Aux heures les plus sombres de l'Histoire, vous incarnez un commandant soviétique de l'Armée rouge et livrez une guerre sans merci pour libérer la Mère Russie de l'oppression nazie.
Nous sommes en 1941, à l'aube de ce qui sera le conflit le plus sanglant de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, avec plus de 14 millions de victimes militaires.
Revivez la lutte de l'Armée rouge, de sa défaite annoncée à son incroyable triomphe contre l'Allemagne sur le théâtre le plus exigeant et coûteux de la guerre, le front de l'Est.
De vos tactiques militaires dépend le cours de la bataille. Affirmez votre statut de chef militaire et exploitez la puissance de l'empire soviétique pour mener vos hommes jusqu'à Berlin.

 

 
http://store.steampowered.com/app/260309/
 
Company of Heroes 2 : The Western Front Armies est le premier standalone multijoueur pour Company of Heroes 2. L'action se passe sur le front de l'ouest et décrit certains des combats les plus brutaux de la Seconde Guerre mondiale à ses heures les plus sombres. L'ajout des US Forces et des Oberkommando West allemands introduit des factions complètement uniques qui changeront pour toujours l'approche du combat multijoueur.  
 
Chaque armée possède des options tactiques de jeu distinctes et des nouveauté en matière d'infanterie, de véhicules, de compétences et d'améliorations, pour un total de huit cartes saisonnières multijoueur basées sur le front de l'ouest. The Western Front Armies comprend également un nouveau système de progression qui apporte un contenu unique au jeu et qui permet aux joueurs de se plonger davantage dans les aspects tactiques et stratégiques.  
 
The Western Front Armies sera disponible comme pack standalone. Ce sera un point d'entrée dans la franchise que la grande communauté Company of Heroes 2 saura apprécier. Les nouveaux joueurs peuvent aussi accéder aux 23 cartes déjà existantes de Company of Heroes 2 en matchmaking, et ainsi jouer contre toutes les autres factions.  
 
Comprend
US FORCES:  
Brandissez la puissance de l'armée Alliée d'Eisenhower avec de nouvelles compétences et stratégies  
OBERKOMMANDO WEST:  
Une toute nouvelle approche des forces allemandes apporte des compétences et des stratégies différentes sur le front  
Le Front de l'ouest:  
Étendez la guerre jusqu'au populaire front de l'ouest, qui comprend d'époustouflants environnements inédits, plus dynamiques et plus réalistes que jamais  
Nouvelles cartes:  
Huit splendides cartes viennent s'ajouter à la vaste collection de 23 cartes de Company of Heroes 2, ainsi qu'au millier de cartes créées par la communauté et disponibles sur le Steam Workshop  
ICombat en ligne intense:  
Éprouvez la férocité sans précédent des stratégies de front et engagez des batailles intenses contre des adversaires du monde entier  
Chaque bataille raconte une histoire:  
Vivez la brutalité de la guerre sur le front comme si vous y êtiez et contrôlez la bataille grâce à vos talents militaires

Gameplay général / Moteur
 

• Le systeme de ressources est un peu différent de COH. Quasiement tous les points sotn des ponts stratégiques (les ronds) au début de la partie. Il est possible de les upgrader en point de munition ou d'essence.  
• Il n'y a plus besoin de cliquer sur un point de capture directement, il suffit d'être dans sa zone de contrôle pour le caper, sachant que si l'ennemi s'y trouve le capping est "gelé" le temps qu'un ou l'autre camp l'emporte.
• Comme dans Dawn of War 2, chaque unité a son propre icone en haut à droite de l'écran. Il montre le statut de l'unité et sa température et permet au joueur de centrer la caméra instantanément sur l'unité.
• Les commandants de compagnie sont toujours présent et les feats tels que les bombardement aériens sont plus réalistes avec un avion patrouillant, ce qui redonne un intérêt aux unités anti-aérienne.  
• Les scouting est très important et les unités de scout plus nombreuses.  
• Des feux de camp peuvent être construit et permettent de remonter la température des unités gelées, ce sont aussi des spots dangereux, une grenade bien placée ou une mine peut détruire nombre d'unités entrain de se réchauffer.
• Les lignes de vues ont été retravaillées pour être plus réalistes, elles ne sont plus bloquées par des éléments mineurs (sacs de sable, barbelés, petits buissons ...)
• Chaque unité à sa propre vision et portée (sachant que celle-ci a été grandement augmenté pour nombre d'unités).
• Les système d'embuscade a été retravaillé. Il n'est plus activable à volonté comme avant, par contre les unités qui le peuvent sont automatiquement invisible dès qu'à couvert !  
• Le moteur physique et graphique de COH2 est beaucoup plus versatile que l'ancien dans ses options et ce, afin de tourner sur un plus grand nombre de configuration.  
• Un système "grille" (comme dans starcraft) a enfin été introduit pour pouvoir jouer pleinement au clavier.
• Certaines unités débloquent leur compétence avec l’expérience. C'est le cas des AT-Gun Allemands qui peuvent faire un tir puissant sonnant l'équipage d'un véhicule, ou des unités d'artillerie qui peuvent se mettre en mode contre-batterie (elles ne tirent alors qu'en réplique des unités d'artillerie qui se dévoilent, très pratique pour ne pas dévoiler sa position et micro ses unités en assaut).  

Gameplay Infanterie
 

• Les conscrits russes sont nombreux mais pas faibles, mais ils peuvent être utilisés pour renforcer les autres squads sur le champ de bataille.
• La fameuse mitrailleuse Maxim à 6 servants mais un arc de tir relativement étroit !
• Les snipers russes arrivent par pair.
• Les snipers ont une plus grande portée et se mettent automatiquement en embuscade.
• L'infanterie russe à 6 hommes contre 4 pour la Heer.  
• Les ingénieurs peuvent toujours être upgradés avec un lance flamme ou des détecteurs, sachant que pour couper les barbelés, il faudra automatiquement choisir cette dernière upgrade.  

Gameplay Tanks
 

• Une nouveau système de dégât remplace ou complète l'ancien. L'artilleur ou le conducteur d'un véhicule peuvent être tués et le véhicule abandonné ce qui permet à l'ennemi de le capturer. L'équipage peut aussi être maintenant sonné temporairement par un tir puissant (cas des obusiers qui ne percent pas le blindage mais secoue fortement l'équipage).  
• Il serait possible de cacher des véhicules dans certaines maisons (A confirmer).  
• Les véhicules ont maintenant un bouton marche arrière, ce qui permet de les faire battre en retraite plus facilement.

The driver and the gunner can be killed, and if the vehicle is left abandoned, the enemy can capture it.

Said it in the other thread, but I'm going to say it here too:
I can confirm that none of the ‘player boosts’ mentioned in the Steam tiered reward program will provide any competitive advantage in Player-vs-player combat.

My quick and dirty write up! I will edit this more and make it look pretty in the future, but I know there's a big demand for info from Eurogamer, so there you go.
 
Let me start by saying this. Quinn and Bobby (Relic and THQ) know what will make a good game. They know what will make a bad game. To put this in perspective, they know that things like observer mode, support for streamers and casters, anti-cheat and strong balance will create a good game. They also know that pay-to-win, frozen-rivers-splitting-the-map-in-half and OF style blobs ignoring cutoffs will make a bad game. Virtually all concerns we had going into Eurogamer were alleviated by the time we left.
 
(If you're curious about the validity of 'our' views, GR members present included Seph, 12azor, Marcus2389, Pepsi, Hans and myself. Meeting all the guys was an absolute blast as well.)
 
Now, to the detail. The demos we played were identical to those played by AmiPolizeiFunk at Gamescom, so if you're looking for facts and stats check that out here. However, the look and feel of the game is excellent, and if you're a seasoned Company of Heroes player, you'll be able to sit down to your first game of CoH2 and be in the groove right away- not to say that it isn't apparent that you are indeed playing a new game.
 
TrueSight and ColdTech are the primary features that will differentiate CoH from CoH2. First, TrueSight. It is ultra, ultra slick- turn a corner and the view of your troops turns smoothly with it, your vision cone being excluded as you pass obstacles and shotblockers. In the 1v1 tutorial/demo, it was very noticeable, but not in a bad way. I played the demo several times, and after a while I began to see where you could put the new LOS system to tactical affect. For example, I was able to engage with my Guard squads from the front, while sending a flamethrower wielding Engineers along a wide flank where they were hidden from view, and was able to close the distance to my opponent's MG almost entirely without being seen, and therefore shot at. TrueSight works a little differently from Men of War in its implementation though- it's not 'ultra realistic' in that each individual man can only see what he is actually -looking- at. The sight of the squad -is- dependent on the individual members (for example, if you have one squad member poking out from behind a fence, you will be able to see behind that fence), but it doesn't matter which direction they are facing- they maintain a 360 degree field of vision (obstacles notwithstanding). Likewise with tanks and buildings, the units have a 360 degree field of vision unless something is in the way.
 
In the 2v2 Moscow skirmish, TrueSight was less noticeable for a couple of reasons; more units mean a bigger LOS, the map itself was quite open, and it was generally more chaotic. The 1v1 tutorial had flankable MG's whereas the tutorial AI rushed quite quickly to Panzer IV's. Maps will obviously have a very big impact on the way TS looks and feels. However, and I must stress this point, anything I say in regards to maps or balance must be taken with a pinch of salt- Quinn said that these maps are basically just showcases for pretty explosions and tanks falling through the ice for the press. Many of you will have seen Ami's (accurate) drawing of the Moscow map, split roughly down the middle by a huge frozen river- this was basically to demonstrate river effects (which I'll get to in a minute) and ColdTech- Quinn knows that these kinds of maps aren't good for competetive multiplayer.
 
ColdTech is probably the more controversial feature of the two as far as competitive multiplayer goes. I will assume that you know the basics behind ColdTech here from previous previews. The speed that your troops drop temperature, and therefore health, means that to travel long distances early game, it is quite stilted. We found ourselves having to 'leapfrog' across the map using fires when there was a blizzard, and we could certainly see the attraction of wanting to just sit tight and hunker down for the duration. However to our concerns that this might slow down the pace of gameplay, Quinn said that in his experience and the experience of his team, there was often a marked difference between different people's approaches to blizzards. While many players would choose to build their fires, sit in their halftracks or garrison buildings, others would take advantage of their predictable opponents and lack of movement to move aggressively. There is certainly a risk/reward factor here; if your opponent is all in one spot, you can easily raid his resource points, or even catch him off guard with a full frontal assualt, if well supported with halftracks to keep your men reinforced and warmed. Given the fairly rapid speed that your squads temperature can drop in a blizzard, I'm not entirely convinced that the carrot is quite tasty enough to warrant the stick, but these kinds of stats-based details are the kind of things betas are for. As you're all bound to ask me when said beta is rolling around, I will cut out the middle man and directly quote, “early”. Happy now? No? Well deal with it tongue.gif
 
Capturing vehicles has been covered quite extensively by other previews already, but I will say this- in the version we played, the process of actually 'capturing' the vehicle was instant- you simply had to reach the vehicle before your opponent. In this player's humble opinion, the process should be longer, so that you need to cover your 'capturing' troops, or clear the area first, before being able to steal the vehicle. It seemed a little silly that I was able to 'Oorah!' (more on this later) my disposable conscripts to an abandoned Panzer IV and instantly start wrecking my AI adversary's AT-less forces.
 
Random fact time! (various stuff that I don't think have already been covered but I don't need a whole paragraph to explain)
 
    T34's have the ability to 'Ram' enemy tanks. This will become available when the tank loses its main gun- it gains the ability to charge an enemy vehicle and upon crashing into it, potentially cause a critical.
    Criticals on vehicles have been expanded. It wasn't always clear what the affects were, but criticals included: Destroyed Main Gun, Damaged Engine, Destroyed Engine, Damaged Driver, Crew Stunned, Vision Blocked and Buttoned.
    Grenades are a big part of CoH2. Almost all regular infantry units have access to some form of grenade, ranging from molotovs to potato mashers, to bundle grenades and AT nades.
    The ability to button tanks is returning with the Soviet Guards. They have a weapons package comprised of 2 light MG42 type units which allows you to button enemy vehicles. In the Moscow level (which is now old) it worked quite similarly to British button- however Quinn assured me it's been changed to be less powerful in the newest version.
    Units come from off map rather than out of 'factory' style buildings. The Russian buildings are much like trenches in the ground and unless they get totally reskinned, I'm not forseeing units being produces and walking out of actual buildings.
    However, there are provisions being put in to make sure you can't just plant a tank on a spawn point to block unit spawns.
    Outline of current (or from our version) Soviet tech tree: T0: Engies, Conscripts; T2: Snipers and a recon vehicle unit we weren't able to build; T3: Mortar, Haltracks and M70 Light Tank. The Light Tank reminded me of the Tetrach. T4: T34 and T(something) heavy tank (was able to take a P4 easily).
    Outline of current (or from our version) German tech tree (only from what I could see was 'buildable' according to the base building descriptions: T0: Pioneers and 'battle phase' escalation; other units: mortar, grenadiers, panzer grenadiers, Armored Car type unit, Panzer IV's, Sturmpanzers, Bruumbar
    The 'Oohrah!' ability for Conscripts was only available once the T1 building was constructed. It allowed the squad to sprint (not fire up, sprint) which increases suppression resistance but does not allow them to break suppression. It also increases their accuracy.
    Snipers are a two man team who cannot actively cloak while moving and do not suffer from the cold. Snipers cannot be used as an A-move kill unit.
    Units move slower in thick snow. This also applies to retreat paths.
    There will be no fire up abilities in CoH2.
    Tanks slide on ice. You can powerslide tanks.
    Democharges can be placed anywhere.
    Buildings that you light on fire will stay burning for a period even after you stop attacking it.
    All weapons are droppable (not things like rifles but all major weapons). This includes flamethrowers, and yes, you can get double flamer engineers. However, the drop rate is lower.
 
A number of you asked about multiplayer features. I don't know a whole lot about it honestly, but here are the salient facts from what I am allowed to tell you.
 
    Steam will allow them to potentially patch faster and more regularly.
    They want the beta to allow for advanced balance and design tweaking.
    Anti cheat will be covered.
    They are aware of the demand for observer mode and rewinding on replays.
    They are aware of the potential advantages of moddability and custom maps.
    CoH2 will not be pay to win. However: the business model of micro transactions is necessary for THQ/Relic because it allows them to keep patching and supporting the game. With a business model where you buy the game once and never pay for anything again, each patch takes a chunk out of initial profits; not to mention server hosting, anti cheat and so on. Eventually you cannot afford to continue support for the game.
 
To put it simply and succinctly in response to our many requests for additional features, Duffy put it like this.
 
There are this many features he wants to include: I----------------------------------------I
And this much time and resources: I----------------I
 
Any questions, ask away. I learnt a whole lot about CoH2 in my time at Eurogamer and I certainly haven't extracted all the info yet, but I thought the earliest I could get my thoughts on to paper, the better.
 
Finally: the version we played was not the most up to date version. Some things have changed since then, and I don't know all of the changes. If you want me to talk more about specific Soviet units feel free, I tried them all.
 
Also, THANKS QUINN AND BOBBY! You guys are fucking awesome, seriously. The whole event was incredible, and it was an absolute blast meeting up with Sepha, 12azor, Hans, Pepsi and all the other guys from RN and stuff. Would definitely do again tongue.gif