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Hell let loose campaign7/4/2023 ![]() While I wasn’t advised of a specific post-launch roadmap, Rea confirmed they’ll now look to expand “the breadth of the content”, which includes plans to implement British and Japanese troops later on. In terms of leaving early access, Rea calls this the moment that the game’s fundamentals are now in place, saying they’ve got a better understanding of what Hell Let Loose is after these last two years. Ultimately though, the full release isn’t the end for Hell Let Loose. Telling me the team were “leaning into the future” as opposed to “squeezing the game down technically”, bringing 100 player games was also cited as a huge challenge on the older hardware, hence why they’ve skipped it. Rea advised they had, but they knew at the time it was unlikely to release on consoles before the current generation launched. With that in mind, I asked whether Black Matter considered PS4 and Xbox One editions too. However, he says the biggest task is making sure it's technically optimised and hitting 60FPS, informing me multiplatform requires a strong level of complexity. Rea confirmed there had been, though he admitted much of that was “self-created” by how much work was required for the main game alone. While they won’t launch alongside the Steam edition, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions are planned later on, and I asked whether there’d been any challenge in adapting it for those platforms. With update 10, that marks the “solidification of all the stuff under the hood.”īetter still, it won’t be limited to just PC. So, what specifically about this update that Black Matter meant it was time for full release? Rea describes Hell let Loose’s early access development as a learning experience, comparing it to a well-built car. Though we previously only had German and American playable forces, that introduces Soviet Forces too. Undeniably, update 10 is a big one and two of those new maps, Kursk and Stalingrad, are part of the Eastern Front expansion. Every single map has undergone significant iteration and work, both from a gameplay and visual perspective.” ![]() Every animation in the game has been changed, the entire animation system’s been completely overhauled. Almost every aspect of it has changed, every sound in the game has been changed. Weapon ballistics, progression and cosmetic systems, loadouts and more have been factored in. Initially launching with just 3 maps and 2 vehicles, Hell Let Loose’s full release brings that up to 11 maps and 16 vehicles. More strikingly, Rea says he’s not even sure if “any of the code we launched with even exists anymore”, saying you couldn’t even vault over the walls previously. Accordingly, he told me that calling the changes we’ve seen significant “is an understatement”, saying Update 10 features 1500 changes alone. Though we’ve seen content updates with new vehicles, weapons, maps and such, each update gradually implemented engine overhauls. While many games solidify the core concept before launching and add new content later on, Black Matter took a different approach. Two years later, Hell Let Loose hit early access and since then, we’ve seen nine major updates. Soon enough, Black Matter officially formed and upon completing their Kickstarter campaign, more staff were brought in. Needing a programmer and animator, Rea shared project details through Unreal Engine’s forums, meeting Roman Kramar and Rick Echler respectively for those roles. Soon enough, Rea began looking at developing games in his spare time, using Unreal Engine to test a concept with basic marketplace assets. Come 2015, he was looking for a change, finding himself unhappy with his job situation. Similarly, Rea described himself as “captivated by what they did” in the way these games put emphasis on player-to-player interactions, rather than simply fragging people. He also talked about Project Reality’s wider genre influence, calling it “the kernel behind many present-day hardcore games”, comparing how key DayZ and PUBG staff were also players. Between Black Matter’s staff, one that’s scattered around the globe, many of their grandparents served during WW2 for their respective countries. ![]() Having played Company of Heroes and Battlefield 2 mod Project Reality, Rea prepared a game document, looking to make a World War II game and telling me this oft-explored setting holds personal significance for much of the team. Turns out, Hell Let Loose has a long history and according to Rea, his initial concept began in 2010. ![]()
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