27th August 2005
BG2

Latest Team Member | BattleGroup2 Side-arms

Welcome to another Battlegroup 2 Progress update.

In this update, we're showcasing more sidearms that will be used in the first release.

Latest Team Member
First, we would like to welcome Gibbage to the development team. Gibbage, as some of you may know from his work on the IL2 series of games, has also done work for the History channel by creating airplanes for their programmes. He has already modelled a plane for us which looks very well done and is completely compatible with BF2. Expect Battlegroup 2 to have some extremely accurate and well detailed planes because of his skills.

Now, onto the sidearms.

BattleGroup2 Side-arms

Tokarev Model 33

Caliber: 7.62mm
Length: 7.68in (193mm)
Weight: 1lb 13oz (840gm)
Barrel: Four grooves, right hand twist
Feed system: Eight round detachable box magazine
System of Operation: Recoil, Browning link
Muzzle Velocity: 418MPS

 

The first semi automatic pistol adopted by Soviet forces was the TT30 designed by Feydor V. Tokarev. Not many were produced before an improved TT33 was standardized in 1933. Tokarev’s pistol was based on Browning’s Colt M1911 but lacked the grip safety, and the firing pin, hammer, and lock mechanism were made into a removable unit. Most pistol magazines had the feed lips built into them, but on the TT33 they were machined inside the frame of the weapon meaning that the magazine could now be a simple box and still work properly after rough handling. It was a powerful weapon despite its small caliber because of the high velocity ammunition, which was also in use for submachine guns. Although it replaced the older Nagant revolver, sufficient quantities were never met until late in the war.

Nagant Model 1895

Caliber: 7.62mm
Length: 9.06 in. (229mm)
Weight: 1lb 12oz (820gm)
Barrel: Four grooves, right hand twist
Feed system: Seven round chambered cylinder
System of Operation: Revolver, single or double action, solid frame with swing out gate and hand ejector
Muzzle Velocity: 272 MPS

 

The Nagant revolver was designed at the Fabrique D’Armes Emile et Leon Nagant to replace the Smith & Wesson revolvers of the Russian Army. It became known as the “Revolver Nagant Obrazets 1895” upon being adopted into the Army. The most innovative feature of its design was the system of moving the cylinder forward on cocking, so that the coned breech end of the barrel entered the mouth of the chamber, forming a near gas tight seal. Also, it used an unconventional cartridge, which completely enclosed the bullet.

That’s all for today, we are still searching for talented texture artists as well as modellers for the few remaining vehicles that we have left to complete, so if you're interested drop us a line at our forums (www.battlegroup42forum.com)!

16th August 2005
BG2

BattleGroup's Latest Recruits | The Latest BG2 Small-arms | Weapon Sounds | Bipods - New Feature for BG2

Today we are showcasing one of our automatic weapons, as well as telling you about another impossible feature coded by the experts at Battlegroup 2.

BattleGroup's Latest Recruits
First off some new additions to our team:

Airborne has been recruited as a skinner, but he has begun work on an extensive and overdue project that we are keeping under wraps as of right now.

Most of you know Frosty, who has created a minimod which is designed to completely enhance BF2's gameplay to realsitic standards - without the Battlefield 2 Editor. We have recruited him as a coder because he has shown great skill and ingenuity. Expect him and our other coders to produce high quality unique features that will be only in Battlegroup 2.

Yarin has also joined Battlegroup 2. He is an expert programmer who is adept at many languages, and he will help us in many aspects of modding, whether inside of it or outside.

As always, we are recruiting new talent, so if you are a capable animator, modeller, skinner or unwrapper, post in our recruitment section on our forums.

The Latest BG2 Small-arms
Now, onto the PPSH 41.

 

PPSh 1941

Caliber: 7.62mm
Length: 33.1in (841mm)
Weight: 8lb (3.63kg)
Barrel: Four grooves, right hand twist
Feed System: 71 round detachable drum, or rare 35 round detachable box magazine
System of Operation: Blowback
Rate of Fire: 900 RPM
Muzzle Velocity: 500 MPS

Designated the Pistolet Pulyemet Shpagina and developed in 1940-41, it was an effort to produce a weapon more suited to mass production than the PPD 40. The PPSh used stamped steel for the body and jacket, retained the chromium lined barrel and wooden stock. At one point in desperation, barrels were used from Mosin Nagant rifles; one barrel could be cut into two for the submachine guns therefore saving time.

 

Its 71 round drum gave the firer a good reserve of ammunition, perfect for house to house combat. Whole divisions of the Red Army were armed with nothing but PPShs as it was suited to aggressive Soviet tactics. The weapon was rugged, simple, cheap, and effective with more than five million made.

We also are showcasing a small video of the reload animation taken using the upcoming version of gamecam (www.planetgamecam.com). The PPSH 41 was the first of 10 hand weapons that have been given full custom first person animations. BG2 will feature completely custom and accurate 1P weapon animations.

http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=BF2_11

Weapon Sounds
We would like to add that our sound developer, Anton, has created a realistic MP40 and K98 firing sound that will be used in our first release. He has begun creating a sound for the PPSH 41 as well, and we expect it to be of as high a calibre as his previous ones.

Bipods - New Feature for BG2
One of the unique features that will be in the first release of Battlegroup 2 will be bipods. The support class will have this advantage over other classes. Bipods work how one would expect them to: your recoil, movement speed, turning speed, and normal deviation are greatly reduced. There is also a two second delay when switching from standard mode to bipod mode (or vice versa), where one can not fire. Defending an outpost as a support will now be more easier, but assaulting one using bipods will not be a wise choice.

That is it for today, stay tuned with us, and drop by our forums (www.battlegroup42forum.com) or IRC channel (#BG42mod on Gamesurge) to chat about this update!

 

4th August 2005
BG2

First BattleGroup2 Hand Weapons Ingame

Having recently shown renders of our new Mosin Nagant, SVT, and K98 models, it is with great pleasure that we are able to show off the first ingame pictures of new weapons in BF2. We are grateful to EA for being invited to beta test the new BF2 Editor, which is a very complex but powerful program. As well as importing small-arms and developing new animations (mostly done by Bobton) we have been working on importing statics and vehicles, and making maps, and will show the results of those endeavours in future news posts. In the meantime here are some screenshots of the Mosin Nagant and K98 ingame. For more information please call in to our forums at www.battlegroup42forum.com.

 

2nd August 2005
BG2

Website Reminder | Mosin Nagant Skin Update| BattleGroups Latest Team Members | New BattleGroup2 Small-arms

A REMINDER: DAILY VISITS TO OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.BATTLEGROUP42.COM ARE NOW BEING TRACKED FOR THE TOP 100 BF2 MODS LIST - IF YOU ARE A FAN PLEASE VISIT THE SITE AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN, OR CONSIDER MAKING IT YOUR HOME PAGE. WE HAVE PLANS IN PLACE TO UPDATE IT AND PUT IN MORE REGULAR NEWS SO THERE WILL BE MUCH MORE TO SEE AS BG2 DEVELOPS.

To see where we currently are in the chart, visit here:
http://www.doomlab.com/bf2topmods/

Mosin Nagant Skin Update
Last week, we showed you some of Smig's completed statics. This week we'll do as promised and continue on with weapons, but before that there is a minor correction to make. While Bobton did do the skin for the Mosin Nagant shown previously, our mapper Waxx recoloured the wood to suit it better, so Waxx deserves credit for that skin as well.

The following weapons are the Soviet and German counterparts to the Gewehr 43 and Mosin Nagant we showed in the earlier newspost. Both models were done by Geronimo and the skins were made by Bobton. Expect there to be three variants of each of the four rifles, as well as a fourth for the K98.

BattleGroups Latest Team Members
Also, we would like to welcome a few more additions to the BG team.

Santala will work on python coding for us and provide us with new gamemodes and features for our first release, making Battlegroup 2 truly one of the most high quality mods that will be available to the public.

Lord Plutonius is back for BF2 and has modelled three completely accurate stationary weapons (heavy MGs) that will be used in our first release. Renders of these magnificent creations will be shown in a future newspost.

ArcticWolf has made some very nice maps for the original Battlefield 1942 and Desert Combat. Most of you more than likely know him from various forums, and can attest to that fact.

Lt. Moeder Theresa is also another mapper who has entered the fray. He has done some very nice exclusive Battlegroup 42 maps, and has been recruited because of this fact.

As you can see we are nicely set with mappers, but we could always use more developers! If you are a modeller, skinner or an animator and are looking for a highly organized high quality WWII mod to join, do not hesitate to go to our forums and make a post in our public recruitment section.

That is all for this week folks, we hope everyone will have a great productive week. If you want to chat with some BG developers or fans, visit our IRC channel on Gamesurge at #BG42mod.

For more information on the Battlegroup2 (BF2) and Battlegroup42 (BFV) WW2 mods visit our discussion forum at www.battlegroup42forum.com.

New BattleGroup2 Small-arms

Tokarev SVT 40

Caliber: 7.62mm
Length: 48.1in (1.22m)
Weight: 8lb 8oz (3.86kg)
Barrel: Four grooves, right hand twist
Feed System: 10 round detachable box magazine
System of Operation: Gas, tipping bolt
Muzzle Velocity: 830 MPS

The SVT 40 was the third self loading rifle to be in service in the USSR. The first being the AVS36 introduced in 1936. It produced excessive muzzle blast, recoil, and it was too easy for dirt to get into the mechanism to be of any success. In 1938, F. V. Tokarev introduced his Samozariadnyia Vintovka Tokareva 38 and although the basic design was effective, the components were made too light in an effort to reduce weight that it could not endure the stresses of warfare. In 1940 it was replaced by an improved model in which the mechanism was kept but everything else made sturdier. In service, they were susceptible to dirt and many were converted to sniping rifles, where the semi automatic mode would be an advantage and the sniper could devote more time to proper maintenance.

Variants:
SVT 40 Carbine: A shortened version of the rifle, not many produced.

Karabiner 98k

Caliber: 7.92mm
Length: 43.6in. (1.11m)
Weight: 8lb 9oz (3.9kg)
Barrel: Four grooves, right hand twist
Feed System: Five round internal magazine, clip loaded
System of Operation: Mauser turn bolt
Muzzle Velocity: 755 MPS

The Kar 98k (kurz = short) was the last of the Mauser rifles used by the German Army. Before WW1, Germany as well as some other countries, produced a shortened version of their infantry rifle. For Germany this was the Gewehr 98. The main change was to reduce the length by six inches, simplify the rear sight, turn down the bolt handle, and cut away some of the wood stock to grasp the bolt more easily. The result was the Kar 98 which became the standard rifle in WW1 and completely replaced the Gew 98. In the early 1930s, the design was simplified to facilitate mass production. The new Kar 98k was adopted by the Wehrmacht in 1935 and was produced by the millions until 1945 since there were never sufficient numbers of automatic weapons to replace bolt action rifles completely.