A few months have passed since our release in July, and it’s time to show off some of the content we’ll be releasing in the near future in order to keep the gameplay experience fresh and enjoyable.

Posted by ashton93 on Oct 20th, 2018

A few months have passed since our release in July, and it’s time to show off some of the content we’ll be releasing in the near future in order to keep the gameplay experience fresh and enjoyable.

Project status

We’d like to start this article off by thanking all of our players and supporters for encouraging words and feedback since our release in late July. After collecting feedback in various ways and releasing a few updates since then, we’re at a point where we feel the project is ready to receive some additional content in order to keep the experience fresh for the players of the mod. In this article we’ll be looking at a map and some additional weaponry which will make its way into the mod in the near future. However, it’s important to note that not all of the content shown in today's article will be released at the same time - some of it will arrive soon, and some of it will be available to experience at a later stage.

Before showing off some eye-candy we’d like to share a bit of information about some of our community platforms and activities we currently have set up.

Recently we made an official Discord server for the project, and the server already has quite a few community regulars and developers as members. Joining the server would be very useful for you if you are a person interested in all aspects of the project. Matches will be announced, interesting community content will be shared, and you will be notified of various announcements related to the project. When joining the server we advise you to give the channels containing the server rules and the FAQ a good read, as these contain a lot of important information. You can join in by clicking the banner below:

In addition to the Discord, joining our Steam Group is also very useful in order to to stay up to date on various community events and matches being hosted. The Steam group is our primary platform for sharing and notifying players of announcements like these, and we usually try to gather the community for some PVP sessions every weekend. Clicking the banner below will take you to the Steam Group:

New content

The first piece of content we want to show off is a new map which is planned to hit the Workshop in a few weeks from now. The map will be released in a work-in-progress state, and will be shaped and developed further based on the feedback received from the community. We’re looking forward to seeing how this process pans out!

Givenchy

Givenchy is the first winter map in our map roster, and is based on the chaotic real life engagements taking place around the French villages of Givenchy and Cuinchy in January 1915.This area saw extensive back-and-forth fighting between Commonwealth, French and German troops for several weeks, despite the cold weather turning the living conditions for the men in the trenches into a freezing hell.

The map features two opposing main trench lines with an abandoned trench complex situated in the middle of No Man’s Land. While the majority of the map is centered around long range engagements, this middle part will see a lot of chaotic close quarters fighting due to it being partially situated inside a bunker and an underground dugout.

For the first Workshop release of the map we’re looking at making Liberation and Frontline the available game modes, though other modes might make an appearance in the future depending on the feedback and thoughts from the community. Old time fans of the project with a keen eye for details might recognize this map as a reworked version of the old “Bunker” map from WW1: Source, which was originally made by Sol in 2010.

WEAPONS

The next thing we want to show off are some new weapons for the Commonwealth faction. Community feedback and our own observations post-release revealed that the Commonwealth faction lacked sufficient close range weaponry to combat the LP08, MP18 and Wex flamethrower, especially on maps where close quarter combat is frequent. The addition of these new weapons aims at evening out this difference, making both factions able to tackle this type of combat in a satisfactory manner. The new weapons will also add a bit of uniqueness to the Commonwealth arsenal, as the Germans lack any identical counterparts to them.

Winchester Model 1907

The Winchester is a new primary weapon available for the Commonwealth Assault class, a very different alternative to the Auto-5 shotgun. The Model 1907 is the only semi-automatic rifle available ingame, and has good potential for taking out enemies at both medium and close range depending on your playstyle. The rifle is a fairly accurate weapon, but it’s not as hard hitting as the bolt-action rifles. Managing ammunition is also important when you first start using the weapon, as the default configuration only has a 5-round magazine. This configuration is more suited for medium range combat, and you will have to pick your targets and count your shots carefully. After earning some supply points you can equip 10-round magazines, improving its ability to send lead down range. The larger magazines makes it a truly deadly weapon in close quarters, and very useful for clearing trenches and rooms filled with enemies.

The Model 1907 rifle has a rather uncertain history when it comes to infantry usage during WW1. While the weapon was not issued to Commonwealth troops in any official manner, it’s quite likely that officers and other specialized personnel brought their own personal examples to the front for usage. This .351-caliber rifle enjoyed a status as one of the few commercially available semi-automatic hunting rifles in the years before the war, and Winchester managed to sell a decent amount to civilians and law-enforcement personnel. The rifle also saw documented use with the British and French air forces during the war, where they served as backup weapons for plane and balloon-observers.

Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless

The Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless is a new sidearm available to some of the Commonwealth classes. The pistol is a rather tiny one, firing the 32. ACP cartridge. While the damage and stopping power isn't up to par with most other sidearms in the game, the rate of fire makes up for it. With each magazine containing 8 rounds, this is the perfect weapon when engaging enemies who are wielding slower weapons in close quarter combat. The size of the weapon also results in quick reload and handling times, making it very useful for firing off a lot of rounds in a small amount of time. The 1903 will serve alongside the larger caliber Commonwealth side arms as a much more wieldy alternative, sacrificing stopping power for snappiness and stellar close quarter combat performance.

The Colt 1903 Hammerless was one of many designs created by the legendary firearms inventor John Browning. In the years leading up to WW1 it was sold on both the civilian and military market, filling the role as an easily concealable self-defence weapon. When Great Britain entered the war in 1914 there was a shortage of Webley revolvers for officers and NCO’s, leading the British military to look elsewhere for alternatives. Many different types of sidearms were therefore imported from the US, with the Colt 1903 Hammerless being one of them. The 1903’s in British service were issued to army personnel, resulting in these pistols likely seeing service on every front where the British participated.

In addition to the new Commonwealth weapons, we also have two new weapons for the German faction to show off.

Reichsrevolver

The Reichsrevolver is a new sidearm for the German faction. It is a very different sidearm compared to everything else in-game, with it being a single action revolver without an ejector rod. This results in a painfully slow rate of fire as well as long reloads, though its accuracy and stopping power is nothing to scoff at. Due to its rather hefty downsides, it will also be cheaper than the other German sidearms. The weapon is only available to certain classes, and is the perfect choice for someone who wants to sacrifice the points spent on a better sidearm for different gear - or for someone who enjoys the thrill of a true skill-cannon.

In real life this revolver was outdated by the time it was put into service in 1879, with its approval for German military service being a bit of a mystery for firearms and military historians. The Reichsrevolver is essentially the opposite of what one would think of when German engineering comes to mind - it was hastily put together, with little thought being given to the technology and user-friendliness of the design. The one thing the Reichsrevolver had going for itself was its sturdiness and reliability, and it saw service with the Imperial German Army for almost 30 years before being replaced with the Luger in 1908. When WW1 broke out, some of these revolvers were brought out of storage and saw frontline use with german personnel, most notably officers.

Madsen Muskete

The Madsen Muskete will be the second light machine gun available to the German faction, being a much more mobile alternative compared to the MG08/15. Unlike the heavier MG08/15, this LMG can be hipfired in the same manner as the Commonwealth Lewis Gun, though it’s magazine size is much smaller than either of the existing LMG’s, being only 25 rounds. This results in the Madsen being a weapon more suitable for aggressive MG players, being an ideal weapon for quickly setting up positions when supporting advancing infantry. Another drawback in addition to the lackluster magazine size is the sight picture, with a large portion of it being blocked by the top-mounted magazines.

The Madsen MG was the world’s first truly successful light machine gun designed in the late 1800’s, being the brainchild of Danish firearm designers J. Rasmussen and T. Schoube. It used a unique fully-automatic falling block design, and fed from top mounted 25-round magazines. In the opening months of WW1 the German army captured large stocks of these weapons on the Eastern Front, and decided to set up “Musketen-Battalions” centered around the usage of these LMG’s. These battalions were tasked with quickly plugging holes in defensive lines. During the battle of the Somme in 1916 most Musketen-Battalions were essentially annihilated during the fighting, with a lot of the LMG’s being lost. The remaining Madsens in German stock were instead put to use by German alpine troops and stormtroopers until the end of the war.

That’s all we had to show off for now! We’re looking forward to releasing this content as soon as it’s ready, and we hope you’re hyped for it as well! In the meantime, make sure to join the Steam group and the Discord server linked earlier in the article so that you won’t miss various community events. We wish you good luck on the battlefield!