Welcome to the latest Command Post.
This edition is focused entirely on your questions, so first of all, a huge thank you to everyone who submitted questions and topics across Reddit and Discord. We received so many that we've split this Q&A into two parts to answer as many as possible.
Part 1 focuses on game performance, gameplay and map-related topics.
Part 2 will cover the remaining questions, including a behind-the-scenes look at the development process and a look ahead at the future of Hell Let Loose: Vietnam.
Watch the video below, or read the full summary blog based on the Q&A.
Looking for a specific question? Use the timestamps below to jump to each section of the video.
Introduction
00:00 - What has changed since the Open Beta?
01:35 - Developer reflections
Performance & Console
05:22 - Improvements since the beta
07:43 - Console update
08:48 - Enemy movement at distance
10:13 - Audio improvements
11:17 - Weapon audio & VFX
13:17 - Unreal Engine upgrades
14:12 - PS5 performance
Gameplay
14:50 - Tunnel vs helicopter balancing
20:06 - Guerrilla warfare
20:30 - NVA vs US Forces
22:58 - Resource nodes
25:07 - TTK
28:04 - Napalm & Commander abilities
31:17 - Tactical map improvements
Maps
36:17 - Map design philosophy
39:23 - Creating a map
42:09 - Urban maps
43:46 - Favourite map
48:28 - Authenticity
49:53 - Night maps
53:14 - Future maps
For those that prefer to read rather than watch, we have summarised the entire Q&A below, breaking down each question and the key points shared by the team.
From performance improvements and gameplay balancing, to map design and future technical updates, we've covered every topic discussed in the video to make it easy to find the information you're looking for.
Featured in this Dev Q&A from Expression Games are:
Paul Rustchynsky - Game Director
Sam Warren - Development Director
Ryan Playle-Howard - Senior Art Director
Kieran D'Archambaud - Studio Technical Director
We hope you enjoy the read, and as always, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Since the Open Beta, the team's primary focus has been refining performance, gameplay balance and overall polish ahead of launch. Performance optimisation has remained a key priority, with significant improvements made across both PC and console. Alongside this, the team has continued balancing the asymmetrical gameplay between the US Forces and the NVA, making targeted adjustments based on community feedback and gameplay data gathered during the Open Beta.
One of the biggest areas of focus has been the NVA tunnelling capabilities. While internal data showed that the NVA only held a slight advantage overall, the team has introduced several changes designed to improve balance without reducing the strategic importance of tunnels.
These changes include:
Tunnels are now automatically destroyed when the enemy takes control of friendly territory.
Tunnel cooldowns have increased from 2 minutes to 5 minutes.
Travel and entry times have been increased to make rapid redeployment less effective.
Maximum distance between 2 tunnels is now 400 meters versus 800 meters (1 grid square versus 2)
Increased distance check from 50m to 100m.
At the same time, helicopters have received a number of improvements to strengthen the US Forces' mobility. Flight handling has been refined, helicopters are more resilient to small arms fire, and Officers can now deploy spawn points with their Field Pad upon exiting the helicopter, giving teams even greater flexibility when moving around the battlefield.
These gameplay adjustments are designed to preserve the unique strengths of both factions while creating a more balanced experience across every match.
Creating a successor to an established franchise comes with high expectations from an incredibly passionate community. Every new feature must not only support the team's vision for Vietnam, but also feel at home within the wider Hell Let Loose experience.
Alongside creating an entirely new setting, the team have worked to preserve the tactical gameplay and authenticity that define the Hell Let Loose franchise while introducing new mechanics, environments and asymmetrical gameplay.
Weekly internal playtests continue to shape development, with ongoing improvements to gameplay, visuals and performance helping prepare the game for launch. With the finish line now in sight, the focus remains on delivering a great day one experience, while laying the foundations for continued improvements and new content after release.
As we have spoken about in our Performance Blog, the Open Beta gave the development team the opportunity to gather invaluable performance data from hundreds of thousands of players across a huge range of hardware configurations. While the primary goal of the beta was to validate stability and identify bottlenecks, it also highlighted areas where optimisation and player-facing settings could be improved.
One of the biggest changes since the beta has been the continued optimisation of both the game and its graphics settings. Players will have access to a more complete range of video options, making it easier to tailor performance to their hardware. Existing settings have been refined, whilst new options, including resolution scaling, provide greater flexibility when balancing image quality and frame rate.
Alongside improvements to the settings menu, the team has continued optimising rendering, animation and overall game performance, with optimisation work continuing right up to launch. As always, optimisation is an ongoing process, and the team will continue monitoring performance after launch to ensure Hell Let Loose: Vietnam delivers the best possible experience across all supported platforms.
Optimisation on console has continued to progress alongside the PC version, with improvements in performance on console often benefiting the PC build as well, with many of the underlying engine optimisations carrying across both platforms.
While optimising a large-scale battlefield filled with dense vegetation is a significant technical challenge, the team has continued making steady improvements throughout development.
The upcoming cross-platform playtest will provide another important milestone, helping the team validate performance, stability and gameplay across platforms before release.
One of the most frequently reported gameplay issues during the Open Beta was the way distant players appeared to move. At longer ranges, character movement could appear to stutter or resemble a slideshow, making it particularly noticeable for players engaging targets at distance, especially snipers.
This behaviour was the result of an early optimisation pass designed to reduce the performance cost of updating character animations across the battlefield. While the approach improved performance, it had a noticeable impact on how distant player movement appeared.
Since the Open Beta, those systems have been significantly refined, and players that are visible at longer distances will now animate much more smoothly, ensuring movement remains clear and consistent without compromising gameplay.
There is a constant balancing act between performance and visual fidelity. Large-scale battles featuring up to 100 players require careful optimisation to maintain performance, but those improvements should never come at the expense of core gameplay. The goal is to ensure that players, particularly those engaging enemies at range, can accurately track movement while continuing to benefit from ongoing performance improvements.
Audio was another area that received significant community feedback during the Open Beta, particularly around the overall mix and the ability to accurately identify where sounds were coming from during combat.
The audio experience wasn't where it needed to be and the team has since spent considerable time refining both the overall mix and the directional positioning of sounds across the battlefield. The focus has been on ensuring players can quickly identify important audio cues, whether that's the direction of incoming gunfire, the position of a nearby helicopter or the location of an advancing enemy squad. By rebalancing the audio mix and improving directional audio, the team aims to provide players with clearer situational awareness during even the most chaotic firefights.
These improvements extend across the entire soundscape, helping to ensure that critical battlefield sounds stand out while maintaining the immersive atmosphere of Hell Let Loose: Vietnam. The team expect these changes to be immediately noticeable during the next public playtest, with further audio polish continuing as development progresses.
Alongside improvements to the overall audio mix, the team has continued polishing the presentation of weapons to make firefights feel even more immersive.
Since the Open Beta, visual effects across the game have received significant attention. Muzzle flashes have been reworked, while numerous player-facing effects, including commander abilities and environmental ambience, have been refined to create a more authentic and dynamic battlefield. Players will also notice additional environmental details such as drifting dust, falling leaves and other atmospheric effects that help bring Vietnam's battlefields to life.
Weapon presentation has also been improved through a combination of visual and gameplay refinements. Rather than focusing on a single element, the team has continued iterating across weapon models, textures, animations and rendering to create a more cohesive experience when firing each weapon.
Another addition is the introduction of depth of field when aiming through optics. This subtly softens the weapon model while aiming down sights, helping players focus more clearly on their target and improving target acquisition during combat.
Like many aspects of Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, weapon audio, animations and visual effects will continue to receive polish and refinement as part of the game's ongoing live service support.
Unreal Engine upgrades and support for newer hardware such as the PlayStation 5 Pro are both confirmed as part of the team's post-launch roadmap, and work is already being planned to continue evolving the game through future technical updates.
Hell Let Loose: Vietnam has been designed as a live service experience, and launch is just the beginning of the game's long-term evolution, with future patches helping to improve performance, expand platform support and introduce new technical enhancements across both PC and console with regular updates continuing well beyond release.
One of the defining features of Hell Let Loose: Vietnam is its asymmetrical gameplay. Rather than mirroring the two opposing factions, each side has its own strengths, equipment and strategies, creating a very different battlefield experience compared to Hell Let Loose.
Following the Open Beta, the team has continued analysing player feedback alongside in-game data to refine gameplay balance ahead of launch. While some systems have received targeted adjustments, the overall philosophy remains the same: preserve the unique identity of both factions while ensuring that victory comes down to teamwork, communication and tactical decision-making.
From balancing tunnel networks and helicopters, to refining resource management and commander abilities, there have been many gameplay improvements since the Open Beta, and these systems will continue to evolve after launch.
Tunnel networks quickly became one of the most talked-about features during the Open Beta, with many players feeling they gave the NVA a significant advantage. While gameplay data showed the NVA only held a slight edge overall, several adjustments were needed to create a more balanced experience.
Rather than redesigning tunnels completely, the team have focused on a series of targeted changes designed to preserve their strategic value while reducing their effectiveness in certain situations.
The most significant change is that tunnels located within enemy-controlled territory will now be automatically destroyed when territory changes hands. This means that as the frontline advances, tunnel networks behind captured territory will no longer remain active, encouraging NVA teams to continually adapt their network as the battle evolves.
Additional balance changes include longer tunnel cooldowns, increased travel times, distance changes, and slower entry times. Individually these are relatively small adjustments, but together they reduce how quickly players can redeploy across the battlefield while maintaining tunnels as a powerful strategic tool.
At the same time, the US Forces have received several improvements to help counter the tunnel network. Helicopters now feature improved handling, increased resilience against small arms fire and the ability for Officers to deploy spawn points with their Field Pad upon exiting the helicopter, giving US teams greater flexibility when establishing new positions.
Balancing is an ongoing process, and every playtest and live match provides valuable gameplay data, allowing us to monitor how both factions perform and continue refining the experience. As players discover new tactics and strategies, gameplay systems will continue to evolve alongside the community.
There are currently no plans to add traps to the game, and this decision is rooted in the overall design philosophy of the Hell Let Loose franchise. Rather than focusing on guerrilla warfare, the team wants Hell Let Loose: Vietnam to remain centred on the conventional military conflict between the US Forces and the North Vietnamese Army. While traps played a role during the Vietnam War, they represent a different style of warfare than the tactical, large-scale combined arms battles that define the Hell Let Loose experience.
Instead, the asymmetrical gameplay is built around the unique strengths of each faction. Features such as tunnel networks, helicopters, distinct weapon handling and faction-specific vehicles are designed to create meaningful differences between the two sides while maintaining balanced and engaging gameplay.
The team believes this approach allows each faction to feel authentic and distinct without moving away from the core gameplay principles that have defined Hell Let Loose since its inception.
While tunnels and helicopters are the most obvious differences between the two factions, the asymmetrical design of Hell Let Loose: Vietnam goes much deeper than a single gameplay mechanic. Each faction has been designed with its own strengths, equipment and tactical opportunities, encouraging teams to adapt their playstyle depending on which side they are fighting for.
Although both factions have access to comparable weapon classes, each firearm handles differently, with its own recoil, ammunition capacity and feel. Rather than creating mirror images of one another, the goal is for every weapon to offer a distinct experience while remaining balanced through ongoing playtesting and community feedback.
Vehicles also play a key role in reinforcing each faction's identity. Both the US Forces and the NVA have access to boats that can transport troops and function as mobile spawn points, creating new opportunities for flanking manoeuvres and reinforcing the frontline.
Where the two factions differ is in their logistical capabilities. NVA boats can transport and deploy supplies using Vietnam's extensive waterways, while the US Forces instead rely on their helicopters to move both troops and supplies across the battlefield. These distinct approaches reinforce the asymmetrical gameplay, encouraging each faction to think differently about movement, logistics and supporting their team.
As the community continues to experiment with different strategies, we expect players to discover increasingly effective ways to utilise each faction's unique capabilities. Weekly internal playtests and community feedback will continue to shape balancing, with adjustments being made as different tactics emerge.
Resource nodes have long been an important part of the Hell Let Loose gameplay loop, but they're also a feature that regularly sparks debate within the community.
This has led to one of the biggest changes since the Open Beta being the introduction of pre-placed supplies at each Headquarters. Rather than requiring players to switch roles and coordinate supply drops before building nodes, Engineers will now be able to construct them immediately at the start of a match, significantly reducing the setup time while removing much of the early-game frustration.
This isn't intended to remove the strategic element of resource nodes, and protecting your team's nodes and disrupting the enemy's economy remains an important objective throughout the match, creating meaningful decisions around where to build and how best to defend them.
We understand there is a worry about pre-placed supplies making node locations too predictable, but teams still have complete freedom to build elsewhere. The pre-placed supplies simply provide a quicker starting option, whilst players looking for greater security can continue transporting supplies to more strategic locations across the battlefield.
The introduction of helicopters and boats as additional methods of delivering supplies also creates far greater flexibility than in previous Hell Let Loose titles, giving teams more opportunities to establish logistics networks beyond their Headquarters.
Resource nodes remain one of the game's most discussed mechanics, and we will continue monitoring community feedback after launch. The goal is to reduce unnecessary friction while preserving the strategic choices that make logistics an important part of the game experience.
With the Vietnam War introducing a much greater emphasis on automatic weapons, many players have asked whether Time to Kill had been adjusted to suit the new setting.
Despite the shift in weaponry, the underlying TTK remains very similar to Hell Let Loose. Accurate shots are still highly lethal, rewarding precision over volume of fire. A well-placed shot to the head remains instantly fatal, while hits to the chest and limbs continue to behave much as players would expect based on the weapon being used.
Where Vietnam differs most is not in weapon damage, but in the battlefield itself. Dense jungle, varied terrain and reduced sightlines fundamentally change how engagements unfold. Players are often concealed by vegetation, making it harder to spot enemy movement and much more difficult to land accurate shots at range. Rather than encouraging players to spray bullets through the foliage, the team has focused on making positioning, movement and observation just as important as marksmanship.
To support this, the environment has undergone significant refinement since the Open Beta. Vegetation has been carefully adjusted to improve visibility where needed whilst preserving the feeling of fighting through dense jungle. Foliage now reacts more naturally to player movement, with rustling leaves and movement through vegetation providing visual and audio cues that help players identify enemy positions without reducing the importance of concealment.
Vietnam's battlefields create a much less defined frontline than players may be familiar with from Hell Let Loose. Helicopters, tunnel networks and the dense environment create more opportunities for flanking manoeuvres, meaning players can no longer assume the enemy is approaching from a single direction.
Ultimately, while the core lethality of combat remains familiar, the combination of asymmetrical gameplay, dense environments and evolving frontlines creates a very different tactical experience, one where awareness, communication and positioning are just as important as accuracy.
Commander abilities are designed to create some of the biggest moments on the battlefield, and since the Open Beta, the team has significantly expanded both their visual impact and their tactical role.
Napalm, in particular, has undergone a major overhaul. While the version seen during the Open Beta was functional, this was an early implementation that has since evolved considerably ahead of launch. The most noticeable improvements are the visual and audio effects. The napalm strike now delivers a far more dramatic spectacle, from the aircraft flying overhead and the impact itself, through to the lingering aftermath across the battlefield. Dense smoke, improved fire effects and enhanced environmental visuals combine to create a far more immersive battlefield experience.
Rather than acting purely as a lethal strike, napalm is now intended to function as an area denial tool. The thick smoke left behind dramatically reduces visibility, forcing players to rethink their approach and creating temporary barriers across the battlefield. Soldiers caught within the affected area will also experience visual and audio effects, making it even more difficult to fight effectively while encouraging squads to reposition or find an alternative route.
This evolution better reflects the role of commander abilities within Hell Let Loose: Vietnam. Rather than simply eliminating enemy players, these abilities are intended to influence the flow of battle, disrupt defensive positions and create new tactical opportunities for both teams.
The introduction of a fully 3D Tactical Map was one of the biggest gameplay changes showcased during the Open Beta, and while the team was pleased with the foundations of the feature, they also acknowledged the community's feedback around usability and performance.
Since the Open Beta, significant work has gone into refining both the functionality and responsiveness of the Tactical Map. One of the most noticeable improvements is how quickly players can now access it. The transition between gameplay and the map has been streamlined, allowing players to open and close the map almost instantly without interrupting the flow of battle.
The team has also continued improving the readability of the map itself. Roads, rivers and key terrain features have been made easier to distinguish, helping players navigate the battlefield more effectively and make faster tactical decisions. Optimisation has also been a major focus, with substantial improvements made to the tac map's performance across both PC and console.
Unlike a traditional 2D map, the new Tactical Map is generated directly from the game world. This means any changes made to the battlefield during development are immediately reflected on the map, reducing development time while ensuring it always accurately represents the environment players are fighting across. This also opens the door for future improvements, and we are already exploring additional visual filters and presentation options that could offer players different ways to view the battlefield while retaining the benefits of the fully 3D system.
The new map also provides commanders and vehicle crews with far more useful terrain information. Vietnam's battlefields feature greater changes in elevation, denser vegetation and more varied waterways than those found in Hell Let Loose, making it increasingly important for players to understand the terrain before committing to an advance. Being able to visualise hills, valleys and obstacles in three dimensions gives players more information to plan routes, coordinate attacks and position vehicles effectively.
Finally, because the Tactical Map is directly linked to the game world, future map updates, balance changes and new environments can be reflected automatically, allowing the map to evolve alongside the battlefield itself throughout Hell Let Loose: Vietnam's ongoing development.
From dense jungle and sprawling river networks, to airfields, docks and deserts, the battlefields of Hell Let Loose: Vietnam have been designed to capture the scale and diversity of the conflict while delivering varied tactical experiences.
During the Open Beta, players were only able to experience a single map, Thanh Hóa Bridge. While it provided a first look at the game's environments and gameplay systems, it represents just one part of what players can expect at launch.
The philosophy behind designing Vietnam's battlefields, how they balance historical authenticity with enjoyable gameplay, and what players can expect from both the launch maps and those planned for the future.
While many people associate the Vietnam War with dense jungle, the country offers a far broader range of environments than many players might expect.
At launch, players will experience battlefields ranging from river systems and farmland to airfields, urban areas and coastal locations. Each map has been designed to encourage different tactics, with varying terrain, sightlines and vehicle opportunities creating a unique gameplay experience.
The team's goal is to capture the diversity of the Vietnam War while ensuring every battlefield has its own identity, keeping each match feeling fresh regardless of which map you're fighting on.
Every battlefield begins with extensive historical research, using period photography, historical records, topographical data and modern geographical information to recreate the foundations of a real-world location.
From there, the environment is adapted for Hell Let Loose's large-scale gameplay. Terrain, waterways and objective locations are refined through continuous internal playtesting to create balanced battles while preserving the atmosphere and character of the original location.
While authenticity is a key priority, historical accuracy must be balanced with enjoyable gameplay. Some real-world locations naturally translate well into Hell Let Loose's large-scale battles, while others require adjustments to support the game's tactical flow. Rivers may be reshaped to better accommodate boats, terrain may be adapted to improve vehicle movement, and capture points are carefully positioned to encourage engaging battles across the map.
Bringing urban combat to the game is very much part of the team’s long-term vision, however these locations need to be approached carefully to ensure they deliver both an authentic representation of the conflict and engaging gameplay.
At launch, players will experience a variety of environments beyond the jungle, including industrial areas, docks and settlements that begin to introduce more built-up combat. These locations provide a foundation for expanding into larger urban battlefields in future updates.
The Battle of Huế is one of the most significant urban engagements of the Vietnam War and an area the team would like to explore in the future. Rather than rushing to recreate such an iconic location, we want to ensure it receives the time and attention needed to faithfully represent both its historical significance and the unique style of gameplay it demands.
Before tackling larger cities, the team plans to continue refining combat within smaller urban and industrial environments. This allows new gameplay ideas, environmental design and balancing to be thoroughly tested while building towards larger, more complex urban battlefields in the future.
For Game Director Paul Rustchynsky, Thanh Hóa Bridge remains a standout, noting the bridge itself creates a natural focal point for battles without becoming a traditional bottleneck. Tanks, helicopters, boats and infantry all converge around the crossing, creating dynamic engagements that evolve throughout the match.
Senior Art Director Ryan Playle-Howard rather than choosing a single landmark, instead focused on the extensive work that has gone into refining the jungles themselves. Since the Open Beta, vegetation has received significant iteration, with improvements to density, atmosphere and environmental detail helping each map feel more alive while also supporting gameplay through better readability and movement.
For Studio Technical Director Kieran D'Archambaud, two locations that we have yet to show off yet that stood out for different reasons. The upcoming dockside map offers a very different style of combat, with large open areas and extensive waterways creating new opportunities for vehicles and logistics. Meanwhile, the airfield presents one of the game's most distinctive tactical challenges. Its wide, exposed runway forces squads to carefully coordinate smoke, suppressive fire and movement, rewarding teamwork while punishing players who attempt to cross unsupported.
While each developer had a different favourite, they all agreed on one thing: every launch map has been designed to offer its own identity. From dense jungle and river networks to docks, bridges and airfields, the aim is for each battlefield to encourage different tactics and ensure no two matches feel the same.
One of the biggest challenges has been capturing the character of Vietnam itself while ensuring every environment remains enjoyable to play. A significant amount of work has gone into creating believable villages, farmland and rural settlements that reflect the period without distracting from the military conflict. Rather than focusing on civilian life, the team's goal has been to build environments that feel lived in and authentic, while remaining firmly centred on the battlefield experience.
The Open Beta also gave the team valuable insight into how players interacted with these spaces, with several areas having already undergone substantial revisions, with villages becoming denser, layouts being refined and environmental detail increased to create more believable and tactically interesting locations. Vegetation has been another major area of iteration, receiving extensive improvements to foliage placement, environmental ambience and overall readability.
Every map is regularly reviewed, tested and refined, allowing the team to identify areas that don't yet meet their expectations and improve them before launch. The result is an evolving collection of battlefields that aim to capture both the atmosphere of Vietnam and the tactical gameplay that defines Hell Let Loose.
The team have seen the communities requests for night-time battles, and are actively exploring how they could work in Hell Let Loose: Vietnam.
While there are no plans to introduce night maps at launch, any future implementation would need to offer much more than simply reducing the lighting on existing maps. Instead, the goal is to build gameplay systems specifically designed around fighting at night. Ideas currently being explored include mechanics such as flares, floodlights and other tools that would influence visibility, communication and tactical decision-making, creating a fundamentally different battlefield experience rather than simply making it harder to see.
There are unique challenges that night combat presents in Vietnam, with dense vegetation already limiting visibility during the day, simply darkening the environment could negatively impact gameplay. Any future night map would therefore need to be carefully designed and balanced to ensure it remains both enjoyable and tactically engaging.
The team have already begun experimenting with these concepts internally, but more testing and refinement is required before we're ready to commit to their release. As with every feature in Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, gameplay remains the highest priority, and any night-time experience will only be introduced once it meets the team's expectations for both authenticity and fun.
One of the key priorities is continuing to showcase the diversity of Vietnam. While the launch maps already span a variety of locations and biomes, there are still many iconic locations and battlefields that can offer entirely new gameplay experiences.
Rather than simply creating more maps, the team is looking for locations that introduce new tactical challenges. Islands, urban environments and additional waterways are all being explored, with each potential battlefield evaluated not only for its historical significance but also for how it could influence the way players approach combat.
Several locations are currently being investigated as inspiration for future content, including Huế and Hạ Long Bay. While these are not announcements or confirmed additions, they represent the type of environments the team is excited to explore as development continues. These locations also create opportunities to introduce new gameplay ideas. Extensive waterways could place an even greater emphasis on boats and amphibious manoeuvres, while larger urban environments would offer a very different pace of combat compared to the dense jungles seen so far.
Post-launch map development will continue to be guided by three key principles: historical authenticity, gameplay variety and community feedback. As players spend more time with Hell Let Loose: Vietnam after launch, the team will continue evaluating which battlefields, mechanics and environments the community is most eager to see next.
That wraps up Part 1 of our Hell Let Loose: Vietnam Developer Q&A.
A huge thank you once again to everyone who submitted questions across Reddit, Discord and through our War Correspondents. Your feedback continues to play an important role in shaping the development of Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, and many of the topics covered here are a direct result of your discussions during and after the Open Beta.
If you'd like to hear the developers discuss these topics in more detail, be sure to watch the full Developer Q&A video above.
Part 2 will be coming soon, where we'll answer even more of your questions, take a behind-the-scenes look at the development process and share more about what the future holds for Hell Let Loose: Vietnam.
As always, thank you for your continued support, and we'll see you in the next Hell Let Loose: Vietnam playtest very soon.