Hell Let Loose News

Hello Everyone,

Update 17 has deployed on all platforms!

This update brings the release of the brand new Tobruk map, Dynamic Sandstorms and some Quality of Life Improvements!


The Second Siege of Tobruk was a short lived battle set in Tobruk - Libya that saw the capitulation of the British defences, within a single day. Set on 20th June of 1942, the Second Siege of Tobruk featured the successful campaign of the Deutsche Afrika Korps against the British 8th Army, as the harsh summer sandstorms rolled in. Aside from the close-quarters combat of the city proper, the map also features various caves, aptly named the “Desert Rat Caves” after the defenders of Tobruk, who were often referred to as the “Rats of Tobruk”.

Tobruk comes with the following game modes:

• Warfare
  
• Offensive British
  
• Offensive German
  
• Control Skirmish

[h2]New Map - Tobruk[/h2]

[h3]Watch the Tobruk Deep-Dive Video Overview:[/h3]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Map Rationale[/h3]
When planning what kind of thematic map we wanted to create, we referred to the existing maps that are currently available to players to help us decide. As a team, we decided that this map could be:

• A desert map that is different to El Alamein yet feels cohesive in nature
  
• An opportunity to provide players with new fighting experiences including: caves, creeks, accessible rooftops and the overall blend of urban and rural areas
  
• A map that incorporates dense urban areas but does not restrict vehicles/armour
  
• A map that has diverse Capture Point themes that contrast each other yet remain thematically cohesive overall

The desert nature of Tobruk has given us the freedom to experiment with the natural topography, allowing us to create interesting natural areas unique to this map. We had concerns about the open flat plains that the desert provides, however, we addressed this issue by utilising natural rock formations and sand dunes which provided cover but retained the authenticity of a believable desert landscape.

Tobruk - High Resolution Tactical Map

[h2]🖱️Full info on Tobruk's Capture Points.[/h2]





[h2]Features[/h2][h3]General[/h3]

• Improvements made to the XP System
  
• Improvements made to the dynamic weather system
  
• Improvements made to the Flamethrower
  

[h3]Maps[/h3]
Tobruk - The following time of day scenarios have been added:

• Morning
  
• Day
  
• Dusk
  

The following game modes have been added for Tobruk:

• Warfare
  
• Offensive British
  
• Offensive German
  
• Skirmish
  

Updated Tobruk themed main menu

Updated Tobruk themed loadout screen

Updated Soviet Practice Range:

• New distant landscape added
  
• Reworked materials
  
• Added new roads and snow details
  

Updated lighting for the Soviet Practice Range:

• A new skybox was added to create a more dramatic morning setting
  
• Tuned fog settings to ensure they worked well with the lighting conditions
  
• Updated HDRI, again tuned so that the specular values are less harsh
  
• Tuned direct lighting settings to be slightly more pink and less intense
  
• Tuned post-processing to add a subtle blue filter
  

[h3]Weather System[/h3]
The technical art team has collaborated closely with the programming team to improve the weather system originally developed for Elsenborn Ridge and Purple Heart Lane. This updated system introduces greater flexibility and adds an extra layer of randomness to the weather patterns. In the previous version, the weather would cycle through various intensities at predictable intervals (e.g. every 2 to 5 minutes), always ending in an extreme setting before cycling back down. The new system alters this behaviour, making it less predictable when an extreme weather event will occur. As with the original system the transitions have a time range and cool down time range, however, from here we can breakdown each of the scenarios to give them separate weighting. We can control how long it will stay at medium compared to heavy or extreme, we can control the maximum amount of occurrences for each scenario. This also means that when it reaches a heavy scenario it can sometimes move back to mild or medium rather than always going to extreme.

As part of our plan to expand the dynamic weather system, we are now able to introduce sandstorms to Tobruk. The sandstorm features four distinct modes, beginning with a light flurry of dust and sand particles and escalating to a full-blown sandstorm. The extreme setting reduces visibility, creating intense dust clouds and particles around the player. These moments offer players an additional layer of dynamic cover, and with the updated system, the occurrence and duration of these events are now less predictable.

Due to the nature of the sand dust and cloud particles the technical art team needed to update how the occlusion system worked. Traditionally the system was handled this way:

• Capture a world aligned top down heightmap
  
• Particles then sample the heightmap using their world position
  
• If the particle’s own height is lower than the sampled heightmap, that particle is occluded/hidden
  

With the updated method we do a small ray-march for each pixel in the direction of its motion. We do this to check the distance that it will get occluded in the future and we use that distance to start reducing the opacity before it reaches the occlusion boundary.



Environment Art - Expression Games

[h3]Flamethrower Buffs[/h3]
The following buffs have been made to the flamethrower to allow it to destroy more buildable structures:

Previous Behaviour - Previously could destroy:

• Garrison
  
• Outpost
  
• Forward Position
  

New Behaviour - Now is able to destroy:

Fuel Node
Manpower Node
Munitions Node
Repair Station
Supply Drop
Ammo Drop
Ammo Box
Supply Box
Explosive Ammo Box
Medic Box
• Garrison
  
• Outpost
  
• Forward Position
  

Based on feedback from the community after the PTE, the following changes have also been made:

• Flamethrower effective range increased from 23m to 35m
  
• Flamethrowers now suppress enemies

[h3]Structure Durability[/h3]
Player built structures now have varying durability levels. These are categorized as Light, Medium and Heavy. Upgrading structures will increase their durability. This will allow us to explore how various weapons interact with different structures.

• Bunker (Tier 1) - Light
  
• Bunker (Tier 2) - Medium
  
• Bunker (Tier 3) - Heavy
  
• Barricade (Tier 1) - Light
  
• Barricade (Tier 2) - Medium
  
• Barricade (Tier 3) - Medium
  
• Hedgehog - Medium
  
• Belgium Gate - Medium
  
• Barbed Wire - Medium
  

[h3]Precision Strike[/h3]
The first change we have made, along with the new structure durability, is that precision strikes can now destroy Light and Medium structures, giving commanders a tool to break through tough enemy defences.

Previous behaviour - Previously could destroy:

• AT Gun
  
• AT Mines
  
• AP Mines
  
• Ammo boxes
  
• Supply Boxes
  
• Medic Boxes
  
• Garrison
  
• Outpost
  
• Forward Position
  
• Fuel Node
  
• Manpower Node
  
• Munitions Node
  
• Repair Station
  
• Supplies
  

New behaviour - Now is able to destroy:

Bunker
Bunker Upgrade 1
Barricade
Barricade Upgrade 1
Barricade Upgrade 2
Hedgehog (US & BRITS)
Belgium Gate (GER & DAK)
Barbed Wire
• AT Gun
  
• AT Mines
  
• AP Mines
  
• Ammo boxes
  
• Supply Boxes
  
• Medic Boxes
  
• Garrison
  
• Outpost
  
• Forward Position
  
• Fuel Node
  
• Manpower Node
  
• Munitions Node
  
• Repair Station
  
• Supplies
  

[h3]New ways to get XP[/h3]
As a first step to promote some positive play, we’ve added more ways for the player to gain XP whilst playing the game as it is intended to be played. These include the following:

• XP for accurate infantry marks/pings
  
• XP for accurate vehicle marks/ping
  
• XP for accurate OP/Garrison Markers
  
• XP for suppressing enemies
  
• XP for kill assists

[h2]General[/h2]

• Recon Outposts layer on top of all other outposts
  
• Player icons may block the ability to click on outposts
  
• The active Outpost icon fails to layer on top of other outposts
  
• Microphone Check Settings Reset After Closing Game
  
• HQ spawn timers freeze while the "Unit Join Request" pop-up is on the screen.
  
• All British helmets sit too high on the character’s head
  
• Aim down sights triggers read/write of the input.ini file multiple times per ADS
  
• A crash will occur after performing a network disconnection and then reconnecting and progressing past the IIS
  

[h2]Map Specific[/h2]
[h3]Sainte-Mère-Église[/h3]
(I8) Additional stone wall on the road
(G4) Deploying on an outpost placed next to the house causes the player to become stuck in the building
[h3]Sainte-Marie-du-Mont[/h3]
(H8) Players can use an Airhead to spawn into an inaccessible area
[h3]Purple Heart Lane[/h3]
(E2) The player can become stuck inside the building after deploying
[h3]Omaha Beach[/h3]
(D6) Players can spawn in a locked building
[h3]Kharkov[/h3]
(F1) Misplaced artillery prevents the player from exiting the seat
(F1) Floating artillery
[h3]Foy[/h3]
(F4) Two buildings are overlapping
[h3]Elsenborn Ridge[/h3]
(H3) The player gets stuck between a sandbag wall and a pile of barrels
(D10) The snow is not blending correctly with the road and ground
(C2) There are wooden boxes and pallets without snow in the open
(HF) (H3) Missing polygon face at the end of a trench network
(H8) Small seam that the user can see out of the game world
(H4) Big snow pile with furniture appears low resolution
(G6) Misaligned snow terrain
(C5) A little bit of snow texture is poking through the roof asset on the interior side.
(C3) The Back face of a rockface that is alongside a road is missing


[h2]Deutsche Afrika Korps[/h2]
Deutsches Afrikakorps: At the helm of the Afrikakorps, command directed sweeping offensives across North Africa. With Tobruk in their sights in June 1942, they launched a coordinated assault to seize the key port and strengthen Axis control. 21. Panzerdivision: As one of the Afrikakorps’ primary armored divisions, the 21st Panzer Division advanced toward Tobruk in June 1942. With tanks at the forefront, they aimed to smash through British defenses and secure the key stronghold. 90. Leichte Afrika Division: The 90th Light Afrika Division operated across North Africa, specializing in fast, flexible warfare. In June 1942, they advanced on Tobruk, tasked with breaking through its defenses and seizing the vital port for the Axis.
[h2]British Eighth Army[/h2]
Eighth Army:Eighth Army Command oversaw pivotal battles throughout the North African Campaign. After the defeat at Gazala, miscommunication led to the Tobruk garrison failing to evacuate in time. This resulted in the formation of an ad hoc defensive force tasked with preventing Axis forces from capturing the port. Cameron Highlanders: The Cameron Highlanders saw action across North Africa, enduring the hardships of desert warfare. In June 1942, they braced for the Axis assault on Tobruk, ready to defend the strategic port against the advancing forces. 1st Armoured Division: The 1st Armoured Division took part in some of the largest armored battles in the Western Desert Campaign. After defeat at Gazala they retreated East, with elements breaking off during the disarray to resupply at Tobruk.
[h2]Long Range Desert Group[/h2]
LRDG:The eyes of the British Eighth Army in North Africa, the Long Range Desert Group tracked Axis movements deep behind enemy lines. This unit supplied vital intelligence to Allied forces, helping to turn the tide of the Western Desert Campaign.

We hope you enjoyed what we brought to the game last year, and we’re excited to share what’s coming next. As Hell Let Loose continues to evolve and grow, our next four major updates bring the following content:

🗺️ Two brand-new maps, in two very different locales.
🔧 A map refresh of Stalingrad, refining the player experience and addressing long-standing performance issues.
⛽ Powerful new vehicles to shift the tide of battle.
🔫 DLC content bringing new thematic cosmetics to further personalise your loadout.
🎉 And much more!

🗒️ Please note that this roadmap highlights just some of the key additions coming to the game. Each update will also include a variety of new content, quality-of-life improvements, and bug fixes. As we progress we’ll be diving deeper into each update to share more details with you all.

📽️ This starts on Friday 21st March 2025, where we will be hosting a live Q&A with the game devs. Keep an eye on our socials this week for more details.
❓ If you would like the devs to answer your questions, be sure to submit them in the Hell Let Loose Discord server or on our Hell Let Loose Reddit.
Question submissions will close on Thursday 20th March.



We are super excited for another year of Hell Let Loose and cannot wait to experience these updates with you. Thank you for your continued support— see you on the frontlines!

Hello All,

Welcome to the PTE for Tobruk! We’ve got a lot of exciting things for you to play around with.

[h3]Map Rotation[/h3]

• Warfare - Morning
  
• OffensiveBRIT - Morning
  
• Warfare - Day
  
• OffensiveGER - Day
  

[h3]Historical Overview[/h3]
The Second Siege of Tobruk was a short lived battle set in Tobruk - Libya that saw the capitulation of the British defences, within a single day. Set on 20th June of 1942, the Second Siege of Tobruk featured the successful campaign of the Deutsche Afrika Korps against the British 8th Army, as the harsh summer sandstorms rolled in. Aside from the close-quarters combat of the city proper, the map also features various caves, aptly named the “Desert Rat Caves” after the defenders of Tobruk, who were often referred to as the “Rats of Tobruk”.

[h3]Map Rationale[/h3]
When planning what kind of thematic map we wanted to create, we referred to the existing maps that are currently available to players to help us decide. As a team, we decided that this map could be:

• A desert map that is different to El Alamein yet feels cohesive in nature
  
• An opportunity to provide players with new fighting experiences including: caves, creeks, accessible rooftops and the overall blend of urban and rural areas
  
• A map that incorporates dense urban areas but does not restrict vehicles/armour
  
• A map that has diverse Capture Point themes that contrast each other yet remain thematically cohesive overall
  

The desert nature of Tobruk has given us the freedom to experiment with the natural topography, allowing us to create interesting natural areas unique to this map. We had concerns about the open flat plains that the desert provides, however, we addressed this issue by utilising natural rock formations and sand dunes which provided cover but retained the authenticity of a believable desert landscape.

Tobruk Hi-Res Tac Map



[h3]Guard Room[/h3]
Starting with the North West of the map, we have the Guard Room Capture Point. This German Capture Point features a bespoke building that was repurposed into a storage space for the upcoming assault, rocky terrain, reinforced buildings and a variety of verticality. As with all Capture Points here, vehicle access is not limited and is aided with the addition of a long open main road and branching dirt pathways.

Tobruk Guard Room

[h3]Tank Graveyard[/h3]
This desolate wasteland known as the Tank Graveyard Capture Point, is the result of a previous German armoured assault attempt on Tobruk which ended in defeat. Now all that remains are the artillery craters and tanks from both factions that lay in ruin. From dead tanks and large craters, to clouds of smoke and exposed rock formations, players have a variety of cover options to aid their advance. Though the result of the terrain proves vehicle navigation to be trickier, the winding paths and deeper terrain provide cover for vehicles for strategic attacks.

Tobruk Tank Graveyard

[h3]Division Headquarters[/h3]
At the South West of the map we have the German makeshift base, the Division Headquarters Capture Point. This Capture Point was a staging ground for the German Forces’ assault on the city. With large rock formations, enterable tents and trench networks, players of all role types are offered a variety of cover.

Tobruk Division Headquarters

[h3]West Creek[/h3]
The next Capture Point revolves around a terrain feature new to Hell Let Loose, desert creeks. With a blend of rocky terrain, sparse foliage and various depths of the creek’s bed, the addition of this themed topology creates unique and interesting gameplay that provides players with the opportunity to utilise different tactics. Though the creek spans roughly 4 sectors in length, the West Creek Capture Point focuses on the widest part of the creek and its surrounding compound and focuses heavily on the more natural elements of the map.

Tobruk West Creek

[h3]Albergo Ristorante Moderno[/h3]
Towards the centre of the map we have a Capture Point that contributes to the dense urban area, Albergo Ristorante Moderno. Whether you’re using the accessible rooftops to utilise the high ground, or using the planks connecting them as a pathway to reach further into the city, the rooftops in the Albergo Ristorante Moderno Capture Point provides players with a fighting experience new to Hell Let Loose.

Tobruk Albergo Ristorante Moderno

[h3]King Square[/h3]
Making up the other half of the dense urban area, the King Square Capture Point mostly comprises second-story buildings and encourages close-quarters battle in the lower courtyard areas. This is a direct contrast to its counterpart Albergo Ristorante Moderno which mainly features single-storey buildings to aid rooftop fighting. We have not limited vehicle access in these urban areas, but instead, have provided many roads and alleys to account for all playstyles. So whether you’re infantry on foot or armour in tanks, this area caters for all play styles.

Tobruk King Square

[h3]Desert Rat Caves[/h3]
Another Capture Point that provides players with a new gameplay experience is the Desert Rat Caves. As the name suggests, this area will allow players to participate in close-quarter battles within a small cave system. This area is full of verticality and does not limit vehicle access in most areas. Players will be able to walk and climb into the caves, offering flanking abilities and other strategies to tactically advance.

Tobruk Desert Rat Caves

[h3]Church Grounds[/h3]
In the heart of Tobruk, we have the Church Grounds Capture Point, which focuses on the area surrounding the church. We decided to not have the church itself in the hard cap to help mitigate against spawn camping, however, the church is fully accessible, including the spire to retain that Hell Let Loose gameplay that appears in other maps.

Tobruk Church Grounds

[h3]Admiralty House[/h3]
Near Tobruk’s harbour, we have the Admiralty House, a large structure that saw a collapse of its western wing after a devastating airstrike. Though the building itself is non-enterable, players will be able to scale the building’s rubble or utilise the facades and walkways in order to take the risk of its exposed rooftop vantage point.

Tobruk Admiralty House

[h3]Abandoned Ammo Cache[/h3]
One of the key attributes of the Abandoned Ammo Cache Capture Point, include the mixture of open desert road for flanking opportunities, and a warehouse that features towering ammo crates both inside and outside to provide strategic cover.

Tobruk Abandoned Ammo Cache

[h3]8th Army Medical Hospital[/h3]
The 8th Army Medical Hospital Capture Point has many enterable buildings for close quarters battle and rooftop access for long range attacks and interesting crossfire opportunities. There are open courtyards to aid tactical advancements, and many flanking opportunities for vehicles.

Tobruk 8th Army Medical Hospital

[h3]Supply Dump[/h3]
This Capture Point provides a lot of verticality with 4 large two storey apartment buildings. Though the apartments are non-enterable, the apartment's walkways are accessible, with stairs to the second storey too. The Supply Sump Capture Point provides a variety of sightlines in all directions and an open courtyard space that allows vehicle access and large towering cover to either attack or help defend the apartment buildings.

Tobruk Supply Dump

[h3]Road to Senussi Mine[/h3]
The next Capture Point is the Road to Senussi Mine. This area features a long open desert road and plenty of verticality from the watch tower, large sand mounds, sand dunes, rock formations and tunnels. The Capture Point tells the story of the British Army who would load supplies onto mine carts, and transport them through the tricky desert landscape with relative ease and speed.

Tobruk Road to Senussi Mine

[h3]Makeshift Aid Station[/h3]
The Makeshift Aid Station Capture Point provides a variety of tactical advantages with the tents and the wide open approach for vehicular assaults. The road networks and dirt track paths also offer the players flanking opportunities.

Tobruk Makeshift Aid Station

[h3]Cargo Warehouses[/h3]
The Cargo Warehouses Capture Point features large enterable warehouses that allow for close quarters combat and also vehicle access. There are also off-road opportunities and a variety of areas that provide flanking opportunities.

Tobruk Cargo Warehouses



[h3]Weather System[/h3]
The technical art team has collaborated closely with the programming team to improve the weather system originally developed for Elsenborn Ridge and Purple Heart Lane. This updated system introduces greater flexibility and adds an extra layer of randomness to the weather patterns. In the previous version, the weather would cycle through various intensities at predictable intervals (e.g., every 2 to 5 minutes), always ending in an extreme setting before cycling back down. The new system alters this behavior, making it less predictable when an extreme weather event will occur.

As part of our plan to expand the dynamic weather system, we are now able to introduce sandstorms to Tobruk. The sandstorm features four distinct modes, beginning with a light flurry of dust and sand particles and escalating to a full-blown sandstorm. The extreme setting reduces visibility, creating intense dust clouds and particles around the player. These moments offer players an additional layer of dynamic cover, and with the updated system, the occurrence and duration of these events are now less predictable.

Heavy Sand Storm GIF

[h3]Flamethrower Buffs[/h3]
Flamethrowers now deal more damage to trucks. Additionally they can now destroy the following items, giving the flamethrower more utility on the battlefield:

• Resource nodes
  
• Supply and ammo crates
  
• Supply and ammo drops
  
• Forward positions
  

U17 Flamethrower Buff

[h3]Structure Durability[/h3]
Player built structures now have varying durability levels. These are categorized as Light, Medium and Heavy. Upgrading structures will increase their durability. This will allow us to explore how various weapons interact with different structures.

• Bunker (Tier 1) --> Light
  
• Bunker (Tier 2) --> Medium
  
• Bunker (Tier 3) --> Heavy
  
• Barricade (Tier 1) --> Light
  
• Barricade (Tier 2) --> Medium
  
• Barricade (Tier 3) --> Medium
  
• Hedgehog --> Medium
  
• Belgium Gate --> Medium
  
• Barbed Wire --> Medium
  

[h3]Precision Strike[/h3]
The first change we have made along with the new structure durability is precision strikes can now destroy Light and Medium structures, giving commanders a tool to break through tough enemy defences.



[h3]Work In Progress[/h3]
These PTE sessions are a way for you as a community to feedback on Hell Let Loose work in progress, which means we can look to implement your feedback before a patch or update is released. Although we can currently only hold public testing sessions on Steam, we encourage everyone to take part to be able to share feedback.

You may encounter some placeholder assets / areas that do not look completely finalised, this is still work in progress but should give you a good idea of how the final map will look / feel

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]

• Airhead can be placed inside a couple of the buildings around the map
  
• Dust storm flickers upon the players spawning after a mass redeploy
  
• Strafing runs are limited where they can be placed on the map in certain orientations
  
• A specific building asset is placeholder in sector E7
  
• Sandbag floating in the sky in sector F6
  
• Seam in the ground seen in Sector H8
  

[h3]Streaming & Recording PTE Sessions[/h3]
You are welcome to both stream and record PTE footage, but as these sessions are showing unfinished work, it’s always good to let your individual communities know that the footage is from a PTE session, where you might encounter unfinished items, bugs and other issues.

[h3]Feedback Questions[/h3]
Once you have completed a game and are ready to provide feedback, please use the forms below!


Check your Steam Library for the Hell Let Loose (Public Testing) application, or re-download it from the Steam store, you’ll want to boot this version up to take part in the PTE!

Once you’re in and have selected a server, you’ll be able to test out the new game map!

Submit Feedback: https://forms.office.com/e/2ts89DtxS9 Share Bug Reports: https://forms.office.com/e/Phkn3bjvX9

[h3]Please note:[/h3]
Because PTEs are run on development servers that have logging activated, you will experience a slight decrease in performance. You will also not earn any XP and your progress will not be carried over to the live game.

Hello everyone,

We hope you've had a great start to the year! We've just pushed a new build live for U16 comprising the following fixes:

• [VOIP] Disconnecting and Reconnecting the headset will cause the Voice Channels to lose the functionality
  
• [EGS] The Invite Menus from the pause menu are incorrectly placed
  
• [EGS] The game has the EAC icon as the Desktop Icon
  

We're still finalising the 2025 roadmap, with news to follow as soon as it's ready to share!

Thank you.