Messages

1

Suggestions / Re: making the mod an exe.

« on: December 10, 2009, 10:21:37 AM »

Rather than continue talking about smoking chips and... more...

I'd like to get back on topic (for now ), so wouldn't you agree that releasing the mod in two formats one of which being .exe and the other a compressed file e.g. .rar would be worth suggesting to the developers rather than just one release in .exe?

2

Suggestions / Re: making the mod an exe.

« on: December 10, 2009, 03:21:57 AM »

Loup go to a little web site called "making history.com" its an old game that I enjoy any who look at the two ww1 mods one is an exe "deadlock" the other is not "great war" if you look the "deadlock" mod got a **** load more downloads it was almost the same exact mod I have them both they are almost the same so that is my point more people download exe.'s then they do other things its kind of the American way you get some one to do it for you!

I'm assuming this was supposed to be directed towards me and not Loup as I was the one to bring up that "A LOT more downloads" was an exaggeration.

Eastern Front is a one-of-a-kind mod, much different and arguably superior to any other that many look forward to playing.

My point was that if Eastern Front was released as a .rar file or otherwise was not an .exe people would still download and play the mod if that was the only option.

What you are pointing out is that out of two different mods which are "pretty much the same" there was a large difference in downloads and thus any mod not in .exe form would become a failure of sorts.

My point here is that Eastern Front has no competition, there is basically no alternative available if one wanted to play Soviets on CoH and cannot be compared with any other mod in this sense. Due to this, the only way Eastern Front or Soviets in CoH could be played is by downloading and installing Eastern Front, a task which is in reality quite simple.

Well I prefer .rar files because they are small(er) and are easily (arguably) and quickly installed

My solution was to have Eastern Front released in two formats so it would be a lighter download for those of us who prefer it.

Let me also explain this with a metaphor. Assume that one brand of potato chips is sold in packaged and unpackaged varieties, and both are sold for the same price/amount say $1 for a kg, unrealistic but a nice round figure. Now of course if you buy 1 kg of unpackaged, you could eat it right away and if you bought 1 kg of packaged you would have to open it to be able to eat it. However the packaged kg is easily portable and could be kept quite compact while the unpackaged kg, not so much. It would be good to keep sell them in both varieties to satisfy both the consumers who want to eat their potato chips straight away and those who would like to carry them around (let the assumption be that these are the only two types of consumers).

Now if this was the only brand of potato chips and they decided to sell it only the packaged variety, the consumers who wished to eat them right away would now only have to open the packet in order to eat them straight away.
 

3

Suggestions / Re: making the mod an exe.

« on: December 09, 2009, 11:24:57 AM »

I would prefer a compressed file to be honest.

In my opinion saying they would get "A LOT more downloads" if the .exe is a huge exaggeration. If one wanted to play this mod enough (and I am fairly certain that this is quite a lot of people), I believe that they would make the effort to extract a .rar file and make a shortcut for the mod or seek assistance in installing the mod.

It's also great for those of us who do not have the best (or even inadequate to some people) internet service. Perhaps releasing the mod in two formats could be considered?

4

General Discussion / Re: NEW EYE CANDY

« on: July 25, 2009, 12:48:45 PM »

Awesome, can't want for it D:

5

Suggestions / Re: Beta testing

« on: July 23, 2009, 06:20:07 AM »

However nice it would be, I really really doubt it would happen lol.

6

Suggestions / Re: Ostheer Suggestions

« on: July 21, 2009, 07:39:45 AM »

1. Kettenkrad: like pe kettenkrad but with a man on the back with an stg 44

2. Faustruppen: dedicated at squad, 4 men and fauststurm ability (like standard panzerfaust ability but all squad members fire)

3. Volksturm: appalingly weak but heavily armed late game unit with stg44s and plenty of panzerfausts. 6 man squad

2. sounds insane lol.

7

Suggestions / Re: Ostheer Army list [WIP]

« on: July 21, 2009, 07:37:00 AM »

Your list is a pretty solid list as a base so I'll just add my thoughts/ideas in green if you don't mind.
I apologise if it seems like I'm trying to undermine you, these will merely be suggestions.

This has been lurking around on the forums for a while but maybe quite a few people havn't seen it yet. Ino smaller suggestions are probably more useful, but it sort of comes as a package and is also pretty detailed so try and read the whole thing to get the gist 

But hey, feel free to take and use the ideas that are appealing and also to make suggestions for how it could be improved 


From HQ:

Sturmpioniere Trupp: *Man -140*
Squad of 3 - MP40, wire cutters
Can be upgraded with mine sweeper *Mun -35*
Has "Satchel Charges" *Mun -45* ability Can they construct defences?
Builder unit.

Panzer IV Battlegroup: *Man -160, Fuel -30*
Available once Panzer Verbesserung and Artillerie Verbesserung have been completed
Enables call in of 3 Panzer IV Ausf. H to the battlefield.


From Kampftruppe Support: *Man -190, Fuel -15*

Infanterie Trupp: *Man -290*
Squad of 6 - Kar98k
Can be upgraded with Panzerfaust *Mun -20*
Has "Grenade" *Mun -25* and "Fire Panzeraust" *Mun -35* abilities -These are only 10 MP over volks and they lob grenades and have 1 more man... IMO have one but not both. I'm also wandering if Panzerfaust is really needed as Panzershreck infantry is available from the same building, but shrecks accuracy is quite terrible ATM, especially against light vehicles such as those encountered early game.
Basic infantry.

MG Trupp: *Man -250*-I'm not sure whether this should be cheaper than the Wehr equivalent due to the cheap(er)ness of this T1 building, of course balance will eventually dictate cost.
Squad of 3 - MG-42, MP40
Basic MG team.

Mortar Trupp: *Man -270*
Squad of 3 - 81mm Granatwerfer 34 Mortar, MP40
Has "Mortar barrage" and "Incendiarary barrage" *Mun -20* abilities
Basic Mortar team.

Aufklarer: *Man -340*
Squad of 3 - Gewher 43
Has "Sniper Shot" *Mun -20* ability and can detect stealth units. -I'm not sure if this is really an issue but it should have longer cooldown than the British ability for balance, but since the British Recon Squad should be tougher it may be somewhat balanced already.
Scout unit.

Panzershreck Trupp: *Man -340*Cheaper maybe? They should serve no other purpose than anti-tank and I would really rather have a cloakable PaK for 20 MP cheaper, you could also add Fire Panzerfaust to this instead of Infanterie Trupp for super dedicated AT.
Squad of 3 - 1 Panzershreck, MP40
Anti-tank infantry.

VW Schwimmwagen: *Man -200*
Light recon vehicle -As with MG42, don't think it should be cheaper than Wehr equivalent because T1 building is cheaper. Unless it's weaker of course.
Equipped with an MG-42.


From Kampf Kompanie: *Man -200, Fuel -20*

Flammenwerfer Trupp: *Man -260*
Squad of 3 - 1 Flammenwerfer, kar98k -MP40 > Kar98K close range, though this may be fine as flammenwerfer + MP40 would be pretty BS IMO lol
Close assault infantry.

Pak-40: *Man -320*
Squad of 3 - Pak-40, luger 9mm -It should have a weaker Camo ability as the PaK-38 of Wehr currently has quite a powerful cloak bonus already and I'm guessing PaK-40 would be more power than PaK 38 to start with. Maybe a Camo ability similar to PE Fallschrimjaeger(sp?) where they must be in cover.
Has "Camouflage" ability
Basic AT gun.

Raupenschlepper Ost: *Man -200, Fuel -15*
Tracked troop transport vehicle
Can carry 2 squads of infanrty, which can fire out from it
Has "Reach the Front" ability, providing a speed boost. *Mun -15*-Up the cost to bring to balance with speed boost abilities of other races maybe?
 
Flammpanzer II "Flamingo": *Man -300, Fuel 45*
Close-combat, infantry support tank
Equipped with two Flammenwerfers and an MG-34
Has "Reach the Front" ability, providing a speed boost. *Mun -30*

Panzer III Ausf. J: *Man -320, Fuel -45*-I think it's a bit OP to have this in T2, maybe switch with Waffen SS Infanterie and lower fuel a little bit?

After reading Panzer Verbesserung I realise it isn't so bad ubut I'll leave this idea out there.
Medium tank, effective against infantry and vehicles
Equipped with a 5cm KwK 39 cannon and 2 MG-34, one coaxial, one hull mounted
Can be upgraded with "Panzerfuhrer" to increase range *Mun -10*, and "side skirts" for improved defence *Mun -70*
Has "Smokescreen" ability. *Fuel -30*-Should cost Munitions tbh.


From Artillerie Kommand: *Man -185, Fuel -40*

Waffen SS Infanterie: *Man -380*
Squad of 5 - StG44, Gewehr 43
Can be upgraded with Panzershrek *Mun -75*
Has "Bundled Grenade" ability *Mun -30* -too cheap?
Can build sandbags
Heavy infantry.

Maultier Panzerwerfer 42: *Man -300, Fuel -30*
Mobile artillery
Equipped with 150mm Wurfgranate 41 rockets
Has "Panzerwerfer Barrage" ability.

Wespe: *Man -380, Fuel -40*
Self-propelled artillery
Equipped with 10.5cm leFH 18 light howitzer
Has "Howitzer Barrage" ability.


From Panzer Kompanie: *Man -250, Fuel -50*

SS Kompaniefuhrer: *Man -400*
Squad of 3 - 1 officer and 2 bodyguard - Luger 9mm, Stg44, Grenades
Has "Forward observation barrage" (rocket barrage available once Artillerie Command is built, *Mun -225*) and "Supervision" abilities. Also has area effect ability that strengthens nearby units morale-I think Supervision should be dropped to distance itself a little bit more away from Wehr but that's just me.
Command unit.

Jagdpanzer IV L/70: *Man -500, Fuel -90*
Anti-tank vehicle
Equipped with 7.5cm Pak 42 L/70 cannon and an MG-34
Has "Smokescreen" ability. *Fuel -30*Maybe a liiiiitle bit cheaper since it's more of a dedicated AT vehicle than allrounder but that can obviously change to an extent, and smokescreen could be changed to cost Munitions but that isn't much of an issue at all.

Kugelblitz: *Man - 430, Fuel -40*
Anti-aircraft vehicle, effective against infantry
Equipped with 30mm Zwillingsflak 103/38 cannon and an MG-34.

-Sad there is not a heavy tank but that's okay, though other people can suggest one

Waffenkammer: *Man -100*

Panzer Verbesserung: Available once Kampf Kompanie is built, use this to enable production of the Panzer III medium tank. *Man -220, Fuel -40*   

Artillerie Verbesserung: Available once Artilerie Kommand is built, use this to enable production building of Wespe self-propelled artillery. *Man -300, Fuel -35*

MP40 Verbesserung: Available once all other buildings are built, Replaces Infanterie Trupp Kar98ks with MP40s. *Mun -50*

Handgranate Verbesserung: Available once all other buildings are built, Grenades and Bundled grenades do more damage. *Mun -50*-A bit cheap maybe? This ability could potentially be quite devastating.


Doctrines:

Luftwaffe Superiority:-Completely mirrors airborne lol, I kinda don't like that but that's just me.

Left Side: - Supply Drop, 2CP: Paradrop munitions, fuel and some support weapons in revealed territory. *Man -100* -This should really be further down IMO, extra fuel early game is a bit much tbh.     
      - Fallschrimjager, 2CP: Paradrop Fallschrimjager in revealed territory. *Man -400*
      - Paradrop AT Gun, 2CP: Paradrop Pak 40 anti-tank gun in revealed territory. *Man -370*-Dropping a cloakable AT gun is a bit much, maybe replace with Junkers 87 G 37mm Strafe for say about 150-200 Munitions, somewhat like Henschel run for PE but weaker?

Right Side: - Butterfly Bombs, 1CP: Blanket selected area with Butterfly anti-personnel mines. *Mun -100*
       - Strafing Run, 2CP: Call in Focke-Wulf 190 strafing run. *Mun -150*
       - Bombing Run, 3CP: Call in Ju 87 Stuka bombing run. *Mun -250*

Panzer Superiority:

Left Side: - Industrial Might, 1CP: Vehicle and tank production times are reduced.
      - Dig In, 2CP: German tanks gain the "Dig In" ability, reducing manoeuvreability for increased defence.-Maybe extra armour plates? I'm not sure if they did that but I never really liked the Dig In ability of British, thought again that's just me lol.
      - Repair Crews, 2CP: Call a squad of Mechaniks to the battlefield. *Man 200*

Right Side: - AT Halftrack, 2CP: Deploy a Light AT Halftrack to the battlefield. *Man -310*-hmm... I think it's a bit powerful for 2 CP, not really that much though.
       - Flak 36 88mm Cannon, 3CP: Enables Sturmpioneers to build the 88mm Flak 36 AA/AT. -Switch with Mechaniks maybe? I really think they should come a bit earlier, maybe even before the ATHT. This and Elefant on the same side is a bit much despite costs.
       - Panzerjager Tiger, 4CP: Deploy an Elefant heavy tank to the battlefield.
         
Urban Superiority:

Left Side: - Satchel Charges, 1CP: Sturmpionieres gain the "Satchel Charges" ability.
      - Entrench, 1CP: Sturmpionieres can now build slit Trenches.
      - Howitzer Bunker,3CP: Sturmpionieres can now build 15cm sFH 18 howitzer bunkers. -Howitzer "Bunker"?

Right Side: - Sniper Aces, 1CP: Snipers do not recieve a movement penalty whilst cloaked.-Aufklarers right? It's quite a powerful ability for only 1 CP and a 3 man squad, I think it should  just be a reduced movement penalty in it's current form.
       - Street Fighting, 2CP: Infantry gains an attack bonus against garrisoned enemies.
       - Tiger-Morser, 5CP: Deploy a Sturmtiger assault tank to the battlefield.

Doctrine Units:

Fallschrimjager: *Man -400*
Squad of 5 - Kar98k
"Fire Panzerfaust" *Mun -35* and "Incendiary Grenades" *Mun -40* abilities
Can be upgraded with FG42. *Mun -70*

Mechaniks: *Man -200*
Squad of 4 - MP-40, wire cutters
Has "Satchel Charges" *Mun -45* and "Salvage Wreck" abilities.
Can repair vehicles.
Builder Unit that arrives in Raupenschlepper Ost transport vehicle.

Light AT Halftrack: *Man -310*
Effective against light vehicles
Equipped with 37mm PaK 25 cannon
Has "Tread Breaker" ability. *Mun -40*

Elefant:
Only one allowed on the battlefield at a time
Heavy tank effective against vehicles
Equipped with 8.8 cm PaK 43/2 L/71 cannon and an MG-34
Has "Smokescreen" ability. *Mun -30*

Sturmtiger:
Only one allowed on the battlefield at a time, can only be called in once
Heavy tank effective against buildings, infantry and tanks
Equipped with 38 cm Raketen-Werfer RW61 L/5.4 rocket launcher and an MG-34
Has "Fire Mortar" ability *Mun -200*. -Can it fire normally or will it be like the British Churchill AVRE? If it's like the AVRE I think 200 would be a bit much?Also has "Smokescreen" ability. *Mun -30*

Panzer IV Ausf. H: *Man -1200*
Medium Tank effective against infantry and vehicles
Equipped with 75mm KwK 40 L/48 cannon and 2 MG-34, one coaxial, one hull mounted
Arrives with "Side Skirts", can be upgraded with an MG-34 gunner. *Mun -70*


Support Buildings:

Sandbags, Barbed Wire, Tank Traps, Mines, Slit Trenches,

Howitzer Bunker: *Man -460, Fuel -80*
Contains a 15cm sFH 18 heavy field howitzer.
Has "Howitzer Barrage" and "Counter Battery Fire" abilities.

88mm Flak 36 AA/AT: *Man -400, Fuel -75*
Standard Flak 88 AA cannon.

HMG Emplacement: *Man -250*
Standard MG Nest.

Kommunications Bunker: *Man -225*
When built in controlled territory secures the sector and grants a resource bonus. -There should be some limit to these since it's a bunker, maybe you could base some sort of tier system based on the amount of these, with that idea I think they would also have to cost some fuel and maybe a bit more manpower but this is just a random thought that popped up.

Aid Station: *Man -150*
Basic aid station, medic goes out to collect wounded troops in range.
-what would come out of these? If it's anything better than Infanterie Trupp I think it may need a slight increase in cost.
Reperaturwerkstatt: *Man -150*
Basic repaid station, pionieres go out to repair damaged vehicles in range.
As Sturmpioneers cannot repair vehicles they must build these.

Rallying point: *Man -50*
Built by Sturmpionieres and provides a place for troops to retreat to that isn't the HQ.
Can be built anywhere in controlled territory.


Build Tiers:

HQ --> Kampftruppe Support --> Kampf Kompanie + Rallying Point --> Waffenkammer + Artillerie Kommand + Panzer Kompanie + Reperaturwerkstatt.


Aesthetics:

As the Ostheer are another German faction they need to be visually different and recognisable to the existing ones, so, re-skins.
The easiest way to do this would be to use the green uniforms the German armies used, as opposed to the blue of the Whermacht and Panzer Elite.
So Green, with a few "winter" looking aspects, some white helmets, a few fur collars here and there, and some new camo patterns should do the trick.
Something like this maybe http://easternfront.org/forums/index.php?topic=597.15

Also some replacement camo and skins for the vehicles would be cool, also based around a green/grey/yellow theme.
Something like this for example http://rodolphe.quemerais.free.fr/cms/index.php?option=com_easygallery&act=photos&cid=30&Itemid=33
As on the Eastern Front the Germans were the invading force so their buildings should represent a more mobile force.
So no more big concrete pillboxes like the Wehrmacht, a more improvised look would suit the Ostheer.
Similar to that of the americans, lots of sandbags and some more tent-like structures would fit the bill well.


Issues:

I am aware that the Kugelblitz was barely out of development when the war ended. However the ones that were produced fought in the Battle for Berlin,
seeming as the mod takes us up to that event, I think it'd be a cool addition, plus it looks pretty darn snazzy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kugelblitz

Some people I expect will not be too happy about the lack of Panthers and Tigers, as they played a large part on the Eastern Front. However they
have more than enough to make up for it with the Jagdpanzer IV L/70, Elefant, Panzer IV battlegroup etc. It was more a matter of putting in some cool new units
the other axis factions dont have as opposed to exact realism.

Some people seem to like the idea of including Axis minor nations as the doctrine abilities for the Ostheer. Personally I dont think this is a very good
idea as alot of these nations contributions were fairly minor and were using weapons and equipment bought from the Germans anyway. Not that I'm underplaying
or unaware of the sacrifice made by people of these countries, it just wouldn't really do anything to improve gameplay. Hope I haven't offended anyone

The Waffen SS, I know some people might object to playing as them on moral grounds of some sort but they did make up a proportion of the Eastern Front armies.
Plus, Einsatzgruppen commited most of the atrocities and they followed up after that main force moved through, and are not included.
But lets not get into a discussion about war crimes.

Alas also no Jadgtiger, which I'm sure plenty of people want, and I'm not at all opposed to it either, just with the Sturmtiger, which fits with the urban
theme of alot of the fighting on the Eastern Front, and the Elefant for the large tank battles, having the Jagdtiger aswell might get abit close to OP-ness.
Plus it would just double up the role that the Elefant plays, and the team have already created a model for that. -You could add elefant to Panzer Kompanie and put Jagdtiger where it is now but that is almost completely unnecessary.

Other Notes
So yeah, thanks for taking the time to read if you got this far

Cheers 

Well, those are my suggestions. Some of my questions may sound a bit stupid further up the post as I was adding things as I went down and I may have left a few things in that were later explained.