Hello Everyone,

We are very pleased to make available the updated Squad Battles: The Proud and the Few.

Finally, a full twelve months after the prior 4.03.1 updates we are starting the roll-out of version 4.03.3.

We have discussed the changes included in Squad Battles: The Proud and the Few in the December 2024 Quick Take as well as further information in the recent 2025 Quarter One Update.

A lot of additional work has gone into this title, even since the recent Quarterly Review. See the following 4.03.3 changelog with the new entries since the detailed December Changelog highlighted in red.

The Proud and the Few Release 4.03.3 Changelog

Please note version 4.03.3 is a Full Installer only, no patch from prior versions is available.

Bug Fixes

·         Fixed: Uncrewed guns hide other counters in the hex.

·         Fixed: Loading a vehicle with passengers onto another vehicle with a "Can Carry" flag and on-board weapons results in the on-board weapons being transferred to the new passenger.

·         Fixed: Vehicles being carried by other vehicles show as separate counters on the map.

·         Fixed: Vehicles with passengers stacked with weapons on the ground are drawn with an offset.

·         Fixed: Corrections for Quality Modifier & Alternate Density Optional Rules.

·         Fixed: Error reporting when more than one weapon is selected.

·         Fixed: 3D graphics for bridges and explosions.

·         Fixed: Corrections for IR and Visual detection. Visual and IR Detection devices will not reveal the unit using them. IR Detection Devices will not be subject to scatter.

·         Fixed: Corrected the Jump map terrain drawing.

·         Fixed: Selecting Help in Dialogs where available will open the User manual at the applicable page. We are now including SumatraPDF (with permission) to enable this behavior.

Enhancements

·         Background music is now supported, and volume can be separately controlled.

·         Victory Point calculations added to the Strength Dialog.

·         Changed Editor icons.

·         Uncrewed guns now have a symbol indicator on the map.

·         Changes to graphics:

o   New counters. The prior counters are available in the Alt directory under each nationality.

o   New 2D & 3D Jungle graphics.

o   New 2D & 3D building graphics.

o   Various other 2D & 3D terrain changes across all map types.

o   Water edges next to beaches are now drawn in 3D mode.

·         Unit box changes

o   Moved weapon strength indicator to bottom left of the box.

o   New font for units.

o   Special load attributes are displayed in weapon alt box.

o   Company colors added to unit boxes in Hex Info area, using the border around name for Company Markings.

o   Armor is displayed in front of vehicles box instead of Crew.

·         Enhanced terrain preview box text.

·         Senior leaders are highlighted with the alternative highlight color, where applicable.

·         Scenario features such as entrenchments now remain visible when selecting "Toggle Units".

·         Game will now load different region map features in 3D mode.

·         Adjusted Cave error message.

·         "Sparse Fill" function added to map editor.

·         Updated User manual.

The 4.03.3 update for Squad Battles: The Proud and the Few is the first update for this title since the initial 4.00 release by WDS back in November 2021. This means there is a replacement full game installer. There will not be a patch for the prior WDS 4.00 version or any JTS release. You will find that the game installer should be in your store account by the time you see this blog post.

Here are links to the revised or new documentation if you want to browse it before purchase. Just click on the image to access. All are included with the new build.

The User manual has had another extensive rewrite.

There are also two versions of the Visual Order of Battle, one for ‘figures’ and one for ‘heads’. These will be included in game but can also be downloaded by clicking on the below images.

Here is an example of an OOB included in game in both formats.

There is also a Vehicles & Weapons Encyclopedia that provides statistics on all the equipment modelled in the game.

If you are interested in buying this title you can go direct to the product page here: The Proud and the Few

Finally, here are some screenshots from the updated The Proud and the Few title. All can be clicked for full size.

Thank you for all your support and ongoing encouragement for finalizing this update. There is a huge amount of work that goes into them, and hopefully any current owner will feel like they have a totally new game.

For existing owners you can grab a new installer from your Store Account.

And finally, if you would like to discuss this, or any other title in this series, you can go to the dedicated Squad Battles section of our official forums.