We’re excited to be bringing you the 196th alpha update titled Decaying Autumn to War of Rights today!

Today’s update includes several major visual overhauls to the game, a completion of the infantry unit customization, additional musician tunes, the return of autumn as well as a few spooky treats just in time for Halloween.. Let’s dive into the content of Update 196: Decaying Autumn below!

Attention! A mysterious sickness has been reported to have been spreading throughout the town of Harpers Ferry in recent weeks and as such we expect the governor to issue a two-week long town-wide quarantine beginning on Thursday, 31st of October in order to evacuate the area. We hear reports of an unparalleled emergency requiring the aid of blue, brown and butternut clad soldiers alike!

Due to popular demand, the undead return to War of Rights in a revamped zombie mode. This update introduces multiple new types of undead, a shop for character and weapon upgrades, and an exciting new defense-based game mode “Onslaught” set in Harpers Ferry.

The core objective in this mode is to hold successive key points strategically, fending off the approaching zombie onslaught. Every point you lose pushes you back to the next, until you will be forced to make a final stand against the oncoming horde.

Teamwork is more crucial than ever with the introduction of a new undead type that can only be damaged after being stunned by a well-coordinated volley. This new horror will challenge even the most disciplined regiments and strike fear into the most stalwart of soldiers.

Returning for this event is the 'Torch Bearer' class. In lieu of the flag bearer class, the ‘Torch Bearer’ is armed with a signal torch. In addition to serving as a remote spawn point, the 'Torch Bearer' is the literal guiding light of the team, crucial for spotting the incoming risen dead and preventing them from overwhelming your position.

Additionally, a shop (accessible via the F key) is now available between waves, allowing players to purchase stronger, upgradable equipment. Earn money by defeating zombies and use it to unlock upgrades such as faster reload speed, reduced weapon sway, increased melee speed, and more. But be careful, you will lose all your equipment and upgrades should you perish!

Get ready for all the new spooky fun when it goes live tomorrow!

A big feature of Update 196 is a major overhaul of the lighting system (SVOTI) of the game. Expect much more realistic light bounces and less lighting and shadow artifacts as we continue to work on ensuring that War of Rights features cutting-edge tech and immersion.

The new Global Illumination has no fixed ambient color term and thus preserves the color of the bounced lighting much better, without washing it all out.

The new Global Illumination provides much more vivid bounce lighting due to the better color preservation of the particular surface the light bounces off of. It also allows small objects to occlude around them much more easily, where the bounce light can't reach, such as underneath the bed and around wooden furniture.

For the first time since releasing on Steam, update 196 includes a major vegetation overhaul in the form of new grass, weeds, flowers, wheatfields and more. The bending of the grass has also been updated to simulate waves of wind blowing through the grass. The view distance of most vegetation assets (including trees) has been vastly increased for a more immersive battlefield experience (especially when spectating):

The new grass of War of Rights has a much longer draw distance than the old grass. Each individual blade of grass is also uniquely 3D modeled for a much better parallax effect when walking through the fields. All weeds and flowers have also been replaced by highly detailed models. The bending of the grass has been updated to show the various waves of wind blowing through the grass.

The dirt fields have been updated to display the plowing tracks at much longer distances and the dirt color has been changed to more closely match reference photos.

The sun rays that reach the forest floor now more easily bounce onto nearby objects in the forests as can be seen on the nearby trunk on the right that's colored somewhat orange, compared to the trunks further back in the more shaded part of the forest having a more neutral dark blue/gray color. Small objects in the forest now also more easily occlude the light underneath them, as can be seen on the nearby pile of rotten wood.

Cornstalks and other high density small to medium sized vegetation objects are now able to both occlude and bounce back the light on a need by need basis resulting in much more naturally looking cornfields at certain lighting conditions.

New max view distance of trees.

Overhauled all distance terrain textures for a much more realistic blend and look in the game.

The countryside of Maryland is once again clad in vibrant colors as autumn once more falls in War of Rights. Enjoy the golden spectacle in this time limited event starting tomorrow and lasting throughout the month of November!

• Added the following new fife and drum tunes (available in the drill camp mode) to the musician class:
  
  • Campbells Are Coming
    
  • Dixie
    
  • Downfall
    
  • Fishers Hornpipe
    
  • Larry OGaff
    
  • Minstrel Boy
    
  • Old 1812
    
  • Oyster River
    
  • Pease Upon A Trencher
    
  • Yellow Rose
• Added the last of the remaining infantry units featured in the game to the character customizer:
  
  • 22nd Virginia Battalion
    
  • 39th New York
    
  • 42nd Pennsylvania
    
  • 51st New York
    
  • 51st Pennsylvania
    
  • 52nd New York
    
  • 126th New York
    
  • 65th Illinois
    
  • 87th Ohio
    
  • 89th New York
• Added new trouser boot variants to the customizer and removed sashes from corporals, sergeants and flag bearers.
  
• Added 13th Virginia national flag.
  
• Changed the 1st Virginia Cavalry national flag to a guidon type flag.
  
• Added 30th Virginia missing trouser rank stripes for officers.
  
• Added unique snare drum textures for:
  
  • 13th New York
    
  • 23rd New York
    
  • 42nd New York
• Replaced the old and incorrect Nicodemus farm model with an accurate representation of a log house as per the historical records.
  
• Added a wagon shed to the nicodemus farm scene as per the historical records.
  
• Implemented corporal and officer trouser rank stripe variants for all uniforms/regiments.
  
• Added an open variant of the shell jacket of the columbus depot type.
  
• Added new flour sack models to the game.
  
• Removed animation sliding issues tied to Order Arms, Parade Rest, In Place Rest and Present Arms.
  
• Tweaked the distance shadow biases for better distance shadows.
  
• Added specific vaulting and climbing animations for when using the rifle as a club in melee mode.
  
• Added the 18th Georgia national flag to the game. No known details of this flag exist. It is therefore a generic estimation.
  
• Removed the US plate on the baldric belt for the US sergeant Major rank.
  
• Fixed up a bad river wall collision mesh at Harpers Ferry.
  
• Overhauled the foot/leg alignment code of the game resulting in more realistic poses on slopes:

The new foot alignment blends the feet to nearby objects and terrain, both while moving, standing still and also during various action animations such as stabbing with a bayoneted rifle.

• Added a chicken coop to Nicodemus farm scene as per the historical records.
  
• Several minor visual fixes to the stonewalls of the game.
  
• Fixed the Sibley tent collision mesh.
  
• Various smaller uniform corrections.
  
• Overhauled the campfire models.
  
• Fixed the collision mesh of Roulette farmhouse.
  
• Updated barrel models.
  
• 10 new ceramic bottle models were added.
  
• Tweaked several ground texture materials.
  
• Updates to the gloss values on hair materials and added gradients to hair normals in order to fix the plastic sheen at a distance.
  
• Removed a number of unused vegetation assets and terrain materials.
  
• Replaced an outdated barn on the drill camp level with an up to date one.
  
• Added 6 new outhouse models to the game.
  
• Fixed the LOD of the fence_11 mesh.
  
• Fixed Roulette farmhouse model and uv.
  
• Several time of day updates and tweaks.
  
• Various minor level fixes and updates.
  
• Updated the embankment model textures to match the new terrain textures.
  
• Added a number of new prop models, including crates and pots.
  
• Modified and improved a number of prop placements in building interiors:
  
  • Log cabin
    
  • Rohrback farmhouse
    
  • Sherrick summer kitchen
    
  • Piper farm
    
  • Nicodemus house
    
  • Otto barn
    
  • Sherrick barn
    
  • Piper barn
    
  • Otto farm
    
  • Pry barn
    
  • Rohrback barn
    
  • R. Miller barn
    
  • Nicodemus House
    
  • Roulette barn
• Musicians now stop playing their instruments when knocked down.
  
• In an effort to make error reporting easier, crash dumps now save to the diagnostics root rather than version numbered directories.
  
• Experience gained throughout a match cut short by leaving the server is now saved and rewarded to you if you reconnect to the server before the match has ended.

That’s all for today. We hope you will enjoy the overhauled visuals as we continue to work on keeping the game up to date and increasing its immersive aspect as best as we can. We look forward to be seeing you all on the golden fields of glory in Maryland.. As long as you have steered well clear of Harpers Ferry - something’s wrong with that place…