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

-Grenadier squads now throw multiple stick grenades instead of just one.

-Increased Tiger I Ace's sight radius from 60m to 65m.

-Panzergrenadier Sturmgruppe now require 3 Command Points to field.*

-Updated squad formations for Grenadier squads.**


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

-Panzergrenadier and Volksgrenadier Sturmgruppe now require 3 Command Points to field.*

-Updated squad formations for Volksgrenadier squads.**

-Volksgrenadier squads now throw multiple stick grenades instead of just one.


Soviets
-------

-Fixed a discrepancy where Prioritize Fire had no effect on an IS-2 Obr. 1944 if HE rounds were selected.

-Increased Command Point requirements for IS-2 Platoon call-in to 13 CP's.

-Increased Command Point requirements for ISU-152 Platoon call-in to 14 CP's.

-Tank companies now benefit from a weapons support building. Tank Rider teams and a modest supply of 76mm ZiS-3 Field Guns can be requisitioned from here.***


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

* Squads armed solely with assault rifles are pretty powerful early game (even moreso than SMG teams) and tend to be picked before regular squads, despite their significantly higher cost. That said, I figured it would be reasonable to delay their use a little with CP's.

** Yes, the formations they use now are historically accurate. In most combat situations, the squads will assume an extended skirmish line formation with the MG gunner in the middle and the squad leader leading the way. In narrow areas, the squad leader leads the way with the MG gunner dirrectly behind, with the remainder of the squad trailing behind and the section leader taking up the rear of the column.

*** The 76mm gun teams acquired from this building are trained for and DEDICATED to the anti-tank role. As such, they cannot be used as artillery and thus lack the artillery barrage ability. Sorry but no, that ability will not be unlockable for that gun team.

Germans (Ostfront / Westfront)
-----------------------------------------

-Added Kubelwagen teams as HQ options for Panzer companies.

Global
------

-Added minimum weapon range for tank guns in tooltips.*

-Flamethrowers now have a declining chance of forcing a crew bail-out: The larger the vehicle, the lower the chance.

-Reduced HP of all aircraft from 400 to 300.


Americans
---------

-WP grenades now have a declining chance of forcing a crew bail-out: The larger the vehicle, the lower the chance.


British
-------

-Churchill AVRE should no longer be able to fire into fog of war.

-WP grenades now have a declining chance of forcing a crew bail-out: The larger the vehicle, the lower the chance.


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

-Blendkorper grenades now have a declining chance of forcing a crew bail-out: The larger the vehicle, the lower the chance.

-Brandenburger call-in now requires 3 Command Points.

-Decreased speed of Sturmpanzer IV from 5.25 to 5

-Decreased speed of Panzer IV's from 5.5 to 5.25

-Increased speed of Jagdpanzer IV from 5.25 to 5.5

-Increased speed of Jagdpanzer 38(t) from 5.6 to 5.8

-Reduced AoE damage on the outer edges of the explosion for SC-50 bombs by 50%.

-Updated Supply Drop ability to have a 2 minute cooldown down.


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

-Blendkorper grenades now have a declining chance of forcing a crew bail-out: The larger the vehicle, the lower the chance.

-Decreased speed of Sturmpanzer IV from 5.25 to 5

-Decreased speed of Panzer IV's from 5.5 to 5.25

-Increased speed of Jagdpanzer IV from 5.25 to 5.5

-Increased speed of Jagdpanzer 38(t) from 5.6 to 5.8

-Reduced AoE damage on the outer edges of the explosion for SC-50 bombs by 50%.


Soviets
-------

-Reduced AoE damage on the outer edges of the explosion for rockets and bombs employed IL-2 Sturmovicks by 50%.


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

* For those unfamiliar or new to the mod, all tank guns have a minum firing range. Heavy caliber HE rounds have a particularily high minimum range, partly to prevent the vehicle from damaging itself.

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

-Added a Jagdpanzer 38(t) tank destroyer as a Divisional Support option for Grenadier companies.*


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

-Added a Jagdpanzer 38(t) tank destroyer as a Divisional Support option for Volksgrenadier companies.*


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

* It's not perfect (incorrect gun mantle and lack of proper muzzle fx) but it works and does its job well. Compared to the StuG III, it's a bit harder to hit due to its small size, is slightly faster and has decently sloped frontal armor that will bounce most AP rounds at least 50% of the time. However, it doesn't have enough HP to allow it to take more than 2 penetrating hits from most guns.

Note: it won't be getting a top MG until the model is fixed / updated. Historically, the MG was operated by the Loader from INSIDE the vehicle via a special periscope mount with hand grips that allowed 360 degree traverse and a small amount of elevation and depression. At any rate, many of the first batch of Jagdpanzer 38(t)'s didn't have an MG mounted due to production delays with the remote MG mount, so the hole for the mount was blanked off. A number of these vehicles were subsequently refitted with MG mounts when supplies were available.

Germans (OKW)
-------------

-Added in a "safeguard" requirement for the Company Support building in case the Luftwaffe Ground Forces doctrine is chosen BEFORE selecting either a Heer or Waffen-SS Kamfgruppe.*


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

* Even though picking Heer or Waffen-SS beforehand gives you access to the buildings you need, picking Luftwaffe beforehand did not. This is to ensure that players (human and AI alike) will actually HAVE a Company Support building to build units from and unlock other buildings with. Otherwise, you'd be stuck with nothing but Pioneers!

Having that doctrine lockout Heer and Waffen-SS is actually accurate - considering that the Luftwaffe was a completely seperate branch of the German military.

Global
------

-Engineer units now take twice as long to build items when under fire.


Americans
---------

-Lowered veteran level requirements slightly for all units.


Germans (Ostheer)
-----------------

-Added an additional build tab for engineer units. Any and all "built" / emplaced weapons (such as on-map artillery, heavy AT guns and AA weapons) can be found here.*

-Reduced speed of StuG III / Panzer IV-based vehicles to 50% when moving through mud or deep snow.**

-Substantial improvements made to the AI. The AI should now be more reliable in terms of constructing production buildings, pursuing tech, and requisitioning appropriate units.


Germans (OKW)
-------------

-Added an additional build tab for engineer units. Any and all "built" / emplaced weapons (such as on-map artillery, heavy AT guns and AA weapons) can be found here.*

-Reduced speed of StuG III / Panzer IV-based vehicles to 50% when moving through mud or deep snow.**

-Substantial improvements made to the AI. The AI should now be more reliable in terms of constructing the recently introduced production buildings, pursuing tech, and requisitioning appropriate units.


Soviets
-------

-Added an additional build tab for engineer units. Any and all "built" / emplaced weapons (such as on-map artillery, heavy AT guns and AA weapons) can be found here.*

-Increased Command Point requirement for Valentine IX tanks from 4 to 5 CP's.


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

* I'll keep this for Red Army Engineers and German Pioneers for now. The amount of things that need building for their factions justifies this, and I like the idea of keeping Brits and Americans a little different in terms of what their builder units can do.

** While they provided a decent grip in most environments, the narrow tracks of these vehicles weren't well suited for soft terrain.

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

Ostheer:

-Fixed an issue where Waffen-SS kampfgruppe were not having all their intended MG and Mortar support teams unlocked when chosen.

OKW:

-Fixed an issue where Waffen-SS kampfgruppe were not having all their intended MG and Mortar support teams unlocked when chosen.

-Fixed an issue where motorized SS-Panzergrenadiers didn't have their intended MG42's and abilities.

Global
------

-Cleaned up the Global Unit Control area a bit more.

-Increased aiming times for tank guns, depending on gun caliber and gun sights used (from 1.5 seconds up to a maximum of 5 seconds).*

-Removed post-firing aim time for all tank guns.**


Americans
---------

-Updated movement profiles for tanks based on the M4 chassis so that they turn in somewhat wider circles.***


British
-------

-Updated movement profiles for tanks based on the M4 chassis so that they turn in somewhat wider circles.***


Germans (Ostheer)
-----------------

-Updated movement profiles for tanks based on the Panzer IV chassis so that they turn in somewhat wider circles.***


Germans (OKW)
-------------

-Updated movement profiles for tanks based on the Panzer IV chassis so that they turn in somewhat wider circles.***


Soviets
-------

-Changes to Defensive Tactics Commander. Replaced Guards Company unlock with a KV-2 call-in.

-Closed the hatch for the KV-2.

-Increased Command Point requirements for call-in 120mm Mortar Teams from 2 to 4 CP's.

-Updated movement profiles for heavy tanks so that they turn in somewhat wider circles.***


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

* Besides adding a bit more realism to the mod, this should make it easier to react to and pull infantry out of lethal "surprise" scenarios - such as running a squad around a corner and right into an ISU-152 or a Sturmpanzer IV...and then only to lose that squad .125 seconds later to an HE round to the face.

** Basically, this is a vanilla feature that has guns "linger" on a target even after the target was destroyed, which honestly seems a bit pointless and a waste of time.

*** These vehicles weren't able to pivot on the spot like some other tanks, due to how steering was actually accomplished.

Germans (OKW)
-------------

-Fixed an oversight where if a player picked a Waffen-SS Kampfgruppe and THEN picked either the Luftwaffe Ground Forces Doctrine or Fortifications Doctrine, no Company-level units would be available.


Soviets
-------

-122mm AP rounds now have a higher chance of penning and damaging Tiger II's, Jagdtigers, and Elefants.

Global
------

-Engineer / Pioneer teams are now listed first - when reading from right to left - in the Global Unit Control area (upper right-hand corner) of the screen.

-Reduced duration of sight blocking effects of smoke rounds fired by mortars to match the actual duration of the smoke cloud produced.

-Updated squad AI profiles for core infantry units so that they behave a bit better.

-Updated economy profiles for the AI to include more custom units and a higher preference for infantry-heavy builds.

-Updated ability profiles for the AI to use more custom abilities.

-Updated suppression behaviour tables for all non-emplaced mortar teams. Suppressed mortar teams should now reload much more slowly (4x reload penalty) and fire less accurately (75% penalty to hit / increased scatter).


Americans
---------

-Company Support buildings no longer act as alternate retreat points.*

-M1919 Ammo Rack should now have a hotkey in the build menu grid.


Germans (Ostheer)
-----------------

-Fixed a discrepancy where Artillery Officer call-ins didn't count as Artillery Observer Teams for the purpose of unlocking 10.5cm leFH 18 howitzers.

-sWS Halftrack added as a Regimental Support option. Like its OKW counterpart, it can be converted to serve as a First Aid Station, Repair Depot, or AA Emplacement.**


Germans (OKW)
-------------

-Added a First Aid station upgrade to the HQ.

-Heer and Waffen-SS battlegroups are now chosen by HQ "upgrades" rather than picking an HQ squad that then unlocks relevant units.***

-Players now construct base buildings using Pioneers instead of converting sWS halftracks into base buildings. These buildings now provide units for players.***

-Reduced number of planes called in by Stuka Combat Air Patrol to 2.

-sWS Halftrack conversion "buildings" modified so that they no longer serve as "barracks" for units, but can still serve as a First Aid station, Repair Depot, or AA Emplacement when converted. In addition, up to 3 AA Emplacement conversions can be made.***

-sWS Halftrack moved to Regimental Support.


Soviets
-------

-Added a Weapon Support building, similar in function and cost to the German Heavy Company building. Maxim MG's, 82mm Mortars, AT Rifle Teams, and light AT guns are requisitioned here, instead of from the Regimental Support building.****

-Fixed shorter than intended weapon range for Valentine IX HE rounds.

-Switched out the Maxim HMG's used by the HQ MG Teams for DShK HMG's.

-Tweaked sight range parameters for the KV-2 to match the other KV series vehicles.

-Valentine IX HE rounds no longer injure all garrisoned squads in a trench, bunker, building or vehicle - only squad members within the actual blast radius of the round.


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

* This should allow multiple retreating squads to head straight to the HQ, instead of splitting them up amongst buildings.

** I feel this is fitting, considering that the sWS was originally designed and intended for use on the Eastern Front as the eventual replacement for all existing 3 to 5 ton capacity halftracks being used as transports and towing vehicles.

*** Ostheer has admittedly been getting a lot of love lately, so figured I'd pass on some of their goodies and extra options to the West to give some consistency to teching / escalation, alleviate a couple of requirement issues, and allow for the addition of some other units. Note: The AI is a bit fiddly with the new build order and tech system, so this is a known issue and will be worked on.

**** This is intended to allow Soviet players to requistion support weapon teams at roughly the same time that Germans can to give core infantry better support.