Hell Let Loose: Vietnam Patch 1.3 – Patchnotes

Patch 1.3 for Hell Let Loose: Vietnam It is now available. The update brings more bug fixes, technical improvements, and balancing adjustments based on community feedback. Key innovations include a softening of the NVA tunnels, a more direct gear shift for tanks, further optimizations of image quality on consoles, and numerous fixes for community servers.

In addition, Patch 1.3 addresses many issues related to gameplay, vehicles, weapons, user interface, controls, audio, VOIP and tutorials. The six cards available at the start also receive more than 100 corrections.

The most important new features in patch 1.3

NVA tunnels will be rebalanced

The cooldown for placing an NVA tunnel has doubled from five to ten minutes. This means that the tunnel network can no longer be replaced or moved to a new position as quickly. In addition, the journey to a tunnel destination is no longer possible if the target area is considered to be contested or “hot”. The behavior thus corresponds to the garrisons.

According to the developers, further changes to the fractional balancing are planned. Future adjustments should focus more on strengthening US forces and their tactical capabilities.

Tanks are more comfortable to switch

Tank drivers can now switch up and down without having to gas at the same time. The gear selection should thus feel faster and more intuitive.

Further improvements to console graphics

On consoles, several minor adjustments are expected to improve shadow quality and image noise in indirectly lit areas. The long-term goal remains higher image sharpness and resolution with stable performance. Further optimizations are already planned for upcoming updates.

Fixes for Community Servers

VIP lists are now retained even after a server restart. In addition, the “Map Shuffle” function mixes the selected content correctly again, and comments on VIP entries are displayed as intended.

Complete German patch notes for patch 1.3

Stability and performance

• The performance during the journey through tunnels has been improved.
• The barracks area has been optimized in terms of performance.
• A softlock in the bayonet attack into a body of water has been fixed.
• A possible softlock during a tunnel trip has been eliminated.
• The patch also includes an important workaround for stability issues on AMD hardware.

Allgemeines Gameplay

• Tunnels in neutral sectors are no longer erroneously destroyed when the enemy takes the area.
• Tunnels and garrisons no longer disappear visibly from the game world at a distance of about 200 meters.
• Radial menus are now updated immediately when seats in vehicles, mortars or anti-aircraft guns are occupied.
• Several situations where players could get into objects while overcoming obstacles have been corrected.
• Vehicles and other objects no longer fall through ambient objects at a very great distance from the player.

Weapons, equipment and combat

• The M79 grenade launcher does not leave a large, persistent cloud of smoke after a shot.
• When a reloading process is terminated by a weapon change, a shooting noise is no longer erroneously played.
• Fire while overcoming obstacles works more reliably.
• When the M1911A1 is re-equipped, the last shot in the third-person view is no longer repeated.
• The missing muzzle flash of the M1911A1 has been restored.
• The player’s hand no longer protrudes through the US ammunition box when overcoming obstacles.
• NVA mortars can now be destroyed with the US explosive charge M183.
• The M21 tank mine is correctly positioned from the third-person perspective.
• The hit detection of knives has been improved in several special cases.
• Own mines and enemy tank mines can now be destroyed with anti-aircraft guns.

Vehicles and helicopters

• Busy allied vehicles are given a name symbol outside the direct line of sight. When viewed directly, the occupants are still displayed.
• Stationary vehicles behave more stable on steep slopes.
• Killed helicopter occupants no longer fall into a T-pose.
• The shadows of game characters no longer appear on the ground during a helicopter flight.
• The input sensitivity in the seat of the tank commander now scales correctly with all zoom levels.
• Tanks no longer hover slightly above the ground after the spawn at headquarters.
• Tank drivers can change gears without having to give gas.
• When dismantling helicopter supplies, the intended visual effects are now displayed.
• Helicopter supplies now have a projectile collision.
• Several vehicle instructions no longer erroneously indicate “Not assigned”.
• With controller layout B, the pitch axis of the helicopter now takes into account the selected inversion.
• Co-pilots retain control of the helicopter when the player dies in the pilot's seat.

User interface, HUD and control

• The helicopter inversion now works as intended: By default, a forward movement on the analog stick lowers the nose; with activated inversion, this behavior is reversed.
• Bekannter Fehler: As a result of this change, the inversion of the armored shooter currently depends on the vehicle inversion and not on the gaze inversion. A fix is planned for patch 1.4.
• After knocking out an opponent as a paramedic, the mark "Ally turned off" no longer appears for a short time.
• The representation of objects on mission and tactical maps has been unified.
• The controller layouts in the settings now show the correct key assignments.
• Supply helicopters no longer display misleading text when attempted to drop them within a headquarters.
• The drop indicator no longer flickers when no supply can be dropped.
• Acceleration and braking can now also be assigned mouse buttons.
• Role progression and commander chat no longer use the same button.
• The “Reset” option in the barracks correctly removes the check mark from previously selected equipment.
• The weight value of the first slot for deadly or tactical equipment does not disappear after emptying the second slot.
• After rejoining a server, the resource generation by nodes is correctly included in the total profit.
• Interaction texts no longer get stuck on the scoreboard or the match end screen.
• The mission screen updates again correctly after accepting a troop invitation.
• Duplicate or incorrect keys in vehicles have been revised.
• The message for confirming commander commands will no longer be on the tactical map after opening and closing the command menu.
• The scoreboard can now also be opened in the KIA screen.
• Markings no longer appear briefly blue before they assume the color chosen in the marking wheel.
• The instructions for disembarking and changing seats are no longer displayed twice for pilots and co-pilots.
• The AA wrench now bears the correct designation.
• Truck speedometers can display speeds above 30 km/h.
• Removed standard assignments of mouse buttons are stored reliably.
• Already occupied buttons can be reassigned to other actions.
• The button for leaving a vehicle is no longer fixed and can be changed.
• Actions can now be placed on the right mouse button.
• Team resources are visible on the mission screen.
• Borders of commander commands are no longer cut off at the screen edges.
• Certain names of conquest points no longer appear below the ground.
• The credits have been updated.

Graphics and animations

• Fire effects no longer show distorted textures when they hit objects.
• The legs of lying game pieces no longer disappear in the corners of the ego perspective.
• Volumetric image errors in the sky after closing the tactical map were reduced.

Audio

• The napalm attack is again audible on the training ground.
• Smoke grenades and filaments are quieter inside tanks. As a result, they can be better distinguished from the igniter of an explosive charge.
• Spatial location of the sounds from garrisons, outposts and tunnels was improved.
• Enemies who move their camera lying in a bush are now audible.
• Crawling opponents again produce the intended sounds.
• Errors in subwoofer and LFE audio on some surround systems have been fixed.

Tutorials and training grounds

• N4 rifle grenades work correctly in the Grenadier/MG tutorial and on the training ground.
• The goal of pulling out of the water is also completed when leaving the swimming pool on the left.
• If you leave the unit during the re-entry section in the scout tutorial, you will no longer trigger a softlock.
• Players with a colon in the name can re-enter tutorials and the practice ground.

Social, voice chat and servers

• Servers no longer erroneously report a ping of 0 ms.
• The settings of the group voice chat now mute the voice input correctly.
• On PlayStation 5, a bug was fixed that caused ejected players to lose proximity voice chat and only use it again after disconnecting the headset from the controller.
• VIP comments on community servers are displayed correctly.
• The radio HUD remains visible during a tunnel trip.
• VOIP no longer stutters or interrupts when switching to the KIA screen.
• Restarting community servers no longer deletes the VIP list.
• “Map Shuffle” selects the specified content again correctly randomly.

More than 100 corrections on all six cards

The art team has revised all six launch cards. In total, patch 1.3 includes more than 100 card fixes. These include, inter alia:

• floating objects and plants;
• overlap of objects and vegetation,
• faulty terrain and water transitions,
• Spawn points where players could get stuck,
• tessellation errors and stretched textures,
• collision surfaces extending too far,
• fehlende Innendekorationen,
• fehlerhafte Darstellungsdistanzen,
• LOD-Probleme,
• errors outside the playable area and on the tactical cards,
• Probleme beim Platzieren baubarer Objekte.

The developers want to continue to evaluate the reports of the players and further improve the maps with future patches.

Conclusion

Patch 1.3 is above all an extensive quality and troubleshooting update. The changes to the NVA tunnels are expected to have an immediate impact on balancing, while the new tank controls and numerous fixes on keyboard assignments, vehicles and community servers are expected to make the game smoother. Console gamers will receive further graphics optimizations, but will also have to expect step-by-step improvements in this area in the future.

Source: Official patch 1.3 notes from Hell Let Loose

Note: This article is an editorially prepared German summary of the official patchnotes. Individual designations may differ from the German translation in the game.

What changed patch 1.3 in Hell Let Loose: Vietnam?

Patch 1.3 bundled bug fixes, balance adjustments, and improvements to maps, weapons, operations, and stability.

Does patch 1.3 apply to PC and console?

The specific availability depends on the respective platform version. Check in-game whether the current build is installed.

Do I need to reset settings after the update?

Usually not. In case of new problems, changed options should first be checked and then the game files repaired.

What helps with poor performance after the patch?

Compare upscaling, shadows, effects and view range with the current performance guide and test changes individually.

What can I do in the event of a crash?

Update to a stable graphics driver, repair game files, and test-remove overlays or unstable overclocking.

Why can the feel of the game change after a patch?

Balance, animations, hit feedback and network corrections can change perception and timing, even if the frame rate remains similar.

Where are the complete changes?

The official patch note is the authoritative source. The frontline post ranks the most important points for players and server admins.

Where can I get help after patch 1.3?

Ask in the frontline Discord and name platform, hardware, drivers, error pattern and already tested steps.