About
Vanguard: Normandy 1944
£11,101
495
Storm Juno Beach as the Canadians and push inland to Caen - fight in the small towns and villages of Normandy and on iconic hard-fought battlefields such as Carpiquet Airfield.
Be part of the first troops to refuse defeat and land on Sword Beach as the Free French who fought side-by-side with the elite British Royal Marine Commandos.
Call in fire support by providing your squad with artillery barrages and smoke cover with this stretch goal.
It’s June 6th 1944 and the Allied Invasion of Europe has begun. Storm the Normandy coast as the revered British Commandos, take and hold crucial objectives as the elite 6th Airborne, or hold the line as the fierce German Wehrmacht in this tactical multiplayer squad-based shooter.
Lead your team to victory by suppressing the enemy and using squad-based tactics to win the fight. With its real-world battlefields and painstakingly recreated weapons, equipment and uniforms all rendered in the stunning CRYENGINE, Vanguard: Normandy 1944 challenges players to fight and secure historic WWII objectives during the most ferocious and intense battle of modern history: D-Day.
Vanguard: Normandy 1944 immerses players into the intensity of online close-quarters infantry combat. In our Raid gamemode, every life matters; hold the line as the defenders, take up ambush positions with your squad, and critically stay alive to hold the objective. Alternatively, assault the objective as the attacking team by advancing with your squad, suppressing the enemy, and wiping out the defenders to capture the objective.
We designed Raid as our principle gamemode because we want to put the player in the boots of an infantry soldier and instantly experience a slice of hectic, hardcore combat on real-life battlefields without having to run around a large map trying to find the action.
The team developing Vanguard: Normandy 1944 came together because of the desire to play a historically accurate, tactical, team-based multiplayer game that is still accessible and fun to play (yes, we do believe those features can co-exist!). We don’t want to spend 20 minutes walking to an objective, or game rounds lasting over an hour. We want to create an intense and tactical objective-based shooter in a modern engine that is fun to play, yet players still face the threat that a single bullet can end their life. You will find that a well organised squad utilising suppression and manoeuvring as a single fighting unit is the most effective road to success.
Pathfinder Games was formed in 2018 to bring the project formerly known as Traction Wars to public release on the Steam Early Access platform. Traction Wars originally began as a Crysis Wars mod - using the CRYENGINE SDK. This was used to learn and develop skills in game development which has provided the foundation for Vanguard: Normandy 1944 over the last 3 years.
This is hands down the hardest decision we as a team have had to make. We have discussed at length and explored every possibility but in order to bring Vanguard: Normandy 1944 to release and make the game the best it can be, we require funding to provide dedicated servers at launch alongside other unavoidable upfront operational and infrastructure costs.
Our financial estimate based on the £10,000 funding goal will be towards:
Vanguard: Normandy 1944 has been in development by a small team of hobbyists who have given up considerable spare time to make the game we have always wanted to play - a tense, tactical and accessible shooter rooted in history.
When we decided to go the crowdfunding route, we unanimously agreed to only use the funds to provide the necessary launch and operational costs that are unavoidable. This is why our minimum goal is £10,000 / $13,000
Please note: with our first release on Early Access, the game will have a limited scope consisting of 2 factions, 3 maps, 6 main weapons, and 1 gamemode. With your generous support, we wish to use this Kickstarter to enter into Early Access with the ability to create more content, continue improving the game and make it the best and most fun it can be.
The following are rewards are available to our backers.
Backer Newsletter
All backers get access to our exclusive kickstarter backer newsletter which will offer the latest behind-the-scenes updates from the developers of the game.
Steam Early Access Key (Digital)
Pre-order your copy of the game at Steam Early Access launch with a digital key.
Game Credit
Have your name in the game credits! Eligible tiers will have their name added to the game credits in descending order of pledge level. Top tier backers will find their names on the first page of the credits.
Original Soundtrack Album (Digital)
Downloadable copy of the Vanguard soundtrack featuring at least 10 pieces composed specially for the game. The album will be distributed before the full release of the game and following the Steam Early Access Launch.
Unique Wallpaper (Kickstarter Exclusive)
Downloadable wallpaper exclusive to Kickstarter backers.
Forum Badges (Kickstarter Exclusive)
Display your support for the game on our community forums with exclusive badges for certain pledge tiers
T-Shirt (Kickstarter Exclusive)
Wear your support for the game with pride with these exclusive cotton Kickstarter T-Shirts. Get one while you can as we aren’t making many!
Available in sizes S - XXXXL (European Sizes)
Signed Posters (Kickstarter Exclusive)
Decorate your wall with two A2 posters. Prior to shipping you can opt for them to be hand signed by a member of the development team.
Your Name In the Game (Kickstarter Exclusive)
Have your real name added into one of our levels either carved into a building or written onto the walls, just like the names of so many of the real soldiers of 1944.
Each name will be hand written to be unique and will be large enough to be clearly readable so you will be able to explore our maps to find your own name.
Replica British Paratrooper Gear (Physical)
This “Thank You Pack” contains physical full-size high quality replica props identical to the ones used as references during the development of the game. The pack contains:
- Steel Replica MK2 British Paratrooper Helmet & Netting (not shown below)
- Canvas Replica Officers map case with leather strap and reproduction D-Day maps
- ACME Clicker used by US Paratroopers
The helmet will be available either plain or with exclusive Vanguard markings which you can choose before shipping.
Custom Level (Kickstarter Exclusive)
This is an exclusive opportunity to influence one of the next levels created for Vanguard and see your choice of level in the game! Eligible backers can choose a battle/operation to be recreated by the team.
The choice of battles/operations must have taken place in Normandy in 1944, be feasible, infantry focused, only include forces on both sides which are already in the game (or include forces in stretch goals if the target is met), be in keeping with the authenticity and historical accuracy of the game and be approved by the team.
The map will be developed and added to the game after the Steam Early Access launch.
Good examples include; Gold Beach, Carpiquet Airport or Hillman Fortress.
Invalid examples would include; Berlin (outside Normandy & unfeasible), Villers Bocage (it was principally a tank battle) & Carentan (doesn’t feature forces in the game). If you would like to discuss your idea before backing please contact us!
Our Stretch Goals have been produced in a way which would allow us to speed up the development time of planned features through investing in more programming and technical resources whilst retaining the original scope and not bloat the development schedule.
It may be tempting for some teams to promise the earth with overly ambitious funding goals and for us to lavishly quit our jobs, rent an office and hire out booths at events, but we want to be honest with not just ourselves but the community backing this project. We have been doing a lot with a little for a long time, and this won’t change.
Our anticipated release date on Steam Early Access is Q4 2018.
Thank you for reading our Kickstarter page. We hope that you will consider backing Vanguard: Normandy 1944 and help us bring this game to Steam Early Access.
You can follow our progress through our Website, Facebook and Twitter where we would love to hear from you. If you’re unsure whether you’d like to be part of this journey, we hope you can wait for our final release and check us out again. As hardcore gamers ourselves we are aware how frustrating it can be and we do not wish to mislead anyone. Thank you for your understanding!
Vanguard: Normandy 1944 is powered by CRYENGINE, which gives us the opportunity as a small indie team to create large open levels with realistic dynamic lighting and state-of-the-art visuals.
Risks and challenges
A project like this is a complex process and requires the successful collaboration of Programmers, Designers, Artists and Sound Engineers. Minimising delays are one of the largest challenges we face as a team, which is why we have brought this game as close to completion as possible before asking for your generous support.
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Funding period
- (24 days)