Less than a month after its launch, the real-time strategy game Broken Arrow has received a substantial new update. This patch introduces the ability for players to change map sizes in skirmish and custom game lobbies, a setting that was previously determined automatically by the game. Additionally, the developer, Steel Balalaika Studio, has implemented refinements to the anti-cheat system.
Update 1.08 for Broken Arrow adds new PvE scenarios on the Kaliningrad and Ruda maps, supporting up to three players. Meanwhile, the sprint cooldown for infantry units has been significantly reduced by half, now down to 30 seconds. Steel Balalaika stated that they are aiming for gradual balance changes and are starting with this particular alteration.
Regarding cheating, over 2,000 players have been banned in Broken Arrow so far. However, the developer is currently investigating potential bans that may have been issued unfairly. For instance, Steel Balalaika mentioned on Steam that players who used cheats exclusively in single-player modes might have been banned from multiplayer because the anti-cheat system wasn`t designed to differentiate between the two modes.
Broken Arrow was released on June 19th and is priced at $50. According to SteamDB, the RTS title is performing well, ranking among the top 100 sellers on Valve`s platform and consistently averaging a peak of around 20,000 concurrent players daily throughout July. The game offers a realistic approach to the genre, featuring a single-player campaign across 19 missions involving both US and Russian forces. Players also have access to a wide array of over 300 military and technology units.
Full Patch Notes:
Added:
- Option to change map size in Skirmish and Custom lobbies added. By default, size is based on player count but can be manually set in additional lobby settings.
- Game servers added in Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The developer is monitoring player locations globally and adding servers accordingly. Full list of current GLOBAL region server geolocations: US West, US East, Hongkong, UK, France, Germany, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia.
- Portraits for Baltic states vehicles added.
- Swimming animation for ground troops added (where applicable).
- PVE 1-3 Kaliningrad scenario added (tower defense style).
- PVE 1-3 Ruda scenario added (tower defense style).
General Fixes & Improvements:
- Resolved multiple crash-to-desktop (CTD) issues caused by memory leaks.
- Fixed a memory leak issue on the server infrastructure, expected to improve overall multiplayer stability.
- Fixed several instances where the “Reconnect to battle” button did not appear.
- Fixed multiple cases of the “Player.log” file consuming excessive disk space.
- Fixed an issue where the Campaign menu became stuck.
- Fixed an issue where players might load into an empty map without playable zones, capture zones, or spawn points (in both single-player and multiplayer).
- Fixed an issue where players might have 99/99 units in a deck after loading.
- Fixed an issue causing players to be disconnected from the game server with an error message.
- Reduced maximum FPS cap from 300 to 144.
- Fixed an issue where dropdown options were unclickable in some cases.
- Fixed a UI issue in the reporting system that prevented displaying the correct player`s profile upon clicking.
- Adjusted matchmaking system to minimize games with large skill (elo rating) differences between teams.
- Adjusted matchmaking mechanism for more accurate selection of a suitable (ping-wise) game server. Note: Using VPNs, “connection boosters,” or similar proxy solutions may worsen multiplayer experience.
- Fixed movement interpolation for transferred units.
- Fixed an issue where certain input devices (joysticks, gamepads, racing wheels, vJoys, specific mice and keyboards) could interfere with UI option selection.
- Fixed incorrect date/time format display in various in-game messages.
- Fixed the “Flares! Flares!” achievement not counting.
- Fixed an issue preventing players from overriding anti-overkill with their AA by right-clicking a desired target.
- Fixed an issue where Steam workshop scenarios were sometimes incorrectly initialized.
- Fixed the CIS region servers popup screen overlap.
- Fixed the incorrect “ready up” UI sound.
- Rebound the default camera rotation button from Left CTRL to Middle Mouse Button (MMB).
- Fixed misleading mission unlock condition hints on the Campaign screen.
- Fixed the M712 Copperhead VFX incorrectly appearing like a cluster round.
- Adjusted the 127mm gun VFX (Arleigh Burke).
- Adjusted mortar and howitzer impact VFX lifetime.
- Fixed the MC-130H having no model under certain circumstances.
- Fixed the Tochka-U’s missile texture being pink.
- Adjusted parachute animations.
- Fixed CAAT Tow marines` pose with the M240.
- Fixed an issue with S300V/S350/S300PM deployment animation getting stuck, causing missiles to fire directly into the ground.
- `Bay of winds` zones capture time adjusted from 30 to 15 seconds to match other maps.
- Various fixes for weapons icons.
- Various localization fixes.
Campaign Fixes & Improvements:
“Blackout” mission:
- Fixed mission getting stuck in some cases.
“Show Time” mission:
- Fixed an issue where the time-related medal could not be earned.
- Fixed a case where players could get stuck if they failed bombing runs too many times.
“Peacekeeper” mission:
- Fixed the mission`s intro cutscene not scaling correctly for 4K resolutions.
“Self Service” mission:
- The timer for the final stage has been increased to 20 minutes (from a default of 5 minutes).
- When bringing supplies to Cap. Batalin, he will now immediately provide 2 helicopters instead of adding them to reinforcements.
“Papers Please” mission:
- Fixed cases of invisible units appearing in the mission.
- Improved balance of pre-placed equipment at the storage base.
- Various improvements to the behavior of allies and enemies.
- Enemy attack pattern on the HQ has been slightly improved.
- Fixed an issue where the mission could get stuck due to losing the HQ zone.
- All units received appropriate winter camouflage.
“Operation Cold Harbor” mission:
- Various improvements for each difficulty level, providing the player with slightly more resources and units.
- The behavior of attack waves from Narva has been improved.
- Fixed a bug where pilots could be detected before the secondary mission popped up.
- Minor improvements to Batalin`s movements.
- All units received appropriate winter camouflage.
“Forbidden Waters” mission:
- Various improvements for each difficulty level, providing the player with slightly more resources and units.
- Improved AI behavior.
“Broken Arrow” mission:
- Various fixes for voice overs.
- Fixed a bug where the Green Light Team was able to capture the last objective (Bennett Plan).
Balance:
- Reduced sprint cooldown from 60 to 30 seconds for all infantry/recon infantry units.
- Fixed a mistake in the base price of CAAT TOW from 110 to 100, which caused deck value inconsistency.
- Spetsnaz GRU Verba option: Added a second Verba launcher to make this option more comparable to the other two.
- Ingenery-Shturmoviki price changed from 60 to 70.
- Fixed optics value for Skrezhet with Zu-23M + Igla to detect helicopters from further away.
- Fixed the TOS-1 rear HEAT armor value being inferior to kinetic armor.
- Fixed the A-222 Bereg howitzer having lower reload times in mixed loadouts.