Dear Tankers!
Welcome to our 93th Development Status.
Hello again, we’ve got some news about the new things we’re working on. We hope you enjoy reading this :)
Ponyri 1943 - progress
We have finalised the division of the map into sectors – the smallest will measure 3 x 3 km, whilst the largest will cover an area of 6 x 6 km. As well as varying in size, the sectors will also differ significantly from one another – each will have randomly generated objectives on the map. We also want to expand the AI commander’s capabilities to include additional decisions made during missions. As the terrain will be more open and larger, we will introduce a flanking system and improve the behaviour of AI units on the map.
Sectors
Each sector already has dedicated scenes set up and interconnections between them implemented. Using Microverse, we have also added vegetation using the biome system – should any further environmental changes be required, the time required will be minimal. Next on the agenda is adding buildings and integrating them into the sectors. The most urbanised sector will be Ponyri, with its main landmark being the railway station.
UI - Battle Order
We are also working on an interface that supports sectors. The working title is Battle Order. Access to the panel will be available from HQ. This panel will provide a tactical overview of the entire campaign map in Ponyri, divided into sectors. It will show which sectors we currently hold. You’ll be able to attack the next sector, call in reconnaissance, or ask sappers to clear a crossing. All gameplay here will be turn-based. The enemy will be able to launch counter-attacks on sectors we have captured.
Currently, we have the ability to click and select sectors. Animations have been prepared for this. We can toggle the options/selection panels on and off. There is a panel displaying the battle log, showing what is happening in a given sector and who has done what. We can view the current status of the campaign, how many sectors we have captured, and which turn it is. In addition, there is a panel allowing us to enable or disable overlays on the map, so that everyone can customise it to suit their needs.
We are also working on additional features, such as showing (where possible) which enemy units are attacking our sector or from which direction the attack is coming
New enviro sky
With this latest update, we’re adding updated skies and lighting to the game. Due to design flaws, we’ve been unable to use volumetric atmospheric effects for a very long time, but we’ve managed to resolve this issue, and so they’re returning to Tank Squad after many months of development.
We always take players feedback on the look of our game to heart, and we agree with the view that the gameplay would be much easier to follow if the game weren’t so visually monotonous.
A small update: we’ll be displaying information on screen as and when necessary – for example, that your tank is on fire and you need to put out the fire, or that one of your crew members has been killed. Often, such information – as the name suggests – gets lost, and players don’t always react in time, for example to the fire mentioned earlier.
Along with the new sky, Screen Space Global Illumination has been added to the game, giving shaded surfaces more colour and lending vehicles and buildings an extra sense of atmosphere. As a result of the introduction of GI, enemy visibility has been slightly improved, as smaller vehicles no longer ‘disappear’ in the shadows of trees or bushes, so the clarity of the battlefield has been enhanced, which is sure to please most of you.
The addition of GI has also led to a change in our post-processing pipelines. We no longer need to compensate for its absence using various workarounds, so the final image processing itself has been streamlined. This, in turn, has restored a wider spectrum of visible colour, meaning the game has gained additional details and nuances that were simply impossible to discern before. Tank Squad still retains its own ‘style’ of realism, but is now much richer in colour. We’ve been receiving requests to add the option to change the LUT, and we still intend to include this feature in the future.
New driver sights, binocural and gunsights effects
Along with the revamp of the post-processing effects, Tank Squad now features more realistic sights and visor effects.
Previously, we used very simple overlays for this, but now we have implemented actual image processing of what we see through the visors. This is another building block we are adding to the immersion. Changes have been made to the optics, visors and binoculars. We’ve also made positioning adjustments to the gunner’s optics, where the current FOV and camera angle are displayed.
Commander mode
In the upcoming update, we plan to add an extension relating to commander mode/control of our own vehicle in multicrew mode. This extension concerns the ability to control our vehicle’s gunner in two modes: firing and target selection.
Control over firing mode involves the ability for our AI gunner to open fire on the current target on the commander’s (i.e. the player’s) command (‘cease fire’), or – as has been the case until now – at the gunner’s own discretion (‘fire at will’). If the gunner is in ‘cease fire’ mode, they wait for an order from the player to fire (the fire command is issued using the key assigned to firing the main gun).
Control over the aiming/target selection mode relates to the gunner’s ability to select the current target independently. Until now, the AI gunner has, by default, selected targets based on target type, distance, etc. – it sorted the targets itself and chose the one it deemed most important. By switching to ‘Wait for Target/Commander to Designate’ mode, our AI gunner will no longer select targets to attack on its own – unless the player designates a specific target.
Infantry animations & ragdoll improvements
The effect of physical attributes on a infantryman’s behaviour after death has been revised. The first stage of hand-to-hand combat: if soldiers get close enough to one another, they will enter close-quarters combat mode.
Crew members on fire – upon exiting a burning tank, there is a chance that the crew members will also catch fire; this is a new type of behaviour accompanied by a new set of animations for infantry.
Throwing grenades whilst running – infantrymen can now throw grenades whilst on the move.
The way other AI tanks treat your tank has been improved; they will try to avoid it even if their current destination is literally right on top of your tank. This will reduce instances where the AI blocks your path or drives round your vehicle.
More transition animations for infantry, e.g. throwing themselves to the ground to transition smoothly from running to crawling.
When new patch?
We plan to release all these changes and new features in patch 1.3.1. We plan to release the update to coincide with the start of the Steam Summer Sale next Friday!
Thank you for your support, we are working. See you next time!
DeGenerals
