Global
------

- Increased detection range of Vehicle Detection abilities from 100 to 150m.*

- Reduced range of FOW detection abilities for AT Gun teams to 150m.*


Germans (Westfront / OKW)
-------------------------

- Added Vehicle Detection ability to Fallschirmjäger Panzerjäger teams.

- Added Vehicle Detection ability to Volksgrenadier Panzerjäger teams, unlockable at Vet level 1.**

- Fallschirmjäger Panzerjäger teams now have the Smoke Grenade ability, which replaces the Stick Grenade ability.

- Increased squad size of Fallschirmjäger sMG section from 4 to 5 members.

- Volksgrenadier Panzerjäger teams now have the Smoke Grenade ability, which replaces the Stick Grenade ability.


Known Issues
------------

-Fallschirmjaeger squads for Ostfront Germans have no speech.


Designer Notes
---------------

* Should be at a good place now. Significant enough to allow a player to quickly prepare for an imminent attack or set up an ambush but not far enough to stretch over most maps and give too much of an advance warning. For AT Guns, this is to correct an oversight on my part, as the gun crews had an "extended sight" range of 350m as standard and could detect all units ...not just vehicles. This should be far more balanced now.

** The reason for the Vet 1 requirement has to do with the fact that most Volksgrenadiers had only the most basic of training to get them to the front as quickly as possible. In this case, training in the use of the Panzerschreck was about the only specialized training these troops received. That said, battlefield experience would teach them to recognize the sounds of enemy vehicles, hence the vet requirement.

Global
------

- Increased range of Vehicle Detection abilities from 90 to 100.


Americans
---------

-Bazooka Teams now have a Vehicle Detection ability that unlocks at Veteran Level 1.*


Soviets
-------

-AT Rifle Teams now have a Vehicle Detection ability.**

-AT Rifle Teams now have an RGD-1 Smoke Grenade ability, which replaces the RGD-33 Frag Grenade ability.**


Known Issues
------------

-Fallschirmjaeger squads for Ostfront Germans have no speech.


Designer Notes
---------------

* Bazooka Teams, as far as my research indicates, had little specialized training in tank killing, with the exception of being given basic instructions as to how to actually operate the 60mm M1 Launcher and being told to wait for the enemy tanks to get close before firing. The Bazooka was treated by the Army as a last-resort means of defending against tanks and it really showed: Casualties amongst Bazooka teams in Europe were fairly high. That being said, Bazooka teams that prevailed against enemy armor soon learned to recognize the sounds of enemy vehicles in the distance so they could more effectively deal with them.

** I felt it only reasonable to give these abilities to AT Rifle Teams, given that Soviet AT troops were actually good at what they did - despite the limited effectiveness of their specialized rifles and the short range of their AT grenades. They were bold and ingenious hunters and it helped that they had decent training and equipment to allow them to do so.

Germans (Ostfront / Wehr)
-------------------------

- Increased Panzerschreck upgade limit for Panzergrenadiers from 3 to 9.


Germans (Westfront / OKW)
-------------------------

- Increased Panzerschreck upgade limit for Panzergrenadiers from 3 to 9.


Soviets
-------

- Updated some code for 45mm M1942 AT Guns to help in allowing them to be destroyed properly.

British
-------

- Reduced the speed modifier for Comet tanks when moving on open roads to match that of other tanks.*

- Reduced the top speed for Churchill tanks slightly.

- Tuned the turning behavior of Churchill tanks to match that of other tanks.


Germans (Ostfront / Wehr)
-------------------------

- Added a mounted Panzergrenadier squad as a Divisional Support option for Panzerkompanie.


Germans (Westfront / OKW)
-------------------------

- Added a mounted Panzergrenadier squad as a Divisional Support option for Panzerkompanie.


Known Issues
------------

-Fallschirmjaeger squads for Ostfront Germans have no speech.


Designer Notes
---------------

* This should bring the Comet's top speed to just under the Cromwell's when on open road. While using the same engine as the Cromwell, the Comet had a slightly lower top speed due to the engine being fitted with a speed governor. This was due to the fact that the Cromwell, while being very fast for a tank, had a tendency to shed its tracks when turning at high speed. This was partly corrected by changing the running gear layout for the Comet, but apparently that fix wasnt enough...hence the governor.

HOTFIX:
-----------

- Addressed an issue where German leIG 18 guns weren't doing damage due to corrupt weapon files.

-Addressed a requirement bug where SdKfz 251/8 ambulance halftracks were not made available to armored Panzergrenadier companies.

-Added a smoke barrage ability to German Light Infantry Gun teams.

Global
------

- Mortar HE Barrage abilities now have a munitions cost.

Americans
---------

- 50 Cal Heavy Machine Guns now have a 10% chance of inflicting an instant death critical on every hit when firing on infantry.

- Reduced auto-attack range of 75mm Pack Howitzer to 120m. Barrage ability remains unchanged.


British
-------

- Increased damage of Land Mattress HE rockets to 152.

- Increased range of Land Mattress rockets to 320m.

- Land Mattress HE barrage ability now costs 260 Munitions to fire and fires a 30 round barrage.

- Reduced auto-attack range of 75mm Pack Howitzer to 120m.

- Reduced HP of all Carriers from 300 to 200.


Germans (Ostfront / Wehr)
-------------------------

- Added a replacement tank crew squad for Panzerkompanie (available as a Company Support option). Note: Capped at one squad.*

- Increased delay (after the marker smoke drop expires) of Stuka Dive Bomb Strike from 10 to 15 seconds. Increased ability recharge time to 120 seconds.

- Increased direct fire / auto-attack range of 7.5 cm leIG 18 to 120m.

- Motorized Erkunder (scout) squads should now dismount from their kubelwagens as 4 man teams as intended.

- Panzergrenadiers now benefit from a "tank awareness" perk, allowing them to detect the presence of enemy vehicles in FOW.**

- Reduced fuel cost of Sd.Kfz 222 and 223 Scout Cars to 10.

- Reduced cap of Motorized Erkunder units to 3.

- Reduced HP of Kubelwagens from 300 to 200.

- Sd.Kfz 251/8 Ambulance Halftrack is now available as an HQ option to Panzer companies.***


Germans (Westfront / OKW)
-------------------------

- Added a replacement tank crew squad for Panzerkompanie (available as a Company Support option). Note: Capped at one squad.*

- Increased direct fire / auto-attack range of 7.5 cm leIG 18 to 120m.

- Panzergrenadiers now benefit from a "tank awareness" perk, allowing them to detect the presence of enemy vehicles in FOW.**

- Reduced cap of Motorized Erkunder units to 3.

- Reduced fuel cost of Sd.Kfz 222 and 223 Scout Cars to 10.

- Reduced range of Flammpanzer 38(t)'s flamethrower from 60 to 40m.

- Reduced HP of Kubelwagens from 300 to 200.

- Sd.Kfz 251/8 Ambulance Halftrack is now available as an HQ option to Panzer companies.***

Soviets
-------

- DP and DT Light Machine Guns (Tank MGs) now have a 5% chance of inflicting an instant death critical on every hit when firing on infantry.

- DShK Heavy Machine Guns now have a 10% chance of inflicting an instant death critical on every hit when firing on infantry.

- Maxim Heavy Machine Guns now have a 5% chance of inflicting an instant death critical on every hit when firing on infantry.

- Reduced fuel cost of Ba-64 Scout Car to 5.

- Removed ramming ability from T-34's.****


Known Issues
------------

-Fallschirmjaeger squads for Ostfront Germans have no speech.


Designer Notes
---------------

* This is a largely experimental change that was requested by a couple of people, so only Germans get it for now (Germans being the defacto "guinea pig" faction). If this proves popular enough, I'll happily extend this to other factions that get tank companies.

** Panzergrenadiers were more than just infantry with their own means of transport - they also had a very particular function that they were trained for. Their job was to act as a forward screen for friendly armor, neutralizing AT teams that could pose a threat to said armor, attacking enemy-held positions where the Panzers couldn't go and securing any and all gains made by the Panzers by digging in and holding the line as needed. It was also their job to look for and help deal with any vehicle threats that the Panzers might have missed. As such, they were trained to keep an ear out for the slightest hint of enemy armor. As such they had particularily keen vehicle detection skills.

*** Although not high in terms of manpower, the panzer companies still had a need for an armored ambulance that could retrieve wounded crewmen under adverse conditions, a role that the Sd.Kfz 251/8 served well due to its decent mobility, protection and carrying capacity.

**** It's time to debunk a huge myth perpetuated for far too long by badly informed armchair "historians" and fanboys. During 1941, T-34 and KV-1 crews did indeed use ramming tactics against German tanks...but only out of dire necessity due to 2 critical factors. 1. A very severe shortage of 76mm AP ammo available to tanks at that time and 2. many T-34's and KV-1's built during that time period didn't have properly sighted guns, making the otherwise potent 76mm F-34 gun all but useless at standard combat ranges due to attrocious inaccuracy. That being said, these 2 problems were resolved from early 1942 onwards and the last recorded instance of T-34's engaging in ramming attacks was during the massive, vicious, close quarters tank battle that raged at Prokhorovka in 1943 during Operation Citadel, where some Soviet T-34 commanders were ordered to deliberately charge German Tigers in an attempt to offset the latter's superior range and firepower. All that being said, ramming is gone and it's not coming back.

British
-------

- "Land Mattress" call-in should now work as intended.

Global
------

-Gaining Vet levels now increases the camo detection range of units by 10m per level of vet gained, up to a maximum of +30m.*

-Increased the HP of some larger ambient buildings.


Americans
---------

-Tweaked AA Mode for the M16 MMGC to make it more reliable at tracking and shooting down aircraft.


Soviets
-------

-Replaced Conscript Repair Kit unlock with a Reserve Platoon call-in that deploys a full Rifle Platoon of regular infantry - regardless of what type of company you have.

-Replaced Scout SMG Squads as a Regimental Support option for Tank Companies with a Motorized Scout Team. The team is composed of an M3A1 Scout Car and a 4-man Scout SMG team.**

-Tweaked AA Mode for the ZSU-M17 MMGC to make it more reliable at tracking and shooting down aircraft.


Known Issues
------------

-Fallschirmjaeger squads for Ostfront Germans have no speech.


Designer Notes
---------------

* More experienced troops were better at spotting concealed threats, so it seems reasonable to add this bit of realism to the mod.

** The Lend-Lease M3A1 was used most notably as a transport for the "Razvedki" - the SMG-armed scout troops of the RKKA. In this instance, while the scout teams were generally smaller due to the restricted interior space of the M3A1, the unit as a whole had decent firepower, speed and protection - important qualities for a unit scouting ahead of an armoured formation.

Global
------

-Removed Attack Ground from Flamethrowers.


Americans
---------

-M8 Scout Car now has the Smoke Pots ability (identical to M20 Radio Car's ability).*


Germans (Ostfront / Wehr)
-------------------------

-Sd.Kfz 222 Armored Scout Car now comes with a Smoke Screen ability as standard.*

-Sd.Kfz 223 Armored Radio Car now comes with a Smoke Screen ability as standard.*


Germans (Westfront / OKW)
-------------------------

-Sd.Kfz 222 Armored Scout Car now comes with a Smoke Screen ability as standard.*

-Sd.Kfz 223 Armored Radio Car now comes with a Smoke Screen ability as standard.*


Soviets
-------

-Ba-64 Armored Scout Car now comes with a Smoke Screen ability as standard.*

-Increased cost of KV-1 Tanks to 500 MP.**

-Increased cost of KV-2 Tank to 710 MP.**

-Increased cost of KV-8 Flamethrower Tank to 460 MP.**

-Increased cost of Ba-64 Scout Car slightly to 130 MP. In addition, the vehicle now comes with a Smoke Screen ability as standard.*

-Infantry squads can now throw RG-42 grenades.***


Known Issues
------------

-Fallschirmjaeger squads for Ostfront Germans have no speech.


Designer Notes
---------------

* Smoke canisters, smoke pots and other simple smoke laying devices were standard issue with these vehicles.

** The updated costs include the crew. Forgot them in the last update.

*** Although technically a frag grenade, the RG-42 had a fairly substantial blast effect, hence, its inclusion.

Global
------

-Increased baseline accuracy for most non-German infantry to 58%.

-MP cost of all armored vehicles now takes into account the cost of the vehicle's crew, not just the vehicle itself. This includes armored halftracks.


Americans
---------

-T26E3 Pershing now benefit from an external intercom system, which grants a 10% bonus to accuracy and sight when friendly infantry are nearby.*


British
-------

-A22F Churchill Tanks now benefit from an external intercom system, which grants a 10% bonus to accuracy and sight when friendly infantry are nearby.**

-A34 Comet Tanks now benefit from an external intercom system, which grants a 10% bonus to accuracy and sight when friendly infantry are nearby.**

-A27M Cromwell Tanks now benefit from an external intercom system, which grants a 10% bonus to accuracy and sight when friendly infantry are nearby.**

-Increased accuracy of hull MG's on tanks by 16%. Increased baseline far accuracy from 15% to 33%***

-Reduced rotation rate of the A34 Comet Tank from 30 to 20, to match that of the Cromwell. Increased turret traverse speed slightly from 15 to 20.


Germans (Ostfront / Wehr)
-------------------------

-Lowered suppression rate and radius of hull mg's by 50%. Increased baseline far accuracy from 15% to 33%.***

-Lowered vet level requirement for StuH 42's HEAT Round ability from level 2 to level 1.

-Sector Artillery now counts as a "super" ability and affects adjacent sectors as well, with a 5 second delay between each shot. Scatter increased from 5 to 10m and ability cost increased to 300 Mu.


Germans (Westfront / OKW)
-------------------------

-Lowered suppression rate and radius of hull mg's by 50%. Increased baseline far accuracy from 17% to 38%.***

-Lowered Vet level requirement for StuH 42's HEAT Round ability from level 2 to level 1.


Known Issues
------------

-Fallschirmjaeger squads for Ostfront Germans have no speech.


Designer Notes
---------------

* The Pershing, unlike the M4 Sherman, had this is as a standard, purpose-built feature.

** According to some research and a few vehicle walk-around vids, it turns out that a external telephone patch-in to the tank's intercom system was a standard feature on most British-built tanks, starting with the Maltida in 1940 (which makes sense considering its role as an infantry support tank) and showed up even on the late-war Comet. They even field fitted some of their Sherman IV's and V's with similar gear before and after the Normandy landings.

*** Unlike the hull MG's of most tanks, which relied on either tracer rounds and a periscope (U.S.), a small vision port over the gun barrel (Soviet) or a small vision port next to the gun barrel fitted with a monocular sight with a very narrow field of vision (Germans), British hull MG mounts had, comparitively speaking, generous optics that had a good field of view that allowed for quicker target acquisition and fairly accurate fire. While German hull mg mounts allowed for fairly accurate fire even at long distances, the small scope's field of view made it hard to find targets.