1.24 In development

1.24 development is in full swing at the office and today we are starting our first open test to get some feedback on the initial features. While we still have may features to add we are starting open test today so that you can comment on the new weather system we have implemented. In the past we generally left open test to the final stages of pre release testing. 1.24 beings a change to that approach and we will be doing more open testing more often throughout the development effort of 1.24.

In addition to testing today’s weather features we have several other key features in development. 1.24 is shaping up to be one of the most feature rich releases we have ever done and we look forward to hearing your feedback now and as we release these features to test. To help you get a feel for what’s coming we’ve put together today’s in development report as a review of the features in development, many of which will make the 1.24 release.


ToE

Tables of Equipment are being added to BE. This change will allow for each side to have a variety of force make ups in their brigades. It will also detach the spawn list from the facility and attach it to the brigade flag. Now, when your brigade moves, your equipment, or lack hereof, will move with you. No more instant resupply by moving your forces. In addition this change will allow Allied forces to move freely through Allied owned territory regardless of country. This change will also remove the concept of deployments from the game. Destroyers and paratroopers will now be a part of a brigade level force. Initially we will be looking to have 3 separate ToEs for each country branch and will rewrite the RDP system to allocate units based on the cost for outfitting each Brigade.

STO

We are currently in debate about the next STO to add. Hulks seem like a great addition to the game in keeping with many of the environmental changes we are making. Some work is still needed to determine the impact of tracking a large number of STOs in the world. We’ll know more about his as we get it into testing.

New Infantry Weapon Models

Continuing our first person infantry redo with 1.24, we will be adding new infantry weapon models that are very detailed. High poly models and detailed textures are in the works. Once this work is completed we plan to do a normal mapping pass to give the infantry a much needed graphical update.

Performance

For several months we have been preparing an overhaul of our pre render routines. These primarily focus on how we prepare data to go to the render engine. Optimization is key in this area and we look to have made great progress in increasing frame rates and reducing stutters. We’ve also integrated SSE2 support options for Windows users whose CPU offers support. You can find these options in the Settings program.

Lighting and Weather

Today’s open test includes this new feature set. We have added a variety of lighting and cloud patterns to the game which will alternate each game day. Some days will be clear skies while other will be overcast. This feature is intended to add variety to game play tactics. We hope to add more weather features in coming months including varying fog based on time of day and possibly weather effects like rain and lightning.

Squad Support

The squad summit meetings are coming to fruition. The feedback we have received has resulted in a set of features for 1.24 including showing which brigades and missions your squad mates are on and the ability to join them quickly through the squad tab. We’re also working to add squad tags to in game names, though that is at present resulting in some difficulty and will likely require some much needed host work that will allow us to access more game information from within the game world. Much of that information is currently only accessible from the UI. Future work in this area includes custom squad decals.

Spotters and Radar

Radar for Battleground Europe has one primary goal: attract game play. We are implementing the first stage of a radar and ground spotters system to augment the EWS that is already in place. This system will display air targets on the in game map. The displays will be organic and not in real time, simulating the communications between a pilot and his support services. The updates wil be amalgamated geographically and temporally, meaning that you won’t get exact locations and you won’t get real-time updates but in generally you will get a feel for where enemy air forces are so that you can plan interdiction. This feature wil be theater wide, there will be no option for skirting the system at present. This system will also not be interdictable at first implementation though we greatly desire to add this ability in future refinements of the system. This system will however, promote group tactics and make finding an air battle much easier.

Number Channels

After about a thousand requests we’ve decided to add numbers in the chat line for custom chat channels. Rejoice!

Contact Reports

Another oft requested feature. We are adding truck, gun and danger options for contact reports.

Ghost Rounds

Many players operate under the assumption that rounds in BE can penetrate walls. This assumption is fostered by the ghost round, or visible tracer that we generate when a round is fired. These visual effects often go through walls and we will be addressing that with 1.24.

Brigade Screen Revamp

We are working to make finding a fight easier in BE. We’ll be incorporating map and list based brigade selection with more information about the type and quantity of activity in a give brigade. We’ll also be adding squad icons so you can easily see which mission your friends are on. These changes tie directly in wioth our plans to make missions into more persistent groups and thus drastically reducing or even eliminating the need to spend time outside the game world at the UI.

Today marks the first Open Test in a series of testing we will be doing throughout the development cycle for 1.24. Today’s test includes both SSE2 options and the first implementation of our weather routines. If you would like to participate in this testing and feedback please visit the Game Testing forum for further instructions.

We’ve also started a discussion thread here for comments and questions regarding today’s In Development announcement. I will do my best to get some time over this holiday weekend to answer any questions you have.

We hope you have a safe and happy Independence Day. Enjoy some Bar-B-Q, launch a few bottle rockets and remember to take some time to reflect on the Freedoms which our founding fathers held so dear and the men and women who have fought so valiantly to uphold that Freedom.