded in can be uploaded directly.
Other than that, I've made a few AI improvements. The main reason for the quick turnaround this time is because I inadvertently disabled counter-battery fire and sight checks over open ground for testing purposes prior to the last update and forgot to re-enable it all. So a fairly significant part of the enemy AI wasn't working properly. Hopefully this game restores some of the challenge.
Bugfixes/Changes:
- Can now upload and download localization files in the settings screen, accessible from the title screen. Downloaded localization files appear in your user folder (same location as your save games), under the folder "Localization".
- Artillery and flamethrowers now do less damage to terrain.
- Fixed enemy sight checks over open ground.
- Added counter-battery fire for stationary units that are attacking.
- Removed front-line buffer for artillery batteries bombarding an area using the buttons at the top of the screen. There are safeguards for preventing artillery from moving forward too far when attacking. Using the buttons at the top of the screen overrides these safeguards.
New Localization keys:
- SAVELOAD_DIALOG_MY_UPLOAD_BTN
Updated Localization keys:
- SAVELOAD_DIALOG_UPLOAD_LEGAL_LBL
Thanks for playing!