Black One Blood Brothers

[Asid]

Update 1.54c: Improvements
Mon, 23 June 2025



- Addition: New gameplay option - Dark Night

- Addition: Character selected in Photo Mode during a mission is now highlighted for better visibility

- Addition: Camera movement when switching firearms

- Improvement: Distant gunfire sound propagation

- Improvement: Optimized environmental light reflections

- Fix: Role-icon display error when no role is assigned

- Fix: Enemy AI could sometimes fail to stop their ambient animations correctly when they became alert

- Fix: AI navigation error on certain stairs

- Fix: Destroyed vehicles in the map editor could sometimes not be selected

[Asid]

Happy Summer Break!
Mon, 7 July 2025



Greetings Operators,

What a season it's been for Black One Blood Brothers! Kicked off by the major 1.50 update that reshaped the core of the game, Helios has continued throughout the year to roll out new features aimed at improving Black One, notably cosmetic additions with the Eastern and Western Forces updates, letting you customize your operators down to the fingertips, including new elements for the Gunsmith. This level of customization empowers you to unleash your creativity and craft a truly personalized game experience that reflects your own vision of a tactical FPS. This sense of ownership is a key pillar of Helios? vision.



But we?re far from done. Beyond cosmetics and gunfight gameplay, these latest updates have also brought major improvements to immersion and AI. From pathfinding to reactions and animations, the AI, always a core focus for Helios, has seen significant progress. AI quality is a crucial element of Black One Blood Brothers, and Helios is constantly seeking ways to make it more immersive and responsive. We?ve also listened closely to community feedback, and Helios has integrated your most relevant suggestions into the game. We?re deeply grateful for your passion and dedication to the game.

As we head toward a well-deserved summer break, what does the future hold for Black One Blood Brothers?

Helios? main focus will be on AI and performance optimization. We hope to surprise you with some exciting developments, that we will detail more after the summer.. Just know that things are moving behind the scenes as we strive to deliver the best tactical FPS we can. We can?t wait to share more details with you soon.



Here's a sneak peek at what Helios will be working on:

  - AI improvements to behave more realistically, including a dynamic cover system for your squad members during combat

  - The UI will undergo another revision to make it clearer and more efficient

  - Enhance immersion on some existing maps

  - Adding new content, including maps, new weapons and new operators

  - And some other surprises we are evaluating

Stay tuned?lots of things are coming your way! Until then, we wish you a great summer and we?ll see you back after the break!

[Asid]

Preview Early Access 1.55
Wed, 3 September 2025



It's almost time, Operators.

Your attention, Operators. The message you've been waiting for is finally here.

Summer break is over, and it?s time to get back to work. First and foremost, thank you for all your positive messages ? they mean a lot. But don't think Helios has been idle in the shadows.

Things have been cooking in the background, and we can't wait to share them with you. As exciting as they are, they still need time to be polished and deployed. Of course, we'll keep you updated, and trust us, the wait will be worth it.

We also want you to know that we're reading your suggestions. While not all of them will make it into future updates, your voice is heard and appreciated. Keep them coming: constructive feedback always has a chance to make the final cut. We?ll also have some Q&A delivered to you, so head over to Discord, where a dedicated channel will be set up for you in the next couple of days.

Without further ado, let's dive into what you can expect in the next update of Black One Blood Brothers. As usual, this is just a sneak peek, the full patch notes will drop on update day!

BEHAVIOR IMPROVEMENTS

  - Allied operators can now fire while taking cover, for a more immersive experience. Enemies will behave the same way.

  - Unalerted enemies will now flinch and react when shots miss them.

  - Allied operators will automatically take cover under enemy fire. This behavior can be toggled on or off from the Tactical Map.

  - These combined improvements bring suppressive fire tactics to a new level of immersion.

FIXES AND ENHANCEMENTS

  - The Hospital map has been updated, with previously empty rooms now filled with props.

  - When immersive options are enabled, character highlighting (used to differentiate allies and enemies) will be disabled.

  - UI/UX rework is underway, keep an eye out for changes.


We hope you?ll enjoy what's coming.

Save the date: Monday, September 8.

Kane, out.

[Asid]

Something big is coming
Fri, 17 October 2025



Attention, Operators.

You might have seen this, if you're around on the Discord or social media. If you haven't...

Standby for what is going to be the biggest update from Black One Blood Brothers EVER.

Maybe you can have a guess.

Intel is classified. For now.

Stay tuned.

Kane, out.

[Asid]

The Biggest Update in Black One Blood Brothers? History is Coming
Fri, October 24, 2025



A message from Helios
Dear Operators,


For a while now, I?ve been thinking about how I could push Black One Blood Brothers even further with my own means as a solo developer. Many of your suggestions matched what I already had in mind for the next evolution of the game ? so I decided to go all in.


A major update is coming: the full migration of Black One Blood Brothers from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5. I?m aiming to release this UE5 version in early 2026.


For months, I?ve been reworking the game from the inside out to make it look better, run smoother, and feel cleaner on as many PCs as possible. My goal is simple: deliver sharper visuals, more realistic lighting, and a stronger sense of precision in every mission. This migration is also an investment in the future of the game: building solid foundations today means I can go further tomorrow, faster and with more control.


Migration to Unreal Engine 5.6.1 (Lighting, reflections, weather, and more)

The biggest step: Black One Blood Brothers now runs on Unreal Engine 5.6.1. Thanks to Lumen, light now behaves naturally, with real-time bounces, more believable interiors, and readable night environments. Shadows are more accurate, weather is consistent across maps, and the overall atmosphere feels more grounded. You?ll feel it in every environment: neon-lit corridors, dense forests, snow-covered zones. The visuals now better match the intensity of your actions.




Next-Gen Plugins (DLSS 4, FSR 4, XeSS 2.1)

I?ve also integrated the latest image enhancement technologies so everyone can find their own balance between quality and performance. The goal is smoother gameplay without losing clarity. In demanding scenes, you should now experience steadier framerates and cleaner motion.


Whatever GPU brand you?re using, the options are simple to compare: one or two quick tweaks and you?ll instantly see what works best for your setup. Your PC, your comfort, your choice.




Level Design Overhaul Across Multiple Maps

Several maps have been visually reworked to make every location feel more believable and tactically readable at first glance. The airport is the best example: I completely rebuilt it. Boarding zones, signage, counters, parking areas, and maintenance access have been redesigned to look and feel like a real operational site. Materials, lighting, and key object silhouettes (benches, terminals, barriers, service vehicles) now guide your eyes naturally and help you read the space without effort.


At night, neon reflections and light halos shape clear pathways and cover zones. By day, colors and contrasts make it easier to understand your environment. The goal wasn?t just to make it ?prettier? ? it was to strengthen immersion, credibility, and tactical clarity. You should be able to identify logical entry points, reliable shadow zones, or flanking paths in seconds. The result: faster orientation, smoother infiltration, and more fluid action.




Optimization: Internal Work + Clear Graphic Options

The heart of this update is optimization. I?ve spent countless hours tracking stutters, balancing performance costs, and improving the feel during both combat and infiltration. On your side, you?ll now have a clearer graphics panel to tune the game to your machine: lighting, reflections, landscape quality, shadow control, and the performance boost that fits your setup.


The idea is to keep it simple: drop one level here, raise another there, test for thirty seconds, and jump back into the mission. Whether you?re on a small rig or a high-end build, you?ll be able to find the right balance between visuals and smooth gameplay without any headache.




What Does This Mean now and for the Future?

This migration isn?t just a visual upgrade. It opens the door to faster and deeper gameplay improvements.

One of the most requested features - controller support - is now becoming a real possibility.

Environmental elements such as water and rivers, which were previously decorative, will soon add tactical depth, and maybe even new maps centered around them.

For players who love customization, 3D assets are now easier to modify directly within the engine. That means more flexibility for patches, insignias, and potentially new visual variations in the future.




On the AI side, UE5 improves pathfinding and behavior calculations, resulting in more natural, fluid, and organic movement. New animations will gradually be added as development continues toward the full release.

And yes, one of the biggest changes many of you will love! faster loading times. Better shader compilation means less waiting, more action.

All these changes come with expanded graphic settings and a few surprises I?ll reveal later. My goal remains the same: preserve the tactical sandbox DNA of Black One Blood Brothers while making every mission more readable, reactive, and full of choice. This update isn?t a finish line: it?s a foundation for what?s next.


Private Playtest Before Public Release

Before this update goes public, I?ll organize a private playtest. Information will be shared on the official Discord. If you?d like to take part, you?ll find details on Steam once the registration opens. https://discord.com/invite/3exB5C5GxT


The goal is to validate stability, comfort, and performance across as many setups as possible. If you enjoy testing builds, tweaking options, and giving clear feedback (hardware, impressions, short videos), your help will make a real difference. Together, we?ll make sure that on launch day, everyone experiences a solid and stable version of Black One Blood Brothers.


Thank you all for your patience, your trust, and your constant support. I may be developing alone, but I?m not doing this without you.


After the UE5 release, regular updates will resume as I move toward version 1.0. Until then, I?ll keep sharing monthly progress updates so you can follow the journey behind the scenes.


Thank you,
Helios