[demolitio]

Join the Steam community to play with other gaffers! Just go to the group's tab on your friends list and then join a gaffer's game with ease!
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ro2gaf

System Requirements
Minimum:
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Dual Core 2.3 GHz or better
RAM: 2 GB
Graphics card: 256 MB SM 3.0 DX9 Compliant NVIDIA® GeForce 7800 GTX or better ATI® Radeon® HD 2900 GT or better
Sound: Windows Supported Sound Card
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c
Hard Drive: 8 GB free hard drive space

Recommended:
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Quad Core 2.6 GHz or better
RAM: 3 GB
Graphics card: 512 MB SM 3.0 DX9 Compliant NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 260 or better ATI® Radeon® HD 5750 or better
Sound: Sound Blaster Audigy or better
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c
Hard Drive: 8 GB free hard drive space




Heroes of Stalingrad will take the award winning Red Orchestra franchise into the next generation of gaming. Cutting edge graphics and audio built on Unreal Engine 3, inventive features and streamlined realism will deliver an unrivaled WWII experience. Focusing on the Battle of Stalingrad and the surrounding operations, both German and Russian, from July 1942 to February 1943 the game allows the player to experience one of the most brutal battles in all of human history. For the first time ever in a first person shooter gamers will be able to experience WWII from the Axis side in a German single player campaign. As always with the Red Orchestra franchise, Tripwire will aim to deliver unrivaled accuracy and attention to detail, along with gritty, vicious combat in multi-player, co-op and solo modes. Again, Tripwire have listened to the fans and have designed a whole set of new features to make the game more accessible and easy to get into – all while delivering the tactical shooter realism fans of the original game loved.


Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad has its roots in the Red Orchestra Combined Arms mod for UT2003/2004 that won the Make Something Unreal competition. Tripwire used their Grand Prize to make Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45, released in 2006. Five years later TWI returns to the Eastern Front once again for a re-imagining of the series. For the first time there is a singleplayer campaign, although supposedly this is more or less a glorified training mode for the core of the game: multiplayer. This isn't your average online shooter. A fellow Gaffer didn't call RO2 a death simulator for nothing, because the multiplayer is brutally hard. Friendly fire is on, single shots will kill and if you don't use cover you're dead meat. But once you get to grips to with the game and learn the maps a little you're in for one of the best tactical shooter experiences currently available.

• RO multiplayer taken to new heights: Tripwire’s renowned MP already exceeds that of much of the competition – the new game will stretch that lead even further. With highly addictive and fun varieties of game-play online, the game will feature everything from quick, brutal firefights, through to more intricate and challenging simulation modes.
  
  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.
  
  
  Stalingrad Campaign: The Stalingrad campaign will feature the multiplayer maps used in a campaign layout recreating the battle for Stalingrad from both the German and Russian sides. This will be enhanced with story elements through the form of mission introductions and in-game cinematic sequences that begin and end the campaign.
  
  Unique Focus – the Battle of Stalingrad in depth: takes the familiar WWII genre into a unique direction. Far removed from the well-trodden Normandy setting, gameplay is based on fresh scenarios and actions the player has never experienced before. Follow the German army as they assault the city of Stalingrad, to the banks of the Volga. Follow the Soviet army as it holds the city against all the odds then destroys the Axis forces.
  
  
  First person cover system: Experience the ultimate firefights that a cover system allows, from the immersion of a first person view. Peek or blind fire over and around cover and more.
  
  
  Squad Command: Command fire teams on the battlefield using an easy to use first person interface. Suppress the enemy, send a fire team to flank them and hit them where it hurts!
  
  
  WWII weaponry redefined: true to life ballistics, bullet penetration, breathing, adjustable sights, free aim, weapon bracing, photo-real graphics and more, create WWII weaponry that has no equal.
  
  Morale: Experience what it is like to be a soldier in one of the bloodiest conflicts in history and the importance of a soldier’s state of mind and how it can turn the tide of battle.
  
  
  Single Player Campaigns: Play through a full German campaign AND a full Russian campaign, in iconic engagements from the Battle of Stalingrad.
  
  
  Enhanced Unreal® Engine™ 3: Built on an enhanced version of Unreal Engine 3 the game features cutting edge visuals and features.

And coming after release:

• Co-op: Players can connect with their friends and battle AI in multiple game types including the Stalingrad Campaign, Skirmish Mode, and more.
  
  
• Offline Challenges: Offline challenges such as the shooting range and assault courses let the player learn and hone their skills to perfection with all of the weapons and features in the game. Training with different challenges to achieve awards, win competitions and improve their skills the player can pit their best times/scores against the rest of the online gaming community.
  
  
• New vehicles: We will roll out new vehicles for the game, including new tanks as well as armored transports.

http://www.heroesofstalingrad.com/about/




Focusing on The Battle of Stalingrad, Red Orchestra 2 pins you in southwestern Russia where German army (under the rule of Hitler) faces the Soviet Union, (under the rule of Stalin) for control of Stalingrad. The real motives of this battle is still unclear, though the main reason stated is that Stalingrad was a vital transport hub, based on the Volga River. Its capture would open the way to Baku, and the oil reserves of the Caucasus for the oil-thirsty German Army. The city being named after Hitler’s great adversary, Joseph Stalin, would also mean a massive morale boost for Germany if it were to capture the city. Taking place during the cold winter of 1942 to 1943, it was among the largest battle on the Eastern Front and was marked by its brutality and disregard for military and civilian casualties (combined casualties amounting to nearly two million).

In September 1942, the German commander of the Sixth Army, General Von Paulus, assisted by the Fourth Panzer Army, advanced on the city of Stalingrad. His primary task was to secure the oil fields in the Caucasus and to do this, Paulus was ordered by Hitler to take Stalingrad. The Germans final target was to have been Baku.

In early September 1942, the German Army advanced to the city. The Russians, already devastated by the power of Blitzkrieg during Operation Barbarossa, had to make a stand especially as the city was named after the Russian leader, Joseph Stalin. For simple reasons of morale, the Russians could not let this city fall. Likewise, the Russians could not let the Germans get hold of the oil fields in the Caucasus. Stalin’s order was "Not a step backwards". Areas captured by the Germans during the day, were re-taken by the Russians at night.

On November 19th, the Russians were in a position whereby they could launch a counter-offensive, codename Operation Uranus. A surprise pincer attack was launched by Russian armies to cut off the Gerrnan Sixth Arrny, which was then locked in a bloody struggle for the city of Stalingrad. Trapped in a Kessel, an egg-shaped line of defense thirty miles wide and twenty miles deep, the Sixth Army was ordered by Hitler to hold its ground rather than retreat west to join the vanguard of the German forces.

Supreme Commander to Sixth Army, January 24, 1943: "Surrender is forbidden. Sixth Army will hold their positions to the last man and the last round and by their heroic endurance will make an unforgettable contribution towards the establishment of a defensive front and the salvation of the Western world." -Hitler's communication with Von Paulus.

The success of these attacks caused the weakly held flanks to collapse and the Sixth Army to be cut off and surrounded inside Stalingrad. As the Russian winter set in, the Sixth Army weakened rapidly from cold, starvation and ongoing Soviet attacks.

"My hands are done for, and have been ever since the beginning of December. The little finger of my left hand is missing and - what's even worse - the three middle fingers of my right one are frozen. I can only hold my mug with my thumb and little finger. I'm pretty helpless; only when a man has lost any fingers does he see how much he needs then for the smallest jobs. The best thing I can do with the little finger is to shoot with it. My hands are finished." -Anonymous German soldier.

Command ambiguity coupled with Adolf Hitler's resolute belief in the "power of the will" and the value of "standing fast" further compounded the German predicament. Eventually, the failure to break the encirclement by relieving German forces, coupled with the failure of re-supply by air, caused the final collapse. By early February 1943, German resistance in Stalingrad had ceased and the remaining elements of the surrounded Sixth Army had either surrendered or had been destroyed.

"I was horrified when I saw the map. We're quite alone, without any help from outside. Hitler has left us in the lurch. Whether this letter gets away depends on whether we still hold the airfield. We are lying in the north of the city. The men in my unit already suspect the truth, but they aren't so exactly informed as I am. No, we are not going to be captured. When Stalingrad falls you will hear and read about it. Then you will know that I shall not return." -Anonymous German soldier.

The failure of the German Army was nothing short of a disaster. A complete army group was lost at Stalingrad and 91,000 Germans were taken prisoner. With such a massive loss of manpower and equipment, the Germans simply did not have enough manpower to cope with the Russian advance to Germany when it came. Many of the dead are still where they have fallen: skeletons in the open fields of Stalingrad (now Volgograd). Others have been buried in mass graves, which German and Austrian private organizations are exhuming and turning into war cemeteries.

"The God of War has gone over to the other side." -Hitler.



In Red Orchestra 2, you'll either be fighting as a Russian on the Allied side or as the Germans on the Axis side. The Germans are identifiable by their greenish-gray uniforms in RO2 (maybe other colored uniforms in the future such as green or white) and the Russians are in a mustard-brown colored uniforms similar to tan in color. Both sides have their own unique weaponry with their own unlocks and features.

Here are the weaponry on each side that we know of so far:



Mauser C96
Walther P38
Mauser Karabiner 98k
Mauser Karabiner 98k Sniper Rifle
Gewehr 41 Walther
Walther Maschinenkarabiner 42
Maschinenpistole 40
Maschinengewehr 34
Anti-Tank Rifle
Stielhandgranate 39
Unknown Anti-Tank Grenade
Satchel Charge



Tokarev TT33
Nagant M1895
Mosin-Nagant 91/30
Mosin-Nagant 91/30 Sniper Rifle
Tokarev SVT40
Tokarev AVT40
PPsh 41
Degtyarev DP/DT 1928
Maxim 1910
PTRS Anti-Tank Rifle
Unknown Anti-Tank Grenade

- http://forums.tripwireinteractive.co...ad.php?t=48698



I'll add reviews as they come in!



Here are some good videos and pictures to give you an idea about the game. I'll update as requested!

Infantry gameplay from the beta (TE-Grain Elevator)
Tank gameplay from the beta (TE-Gumrak)
Infantry gameplay from the beta (TE-Barracks)
Tripwire's Alan Wilson plays the beta and tries to talk to Total Biscuit
Corny commercial
Screenshots @ the official site

This is a comparison of the Russian and German uniforms to help you easily identify them on the battlefield:





This thread is a WIP and will be updated as we know more once we play the full game. I'd like to thank Shagg_187, Dakota47, Max, for help in gathering the information and their big contributions to this thread. Thanks to all those who also gave me their opinions and suggestions.


If you want more information, be sure to check out Relfst3r's thread that has helped me out a lot and is a must see!

Expect more info in the future!

-Demolitio

[Max]

YES.

[Corky]

Amount of ...mags? :O! Does that mean that it's actually realistic? In the sense of that shooting once and reloading X times I'll burn through all my ammo asap?

:D

[DTKT]

Good job on the OT!

It might be worth it to add a small section about both the "In country" mod and "Rising storm".

Amount of ...mags? :O! Does that mean that it's actually realistic? In the sense of that shooting once and reloading X times I'll burn through all my ammo asap? :D

Yes, when you switch a magazine, you keep the mag. As you cycle through all your clips, you end up with clips that are all empty. :)

[Dakota47]

Nice OP! Eighteen and a half hours left until release.

[Uriah]

Hope a pre-load comes up soon.

[Confidence Man]

I'm hoping for a miracle.

[demolitio]

Good job on the OT! It might be worth it to add a small section about both the "In country" mod and "Rising storm". Yes, when you switch a magazine, you keep the mag. As you cycle through all your clips, you end up with clips that are all empty. :)

Yup, I'm going to add that section sometime tonight or tomorrow. I forgot to do it and didn't realize until I finished, lol.

[Lasthope106]

Where is my gah dam pre-load?!

/bitchin

[Dina]

So subbed.

[Eaten By A Grue]

My tело is ready!

[shagg_187]

Amount of ...mags? :O! Does that mean that it's actually realistic? In the sense of that shooting once and reloading X times I'll burn through all my ammo asap? :D

It's awesomely realistic. You can patch up your leg or hand (only 2 bandages per person). Headshot and heartshot is instant death no matter what weapon you use. Other serious injuries or multiple injuies can't be healed and you will die in a matters of minutes when shot in critical areas.

Sniper rifles have a manual ironsight that you adjust depending on the distance and bullet drop for better accuracy. Machine guns are also lethal on the hands of an expert.

It takes practice knowing who your enemy is but it'll be a breeze if you're familiar with enemy uniform (thus the thread title, noobs will teamkill in the beginning. You can forgive them by typing "np").

If you run a lot, you soldier will run out of breath and it can affect the accuracy. Also, enemies can hear you huffing and puffing and can take you out if you're close by.

Suppressing fire will frighten the soldier and increase the threat level. Supressing fire can e bullet suppression or artillery strike suppression. It increase you chances of getting killed and greys out the screen, making it a bit harder to kill enemies if you're not used to it.

There's a LOT more to the game i.e. running while crouched, helmet making a loud "thinghh" sound if shot on head, the way Germans or Russians run to distinguish the style, and the voiceover which reveals what is happened or what the orders the leader will give.

Also, for great measures, future DLC mods will most definitely be free, an the big mods being worked on is Vietnam war and The Pacific war.

[Corky]

It's awesomely realistic. You can patch up your leg or hand (only 2 bandages per person). Headshot and heartshot is instant death no matter what weapon you use. Other serious injuries or multiple injuies can't be healed and you will die in a matters of minutes when shot in critical areas. Sniper rifles have a manual ironsight that you adjust depending on the distance and bullet drop for better accuracy. Machine guns are also lethal on the hands of an expert. It takes practice knowing who your enemy is but it'll be a breeze if you're familiar with enemy uniform (thus the thread title, noobs will teamkill in the beginning. You can forgive them by typing "np"). If you run a lot, you soldier will run out of breath and it can affect the accuracy. Also, enemies can hear you huffing and puffing and can take you out if you're close by. Suppressing fire will frighten the soldier and increase the threat level. Supressing fire can e bullet suppression or artillery strike suppression. It increase you chances of getting killed and greys out the screen, making it a bit harder to kill enemies if you're not used to it. There's a LOT more to the game i.e. running while crouched, helmet making a loud "thinghh" sound if shot on head, the way Germans or Russians run to distinguish the style, and the voiceover which reveals what is happened or what the orders the leader will give.

thanks! I bought the game today, can't wait for it to unlock.

[Scythian]

Nice OT.
Looking forward to it, hope I can download it in time so I can be playing at this time tomorrow :D

[demolitio]

I'm also looking for any insight to add to the tips section. I already have a few things in mind like helping people identify friend or foe. Tripwire wanted this to be so authentic that both sides have their own unique run animation based on what they did in real life. The Germans were taught to run with the rifle in one hand while the Russians use two so it's another way to identify an enemy from a range or angle where you can't tell the color of the uniform. Germans also use one hand with their handguns which is just awesome. :P

There's so many neat little things that make this game special to me.

[elfinke]

Great OT, well done guys!

I've been a little disheartened over the last few days as there have been hardly any servers with people in them in the AUS zone (the odd JP server is about as good as it gets). I hope it was more to do with the funky beta then lack of people though :S

Can hardly wait!

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Yes, when you switch a magazine, you keep the mag. As you cycle through all your mags, you end up with mags that are all empty. :)

Fixed that for ya.

[Corky]

Been looking at some footage, what does it mean when a player model is "flashing/glowing" a beige-esque color?

[Gez]

This comes out tomorrow? What the shit? Hopefully they fix the bugs and the reviewers don't slam the game with a 70 something metascore.

[Lasthope106]

This comes out tomorrow? What the shit? Hopefully they fix the bugs and the reviewers don't slam the game with a 70 something metascore.

This game I'm afraid won't receive the recognition it deserves even from outlets like pc gamer which gave a higher score to DA2 than The Witcher 2. It won't surprise me to see reviews hovering in the 75-89 tomorrow.

[NIN90]

Been looking at some footage, what does it mean when a player model is "flashing/glowing" a beige-esque color?

Shadows are set to "Low"

[Gez]

This game I'm afraid won't receive the recognition it deserves even from outlets like pc gamer which gave a higher score to DA2 than The Witcher 2. It won't surprise me to see reviews hovering in the 75-89 tomorrow.

Well its up to us to trash the BF3 and MW3 threads from now on and hype this baby up!!!

[DTKT]

This comes out tomorrow? What the shit? Hopefully they fix the bugs and the reviewers don't slam the game with a 70 something metascore.

Yeah, that's probably what's going to happen. The game is buggy enough that it's going to get smashed by most "big" outlets. It really sucks for TP but I don't think it would be fair to expect anything else.

I knew exactly what to expect when I paid for the DDE version. I have the utmost faith in TP to support RO2 in the months to come. I don't think that's something everyone is ready to do.

[jambo]

This game I'm afraid won't receive the recognition it deserves even from outlets like pc gamer which gave a higher score to DA2 than The Witcher 2. It won't surprise me to see reviews hovering in the 75-89 tomorrow.

Wouldn't anything above 75 be awesome?

[Gez]

Wouldn't anything above 75 be awesome?

80 plus or bust.

[DTKT]

Wouldn't anything above 75 be awesome?

Honestly, that's a bit optimistic.

[Max]

Shadows are set to "Low"

didn't patch notes say that was fixed?

[Weenerz]

Demo really turned me off for the game, but not because of the gameplay itself but with how buggy it was. I realize it was a beta, but charging for the beta is ridiculous.

[ghst]

This comes out tomorrow? What the shit? Hopefully they fix the bugs and the reviewers don't slam the game with a 70 something metascore.

i get the feeling the "single player" is gonna do more harm than good to its review score.

[scorpscarx]

I have 26 hours into the beta personally, amazingly fun game :)

When does the beta die? I wish they would just update my files instead of making me delete and completely re-download the game.

[JDSN]

No preload for standard edition? I thought Tripwire was above this shit.

[Deadbeat]

i get the feeling the "single player" is gonna do more harm than good to its review score.

The single player is probably the exact level of "single player" that BRINK has. IE death at embargo lift.

This game will be great when its finally polished. It is not ready and will not be ready for a few more months.

[scorpscarx]

The single player is probably the exact level of "single player" that BRINK has. IE death at embargo lift. This game will be great when its finally polished. It is not ready and will not be ready for a few more months.

The game may not be perfect, but it is completely playable so honestly end all be all statements like IT IS NOT READY don't really apply.

[taoofjord]

Great OP. I *love* this game, I've spent quite a few hours with the beta in the past two weeks and it's one of the most refreshing, engaging, and intense games i've played in my near three decades of gaming.

[scorpscarx]

1339 MB steam update getting pushed right now. Maybe the beta is now the full game :P

[Max]

Patch news

We have just set live the last update to the beta. In it we have addressed the major crashes that players have provided .dmp files for, fixes, and several optmizations. We will continue to work on the game up until the point of release (and after of course). If you crash report it here. However, the majority of crashes are the result of being out of memory. So the first thing you should try is to lower your settings (especially textures and world detail).

Skipping this update I think, might a well just wait for tomorrow

[NIN90]

FOV appears to be limited to 75 after the patch...yuck.
Or was that tha max FOV all along? I remember setting it to 90 back when the beta started.

[Uriah]

Pre-load appears to be up.

[Volcynika]

Pre-load appears to be up.

Woo!

[Llyranor]

Amount of ...mags? :O! Does that mean that it's actually realistic? In the sense of that shooting once and reloading X times I'll burn through all my ammo asap? :D

For bolt-action rifles, if you empty the clip and reload, you stick in a new clip. If you only fired a few shots, you put in the individual clips until it's full (I think you can cancel it). So, if you fire all 5 shots off a Mosin-Nagant clip, you put in a new full clip. If you fired 4, you manually put in every single bullet into the rifle. It's such a bloody awesome feature.

For the SVT-40 (semi-auto rifle), the gun is able to carry 10 bullets, or 2 full clips. If you fire more than 5 bullets and reload, you insert 1 full clip rather than having to reload entirely. Eg. if you fire 6 bullets (only 4 left in the rifle), reloading makes you add an extra clip = 9 bullets in the rifle now.

For weapons where you can't have this amount of control, you just switch out the clip entirely. So for the PSHPSFHSJHGJS, you put in another clip, which may or may not be full. The game tells you how much it weighs (full, near full, less than half empty, etc).

Also, for another awesome reloading feature, pressing and HOLDING R allows you to check your ammo status (more than half full, almost empty, etc) while going through a reload animation.

[Lasthope106]

Oh shit! Ok you bastards I'm getting "servers are busy"

Quit downloading so I can download mine!

[Snuggler]

I've got this shit prepurchased on Steam. I look forward to being destroyed by the opposition.

[speedpop]

Best FPS release of the year.

[Llyranor]

OP should also mention that while the cover system helps you steady your aim, you can also do that just by leaning your weapon on ANY surface at ANY time, without having to 'go into cover'. Just look for the small white icon on the lower right showing an 'MG leaning on sandbags'; means you're steadying your aim on a door frame, side of building, sandbags, tank, ground, anything goes.

[zkylon]

Sweet OP. I'm still on the fence because i feel it's a little too hardcore for me, but i'm really hoping for the promised post-launch free weekend, see if that convinces me.

[MrCompletely]

will the regular version purchase enable you to play tonight (beta or otherwise)?

[Max]

will the regular version purchase enable you to play tonight (beta or otherwise)?

No. The game will be unlocked some time tomorrow

[scorpscarx]

Skipping this update I think, might a well just wait for tomorrow

One step back for the FOV, 10 steps forward for performance and net optimization, ping and fps are much better now for me.

[spicy cho]

put in 25 hours in the beta. very, very fun game overall but rough around the edges. Tripwire is a great studio and deserve the support, I'm sure they'll iron out the issues at release.

[wilflare]

preloading for war now!