Hello everyone, we have presented the new specialization in previous dev blogs US Airborne and Coastal Troops. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1604270/view/4513261623769801522 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1604270/view/4513262258492538993 Now it’s time to introduce the battlefields where they will face each other. Previous multiplayer beta proposed 6 maps so we have decided to ramp up things a bit and propose 8 brand new maps this time. We have selected a panel of very different layouts to let you experiment various gameplay situations and see what you prefer. All these maps are large enough to host an intense 5v5 multiplayer match and still have room on the sides to let planes maneuver and to give room for infiltrations and flanking attacks. They are also full of details and contain unique visual elements, lighting, weather… [h2]Kaliningrad[/h2] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/0f85e66e8af0b0a692307fa15b2bf393bf3ccb8c.jpg[/img] At the heart of the Russian exclave located between Lithuania and Poland lies the city of Kaliningrad. It features the only ice-free Russian port on the Baltic Sea, making it strategically paramount. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/e00422bf968abdf70d2e74eefc2c3af6935e9087.jpg[/img] The city is characterized by a fortified historic center divided by several waterways, at the center of which lies an island on which stands Königsberg Cathedral. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/481b70bda99b9cbb3c5a9a2fb478b846842cf2be.jpg[/img] A large industrial harbor spreads from the city center to the estuary of the Pregolya river and is interfaced with a large railway classification yard surrounded by large hangars and numerous bridges. A massive stadium surrounded by multiple parkings is situated on the other side of the city and countless urban and commercial districts surround the city center. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/ea5339e7b71aaf2d93671529f63ed2f0023145f7.jpg[/img] The battle for Kaliningrad promises to be fierce as both teams start relatively close to each other on the western part of the map but on a different side of the estuary. They must rapidly progress East in the direction of the city center where the bridges are located to secure crossing points and capture objectives located on the other bank. Of course amphibious units will prove their usefulness here more than anywhere else as their ability to cross the waterways allows them to infiltrate recon on the flanks or to launch assaults away from the heavily defended bridges. [h2]River[/h2] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/6fd22b2ce164174732e763afd749c8c543ef5bd1.jpg[/img] Far away from the hell of urban combat, this map proposes to fight in a much more open landscape mainly composed of fields surrounded by treelines, small villages and isolated farms. A river runs through it with several shallow water passages allowing any vehicle or infantry to cross at reduced speed. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/86fa063aa828995517806e7c7667c007dcc5a09e.jpg[/img] These large open spaces might look like the perfect place to send formations of tanks on the attack, but beware, guided missiles can fully express their range advantage here. And high in the sky a drone might be watching you, maybe even designating you with its laser to guide artillery projectiles already flying in your direction. So run! Run from cover to cover, follow the treelines whenever you can and use smoke to conceal your movements. Otherwise, the apex predator of the open plains will swoop down on you with a roaring sound, and leave nothing behind but a carcass. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/ad1dc3ea861b59b3c79415a2ba555c109824901e.jpg[/img] [h2]Refinery[/h2] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/49063800b68f2b3e5f3cdbb51b327a4c40b18f0b.jpg[/img] Countries fight to spread their influence in order to secure access to resources vital for their development. So what better symbol of this than to fight for the control of an oil refinery? [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/8871f25b51047010b39be96c53877843a0acc7f5.jpg[/img] This large map features a huge oil refinery located on a plateau, separated by marchlands from the nearby city also located on another plateau. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/67f3464df4d915b3f5f64f0b24b7196b365496cf.jpg[/img] The number of objectives proposed on this map is more than twice the usual number, separated into two main groups located in the refinery and the city. This unusual layout forces the teams to make a choice of repartition of their players. Will you play a classic 2xCity / 1xMiddle / 2xRefinery best suited for defense but that will fail to achieve numerical superiority anywhere or will you play an aggressive 0 / 2 / 3 or 3 / 2 / 0 to focus only on one side and the middle? Having multiple possible strategies means that the victory will go to the most adaptable team, able to identify the enemy configuration, communicate and react accordingly. For instance, dismounting your infantry early is a good reflex if you are going to be outnumbered but doing that when there is nobody in front of you and you failed to notice it means that someone else in your team is fighting 2v1. [h2]Ruda[/h2] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/6cc5837231698dfd5a5eb567b511f25dfd4119f5.jpg[/img] Inspired by the area around the city of Kazlų Rūda in Lithuania. The city is surrounded by a large forest full of small clearing cut by agricultural expansion. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/5c6cb7d2ad19f9d44a1efc1e599ffc201aa86e33.jpg[/img] A military training ground and an airfield are also carved in the middle of the trees. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/569aa19db24d0402d4fbf35dede6c3c09d7bd4bf.jpg[/img] The unique layout of the trees on this map creates a different experience: instead of crossing fields to jump from one patch of cover to another, here you can follow narrow strips of forest to stay covered. This can facilitate infiltrations but it can also make troop movements slow and predictable. If an enemy is spotted progressing in a treeline you can easily guess where they are going and prepare an ambush or decide to move fast on a road instead as they won’t be able to react rapidly. [h2]Dam[/h2] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/89606d90e02278f193a4d843b719ccc7f05b2705.jpg[/img] Kaunas, the second biggest city of Lithuania is situated near an artificial lake created by a Dam. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/6c437ef25f61941777d263d2627caf55db51f804.jpg[/img] We have faithfully represented this area which corresponds to the southern part of the city, the Dam itself and the zigzag of the river offering an interesting layout for a multiplayer battle. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/39905ab73d20980b6ba8f51b9def23988a12dadb.jpg[/img] The shape of the river impacts the layout of the roads and as a result each team has an advantage to push on one side of the map resulting in chaotic situations where both teams have successfully pushed their side which means they are now both located in each other’s back but on a different side of the river, meaning that they can cross the river to cut each other’s supply line resulting in a double encirclement hamburger. [h2]Airbase[/h2] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/9c3fc050a04fe006ab98daedd3abbac715ef5015.jpg[/img] This map represents Chkalovsk naval air base situated a few kilometers North-West of Kaliningrad. It’s a single long airstrip surrounded by hangars and bunkers hidden in the middle of the woods. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/2c68b6fca2e5b2ee67ca20e4a86e97c5b01ee281.jpg[/img] Infantry can be concealed in the Il-76 cargo planes landed near the hangars. Beware, though, as they are not resilient at all so using them as a fighting position is taking the risk to see your squads disappear in a pile of debris. You can see the suburbs of Kaliningrad stretching out in a corner of the map while the rest of the city can be seen in the distance. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/7fdb10786d39ea4f41318df735a61c9f5ac73e0d.jpg[/img] The objectives are split in two groups located on both sides of the airstrip, generally resulting in the action being concentrated there and nobody paying much attention to what is happening on the airstrip itself. This is the occasion to try daring maneuvers across the airstrip or in its axis, all the way to the enemy rear where the fragile and expensive artillery and air defense units are located. [h2]Airport[/h2] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/3d2a07b921d29cb25d010c02261627ae7f4fadb9.jpg[/img] Based on the international airport of Riga and its surroundings, this map proposes a unique and spectacular scenery for an epic battle. The airport is surrounded by large highways leading to it and to the capital city of Latvia. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/52293cc3af3eb454050c87293024ea372f7ff2aa.jpg[/img] Fun fact: the house of one of the moderators of the [url=https://discord.gg/stN5n8rb9Z]official Discord server[/url] is located on this map. Please avoid nuking it! [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/5f595c8cf07cf9584423786a4c0dbd4f1f86245f.jpg[/img] The objective zones are evenly spread and the frontline is large due to the fact that it is played in the diagonal of the map. Trying to create an impervious frontline in such conditions is not very efficient as there is too much ground to cover. It is more cost effective to keep just a few spotters surveilling key points or use drones to deal with infiltrators and use the rest of your resources to create a mobile group of units supporting each other which can maneuver and pick isolated enemy units one by one. [h2]Klaipeda[/h2] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/89abd49917b2db3d0852fff526f48b2a47cf0033.jpg[/img] The coastal city of Klaipeda is the only large harbor in Lithuania, making it a vital supply hub. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/1f9eadc8c3d443aff13ce4c3a186184b275c9a10.jpg[/img] The city spreads over a large area and features a big quantity of high rises but is not extremely dense. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/586d1a07cae004127b6ccaa9238b4b8fcbe2c0d9.jpg[/img] The districts are split by large avenues merging on giant roundabouts and plenty of parks create open areas where long range missiles and tanks can maneuver. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/917d3e98ba504e9e50a78cec2fa7f19dcd8c8a42.jpg[/img] This map is much deeper than wide so the frontline is rather narrow resulting in fierce urban battles. This does not mean the battle is completely static as there is a large quantity of streets that can be used to outflank the enemy. It is hard to progress unnoticed with a column of vehicles but at the same time easy to bypass an enemy defensive position by simply using the next roads and outrun the infantry. [h2]Tools and performance[/h2] Compared to previous beta we have managed to optimize the game and you can now benefit from the best graphics with a smaller configuration. We have introduced the support of [u]AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3[/u] (FSR 3) which is compatible with a large quantity of GPUs and increases the performance a lot with minimal visual degradation. We have also optimized the lowest graphic settings to let people play with configurations that were previously impossible. This beta will be the occasion for us to get statistical information about players’ performance and continue the optimization wherever it is needed. We have also improved the drawing speed of the line of sight tool by a factor 6. Press Alt to display this tool which will help you to understand where the line of sight is blocked. If you have a unit selected the detection distance will be automatically adjusted to the optics value of this unit. The tool also snaps to buildings now. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/1a16adabd85e2941144df87a165575a00d62ab7d.jpg[/img] We are also working on another tool to display the elevation curves and a color overlay on the map to help you verify the reliefs if you have a doubt. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//40513072/9cc8764cc95c3a793cb04b68e572353ec04f957c.jpg[/img] Finally you can now see which command your units are following by selecting them and pressing Shift key. A line will be displayed between the unit and the position of the current command with a color code depending on the type of command. That's it for today, we hope you enjoyed it. See you next week for the final dev blog before the launch of the open beta on November 12th.