Global
------

-Removing the sight bonus code for Weapon Team Squad Leaders - as for reasons unknown it only benefits German MG teams.*

-Increased the delay whereby WP smoke can start inflicting a possible crew bail-out.


Americans
---------

-Increased the traverse range of the 57mm M1 AT Gun from 80 to 90 degrees.**


British
-------

-Increased the traverse range of the 6 Pounder AT Gun from 60 to 90 degrees.**


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

-Increased the traverse range of the 8.8 cm PaK 43/41 from 40 to 56 degrees.

-Removed Recon Stance from Sniper Teams. Instead, the team's Spotter grants a 2x sight bonus when the team is not moving or the Spotter is not in combat. In addition, the Spotter will NOT fire unless the Team is specifically ordered to fire on a target.

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

-Fixed a bug where Volksgrenadier PaK 40 Gun Teams didn't actually have a proper squad leader.

-Increased the traverse range of the 8.8 cm PaK 43/41 from 40 to 56 degrees.

-Removed Recon Stance from Sniper Teams. Instead, the team's Spotter grants a 2x sight bonus when the team is not moving or the Spotter is not in combat. In addition, the Spotter will NOT fire unless the Team is specifically ordered to fire on a target.

Soviets
-------

-Removed Recon Stance from Sniper Teams. Instead, the team's Spotter grants a 2x sight bonus when the team is not moving or the Spotter is not in combat. In addition, the Spotter will NOT fire unless the Team is specifically ordered to fire on a target.


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

-Barrage abilities for mortars will not work. Still attempting to find a solution.

-Fallschirmjaeger squads for Ostfront Germans have no speech.


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

* Right now the modtools are proving completely useless at finding the cause. Sorry everyone... will have to think of something else.

** Yes, apparently the gun could swing 45 degrees to either side without having to reposition the gun. Not shabby at all.

Global
------

-Fixed a number of typos in various tool tips.

-Platoon leaders and Squad leaders for weapon crews and observer teams now have a significant sight bonus when not moving or engaged in combat.*


Americans
---------

-Added a Sniper as an HQ option for Rifle Companies.

-Reduced reload time for Bazookas slightly.


British
-------

-Picking Nationalities / Regions is now instantaneous.**

-Royal Engineer Rifle Teams now have an Emplacements build menu for all emplaced weapons.

-Picking a Rifle or Motor Company now has time and resource costs equivalent to building a barracks / company support building for other factions and has the same function.**


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

-7.5 cm PaK 40 AT-gun teams can be requisitioned as Divisional Support options. These gun teams are automatically locked out if a doctrine / commander that offers 8.8 cm PaK 43 emplacements is picked.

-An Sd.Kfz. 250/5 Halftrack will automatically be made available as a Divisional Support option if a Doctrine has unlockable leFH 18 howitzers and a Panzergrenadier Kompanie has been chosen. Note: This applies to Heer AND Waffen-SS battlegroups.

-Commanders / doctrines that offer 8.8 cm PaK 43 emplacements in the base game now do so again in the mod.***

-Increased reload time of Sturmpanzer IV's 15cm gun to 25-27 seconds.

-Moved MG Bunkers to Emplacements build menu.

-Reduced certain defensive bonuses for German troops slightly.

-Sd.Kfz. 251/8 Ambulance is now restricted to Mechanized Infantry / Gepanzert Panzergrenadier and Panzer companies only. To compensate, the Steyr 1500A Ambulance is available to Motorized Infantry / regular Panzergrenadier companies now.


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

-7.5 cm PaK 40 AT-gun teams can be requisitioned as Divisional Support options. These gun teams are automatically locked out if a doctrine / commander that offers 8.8 cm PaK 43 emplacements is picked.

-Commanders / doctrines that offer 8.8 cm PaK 43 emplacements in the base game now do so again in the mod.***

-Füsilier Gruppe call-in now requires 4 Command Points.****

-Increased reload time of Sturmpanzer IV's 15cm gun to 25-27 seconds.

-Moved MG Bunkers to Emplacements build menu.

-Reduced certain defensive bonuses for German troops slightly.

-Slight changes to Special Operations Doctrine:

=Doctrine now locks out StuG IV's, Panzer IV's and Tiger I's as Divisional Support options.

=Nachtjager squads will now detect any and all concealed units within LOS out to 60m. Squads capped at 3.

=Replaced Panther Ausf. A as a Divisional Support option with a specialized Ausf. G that can detect any and all concealed units within LOS out to 75m.*****

=Sd.Kfz 251/20 "Uhu" now restricted as a Divisional Support option and capped to a single vehicle. Detection range of the searchlight increased to 250m.******

-Sturm Offizier call-in now requires 2 Command Points.****


Soviets
-------

-Engineers can now construct Gun Pits for use by AT guns.

-Increased reload time of ISU-152's gun to 35 seconds.

-Moved MG Bunkers to Emplacements build menu.

-Removed Observer mode from Valentine IX Tanks. Reduced blast damage from HE shells further.


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

-Barrage abilities for mortars will not work. Still attempting to find a solution.

-Fallschirmjaeger squads for Ostfront Germans have no speech.


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

* Section leaders for most weapon teams (particularily AT Gun and HMG teams) were responsible for directing the fire of the weapon. As such they usually had binoculars to help them find targets of opportunity. I felt it made sense for binoculars to only come into play when the squad itself isn't moving or the squad leader isn't engaged in combat.

** Intended to fix a possible exploit / bug wherein a player could wind up more or less unit choices than intended by queing up multiple Regions / Nationalities.

*** To be honest, while the Jagdtiger is a very cool vehicle, its previous availabilty was a bit too...common, given its scarcity and late war deployment.

**** As these troops are intended for recon use and have scouting abilities, they should be considered Regimental assets like other scout units.

***** Yes, I'm treating it as a Panther equipped with IR sighting equipment. Enjoy.

****** Given that only 60 were ever built (if that) and were used exclusively as command and control vehicles for IR-equipped Panther Platoons, I feel this is quite justified.

Global
---------

-Fixed incorrect CP requirements being displayed for Regimental level buildings.

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

-Update to Elite Troops Doctrine. Replaced the Fragmentation Sleeves unlock with a Fallschirmjaeger Gruppe paradrop call-in.*

-Updated the tooltips for the Rakettenwerfer-Trupp to reflect the correct weapon range (100m).


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

-Updated the tooltips for the Rakettenwerfer-Trupp to reflect the correct weapon range (100m).


Soviets
-------

-Removed AT Grenade Assault from Scout SMG squads.**

-Tweaked RPG-43 HEAT grenades so that their damage can vary from 95 to 190 damage if they hit the target. Penetration reduced from 100mm to 75mm.***


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

-Barrage abilities for mortars will not work. Still attempting to find a solution.

-Fallschirmjaeger squads for Ostfront Germans have no speech.


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

* These Falls have the FG 42 as a standard ranged weapon, not the Kar 98k rifle. The FG 42 was intended to be the primary battle rifle for the FJ's, but their low production numbers meant that only a few units were ever fully equipped with them. I figured that FJ's deployed in special operations would be issued the weapon for combat use, so I included them here. The 2 MG 34's the squad would normally get as standard are available as in-field upgrades, to represent the fact that these weapons would air-drop in seperate containers due to their size.


** This is intended to better solidify the squad's primary role as scouts, rather than fighting infantry - although they can be used as such if need be.

*** The RPG-43 grenade had a hollow charge warhead - and for that to work optimally, it has to detonate at a near-90 degree angle against armor plate. The grenade itself had a mechanism that, when thrown, a cylindrical metal cone was released from the rear of the grenade and held by fabric strips to stabilise flight and increase the likelihood of a 90 degree hit. That being said, the strips didn't guarantee an optimal hit and the grenade was a difficult weapon to use effectively. To represent that, I made the damage more variable.

"But shouldn't you do this with other HEAT warhead weapons like AT rockets?" No, because those were designed to orient the warhead to a more optimal angle on impact before the warhead detonated.

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

-Fixed a bug where destroying an Sd.Kfz. 138/2 Jagdpanzer 38(t) would not leave a wreck.*


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

-Fixed a bug where destroying an Sd.Kfz. 138/2 Jagdpanzer 38(t) or a Flammpanzer 38(t) would not leave a wreck.*

-Volksgrenadier Gruppe and Volksgrenadier Sturmgruppe now have the Grenade Assault ability.


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

-Barrage abilities for mortars will not work. Still attempting to find a solution.


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

* Also frequently and INCORRECTLY referred to as the Hetzer...and this will be the last time you all see me use that name. The German military never called it by that name and neither did personnel in the field. End of story. Same deal goes with the Sturmpanzer IV which has also, for the longest time, been incorrectly and frequently known and referred to as the Brummbar. The only nickname it ever received was that of "Stupa", which is a contraction of the term Sturmpanzer.

Global
------

-Altered flamethrower explosion critical for flamethrower-equipped open top vehicles (Wasp Carrier and Sd.Kfz 251/16) so that the vehicle is considered to be abandoned when it blows up. Increased DoT and AoE effects.*

-Increased sight range of all command tanks from 60 to 70.

-Increased bonuses to sight range for scout troops when using Recon Stance.

-Regular Sprint abilities can now only be triggered after the entire squad has actually arrived on the map and not while it's still in a map entry zone.**


Americans
---------

-Cleaned up arrangement of Heavy Cavalry Company abilities a bit.

-Fixed a bug where Lieutenants couldn't use Officer Charge when pinned or suppressed.

-Fixed a bug where one of the 50 Cal MG's on the M15 AA HT wouldn't fire.

-Moved the UI position for the Defensive Stance ability for Light Machine Gun Sections next to the Hold Fire ability.

-Removed the M1919A6 LMG unlock from the Infantry Company Commander.***

-Removed a rogue, undefined, commander ability that seems to have popped up after the last official patch.

-Standardized Command Point requirements for the T26 Pershing to 12 CP's.

-Slight change for the Mechanized Company Commander: Swapped out the Armored Rifle Squad call-in for a 155m Artillery Barrage.


British
-------

-Fixed a bug where Lieutenants couldn't use Officer Charge when pinned or suppressed.


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

-Increased sight range of Tiger Ace to 80.

-Increased bonuses to sight range for Panzer II Ausf. L when using Recon Stance.

-Increased bonuses to sight range for Sd.Kfz 234/2 Puma when using Recon Stance.

-Panzer-Aufklärungsgruppe (Armored Scout Squad) call-in requirements for Mechanized Assault Doctrine changed slightly. The call-in now requires 4 Command Points instead of 3.****

-Smokescreen abilities unlocked by Panzer Tactician / Smoke Dischargers passive now have a 1-2 second delay before activating the actual LOS and shot-blocking abilities of the smoke cloud.

-Standardized Command Point requirements for the Tiger II to 12 CP's.


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

-Increased bonuses to sight range for Panzer II Ausf. L when using Recon Stance.

-Increased bonuses to sight range for Sd.Kfz 234/2 Puma when using Recon Stance.

-Standardized Command Point requirements for the Tiger II to 12 CP's.


Soviets
-------

-Increased bonuses to sight range for T-70 when using Recon Stance.


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

-Barrage abilities for mortars will not work. Still attempting to find a solution.


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

* This is to prevent instances of the crew bailing out at the very instance that the fuel supply detonates. It's now more like the "brew-up" criticals for certain tanks.

** Sprint abilities for all German infantry and weapon teams are specifically EXEMPT from this requirement due to the "Mission Tactics" trait that German forces, as a general rule, enjoy. "Knowing the plan" should have proper advantages. I'm also aware that some maps have fairly large map entry areas, so if this exemption seems unfair, I'll tweak it.

*** This Commander already has some powerful abilities already, the UI is already a bit crowded, and the M1919A6 was not THAT common a weapon...and there's a reason for that: U.S. infantry tactics revolved around the M1 Garand, in stark contrast to the infantry tactics of other countries. The U.S. saw machine guns as support weapons only. Like the Germans, the British and Soviet military recognized the importance of having an LMG in every infantry squad.

**** This keeps it consistent with the availability of other recon units, which are Regimental options and as such require 4 CP's.


Finally, Relic...please update your tools. I'm working with last year's ID tags and code here and I'm struggling with bugged abilities that I can't fix properly.

Global
------

-Removed Attack Ground capabilities for all mortars.*

-Removed scout car mini-map texture symbols for all ambulance / first aid vehicles.


British
-------

-Changed requirements for the off-map engineer call-in to match that of other races: The call-in now requires a destroyed HQ instead a destroyed Regimental Support building.


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

-Added a Steyr 1500 Ambulance as an HQ option for Grenadier companies (uses the Dodge WC Ambulance model as a placeholder).

-Altered Festung Support Doctrine so that Heavy Artillery Support ability is replaced by a call-in for an Sd.Kfz 251/1 "Stuka zu Fuss".**

-Altered Spearhead Doctrine so that Heavy Artillery Support ability is replaced by a call-in for an Sd.Kfz 251/1 "Stuka zu Fuss".**

-Altered Stuka Bombing Run Ability so that the Stuka drops 4 SD 50 fragmentation bombs instead of 4 SC 50 general purpose HE bombs.

-Czech Hedgehog Tank Traps are no longer locked out when Defensive Doctrine is picked.***

-Removed Command Point requirements for Dragon's Teeth Tank Traps.

-Removed Sd.Kfz 251/1 "Stuka zu Fuss" as a Divisional Support option for Grenadier companies.****


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

-Czech Hedgehog Tank Traps are no longer locked out when Fortifications Doctrine is picked.****

-Removed Command Point requirements for Dragon's Teeth Tank Traps.


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

* The reason behind this is because some players have claimed that mortars have an unfair advantage in being able to Attack Ground into Fog of War. The solution might seem obvious and less draconian...just have Attack Ground work so that you cannot target any ground in the Fog of War. The very real problem is that Attack Ground cannot be made to NOT ignore Fog of War. So the ability to attack ground has been yanked and mortars now rely completely on line of sight. To compensate for the nerf, cooldown times and rates of fire for ALL mortar barrage abilities have been tweaked.

Note: If this change proves to be extremely unpopular / too punishing for these weapon teams, I'll happily revert the change. The goal of the mod ultimately is provide a fair, balanced, and enjoyable gameplay experience for WW2 RTS fans that want historical accuracy and a measure of challenge and realism.

** Considering that this replaces the original Mortar Halftrack call-in, it's a somewhat fitting replacement, given we're talking about a halftrack that lobs high explosives onto targets. Except here the explosives are SIGNIFICANTLY larger!

*** This is intended to give players a faster option for building tank traps: The regular traps are much easier to setup, but Dragon's Teeth are much sturdier and take longer to emplace. The intent is to allow players to set up a temporary line of regular traps to stall enemy tanks while a more elaborate and robust defensive line can be prepared.

**** The vehicle has a more appropriate home now and honestly it never belonged where I had it: I simply put it there temporarily until I figured out an appropriate Commander for it to go to. I use Commanders as a place for players to deploy uncommon / nonstandard units / rare units for given factions and while this vehicle wasn't all that rare, it was technically part of the Armored Pioneer regiments and batteries of them were deployed as needed to support operations in urban environments.

Global
------

-Fixed some erroneous text dealing with requirements.


Americans
---------

-Cammo ability for the M8 and M20 Armoured Cars no long requires veterancy to use.


British
-------

-Cleaned up a few bugged display requirements.

-Unlocking the retreat point abilty on Forward Assembly buildings now only requires a Regimental Support building.


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

-Cammo ability for the SdKfz 234 "Puma" no long requires veterancy to use.

-Stuka Dive Bomb ability now has a 5 second delay between when the smoke flares drop and the bomb run actually starts (which itself takes 10 seconds to complete).*

-Updated some speech lines for the SdKfz 234 "Puma".


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

-Cammo ability for the SdKfz 234 "Puma" no long requires veterancy to use.

-Updated some speech lines for the SdKfz 234 "Puma".


Soviets
-------

-Cammo ability for the T-70 no long requires veterancy to use.


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

* I think that's fair enough warning to get any vehicles and troops out of danger.

I realize some of you out there have a bit of a love / hate relationship with the ability due to the lack of anything to "shoot down" as it were, but think of it as an artillery ability: Because that's actually quite accurate. See, the Stuka played a vital role on the Eastern Front as a form of airborne artillery, being able to drop heavy ordnance on Soviet positions on short notice and at ranges that German heavy guns couldn't reach. After the loss of the the German 6th Army at Stalingrad - and a considerable, irreplaceable amount of heavy artillery to boot - the Stuka was used more and more to compensate for the Army's diminishing heavy gun pool.

Also a point of note: A diving Stuka was a very difficult target to hit, but was somewhat vulnerable in the approach and "pull-out" phase of the attack. That being said, I'm going to try and work out a way by which you might actually get to see and target a Stuka on a dive bomb run. No promises, wish me luck.

HOTFIX
-----------


Germans (Ostfront):
---------------------------


-Fixed an issue where the Stuka Dive Bomb ability wouldn't actually trigger a bomb strike due to a glitch in timing mechanics.

-Increased the targetting radius / scatter zone of the Stuka Dive Bomb ability from 5m to 10m.

-Reduced the blast radius of SC250 bombs from 20m to 15m.


The intent is to make the ability require more careful timing to be effective while still remaining a useful tool for dealing with buildings, emplacements and disrupting attacks. At some point, I'll try and see about increasing the delay between when the ability activates, the warning sound goes off, and the bomb actually hits. For now at least, the ability works and other players have a more obvious warning that they're about to receive 250kg worth of shrapnel and explosives.

Global
------

-Reduced AoE damage for 120mm so that only 15-33% damage is taken outside the point of impact. Increased reload time slightly and reduced firing range by 15%.

-Reduced AoE damage for all bombs so that only 5 - 15% damage is taken outside the point of impact.


Americans
---------

-Lowered cost of 4.2" Mortar emplacements to 700 MP.


British
-------

-Lowered Command Point requirements for the Regimental Support building to 2 Command Points.

-Lowered cost of 4.2" Mortar emplacements to 700 MP. In addition, the emplacement now only requires the Regimental Support building and 4 Command Points.


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

-Increased delay of Stuka Dive Bomb attack ability slightly and added warning smoke.

-Reduced base damage for all Stick Grenades from 150 to 100 at point of impact. Damage falloff increased so that only 15-33% damage is taken outside the point of impact.

-Updated Heavy Artillery Support ability with some code from other off-map artillery abilities to help make it more reliable in terms of functionality.


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

-Reduced base damage for all Stick Grenades from 150 to 100 at point of impact. Damage falloff increased so that only 15-33% damage is taken outside the point of impact.


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

* I've never seen this happen in all my tests and playthroughs, but a couple of people have, in the past and recently, reported that the ability will sometimes only produce the warning smoke...and nothing else. Hopefully this change will finally fix that!