Hello all!
We hope you are well. As you might know, last week saw the release of the latest WARNO milestone, VICTOR, bringing a bunch of exciting new features and improvements to our game. Check out this dedicated DevBlog to know all the ins and outs of this new milestone.
In today’s DevBlog, let’s lift the tip of the veil on the hodgepodge of new features you can expect to hit WARNO in the coming future, including the next milestone MORTIER.
The MORTIER milestone
The Eugen team never rests on their laurels. We are busy with the next batch of updates. When? Let’s plaster the Eugen trademark of “when it’s done, it’s done” for the time being. But the What? is something we can answer today.
As part of our production pipeline, we are working on the upcoming milestone, codenamed MORTIER. Some of the new features listed further below might be part of this milestone, but only when finished, tested, and ready to ship. What we can say will be part of MORTIER is the following:
- The new 3vs3 Airport map.
- New 10vs10 versions of existing maps, namely Twin Cities, Rift, and Triple Attack.
- A new 1vs1 Map Duel variant of existing maps, used to expand the number of Ranked maps for competitive play.
- Other improvements, updates, and changes, including potentially some of those listed below.
Mind you, everything else described next is - in one way or another - very much work-in-progress. Likewise, the release date of MORTIER is still up in the air, but we hope to have it done soon (Eugen trademark).
New Maps
As explained above, we will try to feature several new maps in MORTIER. The first one on the list is the previously revealed Airport map, set for 3vs3 play. Read more about it in this DevBlog here.
We mentioned this before, but the Airport map will feature several new assets and improvements in level design, gameplay, and balance. Dynamic urban combat is one of them!
New 10vs10 variants
As is a popular request for quite some time already, we’ve been hard at work at providing even more 10vs10 maps. Part of the work involves tweaking the AI so that they will accommodate the new player count. The next set of 10vs10 maps will be updated versions of the existing Twin Cities, Rift, and Triple Attack.
Let us know what you think. We will keep refining the 10vs10 format, depending on your feedback and comments!
New 1vs1 Map Duel
We have also listened to your feedback about wanting more 1vs1 maps, especially balanced ones for competitive play. A new series of maps are in the works, called Duel, which will be offered for Ranked play.
MORTIER will probably feature the first 1vs1 Duel scenario, playable on the Two Lakes map. Other maps of this new type should significantly increase the number of maps available in Ranked. We are also working on a 1vs1 Duel version of the Airport map.
New Operations
We are working on two new Operations. We aim to include a host of single-player battle scenarios intimately tied to our overall fictional World War III. The current roster of Operations range from desperate rearguard combat Black Horse’s Last Stand, Soviet airborne assault in The Kitzingen Ruse to the devastating tank battles in Red Juggernaut.
In the next two Operations, one will take place at the far northern end of CENTAG with the British Army on the Rhine, while another zooms in on the Soviet efforts to breach the NATO defenses on the outskirts of Frankfurt.
Hold Until Relieved
In the first scenario, the British Army on the Rhine will have its glorious appearance. While the British were chiefly responsible for NORTHAG, in our war scenario, a successful Soviet push on the operational boundary between NORTHAG and CENTAG sees several British Army units being pushed further south from the original positions.
In the upcoming Hold Until Relieved, forward-deployed elements of the British Army of the Rhine are hard-pressed by the Warsaw Pact spearhead aimed at Dortmund, with Soviet units first taking Kassel and then nearby Warburg. With only limited forces available, the British 33 Armoured Brigade at Paderborn, part of the 3rd Armoured Division, is rushed to the front to buy time for reserves to deploy in the rear. A battalion from the Queen’s Own Highlanders dug in behind the Diemel River gets badly mauled but holds the line.
The player takes control of a small tank detachment of the Blues & Royals regiment. They are sent to the Diemel river to reinforce the infantry and defend against a renewed attack by the Soviet VDV’s 35th Guards Air Assault Brigade.
In the scenario, you’ll receive a handful of heavy-hitting Challenger tanks, but not much more. With this precious armor, you need to beat back a VDV attack on your positions while trying to keep as many units as possible alive. If you succeed, some additional reinforcements become available with the Operation entering its next stage. Every man is expected to do their duty as you aim to destroy a Soviet FOB on the opposite bank of the Diemel.
Sledgehammer
A day later in our timeline, and moving the action back south to Frankfurt, the Soviet Army keeps up its devastating offensive into West Germany. The reliance on masses of artillery and brute force, without paying much attention to casualties, has led the Soviet vanguard to the doorsteps of Frankfurt.
NATO defenses are coalescing on the outskirts of this major objective; the satellite town of Hanau is quickly being reinforced by an array of American and West German troops. It is on you, comrade commander of the 57th Guards Motor Rifle Division, to clear these outposts, breach the defensive lines and allow for exploitation forces of the 79th Guards Tank Division to take Hanau.
The Sledgehammer Operation is a tactical mission aimed at answering some of the community’s feedback. You will get just a few units and every soldier and vehicle counts. The support you receive from HQ depends on the player achieving various objectives on the battlefield. In order to reach your goals, you need to overcome fierce enemy resistance centered around the river Main, including breaching prepared positions.
We hope that Sledgehammer gives you a bit more of a tactical, adaptive experience you guys are looking forward to in an Operation!
Visual effects rework
We’re also busy working on revamping the visual effects in WARNO. Since the Early Access release, we’ve been hard at work improving the FX whenever possible. It’s all about immersion so that players get the best bang for their buck. What kind of “explosive” changes can you expect?
- For instance, things that like to go boom will get a visual touch-up.
- Napalm is going to see an update as well. Smells like victory, commanders!
- The explosive demise of vehicles will get a pass as well.
- Those fiery crashes of aircraft and helicopters will also see an upgrade.
- Older FX using low-resolution textures (bomb impacts, mortars) will also be upgraded.
Much of the above is work in progress. But we can say that some of the new effects have found their way into the next Airport map.
Some armored unit changes
With milestone VICTOR, we have taken pains to address the infamous “tank meta.” We hope you like the results, but we are not done yet regarding armored warfare.
Next on our agenda is addressing some feedback (mostly correct) about the way the Soviet T-72 and the French AMX-30 series are represented in WARNO, as well as other individual units. We are talking gameplay here, not visuals. So, what are we working on?
T-72
Unlike the belief of many, the T-72 would have been a fairly uncommon tank in any World War III scenario set in West Germany. No frontline Soviet division in East Germany deployed this series, which was considered rather for export or second-rate mobilization divisions. Instead, the Soviet Army would deploy the much more capable T-64 (against NORTHAG) and the T-80 (against CENTAG).
The only T-72 user in this particular theatre of war was the East German National Volksarmee, yet the USSR never delivered enough of these tanks to equip more than a division-and-a-half. And these were not even the most modern variants. The 9. Panzerdivision facing NORTHAG was the only East German formation completely equipped with the T-72. The 7. Panzerdivision facing SOUTHAG got leftovers.
The T-72 had its advantages and flaws. The tank’s main quality was its high level of armor protection for its time. Even the weakest, basic T-72 Ural variant was over four times better protected compared to the best version of the Leopard 1.
We have corrected this within WARNO by giving all T-72 an average of +2 front armor and +1 side armor extra. On the other hand, one drawback of this tank model was its notoriously obsolete fire control system, including a mechanical ballistic calculator that relied on manual inputs for its tank gun accuracy. We have reduced the T-72 firing range to represent this better. The T-72 Ural, with the TPD-2-49 coincidence rangefinder, will only fire to a maximum of 1925m, while all other variants of the T-72, equipped with a laser rangefinder as part of the TPD-K1/1A40 system, will only fire up to 2100 m.
T-55AM2
The T-55AM2 and T-55AM2B of the East German army on the other hand, featuring the more modern Czechoslovak Kladivo fire control systems, had considerably better tank gun performance. These tanks will fire effectively up to 2275 meters thanks to their fully automated fire control systems. The state-of-the-art laser beam riding 9M117 gun-launched missiles in the 9K117 Bastion-equipped T-55AM2B will fire beyond even this range, and with increased accuracy.
AMX-30
Another recurring point of feedback, accompanied by the usual slew of French bias accusations, concerns the AMX-30’s armor. We agree it is indeed too thick. Having put this improvement off for the time being, we will implement this change soon, meaning that the AMX-30 variants will lose an average of -2 front armor and -1 side armor.
However, to ensure we correctly model all our paper tanks we will better model a piece of technology to the AMX-30 that is commonly overlooked. The French tank’s coaxial 20mm gun was slaved to the modern COTAC fire control system, allowing for unparalleled performance. No other 20mm gun during the Cold War was paired with a fully automatic system and laser rangefinder. While losing armor, the AMX-30 receives a major boost in firepower for their 20mm in return.
AMX AuF1
And finally, yet another French unit has been overlooked for too long: the self-propelled AMX AuF1. Introduced in 1986, it was one of the most advanced 155mm SPG in our time frame. The combination of the modern L39 barrel with a revolutionary, fully automated autoloading system allowed for a very quick rate of fire. A single burst of the AMX AuF1 would be like four M109A2s, while outranging them too. As such, the AMX AuF1 unit will receive an autoloader able to fire salvos at a high rate of fire.
In Summary
For all players who prefer to get straight to the point:
- All T-72 tank variants will receive an armor buff, but with a decrease of the tank gun range.
- All AMX-30 tanks and variants will receive a decrease in armor but an improvement on the 20mm autocannon.
- The T-55AM-2 will get an increase in tank gun range.
- The AMX AuF1 receives an autoloader and an increase in Rate of Fire.
See you on the battlefield
Quite a few things to take in: Operations, milestone MORTIER, a whole load of changes. And in the background, we are chipping away at the Army General campaign. Lots of good things are coming to WARNO! As always, we are looking to hear what you think!
Don’t forget to join the passionate WARNO community. Check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Get together with other players on either the excellent Discord server, Reddit page, YouTube or our Instagram.
See you on the battlefield!
