Neosdark's 4th and final concept

[neosdark]

Well Laidies and Gents, I present the final and probably my most intricate and fine-tuned design. Its not here to displace Lord Rommel's Ingenious Concept, but to showcase ideas i have come up with, perhaps the Devs can steal some things from it. Without further stalling for your attention.

Neosdark's Ostheer Concept


Right then, this is my 4th attempt to design a good Ostheer plan. It addresses all the problems people have had with my previous concepts. Please do comment on any problems you see with the concept.




1. General Stuff

The idea would be to have an HQ in a base area that can be connected to the sectors through special buildings that can produce units. The more sectors you control in this fashion (for a maximum of 6 buildings) the more units you can make. The buildings can create units depending on what sector they are in: base control points provide you with balanced vehicles and infantry, the fuel sectors that allow you to deploy powerful tanks and vehicles, and munition bases deploy powerful infantry and support troops.

Each of these bases also comes with a slight buff to the resources received. A problem that they have is that the main base does not come with MGs because of the early-Blitz style tactics didn’t really involve too many defensive operations. However, latter in the game defense becomes a higher priority.
 
Sturm-Pioneers, which create the buildings these guys use, can capture sectors swiftly, but cannot build defenses save for mines, and a small dugout that can be garrisoned by a Marksman squad and if the Marksman squad is inside the dugout it's covered by leaves and camouflaged with him.









2. Buldings


Ost-Operations Center


Produces:

Sturm-Pioneers [3 man squad, armed with 3 MP 3008s, upgrade with Mine Detectors, can capture swiftly and build mines and dugouts]




Universal Upgrades:

Uber-Blitz- increases the speed at which all units capture and allows garrisoned vehicles to capture. Can only be obtained after building the Ostheer Battalion Barracks(500 manpower 20 fuel),

Defensive Operations- This upgrade allows you to train Defense Pioneers from the Operations Center and Infantry Command Barracks. This new emphasis on the defensive also allows for our Infantry to create trenches for free and allows for the Marksman to upgrade to the Scharfschütze Der Ostfront. These trenches can fit up to 7 people and/or 2 squads. (Sturm-Pioneers can still be produced, to access this upgrade you must have built an Infantry Command Center) -250 Manpower, 20 Fuel.

Tank Command - Allows you to deploy the Panther Ausf.D from the Panzer Deployment Hanger. With our new Wunderwaffen out on the front we are given APCR rounds for all Tanks to improve their capabilities even more. This upgrade also lets the Panzer III to access its variant upgrades.  You may pay 40 Munitions to activate the APCR rounds for 50 Seconds. You must have the Panzer Deployment Hanger built. - 300 Manpower, 25 Fuel.









Ost-Recruitment Barracks (250 Manpower)

This building can only be built in the main base territory.


Produces:

Volkssturm [5 men, Armed with 1 MP 3008 and 4 Kar98k, with no special abilities this poorly trained squad of civillians is our first line of defense against any enemies we may encounter. Surely stronger and better equipped than a Soviet Conscript squad, they are lacking in firepower and number against most other squads, 250 manpower, 4 pop.],

Kübelwagen- This light, unarmored car, has an MG34 and a large sight radius. Use it to stalk snipers and scout out targets for artillery. Combines the speed of the Motorcycle and the reverse capabilities of the Schwimmwagen, so slightly more expensive then the two- 220 Manpower, 2 Pop.
 
Marksman- 1 man sniper that is armed with a scoped MP43/1 ] A skilled marksman who excels at mid to close range slaughter, has only 2 abilities and no artillery capabilities abilities, he instead has a full-auto rifle, the ability to camouflage (moving camo) and the ability to upgrade with another member into the sniper squad creating the Scharfschütze Der Ostfront. [350 manpower, 6 pop.]

(Scharfschützen Der Ostfront-a 2 man sniper squad with 1 scoped MP43/1 and 1 MP41. The Scharfschützen Der Ostfront upgrade requires for the Wunderwaffen and Defensive Operations upgrades to be purchased and causes an increase in the pop cost by 2 and gives them more firepower and survivability. The upgrade also removes the Walking Camo and instead adds a slight amount of extra range and sight into the fog. [For upgrade you need 120 munitions, 8 pop.]

MG34 Squad- a support team designed to suppress the enemy infantry, it is a 3 man team is armed with a tripod MG34, and 2 Kar98k. 340 Manpower, 3 pop.


Universal Upgrades:

Last Ditch Perfection-Replace all Kar 98ks with VG-1-5 (costs 150 manpower, 20 fuel)

The VG-1-5  is a semi-automatic rifle with a shorter range compared to the Kar98k, but with a better fire rate (obviously)and close quarters capabilities.





The building that can be built on regular control points would be the
Ostheer Battalion Barracks(250 Manpower 20 Fuel):

Produces:

Sturmgrenadiers- backbone of the Ostheer [6 man squad armed with MP 40, that can be upgraded with Suomi m/1931, PzB 39 Anti-Tank Rifle or Gewehr 41s for better close or long-range combat. The PzB can function similar to a more powerful and longer range Kar98k against Human targets, but it really shines against light tanks and vehicles were it can quickly destroy them within a few shots. 2 upgrade slots upgrade 3 people for 1 upgrade), can use bundled grenades, 350 manpower, 6 pop.]

Panzer II Ausf.L (Luchs)- The heavy recon unit of the Ostheer, this light Panzer is armed with a 20mm cannon and is extremely effective against Infantry and lightly armored vehicles. Can be upgraded with a Tank Commander for 50 munitions. It can’t be damaged by most small arms.  340 Manpower, 25 fuel, 5 pop.


Twin Mortar Squad- [5 men, armed with 1 MP-40 and 2 5-cm leGrW 36 mortar, this 2 mortar squad is large but must be defended since there is only one free member, 350 Manpower, 5 pop. Can use Mortar Barrages and each mortar has its own barrage placement area (so u can target 2 areas at one time.)]

Boher 4.7 cm PaK- This PaK was designed by Austria’s military and a few fell into our hands during the Anschluss. Our Italian comrades love this gun so we decided to give it a try. Operated by 3 Italian gunners and 1 German officer this AT gun is good against Vehicles and Meduim tanks but lacks the firepower to take on heavier tanks and also has poor accuracy against smaller targets, so infantry are harder to hit. The difference in nationality between operators can sometimes cause confusion in orders and thus make them shoot at wrong targets, but for this loss they have a longer range and tend to aim for tanks more than vehicles. Can use Tungsten-core Shells for 50 munitions per Activation, lasts 30 seconds (300 Manpower, 4 pop.)




Universal Upgrades:

Wunderwaffen-Exchanges all MP-40s for StG-44s. This upgrade allows for any squads armed with VG-1-5 to exchange to the VMG-27 LMG for light suppression, PzB 39s for Panzerschrecks, G41s for G43s, and Suomi m/1931 for PPSh 41s. All old upgrades are replaced with the new ones for the same prices. Also allows for the deployment of Scharfschützen Der Ostfront in combination with the Defensive Operations upgrade (300 manpower, 20 fuel)   









The building on the fuel sector is the
Panzer Deployment Hanger (300 Manpower 40 Fuel):




Produces:

Panzer III- [with the 3.7 cm KwK 36 L/46.5 gun, that has 3 potential upgrades. However to access said upgrades you need to activate the Tank Command upgrade (from the HQ). Any upgrade is 100 munitions each and comes with Schürzen a la carte. [400 manpower, 40 fuel, 6 pop ]
Variant upgrades:
1)an upgrade to the larger 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 increses damage vs. vehicles and tanks, this allows the Panzer 3 to take on the T-34 and other allied tanks,

2)a flamethrower upgrade to the Flammpanzer III (F1)  Flamethrower tank-a Flamethrower tank that can still use its main gun and has its hull-MG replaced with a flamethrower, or

3) the Artillerie-Panzerbeobachtungswagen III - Forward artillery observer tank that has a dummy gun that masks a MG 34 and a another MG 34 in the ball turret that has a large line of sight and can call in small Mortar Barrages. Can only have one available on the field at any point and time.   



Panther Ausf D [Lower speed then the Wehr and PE Panther, but similar gun this Panther is cheaper to make and takes up less population but is also easier to outrun for the T-34s, this Panther comes with a nasty surprise,  APCR rounds to make the T-34 even bigger scrap heaps and turn IS-2 into metal shavings.  Needs the Panzer Command upgrade to be built and automatically comes with APCR rounds.
Upgrades: MG 42/skirts (75 munitions) [Cost 560 manpower 105 fuel, 9 pop]

Flakpanzer 38(t)[Light converted tank armed with a single Flak 38, that is very good against planes and infantry this Flakpanzer is fast but has pretty light armor so it is easier to destroy than the comparable Ostwind or Wirblewind. 400 manpower, 30 fuel, 5 pop]


Universal Upgrades:

Forced Labor- All vehicles and tanks are manufactured at 1.5 the regular production speed letting our tanks arrive at the front faster. This also decrease the prices of all Infantry munitions upgrades by 5% (400 manpower and 70 fuel)

The final building can only be built on munition sectors and it is the:
Infantry Command Barracks(200 MP 50 Fuel)

Produces:



Panzertruppen [Powerful infantry that can mount Panzer 3s, these 5 man squads are armed with 4 MP-40s and 1 StG44.They can be upgraded with, G41s, MG 42s, captured PPSh-41s, or the SS weapon pack that comes with 1 MG42, 2 PPSh-41, and 2 G41 to insure maximum capabilities against all targets for different situations. They are very vulnerable to AI tanks whether dismounted from their vehicles or not. (400 manpower, 6 population, have 5 weapons vacancy slots for 1 upgrade for each person)


Panzer-Jäger Squad- As their name says, these gritty veterans are skilled at finding and hunting down the pathetic Soviet armor. 5 men armed with 4 PzB 39 AT rifles (4 Panzerschrecks with the Wunderwaffe upgrade) and a single Suomi m/1931 SMG they can easily destroy any armored target. Infantry are, however, a tad of a problem so keep it supported with Infantry killers. -340 Manpower, 6 pop. No upgrade slots



Defense-Pioneers- [these 4 tough engineer units are armed with 4 G-41 and fulfill very similar in role to the British Sappers, they can be equipped with Mine-Detectors, Twin Flamethrowers, and Advanced Repair. They also build mines, barbed wire, tank traps, and special Bunkers that can be upgraded with three separate upgrades:

1) A Flak Bunker with 2 Flak 38s on the roof designed to take on infantry and planes. This is a cheap alternative for the Flakpanzer 38(t), but stationary and with less range.

2) A special Medicinal Bunker that houses medics that treat soldiers wounds and can also be upgraded to repair vehicles in close proximity (this costs an extra 65 munitions) (NOTE: Does not recover soldiers in the field that are wounded).

3) Infiltration Bunker- a special bunker that allows you to move infantry from one bunker to another. You can only deploy 2 at a time and they help in moving troops from your base to the front and vice-versa, takes different amounts of time to get to the front depending on distances between bunkers.

Bunkers cost 200 Manpower each; the upgrades are each 65 munitions. 300 manpower, 4 pop. [Mines are 50 munitions, but are placed in larger amounts, Sandbags, Wire and Tank Traps are free.]
 



Panzerwerfer 42 - this halftrack is armed with 10 rocket pods and an MG 34 for self-defense. In reason it is similar to the Nebelwerfer but less accurate and shoots more rockets. Be aware though as the MG on this cannot suppress on the level of other MGs. 450 manpower, 20 fuel, 6 pop.]


Universal Upgrades:

Infantry Command: All Infantry are now given a Feldwebel to lead them to victory. The Feldwebel is armed with a StG44. His lead encourages our troops, granting them the ability to Sprint and the ability to Focus Fire (accurate, but slow fire) for all weapons (60 munitions). (400 manpower, 70 fuel)










3. Doctrines








1) Assault Dogma

Right Side: Siege Craft



1)  Death’s Toll: A single shot is fired by a 24 cm Kanone 3 that does extreme damage to any units in its huge radius and suppresses all infantry within that sector- 3 CP. Costs 100 Munitions. Recharge 3 min.

2)   Chain of Command: Your Artillerie-Panzerbeobachtungswagen III can now request heavy artillery strikes on the enemy positions. You can choose to drop High-Explosive rounds or Incendiary rounds- 2 CP, 100 munitions per shot, 1 minute recharge (If you use one of the shells on one tank you must recharge both on that tank.)

3)   Little Cricket- A single Grille Ausf. M is provided to the Commander for artillery support. It has a shorter regular range than the Hummel and a shorter Lockdown range as well. Only 2 can be on the field at any time. (3CP, 650 manpower, 14 pop). They have 2 abilities:
1) Lockdown- This allows the driver to assist the loader, increasing the amount of shells fired and (for some strange reason) range of said shells. 20 sec. for the lockdown cooldown (you have to make sure that the lockdown is in safe territory or else….)

2) Shell Storm-(130 munitions), an ability that allows the Wespe to fire off all of the shells in their compartment in quick succession. The amount of shells fired of overheats the barrel, causing it to splinter (break), so be sure to repair it. To make sure you cannot automatically repair it, the barrel will only break when the ability is over, during which time the Wespe cannot move (30 sec. After the firing stops)



Left Side: Infantry Support

1) Strike Support-A SdKfz 6 halftrack has been provided to our comrades on the Soviet Front. This extremely large halftrack can fit 15 people or 3 squads. Has light armor so it can survive a few PTRD shots but don’t get too cocky. Functions as a mobile reinforcement point like most other halftracks. (1CP 350 Manpower, 5 pop).

2) Charge for Fatherland: Gives a burst of speed to any squad in its radius and also makes them insuppressible, but after which they will become sluggish at movement and have horrid accuracy- 2 CP, 100 munitions, 2 min recharge time.

3) Gebirgsjäger Strike Squad- Armed with 2 MG 42 LMGs and 1 Scoped G43, this 3 man squad is extremely skilled at suppressing and sniping enemies from long to medium ranges. Armed to the teeth with Anti-Infantry weaponry, these soldiers can also throw Incendiary grenades and camouflage in heavy cover. 560 Manpower, 6 pop.




2) Breaching Dogma


Right Side: Panzer Support


1) S-mine-This new fangled system can now be installed on our tanks to provide Anti-Infantry defense on our tanks. It is extremely effective, but must be reloaded externally so it can only be recharged out of combat- 1CP, 50 munitions per use, 1 min to recharge (only recharged out of combat)

2) Repair Support- Mechanics can be slow, and I’m sure any good commander knows that we must keep our tanks going faster, more often then we’d like them going slow. So we at HQ have thought of an ingenious idea. A halftrack filled with Mechanics is provided to our commanders on the front. These quick and mobile Mechanics can quickly repair any of our damaged tanks from the safety of an armored halftrack. Beware though the exchange for a bullet-proof halftrack is that the mechanics repair a little slower than normal (so they faster than the Pioneers but slower then Soviet or any other Advanced Repair unit) -2CP, 400 Manpower, 5 pop.

3) Hell-Tiger [ACE]-What else can a commander dream of. A single Tiger I armed with HE rounds, AT rounds, smoke dispensers is now at your disposal. Its weakness is that it can easily be immobilized by getting just a few shoots into the treads so try not to let it get shot up much. Artillery is also a bit of a problem as their shells can easily destroy the intricate treads. Can only be deployed once.-4CP, 13 pop, 1000 manpower.



Left Side: Blitzkrieg Tactics

1) Early Recon- Our early reconnaissance squads have done their job well. We can now see what sectors our enemies occupy, if they are secured or not and how many emplacements are present in their territories. It doesn’t show the Headquarters or Main Base (so the British can hide their emplacements behind their MAIN HEADQUARTERS TRUCK, not the other trucks, which are shown on the map) buildings or units in any sector. However, when they build a new emplacement we will know about it. (Passive Ability)-2 CP

2) Unleash the Reserves: Gives any squads in its large radius automatic reinforcement to maximum capacity and makes them fire faster, with renewed vigor, unfortunately the use of our reserves makes getting reinforcements at the headquarters or forward HQ impossible for 2 min.-(2 CP, 100 munitions, 5 min. recharge.)

3) Coordinated Strike: All the troops on the field of battle are coordinated together for battle. All troops and vehicles now give off auras (similar to Lieutenants and Captain aura), which increases Speed and Accuracy for Infantry, and Damage and Fire Rate are increased for Tanks. (3CP and 150 manpower)






3) Defensive Dogma

Right Side: Defensive Preparations


1) Sapper School- All infantry now have the ability to place special camouflaged explosives(takes the shape of a sandbag) that can be used to destroy obstacles (tank-traps, detected mines, sandbags, and anything else in your way) or bridges and buildings that are causing problems. Detonate on command.-2 CP, (65 munitions per explosive)

2) Devils Garden- Allows the Defensive Engineers to deploy Devils Gardens (a large minefield filled with AP and AV/T mines) which can block of an entire area. You can only deploy 3 of these minefields at one time, but they consist of about 50 mines. (150 munitions per Garden, 2CP)

3)Secure the Flanks!!!- This Passive Ability increases Reinforcement time and Call-in arrival time, for all enemies. (2CP)

Left Side: Defensive Support Tactics

1) Hold the Line- Allows the commander to Lockdown Infantry squads for increased protection (decreases received accuracy by 25%). Only effective in cover, so can be counteracted by grenades and other Anti Cover things. - (2 CP)

2) Italian Artillery Batteries - Italian Alpine troops bring in their heavy Artillery. Large barrages will be dropped on multiple targets within the sector it is called into with pin-point accuracy. This powerful, long and self-targeting barrages has just one weakness, the rounds it uses are incendiary and not too good against Tanks especially heavier ones- 2 CP, 100 munitions per shot

3) Tank Support-(3 CP), Allows the Commander to deploy either The Tank Killer or the Infantries’ Bane support tanks. Both become available for deployment, but once you chose to deploy one, you can only deploy it. The other vehicles will be transferred to another front.
 The Tank Killer: A Sturer Emil is provided to the front. This extremely powerful Tank Hunter has a huge 128 mm gun and can easily take out most tanks from range. However it cannot effectively engage Infantry, so keep it safe. Go get them Max. (700 manpower, 10 pop) Can only be deployed twice since, historically, there were only two Sturer Emils- Max and Moritz.

Infantries' Bane- A Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B is provided to the battlefield. This modified StuG III is an extremely powerful assault gun with a huge gun and MG that is designed to fight in close-quarters combat. However its AT-capabilities are lacking- (700 manpower, 10 pop) Can only be deployed twice due to the vehicles rarity.











4. Veterancy


Veterancy will be very special for these guys:




Now each Veterancy and achievement style provides different upgrades:

Here: Infantry



-1-

For Vet.1-Time Survivability: For staying 7 min. on the battlefield you can either provide this squad with better capturing ability, or increased health.


Vet.1-Capturing- For seizing 5 sectors this vet. can be upgraded with swifter movement or better accuracy.


Vet.1- Killing- For killing 10 units your vet. is provided the ability to add an officer to replace a member of the squad. This officer increases morale and thus increases speed, accuracy, and makes them harder to suppress. The other upgrade is the addition of an extra soldier for the squad (with no pop space used up) who adds an extra gun to the squad, and thus gives better firepower and makes them harder to kill.




-2-

Vet.2-Capturing-For seizing 8 sectors your vets can be provided with the ability to gain the ability of suppressing fire.


Vet.2-Killing- For killing 17 units this squad gains a skilled marksman (replaces a member of the squad) who makes the squad see better in to the fog of war and gives them the ability to pull off a single barrage of well aimed bullets that can kill half a squad and severely injure the survivors (a single recharge takes 5 min. and costs 100 munitions per shot) or a special soldier armed with a MG 42 that makes the squad more durable and provides the ability to unleash the entire squads weapons to force any squad caught in their fire to retreat, but in disarray so they are confused and easier to kill as they run into each other (also a 5 min. recharge with a cost of 100 munitions)





-3-

Vet. 3-Killing-For killing 26 units your unit is allowed to get the ability to ignore suppression (making them literally insuppressible) for a short period of time or giving them the ability to provide increased morale to all troops next to them (which gives them better accuracy, harder to suppress, better speed and increase in capturing rate)










For tanks it is a bit easier but gives less advantages compared to the infantry. You can only get their vet. by killing units.

Here: Tanks/Vehicles


Vet.1- For getting 4 vehicle, or 2 tank, or 7 infantry kills this vet. gets the ability to deploy either smoke-screens or add extra armor to the vulnerable engine block (increasing the armor on the back of the tank and making engine damage less probable.

Vet.2- For getting 5 vehicle, 3 tanks or 16 infantry kills this vet is provided with the ability to use an Overdrive ability (for increased speed) or the ability to get a Tank Commander to provide recon with binoculars (thus giving the tank a higher range and sight into the fog of war, however a sniper can shoot the tank CO and kill him)

Vet.3- For getting 15 Vehicle, 8 Tank, or 23 infantry kills this crew have proven their skill to all. Allowed the chance to upgrade to a Veteran Gunning crew (which loads, faster shoots faster and is even more accurate) or the Veteran Driving crew (which increases speed, can repair the tank by themselves (must be stationary though), and allows better accuracy on the move).

------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading guys. I’d love to hear any suggestions you have for me. Oh and thanks to my old comrade Venoxxis for organization advice, he is the best.

[acegard]

simply... epic. The best the Germans will have to offer by far.

[neosdark]

Lol, thank you for your compliment by my design is too out of line with Rommel's concept, to be considered in anyway, I'm just using it to showcase certain ideas that the Devs might like and use. It might even be too OP, because of how powerful the faction might become if all the upgrades are researched (which is not to hard). Still thank you for your support.

[pariah]

Most of it is fantastic, but the veterancy is way too much like that of the Panzer Elite, which as we all know, is quite broken...

[neosdark]

Like the PE?

Good sir it has nothing in common with the PE other than the ability to choose your upgrade. It isn't shared between units like PE and unlike PE there are many ways to access said upgrades (at least for Infantry).

[pariah]

Yes, that's what i meant; Having to manually upgrade veterancy requires way too much micro-management. That's pretty much the only thing i hate about the Panzer Elite...

[Analpirat]

I gotta say, if you can't handle that much micro you're in serious need to improve your micro. I'm not claiming to be any good at it, but vetting up my units is the least of my concern.

[pariah]

No, what needs improvement is the game. If i had something against micro-management, i would probably just play turn-based strategies.

Do you seriously not get pissed off when you discover that you had units sitting there for a long time awaiting veterancy upgrades?

[neosdark]

Do you seriously not get pissed off when you discover that you had units sitting there for a long time awaiting veterancy upgrades?

Not really

Anyway guys, while you still haven't abandoned me, what do you think about the rest of this concept. I really like criticism because it helps me see what is wrong with my concept and make good adjustments. So please tell me about anything you don't like in the concept

[ken]

defense eng?
sound like a unit to build 88 gun in CoHo
and my suggestion(defense unit)

[vietlord]

good n' hard work, just one thing : the devil's garden looks OP ! just imagine 3 players doing that ... time to tech (well sherman's front tech looks the only way ! 50mines  for the price of 3 !!! stealth or seen ?

[neosdark]

Well Ken the defensive engineer doesn't build FlaK 88 AT/AA guns, because both the PE and the Wehr already build it. However I was thinking of Changing the last Defensive Preparations ability from Secure the Flanks to:

Industrial Engineers- Our Defensive Engineers now have the ability to deploy larger and more effective emplacements. All regularly buildable emplacements now have extra health and our Defensive Engineers can now also deploy Pantherturms.

This change depends on a few factors, but which one do you like more???

Viet as for your qualm, The Devil's Garden is very large and the Crab Flail Sherman can easily clear the path forward. Plus these gardens have a very large build time, you have to place 50 mines on the field. I think its is worth the price, but they are hidden