Gates of Hell - from the creators of Men of War

[karoliner]

This is finally out?

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

This is finally out?

yes and it looks really good to me, would love to hear someones opinion who has played it. love that it has a single player campaign, the other one did not. Its a bit expensive, but I will pay it if it is worth it...

 

[Thorgeim]

I tried couple of skirmish games and it has some very nice details and features, specific vehicle parts aiming, falling off, damage, etc. Infantry is also done well but its not without issues, some bugs maybe like sound effects not activating with random shots, grenades exploding without soldiers throwing them some times, also AI seemed a bit stupid in the games i played (medium and veteran), I tried leaving my flank completeley uncovered but they kept coming at me always from the same direction.

Will play more today.

EDIT:
Also just remembered the friendly AI isnt the best either, when I dont control my tank directly, most times he wouldnt be using the tracks to quickly rotate towards another tank, just the tower which is overall like 3 times slower. (there were no other targets so its not like he needed to stay facing the original direction)

 

[Baptismbyfire]

Holy. I just spent 10 minutes trying to place a machine gun on the tripod in the tutorial. I did it easily on one of them, but I can't seem to get it installed on the second tripod for some reason?!?

 

[Thorgeim]

Played a bit more, the "dynamic" campaign is quite interesting, you dont really get a lot of choice on the territory but it gives you options and its better than preset consecutive missions.
What I cant get over is how AI works right now, in addition to my previous points, they some times cant do simple things. Like they are able to vault over medium walls, but some times they run around the whole building because they cant step over literally 3 bricks (tested on couple of locations number of times) and other similar situations.. With how enemy AI works I probably wont bother playing this in single player. Could be OK online though but I dont have time to "get good"

 

[Alter Sack]

Can you give orders while the game is paused?

The first games had this feature but it was limited more and more in later installments.

This real time shit is too stressful for me. I would like to give orders with due care and sipping a coffee while the game is paused.

 

[Thorgeim]

Can you give orders while the game is paused?

The first games had this feature but it was limited more and more in later installments.

This real time shit is too stressful for me. I would like to give orders with due care and sipping a coffee while the game is paused.

Hmm I dont think its there but cant confirm 100%, I have uninstalled the game for now. Tbh with all the "issues" I would rather play Steel Division 2 if I want a bit more direct control and pause, or Combat Mission or Graviteam if I wanted more realism and command hierarchy and also pause/wego turns.
For the ultimate warfare I play the turn based Gary Grisbys War in the East 2, that is an amazing (and recent) operational level wargame. Learning curve is a bit steep but its not impossible and takes just a bit of reading to get started with the small scenarios.

 

[Baptismbyfire]

Got the machine gun issue resolved at least.

The AI is really brain dead at least the infantry AI. They don't face the right direction when under fire, and they will often move out of cover to get mowed down. And you would think they would duck immediately instead of just standing up straight and shooting when running into enemy especially a tank. This makes you have to micromanage everything. I wonder if MoW 2 was this bad. I'm reinstalling it to check.

What the game did right is the graphics and the game mode. The conquer campaign mode seems awesome with the research tree and carry-over of veterans.

Edit : It feels like MoW2 AI is slightly better, but not by much. The AI there seems much more aware of its surroundings, and changes stance more liberally. However, it's hard staring at MoW2's graphics after playing Gates of Hell. If you can't get enough of MoW2, I don't think you will regret purchasing this game, since I'm sure the developers will at least improve the AI to the level of MoW2, since they're basically the same game underneath.

Hilarious. I just watched my infantry throw satchel charge at a tank, and just stand there till it exploded taking themselves out with it.

 

[passerby]

The AI is really brain dead at least the infantry AI. They don't face the right direction when under fire, and they will often move out of cover to get mowed down. And you would think they would duck immediately instead of just standing up straight and shooting when running into enemy especially a tank. This makes you have to micromanage everything. I wonder if MoW 2 was this bad. I'm reinstalling it to check.

Seems like nothing has changed since MoW1. It was so frustrating microing your units, while struggling to make AI do what you wanted and active pause mode was barely functional.
The units AI and user interface were acceptable in their older games, which were smaller in scope and squad based.

***
Another issue were heavily scripted missions. I remember third I think mission in MoW1, the winter defense of some bridge. So I've got an objective to defend the bridge at all cost...

First I've tried to hold the line, destroying countless waves of enemies that were slowly depleting my forces until it was clar I won't survive the next wave, so I was reloading and tried to micro even better, I've reached a point when I could hold the line for 1h.
Then I've tried to make an assault thinking that I have to wipe them out and block spawn points, so I did and they've kept spawning.

After like 6h I gave up and let them just roll over me, the Germans crossed the bridge that I was supposed not to loose and another section of the map unlocked giving me control of another line of defenses behind the bridge.
It turned out that probably the easiest way to win was to give up the bridge right away and once the other half of the map unlocked, move your initial froces into fortifications on the other side of the river through a brood, instead of letting them get destroyed by infinite German spawns.

But the initial end of the map was shown right behind the bridge, objective was to defend the bridge, so I've tried for 6 hours of my life...
I was so butthurt that I didn't bother to finish this mission and instantly uninstalled the game.

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

the graphics look great, I hope they get the AI half-way decent. I don't have time to play it right now anyway, and I have a new computer on order supposed to come in august or something, so maybe I will get it then..or during winter sale...eventually I will get it though

 

[warci]

The AI is unfortunately still retarded. That doesn't stop the fun though (except when medics let people bleed to death because the devs have no idea how to program auto-healing).
I do see this as a significant improvement over the already excellent MOW:AS2 though.
Some Highlights:
- the dynamic (coop) campaign is a hoot. You get a real sense of progression, although the strategic part is extremely simple.
- maps are much bigger and engagement distances more realistic. Heavy weapons now actually have a purpose because of their range. Spotting and reconnaissance is much more important to allow you to maximize heavy weapons use. It takes a while to get reinforcements to the front so unit mobility actually has a big impact now.
- the way fog of war is now visualized is great and really works well with the larger maps
- the 3rd/1st person direct control is a really nice gimmick, especially when used with snipers, canons, tanks etc. Really satisfying and immersive to use.
- Lots more importance is placed on defensive and logistics structures like medic tents, foxholes, trenches, all sorts of mines and obstacles etc.
- yeah the graphics are great and it seems to also run more smoothly and stable
- when going coop there's no longer this stupid thing that when you buy a unit it gets divided over each player. for example: when you call a new squad it is allotted to the player who requested it whole. You can still pass on individual units to other players at will though. The devs indicated that they're going much more with historic unit composition which is fits this really well. So now it no longer happens that 1 player gets an mg42 ammo carrier and a commander while another player gets some riflemen and a machine gunner.

It does feel like it's a lot harder now as well.
Mods are also starting to become a thing with SirHinkel returning to the scene. All in all, I can say we finally have a worthy successor.

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

the game is like 60 or 75% off right now, so is it worth it? I did not like the previous version because it lacked a single player campaign so I never even really played it, just refunded it when I realized it had no campaign and was just a multiplayer game..., but this seems to have a campaign game..

 

[Baptismbyfire]

the game is like 60 or 75% off right now, so is it worth it? I did not like the previous version because it lacked a single player campaign so I never even really played it, just refunded it when I realized it had no campaign and was just a multiplayer game..., but this seems to have a campaign game..

It has like 6 campaign missions for each side, and ends abruptly in 1943 or something. Then there is the Conquest mode, which lets you progress throughout the war, but is frankly speaking is in an unfinished state, and then you can set up random battles against AI or online opponents. The new DLC just released also adds like 3 skirmishes for each side centered around historical battles like Kharkov, where your goal is to secure areas on the map against waves of enemy attacks. I have just started playing the new skirmish, so can't you tell you much about it, but if it's on sale for like $20 it's definitely worth getting if you're into WWII. Just don't expect a finished product.

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

the game is like 60 or 75% off right now, so is it worth it? I did not like the previous version because it lacked a single player campaign so I never even really played it, just refunded it when I realized it had no campaign and was just a multiplayer game..., but this seems to have a campaign game..

It has like 6 campaign missions for each side, and ends abruptly in 1943 or something. Then there is the Conquest mode, which lets you progress throughout the war, but is frankly speaking is in an unfinished state, and then you can set up random battles against AI or online opponents. The new DLC just released also adds like 3 skirmishes for each side centered around historical battles like Kharkov, where your goal is to secure areas on the map against waves of enemy attacks. I have just started playing the new skirmish, so can't you tell you much about it, but if it's on sale for like $20 it's definitely worth getting if you're into WWII. Just don't expect a finished product.

thanks, I will probably get it then, sounds promising, and also noticed they have active mod community/workshop..since I just got a new computer I have lots of new games my computer can suddenly play now, so don't really need something to play at the moment really, but noticed its on a deep sale, so that is good to know and it looks like it will be worth getting... WW2 games are almost my favorite genre.

 

[Baptismbyfire]

I'm really enjoying the new skirmish mode that comes with the DLC. I have barely played the Finnish campaign, which is supposed to be the crux of the DLC, but beat 2 of the 3 new German skirmish battles. As I've said before, you basically have to take over various spots on the map against enemy defenses and counterattacks, but what makes it interesting is that you're limited to a certain selection of units, and each spot you take over on the map gives you access to new units, such as more tanks or bomber support. It was quite annoying at first to have a limited selection and unhistoric, but it makes you think more instead of pumping out the best units. It seems Russian and Finnish have only 1 or 2 skirmish battles, but I usually only play the Germans so it's not so bad. Only if this game had better AI and better Conquest mode. And the mod community is not that active unfortunately.

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

the tutorial for this game is god awful, its actually harder than just jumping in and playing without doing the tutorial and almost made me rage quit and never play again. They should not even have the tutorial unless they fix it, they must lose a lot of people trying to fuck around putting on the helmet and grab it out of the box and shit..anyway, its much better to jsut start pkaying I realized, but that should not be how tutorials work.

 

[Baptismbyfire]

Yeah, much of it is pointless, since your infantry don't live long enough for you to fiddle with their stuff.

 

[Hace El Oso]

Since no one else has done it and because Gates of Hell: Ostfront is the best realistic RTS available and a thoroughly enjoyable, engaging game, I thought I would post about the upcoming expansion releasing for it. Gates of Hell: Liberation, taking the series to the western front of the second world war and introducing the US Army and western German Forces. Already a remarkable upgrade over the venerable Men of War: Assault Squad 2, Gates of Hell has very good ongoing support and development as well as a strong modding scene that amply supplements the core game. Good games are rare enough, games that are honestly better than those that came earlier are practically nonexistent.



This is a long-form interview with a couple of the developers from a sim-focused youtuber:


If you enjoy historical, realistic tactical games, I'd recommend Gates of Hell over anything else out there. The base game and already released DLC are sure to be heavily discounted during the upcoming steam sales.

 

[TalesfromtheCrypt]

Added to my wishlist. I only played the original Men of War 2-3 years ago and it would be nice to scratch that itch again.

 

[Alienman]

It's pretty good when it comes to Men of War games, but it's the same old. I had great hopes for the dynamic campaign mode, but the AI isn't there. The computer just does an A+ move and blobs all his units, making for a huge massacre when it comes to defense missions.

 

[Hace El Oso]

It's pretty good when it comes to Men of War games, but it's the same old. I had great hopes for the dynamic campaign mode, but the AI isn't there. The computer just does an A+ move and blobs all his units, making for a huge massacre when it comes to defense missions.

The 'Conquest Enhanced V2' mod seriously addresses this. Vastly improved AI that can feel quite like a human, generally a much deeper dynamic campaign experience. The game developers also continue to tune and improve the AI from time to time.

 

[Baptismbyfire]

If you're into WW2 games, I would definitely get it on sale. The game has problems, like dumb AI and conquest mode that is very rudimentary despite developers' continued promise to work on it (like the fact that you can't upgrade your units is idiotic in a campaign that spans years), but the campaigns are excellent and are well worth the money (the singleplayer missions are pointless in my opinion), and I can see the game being very fun in multipayer (I don't have any friends so I don't know about it, but I can imagine it in my head).

I plan to get the new DLC as soon as it comes out.

 

[JarlFrank]

Played it for a bit (and might go for some multi with Alienman at some point) and feel like this is the best Men of War game currently available.
It is the same old if you're familiar with the series, but for people who haven't played a MoW game before and want to jump fresh into the series, this is a great place to start. Definitely has more single player content than the Assault Squad games: it comes with hand-crafted campaign missions as well as a dynamic campaign mode.

 

[Alienman]

I'm ready to dominate JarlFrank !

Or be dominated.

 

[Alienman]

I got dominated by JarlFrank, but I did feel pretty close. He had a hero at canon that pissed me off. Took out 3 tanks of mine, while my tank crew couldn't hit the broadside of a barn even if it hit them in the face

Tried some coop too, but I find the AI really poor. It's just too got damn dumb which ruins the experience. Multiplayer is where it's at if you have someone to play against. Personally, I avoid multiplayer but might go a few matches just to get some value out of the purchase. And yeah, another thing. The inf controls are bugged or something, at times they just refuse to do what you order them. Sometimes when you move them, they tend to go back and forth, looking for the squad lead. This takes valuable time when you try to flank and stuff like that. Not sure why the controls and friendly AI are that annoying. In the Men of War 2 beta, the controls worked fine, and the soldiers did what you told them.