Reporting in, Commanders. Our reconnaissance teams have gathered the following intel regarding changes across the front. Your continual reports have been crucial in these developments, so please continue to send these to us via the Steam Discussions, or our social channels on Twitter and Facebook. Note that these changes will take effect immediately with today’s update and affect any ongoing Campaigns. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42855113/9e57ba7f97a0822b062b9cc1924d4875092c6fee.jpg[/img] [h1]Balancing Changes[/h1] Following your feedback, we have made several balancing changes to help game difficulty match expectations. In particular, the AI has been adjusted at both the Theatre and Field Commander levels and will scale more closely with difficulty settings: [h3]Field Commander (Battles)[/h3] [list] [*] Changed battle timer to scale with difficulty (in minutes): [*] Recruit: 35 (previously 20) [*] Trainee: 30 (previously 20) [*] Soldier: 25 (previously 20) [*] Veteran: 20 (unchanged) [*] Elite: 20 (unchanged) [*] Increased Control Point capture speed with a single company by approximately 50%. [*] Capture speed now scales more smoothly with additional companies. [*] Recovery speed of Control Points following a failed capture attempt was doubled. [*] Snipers are now limited to Elite Infantry companies only. [*] A status icon was added to elite companies if they have sniper technology unlocked. [*] Sniper fire is now blocked if the company is Suppressed. [/list] [h3]Theatre Commander (Strategic View)[/h3] [list] [*] Starting National Will for 1916 campaigns was changed to 580 (previously 450). [*] National Will drain in 1918 was reduced to 30 per turn (previously 100). [*] The following National Will values for battle wins and losses were changed: [*] Great Loss changed to -10 (previously -16) [*] Major Victory/Loss changed to 6/-6 (previously 5/-12) [*] Loss changed to -3 (previously -8) [*] Minor Loss changed to -1 (previously -5) [*] Supply value for tank battalions and air wings was reduced to 0 to match siege artillery (previously 100). [*] Supply value bonus for airfield and mechanics garage structures was reduced to 5/10/25 (previously 20/50/80). [*] Cost of Mechanics Garage Structure was reduced to 600/800/1000 (previously 800/1200/2000). [*] Replenishment cost of all infantry soldiers was reduced by 0.1 gold (previously 0.4 to 1.0 according to type). [*] Start date potential for the Poison Death mission (gas masks) was moved forward. [/list] [h3]Theatre Commander AI[/h3] [list] [*] Region targets for offensives will be targeting more intelligently to preserve National Will. [*] Defensive evaluations for front line positions were adjusted. [*] Evaluation of potential surrounding situations were adjusted. [*] Movement system was adjusted to ensure appropriate minimum defences and still attempt an effective assault when overextended. [*] Opportunity assaults versus empty regions were refined. [*] Attack probability was adjusted to scale more closely with game difficulty. [/list] [h3]Field Commander AI[/h3] [list] [*] AI aggressiveness was adjusted to avoid aggressive rallying if defensive company counts are low. [*] Desire to exit trenches when initiating a rally or assault if enemies are near was reduced. [*] Size of ambushes for under protected Control Points was reduced. [*] Desire to return to failed ambush locations while on defence was reduced. [*] Previously failed ambushes or scouted Control Points will no longer be ambushed/scouted again unless capture progress is made. [*] Build rate of trenches was adjusted according to difficulty. [*] Light tanks will now be used in assaults more consistently. [*] The frequency of enemy troops in your trench lines calling bombardments on neighbouring trenches was reduced. [*] Infantry hesitance to approach enemy tanks and fort turrets was increased. [*] Observation Balloon purchases in Pre-Battle while defending were adjusted. [*] Tanks from are no longer aggressive toward fort turrets. [*] Desire to continue assaulting a Control Point after repeated failed attempts was reduced. [*] Pre-Battle bombardment now scales more closely to total siege weaponry count. [*] Chance of using smoke artillery effectively was increased. [*] Rally and attack pacing was adjusted to encourage larger assault waves. [*] Tanks being damaged by artillery will now attempt to move if possible. [*] AI will now surrender when below a minimum threshold of defensive companies and reinforcements remaining if the score is not in their favour. [*] Reinforcements were update so the AI will attempt to spawn them outside of combat range of player companies. [*] Communications trench construction now scales more closely with game difficulty. [*] Tanks on defence will now patrol between owned Control Points. [*] Flamethrower companies will now avoid melee where possible. [/list] [h3]Tanks & Aircraft[/h3] [list] [*] Increased mortar damage vs. tanks by 50%. [*] Reduced speed of FT tanks by 34%. [*] Reduced speed of Whippet tanks by 30%. [*] Reduced health of FT tanks by 33%. [*] Reduced health of Whippet tank by 16%. [*] Reduced health of Sturmpanzerwagen tank by 27%. [*] Reduced supply cost of FT tanks to 30/60 (was 40/80). [*] Updated Tank replenishment cost. [/list] [h3]Structure & Artillery[/h3] [list] [*] Scatter radius of Light Artillery suppression barrage shots was reduced by 40%. [*] Effect radius of suppression effect per shell was reduced by 50%. [*] Target decal and telegraph decal of Light Artillery suppression barrage to match new scatter radius. [*] Slow effect radius for Barbed Wire and Razor Wire was increased by 11%. [*] Degradation count for Barbed Wire and Razor Wire was increased by 66%. [*] Supply cost of improved firing trench was reduced to 20 (previously 30). [*] Supply cost of advanced firing trench was reduced to 30 (previously 50). [*] Mortar damage effect radius was increased by 50%. [*] Mortar cost was reduced to 30 to match Machine Gun Nests (previously 45). [*] Cost of all concrete bunkers was reduced to 50 (previously 60/75). [*] Base anti-structure grenade damage and upgrade bonus was reduced by 25% [*] Damage-to-armour modifier for anti-structure grenades vs. concrete was increased by 20% [*] Artillery air burst shells now do minor damage to weapon emplacements and artillery cannons. [/list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42855113/8250e6d2c352c22b38f89a60a16408f3481d34ee.jpg[/img] [h1]Fixes[/h1] We have also applied the following fixes to improve the overall game experience: [h3]Settings Changes[/h3] To benefit from these changes, please restore your settings to default: [list] [*] Pause Game hotkey was moved to Space and converted to a toggle. [*] Firing Arc Display hotkey was moved to apostrophe (‘) key. [*] Withdraw hotkey was moved to SHIFT-C. [*] Hotkeys for Sell Object and Un-Deploy were removed. [/list] [h3]Theatre Commander[/h3] [list] [*] Fixed issue where new corps could spawn in their default spawn region after it had been captured by enemy. [*] Fixed an issue where supply values were being incorrectly calculated post-battle. [*] Fixed an issue where captured/lost region stats were not properly tracking at the Theatre level. [*] Fixed tech tree not opening when selecting required tech hyperlinks within strategic event pop ups. [*] Adjusted win state checks so that the Campaign ends at the end of the turn when a winning action (HQ capture or National Will reduced to 0) has been completed. [/list] [h3]Field Commander[/h3] [list] [*] Fixed an issue where bombers would not target enemy positions. [*] Fixed an issue where aircraft would not leave the map after running out of fuel. [*] Fixed an issue where forests would not hide infantry correctly. [*] Two passing companies will now engage in melee combat if they are moving in a trench that can be garrisoned. [*] Fixed an issue where enemy infantry could be seen in trenches during pre-battle. [*] Fixed an issue preventing time controls from working as intended. [*] Fixed an issue where Gurkhas would not use their grenades to attack Machine Gun nests, Mortars, Artillery or Observation Balloon trucks. [*] Fixed an issue where Control Point spawn points would flip to the invading force before the point was secured. [*] Updated the battle results screen to show Gold Reserves Spent more accurately. [*] Fixed an issue where Machine Gun Nests and Bombers (on harassment missions) could fire into forests. [*] Fixed Unit tray SHIFT-selection so it now works with both left-to-right and right-to-left button SHIFT-clicking. [/list] [h3]Emplacements[/h3] [list] [*] Fixed an issue where players were charged supply for persistent trenches. [*] Fixed an issue where players were charged full price for upgrading persistent trenches. [*] Fixed Barbed Wire so it now correctly persists between Campaign battles. [*] Fixed an issue where Undermining craters would not persist between Campaign battles. [*] Fixed an issue where pre-placed and then upgraded trenches could not be deleted. [*] Fixed an issue causing only Allies to take morale penalties from siege barrage, no matter who initiated them. [*] Fixed an issue where trench UI would sometimes disappear. [*] Fixed an issue with artillery companies not registering as destroyed for the "destroyed allied artillery" objective event. [*] Fixed an issue where Mortars were instantly destroyed at the start of a battle. [*] Fixed an issue where Barbed Wire and Razor Wire remained on the Minimap after being destroyed. [*] Fixed an issue where Observation Balloons would not work correctly in Historic Battles and the Tutorial. [*] Fixed an issue where placing Machine Gun nests caused the command cap icon to flash. [*] Fixed an issue where trenches would show as orange during the transition from pre battle to battle. [*] Fixed an issue where Corps that were turn locked due to movement and therefore not taking part in a battle were still contributing to national attribution of Machine Guns, Mortars, Artillery etc. [*] Fixed an issue where troops at emplacements would animate incorrectly in the fog of war. [*] Fixed an issue where players’ Machine Gun nests would spawn within range of the enemy in the Verdun Historic Battle. [/list] [h3]AI[/h3] [list] [*] Fixed an issue with Ceasefire activating while the AI is capturing the enemy HQ. [*] Fixed an issue where the rally for an assault might stall out if the rally is wiped out before the attack order is given. [*] Verdun Historic Battle: Fixed issue which caused AI waves to spawn and head to Control Point A. [*] Somme Historic Battle: Fixed an issue where some reinforcing infantry would not garrison trenches correctly. [/list] [h3]Multiplayer[/h3] [list] [*] Players are now able to join password protected lobbies. [*] Capturing the Command Trench will no longer pause the battle timer. [*] Issues causing the Multiplayer Menu to disappear were fixed. [*] Players will no longer be able to guess enemy trench layouts by looking for trees toppling during Pre-Battle. [*] An issue preventing the call of siege artillery after Command Trench had been captured was fixed. [/list] [h3]The Tutorial[/h3] [list] [*] Various soft locks during the Tutorial were fixed. [*] A “Go To Tutorial” button was added to the Tutorial Recommended pop up. [*] Fixed an issue where the Chatillon-Sur-Marne Assault Mission would not complete during the Tutorial. [*] Fixed an issue where loading a Tutorial chapter would sometimes result in missions/events not triggering correctly. [*] Fixed an issue where selecting locked structures at specific times in the Tutorial would bring up the tech tree. [*] Fixed an issue where you could spend gold on enemy regions during the “continuing the war” chapter of the Tutorial. [*] Fixed the Tutorial movie not ending when ESC is pressed. [*] Fixed an issue preventing the refunding of placed units during the second manual battle. [*] Fixed an issue where the Tutorial Recommended pop up would trigger multiple times. [/list] [h3]Cosmetic[/h3] [list] [*] Corpse persistence duration was increased for all infantry to 60 seconds (previously 30). [*] Trees on the Theatre Map were updated to reflect seasonal changes. [*] An issue where region names would not appear on the Theatre Map was fixed. [*] Well known rivers and docks were added to the Theatre Map. [*] Fixed an issue where Espionage mission icons remained on the Theatre Map after the mission had expired. [*] Fixed an issue where structure cost would not show red when the player had 0 or negative gold. [*] Region Espionage and Care Package Buttons were updated to show in red if the player can’t afford them. [*] Region events were updated to show the current active date instead of the event start date. [*] Fixed an issue where Battlefield Deployment UI was present when starting a new Campaign. [*] Replenishment cost text colour was updated to be clearer. [*] Fixed an issue where reinforcement points were white in Skirmish. [*] Fixed an issue where Battle Log timings were incorrect. [*] Fixed an issue where the Tank UI would flash red in troop tray upon spawning. [*] Firing arcs were changed to yellow for visibility on winter maps. [/list] [h3]Other[/h3] [list] [*] Various crashes have been fixed. [*] Main Menu formatting improvements were added. [*] Encyclopaedia button added to the Main Menu. [*] Various map texture and lighting optimisations to increase overall performance. [*] Improved Save Game stability. [*] Changed Multiplayer ready timeout to 150 seconds (previously 60). [*] Resolution options will no longer disappear after changing resolution. [*] Fixed an issue affecting the “MAX_FPS=” Steam command line. [*] Fixed phantom grey box when hovering mouse over companies in loading screens. [*] Fixed players being able to change difficulty and play intro/outro videos after selecting begin in Historic Battles. [*] Fixed an issue where the Encyclopaedia remained open on the Main Menu. [*] Removed references to "crop dusting" from multiple entries for historical accuracy. [*] Added an Encyclopaedia entry to explain forts/pillboxes. [*] Fixed an issue where aircraft would briefly reveal units within the fog of war. [*] Fixed an issue where some female tanks had inconsistent health values. [*] Several tool tips were updated. [*] Fixed several instances where music/ambient sound stopped unintentionally. [*] Several voiceover lines were updated, added, or fixed. [/list] [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/42855113/f07e9132a893ddadbbc92a870506825909f98e1b.png[/img] We trust that the above changes improve your experience in The Great War: Western Front and support your offensives across the front line. Let us know your experiences following the update and any other feedback or suggestions! [i]The Great War: Western Front Team[/i]