Greetings kameraden, progress is grinding on and with the conclusion of the Soviet work we are now getting stuck into the Axis forces.
The focus at the moment is on art work, specifically updating the old cameo images to be widescreen friendly and a bit more consistent by ditching the colourised photos we had before.
This work is about 50% complete although the pace should pick up a bit over the next week or so.
Beta Testing
The testing is going pretty well. It's great to see such a great turnout on Discord. We've found a number of bugs which have been squashed and fumigated. There have also been some realism tweaks to T-34 armour as it should have enhanced performance against low calibre shells. These fixes will be in the next build.
It also seems like people have been able to get the mod to work with Windows 10 which is excellent news as about 50% of people use this version now!
Multiplayer Gameplay Options
Our initial design for multiplayer emphasised map control for Germany's income, however the other factions generate income from their command centres. Although loss of territory was something the Soviets dealt with remarkably well, they still suffered major economic damage when they had to retreat and conversely had tremendous benefits when they were able to liberate western Russia and the Ukraine.
As well as historical authenticity, gameplay is also enhanced by encouraging players to push out onto the map as beating yourself against a turtle is no fun. It's much easier to get players to do something if you reward them so we definitely need to think up something cool for the Soviets to take and hold.
There are various options we've considered, one that appeals a great deal is some kind of partisans. They wouldn't get the ability to dig in but would have SMGs that do extra damage to enemy infantry, have extra HP, maybe with limited stealth and explosives to blow up factories and poorly defended oil derricks. That seems like a fun way to reward tenacious Soviet commanders, however extra ideas are very welcome!
As ever, more to come!
