- Aug 11, 2020

Devblog 85

DISCLAIMER: This is literally concept art. It obviously is not final.

Arms Race Concepts

One list to rule them all

Early in development for the Arms Race update, a number of group conversations led to a list of ideas for vehicle variations and prototypes. Not everything has been made public yet, and the list continues to grow and change. We are excited about the future of vehicle warfare and logi in Foxhole!

The Arms Race update meant multiplying the total number of vehicles in the game two to three times. The prototype ‘system’ created some unique fun challenges for me while allowing the opportunity to visually and thematically define the factions more. It was also an opportunity to revisit some old designs that I have wanted to make changes to.

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Open topped vehicles

Mark was interested in the idea of opening up as many vehicles as we could to support the feeling of travelling with your squadmates and allies and seeing that in-game. The most obvious candidate for this was the light utility vehicles and armoured cars. Designing the inside of them, I wanted the Colonial interiors to feel more universal and generic, with the idea being that the Colonials mass-produce and reuse components. They are more likely to have improvised armour on the battlefield which led to the LUV RPG. Wardens interiors on the other hand have more purpose-built variations and armour to appease their sense of ‘aesthetics’.

Tank Armour

The aesthetic differences between factions led to the overall theme that Colonials would use improvised armour/ battlefield armour and the Wardens would have more custom fitted plating.

Mobility

On Warden concepts, you will see the note of ‘add weather treads’ - these new wider treads (on the AC, LT, BT and new Truck) are meant to show that Wardens know how to move in the snow. These armour-plated vehicles are slower on roads but have faster offroad movement. Colonial mobility theming is something you guys will discover for yourself in-game.

The glorious new Armoured Cars/ Tankette

I felt the Italian tankette style really suited Colonial design, Mark wanted a British universal carrier type vehicle (which is technically a tractor). So we met in the middle. The final look supported Mark's push for more open-topped vehicles and the tankette got classified as a variant of the armoured car because its battlefield role overlaps with the AC…. for now. With the new Warden tracked AC, there is now a lot of overlap in these vehicle classes.

Two problems in one, The Colonial Halftrack.

First problem: with Colonial vehicles, most notably the half-track and Armoured Car, I designed the base vehicle to have extra armour already. This was long before the possibility of vehicle variations. We tired EXTRA extra armoured but settled on altering some of the base designs to take off the plating. For the hatrack, this meant redesigning the front/engine. The problem was the stats were staying the same, so it still had to look armoured. I know it’s confusing, but the new Colonial half-track is the new ‘base’ vehicle. The old one is the armoured variant with improved stats. Something similar will happen with the Colonial AC in the near future.

Second problem: a personal vendetta. Specifically, I have never been happy with the overall proportions of the Colonial half-track. When I first designed it a few years ago, I did not have the big picture of the Colonial look down. Anthony and I sat down a while ago and overhauled the proportion of the Colonial (now armoured variant) Halftrack. I am much happier with how it's visually weighted now. Lastly, for those who are wondering, yes the new engine fits under the old armoured plating.

Tiny changes make a big difference.

The original concept for the Warden battle tank was a lot thinner but we ended up widening it because Mark wanted the two factions to have a similar footprint. Since then, in retrospect, I have wanted to make a tiny change to the proportion of the Warden battle tanks. While the overall footprint is unchanged the upper hull has been narrowed slightly so the turret is closer to the side of the hull. This change has completed the look for me and I am very happy with it. Sometimes the concepts are really basic, I drew red lines on render to show Anthony the change I wanted.

On to the new stuff.

The Ballista

It was decided that the Colonials would be really good at knocking stuff down, and the Bulwark can attest to that. I have wanted a Churchill Avre type of tank in-game for a long time. To mix things up we decided to put that gun in the body of a turretless tank. This was to make the gun and vehicle orientation more important. Visually it’s meant to look thick, armoured and heavy. I wanted you to feel like you can take hits from AI or player defences, hit back, and keep going. This was actually one of the easy vehicles to get the design correct. After a meeting with Mark, we knew what we wanted visually.

The Silverhand

This is another tank I have wanted to get in the game for a long time. A twinned gunned vehicle in the theme of a Char B or M3 Lee. This vehicle is supposed to look a step up from the Warden light tank. Where the Flood MK-1 might have other ‘inspirations’ the Silverhand is pure Warden engineering. Warden design is meant to be a bit pompous, they will add their aesthetics into the designs, for better or worse. We tried a few designs for the Silverhand and took more variations closer to completion before choosing the correct one. Inspiration for this vehicle came from the Char B, M3 Lee, Churchill Mk1, and the Neubaufahrzeug.

Coastal Guns

The coastal gun is simple. Since we are in Warden territory it is meant to be a ‘Bulwark era’ defensive battery brought back to working condition by whoever owns it. The design is inspired by the Westgate cannon that will one day find its home, and coastal guns of the ww1 and 2 eras skewing older.

Emplacement guns

Emplacement guns were designed during the trench warfare update but got pushed till now. I started with a redesign of the howitzer. Mark wanted something more permanent, heavier, and older looking to go with the trenches as well as the new way players build and deploy them. Then Mark wanted an FMG variant (aka an AA turret) and an AT gun. We tried various AT gun shields and found references for some really old coastal gun shields that gave us the correct old WW1 feel.