[WIP] Westwall -- a World War 2 total conversion mod

[gurdy 479]

 

Westwall is a total conversion addon for ArmA 3 set in Western Germany during the last eight months of the Second World War. Currently, our focus is on creating our first terrain Ochsenkopf Trail, which is set during the stagnant fighting in the Hürtgen Forest. To accompany this, we are also developing a basic set of playable Fall 1944 US Army and German Heer units. Here is a general overview of our release plan:

--Terrain: Ochsenkopf Trail 2x2km – Fall Version
--Units: US/German Rifleman, Rifle Grenadiers, Submachinegunners, Machinegunners, and more.
--Weapons: K98k, M1 Garand, M1/M1A1 Thompson, M3A1, MP40, and more.
--Gear: US and German field gear, helmets, caps, and more.
--Uniforms: US M1943 Field Uniform and German Reversible Winter Uniforms

 

 

Beyond this initial content demo, we are in the planning stages of what we consider the ultimate goal of the Westwall project—creating interesting new ways for players to engage with the historical content of our subject. To better achieve this goal, we want to further work with historians in and around the Vossenack area and examine content outside of typical combat scenarios. While the majority of our effort will go towards developing assets for our combat gameplay, we are also discussing and prototyping scenarios that allow players to explore our maps and participate in activities that depict both historical combat and non-combat settings. In addition, we are working to find interactive ways to connect users to a wide range of text, video, and internet sources both in and out of the game covering topics ranging from soldier’s stories to information on local culture and history. While we are starting out our journey in the Hürtgen Forest, we hope to move through a selection of topics chronologically until the war ends. After Hürtgen, we hope to explore German-occupied Elsaß. This will undoubtedly be a long term project, but it is one we are very passionate about and we hope you will join us. Thank you.
 

[scorch_052 127]

Are you working alone?

 

Good luck.

[gurdy 479]

No, I have several friends pitching in. :D Thanks!

[Gruntini 40]

Awesome to see you doing something like this gurdy! Your modeling work is awesome.

 

A lot of WW2 projects have come and gone, but I think I'm the most excited for this one. It seems more period-focused than others I've seen, opposed to "we're going to create the entirety of the western/eastern front!"

 

Can't wait to see more, man. Good luck.

[ineptaphid 6413]

It's looking good. 

 

Good luck :)

[Alex150201 894]

I'm subscribing to the thread and I am keeping an eye out on this, I hope we see more WIP pics soon. Good Luck!

[Aniallator 164]

Woah, looks good so far! Looking forward to more WIPs.

[Kilroy95 29]

I am really excited for this! Hell, I've even subscribed to this post to be up-to-date haha. Mr. Gurdy, I have some WWII rifles and some militaria, if you could use any of it for sounds, animations, or reference pictures I'll be glad to help!

[gurdy 479]

Thanks guys! It really means a lot. Hello again! I hope everyone is having a nice day.

 

Today I'll be showing off the Hafthohlladung 3kg and 3.5kg anti-tank grenades. While the Hafthohlladungen were made generally obsolete by the introduction of the Faustpatrone and, later, the Panzerfaust, they remained in limited use throughout the rest of the war. Disclaimer: there will be a lot of mines and explosives shown over the next few weeks--I did them first to get them out of the way.  :D

[Kilroy95 29]

 

Thanks guys! It really means a lot. Hello again! I hope everyone is having a nice day.

 

Today I'll be showing off the Hafthohlladung 3kg and 3.5kg anti-tank grenades. While the Hafthohlladungen were made generally obsolete by the introduction of the Faustpatrone and, later, the Panzerfaust, they remained in limited use throughout the rest of the war. Disclaimer: there will be a lot of mines and explosives shown over the next few weeks--I did the first to get them out of the way.  :D

 

Great work! Will these be able to stick to the side of the vehicles?

[Alex150201 894]

Love it.

[gurdy 479]

Hello everyone! I know it's Superbowl Sunday for many of those in the US, so I'll keep this short. Here's a look at three new US mines: the M2A3B bounding AP mine, the M1A1 AT mine, and the M6A2 heavy AT mine (for those pesky big cats!)

 

 

As always, have a nice day!

[Alex150201 894]

Hello everyone! I know it's Superbowl Sunday for many of those in the US, so I'll keep this short. Here's a look at three new US mines: the M2A3B bounding AP mine, the M1A1 AT mine, and the M6A2 heavy AT mine (for those pesky big cats!)

 

 

As always, have a nice day!

You are really good at making mines. Again, another piece well done.

[Hagraven 1]

I just started to follow your FB page, it would be awesome to see some high quality WW2 stuff. Looking at the mines, you're a precious guy, keep it up ;) 

[Kilroy95 29]

Hello everyone! I know it's Superbowl Sunday for many of those in the US, so I'll keep this short. Here's a look at three new US mines: the M2A3B bounding AP mine, the M1A1 AT mine, and the M6A2 heavy AT mine (for those pesky big cats!)

 

 

As always, have a nice day!

Amazing work!

[kickapoo0 88]

hi Gurdy,

 

are you planning on making a mod with more "last ditch innovations" than the traditional weaponry?

 

And is this going to be Vanilla compatible or is it more like RHS?

[Alex150201 894]

hi Gurdy,

 

are you planning on making a mod with more "last ditch innovations" than the traditional weaponry?

 

And is this going to be Vanilla compatible or is it more like RHS?

I dont get what you mean vanilla compatible or more like RHS.

[R0adki11 3949]

I dont get what you mean vanilla compatible or more like RHS.

He means will this work with out of the box Arma3 content or will it be more like a total conversion mod like RHS (has its own armour system etc).

[gurdy 479]

hi Gurdy,

 

are you planning on making a mod with more "last ditch innovations" than the traditional weaponry?

 

And is this going to be Vanilla compatible or is it more like RHS?

 

Hello! I am planning to feature the mainly traditional set of weapons with a smaller number of overlooked and late-war ones (things like the Volkssturm weapons). That being said, I want to keep it pretty reasonable, so no plans for Vampir kit for the StG. :D

 

And to your second question: vanilla-friendly damage setup, community compatibility and general ease-of-use are extremely important to me. Since we're a ways off from having any vehicles ready, I've waiting to make a decision on which community option to pursue for an armor/CE/KE/HEAT damage system. I personally have the most experience with RAM and its implementation into RHS, so most of our internal documentation reflects that, but I am still open to other options. :)

 

-----

 

Here are two new explosives for US Army units: a 2x bundle of 1/2 lb. TNT blocks and a 2x bundle of M2 Tetrytol blocks. The functional difference between the two charges ingame (aside from the explosive yield) is the deployment method--while both bundles can be placed like a traditional explosive, the relative light weight of the TNT bundle means it can be lobbed a short distance. Despite the range limitation, it could still be bad news for bunkers and vehicles!

 

 

Thanks everyone! :D

[kickapoo0 88]

Hello! I am planning to feature the mainly traditional set of weapons with a smaller number of overlooked and late-war ones (things like the Volkssturm weapons). That being said, I want to keep it pretty reasonable, so no plans for Vampir kit for the StG. :D

 

 

the Volkssturm weapons are exactly what i meant. Weapons like "Gerät Neumünster" or "VK98"

 

If you care, i might know someone who is willing to spend some highpolys of Stg44 and many others.

[R0adki11 3949]

As your doing explosive munitions a the moment, will we see a sticky bomb (The sort of one featured in Saving Private Ryan)?

[Alex150201 894]

He means will this work with out of the box Arma3 content or will it be more like a total conversion mod like RHS (has its own armour system etc).

Got it thanks.

 

The TNT bundles mate!

[Alex150201 894]

As your doing explosive munitions a the moment, will we see a sticky bomb (The sort of one featured in Saving Private Ryan)?

Oh yes! That would be the best!

[Kilroy95 29]

As your doing explosive munitions a the moment, will we see a sticky bomb (The sort of one featured in Saving Private Ryan)?

Oh yeah! Nothing like your standard issue GI sock with some grease and explosives  :D

[gurdy 479]

As your doing explosive munitions a the moment, will we see a sticky bomb (The sort of one featured in Saving Private Ryan)?

 

Haha, it probably won't appear in the first release. :) I definitely think it would be a fun item to visit along with some other things like the Panzerwurfmine. So, maybe one day. 

 

-----

 

Time for an update! We've got two new previews for you:

To start off, we wanted to give a glimpse at the M3A1 high poly that RedPheonix has been diligently working on. He has put a lot of time into it and we believe it has paid off!

 

 

The second batch of assets we wanted to show was the family of Model. 39 grenades as it exists in Westwall--both concurrent production variants of the Eihandgranate will be available, along with versions fitted with the rare fragmentation sleeve. In order to further increase the grenade's versatility, we have included the Wurfkörper 361 adapter that allows the grenade to be fired from the Sturmpistole.

 

 

That wraps it up for now! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more previews.