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Introducing MARMONT

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!

v.92232: MARMONT Patch notes

[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

Army General Update

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!

Operations First Look

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!

v.90879: Hotfix

PATCHLOG:


MAPS
  • Improvements in urban rendering, vision on plains, water borders, colorimetry and light processing, for maps Rift and Geisa


CODE FIXES:
  • Fixed division icon now visible on unit info panel in deck creation
  • Fixed vision issues and missile range


GENERIC:
  • HE and splah for howitzers and bombs raised by around 15%
  • Artillery rockets hit the target area at random
  • Cover in buildings and in forests reduced by around 15% each
  • HEAT splash damages' reduced