Company of Heroes: Europe in Ruins News

We've just deployed a new patch which introduces a whole lot of bugfixes. You can find the full change log below. As always, please continue to report bugs whenever you come across them as bugs will continue to be our focus for the next couple of weeks. Do also have a look at our earlier roadmap dev blog if you want to know what else is in store!

General
1 - Firstly, An apology
Due to a mix up in unit nomenclature, the development team had previously released a unit upgrade which did not at all do what was intended. The Panzer IV IST upgun upgrade was introduced in a previous patch. The intention was for the upgun to be a copy of the Stug main gun, but with a 360* rotation. However, the Stug gun that was copied to create the upgrade was instead taken from a reward unit Stug(EIRSBP.WM.STUG) rather than the basic Stug (EIRSBP.PE.STUG_III). This issue has been resolved this patch, but we still apologize for this mistake. Details on what this means for the Upgun IST will be detailed below in the Panzer Elite section.

2 - Some projectiles have been altered to clarify UI feedback
M1 Bazooka
Mosquito Teste 6lb

Americans
1 - AnP Support Riflemen
AP munitions recharge increased from 60s -> 240s

Commonwealth
1 - Comet
Slot item inventory set to 99
Should resolve issues of certain upgrades occasionally not showing up despite purchase

2 - Churchill Ablative Armor
UI Map position set to ‘9’
Should resolve overlap issue with tankshock

3 - Cromwell Command Tank/Sherman III
New ablative ability attached (was previously applying a flat 125hp bonus)

4 - Captain FOO/Decoy smoke
No longer share a cooldown

5 - RSE Sapper Stens
Now animate correctly

6 - Bren MMG
AP rounds UI map positions set to ‘9’ (this should resolve AP rounds overlapping with bren overdrive)

7 - Daimler AC (Little John Tetrarch)
HP reduced to 350 from 400

8 - Cromwell
Can now purchase rifled guns
Can now purchase ablative armou

9 - Achilles
Price increased to 400 MP, 350 F (from 350 MP, 300 F)

Wehrmacht
1 - Blitzkrieg Ghost Division
Now Functions correctly

2 - Panzer IV Command Tank
Population cost reduced to 13 (from 14)

3 - Stug
1.5 dmg bonus vs Shermans extended to Churchill and Cromwell armor.

Panzer Elite
1 - Geschutzwagon (Tankhunters, both variants)
Plating now linked as a doctrine selection via upgrade
Infrarot 10% accuracy bonus linked (free upgrade)

2 - Luftwaffe Vampire HT spotting flares
Spotting flares now correctly linked to scout training

3 - Storm Tactics
Now available for unlock in Tankhunters:
G.43s: -0.25 s base cooldown (free).
G.43 Supp. Fire: Acc. penalty reduced by 0.2 (free).
PE Sprint ability -60s cooldown (free)

4 - SE Hauptmann
Incendiary grenades now linked to all squad members
Duplicate free medikit removed

5 - PIV IST 75mm Upgun
Target tables modified as follows:
Dmg mod increased to 1.5 from 1 vs Churchills
Dmg mod increased to 1.5 from 1 vs Cromwells
Accuracy vs Infantry armor reduced to 0.4 from 0.75
Accuracy vs Airborne armor reduced to 0.4 from 0.75
Accuracy vs Heroic armor reduced to 0.4 from 0.75
Accuracy vs Elite armor reduced to 0.4 from 0.75
Accuracy vs Sniper armor reduced to 0.4 from 0.75
Accuracy vs Soldier armor reduced to 0.55 from 0.75
Is now effected by the APCR upgrade

6 - Hotchkiss 37mm/50mm
Repairs improved from ‘Light’ Classification to ‘Medium’
Speed increased to 6.5 from 6, matching stuart

7 - Elephant Tank Destroyer
Hull rotation rate reduced to 24 from 32

8 - Panzer III
Speed increased to 5.2 from 4.5

9 - Artywagen
Now has light repair kit linked. Non-functioning medium repair kit priced out.

Maps
1 - Fixed bug with vCOH maps showing up in EIR map list
2 - Added Beachhead (6p)
3 - Updated D-Day: now 6/8 player, changed sectors, fixed some pathing issues and made some minor changes to open up space in center and around the spawns
4 - Updated Somewhere in Normandy (6p, courtesy of Gorkhali)

Good Morning! Welcome to another Europe In Ruins Dev Blog. This week we are taking a look at the road map for the mod going forward now that we are on Steam.

It has taken a phenomenal effort from everyone involved in the EIR dev team, past and present, to get us this far. But that does not mean we can rest on our laurels, far from it! There is still plenty of ambition within the dev team to continue improving the mod on every front, so where too next?



[h2]Tidying Up[/h2]

Going forward the first priority we have is cleaning up the mod. That is weeding out as many bugs as we can, solving discrepancies between the launcher and in-game. This will help provide a more crisp experience to those playing the mod, as well as make it easier to make design/ balance decisions, as everything is acting as it should. So if you encounter any bugs, please please let us know on discord. https://discord.gg/drVTJZ2

[h2]Reducing the Learning Curve[/h2]

There are no two ways about it, starting to play Europe In Ruins requires tacking the huge obstacle which is the current learning curve that exists. Now it is important to say that in reducing the learning curve, that does not mean the mod needs dumbing down, nor does it mean we need to cut depth of compromise on interesting design ideas. But it does mean that it is something that needs keeping in mind when it comes to developing every aspect of EIR.

To that end, we want your feedback, especially if you are new to the mod. What did you find the biggest obstacles to getting started in EIR? Have you got any ideas for ways we could reduce the size of these obstacles, or even remove them altogether? Let us know!

[h2]Revitalized Doctrines [/h2]

The Fearsome Churchill AVRE in action - A speciality of the Royal Scots

Doctrines are a huge part of building your own company in Europe In Ruins and while many provide a diverse range of options for the direction of your company, where every selection is a tough decision. There are a few which need some love. To that end, going forward we want to go through the doctrines and give them the love they deserve. In particular, we want to include more selections which are not just stat buffs, but instead, provide more interesting and unique bonuses.

Why include this here? Well we want your suggestions for these unlocks, so let us know your idea on discord! https://discord.gg/drVTJZ2

[h2]Even More Persistency[/h2]

I swear I don't always play Brits

Persistency is the cornerstone of EIR, fighting battle after battle to build your own Company Of Heroes! As cheesy as that line is, it is true, playing your company battle after battle, seeing it progress and reach the hallowed vet 5, and then the pain when your vet 5 Tiger is destroyed is a huge part of what makes EIR so much fun, and why so many players just can't stay away! While persistency implies the 'strength' of companies scaling, else it wouldn't be meaningful, this does mean we need to find ways to allow newer players to 'catch-up' with older players.

Although I will avoid too much detail (It wouldn't be fun for anyone if I spoiled everything right now would it) it is safe to say that going forward the persistency will be greatly expanded on, and while unit veterency is and still will be a core part to this, there will be a lot more persistency coming to the mod, especially in the warmap, speaking of which.

[h2]An Expanded Warmap[/h2]

Eagle-eyed readers may spot a couple of new additions to the warmap already!

Throughout the history of EIR, the Warmap has long been perceived as the to-be cornerstone of the EIR experience. Not only does it add meaning and immersion to the persistent environment of EIR, but it also provides the game much-needed finality. Players will often ask what is the point of persistency when they eventually end up losing everything they have worked for, and a good response to such a question could be: "What is the point of life if you end up dying anyway"? Such finality, or 'endgame' is a necessity to EIR the same way some consider death to life.

EIR's long history means we can see plenty of times when the game has been left in the 'lategame' stage too long, and people lose interest. The prospect of a fresh start entices everyone from the most experienced to the newest players to get stuck in building their own 'Company of Heroes' to use that cheesy phrase again.

Going forward I aim to have the warmap functioning as an entity in itself, that is to say, a game 'above' the game (CoH) so that it is a meaningful entity that rewards players for engaging with it while providing the finality discussed above. The challenge then is providing a fun and meaningful experience without alienating those who take no interest in the warmap, which will, of course, take some work.

[h2]A call to arms![/h2]

In order to accomplish these goals, we will need additional help in going forward. The key areas we could use peoples help in are:

• Server Stuff - We are looking to migrate servers soon and I could use assistance from someone who actually knows their way around servers
  
• SCAR Coding - There are a few minor longstanding SCAR bugs that would be nice to fix, in addition having a SCAR coder would open up a lot of design space.
  
• SQL - The launcher and in-game are linked heavily through SQL, as such 1-2 more folks capable of making changes to the SQL for patches would free up a lot of dev time.
  
• Artwork - Someone able to make artwork for the launcher (icons etc.) as well as in-game models
  
• Community Moderators/ Shoutcasters etc. - Contribute to leading the EIR community!
  

If you want to contribute to building and maintaining the mod, don't worry if you don't think you fit any of the above, just get in touch, I'm sure there will be somewhere you can help!

That's all for today! Next week we will look at the latest launcher patch (which I plan to release next Friday), which will be bringing a load of bug fixes, additions to the warmap, and a whole new type of warmap card. Exciting stuff, but for now I'll just leave you with a small teaser!

- PrinceOfScotland

General
N/A


American
Non-doctrinal:
1 - M16 Quad
Pop cost increased from 6 to 7.

Doctrinal:
Infantry
N/A

Airborne
1 - AB HMG
Actual crew weapon swapped from the M1919A4 to the base .30 cal model and weapon.

2 - T17
Dmg. mod. vs. infantry decreased from 1.25 to 1.
Moving cooldown mod. increased from 1.25 to 1.5625.

Armor
1 - Allied War Machine
No longer affects the M8 Scott.
Now affects the M4A1 Sherman.

2 - Calliope
Rocket animator has been reverted to the vCoH standard one.

Bugfix:
1 - Canister Shot (Sherman)
Fixed an animation error caused by the toggle.

2 - M5 3-inch ATG
Weapon stats corrected; were reverted by a previous patch.

Commonwealth
Non-doctrinal:
1 - MMG and T16 MMG (RCA)
Pop increased from 4 to 5.

Doctrinal:
RCA
1 - Forward HQ
Now available on the CCT.

2 - Right in the Eye (Priest)
Barrage moved from UI 11 to UI 7.

Commandos
N/A

RSE
1 - 25-pounder
Smoke barrage (Misfiring Artillery) no longer shares recharge timer w. regular barrage.
Smoke barrage (Misfiring Artillery) recharge reduced from 240 s to 120 s.

2 - AEC
Phase armor removed.
Health increased from 350 to 400.
Pop cost increased from 8 to 10.

3 - AVRE
Petard recharge increased from 45 s to 60 s.

4 - Desert Rats
Rifle Grenade: +5 m range and +0.2 acc. bonuses removed.

5 - Frag Grenades
Now available on Tommies.

Bugfix:
1 - 25-pounder
Smoke and Creeping barrages now function.

2 - Canadian Trenchbusters/Sapper SMGs
Missing weapon fixed.

3 - Churchill Croc
Non-functional main gun has been fixed.

4 - Churchill IV
Hetzer camo icon removed.

5 - Crusader AA
Blue Box error fixed (corrected filepath of the Hull Down sandbag model).

6 - Sabot Shot (RSE)
UI moved from UI 6 to UI 7; should no longer overlap with Hull Down.

Wehrmacht
Non-doctrinal
1 - 2 cm Puma
Vet altered; +10 m range at Vet3 replaced by 1.2 pen.

Doctrinal:
Defensive
N/A

Blitz
1 - Mark and Fire
Now targets an area instead of a specific unit, similar to other targeted offmaps.
Now drops red artillery warning flares.

2 - Mobile Tactics
Sprint duration reduced from 60 s to 30 s.

Terror
1 - Reloading Techniques
Removed from KT.
Is now available on the P4 and P4 CT.

Bugfix:
N/A

Panzer Elite
Non-doctrinal:
N/A

Doctrinal:
SE
1 - Flammgrens
Target type changed from Airborne armor to Infantry armor.
StG 44s removed; replaced w. PGren K98ks.

Luft
1 - FSJ
Ability UI overhauled; should resolve all previous overlap issues.

2 - Gren K98ks (lower unlock)
Now actually grant Gren K98ks instead of Volk rifles.

3 - Highway 69 sprint
Is now a free player upgrade (no longer requires a purchase).

4 - Scout Training
Is now a free player upgrade (no longer requires a purchase).
Has been removed from the PE AC, Hotch, Hotch Stuka, and IHT.

Tank Hunters
1 - Artywagen
Pop cost increased from 6 to 7.

2 - Kettenkrad repairs
Have been removed.

Bugfix:
1 - Artywagen and Gwagen
Missing repair kit ability added.

2 - Hotchkiss Direct Fire (SE)
Now functions.

3 - Luftwaffe Recon Run
Should now appear and function when purchased; was previously hidden under the "Halt!" unit command.

Map Changes
The following maps have been removed:

airfield
arnhem
arras
deutsche reichsbahn
doghouse
frozen
hinderdam
provence
paradis
marshland
varaville
vengeance
vierville
adolfs countryside
alencon
amfreville
ardenne valley
ardenne village
berlin
bocage
chateau
dawn
deserted city
eindhoven
denvarden
falaise
france1944
frozen river
goetterdaemmerung
graveyard
hill 60
industrial heartland
juno beach
la fiere
linden
linden pony
mcgechaens
metz
montherme forest
op dragoon
radar station
rails and metal
road to paris
ruins
wolfheze
westfalen
vire valley
vieux port
the scheldt
st come du mont
bordeux
fuhrerstadt
metz
roads to and from carentan
salentein
st mere eglise

Welcome to the first in what will hopefully be a weekly series of EIR Dev Blogs!

Today I, PrinceOfScotland, will be taking you through the newly implemented Warmap cards, including all of the 20 newly added reward units!

A British Black Prince and Panzer Elite Elefant duke it out, a clash of two titans of tank destroyers

[h2]So what are Warmap cards? [/h2]
After every battle you fight, you will drop one card for each of the following conditions met.

• Winning the battle
  
• Overwhelming Victory
  
• Fighting vs a higher rated team
  
• Taking a sector on the Warmap
  

You can also get cards through booster packs, but more on them later!

Warmap cards fall into three categories:

1. Reward Units
   
2. Warmap Action Cards
   
3. War Bonds
   

Here we see a war bond, 'Dig In!', which is a Warmap Action Card, and 'Land Mattress' a CW reward unit

[h2]War Bonds[/h2]
These are the simplest cards, you can sell these for gold in order to buy packs, the amount of gold gained is based on the rarity of the war bond!

[h2]Warmap Action Cards[/h2]
There are 4 types of Warmap Action Cards currently available (more will be on the way!)

• Dig In! - Adds defence to a friendly sector, the amount depends on the rarity of the card.
  
• Bombing! - Reduces defence of an enemy sector, the amount depends on the rarity of the card.
  
• Rebase Company - Move your company to any friendly sector.
  
• Forward HQ - Add an additional temporary spawn location for your side!
  

These cards are used on the Warmap tab of the launcher by pressing the "Use Warmap Action Card" Button, as seen below:


[h2]Reward Units[/h2]
I won't keep you waiting any longer, as I'm sure this is what you're here to see!
A Panzerwerfer annihilates allied infantry!

There are currently 5 reward units for every faction:

• CW
  
  • Dragoni - Infantry squad which can call on its own transport
    
  • Matilda Scorpion II - Medium Tank which can use a smoke gun
    
  • Airlanding Infantry - 4 Man Mando squad
    
  • Land Mattress - CW Nebel which fires Callie Rockets
    
  • Black Prince - Churchill with FF 17pdr
    
• US
  
  • U.S. Marines - Heavy inf with a variety of weapons
    
  • Beachmasters - Engineers with either satchels or Demo's on recharge
    
  • Volontaires - Large cheap squad with a range of weapons
    
  • A & P Platoon - Engineers with AT upgrades and inc. grenades.
    
  • Whizbang - Callie with main gun
    
• WM
  
  • Volks 1945 - Volks with panzerfaust volley
    
  • KM Infanterie - Large cheap squad with a range of weapons
    
  • Kugelblitz - Mobile AI platform
    
  • Feldgendarmerie - Officer which can halt retreating units
    
  • KCH w/ Oak Leaves - 4 Man KCH
    
• PE
  
  • Flakvierling - Emplaced 20mm AA autocannon
    
  • Elite Grenadiers - Grenadiers with Elite Armor and a range of upgrades
    
  • Nashorn - Long Range (100m) Marder
    
  • Panzerwerfer - HT with mg42. and Nebel
    
  • Elefant - Heavy Tank Destroyer
    

So many Reward Units!

A reward unit card can be activated on the profile tab to give you one use of the said unit in that company. Once it's dead, it's dead!


So that's it for the new warmap card update, hopefully we will have R049 released in the next couple of days, but enjoy the new units!

As ever, any feedback stick it on discord!
- Scot

Hi All,

We just deployed a patch for the mod which contains some fixes for crucial launcher issues that emerged following our steam launch last week and also brings a slew of balance and gameplay changes.

The changelog is included below, and can also be viewed on our forum here: http://forums.europeinruins.com/index.php?topic=29555.0

Launcher

1. Fixed some character mismatches between passwords on registration and login screen. This was resulting in some players using special character passwords unable to login. Most special characters on standard keyboards can now be used but note that owing to some launcher restrictions the following characters wont be able to be used: = [ ] ; ' # / ` \

2. Added a show password toggle on both registration form and login screen so users can see the password they're entering in case they have any issues

3. Company names now support special characters like spaces, underscores, etc used in steam names. Do note that they are still limited to 20 characters max so in some cases users may still have to shorten their steam name

4. Fixed the bar showing team balance before start of the game

5. Fixed an issue with upgrade scroller circumventing upgrade exclusions


Balance

American
Non-doctrinal:
1 - M4A1 Sherman
Bulldozer added to .abp file (now appears on the model when purchased).

2 - M8
Pop cost increased from 8 to 9.

3 - Up-gun Sherman
Acc. vs. inf. increased from 0.4 to 0.5.

Doctrinal:
Infantry
1 - Divisional Assets
Crocodile bonuses removed.

2 - Field Dressings
Cost increased from 15 MP to 20 MP on Riflemen.
Cost on Rangers increased from 20 MP to 25 MP.

3 - Goon Gun
Barrage (incl. smoke) range decreased from 105 m to 85 m.
Barrage recharge increased from 30 s to 60 s.
Smoke barrage recharge increased from 120 s to 240 s.
Range decreased from 100 m to 80 m.

4 - Riflemen
In-game reinforce cost increased from 20 MP to 30 MP.

Airborne
1 - Disruption
Airborne AI/AT mines replaced by Hawkins mines.

2 - Fight Another Day
Now affects the M4A1 Sherman.

Armor
1 - Calling it in
Has been reworked; now confers a 1.33 acc., 0.9 cooldown/reload bonus to all hardpoints on all owned vehicles.

2 - Pour it on 'Em!
Croc range bonus removed.

3 - Staccato Roar
No longer available on the Croc.

Bugfix:
1 - Grenades
Now function properly (previously removed two uses every time one was thrown).

2 - M4A1 Sherman
Removed in-game .50 cal upgrade.

3 - Spare Magazines
Now function.

Commonwealth
Doctrinal:
RCA
1 - Calling it in
Has been reworked; now confers a 1.33 acc., 0.9 cooldown/reload bonus to all hardpoints on all owned vehicles.
Is now also available in US Armor Company.

2 - Strangers in Arms
Vet1 Elite armor removed.
Zeal bonus (cooldown per man lost) removed.

Commandos
1 - 2x BREN
Removed.

2 - Tetrarch
Pop increased from 8 to 9.

RSE
1 - Ablative Armor
Now functions as an ability in-game: Applies the indicated (in the launcher) amount of additional HP to the vehicle over the course of 10 s. Extra HP cannot be repaired; vehicle can only be repaired to its maximum original health value. Vehicle must not be damaged in order to apply. 20 minute recharge.

2 - Comet
Vet requirements matched to the Panther's.
Hull Down sandbags visual model added to .abp file.

3 - Crusader AA
Hull Down sandbags visual model added to .abp file.

Wehrmacht
Non-doctrinal
1 - 2 cm Puma
Acc. at L range decreased from 0.5 to 0.4.
Chance to roll a kill crit at Green HP reduced from 5% to 0%.
Damage reduced from [by 5]

2 - up-gun Puma
Pop cost increased from 8 to 9.

Doctrinal:
Defensive
1 - Butterfly Mines
Detonation radius reduced from 0.5 m to 0.125 m; should no longer explode before an enemy unit is within the actual damage radius.

2 - Pio K98ks
Have been removed as an upgrade, and moved to TH.

Blitz
1 - Stormtroopers
Camouflage requirements (to have the StG 44 purchased) removed.
Panzerschreck upgrades removed.
Pz.B. 39 upgrade added (has been improved vs. armored targets at S/M ranges).

Terror
1 - JP4
Reload on base gun increased from 3.5 s-4.5 s (min-max) to 4.5 s-5.5 s.
Reload on Panther gun increased from 6 s to 7 s.

Bugfix:
1 - P4
Texture not swapping with in-game reward menu toggle has been fixed.

Panzer Elite
Non-doctrinal:
1 - Grenade package
Uses decreased from 4 to 3.

1 - Hotchkiss
Technical function of the reload has been altered (irrelavent to player perception).
Reload decreased from 6.5 s-4.5 s (max-min) to 6 s-4 s.

2 - PE AC
Acc. at L range decreased from 0.5 to 0.4.

3 - Vampire HT
Now camos while toggle is active.

Doctrinal:
SE
1 - Faustpatronen
When purchased, Faustpatronen will now replace AT grenades as part of the grenade package. They still come with unlimited uses (Incendiary Grenades don't, however). Even if you deplete all Incendiary Grenades, you'll still be able to use the Faustpatrone.

2 - Panzer III
Pop increased from 9 to 10.
Non-upgun gun is now a Hotchkiss gun w. 2x pen., -1 s reload, and 50% larger AoE.

3 - Flammengrenadiers
Unit has been replaced by a flamethrower upgrade on standard panzergrenadiers

Luft
1 - Ketten Camo
Now has a 2.5 s delay before the unit camos.
Ketten may only rotate while camoed (movement disabled).

Tank Hunters
1 - Improved Barrels
Now unlocks a 4x Gren K98k upgrade on PGrens.

2 - Panzer I
Now has Scout Car vet tables.

Bugfix:
1 - Improved Barrels (TH P4s)
Now functions; missing weapon added.

2 - Incendiary Grenades (Chemical Fire)
Impact dmg. reduced from 30-24 (max-min) to 15-10 (max-min).

3 - Survivalists
Commando Smoke has been removed from PGrens.