Hello everyone!
With Update 1.09 out in the wild, the teams focus has of course become the upcoming 1.1 update and its headline feature: Multiplayer Campaign.
But that isn’t all! Another item currently scheduled (this may slip to a following update) to come out of prototype with Update 1.1 is deployable heavy weapons, such as the DShK!
https://media.tripwirecdn.com/080218/deployhmg.webm
(THE ABOVE IS A Work In Progress EXAMPLE)
Pesky helicopter pilots know exactly where to shoot? Know of a Vietnamese flank that needs heavy fire and suppression? Starting with a selection of maps in Update 1.1, players will be able to deploy Heavy Machine Guns at positions of opportunity, not just where the map has previously dictated they are (those will still be there)!
A limited number of these HMG’s will be available to pick up near ammo supply points, at your team’s starting location and can be carried into the field and deployed at will, space permitting. The Southern factions are also getting a new weapon to use with this system in the M2 Browning HMG (in a future update):
We recently went into some greater detail on Multiplayer Campaign, and today we want to expand further on that with a hypothetical Campaign match partial walkthrough. To brush up on the previous details, check out the post here:
https://steamcommunity.com/gid/103582791441057506/announcements/detail/1676913021485271570
1965 - The first year of the Campaign. The forces of the North and South are preparing for conflict. Each start in control of one key area. The South has Saigon, the North has Pleiku, but the rest of the country is more “open” with neither side having control. Both sides start with 400 “Combat Power”. The North gets the first move this time. They want to start by establishing a base off the Ho Chi Minh trail in the center of the country and assault the Tuyen Doc region - as well as gain a Zone worth 10 Victory Points; their chosen battleground (map) is VNTE-Ninh Phu.
This turns out to be a decisive first victory for the North against the ARVN that went out to meet the force in the field. During the match the North spent half their reinforcements. Tuyen Doc started out neutral (50 Combat Points to attack), but has a 2x modifier (higher risk, but higher reward) - so cost the North a potential maximum of 100 CP to attack. They succeeded, with 50% casualties - so the final cost is 50 CP.
The North now controls two areas and has a total of 25 Victory Points (Pleiku is worth 15, Tuyen Doc is worth 10) for their two held territories. They had 400 CP, the attack cost them 50, reducing them to 350 CP, but gain 25 for the two territories to finish 1965 on 375 CP. Defending a Neutral Zone costs 50 CP, with no modifiers, so the South’s loss has cost them 50 CP. But they still own Saigon, which is worth 15, to finish 1965 on 365 CP.
1966 - The second year… The North could attack again as they won the previous round. However they choose to force the South to attack, perhaps hoping to bleed them this year - and hit back from the Ho Chi Minh trail later. The South votes, deciding to attack Binh Long and provide a buffer region in front of Saigon. The US Army attacks the NLF in Binh Long, as the North can only use local NLF forces to defend a Neutral Zone - and wins a rapid victory, costing them only 10% of their reinforcements.
Binh Long is Neutral and has a 2x modifier, so the 10% casualties for the South cost them 10 CP (50 CP cost to attack a Neutral Zone, 2x modifier making it 100 CP - but only 10% casualties). The North loses the full 50 CP for failing to defend. Binh Long is worth 10 VP to the South, giving them a total of 25 VP (Saigon being worth 15 VP). At the end of 1966, both sides hold two Zones, both totalling 25 VP. The South had 365 CP coming into the year, lost 10 CP taking Binh Long, but gained 25 CP for the Zones owned, ending the year on 380 CP. The North had 375 CP, losing Binh Long cost them 50 CP, gaining 25 CP for the Zones owned, finishing their 1966 on 350 CP.
1967 - Year 3… The South decide to push hard. They vote to attack Quang Ngai, a 3x Zone, worth 15 Victory Points - but at a potential cost of 150 Combat Points. The North have to try and hold the Zone with the NLF again defending, with 50 Combat Points at stake. If the South wins, they are starting to build a big lead… if the North wins this one, they’ll have the initiative again - and will have heavily damaged the South’s Combat Power.
Play the campaign for yourself - you get to make the difference on who wins each fight. And you get to decide on the strategy each year. We’ll let you decide how the rest of the campaign plays out!