# Squad 44 UPDATE: Squad 44 - Frontline Expanded is now LIVE - Product: Squad 44 (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/squad-44) - Vendor: Offworld - Date: 2024-08-15 - Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/736220/view/4248669523804518095 - Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/squad-44/releases/2024-08-15-update-squad-44-frontline-expanded-is-now-live What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog. 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'. --- - **added** — 100-player server functionality enabled through UE4 replication optimisation - **added** — Frontline gamemode added to 18 additional maps across all chapters - **added** — New Frontline objective type for searching and recovering secret documents - **added** — New objective types to destroy including weapon caches, vehicles, and deployed mortars - **added** — Reign of Steel tanks added to Armoured Gamemode - **added** — Smoke rocket added to US bazooka - **added** — Cromwell Mk.VI 'Close Support' tank variant with 95mm howitzer - **added** — AEC Mk. III Armoured Car with QF 75mm gun - **changed** — Commander observation cupolas overhauled to bring periscopes closer together for improved situational awareness - **changed** — Armour-Piercing shells tweaked so spalling is better scaled based on caliber with narrowed cone of spall occurrence - **changed** — Armour-Piercing ammunition types rebalanced with AP dealing most damage but least penetration, and APCR, APCBC, APDS, HVAP dealing less damage but higher penetration - **changed** — HEAT-type ammunition minimum bounce angle increased by 50% to improve accuracy on angled surfaces - **changed** — Mine behavior refined to reflect real-world performance with individual placement instead of clusters and increased placement amount - **changed** — German S-Mines now bounce up as 'Bouncing Betty' mines - **changed** — Mine detonation now includes noticeable click and delay before explosion - **changed** — Hand grenades tweaked to reflect real-world counterparts with different blast radius and damage falloff - **changed** — American and British fragmentation rifle grenades changed to timed fuse rather than impact detonation - **changed** — St Mere Eglise and Carentan reworked with refined building models and furniture for more historical accuracy and lived-in appearance - **fixed** — Possible fix for offensive red zones not showing correctly Hey there folks! The team has been working hard to bring you this latest update, which includes 100-player server functionality, Frontline mode added to more maps and layers, updated mines and explosives, bug fixes and more! Full changelog down below. **After this update, the team's main focus will be towards the Pacific, so regular updates will slow down. **During this time, we plan on showcasing what’s being worked on with livestreams, social posts, dev blogs, etc. Keep your eyes on socials for updates! ##### What’s New ##### 100-Player Server Functionality We have undertaken some UE4 replication optimisation using existing technology from our other Offworld title, Squad. This means servers should run significantly smoother and now allow for 100 players! Thanks to everyone who came out to our public playtest! ##### New Frontline Gamemode Layers Following the success of the new frontline gamemode, we have rolled it out across all maps in the game. This means players will be able to enjoy the frontline gamemode across all chapters, a total of 20 maps. Additionally, we have added several new objective types, such as document search, where players have several areas to search to find documents for their squad lead or commander to recover. We have also added a wider variety of objectives to destroy, such as weapon caches, vehicles, deployed mortars, etc. ##### Reign of Steel Tanks added to Armoured Gamemode We have added the new tanks from Reign of Steel into the armoured game mode. This will allow armoured players more opportunities to try out the tanks and compete against one another in all-out armoured combat. Commander observation cupolas have been overhauled to bring the periscopes much closer together. This makes them more usable for buttoned-up tank commanders by increasing their situational awareness. Armour-Piercing shells have received a tweak in their performance meaning that spalling from these shells is better scaled based on their caliber. The cone in which spalling projectiles occur has also been narrowed to better emphasize the importance of getting an accurate shot on a particular tank component. Depending on the type of armour-piercing ammunition, the amount of hull damage conferred will be different. In general, AP ammunition deals the most damage, but has the least amount of penetration potential. APCR, APCBC, APDS and HVAP ammunition types generally deal less damage but have higher penetration potential. We also increased the minimum bounce angle of HEAT-type ammunition by 50%, meaning that it’ll be much easier to score a hit with HEAT ammunition on an angled surface. We are also introducing 2 new vehicle variants in this update: the Cromwell Mk.VI ‘Close Support’ (CS) Tank, which sports a 95mm howitzer and lots of high-explosive ammunition, and the AEC Mk. III Armoured Car, which has a powerful QF 75mm gun. ##### Mine and explosives overhaul We have added in the smoke rocket to the US bazooka and have refined the behavior of mines to reflect their real life abilities. So the ‘Bouncing Betty’ mine (German S-Mines) will now “bounce” up and other mines of the various other factions will reflect their real world performance too. All mines are now placed individually rather than in clusters, and the amount of which you can place has been overall increased. A very noticeable click and delay before detonation also ratchets up the tension after stepping on a mine. Hand grenades as well now have been tweaked to reflect their real life counterparts. An example is the German stick grenade having a wider blast radius but higher damage falloff due to its lack of significant fragmentation, compared to the American Mk2 ‘Pineapple’ grenades or the British Mills Bomb. American and British fragmentation rifle grenades now also reflect their real life performance and are on a timed fuse rather than an impact detonated fuse. This will mean you’ll need to adjust the way you use these grenades and they will be a _[Truncated at 4000 characters — full notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/736220/view/4248669523804518095]_