Dear captains, We are back with another dev diary. This time, we will dive into polishing, quality of life improvements, as well as several world upgrades we were working on. [h1]Kiel & Kiel Canal[/h1] Kiel was completely reworked to look more like the historic port. There is also Kiel Canal present next to it that extends to Brunsbüttel and after entering the canal, it's possible to quickly travel to the North Sea. This addition makes it much more comfortable to operate from Kiel, since it's no longer necessary to travel all around the Jutland Peninsula to participate in The Battle of Atlantic. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/25728714/9489a753a4bc0b50497db61355d5d1f24ff28e67.png[/img] [h1]Brest[/h1] We've added two new French ports to the game, in which it's possible to dock. First one is Brest. In this port, U-boats dock at barges that move vertically with the tides. There is an old castle present near the docking area, as well as the historic tower. It's possible to build a submarine pen in here, like in the other French ports. It's a convenient port to operate from, as it's the closest French port to busy traffic areas on the North Atlantic. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/25728714/bdf376de1bfec3b2f9079f05c4e23c035f902f0e.png[/img] [h1]Marseille[/h1] Another French port is Marseille on the Mediterranean Sea. The large structure seen on the screenshot is the Marseille Transporter Bridge. It was built above the entrance to the port and was one of the engineering marvels of the turn of XIX and XX centuries that sadly no longer exists due to war. The addition of this port was a part of our larger efforts in this update, to add more content to the Mediterranean Sea to make it a more interesting area of operations. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/25728714/39b0fe46a5cfe08e1eaa0a9e7c67f8c9001dbac4.png[/img] [h1]Explosion physics[/h1] Sailors on the enemy ships now fall or sometimes even are thrown away off the deck when your torpedoes explode. It makes the torpedo hits much more convincing. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/25728714/9dff9ec0f0741facf36f44ab4235cf60ae543d3c.png[/img] It was something we always wanted to implement, as it was an immersion killer when there was no proper reaction modelled on the enemy crew. It required extra care to do it right. It's something that could easily affect the performance and stability of the game, if not carefully optimized, considering the number of sailors present on large convoys. [h1]Upgrades to interface tools[/h1] There are major quality of life improvements coming to the tools in the user interface. It's now possible to drag the tools, as well as keep several of them open at once. It's a long standing request from the community that we are happy declare as done. We've also added a completely new chronometer tool, which no doubt will prove to be useful on many occasions. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/25728714/d8f01ecf5c7e9bda8b641442982aba005c9a4658.png[/img] [h1]Underwater upgrades[/h1] On popular request, underwater environment is now much brighter than it used to be, which coincides with a more realistic look. It's now also possible to use periscopes deeper under the water and use it to look at the enemy ships passing above, depth charges or mines on the seabed. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/25728714/c16053a77cfcd341094572a07d59570a8af006f6.png[/img] [h1]UBOAT: The Silent Wolf VR[/h1] We also have an exciting news about a second UBOAT game in the family, developed by a friendly studio, Titan GameZ. The game has multiplayer capabilities and is designed for VR platforms. It was currently published for Oculus Quest, but there are plans to bring it also to PC VR headsets. The studio has put their hearts into this title and it's our utmost pleasure to recommend it to you! You can read more about the game and if you decide so, also buy it, by following this link: [url=https://www.meta.com/experiences/4028925843825801/]UBOAT: The Silent Wolf[/url] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/25728714/5a936ed7176eb137f2a62c4d4c934ef4e4fd1500.png[/img] [h1]Release date estimate[/h1] Our current estimate to finish this work is March - April 2024. The main thing that extends the development time right now, are interior models for the new playable U-boats, that will be introduced in the Full Release Update. You can read more about them [url=https://steamcommunity.com/games/494840/announcements/detail/3740860043618362780?snr=2_9_100003_]in this dev diary[/url]. While our artist is busy finishing the new U-boats, the rest of the team, among other things, gathers feedback on the forum, so if you have something you always wanted added or changed, feel free to post. It's important to us, to make you satisfied with the upcoming release. Also, we still have much more to share about the upcoming update and will soon in the upcoming dev logs. Using this opportunity, we also send you our best wishes of great holidays and a Happy New Year! ✨ Have a good time in the upcoming weeks and see you in the next diary. Yours, DWS