Verdun Thread

Welcome to the Verdun Thread! You can discuss Verdun here and if looking for others to play with post here! I will also try to update with news on the game as much as possible.

“Things are heating up”
JANUARY 13 - LEO

Welcome to another weekly Verdun update! First of all the entire development team wishes you a happy 2016. During the christmas truce a massive 12.000 christmas cards were sent from the frontlines and the whole event received quite some attention on the web.

Secondly we want to update you on the development of the game. Over the past few months we have showcased our new arsenal, we’ve had 17 weekly (or near enough!) updates and have written around 35 pages of update text. We will continue to update with more other media which will showcase the progress towards the upcoming free content updates. This week we’ll keep it snappy as there is a lot to prepare for the forthcoming launch of the free content.

M1917 Wechselapparat “Wex” Flamethrower
The German Wechselapparat Flamethrower or ‘wex’ was developed in 1917 after successful but outdated Kleif flamethrower. Flamethrowers had seen use since the early years of the war, one of the first recorded uses being during 1915 near Verdun. As the war progressed flamethrowers grew in complexity as well as size - including the famous british Livens flamethrower. Come 1917 the Germans were in need of a lighter weight, more adaptable flame thrower - capable of being handles by one or two crew members. The ‘wex’ saw effective use in 1917/18 and was the basis for a number of flamethrowers including the Model 40 German flamethrower and portable No 2 British flamethrower in WW2.




The Wex will be used by German pioneer troops to counter the U.S marine squads. With limited range and fuel capacity, the wex will be a tricky weapon to master… however given the correct handler, it could quite possibly be the deadliest weapon to see action on the fronts of Verdun.

Verdun Beginners group
During the holidays, the people behind the verdun league and other community members have started an official verdun beginners group geared towards helping the crazy amount of new recruits who joined in during the christmas sale. If you are new to the game and want to become better you can sign up at http://steamcommunity.com/groups/theofficialverdunbeginnersgroup.

Game development status
We did not cease development during the holiday season. In fact we made great strides on the performance front in the last two weeks with the new clustering technique for the levels. Several community members with some long standing issues are now reporting their performance being improved considerably on the testing branch. This should go live soon.

Content update
We are happy to report that the free content updates are on the horizon now. While we are still working to finalize all all of it, we can state that there will be new squads, weapons, map and more coming your way pretty soon. We are not releasing any statement on the timeframe at this point, however we are in the final stages of production and deployment on most fronts to give you an indication of its status.

Screenshots of the Week



“A shell claims the life of an unteroffizier, Argonne sector, 1915”

Seeing that that last screenshot, this gets into my head.
Gott Mitt Uns - Sabaton

I know ww2 was bloodier but, ww 1 with its landscapes and outdated tactics must have been true hell on earth

Big Update Next Week! Americans inbound!

Semper Fi
MARCH 13- LEO

Welcome back to another Brief Verdun Community Development Update. We are working very hard on the launch of the upcoming expansion pack, 8 days remain!

Marines
This week we’d like to show once more the US Marine squad in game. The focus of the marines ingame will be brutal weapons such as the m1897 trench gun and the m1903 springfield as well white phosphorus strikes.


A U.S marine squad taking cover behind a knocked-out FT-17 tank on the Marne. Note the use of the American 30-06 springfield and chauchat. The officer can be seen wearing an overseas cap.

More Champagne
The last few weeks have seen testing on the Champagne map where we polished the gameplay and glitches. The map has proven itself to be quite different from the other maps in terms of gameplay already with a much greater focus on defensive teamwork (holding off all the communication trenches) and close quarters.


Overview of the vast, deep trench network constructed on the champagne front. The whole terrain has a gentle sloped curve and is modeled after an actual location on the Champagne front.


One of the nicer parts of the map is the destroyed forest. Which has several unfinished and shallow trenches, in contrast with the deeper trenches in the German sector.

Dismemberment
The gore system was quite a tough nut to crack and we’ve been developing it for quite some time now. The dismemberment system has come a long way since the first version, as well as the new blood system. In the past few weeks we’ve been polishing it and will be universal next week.


We’ve also expanded the system to become more dynamic, not all soldiers die instantly, some who have lost limbs remain…



The dismemberment system in action, soldiers who are not instantly killed remain on the field, crying out.

All of these elements add to the immersion of the game, making the game less ‘clean’ and shows more of the hardship and reality of the trench war.

Screenshots of the Week

“Canadians assault a trench, Artois, 1915”

That will be all for this week. Be sure to check in next week for more information and media about the upcoming content update.

Played it a bit again yesterday myself, the Douaumont map's a neat change of pace, but the doors in the frontline area don't really feel playtested to me - place's full of chokepoints, but the doors usually don't give players enough space to toss grenades at campers without being very exposed to them.

Played it a bit again yesterday myself, the Douaumont map's a neat change of pace, but the doors in the frontline area don't really feel playtested to me - place's full of chokepoints, but the doors usually don't give players enough space to toss grenades at campers without being very exposed to them.

I agree, it makes it near impossible for the Germans to push back into the fort itself and capture it if kicked out.

New Free Expansion was released today!

HOLY SHIT, I thought it was just US Marines and Pioniere.