Unity of Command II News

We are back! Unity of Command II got released in November, to a good amount of press coverage, glowing reviews, and (predominantly) satisfied players clocking up good hours with the game. We, on the other hand, ended up totally busted from the pre-release crunch.

We are now well rested and all that, but the whole thing made me appreciate my friend Fernando’s militant views on crunch that much more. I’m not sure if another Christmas without a released game would be great either, but the crunch definitely had us bruised.

[h2]Release Recap[/h2]
The release day itself was exciting: it’s been 8 years since the original Unity of Command, and more than 4 since Dev Diary 1. We all got together to push the “release game” button at 7pm local time that evening. This button is a new thing on Steam, as previously you’d just schedule a time and the game would be released automatically. Not sure why they changed to this new system, probably not “because it’s more fun”, but then you never know 😀

You’d expect some bugs and crashes on release, and sure enough we had them, but there were no real disasters so that’s good. We made quick work of the crashes even before the holidays (updates 1-9), and have since moved on to balancing and quality of life improvements. As of this writing, the game seems to be in good shape overall.

One persistent complaint that we’ve been getting is that the game needs more tooltips, tutorials etc. This is… true, and is something we are looking to address in future updates. Thankfully, the community has stepped in: check out Unity of Command II – Short Guides by Sampstra Games for example, or this Japanese language guide by Poge. Many thanks!

[h2]Updates and Testing Branch[/h2]
Starting with Update 10 earlier this month, we have created a Testing Branch on Steam. The updates are now bigger and require some testing before being released. If you want to help us test, or just check out some of the new features and fixes, you can join the Testing Branch.

Update 10 has gone live for all users earlier today, and we have already started the work on Update 11 in the Testing Branch. Check out the full changelist for Update 10 on Steam discussions. Notably, Update 10 includes Wacht Am Rhein, a standalone scenario for the Battle of the Bulge played as the Axis.

We’re looking to add more standalones like this in the future. Here’s a subtle teaser for the one coming up in Update 11. 🙂



[h2]Roadmap[/h2]
We plan to continue with the updates, adding new features, quality of life improvements, and standalone scenarios. Regarding entirely new campaigns: we are discussing them (for DLC) but we did not finalize any plans yet. After the huge 30-scenario Allied campaign in the base game, we are perhaps looking for something punchier. We’ll see…

This next image is the design for some of the unit sheet details we’re adding in Update 11. Can you notice the changes and/or guess what they’re for?


These changes will come bundled with a new batch of tooltips, and hopefully all of that will communicate the unit state more clearly to the player.

Another thing we’re looking at is letting the players restart the campaign from previous conference, as opposed to last scenario only. This has been requested often enough, but there are technical issues that make it non-trivial so we’re only getting to it now. The planned score penalty is 10%, capped at 250 (too harsh?). There will be no prestige penalty as usual.

Further down the line, after Update 11, we are working on a rather large content drop (free update, not DLC). This will add a number of what-if scenarios to the campaign, including completely new what-if campaign tracks.

Along with the new content, there will be a few rule tweaks, and a good chunk of AI work. All of this will require balancing, which means that the Testing Branch will become exciting later in February. If you understand “exciting” to mean “unbalanced and full of people arguing over unit stats”, then this might be a test you’ll want to join 🙂

As a final note, we have added Steam trading cards for Unity of Command II. Pending approval, they should go live in the coming days. I’m not sure what to think of this feature, as this is the first time we have trading cards, but I guess I’ll find out soon enough.

Cheers,

Tomislav

The first Unity Of Command was designed for the open steppes of the Eastern Front. There, the major battles were about manoeuvre, with tank units chasing and covering miles of ground for their objectives, and lines of infantry moving to counter and support. The steppes were perfect for UoC’s unique focus on maintaining your army’s supply lines.

So, when designer Tomislav Uzelac began thinking about turning to the Western front for its sequel, he knew he had a problem. The big battles of France and Italy were slow and attritional, crossing mountain ranges and facing enemies dug into forests. “The question was, how do you go from Case Blue, where you cover 1,000 kilometres in Russia over a month and half, to Monte Cassino, where you stay pounding on one position for six months?” he tells me.

The answer lay in pushing and pulling at the frontline between military accuracy and game abstraction, and in exploring tiny design details which you’d never think could lead to making a vast theatre of war this fun to play. But as well as dealing with Europe’s topography, the sequel would also have to be a lot more complex than the first.

...

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2020/01/01/how-unity-of-command-2-balances-game-design-with-military-history/

Dear friends,

Unity of Command II is now available!

Join us right now for a launch celebration and watch a very special guest, XTRG (www.twitch.tv/xtrg), play through the opening stages of the war!

There's a 10% launch discount that's active today, as we appreciate the patience, feedback and support you've given us. Thank you!

Finally, there's a surprise from our co-production partners on this project, Croteam, as well as from 2x2 Games: a huge giveaway of 100 games, including Unity of Command Trilogy Bundle, that will fly out in chat during the stream.

Have fun and remember to drop us a line in the discussions section here on Steam, or forums over at unityofcommand.net.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/809230/Unity_of_Command_II/

Unity of Command II releases next Tuesday, November 12th. You heard it here first, PR be damned! 😀 To celebrate the occasion, please have this sequel to The Power of Supply – the most popular post this blog has ever had.

This isn’t just a trip down memory lane, mind you (but hey, 8 years!). Supply is our signature mechanic, and it has been revamped with an eye to all of the theaters of WWII that we plan to visit this time around.

Granted, you won’t be seeing that much of a supply pinch with the Allies in the base campaign. They usually have generous supply, and only really see supply issues immediately following a naval landing. By the time we reach Russia though (in DLC), I suspect the words “supply disruption” will ring with some dread. You are welcome!


So let’s start with what we know. In screen #1, we see three US infantry units and a single US armored unit, during the Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941. The units are trying to reach their objective in Alexandria (lower right), but for the purpose of this explainer, I will make them just stay in place for the next couple of turns.



Units need to be supplied on every turn, otherwise they become weak and ineffective. They receive supply at the start of the turn, but only if they are in a supplied hex (location). In screen #2 (below), I press the Supply View button (hotkey V) to check which hexes are in supply and which aren’t.

Supply originates from a supply source (upper left), and then spreads along rail without restriction. You can see that hexes on the rail line itself are supplied (barrel icons). However, farther afield, only a narrow strip along the rail line is supplied (horizontal bar icons). All other hexes on the map are unsupplied (red dots).



The supply view also tells us that three of our units are out of supply (diamond w/ red dot): the armored unit, and left and central infantry units. Infantry unit to the right is in supply because it sits on a supplied rail hex. After I press End Turn, screen #3 shows you what happens on turn 2: the three units now have a red out-of-supply marker (exclamation icon).




Alright, now I will create a supply hub to push supply outside that narrow strip around the rail line. In screen #4, I press the Create New Hub button (truck w/ arrow) to see where I could place one. You can see that most of the highlighted locations are on the rail line itself (white/blue barrels). Let’s focus on those on-rail locations, and we’ll remember to mention the other ones later.

I decide to place a supply hub close to my objective in Alexandria, so I click where the orange arrow is pointing to.



I have created a new hub, and immediately you can see (in screen #5) the area it supplies. This hub has a supply range of 5 MPs (movement points) or 1 truck. In Unity of Command II, range is usually shown using trucks as shorthand: 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 trucks simply mean 5, 8, 10, 11 or 12 MPs respectively.

The area supplied by this hub is traced out using the hub’s 5 MPs: we start with 5 and count down to 1 using cost values from the supply column of the movement table. You can tell, for example, that it costs 3 MPs to enter a swamp hex, while it’s only 1MP for clear terrain.

Notice how my central infantry unit is not shown in this view anymore: this is because the new hub will be able to supply it! The other two are still out of supply, but we’ll deal with that later. I hit ENTER (important!) to accept hub placement, and then immediately press End Turn to see what happens next.




It’s now turn 3, and my armored, and leftmost infantry unit have been out of supply for 2 turns (screen #6). On the first turn a unit is out of supply, the only effect is that it doesn’t recover from suppression like it normally would. On the second turn, two of its steps become suppressed and the unit loses its AP (action point), meaning it cannot attack.

It gets worse from there: a unit on its third turn out of supply becomes fully suppressed, it doesn’t receive full MPs for the turn (meaning it cannot cross rivers) and it doesn’t even capture territory when it moves. Additionally, on all following turns the unit will lose steps and specialists as stragglers. I would like to avoid this happening to my units, so let’s see what can be done.



To supply my leftmost infantry unit, I will extend the range of the new supply hub by adding two more trucks. I press the Supply Network button (truck and barrels), select the supply hub, and use the mouse wheel to add trucks. I then hit ENTER to accept. You can see the result in screen #7: the leftmost infantry unit is now in-supply. Success!

So far so good, yeah? The snag is, we only have 1 truck left. Trucks are a limited resource, just like everything else in war. The game shows us how many we have available to use right now (1, highlighted) and how many are incoming on the next three turns (0, 0, and 0). I will use my last remaining truck on the next turn, so for now let’s just press End Turn and see what happens.




Unity of Command II treats roads separately from rail. Both roads and rail allow for quick passage through rough terrain: notice how, when using the road, we’re able to trace through forest hexes for just 1 MP in screen #7.

The roads however, don’t allow supply to spread without restriction like rail does. What you get instead is this: you are allowed to place a supply hub on any road hex within 5 MPs from rail (supplied rail).

This is how I’ll supply my armored unit, which is 3 turns out and sorely in need of supplies. I press Create New Hub again to see (screen #8) that I can place a supply hub on a road pretty close to the unit. I place the hub, and confirm with ENTER. There!



I could go on but I think you may be getting the point by now. My final supply situation is shown in screen #9 below. Between the 3-truck hub near Alexandria, and the new 1-truck road hub, my entire area of operations is neatly supplied.


This post has grown long enough, but I hope it was a good read. I will leave you with some teasers:

Supply Disruption: notice how some of the in-supply bars in screen #9 have a little red in them? Placing a supply hub on road (as opposed to rail) introduces some uncertainty as to whether your unit will actually receive supply when the turn starts. Other things introduce disruption too: mud, snow, ruined cities, stragglers, etc.


Emergency Supply: if your units are out of supply, their HQ might be able to re-supply them. HQ supply is usually a bit more robust, so re-supplying units is possible, but it costs the HQ some of its CPs (command points). There are tradeoffs to be had.

Capturing Enemy Supply Hubs: when you capture an enemy supply hub, all friendly units within 1-truck distance become instantly supplied. This can be pretty useful for a supply starved force.

Removing Trucks: not shown in this explainer, but you can remove trucks from supply hubs too. When you do so, they become available on the following turn.

…

We’re real close to release and it’s a little bit crazy right now at 2×2 Games. Encouragement in the comments in encouraged! See you all in a week for the release post.

Cheers! 🙂
Tomislav

https://store.steampowered.com/app/809230/Unity_of_Command_II/

We’re starting the beta test for UoC II in ten days or so. If you don’t mind spoilers and have a high tolerance for bugs, please apply and help us make it an awesome wargame.

The beta application is open to everybody. We will ask a few questions, and invite a select group of testers based on the replies. Don’t be sad if you’re not invited – the application form is there to weed out the obvious trolls, and apart from that we mostly pick people at random.



The test will run from Oct 21. Before applying, please consider whether you have enough free time during the first week of the test. You’ll be needing several hours to familiarize yourself with the game, and then provide feedback and comment. We need all of this (including feedback) to happen during the first week of the test, otherwise it’s of limited usefulness to the project.

Some technical notes about the beta: we will be testing a Steam version of the game, on Windows. Mac and non-Steam versions are planned, but not being tested right now.

If you plan on testing multiplayer, note that only hotseat will work in this version. Again, online multiplayer is planned, but not being tested this time. The scenario editor is included.

If you still think this is something you want to do, please throw your name in the hat by filling in the form. Steam doesn't allow links to Google forms, but you'll be able to find the copy of this Diary and the link here: https://unityofcommand.net/blog/2019/10/10/developer-diary-24/

We look forward to seeing you in the beta forum!





I haven’t posted anything on this blog since July. I guess that’s how you know we’re really working then. 😂

Occasionally we’ve been live-streaming from our Steam page, and if you want to catch yourself up on that, check out this YouTube replay.

Our Steam community posts are worth a read for the little teasers and reveals. Here we show the cards system, with an Opel Blitz pretending to be a GMC. In this other one, we tease out how the in-game upgrades work.



If you’re spoiler averse, or you have a mac, or you just don’t have time to help these people with their game… anyway, you get the point, you don’t have to be in the beta, the game is releasing in November which should be soon enough.

We’re in the home stretch now, thanks for your support and for following these diaries. The next one will have the word release somewhere in the title. Life is good.

Cheers,

Tomislav

https://store.steampowered.com/app/809230/Unity_of_Command_II/