Neue Fahrzeuge - Teil 2

***NEW CONTENT/FEATURES***

*New Allied Tank – Sherman M4A1 (76) W*

Carrying a long 76mm gun, this vehicle finally gives the American armoured divisions some much needed battlefield parity with their German counterparts. Equipped with newly available HVAP rounds, the “76 W” can even deal destruction to the mighty Tiger I and Panther tanks during close range engagements. That said, it's still ill advised to try to take on the German heavies from the front. Even with the additional penetration entailed by the larger gun and high penetration rounds, the thick frontal armour of the late war German tanks is still a tough nut to crack and the classic flanking maneuver will still yield the best results.

*New Allied Vehicle – Willys Jeep MB*

The legendary Willys Jeep finally comes to Darkest Hour as a drivable vehicle! Designed from the outset as a military vehicle, it had a good turn of speed, could carry four passengers and was a capable offroad vehicle. Intended mainly for transport and reconnaisance, it is unarmed and cannot sustain a lot of damage, however it is ideal for transporting an artillery spotting officer or a tank hunting team on large vehicle maps. It can be considered the rough in-game equivalent of the German Kübelwagen.

*New Vehicle Camouflage Variants*

While there was certainly no shortage of variety in our vehicle designs, almost all vehicles in the game have undergone yet more retexturing, allowing level designers even greater flexibility to enhance their maps with scenario appropriate vehicle camouflage patterns. It also aids in historical accuracy and immersion and at the end of the day, the old adage “variety is the spice of life” could not be more true.

*Enhanced Vehicle Weaponry*

Tanks can now hold up to three different types of ammunition for their main guns rather than the standard two. In addition to the existing APCR and HE shells, four new types have been added; HVAP, APDS, Canister and Smoke. Weapon load outs on tanks have been modifed to reflect a particular tank’s usual role in combat (i.e. infantry support, tank destroyer, assault, multi-purpose, etc.), so these specialised rounds are now available in limited quantities on certain tanks.

HVAP (High Velocity Armour Piercing) – For when regular shells just aren't doing the job, these utilise a tungsten carbide core encased in an aluminium shell for quickly attaining extremely high velocity. The high density core can punch through additional armour and quickly end what might otherwise degenerate into tank pong.
APDS (Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot) – The evolution of HVAP, APDS shells shed their aluminium casing shortly after leaving the gun barrel. By getting rid of the large, lightweight casing, the core is able to maintain a higher velocity and greater accuracy over distance, resulting in higher penetration at long ranges.
Smoke shells – These are fairly self explanatory. These shells spew thick clouds of smoke on impact, providing cover for distant units, or as an offensive weapon, blinding and disorienting enemy armour.

In addition to this, the Achilles, Firefly, Tiger I and Tiger II have all been given dual magnification gun sight optics as is historically accurate, similar to the ones currently in use on the Panther G.

*Tank Riding*

Yes, you read that right. One of the community's most consistently requested features has been the ability for players to ride on tanks and their persistence has now paid off. Players will now be able to hitch a ride on the StuG as Axis or the Stuart as Allies. At present, these are the only tanks with this feature available, with the remainder of tanks due to receive this “upgrade” in future versions.

***BUG FIXES***

Sherman and Firefly no longer hit their own hulls with MG
Fixed missing and broken position change animations

***CHANGES***

Majority of tanks have all new engine sounds
Vehicle engine sounds can now be heard further away and louder than in stock RO
Speeds of almost all tanks have been adjusted to more realistic levels
The damage of most vehicle shells have been adjusted
Adjustments made to the velocity and ballistic coefficients of shells to bring them to realistic values
Armour values set to historically correct values (in mm) for all vehicles
Tanks now handle more realistically
All halftracks are now invulnerable to small arms fire and grenades with the exception of when these weapons are fired/thrown into the interior of the vehicle
Flipped sight down on US Half-Track's mounted MG