Hello!

This week's DevBlog is delivered to you quite earlier than usual, but we thought you wouldn't want to wait for Friday to get it ... ;)

Get ready for fresh battlefields for WARNO! A new patch is coming in hot today, delivering a bunch of new content, first and foremost two new maps (and an update to an existing one): Mount River and Two Lakes, with a new single-player version of Death Row.

There is more, of course. Be sure to check out the patch notes below, as the new maps are not the only thing being brought to WARNO.

Let’s take a closer look at the new environments and their defining features.

Mount River

Number one on our list is Mount River with its 83 square km² designed specifically for intense 3vs3 player combat encounters. The battlefield features a kill zone with three lakes in the center of the map. These bodies of water create several chokepoints, which need to be securely controlled by any battlegroup if they wish to advance.

Mount River has quite a bit of varied terrain, including plateaus, forests, a smattering of urban areas scattered throughout. If you want to dominate the opponent, take time and care to investigate the topology to see which ones can be used to gain an advantage over the enemy.

Lastly, the western part of the map is favorable to a flanking maneuver, allowing you to bypass the frontline in one fell swoop. Following this strategy might be risky, though it can drastically tilt the battle in your favor if executed well.

Two Lakes

Next up is the new Two Lakes, which is a default 2vs2 map. Narrower compared to Mount River, it has two towns in the center, surrounded by fields, which can be turned into easily defendable points. Around this central area, dense woodlands are to be found, which turns everything into a giant kill zone. You have to control this wooded “U” shape properly if you want to keep the initiative on this part of the map.

It might not come as a surprise that each side needs to secure the town closest to the central kill zone as quickly as possible, and hold on to block any enemy advance.

Single Player Death Row

We have also updated one of the existing maps with a new single-player variant: Death Row. This was hotly requested by the community. The version is specifically designed to be played in 1vs1 mode (against AI). The actual playable area of Death Row has been shrunk, delivering a more intense and focused battlefield.

One of the major advantages of WARNO’s Early Access is that we can quickly iterate on our player's feedback, which allows for more experimental and varied gameplay. The game keeps not only growing but also evolving. Keep sharing those comments and let us know what you think of Death Row’s new playing area and 1v1 map variant!

DAVOUT Update

As you know, the next milestone - DAVOUT - is coming soon. It is nearly ready, and its content will be delivered to the Strike team before the end of the week. They will perform the very necessary crash testing, before we will ship it to you (likely next week).

Patch notes

FEATURES:

• finalized the transport selection interface in the deck editor
  
• transports can now use the smart orders of the units they transport. For instance, an unarmed transport can Seize a location if it transports infantry
  
• added a time limit option to lobbys : 20, 30, 40, 60 minutes or "No time limit"
  
• added an option "[Tactic] Minimalist Target Infos" that allows to reduce the quantity of informations displayed on the targeting cursor. The option is turned off by default.
  
• added the number of the identical weapons in the unit info panel. For instance, M1 Abrams displays "M240 x2" instead of "M240".
  
• added "Reveal influence" in the unit info panel. It indicates which units can reveal the influence of commanders in the commandement zones.
  
• stun effect doesn't prevent from moving anymore
  

FIXES:

• various localization fixes
  
• fixed the doublon M113 transport for 8ID's Fire Teams.
  
• fixed Rangers' optics.
  
• fixed some M151's price/HP which had been ommitted in the previous truck/jeep generic changes.
  
• fixed some helicopters' anti-plane (gun!) range.
  
• fixed a bug where a missile would go through the target without damaging it, occuring when the distance between shooter and target was too short
  
• fixed a bug occuring when giving a right-click attack order on bombers
  
• fixed winchester evacuation not working as intended for some planes
  
• fixed units getting stuck in "Leaving District" state if the building got destroyed during their exit
  
• fixed infantry being visible in destroyed transports
  
• fixed AA unnecessarily moving when targeting helicopters
  
• fixed a rare case where a command unit could leave a zone without losing ownership if it stayed very close from the border of the zone for a long time before leaving
  
• fixed being able to use a smart order through the shortcut even though it wasn't available for the selected unit
  
• fixed missiles sometimes going through their target when they were fired too close
  
• fixed being able to spawn helicopters in forests. This also fix the permanent furtivity bonus they would gain from a forest spawn.
  
• fixed in-game player list not compatible with 10v10
  
• fixed bombers being able to bomb flying helicopters
  
• fixed ECM not being applied properly. Previously : 20% of ECM against a 50% accuracy missile would reduce its accuracy to 50%-20%=30%. Now : 20% of ECM against a 50% accuracy missile will reduce its accuracy by 20% to (100%-20%)*50%=40%
  
• fixed manual orders sometimes being ignored because of Rules of Engagement. Manual orders should now always work independently of RoE settings.
  
• fixed destroyed buildings having a black outline
  
• fixed not being able to use the advanced deployment of recon units when in transports
  
• fixed a performance issue that would get worse the longer the game goes when AI (or smart orders of a real player) tried to unload an helicopter. Note that AI still can't unload helicopters : this will be fixed in a later patch.
  
• fixed infantry commanders being able to capture command zone from inside their transports. They now need to unload before capturing.
  
• UI performance slighlty improved
  

GENERIC:

• decreased 107/120mm mortars' RoF
  
• standardized CV units' optics.
  
• standardized helicopters' optics.
  
• repricing of transport helicopters over the board (Mi-8, UH-60, UH-1, ...)
  
• infantry AT weapons (RPG/bazookas) now are more efficient (no AP changes, but damage calculation same as WRD)
  
• MMG & HMG can now engage helicopters
  

WARPAC:

• renamed Su-24M [CLU]'s RBK 500 into RBK 250 bombs (which stats/price they already had)
  
• renamed Su-25 [CLU]'s RBK 500 into RBK 250 bombs (which stats/price they already had)
  
• standardized Grom/SPG-9 at 1500m range, 35 ACC & 14 HEAT
  
• renamed "Konkon-M" into "Kokon"
  
• Mi-8T (transport) can't be refunded (just like Bradleys)
  

NATO:

• added HE round to M67 RCL
  
• replaced the M113 ACAV's M6 RCL with the proper M40A1 fitting its model
  
• increased M1 ABRAMS's price from 140 to 150
  
• increased M1 ABRAMS CMD's price from 240 to 250
  
• decreased REDEYE's price from 25 to 20

See you on the battlefield!

We are very hard at work on our upcoming updates, including DAVOUT and MURAT, but as we explained previously, we just need a little bit more time to get everything in tip-top shape.

Join the awesome (and passionate) growing WARNO community. You can check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Join the excellent Discord server, the new Reddit page and Instagram.

See you on the (new) battlefield!