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Men of War II - series revival by original Men of War devs

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth




Experience World War II real-time strategy gameplay like never before! Men of War II, the new chapter in the evolution of the top-rated RTS franchise, brings you more units with different specializations to lead, pinpoint historical accuracy, and new levels of visual and audio excellence, all combined with the series’ original heart-pounding action. Lead your troops in intense real-time battles on the Western and Eastern Fronts and overwhelm your opponents in epic narrative single-player campaigns and skirmish modes, before then diving deep into the multiplayer action.

Utilize sophisticated military strategies, lay ambushes, or use brute force to show your ability as the greatest military leader of all time. Attain full command of different roles: from Air and Armor to Infantry and Support in fast-paced battles packed with action. Men of War II brings significant visual improvements, destructible environments, and an advanced AI, to create the classic real-time strategy game fans have been waiting for.

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Command dozens of historically accurate units with unique equipment into battle and blast entire buildings to smithereens. Create the best strategic plan using the ever-changing environment, cover, and a wide range of tactical options to eliminate your enemies, commanded by a reworked, fierce AI. Use The Direct Control feature to manage any single unit on the field at any time and change, upgrade and repair equipment and vehicles. Dive deep into classical combat mechanics combined with all-new gameplay features and experience the intensity of one of the longest-running series of WWII games in an exciting new way.

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Experience an epic story spanning two primary campaigns — Allies and Soviets — against The Third Reich military power machine. From the first desperate and brutal battles of WWII to significant victories on the way to Berlin, join war heroes and their comrades marching across the snow-covered Soviet hills and villages, European fields, and city ruins.

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Experience the biggest multiplayer and co-op modes in franchise history. Choose your side and prepare to fight against other players, or by their side against advanced AI, in a vast selection of realistic skirmish and challenge maps, providing enough room for strategic maneuvers. Plan your attacks, team up with a friend, and win the battle side-by-side in co-op.

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From devastating tanks to realistic models of armament and military equipment, Men of War II features the most extensive and highly detailed WWII locations, vehicle and characters roster in the series to date: three sides, 45 battalions, and over 300 vehicles.

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Experience the classical theater of war from a new perspective: every location comes to life with a unique set of fully destructible objects, realistic physics, and immersive sound design. In Men of War II everything — bridges, rivers, buildings, forests, and much more — can be used to gain a tactical advantage, opening up limitless strategic options for you or your enemies to exploit.

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Create and share your own war scenarios using a special level design and modding toolset for Men of War II. Now the choices are up to you: your creativity; your vision; your skills. The tactical possibilities are endless.
 

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So, this seems to be a repurposing of an F2P multiplayer game called Men of War II: Arena (formerly Soldiers: Arena).



Any Codexer know more about this?
 
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Wunderbar

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Fun fact: in Ukraine and Russia, the series is known as "В тылу врага" ("Behind enemy lines").

In the west, the first game was released as "Soldiers: Heroes of World War II" and the second game was released as "Faces of War". The first game spawned a series of stand-alone expansion packs made by a different team and called "Диверсанты" ("Saboteurs") which was never released outside of Eastern Europe. "Men of War" is actually a second expansion pack for "Faces of War" (the first expansion was named "Faces of War - Brothers in Arms"). The second game spawned two series of stand-alone expansion packs made by a different dev teams - one is from german dev Digitalmind soft ("Штурм" aka "Assault Squad") and another from russian devs ("Черные бушлаты"/"Men of War: Red Tide", "В тылу врага - Вьетнам"/"Men of War Vietnam" and "Штрафбат"/"Condemned heroes").

It's a massive clusterfuck. Thanks, Ubisoft.

So it goes like this:
- Behind enemy lines ("Soldiers: Heroes of World War II" in the west)
- Behind enemy lines: Saboteurs
- Behind enemy lines: Saboteurs 2
- Behind enemy lines: Saboteurs 3
- Behind enemy lines 2 ("Faces of War" in the west)
- Behind enemy lines 2: Brothers in Arms ("Faces of War - Brothers in arms" in the west)
- Behind enemy lines 2: Desert Fox ("Men of War" in the west)
- Behind enemy lines 2: Assault ("Men of War: Assault Squad" in the west)
- Behind enemy lines: Assault 2 ("Men of War: Assault Squad 2" in the west)
- Behind enemy lines: Assault 2: Cold War ("Men of War: Assault Squad 2 - Cold War" in the west)
- Black coats ("Men of War: Red Tide" in the west)
- Behind enemy lines: Vietnam ("Men of War: Vietnam" in the west)
- Behind enemy lines: Penal Battalion ("Men of War: Condemned Heroes" in the west)

Men of War: Arena was a stillborn multiplayer spin-off no one asked for. It was closed in august 2021, with Best Way promising to use the existing engine and assets to develop a full-fledged premium sequel without f2p BS.
 

Alienman

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Interesting. Didn't know there was this many Men of War games. Any Russians or Ukrainians that played the ones not released in west? Did we miss out on something special?
 

GreyViper

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I have most of them, but the biggest problem they have at least with MP related is the memory leak bug, where the game would either lag and crash or just CTD about 15-20 min into game.
No such issue with Call to Arms Ostfront, honestly I thought it was the unofficial Men of War 2 for a while since the mechanics are the same.
 

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https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/ho...shape-the-frontlines-of-world-war-ii-strategy

How Men Of War II aims to reshape the frontlines of World War II strategy
Developer Best Way promises a new take on gaming's favourite war



I've always found it hard to get excited about the Men Of War series. This is admittedly partly down to the name. Short of outright calling your game "War", Men Of War is about as generic a title as you can get for a video game. And I think this was at least partly reflective of the games behind it. Men Of War has generally delivered dependable real-time tactics games, but the series has never excited me in the way that, say, Relic's Company Of Heroes does.

So it's a promising sign that, at the end of Best Way's demonstration of the just-announced Men Of War II, I came away keen to play it. Not only does it look slicker and more user friendly than earlier games (without compromising on the depth that appeals to the series' core fanbase) there are a couple of ideas it’s playing with that lodged themselves in my mind like chunks of grenade shrapnel.

One thing that hasn't changed over the original Men Of War, which launched in the primordial mists of 2009, is the setting. Men Of War II returns the series to its World War II roots. But according to developer Best Way, which features several members of the original development team, it won't be revisiting popular fronts and battles replicated ad nauseum by other World War II games. "We would like to show the other side of World War II," says designer Alexander Babin, "without the classic battles such as D-Day or Stalingrad, because at some point players started to feel like they have already seen everything."

The game's campaign will be split into two separate storylines, one focusing on the Allies, and the other on the Soviets. The former follows Allied forces as they push through Normandy in the aftermath of D-Day, with scenarios built around historical engagements such as Operation Lüttich, a major German counterattack during Operation Overlord, and the battle of the Falaise pocket, in which Allied forces surrounded a large portion of the German Army following Lüttich's failure.


The latter, meanwhile, centres around the Soviet defence against Operation Barbarossa, with the Red Army fighting for every inch of ground as the German war machine advances. The idea of fighting a defensive campaign is particularly intriguing, given that strategy games so often prioritise conquest and pushing forward. Best Way offered a glimpse of how this is likely to work, demoing a mission in which the Red Army had to destroy three bridges to halt the German advance.

What's immediately clear from the demonstration is how comprehensive Men Of War II is in depicting World War II battles. The game features over 300 vehicles and 45 different army battalions, covering just about every imaginable role in the three major armies represented. Alongside a wide range of infantry and armour types, your forces can be supported by artillery weapons, which must be kept concealed from the enemy using camouflage to be most effective. There will also be limited representation of air support, with you able to temporarily call-in planes for strafing and bombing runs. You'll also have some ability to shape the battlefield yourself, with infantry able to dig trenches and construct various defensive fortifications to help them hold key points.

More broadly, your strategic approach will be governed by the frontline mechanic. Control of the battlefield is marked by a visible frontline on either side, and there are many things that can only be done on your side of the battlefield. Summoned troops can appear only at a certain distance from the front line. Engineers can place anti-tank hedgehogs, dig trenches and set up minefields, but only on your side of the battlefield. Medics can take wounded soldiers on your side to the hospital and vehicles can retreat to get repairs done or to replenish ammunition.

In addition, there's also no fog of war on your side of the frontline, so aside from a few specialized stealth units, you'll immediately be able to see enemy troops crossing into your territory. It's also crucial to note that the frontline can only be pushed forward by infantry units - tanks and other vehicles have no effect on the frontline. Therefore your most vulnerable units are also your most valuable, so it's vital to provide your soldiers with appropriate support. A general who is careless with lives will struggle to maintain control over the battlefield.


The tactical potential of the frontline is immediately clear. I love the idea of pushing down the flanks to surround enemies and deprive them of reinforcements, constructing defensive fortifications along the frontline to hold it, watching for salients in your enemy's line and sweeping sideways to cut them off. It seems primed to reward careful planning and flexibility.

Alongside these more abstract additions, Men Of War II also seeks to improve the game's more direct representation of the war. The sequel is running on a new version of Best Way's GEM engine that has been "purpose built" for it and has been upgraded to support HDR, 4K resolutions, modern lighting effects, and so on. The audio has been overhauled too. Composite sounds will change in real-time and depending on the distance of the source from the player.

The result is a game that rivals Company Of Heroes for its audiovisual spectacle. Tank shells and artillery barrages land in thundering bursts that'll reshape the game's destructive battlefields, while the detail on individual models is also impressive. Indeed, Best Way’s confidence in Men Of War II's visual presentation is demonstrated by the introduction of "Direct Vision." The series has always let players assume direct control of individual soldiers and units, letting them try to personally influence the battle, but this was always from a bird's eye view. Now, you can get up close and personal with the battlefield, viewing it in first-person from above tank hatches and behind mounted machine guns.


One element of Men Of War II that's less clear is how straightforward the game will be to grapple with. Everything in the demo footage seemed to move more slickly than in previous games, but it's hard to discern how that translates to controlling your army without getting hands-on. During the demo, Best Way said that they're trying to balance accessibility with depth, but it sounded like the latter remains the primary focus for the studio, which will no doubt please the series' existing audience.


Mounted guns will let you view the battlefield in first-person.

As a direct sequel to Men Of War, the game will be more singleplayer oriented than its Assault Squad spinoffs, but multiplayer is still being heavily catered for. The game supports skirmishes of varying sizes, including massive 5v5 battles, with players able to choose not only the army they want to fight as (whether that's Germany, Russia, or the US), but specific battalion pre-sets geared toward specific fighting styles. Best Way also mentioned that the game will launch with full mod support, including a bunch of new tools for more creatively-minded players to adapt the game.

I'm excited for Men Of War II, which I did not expect to feel like going into the demonstration. It looks and sounds fantastic, while the frontline mechanic has me genuinely intrigued for the sequel's strategic potential. The game is due to launch sometime next year, so between it and the upcoming Company Of Heroes 3, 2022 is shaping up to be a banner year for World War II-themed strategy games.
 

adddeed

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My favorite is Faces of War.
Started the series with the first Soldiers. Couldnt believe how much i had playing that, was unline anything else ive played.
 
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Playing the original Men of War for the fiest time currently, almost at the end of the Soviet campaign. This game is just awesome, acion-packed fun. Direct control is an awesome feature, nothing like mowing down Germans in my T-34 or wreaking havoc in a stolen King Tiger.
The campaign is quite challenging but on normal it's been doable so far with a bit of savescumming. I'm lovin the huge battles but the commandos style sequences and missions in between are a nice change of pace. A Men of War sequel with a proper SP campaign? Hell yeah, can't wait.
 

Alienman

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Gates of Hell has first person for tanks. It's really damn awesome. You can switch between first person and classic direct control if you prefer that.

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Van-d-all

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Always loved the series, and when I saw Arena in beta I looked into getting an account, but the cheapo lowest tier ones were already locked (in less than a week), and since it was some proprietary Russian site I wasn't too eager to give them money. Seeing now it's been shut down, seems like I dodged a bullet there.

To clarify - despite loving the games I've been weary of both Best Way and Digitalmindsoft after the shit they pulled about the Call To Arms - I've bought the game TWICE and I still don't have all the content, because they've changed how various editions are released. First I got the preorder which was supposed to be complete, but that got switched to be an equivalent to basic, so I bought the deluxe upgrade, but now the game has an ultimate edition. Sure, all this shitfuckery took a few years, and thankfully I bought it all on steam discounts but it still leaves a sour taste of how they do business.

As for MOW2, I'm glad they went to Steam, because the multiplayer in MOW was pretty bad. Dedicated hosting in MOW was just too archaic, and outside 1v1 it was quite hard to find a match that wasn't a pubstomp against an organized team; while matchmaking was just broken, and after a while barely anyone used it.
 

Alienman

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Really tried to enjoy Call of Arms but something is just off with that Men of War title. Not sure it's the setting or something else.
 
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How is Gates of Hell? I just learned about this game from this thread and it looks nice, but I‘m worried about reviews mentioning completely braindead ai. What‘s worse is they are referring to the individual unit behaviour AI, which I think is pretty good in the original Men of War.
 

Alienman

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How is Gates of Hell? I just learned about this game from this thread and it looks nice, but I‘m worried about reviews mentioning completely braindead ai. What‘s worse is they are referring to the individual unit behaviour AI, which I think is pretty good in the original Men of War.

Been playing it a bit. Without a certain mod for conquest at least the enemy AI is rather suicidal. They come at you in a straight line. With the mod they come at you still, but more spread out and use more kind of units, like mortars and such. They also flank sometimes. But yeah, vanilla AI don't seem that great in conquest mode. Not played singleplayer missions yet so I have no idea there.
 

KateMicucci

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Campaigns ratings-

Men of War 1- Good. German campaign has no commando missions IIRC, American is all commando missions and USSR is a mix.
Red Tide- Good but more commando missions than MoW1. I think it has more missions than any of the others.
Vietnam- Pure shit. Nothing but buggy commando missions. One involves pixel-hunting for a bunch of snipers hiding in trees.
Condemned Heroes- Decent. Don't know if it was a step down or I was just bored of the formula at this point
Assault Squad- The single player "missions" are all skirmish maps with infinite waves of enemies vs infinite waves of your own troops. You just try to take all the objectives in a straight line and push the enemy off the board.

I was generally not a fan of the commando missions because they were so silly. You would just hijack a heavy weapon and then set yourself up to funnel enemies down a corridor.
 
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adddeed

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You should play Soldiers Heroes of WWII and Faces of War.
Campaign missions are a lot of fun. Faces of war has all kinds.
 

jebsmoker

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You should play Soldiers Heroes of WWII and Faces of War.
Campaign missions are a lot of fun. Faces of war has all kinds.

soldiers is incredible and the campaigns are great fun. the physics in that game is still one of my all time favorites
 

adddeed

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Yep it was quite a nice surprise back in 2004.
I think Faces of War was the peak of the series for me. Did not enjoy Men of War as much. Speaking single player only.
 

Sinilevä

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Heroes of WWII and Faces of War were truly great games. Men of War was also good, but I didn't like that it was more multiplayer oriented. I also remember how Heroes of WWII caused a bit of a butthurt, because in the German campaign you were playing as SS troops under the command of hauptsturmfuhrer Michael Wittmann killing copious amounts of Allies.:M
 

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You should play Soldiers Heroes of WWII and Faces of War.
Campaign missions are a lot of fun. Faces of war has all kinds.
One of my favorites was the one from the british campaign where u had to blow a fuel depo in africa and the american one with the bridge in the beginning where in the end a flak barge comes in.
 

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:necro:


The first Dev Diary of Men of War II takes you behind the scenes of the highly anticipated sequel - explore the history of the series, learn more about the single-player content of the upcoming game, the state of its development and much more.
 

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Gamescom trailer:



Fulqrum Publishing and Best Way revealed an exclusive teaser trailer from the upcoming sequel to the acclaimed RTS franchise Men of War II ahead of Gamescom 2022. Get immersed in the most significant battles of both the Western and Eastern fronts of World War II in this new teaser trailer and get ready to take control of the battlefield! A full-length trailer will be presented on September 1st, and before that, media can check out the game at Gamescom from August 24–26 behind closed doors.
 

ArchAngel

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Why is this under tactical gaming instead of in Strategy section?
 

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