Hello Admirals,
We would like to share news about the progress we have so far and the status of the upcoming update.
The team’s reorganization is working great and we are very happy with the results. These last 2 months we have touched upon all major aspects of the game with the new lead programmer (from formations to AI to ship designer) - and finally we can say - now the new team is more than ready to continue with the development of the campaign. We plan to add extra resources in November, which will help us to speed up the development even further.
Regarding the patch, in addition to all the features we mentioned in our previous blog and in our forum including the new quad guns… we are also preparing the following.
New Hulls
“Battleship Richelieu” is the new addition in the game’s database of realistic hulls. The new hull and its assets can produce the following new ship variants:
A French Modern Battleship of 45,000 to 65,000 tons, which can faithfully recreate the historical Battleship "Richelieu".
A French Super Battleship with displacement between 70,000 to 85,000 tons.
A French Battlecruiser with displacement between 35,000 to 45,000 tons, inspired by the Battleship “Dunkerque”.
A French Large Cruiser of 28,000 to 32,500 tons.
A French Heavy Cruiser of 12,000 to 14,900 tons.
Furthermore, various new assets and guns became available to several other hulls.
New guns
19-inch and 20-inch guns: You are now able to design ships with powerful armament, which was never actually implemented on any warship, but was used in various planned designs. These guns will be available only on specific large hulls, such as those of the super battleships. Designing ships with so large guns should be a challenge due to their extreme weight that could be used for increasing ship protection and speed.
New British/French Guns: New special looking late-tech guns are available for Britain and France.
Balances
A few balances were made based on the player feedback we received in our last patch.
Accuracy balance: Maneuverable ships, such as Destroyers, will be harder to hit, so they will be more comfortable to control them at a safe distance. Average Accuracy is less at long range but will be significantly higher at very short ranges, creating more decisive engagements when ships approach very near to each other.
Triple and Quad Guns are distinctively heavier: Making ships with many heavy guns will need more trade offs. This was especially needed now, that we added quad guns and the huge guns of 19-inch and 20-inch caliber.
More resilient Destroyers and Torpedo Boats: The hull damage that DD and TB can receive is increased, so they are not so rapidly destroyed in gun fights.
New Missions
Conflict in the Tsushima strait: A battle that resembles the historical battle of Tsushima featuring large fleets for both sides. You take the side of the Japanese fleet vs a large Russian fleet composed by many but rather outdated battleships. Will you reinforce your fleet with advanced battleships or will you invest on numerous fast cruisers, in order to defeat the stronger -in numbers- enemy?
German wrath at North Sea: It is 1913 and the powerful British fleet amasses near the vicinity of the German ports at North Sea. As the British are divided into two groups, you decide to attack and gain a temporary territorial advantage. You will have to choose whether to build Battleships, Battlecruisers or Heavy Cruisers to reinforce your attacking fleet, utilizing a rather limited budget. The British fleet is superior but your own forces can triumph via better tactics and by investing in the most suitable technologies.
Prevail in the Mediterranean: It is 1941, near the cape Matapan, south of Greece, where a British and an Italian fleet prepare to fight each other. You are in command of the Italian fleet and you must defeat the enemy without taking heavy losses. Your fleet of cruisers and destroyers can be reinforced either by a few strong battleships, or multiple cruisers of various types, that you will design.
France vs Germany: Create a successful striking force made of French modern ships of the 1940s and defeat a strong German fleet which has as a flagship a humongous super battleship of the H-class.
Other
Lastly, we have fixed various errors and inconsistencies, related with the Auto-Design system. Hulls created by the AI should be effective and good looking, with consistency. The patch is still under development, but close to completion. We will notify you when it is about to be released.
Thank you for reading,
The Game-Labs Team