Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad

[Crécy]

Release date: 30th August 2011

It's finally here! Pre-order is a must.

I shall shamelessly post the facts from thread I found in Tripwire forums:

Official Media

Video

GDC 11 Gameplay Enhancements Walktrough Part 1:
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gd...chestra/711635

GDC 11 Gameplay Enhancements Walktrough Part 2:
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gd...chestra/711637

Official PAX10 Never Surrender Trailer:
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/pa...chestra/703872

Screenshots

General Information

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is the sequel to Tripwire Interactive's Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45. It is a realism-based multiplayer WWII shooter on the PC, running on Epic's Unreal Engine 3. Red Orchestra: Heroes of Stalingrad will focus on the Battle of Stalingrad and the surrounding operations, both German and Russian, from July 1942 to February 1943.


64 bit Support:
Quote:
Originally Posted by [TW]Ramm-Jaeger
I can't 100% confirm it, but the game should be able to run in native 64 bit mode when it is released. All the core engine stuff works fine in 64 bit, the only thing that would prevent it would be if there was a middleware we integrated with the game that we couldn't get 64bit working for.

Gameplay Features

• First Person Cover System: Players can take cover behind objects in first person and easily peek or blind fire and throw grenades over and around cover, and more. (Source: Crosshairs at TWI)
• Squad Command: Players can command fire teams on the battlefield with an easy to use first person interface.
• Damage System: A detailed hit detection system. Specific bodyparts hit are more lethal than others. Instant Death, Lethal, Critical and Non-Critical. (Source: PC Gamer Article July '09)
• Mantling System: Players can negotiate low obstacles, such as climbing over fences, through windows, etc. (Source: PC Gamer Article July '09)
• Adjustable Sights: Iron sights as well as scopes on weapons are adjustable for longer and shorter ranges. (Source: PC Gamer Article July '09)
• Bandaging: Players can bandage minor wounds to stop themselves from bleeding to death. Non-critical hits will cause half the damage instantly, with the other half occurring over bleed out time. Prompt bandaging can stop the second half of the damage from occurring. Source: PC Gamer Article July '09)
• Interactive Weapon Collision: Weapons collide with the game world; the player will raise and lower his weapon accordingly.(Source:IGN Preview)
• Bullet Penetration: Bullets can penetrate some materials and cause damage on the other side. Degree of penetration depends upon the type of material being shot. (Sources:IGN Preview Crosshairs at TWI)
• Breathing System: The player's breathing pattern will affect his aim; players can hold their breath momentarily for a more stable shot. Players who have low stamina from sprinting, etc. will breathe harder. (Source:IGN Preview)
• Bipods: Bipod mounted weapons will pivot around their bipods when deployed. Deploying bipod mounted weapons is much easier than it was in Ostfront. (Source:IGN Preview)
• Tactical View: HUD elements appear as the player needs them, and are automatically hidden when the player does not. The entire HUD can be brought up at any time with the press of a key. (Source:IGN Preview)
• Weight System: The player can carry multiple weapons as well as grenades, but has a maximum allowed weight and will slow down as they carry more. (Source: Ramm-Jaeger on IRC)
• Peripheral Vision Indicators: Small indicators appear at the edge of the player's screen to denote possible enemies in the player's peripheral vision. (Source: Ramm-Jaeger)
• Character Progression: Players can gain experience and rank. Higher ranked players have access to rare weapons, equipment and classes. Higher ranked players are visually distinct from lower ranked players. If you do poorly, for example tk a lot you can rank down. (Source:Voodoo Extreme Interview and BashandSlash Interview)
• Dynamic Music System: Heroes of Stalingrad features a dynamic music system that adapts the emotional mood of the soundtrack to match the morale of the player based on the flow of the battle. To highlight the differences between the two warring powers the game features a completely unique soundtrack for the Russian and German sides. (Source: Wilsonam)
• New Recoil Model: The recoil model is more realistic than that of Ostfront. SMG's have had their recoil lowered and MG's have more recoil. (Source: E3 Interview)
• Interruptible Reloads: Reloads can now be interrupted. (Source: E3 Interview)
• Ironsights for the Sniper: Sniper rifles now have usable ironsights, as they did in real life. (Source: GDN Gamescom Article)
• Destructable Buildings: Any and all buildings are destructible if the mapper wants. Buildings can be destroyed partially, and piece by piece but will still leave ruins behind, so the battlefield isn't bombed flat. (Source: GDN Gamescom Article - Gamespot GDC Preview)
• Suppression System: Players will be suppressed when under fire (bullets passing or landing close by); the player hears their heartbeat, will breathe faster (affecting weapon sway) and their screen will desaturate and shake a bit. Players can also be suppressed by grenades and artillery. The effect is cumulative and the more suppressed the player is the more pronounced the effect will be. (Source: Crosshairs at TWI)
• SDK: The game ships with SDK and a Mapping Tool out of the box. (Source: BashandSlash Interview)
• Environmental Temperatures: Maps can have set temperatures, which influence the rate at which the MG barrel heats up. This also influences the muzzle velocity of tank rounds. (Source: Wilsonam)
• Ammo Check Button: You can now check the state of your ammo without reloading. (Source: GDC 11 Presentation)
• Streamlined Movement and Deployment: The movement is much more streamlined in RO2. If you are in prone, simply pressing the forward and sprint keys will move you out of prone and sprinting forward. When releasing the button, you will automatically return to the proned position. It's also possible to reload/change barrels from a deployed state, while crouching behind the cover you are currently deployed on. (Source: GDC 11 Presentation)

The Commander's Abilities

• Fire Support: There are 3 types of fire support: mortars, artillery, and rockets. Mortars cause a small amount of damage in a small area, rockets cause a large amount of damage over a large area. Artillery falls in between. Fire support takes longer to arrive depending on its size (mortars arrive the fastest, rockets the slowest) (Sources: GDN Gamescom Article Crosshairs at TWI)
• Aerial Recon: The commander can call a recon plane which surveys the battlefield and reports enemy positions. Enemy infantry and tanks will show up on the commander's map instantly (as long as he is near the radio), and will filter down the ranks with a few seconds delay. The plane will only report units it has actual visual contact with; it will be possible to hide from it and shoot it down. (Source: GDN Gamescom Article) (Source: Wilsonam)
• Force Respawn: In critical moments in the battle, the commander can choose to let a reinforcement wave spawn immediately. This ability will be limited. (Source: GDN Gamescom Article)

The Hud

The Hud as seen when using the Tactical View button:

Multiplayer Features

• Persistent Stats Tracking and Player Progression: Persistence constantly gives the gamer something to strive for and keeps them playing. Grow in rank, earn medals, improve your abilities, and become a Hero – all visible to the complete online gaming community and embedded within the game.
• Heroes: Obtain the ultimate goal and become a Hero online. Players with hero status inspire troops around them and cause fear in their enemies. Heroes have access to the best and rarest weapons and equipment, and will stand out visually from the rest of the soldiers.
• Co-op: Players can connect with their friends and battle AI in multiple game types including the Stalingrad Campaign, Skirmish Mode, and more.
• Competitions & Leader-boards: Compete to obtain unique awards and achievements with players all over the world. The competitions range from shooting range challenges to unique and fun assault courses.
• 64 Player Support: They are shooting to max out players in a game at 64 (with quite large maps one would imagine) and there are ten maps in the game already. (Source: GDN Gamescom Article)
• Realism Settings: 2 Settings. Relaxed Realism and Realistic. Relaxed realism will include all of the new interface helpers. Realistic will be for the more hardcore players, and will have some of the new interface helpers disabled. Server admins will be able to set up a custom configuration that picks and chooses which features to have. (Source: Ramm-Jaeger)
• Deathmessages: 3 Death message settings. Normal, Delayed, and Off. Death messages also display distance for your own personal kills. (Source: Ramm-Jaeger)
• Kill Assists: You now get points for assisting a kill. (Source: Wilsonam)
• Server Class Lock: Some classes are locked until a certain amount of players join the server. (Source: Ramm-Jaeger on IRC)
• Mini-map: The mini-map shows you friendly players, and where your squad mates/squad leaders are. (Source: Ramm-Jaeger)
• Custom Server Configs: Server configs are customizable, can be shared, and can even be rated by others. (Source: BashandSlash Interview)
• RO TV 2.0: RO TV makes a comeback making it possible to spectate (clan) matches. (Source: BashandSlash Interview)
• Battlefield Commissions: Low ranked players can earn a promotion by performing well, and get to choose higher ranked classes. This is a temporary ingame commission. (Source: BashandSlash Interview)
• VOIP: Public, Team, Squad, and Vehicle channels. No 3D VOIP. (Source: Crosshairs at TWI)
• Spawning: Choose to spawn at a predefined spawn point or on your squad leader (unless you switch to a class that is not part of a squad) (Source: Crosshairs at TWI)

Gameplay Modes

• Territory Mode: This is the original gamemode that made Red Orchestra famous. Attack, Hold and Defend objectives within the set timelimit, or until one side runs out of reinforments. (Source:IGN Preview)
• Countdown Mode: Countdown mode is a single life gametype that is governed by a short countdown timer. Players will have to attack or defend a series of objectives, but with only one life per objective. If the attackers capture the objective, all players respawn and move to the next objective. If they do not capture the objective before the timer expires, they lose. Maps will have "key objectives" which when taken will allow the attacking team a single respawn on a later failed capture. (Source:Voodoo Extreme Interview)
• Firefight Mode: Red Orchestra's version of team deathmatch. This mode has no class limits. (Source:Voodoo Extreme Interview - GDC11 Presentation)
• Multiplayer Campaign Mode: The campaign map is divided into 10 smaller maps. The players vote which map to attack, and can decide how much of their Combat Power they want to use on the attack. Each campaign can last a maximum of 4 hours. (Source: Bswearer PAX interview)
• Co-op Campaign Mode: The singleplayer campaign can be played with a friend/friends. (Source: GDN Gamescom Article)
• Skirmish Mode: This mode can be played online and offline. You get three fire teams of three members each. Fire team members can be made up of human players or AI. The goal is to 'clear' the map of enemy AI. It can be compared to Terrorist Hunt mode in the Rainbow Six games. (Source:IGN Preview)

The Campaign Map




Weapons & Equipment

German

• Mauser C96 (Seen here)
• Walther P38 (Seen here)
• Mauser Karabiner 98k (Seen here)
• Mauser Karabiner 98k Sniper (Seen here)
• Gewehr 41 Walther (Confirmed here)
• Walther Maschinenkarabiner 42 (Seen here)
• Maschinenpistole 40 (Seen here)
• Maschinengewehr 34 (Seen here)
• Unknown (Semi Automatic) Anti-Tank Rifle (Confirmed here)
• Stielhandgranate 39 (Seen here)
• Unknown Anti-Tank Grenade (Confirmed here)
• Satchel Charge (Seen here)

Soviet

• Tokarev TT33 (Seen here)
• Nagant M1895 (Seen here)
• Mosin-Nagant 91/30 (Seen here)
• Mosin-Nagant 91/30 Sniper (Seen here)
• Tokarev SVT40 (Seen here)
• Tokarev AVT40 (Confirmed here)
• PPsh 41 (Seen here)
• Degtyarev DP/DT 1928 (Seen here)
• Maxim 1910 (Confirmed here)
• PTRS (Confirmed here)
• Unknown Anti-Tank Grenade (Confirmed here)

(Weapon) Unlocks

German

• Mauser Karabiner 98k Sniper: 1.5x Scope (Default), 4x Scope, 6x Scope (Source: BashandSlash Interview)

Soviet

Vehicles

German

• Panzerkampfwagen IV G (Confirmed here)
• Panzerkampfwagen III J (First version) - Free DLC (Source: US PC Gamer Issue 209 (Jan. 2011) Page 56)
• SdKfz 251/1 Halftrack - Free DLC (Source: US PC Gamer Issue 209 (Jan. 2011) Page 56)

Soviet

• T-34/76 (Confirmed here)
• T-70 - Free DLC (Source: US PC Gamer Issue 209 (Jan. 2011) Page 56)
• Universal Carrier - Free DLC (Source: US PC Gamer Issue 209 (Jan. 2011) Page 56)

• Virtual Interior: The entire interior of the tanks is modeled, with useable hatches, periscopes, viewports, etc. The driver, hull mg, and commander can all unbutton their hatches. (Source: RPS Interview Yoshiro)
• Tank Locking: Tank commanders can choose to lock their tanks or allow other players to join their crew. (Source: RPS Interview)
• New Tank Damage System: Heroes of Stalingrad has a significantly more complex damage system than Ostfront. Damage to systems such as optics, engine, transmission, turret rotation mechanism, fuel tank, drive sprocket, treads and more are modelled. Shots that penetrate the tank's armor can kill crewmembers inside. Crewmembers have individual hitboxes within the tank and are killable via penetration of an AT rifle round. (Source: RPS Interview Ramm-Jaeger)
• Tank Crew (AI/Human): All tanks will have a full crew; any playable positions that are not filled by a human player will be filled by AI. The AI can be ordered to drive, or open fire on specified targets as commanded by the player. (Source: RPS Interview - GDC11 Presentation)
• Dynamic tank class system: There will be one tank commander class slot for each tank; as commanders choose to allow human players in their tanks, tank crew class slots will dynamically open up. This means that players don't have to make a choice between having more tanks with solo tanking or fewer with team tanking. (Source: Ramm-Jaeger)
• Realistic Modelled Tank Destruction: Tanks can be destroyed by secondary explosions, caused by diffirent circumstances. Fuel fires, ammo blowing up etc. (Source: Wilsonam)

Previews:

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/03/14/re...pping-heroics/

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/01/11/re...ngrad-preview/

[Feuer Frei!]

3 things:
1: thanks for the detailed info.
2: Unreal Engine 3 ftw!
3: shame no single player.

[Raptor1]

Originally Posted by Feuer Frei!

3: shame no single player.

Originally Posted by Crécy

• Co-op Campaign Mode: The singleplayer campaign can be played with a friend/friends. (Source: GDN Gamescom Article)

Sort of implying there is...

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by Raptor1

Sort of implying there is...

Sort of, yes.
"CO-OP Single player" doesn't make sense to me though.
Either it's co-op, or it's not. Co-op=co-operative, ie more than 1 player. *shrugs shoulders*

[Herr-Berbunch]

Originally Posted by Feuer Frei!

shame no single player.

I disagree, I find single player games quite boring (certain exemptions exist) especially for a game like RO. The fun is remembering where the bastard is that shot you and get revenge!

And what fun is driving a tank on your own? You drive, someone else shoots - a bit more realistic.

[Task Force]

I like it, i hate team tanking, as no one in red orchestra seems to understand that tanks, are not bumper cars, So ya know, People tend to drive like a idiot.

But the single player not in RO, no big deal Its primary a multi player game.

[Raptor1]

Originally Posted by Feuer Frei!

Sort of, yes.
"CO-OP Single player" doesn't make sense to me though.
Either it's co-op, or it's not. Co-op=co-operative, ie more than 1 player. *shrugs shoulders*

It seems to me they are saying there is a single player campaign, and that it can also be played as co-op...

[TteFAboB]

What? No hat system? Pfft, what a lame game.

Holy realism, batman!

WWIIOL has to seriously step up their game to this now.

[Task Force]

Originally Posted by TteFAboB

What? No hat system? Pfft, what a lame game.

Holy realism, batman!

WWIIOL has to seriously step up their game to this now.

Well, WW2OL has a much larger campaign, this is just random battles on random maps like original RO from what i understand.

*wounder if i can hide the UI like in the original game. Don't want all those stupid things in my face.

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by Herr-Berbunch

I disagree, I find single player games quite boring (certain exemptions exist) especially for a game like RO. The fun is remembering where the bastard is that shot you and get revenge!

And what fun is driving a tank on your own? You drive, someone else shoots - a bit more realistic.

Originally Posted by Task Force

But the single player not in RO, no big deal Its primary a multi player game.

Originally Posted by Raptor1

It seems to me they are saying there is a single player campaign, and that it can also be played as co-op...

All valid points.
Only reason i'm leaning towards single player is because of my crappy internet connection. I wouldn't dream of attempting online atm.
I will wait and see.

[Crécy]

There is two single player campaigns (Axis and Soviet) which can alternatively be played in co-op.

From the first PCgamer preview I linked:

Tripwire was talking about RO2's single-player and its Heroes progression system. RO2 will contain an Axis and Soviet campaign, with each worth 6-8 hours of gameplay.

Originally Posted by Task Force

*wounder if i can hide the UI like in the original game. Don't want all those stupid things in my face.

It's up to server admin (although I don't now if one can do that like in Ostfront):

Realism Settings: 2 Settings. Relaxed Realism and Realistic. Relaxed realism will include all of the new interface helpers. Realistic will be for the more hardcore players, and will have some of the new interface helpers disabled. Server admins will be able to set up a custom configuration that picks and chooses which features to have.

[Richard G]

Heroes: Obtain the ultimate goal and become a Hero online. Players with hero status inspire troops around them and cause fear in their enemies. Heroes have access to the best and rarest weapons and equipment, and will stand out visually from the rest of the soldiers.

I could really live without this. Is this like Conan with warpaint on or something? No one will inspire fear in me if I'm sitting behind an MG42.

[Task Force]

Originally Posted by Richard G

I could really live without this. Is this like Conan with warpaint on or something? No one will inspire fear in me if I'm sitting behind an MG42.

Even more concerning, Why do we need it. Though the idea of the game was realism. Does this mean the basic assault troop can only get a MP 40 early on, then if hes good he gets a Stg 44.

[AngusJS]

All tanks will have a full crew; any playable positions that are not filled by a human player will be filled by AI.

Oh dear. Sure hope they've improved the AI since RO 1. That game had the worst vehicle AI I've ever seen.

[difool2]

Originally Posted by Richard G

I could really live without this. Is this like Conan with warpaint on or something? No one will inspire fear in me if I'm sitting behind an MG42.

Not to mention that these "hero" types will just become the A-1 targets of any and all enemy snipers in the area. There was a reason why officers rarely went into combat wearing rank insignia and didn't have anybody salute them.