Eastern Front News #04.12.2009

ATTENTION!



Welcome to Ivan Danko's Drill Ground. War is close. And in order to prepare your for it, I will explain to you our new Soviet Union upgrade system.


The Armory


This is the building where the Red Army receives its upgrades. All upgrades are globally and affect all new units of the applying type that are produced. It is important to plan your strategy ahead. Make a basic layout of which doctrine you want to take, the units you want to be your core force, and choose the appropriate upgrades for your army. These upgrades might seem expensive at first, but remember that they are the only expenditure for Soviet ammunition, as doctrine abilites are only restricted by cooldown timers. And, they do not just apply for one squad, but for all units of the according type. Consult "The Guide" on our homepage for further information.


Sturmovie Ingenery (200 MUN)         
This upgrade will transform your Ingenery into powerful assault troops. Their rifles are replaced with PPSh-43 SMGs, they receive Satchel Charges and are outfitted with SN-42 Body Armor, reducing received accuracy and received suppression.

Conscript Reinforcements (200 MUN)
Conscript squads, only the very basic of infantry at first, now receive proper equipment and leadership. All Conscripts are finally equipped with rifles, they receive makeshift Molotov Cocktails and are now lead into combat by an NKVD Commissar. He will properly motivate his squad, giving the ability to break suppression.

Red Flag Strelky (200 MUN)
Although Strelky are already good as standard infantry, they now get even better. They receive a Standard Bearer, carrying the Red Flag, giving the ability to sprint. Also, their Mosin-Nagants are replaced by PPSh-43 SMGs and DP-28 LMGs, making them better at close and long range combat.

Shock Guards (200 MUN)
Guards already a force to be reckoned with, now become even more versatile. Normal Guards are equipped with semi-automatic SVT-40s, making them deadly at long range, but vulnerable to assault troops. Shock Guards now receive the covering fire ability, being able to slow down charging assault troops, finishing them off with a hail of frag grenades even better. In addition, they get smoke grenades, to lessen the effect of incoming machine gun fire.


Precision Artillery (150 MUN)
All Sniper Teams now have the ability to call down precision artillery. Being able to hide in cover, calling this down on unsuspecting units, makes it very deadly. The Sniper Ace receives this ability as well when researched.

Men against Tanks (150 MUN)
Seeing the need for extra anti-tank capabilites of Soviet Infantry, PTRD Tank Hunter squads are now made up of four men, two of them bearing anti-tank rifles. Very effective against vehicles and the sides and rear of tanks.

Phosphor Shells (150 MUN)
The already powerful Heavy Mortar now receives Phosphor Rounds. With those, heavily dug-in German troops can be burned out quickly.

HEAT Rounds (150 MUN)
Using the very latest technology, all ZIS-2 anti-tank guns are now supplied with Heat Rounds. This lets them fight the German Armor even more efficiently.


T-34/85 (250 MUN)
The new German zoo of Panther and Tiger tanks has made an upgrade to our T-34/76s necessary. All T-34s are now equipped with new turrets, which are better armored, have better vision slits for more sight and bear a stronger main gun. The T-34 Tank Rider doctrine ability is also affected by this upgrade.

SU-85 Cage Armor (250 MUN)
All SU-85s are now equipped with cage armor. Somewhat looking like a bedspring, it is very efficient in reducing the effects of German anti-tank weapons, making the SU-85 even more powerful.



So much for the Armory. Make sure to also checkout our load of new pictures and our brand new video about Armored Warfare on the Eastern Front.



Armored Warfare.wmv

Last edited December 23, 2009 at 6:22 PM by William

WOOT!!!!!!!! FAITH IS NOW RESTORED!

Good stuff, glad to see a new update :)

Any chance of seeing the cage armour?
Does it change the Su-85 model at all?

Great work as always

Cheers

Epic!!!!! Also, update the guide for the noobs who start looking into the mod soon

Last edited December 4, 2009 at 2:19 AM by Voop_Bakon

aaaahhhhhh fucccccing awesome

Voop_Bakon wrote:
Epic!!!!! Also, update the guide for the noobs who start looking into the mod soon

well the front page has it

Well now it does, wasn't there when I was looking  :P

Awesome! Can't wait :D

That's awesome ;D but why some of the upgrades are named in translit (Russian words are written in English alphabet)? was it made on purpose?
This one, “Sturmovie Ingenery” means “Assault Engineers”  or “Storm-troops Engineers”.
And “Red Flag Strelky” are “Red Flag Riflemen”.

But still can`t wait playing. Thanks for such a great job.
:)

The Upgrades seems quite OK, not too OP, but also more then usefull.

BUT the vid is just pure awesomeness.

Some of you watched "Stalingrad" too often, didn't you?  ;D

wow i think im hyped up even more if thats possible.

luz777 wrote:
Good stuff, glad to see a new update :)

Any chance of seeing the cage armour?
Does it change the Su-85 model at all?

Great work as always

Cheers

It does, yeah. We (I) still need to finish the model off.

;D

You have just made my day,

I'm gona show this to all my buddies in my COH Clan,
Damn, it looks so Professional, Relic will no doubt give you guys high praise for your work!

Quotebut why some of the upgrades are named in translit (Russian words are written in English alphabet)? was it made on purpose?

We wanted to give the Soviet faction a 'Russian flavour' while still being readable to non-Russians. This theme reccurs throughout most of the mod.

Nice to see an update, and a great one at that.

Is it bad that I'm willing to make a massive wave of Red Flag Strelky just so I can see the infantry charging with red flags?

WartyX wrote:

Quotebut why some of the upgrades are named in translit (Russian words are written in English alphabet)? was it made on purpose?

We wanted to give the Soviet faction a 'Russian flavour' while still being readable to non-Russians. This theme reccurs throughout most of the mod.

Further comment on this is that we do like relic did for the German Factions, it's called eg. "Volksgrenadiers" and "Panzergrenadier", not "People's Infantry" and "Mechanized Infantry".

Svelky, etc... ;)
Yea 'People infantry' and 'Mechanized Infantry' just...
doesn't 'FEEL' german, now, does it? :)

I'm all for trans-lit. I love it, actually.
Actually, I want more of it. Lol.

The update/video is pure awesomeness. Release the damn
thing already! *Rattles the bars of cage* ROAAARRRRR.

- SU85 with cage? Typo, surely?
Should be T34/85, not SU85. SU85 isn't for anti-infantry
work.

(Rattles the bars of cage)
god man where the hell is this institution they keeping you? The guards probably have to cover up their ears to stop the screaming of "add Finland ah!!!!!!!!"

Loupblanc wrote:
- SU85 with cage? Typo, surely?
Should be T34/85, not SU85. SU85 isn't for anti-infantry
work.

All the more reason to give it to them. If SU-85 cant do much against infantry, it will be good to have a way to stay alive longer if its it caught alone against a shrek squad

Last edited December 5, 2009 at 5:42 PM by Voop_Bakon

SU85s in the video eat the Panthers for lunch :p Worrysome.
T34's are the one to tangle with infantry, they're the ones
who got the cages. I saw plenty of pics of T34's with cages,
not a single one with SU85's. They're the sorta equivalent
of armored skirts on German tanks ;)

- SU85's should have something they're vulnerable to ;)
It's like giving M10s anti-infantry armor, but not giving it
to Shermans... it's like... meh?

: Oh god, yea, I scream it all day long, at the top of my
lungs, 'ADD FINLAND AHH!!!!' they put me in a straight
jacket, as I kept biting, scratching and kicking the guards ;)

I can still type here, though, when they're not looking.
I'm using the ripped-off arm of a guard I keep hidden for
extra-reach out my cell and unto the jail director's laptop ;)

very nice! but.. dont mean to be bitch but why arent we seeing any of the new german units/docs and upgrades? With all these seemingly, incredibly powerful russian units; i cant help but think that the axis will keep getting roled over no matter what... Will the Russians be like the new Brits, where werhmacht needs t4 or pio spam to beat?... or will all these cool russian units coming with some degree of balance? :)

It is balanced.

Incredibly powerful russian units?
Well, so far russians seem to be the shittiest at early game.
Units don't gain in vet (It's fixed and built in). Some important
flaws (especially T34/76), and they don't have a way to OP
points (PE style Zis6 trucks should be used, methinks) :)

The trick is to kick their asses early, or they'll roll over you.
Americans got to play thus vs Wehr. Wehr got to play thus
vs Soviets. PE vs Soviets ought to be pretty brutal.

- As for new german units, OSTHEER is where it'll be at!
*NO - CHANGE - TO - VANILLA - UNITS* Meh :)

As for balance... no point doing this if there's no balance.
;)

... Still want an explanation why skirts on SU85?

i don't wanna be a jerk or something.but what is holding this mod up?and is it true that the mod will be released this year?

sudifo wrote:
i don't wanna be a jerk or something.but what is holding this mod up?

Maybe due to the fact its a mod... we make this in our spre time, and some of us have very little...

Quotend is it true that the mod will be released this year?

Anything is possible, but don't hold your breath...

I would imagine theres springs on the SU-85 to give it some defense against infantry, as its got no MG

"PE vs Soviets ought to be pretty brutal"
yup that's why I'm letting my friend be Soviets first while I will be PE it's kind of like the best German infantry VS. the cheapest allied units

I am concered about the amount of munitions the soviets need ingame. i think it's more reasonable if you make that it costs manpower and munitions, and the T34/85, just like the 76mm Sherman upgrade manpower and fuel.

Right now it is somewhat strange and unbalanced I think.

Remember that this is the only expenditure for munitions the soviets have. There are no squad upgrades (except mine detectors), and use-abilities and doctrine-abilities are only restricted by cooldown and cost no munitions.

Hmm, SU85 is the soviet Marder. And it's got NO anti IF
anything (skirts, machine gun, anything) it's like twice the
cost of a SU85 in cost and it's got less armor...

Ok, it's got veterancy, where the SU85 has none, still...

I was wondering, though. Why does T34/76 have like -1
vet (weak vision, etc) and SU85 doesn't have any vision
problems? Should be an intermediary step. I can't see SU85
coming out before T34/76 :p

SU-85 has less problems because its not piloted by a bunch of eejits.

A person can either take the T-34/76, or can wait for an extra 30 fuel and get a Tank destroyer with a bigger gun, better accuracy, better penetration and longer range. I'd understand perfectly if somebody chose the SU-85 over a T-34/76.

Last edited December 7, 2009 at 1:56 AM by BurroDiablo

30 less fuel eh? As in the numbers are set. It seems balance testing is nearing its conclusion. Good, good. My guess, SU-85 is 110 fuel and t-34 is 80 or its 90-60 receptively

Explains completely why the SU85 can eat Panthers for
breakfast :) See, the SU85 is a Marder - with armor ;)

Cage should be on T34/76 damn it! :D

Hopefully the Elephant tank can send the SU85 back to the hole it crawled out from :P. That IS-2 is gunna bring some problems tho :( lol

Panther can't stay on top forever... :P

Yea but SU85 comes out same time StuG comes out...
major ouch.

Loupblanc wrote:

Yea but SU85 comes out same time StuG comes out...
major ouch.

uhhh I'm sorry loup but how do you know that??

StuG 3=1940-1945
StuG IV=1943-1945

SU85=1943-1945

Google my friend, google.

Sparta955 wrote:
StuG 3=1940-1945
StuG IV=1943-1945

SU85=1943-1945

Google my friend, google.

yes I thought he ment in the game my friend ;)

Sparta955 is right :D
Ahah, actually, I was making a reference to the fact that
Soviet SU85 is T2 (2nd building), so it can be built fairly
rapidly, at the same time as T34/76 becomes available...

It's an armored marder that comes out a lot sooner.
At least Marder3 is 3 steps before you can make it.
This puppy is 2 steps AND it's better.

- I did mean in game :)

As for the StuG, it's 3-4 steps.
Building 1, HQ tech1, HQ tech2, Building 3, make Stug
(vet 0)

ahhhh that does indeed make sense, my misunderstanding.

If I was going to exagerate, and I love doing that,
I'd say that me taking out Tiger first when opponent just
brought out his first Jeep.... well... ;) No contest.

Why use T34/76, then?

If you get behind the SU-85 though, it doesn't last very long. And it has no AP capibilities... so a few Shreck rounds will make it about turn and run away.

Loupblanc wrote:

Explains completely why the SU85 can eat Panthers for
breakfast :) See, the SU85 is a Marder - with armor ;)

In a 1 on 1 with a Panther, the SU-85 has no chance.

Quote Cage should be on T34/76 damn it! :D

And 85mm. I thought so too, but Apex had other plans.

QuoteWhy use T34/76, then?

Besides being cheaper, its an all round decent tank... decent AP, decent AT, good reload speed, goes like bat out of hell. Sure, it lacks in accuracy and range, but if you need some firepower to traverse a map pretty quickly, I can't think of anything better. Besides the 85mm variant of course.

Last edited December 9, 2009 at 4:17 AM by BurroDiablo

- Holy Burrito :
: AP Anti personnel? Yea, well, it's a Marder. With Armor ;)
: What is it's armor like? Like Sherman or M10?
: What is it's cost and pop, then? Is it comparable to an
M10? I think of it more as a Hetzer. Minus the machine gun.
: Why won't Apex see to reason? Eh, easier to model, I guess?
But T34 has no topside machine-gun. True, it'd be a bitch
if it's got tank riders... the two models wouldn't like one
another very much.

Can you describe to me how tank rider call-in works?
It's not an upgrade to guards?

: Is the T34 more of an M10 with armor/AP abilities?
What is it's health/armor/cost/pop like? What do you
think of my T34 call-in feature?
Well, yes, besides the 85mm version of course ;)

: Does the T34/85 make SU85 obsolete?

Tank Riders are called in like any other Doctrine Unit (Tank Guards riding a special T34, who can then be 'unloaded'). We have to use a special sort of tank and a special sort of guards to make it work.

Hmm... couldn't you make all T34s into this special tank,
and all (svelky) and guards into this special sort of guard,
and then just block the ability until it's paid for ?

Great work!

Can't wait for release.

& I'm just cheking is it out yet...

everything looks great. thanks for the update

"& I'm just cheking is it out yet..."

one way to tell...........when the forum is dead ;D because loup and I won't post anymore

Yea, I been busy of late ;)
But the devs like it dead. People ask for me to stop
being entertaining and passionnate, then the discussions
slowww dowwnnnn toooooeewww aaaaaaaeeee crawwwwllll

*Brings out the whip!* GIDDYUP!!!!