Hello everyone! Here comes the news on the progress of the upcoming remake of Freeman.
First of all, it is important to note that everything that’s showcased is a work in progress and is being subject to change. Secondly, the majority of our progress is in the tech part of the development, and the art-related part contains many placeholders and will be our next step of the development.

Currently, we are 80% done with the framework, and our next step will be adding content. So in the following months, we can expect more screenshots and maybe videos showcasing the new game.

On today’s screenshots, you will see the new squad customization screen, inventory screen, world map, and some combat maps in production. There are also a better weapon customization screen and a newly added faction and political map that was not in the game before.

A small update. The development keeps going, just not as fast as we wanted it to be. We do always keep in mind that people are waiting for the news and we will make it as soon as it will be possible.
P.S. if there was no development, I would say so. I don't see the point of lying about it, as our intention is to fix the game, not to ruin it more.

Hi everyone,

As we mentioned in our previous announcement, we are completely remaking the game. We saw that you had tons of questions for us, so we decided to write this article and clarify things up.

As you may know, the game started with 3 devs, and the development progress at the beginning of Early Access went pretty smooth and steady. And to speed things up and improve the quality even more, we decided to bring some new members to the team. However, that didn't go well as we planned. We made a strategic mistake by adding new devs to the team too fast, without having them go through proper training and adoption. This caused massive delays and quality drop in development. We also mistakenly brought new designers and team leader to the project and trusted them to design some core systems and manage the project as a whole. Gradually, the product shifted further and further away from our original imagination. It was wrong to assume that people can always do the job the same way we do. We did realize that eventually, but we still had a bit of hope that it would turn out fine until we were financially broken and had to pause development.

After recovering from the bankruptcy and finally put ourselves together, we decided to remake the project. The reason is simple, the final product ended up being far from the communities' expectations and our original idea. And we can't just leave it this way. We have a huge bond to this game since we have poured so much time, effort, and sleepless nights into it. And we feel a huge responsibility to the game and the community due to our personality.

Gameplay-wise, we think the game is a bit complicated with too many unnecessary features that don't work well together. The core features, such as AI and gunplay, were not nearly polished. The game lacks tactical elements in combat, such as different maneuvers performed by specialized units(heavy machine gunners, mortar squads, snipers), armored units, and support. The overall combat experience becomes repetitive fast, while the over-world management seems overly complicated and irrelevant to the combat. The game also lacks a sense of progression and difficulty curve, which can easily break the game at a certain point. Graphically, the game can really use an overhaul. All the maps appear to be similar, especially the skirmish maps that look identical to each other. The look of soldiers and companions, in most cases, is poorly designed and out of place. The game also lacks a weather system which contributes to both gameplay and immersion.

-Dramatically improve the combat: We will enhance squad behaviors and AI tactics and emphasize the uniqueness of each type of squad. For example, a sniper team should stay hidden and behave like a spotter and long-range killer. The squad should also be equipped or upgraded with tactical gear that will benefit their specialty. For example, providing a binocular to a sniper team can increase their sighting range by 3. We will also add mechanized units such as an SUV mounted with a heavy machine gun. We will overhaul the shooting mechanics, so it is smooth but challenging to master.

-More meaningful over-world exploration and management: We will make each conquerable location much more beneficial to you. It can provide you with essential resources needed to grow your force, such as troops, weapons, food, gas, cash, and so on. We will also focus on the uniqueness of each location. For example, a village can provide you food and local militias, a military base can offer you professional soldiers, and capturing an airport can grant you access to international aid and trade.

-Overhaul the graphics: We plan to improve the graphics to the next level by using a better rendering engine, redesigning and remaking the majority of the maps, troops, companions, and items. We will add environmental effects such as fog, rain, storm, and so on. The combat maps will look different from each other. You will see mountains, meadows, forests, villages, towns, industrial areas, military camps, oil rigs, airports, and so on.

-Better progression: We want the game to have a much more meaningful and smooth progression curve. Every step you take will be a step up (or down) towards your final goal, the country's liberation. You will always have something to work on or improve, such as upgrade your weapons, get better units, find suitable team leaders, promote your units in rank, conquer locations, and get war resources...

This time, the core dev team will be the three of us, the most original guys. With our previous intense experience with this game, we clearly see how we can make it better. And with the technologies and skills gained these few years, we surely can make it happen. We also understand the importance of a great community, and with the support and feedback you guys give us, we are sure the game will turn out great.

You don't need to pay anything if you already have the game. You just need to wait for a major update that will give you a totally new experience. Once the build is ready, we will put it to the Beta-Testing branch, and you can try it out and provide us with feedback. Eventually, we will make it official and replace the older version of the game. Note that the older version is no longer being developed, but we will put it into a separate branch so you still can access it.

To make these changes effectively, we have to overthrow the current project. So except for some assets, coding, and designs, there is nothing we can really recycle. It will take time. We are currently in the designing and researching phase. We have already started some coding and modeling but still in a very early stage. The ETA for the first test release will be a half year from now, but we will release more regular progress reports once we have some basics done.

Hello everyone! First of all, we are sorry that the game development was postponed. Our company was going through bankruptcy, and it took us a while to admit it and put ourselves back together after such a hit. All this time, we were thinking and planning how we are going to fix Freeman. During the development process, the game gradually drifted away from our original idea because new members joined and the hierarchy of power shifted. But now, only the most original members of KK will be working on the Freeman remake, and we are confident that we will bring a satisfying final result to you.

Currently, we are finalizing the design, and once we are done with that, we will share it with you. The overhaul will be put to the test build first, and then eventually will be out to the main build. The previous (current) main build will be kept as a separated branch at that moment,


All the best, KK

Hello guerrillas,


We have released update v1.4 to the main branch.

• Artillery support is probably one of the most anticipated features, so here it is. We have added quadcopters for spotting enemies and attack helicopters with mortars for engaging targets on the ground.
  
• The new weather system will bring a more realistic experience. We have added clouds, rain, thunderstorm, snow, etc.
  (At present, the weather system only has corresponding visual performance, and there is no limit to the field of vision or change in the degree of camouflage.)
  
• You can now transfer money into and out of faction.
  (To do that, you need to go to the Info menu and choose your faction. In the right part of the window, you will see buttons. You can click them and decide how much money you want to transfer.)
  
• Now the armor and helmet make much more difference, as we have adjusted soldiers' health.
  
  
• Weapons' power is affected by the kind of ammunition and the length of a barrel, so they feel more diverse now.
  
• Gun handling was regulated as well. The recoil and accuracy are different due to the weapon type.
  
  
• Improved some gun's sound effects. (WIP)
  
  
• The seven battlefield maps were remade, so now they are more varied and have a better range of vision. (WIP)
  
  
• The camouflage system has been updated as well, so now you may want to choose it more carefully, as it can help you to be less easily detected by the enemy.
  (In the camouflage system, the chance to be found by the enemy is determined by controlling the field of vision. Different terrain has different types of camouflage. The corresponding clothing will increase the camouflage degree. We adjust the value of camouflage degree to make the effect of camouflage degree more effective)
  
  
• We have optimized the game's size and maps, so you can now load the game and enter the battle faster.
  
  
• Balanced the growth curve and maximum HP value.
  
  
• Smoke grenades are less frequent during the battle, and there is no more jam cost by that.
  
• Made the UI more tuned with each other (WIP)
  
  
• Enemies no longer appear outside of the map border.
  
  
• Allied factions will less frequently ask for help, so it will not disturb you too often.
  
  
• Now info about certain gun accessories displays correctly.
  

Bug Fixes from the Test Version

• Fixed the bug, that could stuck in colliders on the map and couldn’t move.
  
• Improved the weather system.

Looking forward to your thoughts about the update in the comments down below!

Hello guerrillas,

We have released the TEST version of the update v1.4
Many features have been added, but that's not the end of it. We keep working on the game to improve it as much as we can. The ETA for the main build is two weeks, but that all depends on the number of bugs we may encounter during further polishes.

• Artillery support is probably one of the most anticipated features, so here it is. We have added quadcopters for spotting enemies and attack helicopters with mortars for engaging targets on the ground.
  
• The new weather system will bring a more realistic experience. We have added clouds, rain, thunderstorm, snow, etc.
  (At present, the weather system only has corresponding visual performance, and there is no limit to the field of vision or change in the degree of camouflage.)
  
• You can now transfer money into and out of faction.
  (To do that, you need to go to the Info menu and choose your faction. In the right part of the window, you will see buttons. You can click them and decide how much money you want to transfer.)
  
• Now the armor and helmet make much more difference, as we have adjusted soldiers' health.
  
  
• Weapons' power is affected by the kind of ammunition and the length of a barrel, so they feel more diverse now.
  
• Gun handling was regulated as well. The recoil and accuracy are different due to the weapon type.
  
  
• Improved some gun's sound effects. (WIP)
  
  
• The seven battlefield maps were remade, so now they are more varied and have a better range of vision. (WIP)
  
  
• The camouflage system has been updated as well, so now you may want to choose it more carefully, as it can help you to be less easily detected by the enemy.
  (In the camouflage system, the chance to be found by the enemy is determined by controlling the field of vision. Different terrain has different types of camouflage. The corresponding clothing will increase the camouflage degree. We adjust the value of camouflage degree to make the effect of camouflage degree more effective)
  
  
• We have optimized the game's size and maps, so you can now load the game and enter the battle faster.
  
  
• Balanced the growth curve and maximum HP value.
  
  
• Smoke grenades are less frequent during the battle, and there is no more jam cost by that.
  
• Made the UI more tuned with each other (WIP)
  
  
• Enemies no longer appear outside of the map border.
  
  
• Allied factions will less frequently ask for help, so it will not disturb you too often.
  
  
• Now info about certain gun accessories displays correctly.
  

Let us know will you try the TEST build or will wait for the Main build. And if you have already tried it, please let us know about your experience! And meanwhile, we are going back to development. :)


To Opt Into the Test branch
Launch the Steam Client.
Go to the LIBRARY tab.
Right click on Freeman: Guerrilla Warfare and select Properties.
Then click the BETAS tab.
Then select "test-Test Version" from the drop-down and close the window.
Then update the game and you are ready to go.
You can opt out at any time to get the default version of the game.

Hello, guerrillas, we want to share with you our progress for the future update:

• Now we have a better weather system. We added rain, storm, and adjusted lighting during the night. This will bring a more immersive experience for your gameplay.
  
• Fixed the map borders to ensure enemies do not appear on the edge of the map.
  
• Optimized the graphic quality, made the game package smaller in file size. Now the game loads quicker.
  
• Optimized effect of the smoke grenades. Improved the frame rate.
  
• Optimized the handling of guns. Made guns closer to the real experience, and also increased the technical requirements.
  
• Optimized the skirmish maps, reduced the complexity of the terrain, which makes it easier to spot the enemy and better use of strategy.
  
• Optimized the pop-up prompt after asking for help from friendly forces.
  
• Added more bunkers and fortifications to villages and cities, this will make defense easier and siege more difficult.
  
• Some sound effects are replaced by more realistic ones.
  
• Optimized some UI performance, made the style clearer.

Thanks to everyone for your support and kind words! We really appreciate it 💚

Hello everyone!
 
We deeply appreciate all of your love and support of Freeman. We’d like to let you know that there will definitely be more new content coming up in the future. And we are trying to finish them before the end of May. We will give you an update as soon as we are ready. We are sorry that this update takes longer than before. But we are doing our best during the COVID-19 quarantine period. And as always, we are here to read your feedback and comments. They are very important to us. Thank you for your patience!

With love,
KK Game Studios

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