Men of War II News

Men of War II Live Stream and Q&A - Raids!

Greetings, Commanders!

It has been two weeks since our last gameplay live-stream, where we introduced the Combat Sectors and Area Control game modes; and as is tradition now, we are continuing our series of gameplay and Q&A live-streams for Men of War II.

You can watch the recording of our previous live-stream here.

Our next session will happen this Friday, April 12, from 16:00 CET (8:00 PT), and we will be showing you for the first time ever a brand-new single-player campaign mode, and that is Raids!

A raid is a special, skirmish-like campaign - a series of randomly generated missions with a customizable battalion. Progressing through them allows you to unlock new and more powerful units for your roster; you have to strategize and plan what kind of army you want to build, and have the opportunity to try completely different and unique setups for each playthrough.

You will be able to watch the livestream on the following channels:

You can ask any questions you wish during the live-stream on any of these platforms, but we strongly encourage you to come watch with us on Discord, as we guarantee you will be heard there.

We would also like to give you a hint of what you have to look forward to in the streaming sessions in the near future, without spoiling the contents exactly, so here goes:

April 26: Fun with Tanks!
May 10: Campaigning, but dynamically.

See you on the battlefield, Commanders!

If you haven't yet, wishlist and follow the game so that you don't miss any of our future announcements:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1128860/Men_of_War_II/

More GEM RTS Enhancements

Greetings, commanders!

We hope you enjoyed our previous devlog about graphical improvements in the GEM RTS graphic engine used in Men of War II. Today, we are publishing the final article on this subject; there will be more devlogs coming in the following weeks, but these will cover other, equally (for some maybe even more) exciting topics - focusing on gameplay features, available content and game modes, as well as modding. But now make yourself comfortable and let’s dive right in this intriguing new brief - and an enticing offer for you at the end too!

Multithreading and 64-bit support

First and foremost, let's reiterate something we've mentioned before: thanks to GEM RTS, we've transitioned from single-threaded technology to full-fledged multithreading and 64-bit processing. The game engine’s multithreaded architecture allows us to utilize the capabilities of all modern CPUs to the fullest, increasing the overall frame rate and easing the load on your computers. Implementing both wasn't easy, but our team pulled it off.

Native 4K and DirectX 11 support

We've successfully incorporated support for high-resolution textures - up to 4K into the engine - as well as implementing and testing ultra-wide resolution support (up to 21:9), rebuilding all available game interface elements and the built-in mod editor. We've also added full DirectX 11 support. Thanks to that, the game now supports various smoothing models (SSAO, etc.), PBR, HDR, and much more, as discussed in previous devlogs. The series' hallmark of being able to destroy any building, object, and much more to its foundation of course remains in the game - and looks better than ever!

Material Editor

The Men of War II built-in editor now includes dedicated tools for the creation and customization of materials, taking visual content creation to a whole new level. The updated and improved toolkit allows modders to prepare any new materials they can think of, and directly integrate them into the game, with their visual quality depending only on your PC’s technical capabilities and the modders’ use of the built-in lighting models (Phong and PBR).

Now, you can work in real-time with both old materials with their limited capabilities as well as the new, more advanced ones, and change them as needed. For example, in the screenshot below, you can see one layer already working with PBR while the other layer still uses the old material (diffuse + bump + specular).

Linux and Steam Deck Support

Men of War II will receive full Linux support through cross-platform libraries (SDL2, OpenAL Soft, etc.), simplifying the game's operation across different system shells. This has also allowed us to fully adapt the game for the Steam Deck portable console. Now, you can continue the battle even while commuting to work or traveling anywhere else.

Server Architecture Support and Persistent Reconnect

Over the course of Men of War II’s development, our team has completely transitioned the game to new server architecture, making multiplayer matches a much more convenient experience for players. Now, you won't be impeded by players with weaker computers or unstable internet connections; the game will choose the best host for the match - and automatically reconnect to the server in case of any issues, allowing you to return to battle immediately without losing control of your troops. Also, if a player disconnects and is not able to come back, that doesn’t necessarily ruin the match for others; their units will simply become controlled by AI. And that's not to mention the support for dedicated servers, built-in tournaments and leagues, fully customizable lobbies, personal ratings, and separate statistics for all past battles.

Updated Sound Engine and Unit Voices

After conducting the last open beta test and receiving numerous user requests, we decided to record various new “shouts” for all available units in the game - now all commanders will have a truly new, unique experience playing Men of War II. Each of the available nations will now sound new and fresh, not to mention many other improvements we've managed to implement into the GEM RTS’ audio engine. For example, support for panoramic 3D sound has been added, for a more immersive experience and overall richer, more realistic and pleasant sounds. Modders can fine-tune many features in their creations too, including ambient nature sounds, stun effects from nearby detonating shells, and much more.

Steam Workshop and Mod Support

As mentioned, the game will fully support various modifications through the new and improved built-in editor, and Men of War II’s full integration into the Steam Workshop. Create, experiment, upload, and share your mods with thousands of other users without problems or hurdles!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Mission Editor Enhancements

To implement more complex multiplayer tasks in terms of content, we've added unique technology to GEM RTS that can divide all components into particular layers, making it easier to combine multiple files with units and triggers when launched in the editor. These layers can be reused between your missions, and if you edit the layer, it will change for all missions where it is used - this now makes the editor much more convenient to work with and allows a modular approach to building missions and campaigns. For example, you can embed custom music as a separate file and connect it as a separate layer in the desired mission, creating individual soundtracks for your missions. This is not to mention other improvements, including a significant expansion of the overall functionality of built-in commands, which will help build more complex relationships between different actions of specific units. Any mod creator can now further animate their units, connecting the same patrol or enemy search mode without hassle.

However, we don't plan to stop here and will continue to tell you about further improvements in gameplay and other aspects of Men of War II in future articles. Speaking of which, we have mentioned an enticing new opportunity for you in the intro to this article. So here it is!

Join the Champions Program for Closed Beta!

Since preparing and maintaining full public playtests is a very time and labor intensive endeavor, we are not planning any more open betas at this point. However, we will be running a long-term closed test! If you want to take part and help us with final polishing and bug fixing of the game, contact [email protected] or enquire on the Discord server to join Fulqrum Publishing’s Champions program!

And don’t forget to add the game to your wishlist to stay updated with the latest project news - we'll see you on the battlefield, commanders!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1128860/Men_of_War_II/

Men of War II Live Stream and Q&A - Combat Sectors and Area Control

Greetings, Commanders!

As we have previously promised, we are continuing our series of gameplay and Q&A livestreams for Men of War II.

Our second session will happen this Friday, March 29, from 16:00 CET (8:00 PT), and we will be focusing on PvP multiplayer game modes which were not available in any public playtest yet; and are a different take on capture the flag type of gameplay:

In Combat Sectors, the map is split into a number of squares, and the opposing teams aim for control of the majority of these sectors. The more of them a team controls, the more victory points they accumulate; how you divide your forces and how aggressive or defensive you play are the key questions in this game mode.
In Area Control, there are several key areas marked on the map and your task is to capture them and hold them; once again, the more areas a team controls, the more victory points they generate. The twist here is that you capture each area by pushing the Front Line completely around it, which allows for different strategies in terms of fortifying positions etc.

Feel free to post any questions you want us to discuss in the livestream here in the comments, or tune in on Friday when you can ask them live as well. We will do our best to check chat rooms and comments on all the platforms, but we strongly encourage you to come watch with us on Discord, as we guarantee you will be heard there.

You will be able to watch the livestream on the following channels:

We would also like to give you a hint of what you have to look forward to in the streaming sessions in the near future, without spoiling the contents exactly, so here goes:

April 12: Raiding with friends.
April 26: Tanks, tank, tanks!
May 10: Campaigning, but dynamically.

Men of War II: Physically Based Rendering And Other Graphical Enhancements

Good day, commanders!

We hope you enjoyed our previous article about the game! We’re now ready to reveal more details regarding various graphical enhancements we’ve newly implemented in our GEM RTS graphics engine. We'll delve deeper into the capabilities of PBR (Physically Based Rendering) and try to explain why it was added to Men of War II in this devlog.

[h3]Physically Based Rendering, materials, and textures[/h3]

Thanks to this technology and fast internal mathematical calculations, we can now render objects in the game more realistically by simulating the real-time flow of light.

Let's focus more on one of the internal methods included in Physically Based Rendering (or PBR), namely the special Cook-Torrance lighting model. In earlier versions of Men of War II and previous games in the series, our team used one of the earliest technologies on the market for reflections and highlights — the Phong reflection model, which allowed adding a substantial amount of realism to any scene. Although it made the overall picture look quite good, especially plastic objects, the technology became outdated and had several significant drawbacks we wanted to improve with Men of War II. However, any such changes and the introduction of new technologies take a lot of time and resources; but we decided to do it, based on your feedback and suggestions after the last Open Beta test.

So, what new possibilities does the new lighting system bring? We are sure that fans of new technologies, especially mod creators, are asking this question. Physically Based Rendering has four components: indirect diffuse lighting, indirect reflection, direct diffuse lighting, and direct reflection. Each introduces different features that help make the image more vibrant, realistic, and beautiful (from accurately modeling the reflection of surrounding objects and the angle of incident light to reflecting surface roughness and realistic weather phenomena).

Nevertheless, lighting can only work properly with the right materials and textures. For example, check the barrel models below: on the left is an old model, albeit with a high degree of detail but without innovations and improvements; compare it to the one on the right, created with new materials and textures processed using PBR. Their differences are easy to notice, even for an untrained eye:

But what does this all mean? In short, the old (and now rather outdated) Phong reflection model gave us and all modders only very few options to work with in terms of tweaking the lighting effects. By implementing PBR, all lighting in the game can be fine-tuned much more easily and produces better, more beautiful visuals (including ambient occlusion and much more).

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
[h3]Updated Water and Aquatic Spaces[/h3]

As we mentioned in the previous article, we managed to implement various graphical improvements related to all water spaces and for modders, a complete set of tools to edit them with. Now, any mod creator can change almost everything related to water using a convenient internal "brush," which is capable of drawing any water spaces without struggling with the original, quite cumbersome and difficult to use tools all long-time GEM engine modders are familiar with. Also, we have added more water-related settings: for example, you can change the wave size, clarity level, flow speed, direction, color, and much more exactly to your liking. You can even give the river a unique flow route, taking into account all the irregularities and bends of the landscape.

All this and more allows us to make Men of War II the most beautiful game in the series. More detailed information about the changes with various technical data, will be available in a separate manual that we will share with everyone in our beloved modding community.

However, we do not plan to stop here, and we will have much more to tell and show you about the innovations we have been working on in the upcoming articles. If you haven't yet, wishlist and follow the game so that you don't miss any of our future announcements.

See you on the battlefield, commanders!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1128860/Men_of_War_II/

Coming Soon: Men of War II Live Streams and Q&A

Greetings, Commanders!

As we stated previously, we plan to communicate much more closely with you even before the upcoming launch of Men of War II. Besides a series of devlogs posted here on Steam, detailing changes to the game since the public beta tests and unveiling all the content you can look forward to at launch, we also plan to show you the game in live-streaming sessions.

Every two weeks, members of Fulqrum Publishing's Production and Marketing teams will show and discuss different game modes and ways to play the game - and you are most cordially invited to watch them play and chat with them! The best place to do so is the official Men of War II Discord Server, but the broadcast will also be shown here on Steam, as well as various other Fulqrum Publishing channels - the full list is at the end of this article, for your convenience. Please note that we will run the livestream in English language only.

The first of these sessions will happen this Friday, March 15, from 16:00 CET (8:00 PT), and we will be focusing on asymmetric multiplayer game modes such as Incursion, where Team B needs to hold their territory against Team A's attack, and Line Defense, where players have to, well, defend the line against the onslaught of merciless AI. These game modes were present in the last Open Beta, but they are unique to Men of War II, and we want to make sure you don't miss them - especially as we will be playing them on maps you have not seen before!

Feel free to post any questions you want us to discuss in the livestream here in the comments, or tune in on Friday when you can ask them live as well. We will do our best to check chat rooms and comments on all the platforms, but we strongly encourage you to come watch with us on Discord, as we guarantee you will be heard there.

You will be able to watch the livestream on the following channels: