Hello commander!
On the 3rd of July, the ever-awesome VulcanHDGaming hosted a community Q&A with Eugen’s very own Alexis Le Dressay, Creative Director extraordinaire, and your favorite and all-knowing Lead Game Designer Matthieu "MadMat" Brevet.
In this livestream, we answered a host of questions put forward by you, the player. We talked about what’s coming up for Steel Division 2, and shone a light on a gaggle of popular requests such as new maps, new features, expanded modding tools, and whatnot!
Be sure to check out the YouTube video here.
We figured that maybe not all of you had the time to check out the video - hence today’s handy recap of all the upcoming good stuff coming to Steel Division 2.
Ongoing Steel Division 2 support
One of the first things discussed was Eugen’s ongoing commitment to Steel Division 2. Yes, we are in it for the long haul. Rest assured, our current planning for the game looks ahead at least one to two years.
As you know, the game and its DLCs all take place in roughly the same timeframe (the summer of 1944). We still feel we have not explored all the different battles and campaigns set during this period, be it on the Eastern Front and or in other theaters of operation.
So, what can you expect?
- We are planning to unveil more divisions. One idea is to release smaller sets of divisions, with the community to choose which set will come next.
- We’ll keep patching and updating the game after the release of Steel Division 2: Black Sunday. There are several features and game elements that are currently in Eugen’s workshop (some of them we talked about in this roadmap here). For instance, we are taking a look at infantry weapons overhaul, new tank ranges, reconnaissance, etc.
- Army General will get a cooperative mode. This mode is still being worked on. It will fit nicely with the recent free Army General Versus update which brought online 1v1 play.
- We know you have been requesting this frequently. We are thinking about doing a Free Weekend in the future. However, we want to make sure the timing is right. For instance, the upcoming Steel Division 2: Black Sunday launch might give us an opportunity. Who knows?
On a final note: no Steel Division 3 is planned. We are sticking our guns to Steel Division 2 for now.
Maps, maps, maps
A hot ticket was Eugen’s support for more maps, including urban maps, as well as a map editor. We did not include any new maps for the Black Sunday History DLC. Why not? We were very busy to add not just one but two massive new Army General campaigns instead!
Some other map-related tidbits:
- Yes, we are working on releasing more maps in the future.
- We are not planning to release any Normandy maps… though we are considering other new settings.
- One thing we wanted to clear up was that yes, we are working on an urban map, but instead of a city map it is more of a suburban map. This new map (we talked about before) will be a test of sorts.
- A map editor is indeed in the works, but this piece of software is a big undertaking for us. We are getting it ready, but it advances slowly, so an estimated time of arrival might be in six months or so.
- The currently locked Finnish maps featured in The Fate of Finland expansion will be added to the Ranked roster for everyone to play.
- We are not against reworking existing maps, such as moving around flag locations, but will take a look at the most unbalanced examples first.
Mods and more game options
Moddable DLC divisions have been given a high priority, and this functionality is being tested, as we speak. However, one feature we are not working on is an Army General campaign editor.
During the Q&A, we also chatted about additional game and UI options. We can confirm:
- We intend to add time limit options to the multiplayer lobby.
- More Rules of Engagement options during a tactical battle are considered, such as APCR selection, infantry combat ranges, and more.
- We are also thinking about expanding the Smart Orders feature.
- Dedicated servers will be allowed.
- To come back to a recurring theme: an updated matchmaking process for online battles will only be worth it if we see a substantial increase in the Steel Division 2 player base. Simply put: we can’t justify making any changes if there are not more players who will benefit from it. Our position has not changed in this regard.
Until next week!
Thanks again for VulcanHDGaming for hosting us. Do check out any of his many Let’s Plays or Steel Division 2 tournament videos. You won’t be disappointed!
Let us know what you think or how we can make Steel Division 2 an even better game! Do this on our
Steam forums and Eugen forums, or reach out through our social channels (Facebook and Twitter). You can also join us on our Discord server or Reddit page.
See you on the battlefield, commander!