Today, we are releasing the new 4.03.4 version of Squad Battles: Winter War.

Following on from the release of the latest Advance of the Reich on February 9^th, and Red Victory on February 20^th, we are bringing Winter War up to the same standard.

For those who may not be aware, Winter War is the predecessor to Advance of the Reich. Advance of the Reich covered the engagements on the Eastern Front in 1941/1942, while the Winter War spanned 1939 to 1941.

Squad Battles Graphical Updates

Winter War has been brought up to the current Squad Battles visual standard. It includes the updated graphics set: cleaner, more transparent unit and terrain artwork, rebuilt map elements (trees, brush, fields, walls, and other hexside details), and brand-new Eastern Front building graphics created specifically for this series—plus refreshed city and factory visuals to better match the scale of Squad Battles maps. Multiple seasonal “biomes” are included as well (summer, fall, barren, and snow), so the look of the battlefield shifts with the conditions.

You can find additional information about the new graphics update here.

There are many other improvements in versions 4.03.4. The following are the detailed changes as per the changelog.

Winter War Release 4.03.4 Changelog

Bug Fixes

·         Fixed: Crash when End of Battle song finishes.

·         Fixed: Indirect Fire should not be blocked by friendly units.

·         Fixed: Prevent multiple immobilizations.

·         Fixed: Prevent screen tearing when changing zoom levels.

Enhancements

·         Enhanced Burden of Command 3D graphics added. The beta graphics have been replaced with improved versions.

·         Four biomes added: Summer, Fall, Barren, and Snow.

·         Added biome-specific versions of the 3DSymbols file.

·         Fields, Marshes, Swamps, and Trails are no longer "erased" by Snow conditions, only Frozen.

·         Trenches are now obscured by terrain instead of lying on top.

·         Terrain graphics, including urban, can now have up to twenty-four variations.

·         All explosion animations redone, including new enhanced versions in 2D. There are now twenty-five frames for animation, up from twenty.

·         Support for Night Shading added, select in settings.

·         Swamp hexes added to 3D ground hexes.

·         Swamp hexes added to 2D terrain file.

·         Destroyed sparse villages added to the 2D terrain file.

·         Draw Rice Paddies in 3D mode.

·         Unit bases show in 3D when units are turned off.

·         3D units, both infantry and vehicle are centered in the hex, if there is a single unit.

·         New alternative hex outline color (white) added, select in settings.

·         3D hex outline occlusion added. The hex outline will no longer overwrite terrain.

·         Crew served weapons now show their morale status in both 2D and 3D.

·         Turning infantry or artillery in place will no longer draw enemy fire.

·         The status bar will no longer reveal the existence of a hidden enemy unit when moving into a hex with concealed units.

·         Increased the thickness of range circles in both 2D and 3D, when selecting Maximum Range (shortcut X).

Content Changes

·         Updated weapons and load data to use the new pyrotechnic animations.

·         Several scenarios have been designated as night scenarios. Night shading will be shown, if selected.

·         Twenty-six background music tracks added into the Music directory.

·         All scenarios have been reviewed to ensure the correct biome is used, as well as applying night shading, if applicable.

 

Winter War Release 4.03.3 Changelog (not released)

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 behaviour.

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 colours 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 colour, 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.

 

Winter War Release 4.03.2 Changelog (not released)

Bug Fixes

·         Fixed: Fix CTD when opening the "Rolling Barrages" dialog.

·         Fixed: Added exception handing for the SoLoud audio engine.

·         Fixed: Map Editor wouldn't open sub-maps correctly.

·         Fixed: Map pasting in the Map Editor.

·         Fixed: Proper placement of asymmetrical hexside features.

·         Fixed: Embankment hexsides were not drawn in 3D mode.

·         Fixed: Slopes were clashing with certain map features.

Enhancements

·         Replaced DirectSound with SoLoud audio engine.

·         Added dialog-based volume control.

 

 In addition to the above, there are some additional graphical improvements that did not make the 4.03.4 Advance of the Reich or Red Victory release. We will retrofit these into those titles soon.

They are as follows.

·         New 2D & 3D soft terrain

·         New 2D & 3D mud terrain

·         New 2D & 3D vineyards

·         New 3D fields

·         New 2D bridges

 

       Example of 2D bridges:

3D Vineyards and revised fields:

New soft ground state, various zoom levels:

New mud ground state: various zoom levels:

 

Winter War is a fascinating title, and our product description encapsulates this campaign well:

For 105 days, the tiny nation of Finland fought a war that typically merits only a footnote in the history books, or a passing remark in a WW2 documentaries. Taking on the vast manpower of the Soviet army, the Finns put up a fanatical defense of their homeland, inflicting horrific casualties on the invading Soviet army. In the end, the overwhelming number of Soviet troops and tanks sent into Finland forced the Finns to sue for peace, but they walked away from the conflict with their much bigger neighbor with their independence and national pride intact. Their struggle influenced the landscape and direction of the entire World War that followed--and perhaps the outcome as well.

There are 58 Scenarios included. These scenarios cover a range of engagements, from the Soviet Union's initial invasion of Finland in 1939 to its conclusion after 105 days, as well as the Continuation War of 1941, when Finland, as a co-belligerent with Germany, sought to recover much of what it had lost in 1939. 3 Campaigns link several scenarios together.

The longest scenario is only 22 turns, allowing a player to finish multiple engagements in an evening.

The game includes 24 unique maps, ranging from 270 to 38,272 hexes, covering the various engagements that typified the Winter War in Finland.

Squad Battles: Winter War includes the playable scenarios and campaigns, as well as a Getting Started scenario to introduce new players to the game system. The included scenarios are a good mix of small (company), medium (battalion) and large (regimental) engagements.

The Order of Battles includes Finnish, German, and Russian soldiers.

We included a lot of historical documentation and notes with this title. You can review each by clicking on the links below. Bill Trotter’s 400-page essay, "The White Death" on the Russo-Finnish War 1939-1940, is a fantastic, free inclusion.

Designer Notes

Situation Map

Scenarios Listing

"The White Death" by William Trotter

Visual Order of Battle - Figures

Visual Order of Battle - Heads

Vehicles and Weapons Encyclopaedia

Screenshots

Finally, below are some screenshots of the game. As with the entire Squad Battles series, this title has three 2D views and two 3D views to choose from. (Clicking the image shows you an enlarged version) As mentioned, you can find additional screenshots and information about the new graphic update here.

The new 4.03.4 Winter War can be bought directly from the store page here.

Note for existing Winter War owners: The latest patch must be applied to a clean 4.03.1 installation—do not patch over earlier versions. We strongly recommend downloading the full 4.03.4 installer from your store account rather than patching the previous 4.03.1 version, as the graphics have undergone extensive changes.