Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter

[Asid]

New Update v0.9.28!
Mon, 6 February 2023




Dear Destroyer fans,

As we keep on working to bring you version 1.0, most of our programming efforts are focused on providing the best campaign experience that we can deliver. In the meantime, we have upgraded our project to a more recent Unity version in order to enhance the visuals and make the most of the technological solutions available to us at the moment.

Therefore, our new update mostly focuses on the visual side of things - new sky, new volumetric clouds, enhanced VFX, and a new performance mode to allow for smoother running on older machines (full list of upgrades below). Please rest assured, however, that future updates will once again introduce significant gameplay upgrades, and, among them, even a few that will be utilized in the campaign that is to come.

That is not to say we have not improved any gameplay aspects - the new update brings a complete overhaul of the CBDR system and we are confident that with its next iteration, we will be able to implement collision avoidance. This will make for a much less stressful experience when hunting with other escorts, which has been a challenge so far. So yes, we are definitely on track to tackle this issue and our programmers are working on it as I am typing these words.

Another thing we are preoccupied with is a complete overhaul of the U-boat controller which should allow us to further improve enemy behavior. Yes, we have already made numerous corrections thanks to your feedback, but we continue to work on this aspect as there are always things that we can (and will) improve. Sadly, we are also certain that regardless of what we do, there will always be voices in the community complaining about U-boats making 20 knots when submerged and making turns on the spot… Well, there is only one thing we can ask those players to do: please send us screenshots of your DRT as a proof, or it didn’t happen

Anyhow, we are very pleased that Destroyer is becoming bigger and better every day, and we are also happy that it has just become prettier. As usual, you can find the full list of upgrades below.

Happy hunting!

Artur Salwarowski
Destroyer Lead Designer
Iron Wolf Studio

•   New sky graphics
•   Volumetric clouds
•   complete weather system overhaul, allowing for more weather variety
•   Improved water physics
•   Upscaling: DLSS, FSR, TAAU, and CAS are now supported
•   New performance mode to enable smoother running on older machines
•   Improved VFX (Starshells, 5-inch guns muzzle flash)
•   Improved visuals in depth charge camera view
•   Added lens flares
•   Smoother searchlight movement
•   Fixed oil leak visuals
•   New CBDR system
•   small bug fixes

[Asid]

The U-Boats Strike Back
Mon, 13 March 2023



Dear Destroyer fans,

As we move ever closer to version 1.0, there is a lot to look forward to, but also many obstacles to overcome. We are at an exciting (but at the same time difficult) point in development where we are stretched thin between working on the campaign, applying current gameplay fixes and adding new features to the game. Each of these on its own would be a big workload for our little team, but handling all three at the same time is really causing the project to almost reach critical mass.

However, we are steadily moving forward and, hopefully, tackling some of the issues you have observed as we go. Our newest feature is the Uboats’ ability to attack our destroyer and the remaining escorts. This is a feature that has been requested since the very appearance of our demo, and although this is not something that you will see every five minutes, then again, attacks like these did occur, especially if the U-boat captain was desperate, or driven by opportunity.

Next, we once again took a close look at some of the most frequent complaints by the community, namely depth charge hit detection. It already got a major overhaul two updates ago (with the added option to increase the explosion size of your depth charges), yet it seems like the transition to the new version of Unity actually messed with more than just graphics - it also affected several key game mechanics. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, and we hope that, with the current update, we have been able to correct all the bugs that appeared during that transition.

Regardless, the current update introduces the reworked depth charge system that we promised a few months ago: a new set of colliders (both for depth charges and the U-boat itself), a new way in which damage is calculated (including a much bigger chance for critical hits that can obliterate the U-boat instantly), and recalibrated targeting, to go in line with all of the above.

On top of that, we made sure that the U-boats will now be intimidated more easily and for longer periods of time, depending on how much damage they have been dealt. Escorts’ speeds have also been increased to make them more flexible and maneuverable. As always, all these and other small fixes have been introduced following your comments and requests.

We hope that this new update will be to your liking, and, as always, we wish you many successfully defended convoys!

Artur Salwarowski
Destroyer Lead Designer
Iron Wolf Studio

Changes in this update:

    U-boats attack our destroyer and escorts
    New U-boat controller
    Ambush fixes
    Depth charge hit detection and targeting reworked
    U-boats now forfeit the attack for longer when threatened or damaged
    Escorts are now faster
    Lookouts report floating debris
    CBDR corrections