WARNO News

Hello commander,

It took its sweet time, but here's come milestone AUGEREAU and the long-awaited FOBs.
Or more exactly FIELD SUPPLY POINTS as they are now called ingame (and localized in every language).

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Keep reading to find out more.

[h2]But first ...[/h2]
... we wish to offer our apologies for the delay it took to deliver this feature. FOBs weren't something we had intended for WARNO, and thus buildings weren't part of the code anymore. We resurrected them to grant a community request and they had to be brought back from scratch. This took longer than we expected.

Then the FOB's design also delayed us, for we researched what an actual Field Supply Point would look like IRL, instead of reproducing WRD's hard concrete infrastructure. Our 3D artists put such heart in that task that the new model was so detailed it became too CPU-heavy and had to be optimized several times to fit the game properly.
Finally, the final tests brougtht back some minor but time-consumming little issues to fix before rebuilding an entire version each time. Each time delaying release by forty-eight hours or more, quickly bringing us back to a Friday. And for this, we wouldn't do a Friday launch ...



This DevBlog has been waiting for publication this past two weeks for we had hoped to release the FOB for some time already, but always delayed at the last minute with no ready replacement to take its place. Hence the silence.

[h2]A little bit of historical context[/h2]
Each WARNO milestone is named after a famous French marshal active during the Napoleonic wars. Pierre AUGEREAU is quite typical of most of Napoléon's marshals: a formidable leader of men, a decent tactician but a poor commander-in-chief.

Born in 1757 of modest origins, he enlisted in the royal army at 17. He soon became famous for his swordmanship, and in one of many duel he was to fight in his lifetime, Augereau killed a noble officer, forcing him to desert and go into exile! For the next 13 years he traveled accross Europe, working as a mercenary for the Russians and Prussians. He then settled briefly in Saxony, Naples and Portugal, usually earning a living as a fencing master.



He returned to France, then in full Révolution, in 1792 and enlisted again but this time in the Republic's armies. A young army, lacking officers and military talents due to the emigration of the nobles. Augereau knew everything there was to know about military life and his rise was meteoric: in about a year, he was promoted from sergeant to général de division. That's the rank he held when young general Napoléon Bonaparte took command of the Army of Italy, in which he served.
Augereau's division played a key role in most of Napoléon's First Italian Campaign's major victories: Loano, Montenotte, Lodi, Arcole ... but especially Castiglione, which Napoléon later granted him as a ducal title.
But in 1797 his military career was already at its zenith.



Rallied to Napoléon's Empire, he was among the very first generals to receive his marshal's bâton. He took part in Napoléon's lightning campaigns of 1805-1806 in Moravia & Prussia, but always as the commander of the reserve, under Napoléon's direct command.
Nearly killed ar Eylau in 1807, it would take him three years to recover from his wounds and be fit again for command. Sent to Spain in 1810, he proved there as incompetent as most of his colleagues (Suchet excepted), yet established himself as one of the greatest looter of a Grande Armée in which it was quite a national sport. In 1812, he was to garrison Germany while the Grande Armée was freezing to death in Russia but fought well at the battle of Leipzig in 1813.
Well enough that Napoléon gave him a major independant command in 1814, the Armée de Lyon which was to prevent an invasion from the Alps and Italy. Although his army was far weaker that expected on paper, his complete lack of activity in this campaign brought suspiscion that he had been bought by the Allies. When Napoléon abdicated, he rallied to the Bourbons monarchy immediately.

Augereau and Napoléon met one last time, just after the Emperor's abdication. On its way to Marseille to board a ship for his exile in Elba, Napoléon decided to stop and bid farewell to his old friend from 1797. But as soon as Napoléon stepped out of his car, Augereau subjected the deposed Emperor to a barrage of insults and reproaches. Such was the end of their friendship.

In 1815, when Napoléon returned during the Hundred Days, Augereau obsequiously tried to regain Napoléon's favors, but the latter wouldn't even meet him, had him striken from the list of marshals and labelled a traitor for his poor 1814 performance. Nonetheless, his failed attempts at ingratiating himself the favors of the "Impostor" didn't suit Louis XVIII well when he returned on his throne three months later: Augereau was stripped of all military titles and pensions. He died a year later on his estate.

[h2]Words have meaning[/h2]
But let's get back to 1989!
In Wargame: Red Dragon (and previous Wargame title), the term FOB was standing for Forward Operation Base. Although FOBs would provide logisitical support to local troops as they did ingame, a real FOB would also be housing troops, sometimes even artillery or mortar support, helipad, ... That is a much bigger role than our ingame FOBs were actually providing.



Therefore, FOBs in WARNO are called Field Supply Point (FSP), referring to a provisional field depot or "ammo dump" (although containing more than just ammunition).
The model has also been designed in order to look more realistic, that is like a provisional infrastructure established close to the frontline to supply combat troops with ammunition, fuel, rations, ...



[h2]But what is a FOB?[/h2]
But to hell with all the semantics: what do FSP do ingame, shall you ask? If you're new to Eugen games, you might be at loss understanding what some people are clamoring for about them ...

An FSP is a unique unit in WARNO, for it is the only building you can deploy.
You will be allowed to take one, and one only, in your deck, occupying one LOG slot. Since it is a building, it can only be deployed during the deployment phase: if you don't use it then, you won't be able to deploy it later! So, make sure to plan ahead if you will need one in your deck, or if not deployed from the start it will just fill one precious slot for naught.



FSP are basically a HUGE reserve of supply, which you can use to resupply other units with ammunitions, fuel or spare parts/replacements, as any supply unit. You just have to bring another unit close by, and it will be resupplied.
But of course, the best use you can make of it is to refill more mobile supply vehicles. Once empty, the latter can be brought to your FSP and then supply will be transferred from the building to the mobile units, refilling them before sending them back to the front. And then you've got a supply chain!
Supplies only go from the FSP to a unit, not the other way around. You can't resupply an FSP! But don't worry, they hold a lot of supply.



Of course, FSP will become a prime target for the enemy! Since they can't be moved, once spotted you can expect heavy shelling and air bombardment, hence you better keep some AA nearby.
Yet, they won't go boom at the first enemy round: FSP are very resilient! It will take a lot of firepower to take them down ... but when this happen, make sure not to have friendly units in the vicinity: no one want to be nearby when an ammunition depot detonates!



Another way, and shall we say the most enjoyable one, to neutralize an enemy FSP is of course to capture it!
As any supply unit ingame, an undefended FSP will surrender to the enemy, who will then be able to use it to supply his own troops. If you don't want your FSP to end up feeding the enemy, make sure to guard it well against sneaky special forces on the hunt. That's what security troops are meant for.



[h2]Map updates[/h2]

But FSP aren't the only thing coming with this milestone: Iron Water and Ripple maps have been upgraded

During WARNO's Early Access, we made significant improvements to the existing maps. In this instance, we worked on Iron Water and Ripple, which received significant fixes & changes, including:

• Fixing bugs identified by players
  
• Improved vegetation
  
• Improved cities
  
• Improved water and riverbank treatment (Iron Water)
  
• Optimization of visual effects (lights and colors)
  
• Improved game performance

We hope these updates will improve the gameplay experience for our players. We remain committed to continually working to provide a superior gaming experience.

[h2]Patch notes[/h2]
With the milestone comes other changes & fixes, listed below.
[h3]Features[/h3]

• introducing FIELD SUPPLY POINTS (aka FOB), with one added per battlegroup
  

[h3]DATA OPTIMIZATION[/h3]

• 
  We have optimized the disk size of Warno from 56 GB to 25 GB.
  If you need to replay old replays, it is necessary to switch to the Steam branch compat_save_older_than_93194.
  

[h3]MAPS[/h3]

• Ripple and Iron Water maps have been reworked:
  
• improvements in urban rendering, colorimetry and light processing
  

[h3]CODE FIXES[/h3]

• fixed the button at the end of the tutorials, which restarted the same tutorial
  
• fixed Puma HC.1 supply, which no longer uses fuel
  
• fixed feedback placement in game
  
• fixed the loss threshold in the lobby, which sometimes showed huge numbers
  
• fixed the voiceline of some infantry talking continuously
  
• fixed feedbacks that were offset from the minimap
  

[h3]DATA FIXES[/h3]

• Polish translation improved thanks to GreenHD
  
• improved sniper FX's speed
  
• fixed the orientation of the barrels of some mortars
  
• fixed display of HE values of S-13 and S-24 rockets
  
• fixed M107A2's salvo length
  

[h3]GENERIC[/h3]

• standardizing LRRP avail/vet
  

[h3]NATO[/h3]

• (Berlin) adding one card of British SNIPERS
  

[h3]PACT[/h3]

• decreased E-German MIG-29's price from 245 to 215, on par with its Soviet counterpart
  
• (Zentrum) adding one card of Fs-SCHARFSCHUTZE
  
• Swap the VSS Vintorez for the Dragunov sniper rifle, for the Spetsnaz using them
  
• Add a more realistic version of the VSS Vintorez for the SNAYPERI SPETSNAZ (short range, but better aim and reload time)
  

[h2]See you on the battlefield[/h2]
All right! That’s it for the FSP, we are looking forward to hearing what you think!

Don’t forget to join the passionate 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 Commander,

Today is milestone day! And more precisely, the still unannounced yet already delivered milestone MARMONT. It brings to you several items that we have announced and teased in some previous DevBlogs, namely snipers for all nations, LRRP overhaul, some new units, new soundtracks, maps rework, urban improvements, new language, ... and more.
And of course, balance changes.

[h2]A little bit of historical context[/h2]
Each WARNO milestone is named after a famous French marshal active during the Napoleonic wars. Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont belonged to the petite noblesse and trained as an artillery officer. He immediately adopted the principles of the Revolution and fought in its armies, where he quickly became acquainted with a fellow penniless artillery officer, Napoléon Bonaparte, with whom he was even roommate for some time.

When Napoléon rose to power, Marmont was never far away: aide-de-camp to his friend, then promoted general in Egypt, he was among those Napoléon entrusted with his Coup d'Etat of 18th Brumaire. Although promoted to général de division and general-inspector of the artillery at the age of 30 only in 1804, Marmont was disappointed not to be made a marshal with the first promotion.

For Marmont, although a very good artillery officer, was an ambitious and self-important man, sensible to fawning. Intelligent and well-educated, a cynic with a sharp tongue, he would always consider himself above his peers. A trait which would lead him to occupy a unique and dark place among Napoleonic marshals.



Governor of the Illyrian provinces (nowadays part of Slovenia & Croatia), he was recalled back at Napoléon's side for the 1809 campaign in Austria, where he was finally promoted to Marshal of the Empire and Duke of Ragusa. Sent to Spain, he proved one of Wellington's most able and dangerous opponent, before being recalled at Napoléon's for the campaign of 1813 in Germany,

In 1814 in France, his performance would have secured him a place as one of the best general of the campaign, had his vanity not brought him to occupy another place in Napoleonic History: that of the "Judas among Marshals", the man who betrayed and brought Napoléon down.
His VI. Corps amounted for about a third of Napoléon's small Grande Armée of 1814 when Marmont let himself be convinced by royalist conspirators that he would be France savior's, putting an end to war, if he would remove his troops from under Napoléon's command. Which he did, leaving Napoléon with no choice but to abdicate.
In doing so, the deposed emperor commented about his former friend: "The ungrateful one, he will be more unhappy than I will".

For Napoléon knew Marmont had been lured by unctuous words, but would be forever remembered as a traitor. And indeed, for the rest of his life, under whichever government he served, Marmont would always be reminded by fellow officers and court members that he once betrayed his master and could not be trusted. "Raguser", from his title Duke of Ragusa, even became a byword for "to betray".

And even today, the ostracism against "Marmont the Traitor" can still be felt! For Paris intra muros is separated from its suburbs by a ring of boulevards, collectively known as the "Boulevards des Maréchaux" for their are named after all of Napoléon's marshals. All? No, for two are missing: Grouchy, wrongfully accused of being responsible of the defeat at Waterloo, and of course Marmont, for his betrayal.

Despised by his peers, Marmont ended up his life in self-exile at the Russian court in Saint-Petersburg, then in Venice.

[h2]Snipers[/h2]
But let's get back to 1989!
This milestone introduces the much-expected snipers. Although scoped rifles also make an appearance with LRRP too, the only units truly worthy of the name (and thus the trait) Sniper are the two-man recon infiltration teams. Other scope-equipped soldiers in various squads are mere marksmen: they get a more accurate rifle, but that's all, not the sniper bonus.

All nations will get sniper teams, although not all divisions. Scout-sniping in its modern definition was an Anglo-Saxon tradition (starting with Canada in WW2) passed on to foreign special forces, but never as widespread as in English-speaking armies. Therefore, while all British & American divisions have some, only a selected few other divisions have special forces' snipers attached.

Sniper units all come as a two-man team with Very Good optics and the Sniper trait. The latter grant them, when static only, an Accuracy bonus and a +1 Stealth level. For we all know the value of not being seen!
Here is the list of all the sniper teams added:

• French SNIPER SAS (11e Division Parachutiste)
  
• W-German FERN. SCHARFSCHÜTZE (2. Panzergrenadier-Division)
  
• E-German FJ SCHARFSCHÜTZE (4. Mot.-Schützen-Division)
  
• Soviet SNAYPERI SPETSNAZ (35. GvDShB)
  
• British SNIPER (all British divisions)
  
• American SNIPER (all American divisions)

Scoped rifles are divided into two categories: bolt-action & semi-automatic. The former has a longer range, better accuracy but slow rate of fire; the latter has shorter range, lesser accuracy but ... you guess it? ... better RoF.
Sniper teams preferably use a bolt-action rifle when available to the nation, while semi-automatic ones can more commonly be found in non-sniper squads. The following rifles have been added to the game:

• French FR-F2 (bolt)
  
• British L96A1 (bolt)
  
• American M14 (semi-auto)
  
• American M24 (bolt)
  
• W-German PSG-1 (semi-auto)
  
• Soviet SVD Dragunov (semi-auto)
  
• Soviet VSS Vintorez (semi-auto)

[h2]LRRP[/h2]
LRRP stands for Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrol, you know those scouts with GSR trait ingame:

• FERNSPAHER
• SAS PATROL
• LRS
• SPEZIALAUFKLÄRER
• SPETSNAZ G.R.U.

Now that the GSR trait has been introduced, we have reworked all LRRP squads to fit a (roughly) same pattern: a veteran 6-man team, with GSR trait and mostly light weapons. In some cases, weaponry has been adapted to fit a marksman (with scoped rifle, but no sniper trait), therefore we're inviting you to check them for differences.

Only one nation remained without LRRP: France!
That's why MARMONT introduces the new DRAGONS-PARAS squad to fill this role with the 5e Division Blindée. The 13e Dragons Parachutistes, or 13e RDP, was the French First Army's elusive French LRRP unit, its eyes and ears.



[h2]New units & models![/h2]
But the snipers and DRAGONS-PARAS aren't the only units we're adding with this milestone.

With Oudinot, we introduced the Military Police trait for ... military police units obviously. But only NATO had such troops.
The reason wasn't a specific bias against Pact, but because military law enforcement didn't work the same way with WP armies and as such there wasn't a direct counterpart in Soviet & East-German divisional TO&Es.
MARMONT rectifies this omission with the introduction of the East-German MILITÄRSTREIFE and Soviet KOMENDATURA patrols. Both featuring the Military Police trait and added to all WP divisions. And since the latter used a specific version of the UAZ, we've modeled it too while we were at it.



We're also introducing a second Soviet MiG-29: same variant, but different loadout, a cheaper one.
The reason why was both to give 35-ya GvDShB a choice between a top-of-the-line MiG-29 and a lesser armed but cheaper one ... but also to feature a new gorgeous camo we identified. Look at that beauty:



Although they were already featured ingame, we've reworked both Soviet MiG-27K (LGB & SEAD) with their specific nose. And in the process, we reskinned the LGB one with its own specific skin.



[h2]Maps[/h2]
Based on community feedbacks, we made some modifications on Cyrus and Two Lakes maps.

Regarding Cyrus, we have improved the treatment of the plateau edges, which previously had too many trees blocking the units' LoS toward important strategic points. Additionally, we have made graphical improvements to both Cyrus and Two Lakes, including modifying urban densities within cities. Our goal was to bring more realism to cities by reducing the size of gardens around housing and redesigning some districts.



We have also enhanced lakesides on both maps by adding new textures and assets, as well as reworking the color scheme and lighting to reinforce their overall appearance. We have also optimized the game's performance in order to improve the gameplay experience.



Finally, three new maps have been added to ranked mode: Two Ways, Black Forest Storm & Loop

[h2]And more ...[/h2]
By popular demand, MARMONT also introduces four new soundtracks for you synthewave lovers!

And last but not least, WARNO now has a Polish translation. Still incomplete in this version, but the rest will be added soon.
We wish to thank GreenHD, and hope you will too, for his heroic efforts in bringing that localization to the game.

And for course, balance changes, which you'll find here.

[h2]But what about the FOB?[/h2] FOBs were meant to be delivered with this milestone, but we detected a last minute bug regarding them. Waiting for it to be fixed and rebuilding a version meant delaying MARMONT to Friday ... and you know we don't release on a Friday. Hence it would have pushed back release to next week.



We considered it was better to deliver MARMONT without it in order to fix the FOB properly, then release it to you ASAP as a hotfix.

[h2]See you on the battlefield[/h2]
Don’t forget to join the passionate 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!

[h3]Features[/h3]

• new MiG-27K model with proper nose
  
• new units: Snipers
• Added feedback in replays, indicating destroyed units and captured areas, near the minimap
  
• Updated music
  
• The Polish language has been added, the Polish translations have been kindly done by a Polish fan, it is not complete and being improved.
  
• improved display of the Options menu in specific resolutions
  

[h3]Maps[/h3]

• Cyrus and TwoLakes maps have been reworked:
  Improvements in urban rendering, vision on plains, water borders, colorimetry and light processing
  

[h3]Code fixes[/h3]

• fixed a crash when disolving a smart group
  
• fixed crash in tutorials
  
• fixed shortcuts with a key combination containing Alt
  
• fixed "Add Friend" button in the lobby which was sometimes greyed out
  
• fixed a rare case of planes managed by the AI which would sometimes team kill
  
• fixed a cover bug with no effect versus rocket fire
  

[h3]Data fixes[/h3]

• binding proper recon acknows on most recon units & vehicles
  
• fixed M998 AVENGER's Stinger accuracy to 55% both in motion and static
  

[h3]Snipers[/h3]

• adding snipers in all US & UK divisions (being widespread), as well as French 11e DP, German 2. PzGrenadier, Soviet 35GvDShB & E-German 4.MSD (as special forces).
  
  Introducing sniper rifles in two form: bolt-action and semi-automatic.
  
  • bolt-action are dedicated sniper rifles, with longer range and better accuracy, but are suffer from a lower Rate of Fire
    
  • semi-automatic are DMR (Dedicated Marksman Rifle), more widely distributed, with shorter range and accuracy, but better RoF.
    
  
  Sniper teams (with such trait) only refer to 2-man teams. Soldiers with scoped rifles in other squad are just marksmen.
  

[h3]LRRP[/h3]
We have been rebalancing LRRP (Long Range Recon Patrol since the introduction of the GSR trait they now carry, as 6-man recon squads with vet3 & Forward Deployment, and thus no helo transport.
Some changes in weaponry too, so better check them, LRRP are:

• Soviet SPETSNAZ G.R.U.
• E-German SPEZIALAUFKLÄRER
• American LRS
• British SAS PATROL
• French DRAGON-PARAS (new unit!)
  
• W-German FERNSPAHER

[h3]Generic[/h3]

• gaining a veterancy level takes more time, requiring to destroy more ennemy units
  
• increased light supply jeeps (250)'s availability from 12 to 20
  
• increased buildings' resistance (HP) by 25%
  
• HE AoE buff: more damage in the area of effect and on the periphery
  
• decreased MLRS' time between 2 rockets by 15%
  
• decreased howitzers' Health Point to 8
  
• decreased MLRS on wheel chassis' Health Point to 6 health
  
• increased 227-250 kg bombs' HE damaged by 10% & AoE by 5%
  
• increased cluster bombs' splash by 10%
  
• increased napalm bombs' splah by 8%
  
• increased aiming time of infantry rockets to 2 seconds
  
• decreased units' speed in forest (slightly)
  

[h3]Nato forces[/h3]

• reduced A-10 ECM to 15% SU25 ECM reduced to 5%
  
• locked AH-64A APACHAE [RKT]'s veterancy at vet2, preventing from selecting one at both vet2 or vet3
  

[h3]Pact forces[/h3]

• added KOMENDATURA (=MPs) to all Soviet divisions
  
• added MILITÄRSTREIFE (=MPs) to all E-German divisions
  
• modified weapon loadout for the SPETSNAZ KOM. & SPETSNAZ G.R.U., now having scoped rifles
  
• reduced SU-25 ECM to 5%
  
• increased KPz. T-55AM2 FÜH.'s availability per card from 1 to 2
  
• (35GvDShB) replaced one card of MiG-29 with another one of the same plane with cheaper loadout and new "Daumgarten" camouflage
  

Hello Commander,

In last week’s DevBlog, we lifted the veil on some solo play content, the tactical OPERATIONS. Today, we will bring you some news about the long-awaited ARMY GENERAL mode.

In earlier DevBlogs, we already gave you a sneak peek of the two huge maps which will be the setting for our various scenarios: one centered on the Fulda-Frankfurt axis, the other on the Kassel-Paderborn axis. What have we been up to since then? Why the delay? Don’t worry, we haven’t been idle, far from it.

[h2]What is Army General?[/h2]
Let’s get back to basics for those among you who might have joined our community recently.
Army General mode will feature turn-based wargame campaigns, playable in single-player, versus, or cooperatively. You’ll play on massive maps with a host of different formations and units, simulating a particular offensive or large-scale operation. We used the historical order of battles, with each division portrayed as they were in 1989, including corps or army assets. These orders of battle (formational structures) will be realistic and accurate down to the platoon level. In comparison, Steel Division 2 only went down to the company level.



How many campaigns? We’ve planned four, but are considering more by creating smaller additional scenarios focusing on a specific theater, timeframe or units of the battlefield. See those as “Army General snapshots” with more specific, intermediary objectives.



[h2]But where is it?[/h2]
As of now, we’ve got a functioning campaign featuring the early stage of the Soviet assault on Fulda and through the Kinzig valley, based on Steel Division 2‘s Army General mode. Although it works well as it is, we do not consider it satisfactory enough to be released, because we want more than just porting SD2’s AG mode to WARNO. We want to improve it. We want to offer a new experience, as well as explore new movement and combat mechanics. Right now, starting over again, is when we can try new stuff.



[h2]Battle Plan[/h2]
One of the main improvement from SD2 lies with the Battle Plan phase, that is once a combat is engaged when each player selects which of his battalions will take part in it.
In SD2, we initially allowed only three battalions to take part in a combat, which we felt were too few, then increased it to five … which some considered too much. In WARNO, the Battle Plan will be split between several roles, meaning all battalions won’t be competing for the same slots as in SD2.

Battle slots will be divided 4 categories:

• COMBAT BATTALIONS will be given two slots for either/both armor and infantry
  
• ARTILLERY SUPPORT can only be filled with one artillery battalion
  
• AIR SUPPORT can only be filled with one close air support squadron
  
• AUXILIARY SUPPORT will get one slot to be filled with either recon, engineer, HQ, … or any battalion not included in the previous one

Therefore, most battle should be fought with 3-4 battalions, while only the biggest one will field 5 when all types of units are represented. And that way, the often shunned “auxiliary” battalions from SD2 will get a bigger role since they won’t be competing for the same slots with more powerful “combat” battalions.

[h2]Air Support[/h2]
Another improvement we’re bringing concerns the management of air assets.



Unlike ground (or hovering) units, air squadron will only be featuring a fragment of their real strength … but they will retain it throughout the campaign, the balance of force representing planes in reserve or in short repair to replenish it. Squadrons won’t be assigned permanently either: at the start of every turn, each side will be assigned a number of available air missions depending of their level of air superiority. You can use them in your phase or keep them for the enemy one, but they’ll be removed anyway at the end of the turn, giving way to others the next turn.



[h2]Strategical choices[/h2]
We also want the player to be more involved in devising the campaign’s strategy.
While in SD2, players would acquire reinforcements with Action Points; in WARNO reinforcements will be fixed, arriving according to schedule.
Some reinforcements though, can only be accessed through strategical decisions, and thus not all at once. For example, as a NATO commander planning a counter-attack against the tip of the Soviet offensive, will you rather be granted the entire 82nd Airborne Division to be dropped behind enemy lines, or the powerful 12. Panzerdivision to strike its Southern flank?
Other such choices will be given, some involving the use of technological (satellite, spy plane, SINGIT, …) or human (sabotage, special forces, …) assets, all with immediate effect on the strategic level.



[h2]See you on the battlefield[/h2]
All right! That’s the first batch of Operations done. We are still working on the next series; it might take some time before we can shine a light on these. Regardless, we are looking forward to hearing what you think!

Don’t forget to join the passionate 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 commander!

We hope you are well. In today’s DevBlog, we’ll look at an exciting new mode for WARNO: single-player, narrative-driven Operations.

Operations are playable as one-off missions and can be imagined as sitting in-between Tutorials and the strategic Army General campaigns, in terms of length, depth, and their place in our fictional World War III.

Each Operation focuses on a specific battle or combat event set in West Germany during our conflict, highlighting actions from both sides. Today, we can detail the first five (not necessarily in chronological order).

[h2]What are Operations?[/h2]
As you know, the base game of WARNO is focused on CENTAG’s area of operations, including the Fulda Gap. While our Army General campaign will give you the ability to experience a n operational level of the conflict, the Operations zoom in on specific battles which occur across a two-week period in the latter part of June 1989.



Whereas the Tutorials can be little vignettes of the very beginning of the war, with different (but at times recurring) call signs, locations, units, and characters, Operations take a wider (but still detailed) perspective. Army General, on the other hand, will give a bird’s-eye view of various large-scale attacks and counter-offensives which occur in our fictional timeline.

[h2]Some considerations[/h2]
A major difference with predecessor’s Steel Division 2 Historical Battles is that WARNO’s Operations will only be playable by one or the other side, not both. Why?

In Steel Division 2, we ran into developmental roadblocks when balancing Historical Battles to be playable for both sides, made worse if we increased the number of players, be it AI or humans, single-player or online. Instead, we wanted to focus on creating the best experience as much as possible, really polishing and making each Operation shine.

That’s why each of the missions only focuses on one side of a battle. On the other hand, it means most Operations have unique mechanics, battlegroup compositions, and other special features.



[h2]What can you expect?[/h2]
We currently aim to have X Operations in WARNO at its official launch out of Early Access. We can reveal details of the first five of them. Note that the Operations are still work-in-progress! The list is roughly in chronological order:

The Kitzingen Ruse
In this exciting operation, you take command of the VDV’s 900th Air Assault Battalion, part of the Soviet 8th Guards Army, in a surprise strike against the city of Würzburg in one of the very first actions of the war. Your mission will be to establish a bridgehead on the river Main and hold it against a mass of counter-attacking NATO forces, chiefly West German but also American, as you wait for reinforcements.



Will it be a “bridge too far,” or are you going to “bring everlasting glory to VDV and USSR”? It all depends on how you execute a hard-to-realize defense in depth, prioritizing which command zones to hold, which reinforcements to drop, and more.

Black Horse’s Last Stand
So, we all know that the American 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, with the 1st Squadron being based in Fulda, was predicted to receive the brunt of any Warsaw Pact offensive into CENTAG. Well, we made that happen… and then some. Fulda was pretty much lost after a day, but the 11th ACR was not completely annihilated. As a matter of fact, some, including the 1-11th, performed heroic defensive actions, stemming the enemy invasion for as long as possible.



One of these, the so-called Black Horse’s Last Stand, occurred in the Kinzing Valley, near Bad Orb. You won’t have much time as you have to defend against the overwhelming Soviet steamroller pushing through the valley. Still, with some German territorial reinforcements and helpful A-10 air support, you might have a chance to hold back the enemy long enough.

Red Juggernaut
Comrade commander, you’ll lead your heroic tankmen in the Red Juggernaut operation all the way to the gates of Frankfurt. Foolish NATO thinks they can make a new defensive line near Hanau, but the might of the Soviet 79th Guards Tank Division will surely prove to be too much.



Red Juggernaut is one of maneuver and attack, and to keep going, even against stiffening resistance. You’ll have a sizable force at your disposal, but the command zones to be captured increase with distance, meaning the toughest battles will be at the end of the operation.

Götterdammerung
We focus on the Nationale Volksarmee, specifically the East German 11. Mot.-Schützendivision as it is defending the southern flank of the offensive into West Germany. Blocking NATO counter-attacks, the East Germans must perform a successful rearguard action to preserve their forces on the outskirts of Bamberg.



Like Black Horse’s Last Stand, this is a defense-in-depth operation but with some special mechanics. You can deploy in Defense Zones across a large valley floor, but they cannot be recaptured once lost. And trust us, with all the fighting that’s going to happen, you will be pushed back to the crucial hill pass you and your Genossen need to defend.

Backhand Blow
An operation that focuses on a NATO counter-offensive north of Hanau aimed at breaking the mass of Soviet armor threatening Frankfurt. This mission will see the 3rd Armored Division perform a lightning strike, with lots of tanks, against the Soviets.



Once again, the map is big, and the command zones need to be taken very quickly if you want a chance of success. Furthermore, the Soviets’ deployment zones are closer than yours, meaning they have the advantage of positioning. Let’s see if NATO’s superior firepower and mobility can inflict a devastating defeat on Ivan.

[h2]See you on the battlefield[/h2]
All right! That’s the first batch of Operations done. We are still working on the next series; it might take some time before we can shine a light on these. Regardless, we are looking forward to hearing what you think!

Don’t forget to join the passionate 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!