Hey everyone,
Last week we caught a glimpse of the new winter map, Kharkov, and the first iteration on the base for our future winter uniforms. With just enough time to take a quick breath, the programmers and artists have been able to share some more on the content for our next update.
In today’s brief, we’re heating things up with flamethrowers for the US and Axis, Molotovs for the Soviets, jeeps for all factions and a peek at the new cosmetic loadout preset options. Let's take a look at these latest items, starting with Flames and Fastmovers!
Flamethrowers
Feeling the chill on the frontline? Here’s something you can warm up to!
The team are excited for the addition of Flamethrowers and Molotovs for use on the frontlines, which will surely bring out some great action and visuals to the fields of combat.
WIP of the Flammenwerfer41 Being put to workThe flamethrowers are brutal pieces of equipment that will make short work of infantry in close quarters action.
The flamethrowers will not only set troops, but also the surrounding area alight. Due to its power the flamethrowers can only be used in a brace fire stance. These flame-dealing units will allow the user to wield their stream of flames for approximately 20 seconds of sustained fire until it needs to be replenished with fuel.
Not only if you are directly hit by the flamethrower, burning items around its path will also inflict damage to the unwary. The area of effect that is burning will be a big discouragement for any troops who dare to walk in the path of any area alight with flames as it will cause damage. If you like the sound of a flamethrower in your kit and want to ‘get your burn on’, then you will have to work for it!. Initially, with the implementation of flamethrowers, only the US and German Support role at level 10 will be able to equip this sizzling piece of equipment.
There will be two models of the flamethrower. Let's take a look at them together below:
WIP pictures of the Flamethrowers. The left unit is a US: M2-2 Flamethrower. The right unit is a German: Flammenwerfer41
Close quarters combat will become even more brutal, as this US soldier using a M2-2 Flamethrower demonstrates. 
This Axis soldier is ensuring the building is clear with the Flammenwerfer41
Trench warfare will take on a whole new meaning with Flamethrowers deployed at the front.Molotovs
A handy item about the size of a grenade and throwable at your enemy, Molotovs were a cheap and popular item of use during most battles on the frontlines. Soviets will have greater access to this weapon compared to the US/Axis’ fiery flamethrower counterpart, with Molotovs being available to the Soviet Support role at level 6 and the Assault at level 9.
Although shorter than a flamethrower in its duration, the Molotov, when used correctly, will have your foes running in fear. A single direct hit on enemy troops will easily add to the throwers kill count alongside setting the immediate area alight. Like flamethrowers, if unwary troops stand on burning ground they will receive a nasty bite of fire damage for their troubles.
Molotovs were a cheap and popular item of use during most battles on the frontlines.
WIP - Soviet Troop hurling Molotovs into a trench.Crispy Critters
To complement the fire breathing flamethrower and pocket paraffin Molotovs, we have also introduced an initial implementation of new uniform texturing to reflect characters being hit by these weapons.
A WIP picture of a charred Axis soldier pondering his next move.
Ground environments, vehicles, and even bodies will burn for a time after being hit with flame weapons.Vehicles: Including Willys Jeep, Kubelwagen and Gaz-67
We are also pleased to showcase these new vehicles, especially the Jeeps! As our backers and veterans will know, jeeps were one of the first vehicles we had shown. We never intended on taking this long to introduce them to the game, however, we are now happy to announce their much anticipated inclusion.
Each faction will now have a jeep option; the US with the Willys, Axis with the Kubelwagen and the Soviets with the Gaz-67 to round out this trio.
Kubelwagen
Gaz-67
Willys Jeep
Traverse the wintry terrain.
Being small and nimble will be the biggest asset for jeeps.Not only as a mode of transport, the jeeps will also offer a limited ammunition resupply for troops on the ground. This is done by the driver of the jeep (when parked) and selecting to deploy ammo, in a similar way that a truck drops supplies. These vehicles can drop 2 ammo boxes before requiring a ‘return to base’ re-supply. The ammo box functions similar to the ammo crates dropped by the Commander although they come in smaller quantities allowing for only 6 resupplies.
Being able to quickly drop their supply then move off is a major benefit for jeeps deploying ammo.Loadout presets
With the addition of a new snow map we thought that now would be a great time to allow players the ability to set cosmetic presets. Now when accessing the loadout screen players will be greeted with a “Preset #1” and “Preset #2” option below the Appearance tab. Switching between presets will remember your last configured cosmetics for that preset, allowing players for example to create a preset wearing snow camouflage that they can easily switch to when moving from a lush green environment to a snowy one.
PTE For Update 13 Next Week!
With progress coming along nicely, we’re excited to announce the beginning of PTE testing for Update 13, with the first session kicking off next week. We will endeavour to message early in the week as to the exact date and time of the PTE.
As always, we greatly appreciate all who participate, whether it’s to provide valuable feedback and bug reports, or simply help out with the numbers to test server loads and other items. We’ll also be jumping into battle amongst the ranks on the day, so if you have the time or are just curious, we would love to hear from you!
If this is your first time wanting to participate in a PTE, you’ll need to head over to the
Discord where you can find information on how to join and get notifications on when a testing period is live. A full changelog can be viewed in the HLL official discord in the #pte-Info channel on the day.
A quick reminder of what’s included:- New Map Kharkov
- Winter Base Uniforms for all factions
- Flamethrowers
- Molotovs
- Fastmovers - Willys Jeep, Kubelwagen and Gaz-67
- Soviet T-70 Light Tank
- Appearance loadout option for uniforms
- Various QOL items
- And a host of other gameplay improvements and fixes
War Correspondent, Content Creator and Community HLL Videos
Time for some more community highlights from the below creators! We highly recommend giving them a watch!
If you see a Video you like, make sure to post in the Discord #hll-videos channel.
Hell Let Loose - WW2 through a Sniper's Scope - Alpine Sniper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8BevPdzIno
Player Interactions In Hell Let Loose Are GOLD - TallGrass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4IAPyLvXhg
HELL LET LOOSE IN 2022 IS GREAT - Tantwo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHwvDq7cCAY
Don’t forget that if you haven’t checked out the other Hell Let Loose socials you can find their details below. Like our Discord, you will find them great places for information and community interaction.
Join the Discord here https://discord.gg/hellletloose
Our other social platforms can be found here:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HellLetLoose/
Twitter https://twitter.com/hell_let_loose
Youtube https://www.youtube.com/c/HellLetLoose
Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/HellLetLoose/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hellletlooseofficial/
Steam http://steamcommunity.com/groups/HellLetLoose
Well, it's time to hop into our jeep and speed away to wrap up today's Dev Brief.
See you all on the frontline!
