Welcome back! By now, you should know all about the important news that dropped last week: Steel Division 2’s release date (April 4th), the amazing Back to War pack bringing some Steel Division: Normandy 44 divisions, and the Steam pre-order.
We’ll keep up the good news in today’s dev diary as we are going to talk about a pretty cool addition to the Breakthrough mode. You might have guessed it from the title, and yes, it’s true, players will be able to deploy defensive structures in Steel Division 2.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/919640/Steel_Division_2/
Disclaimer: As always, what you are going to read is still in development. We’ll make sure all glitches, issues and baguette language will be excised at launch.
Bunkers, barbed wire, trenches
Barbed wire, trenches, gun pits, different types of bunkers; you will be able to deploy and use all as a defending player in the Steel Division 2’s improved Breakthrough mode.
A reminder: Breakthrough mode sees a defending player occupying 75% of the map while the attacking player will need to advance and break through. Only the defending player will be able to build defenses, and only during the deployment phase.
You will have full control over where to place these defensive structures; for trenches and barbed wire, you will be able to paint and draw a line directly on the map. Players will be able to place and rotate gun emplacements and bunkers to ensure the best possible field of fire. Of course, certain types of terrain, such as heavy forest, open water or towns, will limit the locations where you can build.
Defenses are like any other unit in your deck: they occupy their own category, and each unit card brings a certain number of individual structures or deployable length (in meters). Each division will have access to the same defensive structures, but some defensive-minded divisions (wink, the incoming Back to War pack 352. Infanterie, wink) will have a much larger number of defenses slots available.
What can you build?
Let’s take a closer look at what you can build.
- Barbed wire: Pretty self-explanatory. A nice stretch of barbed wire will slow down any enemy troops - tanks and vehicles included. Great to funnel units into kill zones. Barbed wire is “painted” on the map and measured in meters, and on average, a unit card will give you 3 kilometers of barbed wire (sounds a lot, but trust us, you will have to be careful where you deploy).
- Trenches: Works the same as barbed wire when it comes to constructing it. Trenches will shelter infantry, and to give an indication to our Normandy 44 veterans, will offer a similar amount of protection as being garrisoned in a house. You will have roughly 1.5 kilometers of trench available.
- Gun pits: Gun pits are like trenches, but instead of infantry, they are singular points which will protect large pieces of equipment such as anti-tank guns, AA guns or artillery. Gun pits come empty but offer good all-around protection, and you can remove your guns during a battle if needed.
- Bunkers: Hardened structures which are essentially stationary weapons with armor. They are fixed positions, very well-protected, but with only a limited field of fire. They come in different shapes and sizes, from a machine-gun bunker to a light anti-tank rifle bunker, or even an AT bunker with a 76.2 mm gun, for instance.
How to use defenses?
Defensive structures are very resilient and will be able to take a lot of punishment. Defending players can construct their defensive lines as they see fit, but they have to be smart about it. Placing a defensive structure in the open to have the best field of fire, will surely allow it to find a quick and explosive end when the match starts.
Better yet is to place gun pits and bunkers behind obstacles such as hills, and use them at short range for devastating ambushes. The same for trenches: have them run through a village instead of outside of it.
Breakthrough mode
Will you be able to construct defensive structures in all the modes? No, we have decided to limit defenses to Breakthrough mode (with one exception). Why? This comes back to the underlying reasons to include bunkers and trenches in Steel Division 2. It makes sense from a historical point of view. On the Eastern Front, the Germans and Soviets alike created complex defensive stretching for many kilometers with numerous strong points and fortifications, such as the German-made Panther-Wotan line.
From a gameplay point of view, defenses make sense as well. We wanted to implement them for Steel Division: Normandy 44 but never got around to it. And: Breakthrough mode in Normandy 44 was quite popular, and we wanted to build on this in Steel Division 2. That’s why defenses appear only Breakthrough; it is a natural fit. Also, we wanted not to make these player-built defenses a hindrance and slow down a regular skirmish game. Right now, we feel it’s a great new feature that is both authentic and lots of fun. Both defenders and attackers in Breakthrough will have to keep their wits about them.
Defenses in Army General
Though, having said that, you will be able to dig in and use defensive structures in Army General, our new turn-based Dynamic Strategic Campaign mode. Digging in takes time and action points, but it will give your battalions access to more defensive structures.
If an enemy unit attacks your dug-in formation, the subsequent battle scenario that will play out will reflect this.
What to expect next week
We are curious to see what you think of the ability to construct and use defenses in Steel Division 2. Don’t hesitate to comment and discuss!
You think we’ll just stop with bunkers and trenches? In next week’s dev diary we’ll detail another great new feature in Steel Division 2: the Deck Builder. Until then, don’t forget to check out the Steel Division 2 pre-order page here or to sign-up to our weekly newsletter here. See you next week!