WARNO News

Gather around, commanders!

We have a release date. The day that WARNO will launch out of Early Access is now known. Prepare yourself: this coming May 23rd, WARNO will have its official full launch! That’s three weeks from now.

Years of hard work (and playing hard) are paying off. However, WARNO’s release is only the beginning of a new chapter. We are far from done with our beloved “Cold War gone hot” real-time strategy, with the first expansions already worked on.

Let’s detail what’s in store from May 23rd onwards!

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[h2]Different flavors of WARNO[/h2]
With the official launch out of Early Access, WARNO will be available in different versions. Let’s detail each one. Current Early Access owners will get additional bonus content, called the EA Pack. This EA Pack will be available to latecomers after launch (more details below).

[h2]WARNO “vanilla” Edition[/h2]

WARNO “vanilla” Edition

Price Tag: $39.99 / 39,99€



Content:

• 5 Army General campaigns.
  
• 8 Operations.
  
• 18 Divisions.
  
• Over 1000 units, expertly researched, modeled and voice-lined.
  
• 6 Nations: the United States, West Germany, the United Kingdom and France for NATO, the Soviet Union and East Germany for the Warsaw Pact.
  
• Extensive Tutorials and a full range of Skirmish, Multiplayer and Cooperative modes.

EA Pack

For Early Access owners, automatically and freely available, a special EA Pack. This DLC contains divisions added as a “thank you” for your continued support during WARNO’s development:

• The EA Pack contains 5 “extra” divisions:
  
• The ”Berlin” divisions: NATO’s Berlin Command and Warsaw Pact’s Berliner Gruppierung and 6-ya Gvardeyskaya Motostrelkovaya Brigada.
  
• Plus NATO’s U.S. 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and the Warsaw Pact’s Soviet 27-ya Gvardeyskaya Motostrelkovaya Diviziya.

After WARNO’s official launch out of Early Access, this EA Pack will be made available as a DLC for $9.99 / 9,99€.

[h2]WARNO “Gold” Edition[/h2]
There is more… much more. Our super deluxe ”Gold” edition of WARNO is jam-packed with extra goodies and the pre-orders of not only two future major expansions but also two extra (previously undisclosed) DLCs (see further below!)!

WARNO “Gold” Edition

Price Tag: $79.99 / 79,99€

Exactly the same content as the “vanilla” edition, plus:

• 2 e-books with almost 200 pages in total! - WARNO's Timeline and Designer's Notes respectively on Army General, Operations plus an in-depth Divisions overview.
  
  • WARNO's Timeline goes deep into “how it came to pass,” painting a frighteningly realistic picture of World War III erupting at the end stages of the Cold War.
    
  • Army General gives not only you detailed insights into our five campaigns but also how we set out to create them. A great sneak peek into WARNO’s development.
    
  • Operations give you an in-depth view of how we designed Operations, the scripted scenarios on specific noteworthy battles in our war scenario, and how they are best played!
    
  • Divisions. An exhaustive list of all WARNO ”Vanilla” and ”Gold” Divisions including historical tidbits, arsenal and unit descriptions, advantages and disadvantages, and how to deploy each battlegroup’s armed forces.

• Pre-Order of the future NORTHAG expansion which will include:
  
  • 2 new Army General campaigns, 4 Operations, 10 new Divisions including new nations such as NATO’s Belgium, the Netherlands and Warsaw Pact’s Poland.
    
  • This DLC will be priced at $24.99 / 24,99€ on release.

• Pre-Order of the future SOUTHAG expansion, bringing:
  
  • 2 new Army General campaigns, 4 Operations, 10 new Divisions including new nations such as NATO’s Canada, Spain and Warsaw Pact’s Czechoslavakia.
    
  • This DLC will likewise be priced at $24.99 / 24,99€ on release.

• And… as a complete surprise… two new and previously undisclosed Nemesis DLCs:
  
  • This will be the first two WARNO Nemesis DLC, a popular mini-DLC series concept we introduced in Steel Division2. The idea behind the Nemesis DLC is that every once in a while, we give the community the option of which set of divisions should be developed next. We typically present three different pairs, after which you will vote on your preferred option!
    
  • Like Steel Division 2, the first Nemesis DLC will be predetermined (to be developed and ready quicker). Nemesis: Air Assault will feature two new air assault divisions: the iconic U.S. 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and the Afghan veterans of the Soviet 56-ya OG Desantno-Shturmovaya Brigada.
    
  • The second Nemesis DLC will be the first DLC to be voted on by the community, as described above.
    
  • A Nemesis DLC will be priced at $4.99 / 4,99€.

Be aware that both Army General (NORTHAG & SOUTHAG) and Nemesis (Air Assault & second one to be voted) DLCs won't be available at release, but in the months to come. They will become available to you as soon as officialy released.

As you can see, the ”Gold” edition gives you not only the base game but also the pre-order of two major expansions and two new Nemesis DLCs, plus e-books with a combined content worth of about $110.00 / 110,00€!

Also, you’ll be able to upgrade your copy of WARNO to the ”Gold” edition. There will be a special discount only available before the official launch for early adopters.

[h2]Until next week[/h2]
That’s all, commanders. Please note that there will be no DevBlog next week, with the Eugen team being out of the office for some of the May bank holidays.

Join the WARNO community. Check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Get together with other players on either the excellent Discord server, Reddit page, YouTube or our Instagram.

See you on the battlefield, commander!

Hello commanders!

We hope you are well. After last week’s hullabaloo, we’ll turn our attention to Army General. As a sign of the times, let's talk AI!

We have some interesting improvements coming to our strategic turn-based mode.

Let’s go!

[h2]AI and Army General[/h2]
All right, before we continue, let’s lift a tip of the veil on how AI works in WARNO’s Army General mode. This look under the hood should give you a better understanding of how we intend to improve the AI in Army General.



An Army General map is divided into various sectors. Each one features a status and is given a “weight” related to this status. A sector might be captured by a human player (known as that eternally wicked enemy of the AI) with its status turned to “to be attacked”. Likewise, a sector secured by the AI receives a “to be defended” status.

The “weight” mentioned determines how important a sector is. For instance, a sector with an objective will have a much bigger weight than no man’s land. The weight is influenced by each sector's status. A sector can have a high “to be attacked” weight when the AI needs to secure it, but a low “to be defended” weight once captured.



At the beginning of an AI’s turn, Army General pawns are assigned to capture or defend sectors. All pawns assigned to the same sector are collected as a single group. The more weight a sector has, the more pawns an AI will assign to it.



[h2]How AI used to work[/h2]
Since the release of our first Army General campaign, BRUDERKRIEG, some major improvements have made playing against the AI more challenging.

The first is linked to how the AI attacks opponents' pawns. Originally, it went something like this:

• First, the enemy pawns in a sector to be attacked or defended are identified. Among these hostile forces, the AI would select one (the target) according to criteria such as its type (armor, infantry, artillery) and attack/defense power. The AI would aim to attack this target, but only this one.
  
• Then, the AI would move all the pawns of the group assigned to this sector. If possible, the idea was to have them take positions around all the opponent’s pawns in the sector.
  
• Once the whole group had moved, the AI would check if it could mount an attack on the target depending on the availability of friendly pawns plus the predicted result (victory or defeat).

A major inconvenience of this method was that the AI if they had the opportunity, didn’t assault any easy targets (they weren’t even considered). More so, it didn’t try to optimize its movements, such as bringing as much attack power to bear against a target. In the end, from an outside observer, it felt the AI was not attacking in the most efficient way as it could be.



This behavior was inherited from WARNO’s predecessor, Steel Division 2’s Army General mode. In our World War II game, pawns would attack a target from a distance without having to be in direct contact. Back then, this approach worked well. However, WARNO’s Army General mode operates differently. Only artillery units can take part in a battle from a distance.

[h2]The new AI way[/h2]
So, that’s why we reworked the algorithms completely. From now on, the AI in Army General works as follows:

• The AI considers every enemy pawn in the sector to be attacked or defended, listing them according to type and power.
  
• For each potential target, it checks if it can move one or several pawns from the sector’s group in order to attack the enemy with a favorable predicted outcome.
  
• If yes, the AI creates this sub-group, moves it, and attacks.
  
• It repeats this process until it can no longer attack (and hopefully, those pesky humans have been vanquished).
  
• Once all battles have been fought, the remaining pawns from the group (if any) are moved to surround any enemy pawns in the sector. This is the same as the older algorithm.

The new way of doing things will be a major improvement, as it allows the AI to launch several attacks with the same group in a single turn. It will also allow attacks on isolated “easy” targets. No more running away, human!



And since movements have been optimized, the AI will be able to attack priority targets (usually a “big” enemy pawn) with the appropriate pawns. Previously, it would have moved unsuitable pawns and would not have launched an assault.

[h2]There is more to come[/h2]
Of course, improving the AI is never finished. We are considering other improvements.

• The AI will be able to decide whether to remove an unsuitable pawn from a group and replace it with a stronger and fresher pawn if this means the attack will have a better-predicted outcome.
  
• AI’s pawn positioning will be improved in anticipation of a player’s next move. Much in the same vein as a chess player. Picture this: if the AI attacks a weak garrison with the proper amount of force to defeat it, but if the human player has a strong reserve behind this garrison, ready to take it the next turn, the AI will take this potential counter-attack into account.

[h2]Preventing cheesy tactics[/h2]
Another update that has recently made its way into Army General is to prevent human players' cheesy tactics. Some pawns, especially helicopters, do not have a frontline’s influence value anymore. This means they can’t push a side’s zone of influence. It also means they can move around enemy pawns, surround them, and cut them off from supply.



As a negative effect, pawns finding themselves isolated behind the enemy frontline would always prioritize reconnecting with their own side. This meant that helicopters would cross the frontline only to move safely back immediately. From now on, pawns without influence will not be allowed to cross the frontline unless it means taking a position to attack an enemy pawn.

[h2]Until next week[/h2]
That’s all for this AI-heavy DevBlog. Let us know what you think. Keep the discourse civil, gentle people!

Join the WARNO community. Check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Get together with other players on either the excellent Discord server, Reddit page, YouTube or our Instagram.

Until then. See you on the battlefield, commander.

Hello commanders,

Welcome back to another DevBlog. In today’s post, we’ll discuss a nation jostled into the spotlight rather repeatedly in recent times: the British.

Hold on to your teacups, lads!

[h2]An End to Misery[/h2]
The British: they sure had it tough - oh, the suffering, dear WARNO community, it was great and unrelenting (for all of us)...

So, to rest a community’s rather vocal minority’s excited hearts and pouty mouths, we decided to collect some new units into one DevBlog.

[h2]WARRIOR APPLIQUE[/h2]
Make way for the WARRIOR APPLIQUE (a most fitting title), coming to the 1st Armoured Division. This Milan-equipped Warrior IFV has additional bolt-on armor, granting it +1 Front and Side armor.



This type of applique protection was first added to Warriors deployed for Operation Desert Storm. The ATGM on the IFV has also been upgraded from MILAN 1 to a more advanced MILAN 2. This transport option will be only available to ARM. RIFLES squads.



[h2]SARACEN and SALADIN[/h2]
That’s not all. The next two units are coming to the 2nd Infantry Division. This formation was responsible for rear-area defense for the British I Corps in NORTHAG. As such, it could count on plenty of old equipment stored throughout West Germany, which would equip its Territorial reinforcements rushing from the UK. These pre-positioned war stocks included lots of SARACEN APCs, as well as a few SALADIN armored cars. Both have been modeled and will be added to the 2nd Infantry Division.



SARACEN
The venerable FV103 SARACEN is a 6x6 wheeled APC, lightly armored and armed only with a 7,62mm machine gun. Introduced in 1952, the vehicle was only removed from active service in the 1980s to be replaced by the Saxon. In 1989, the British Army still employed hundreds of them, mainly in Northern Ireland, where it was a familiar sight during the Troubles. Other SARACEN were in storage in the United Kingdom or West Germany (as mentioned above). In-game, it will be a transport option for specific TERRIERS units.



SALADIN
The FV601 SALADIN was a heavy armored car, sharing the same 6x6 wheeled chassis as the SARACEN but sporting a turret armed with a low-velocity 76mm gun (the predecessor to the weapon mounted on the SCORPION recon vehicle). The SALADIN mostly saw service in Northern Ireland and Cyprus as part of the United Nations. In WARNO, these vehicles will be made available as older (and thus cheaper) recon vehicles featuring the Reservist trait.



[h2]BUCCANEER[/h2]
Last but not least: the BUCCANEER. We already mentioned in the previous DevBlog that this iconic British unit would make a “cameo” appearance in WARNO’s Left Hook Army General campaign. The Blackburn BUCCANEER was the RAF’s prime ground-attack aircraft until the introduction of the TORNADO. Mostly replaced in this role, the “Bucs” were kept in the UK for maritime and nuclear strikes. Still, they were very capable of performing a range of ground-attack sorties, even more so than the newer TORNADO thanks to their versatile loadout: “heavy” bombing, air-ground missiles, SEAD, and even hauling laser-guided bombs.



In WARNO, the BUCCANEER will be only playable in the Army General campaign for now. The unit will be featured in all its glory in a future NORTHAG expansion.



[h2]A Meeting of the Like-Minded[/h2]
In other, exciting news, the Eugen team had a very nice encounter with fellow game developers and Cold War enthusiasts Radian Simulations known from the excellent Gunner, Heat, PC! armor simulator.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1705180/Gunner_HEAT_PC/

Eugen’s own Matthieu “MadMat”, Stephan “Panzer”, and Luka “HrcAk47” were invited for a “Developer Chat” discussing all things related to game design, rationale of making games, production issues, unit research, and more!

[previewyoutube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRb82C3uqA4[/previewyoutube]

[h2]Until next week[/h2]
That’s all for this DevBlog. Keep the discourse civil, commander. And, before spamming or instigating flamewars or other nefarious campaigns, yes, we are working hard on WARNO, and no, we don’t have a release day for the full launch out of Early Access. And don’t get us started on “what about X unit’s mustache?” or “X is under/over/backward performing,” “or WARNO should be a cozy dystopian hack&slash anime.” All will be revealed in due course, commander. And no, we won’t stop with our Napoleon historical tidbits - they are a well-cherished Eugen tradition!

Join the WARNO community. Check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Get together with other players on either the excellent Discord server, Reddit page, YouTube or our Instagram.

Until then. See you on the battlefield.

Hello commanders,

You might wonder what’s cooking in Eugen’s kitchen. Of course, WARNO is getting ready to be served in full, with the official launch out of Early Access soon (Eugen™), but that’s not all!

In today’s DevBlog, we’ll present a lovely mix of updates coming to WARNO’s divisions and existing units.

Let’s dig in!

[h2]Berliner Gruppierung[/h2]
While the new Soviet 6-ya Gvardeyskaya Motostrelkovaya Brigada (or 6th Guards Separate Motor Rifle Brigade) seems to be popular, the Big Split (read more about it here) proved more detrimental to the original Berliner Gruppierung than expected. We decided to beef up the latter East German division by allowing it to play more to its strengths.

This means:

• More generous Activation Point slot distribution, especially (but not only) in the INF, AIR, and HELO categories.
  
• Better WACH. (all) infantry squads availability.
  
• More MOT.-SCHÜTZEN cards.
  
• Access to more Mi-8 gunship helicopter variants.
  
• Access to the BRDM-2 MALYUTKA.
  
• Added a new UAZ-469 AGS-17 as transport/recon option for MOT.-GRENZER recon squads. The Grenztruppen were the only East German users of the AGS-17 grenade launcher.
  
• Fixed the missing second LMG in the new MOT.-SCHÜTZEN infantry squad variants (Strela AA, SVD marksman, and Metis ATGM). We also fixed the squad’s lower Metis loadout compared to other ATGM-equipped infantry.

[h2]K.d.A. Bezirk Erfurt[/h2]
Next up is the K.d.A. Bezirk Erfurt. Note that updates to this East German division will also affect the Berliner Gruppierung above. One change is the replacement of the K.d.A. SCHÜTZEN squad’s RPG-7 with an older RPG-2. A price update is also part of this deal.

In this way, K.d.A. Bezirk Erfurt’s infantry will come in a variety of different AT flavors:

• K.d.A.: equipped with the RPG-2 (10 AP). A cheap and meaty squad, but with an older rocket launcher featuring lower armor penetration.
  
• RESERVISTEN, featuring the RPG-7VM (14AP).
  
• MOT.-SCHÜTZEN, featuring the RPG-7VL (18AP).

[h2]Bundesgrenzschutz Changes[/h2]
From the Warsaw Pact, we turn to NATO’s Bundesgrenzschutz B.G.S, or the West German federal border police. The B.G.S. squads proved a bit too proficient in close combat, thanks to its all-SMG load-out. This was neither their role in real life nor how we envisioned the squad’s use in-game. Therefore, we decided to split the unit into two separate ones to reflect their roles better.

The B.G.S squads featured with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment represent the small patrols keeping a close watch on the Inner German Border. These will be reduced to 5-man squads, still entirely equipped with SMGs, and rebranded B.G.S. STREIFE (meaning patrol).

In the case of war, West German border guards were meant to be pulled out and regrouped in rear areas. Here, they would guard against infiltrators and saboteurs and protect against raids by enemy special forces. This is why they are featured with Territorialkommando Süd. The B.G.S in this division will retain the current naming and 9-man organization but see a change of small arms to 3x MP-5, 5x G3 battle rifles, and 1x MG-3 machine guns. They will feature a new model with Stahlhelm, the trademark WW2 helmet, which they still use up to 1989 so the East-German border guards opposite them would identify them as Germans too, not Americans!



Both B.G.S units are going to be repriced accordingly.

[h2]The Reservists of the 11e Division Parachutiste[/h2]
The French are next. The RESERVISTES of the 11e Division Parachutiste made this division a bit too efficient, providing the battlegroup with cheap, plentiful, and strong infantry.

The reasoning behind including this particular unit with one of the French Army’s elite formations was that the division was composed of 7 “teeth” battalions, made up of 2x metropolitan (from France proper), 4x naval infantry, and 1x Légion paratrooper battalions.

While the Légion (2e REP) and one naval infantry (1er RPIMa, acting as divisional special forces regiment) were fully professional, the other RPIMa were “semi-professional,” and expanded with conscripts and reservists. The two metropolitan battalions were filled with returning reservists and (fit but unruly) conscripts.

The RESERVISTES in the 11e Division Parachutiste represented this latter category of soldiers, though in real life, they would be trained reservists or “strong-minded” conscripts (airborne regiments were used as disciplinary units for the unruly ones).

That’s the historical justification, but in game terms, it didn’t really pan out this way. We decided to step in.



This means:

• We removed the RESERVISTES in the division. We differentiated the remaining infantry squads to more accurately represent the original formation’s battalions:
  
  • CHASSEURS-PARACHUTISTES (representing the 1er and 9e RCP): These are metropolitan paratroopers, keeping their squad small arms and organization, but losing the Shock trait and one veterancy step.
    
  • PARAS-MARINES (representing the 3e, 6e and 8e RPIMa): this is a new unit, representing the naval infantry paratroopers, and will be available in numbers. Same veterancy and organization as the existing Chasseurs-Paras., but with the APILAS.
    
  • PARAS-LEGIONNAIRES (representing the 2e REP): no stats changes.
    
  • SAS (representing the 1er RPIMa, aka “French SAS”): no stats changes.

The remaining infantry squads are all repriced accordingly.



Furthermore, the SAGAIE (all variants) will also see a price change to curb their capacity to cause a nuisance through sheer numbers.

[h2]Until next week[/h2]
That’s all for this week’s melange of WARNO news. We are keen to hear your thoughts! You know the drill, commanders: keep the discourse calm, cool, and collected.

Join the WARNO community. Check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Get together with other players on either the excellent Discord server, Reddit page, YouTube or our Instagram.

See you on the battlefield.

Welcome back, commanders.

Let’s talk maps! In today’s DevBlog, we’ll put the spotlight on several upcoming upgrades to WARNO’s current roster of maps, from reinforcement routes to redesigned Command Zones.

Note that these updates will affect all of WARNO’s battlefields. The updates will come as part of our game’s official launch from Early Access.

[h2]Improved Defensive Zones[/h2]
The first thing on the list: we will improve specific defensive areas in our maps. Certain battlefields have an overload of chokepoints, which result in “tactical traffic jams.” The superimposition of these sectors in places such as forests or towns makes it much harder for players to read the actual terrain. That’s a major imbalance: both confusing and creating uneven combat situations.



That’s why we made an effort to pass the magic wand to deblock or update terrain that was considered too narrow - or in the case of Deathrow or Mount River - streamline excessively dense areas.

[h2]Improved Urban District Layouts[/h2]
Another improvement coming to WARNO’s maps is the upgraded sizes of urban districts. As you can imagine, during our game’s Early Access, successive battlefield updates led to disparities in the size of districts - some being too small, others too large. These variations made selecting units inside neighborhoods too challenging, forcing players to finnick their way through. This is a less-than-intuitive experience. We set out to standardize all urban districts currently present within the game.



[h2]Standard Reinforcement Times[/h2]
A significant update coming to WARNO is standardizing reinforcement times across battlefields. It’s not as simple as it sounds. It involved redesigning the reinforcement routes on the edges of the map and repositioning certain Command Zones. Several maps either had too long or too fast reinforcement arrival times. Long delays disrupt the game's rhythm too much (and also increase unit losses).



The same approach to more balanced urban districts was used. Standardizing the reinforcement times makes it more predictable when units will arrive.

[h2]Visual Tweaks[/h2]
Updating the maps also allowed us to improve their graphics rendering. Some of the battlefields have a bit of a “dull” haze to them, which we have corrected. In the same vein, we worked on making vegetation and mountain textures visually more pleasing and realistic.



[h2]Command Zones updates[/h2]
Lastly, on certain maps, we’ll modify the placement and size of Command Zones. See below for some examples!



[h2]A DEFCON 2 Tournament Update[/h2]
We are also excited to share news about the latest ongoing community-driven team match-up tournament to grace WARNO: DEFCON 2 - hosted by the amazing WarYes website.

The finals, as well as the third-place team matches of DEFCON 2, are due to be played this weekend, between the 5th and 7th of April. And be prepared, commander; it’s going to be a clash of titans.



Third Place Tmansuffers (Tmanplays and Hippie) will square off against The return of the revenge of the vab T20 - reloaded (Tiberius Rancor and Darricks).

Finals Boss of the Gym (Menkar 4 and STANAG) go head-to-head against Spartan System (NATOBOY and NBK).

All teams in this last round of DEFCON 2 have placed high enough for a share of the $1169 prize pool.

Which team will claim themselves World War III champions of WARNO? Who will bask in the forever glory of being the first winner of DEFCON 2? Who will be venerated as the alpha and omega of WARNO online play (at least for a little while)? This weekend, we’ll find out.

Tune in to WarYesTV to watch the nail-biting action unfold live! Want in? Join the WarYes Discord if you’re keen to sign up for the next DEFCON tournament. Additional details further below.

To the victor goes the spoils!

Detailed Rules

Challonge Bracket

Matcherino

[h2]Milestone BERNADOTTE out now![/h2]
In case you haven’t seen it, the latest milestone - BERNADOTTE - is out now. It brings the much-anticipated Army General online Coop and Versus functionality, Command & Control optional game setting, additional divisional “housecleaning,” plus a big balance patch. Be sure to check out the milestone’s details and latest patch notes in the previous DevBlog here.



Note that the BERNADOTTE milestone is the last major update before WARNO’s official launch out of Early Access!

[h2]Until next week[/h2]
Keep it cool, commanders. As always, don’t hesitate to let us know what you think.

Join the WARNO community. Check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Get together with other players on either the excellent Discord server, Reddit page, YouTube or our Instagram.

See you on the battlefield, commander!