# Ravenfield Attack Heli Update - Early Access Build 25

- Product: Ravenfield (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/ravenfield)
- Vendor: SteelRaven7
- Date: 2021-07-16
- Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/636480/view/5016431176747144401
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/ravenfield/releases/2021-07-16-attack-heli-update-early-access-build-25

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Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'.

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- **added** — Attack helicopter now equipped with 4 long-range laser-guided missiles that automatically track laser target crosshair
- **added** — Laser-guided target tracking system allows manual tracking of targets by holding right click and looking around
- **added** — Auto-hover feature available on all helicopters to automatically level out and keep altitude
- **added** — Muzzle flash light effect on non-suppressed weapons
- **added** — Explosions now trigger a light effect
- **added** — Terrain fallback material to handle cases where terrain material fails to load
- **added** — Vehicle first person and third person cameras now have slight acceleration-based head bob
- **added** — AI tick scheduling system that automatically spreads out AI work across frames to reduce frame stutter
- **changed** — Attack helicopter model updated with new look
- **changed** — Attack helicopter rocket pods now hold 24 rockets with slightly reduced fire rate and direct-hit damage
- **changed** — Helicopter flight model improved with ground effect for extra thrust when close to the ground
- **changed** — Official helicopters now have directional drag forces allowing significantly faster travel when pointing into relative air-flow
- **changed** — Bots now handle corners better by slowing down and aiming towards their next destination
- **changed** — Bots in CQC zones slow down significantly and lean when turning a corner
- **changed** — Wrench is now automatic instead of requiring repeated button presses
- **changed** — All explosion effects now use new smoke particles and reduced particle count by 70-80%
- **changed** — Slightly reduced attack plane machine gun damage
- **changed** — Slightly reduced attack plane and bomber health
- **changed** — Slightly reduced AA damage
- **fixed** — Bug where ragdoll stand up animation would sometimes play when in water

Heyyy, it's time for another Ravenfield EA build update!

EA25 overhauls the attack helicopter with a new look and new weapons. On top of a 24-round rocket pod the helicopter now packs 4 long-range laser-guided missiles that are ready to take out those enemy tanks! The missiles will automatically track laser target crosshair at the center of your screen, even while in-flight. Additionally, by holding right click and looking around you can move the laser target to track any point you look at. While this system will not automatically track vehicles for you, you can still use it to manually track and take out targets which is particularly effective at long ranges. Also, countermeasures will not cause the missile to loose track so fire away!

Bot movement has received some major improvements, in particular in CQC areas. Bots will now slow down when turning corners and, in close quarters, lean and clear corners. This results in slower but more tactical gameplay on small maps.

EA25 also has some code optimization which targets frame stutters in particular. Hopefully this should result in the game running more smoothly with less frame hiccups.

Full change log:
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Helicopter changes:
- Updated attack helicopter model
- The attack helicopter rocket pods now hold 24 rockets, but has a slightly reduced fire rate and direct-hit damage. The rockets still have quite strong splash damage, making them very useful against infantry or low-armor vehicles.
- Added laser-guided missiles, which have high direct-hit damage but low splash damage. These missiles are very effective against armored targets such as tanks and APCs. It's also possible to hit aircraft with a bit of practice!
- Added laser-guided target tracking system. When using a laser-guided missile, the missile will automatically target the center of your crosshair. By holding right click you can look around as the pilot, which allows you to move the laser target crosshair. Laser-guided weapons will not lock on directly to enemy vehicles, but you can still track them by moving the laser target while the missile is in-flight. By tapping right click, you can reset the laser target crosshair to the center of your screen.
- The laser-guided missiles can only be fired when the laser target is within a target circle. This prevents you from firing at targets to the side of or behind the helicopter.
- Added auto-hover feature that is available on all helicopters. When auto-hover is enabled (default key E) the helicopter will automatically level out and keep altitude. This is very useful when setting the laser target for your missiles.
- Updated the helicopter HUD to be slimmer and more readable and added more information.

Improved helicopter flight model:
- Added ground effect, which gives some extra thrust when close to the ground. This makes it easier to recover when you're about to crash into the ground.
- The official helicopters now have directional drag forces. This allows the helicopters to travel significantly faster when pointing into the relative air-flow.

Bot improvements:
- Bots will now handle corners better by slowing down and aiming towards their next destination.
- In CQC zones, bots will slow down a lot and lean when turning a corner.
- Improvements to where bots look when they aren't targeting an enemy.
- Bots no longer play the mantling animation when walking up slopes. They still play the animation when climbing over low walls, however.

Gameplay changes:
- Added muzzle flash light effect on non-suppressed weapons.
- Muzzle flash light effect intensity can be decreased or disabled entirely in the options menu.
- Explosions now also trigger a light effect.
- Added smoothing system to bot movement, making them less jittery when walking over uneven terrain.
- All explosion effects now use the new smoke particles.
- Optimized several explosion effects, reducing the overall particle count about 70-80%
- It's no longer possible to enter a vehicle if there are passengers of the

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