Steel Division 2 News

Hello, hello, hello!

In today’s post, we turn towards our Soviet comrade-in-arms and the Hungarian divisions. We have decided that both nations could use a little bit of love in the balance department. The team is currently buffing both the Soviet and Hungarian battlegroups as a whole in Steel Division 2. This update is in the works as we speak and will likely release before our upcoming expansion, Tribute to the Liberation of Italy.

Let’s see what’s in store.

[h2]The current status quo[/h2]
Right now, Steel Division 2’s game balance is better than it ever was, with less than a 1% difference in win ratio between Axis and Allies in 1v1 and 2v2 games. The gap is a bit larger in 10v10 matches (in favor of the Axis), but we are closing this distance with every patch.

However, even with this roughly equal balance, there is some disparity, namely that among Allied divisions, our Soviet battlegroups are lagging behind the Western Allies’ ones in 1v1 and 2v2 win rates. And for the Hungarians, it has been made known that some reorganization of the divisions’ table of organization and equipment is in order.

[h2]What can the Soviets expect?[/h2]
To boost the Soviets, we are developing or testing the following updates as we speak:

F-22 and ZiS-3 artillery

• Stemming from a community request some time ago, we will duplicate and split off the ZiS-3 into a new artillery variant. We’ll keep the existing AT version unchanged as the “ZiS-3 PT”. The F-22 howitzers will also be retained but reduced to one card in those battlegroups that used to have multiple cards of this unit. These extra cards will be replaced by the new ZiS-3 artillery unit. The trade-off is that the F-22 will now receive the Radio trait.
  
• Historically, Soviet artillery regiments didn’t feature even one radio per two-gun batteries, which is why we didn’t give them this trait in-game. By splitting the Soviet 76,2mm artillery into two distinct units (F-22 and ZiS-3) we can give the less numerous ones the Radio trait. This allows a Soviet player to choose between artillery with radio capability (F-22) and more accuracy; or deploy the new ZiS-3 guns without radio but with better RoF and AT capabilities.
  

The 72-K 25mm AA gun

• It was brought to our attention - through a well-documented report - that while officially not part of the Red Army’s TO&E in 1944, the Soviet Union kept producing and using its 72-K 25mm AA gun late into the war. It was used as a stopgap measure for the 37mm AA guns, which the Soviet industry couldn’t produce in enough numbers.
  
• We will reflect this in-game by replacing some (depending on the division up to one-third) 37mm AA guns with the new 25mm AA units. This will happen as soon as the model is ready - which is done simultaneously as the Tribute to the Liberation of Italy batch of models.
  
• This will give Soviet battlegroups more anti-aircraft options and a unit similar in performance to the Romanian 25mm AA gun. A detail, but this new 72-K 25mm AA gun is a single gun version of the truck-borne twin 25mm AA guns currently featured in-game with the 9th Cavalry Division and the 126th Light Mountain Corps.
  

T-34/85 obr. 1943

• Another detail brought to our attention: the T-34/85 obr. 1943 was only built in relatively low numbers, quickly replaced by the T-34/85 obr. 44 on the frontline. This is not well reflected in our current Soviet armored battlegroups.
  
• We will shuffle the T-34/85’s distribution in our divisions, with the obr. 44 becoming more numerous. The obr. 44 comes equipped with APCR rounds, which are now less impactful with the recent range update. This special ammunition will be passed from obr. 44 to the obr. 43, which will be rarer but hit slightly harder now.
  

Furthermore, we are considering some Action Point slot changes, unit distribution, etc. to make certain Soviet divisions more historical (based on the new research provided to us) and more efficient in-game.

[h2]What can the Hungarians expect?[/h2]
We are rebalancing both 12. Tartalék and 1. Lovas. We understand that the Hungarian’s infantry organization, as depicted in Steel Division 2, follows the pattern as it existed in 1943, with 4-squad platoons where all the platoon’s LMGs are gathered in the fourth squad. Due to manpower shortages, by 1944, this historic layout had changed to 3-squad platoons, each individually equipped with their own LMG.

12. Tartalék

• This battlegroup’s infantry will be reorganized with Golyószórósok squads being removed entirely. Lövész squads will see their size reduced from 13 to 12 soldiers but with two of the rifles replaced by one 31M Solothurn MG and an extra Danuvia SMG.
  
• A new Tártalek Lövész squad will be added. This unit represents reservists not yet fully trained, with 12-man squads featuring a Madsen automatic rifle, useful for close-quarters combat.
  
• The battlegroup will also see a change from one 5/10/15 StuG card into two cards with 5/10/- availability.
  
• There will also be one card added of a German PaK 40 (3/5/8), as well as a German Marder III M (4/8/-).
  

1. Lovas

• We found out that 1. Lovas had replaced almost all its light AT guns with “heavy” ones (meaning 75mm) just before being sent to face the Soviet steamroller. As such, it will receive an additional card of PaK 40 (for a total of 3).
  
• The battlegroup will also get a card of PaK 97/38M 75mm AT guns.
  
• In turn, the 40M 40mm AT gun will be reduced to one single (A/B phases only) card.
  
• Since one cavalry squadron was entirely rearmed by the Germans, a new unit will be added: two cards of new Huszarok (MG-42) with MP-40, G-43 and MG-42, available in phase B/C only.
  

Additional generic changes include:

• Turan II’s HEAT round penetration will be increased from 75 to 90mm. This is the same as the PaK 97/38M.
  
• Turan II’s anti-tank rounds will be distributed evenly between AP and HEAT ammunition.
  
• PaK 97/38M’s anti-tank rounds will likewise also be distributed evenly between AP and HEAT ammunition.
  

[h2]See you around[/h2]
That’s it for this week. We love to hear what you think. Do this through our Steam forums and Eugen forums, or check our (Facebook and Twitter). Looking for an online game? Visit the kick-ass Discord server or Reddit page.

Take care and see you soon!

Well, hello there!

As you might have noticed, we recently released a new expansion for our other strategy game - Wargame: Red Dragon - which in the past few months took some time out of our schedule. Now we are fully back in the Steel Division 2 saddle.

This means a couple of things, one of them being that we are going to return to our original rhythm of one blog post each week - hoorah! It also means that we can finally spend time on that one request that seems to keep cropping up: maps.

Read on!

[h2]A development disclaimer[/h2]
All right - we hear you loud and clear. New maps are wanted by the Steel Division 2 community. We got some interesting news for you. But, before we continue, a little explanation of why we are not churning out new environments every other week.

Simple reason: it’s damn hard, with the amount of time needed to design, create, balance, fine tune, and produce a map being rather considerable. This especially rings true for a small independent team here at Eugen Systems.

And because we need to make sure our maps play well, taking into account a wide variety of factors from the number of players to types of cover, it’s easier said than done to just flip out a map editor or an existing map.

However, this doesn’t mean we don’t want to provide you with more environments and cool locations. Leading us to…

[h2]Incoming new map: Kostritza[/h2]
Rejoice! A new map is in the works: Kostritza. Full disclosure: this map is actually not “new” since it was the very first environment designed for Steel Division 2. It served as a testbed for terrain placement, lightning models, elevation, that sort of thing. It was also used as the scene and setting for our first trailers. However, we never actually featured Kostritza in-game, as the intent of this map was mostly to serve as eye candy, not rigorous online battles.

Kostritza is a large clearing surrounded by woods & marshes, North of the Orsha-Kieve highway. A sector already featured in several existing maps (Bobr, Krupki, ...). You can see also see the village mentionned on the Beresina Army General campaign's map.



We took Kostritza off the shelf, dusted it off, and are now getting it ready for public consumption. Our designers are currently reworking Kostritza to be featured as a small 1v1 public and server-locked “tactical” version map coming soon.



DISCLAIMER: this is the ORIGINAL version, currently being reworked, NOT the final one.

[h2]More maps variants, and one cancellation[/h2]

That’s not all. We are also working on creating new variants of the Tannenberg 10v10 map. By limiting the playable zones on parts of the vast battlefield, we’ll be able to make different, smaller versions. This will introduce some additional variety in the map rotation. More details will come soon!



There is one sad note: after much time spent on our long-awaited urban map - known as Wołomin - we have decided to lay this fickle beast to rest and cancel it. Why? From the many (many) tests that we ran on it, the very early game, the first 10 minutes, were reasonably fun, but afterward… not so much. With the central town destroyed, players would find themselves in a void where once city blocks stood, now an expansive killing field with infantry all but assured to be slaughtered in the open while crossing it. From Phase B onward, this tactical wasteland, plus an increasing influx of troops, made the map lose most of its fun and quickly delve into a boring grind.



A solution we pondered for some time was to replace the “city block” terrain element with a new “ruins” one (with different gameplay values still usable by infantry), but this would have required an extraordinary amount of work, not only on Wołomin but also on all existing Steel Division 2 maps. A resource sink, difficult to justify as our small team.

[h2]See you around[/h2]
At ease, commander. We’ll be back with our regular schedule from this point onwards. See you next week with fresh details on an additional batch of (new) balance changes affecting some of our Allied divisions!

Let us know what you think. Do this through our Steam forums and Eugen forums, or check our (Facebook and Twitter). Looking for an online game? Visit the kick-ass Discord server or Reddit page.

See you on the battlefield!

Hello commander!

We hope you are doing well. Once again, this week’s post will be a bit leaner on the bone. Our time has been taken up as we are very busy rolling out a new expansion for Steel Division 2’s Cold War cousin and that other strategy title in Eugen’s stable: Wargame: Red Dragon. We are putting the finishing touches on Nation Pack - South Africa, coming this September 30th, and as such, we’ll keep today’s post short.

That doesn’t mean we are going to leave you empty-handed!

[h2]Showing off some new models[/h2]

We are making good speed on Tribute to the Liberation of Italy, the next expansion coming to Steel Division 2.



In our previous post, we already shared some images for several new 3D infantry models. Today, take a sneak peek at two new series of models: the Japanese-American Nisei (above) and the Brazillian expeditionary soldiers (below). Note that the Brazilian Expeditionary Corps, unlike the US Army in World War II, was not segregated. This means you’ll find some black Brazilian troopers as part of the new Task Force 45 battlegroup.



[h2]Upcoming tweaks and updates[/h2]
We talked about it before, but we are also preparing a new patch for Steel Division 2, to be released in the near future. Currently, there are a couple of things on our plate.

One: we are looking at lessening the overperformance of fighter-bombers compared to other planes. We are working on a solution, so more details on the actual gameplay changes are still up in the air.

Some other patch elements:

• Molotov Cocktails will be reduced in their performance.
  
• Overall balance pass on unit prices of assault guns and fire support tanks.
  
• Overall balance pass on unit prices of tank destroyers.
  
• Improving the AI on the Tannenberg map.
  
• A new “Mediterranean Front” lobby filter for multiplayer games (much like the existing “Eastern Front” or “Western Front” filters). This will restrict the battlegroup selection to the four divisions from Nemesis: Battle of Rimini and Nemesis: Storming Toulon, as well as the soon-to-be-included battlegroups from Tribute to the Liberation of Italy expansion.
  
• A fix that prevents winning the Army General Orsha campaign as the Germans by moving just one battalion around the AI’s position.
  
• A fix to unlock the Soviet achievement “Fate of a Nation,” featured in the Steel Division: The Fate of Finland expansion.
  

This is not all. More changes, updates, and fixes are being worked on as we speak.

[h2]Feature your name in Steel Division 2[/h2]
At Eugen, we have an old tradition of featuring the surnames of our players and community on a random list of platoon and tank commander names. You know, the guys you love to highlight at the post-match screen when a single Soviet platoon with an anti-tank rifle manages to stop a whole armored Axis column (for instance).



The time has come for us to open the enlistment rolls for our upcoming new Tribute to the Liberation of Italy nations. We are going to be gathering surnames for South Africa, Italy (a common list for both Allied and fascist), Brazil, and India (Pakistani and Indian names, as the battlegroup historically recruited on the border of these two modern states plus Nepalese for Gurkhas).

To make it crystal clear: all names will be picked randomly from a nation’s list. We CANNOT attribute a name to a specific unit. This might mean Sikh soldiers may end up with a Nepalese name and Gurkhas with a Pakistani one.

To submit your surname, please follow the link below:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/919640/discussions/0/2959418287738152582/

[h2]See you around[/h2]

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back in two weeks!

Let us know what you think. Do this through our Steam forums and Eugen forums, or check our (Facebook and Twitter). Looking for an online game? Visit the kick-ass Discord server or Reddit page.

See you on the battlefield, commander.

Hello commander!

It’s been a while, but we are back in action!

Now, this is only going to be a short post about Steel Division 2, but we promise we will return in force (with juicy news) in the near future.

We don’t want to leave you completely empty-handed.

[h2]We have not been sitting still[/h2]
As we mentioned in our previous post, August is traditionally a very quiet month, but that doesn’t mean the Eugen team was idling in the sun. Quite the opposite!

The next upcoming expansion for Steel Division 2 is Tribute to the Liberation of Italy. The battlegroups in this expansion are actively being worked on as we speak. For instance, we are waiting for all the 3D models to be implemented before diving in deep and beginning our testing and balancing phase.



We have completed some of the first model art for the 6th South African Armoured Division - starting with the Infantry. From left to right, in the featured image: a South African artillery crew member (including Wolverine tanks); a Cape Town Highlander (motorized infantry) with their trademark Tam O’Shanter beret; a Natal Mounted Rifle (recon); a Native Military Corps driver (the South African army of that era included black soldiers in non-combat roles); lastly a Tank Crew member.



In the next image, you see some regular Indians and Sikhs soldiers of the 8th (Indian) Infantry Division.



And to top it off, in this image, you can see some trooper variations of the German Gebirgsjäger.

[h2]Some other plans[/h2]

What’s more, in the course of the summer, we’ve been considering making a substantial revision on plane availability and their price in Steel Division 2. In addition, we are looking at increasing the appeal of bombers over fighter-bombers - which we feel are overused right now - while also giving battlegroups more fighters per deck to act as air cover. A collection of these changes is currently being looked at and tested by the Strike Team. This update will soon come as part of a major patch.

[h2]Nemesis: Storming Toulon[/h2]
We have mentioned this before, but our fourth Nemesis DLC is Nemesis: Storming Toulon is now available!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1571590/Steel_Division_2__Nemesis_4__Storming_Toulon/

Check out:

• The first, official reveal of Nemesis: Storming Toulon, highlighting some of the history and divisions’ backgrounds.
  
• A detailed look at all the various new units and elements of both battlegroups. Read about it in this post here.

[h2]See you around[/h2]
We are going to be back to our previous schedule of one week with a post, one week off. We are still hard at work on a new DLC for our other - you might have heard of it here or there - popular strategy game: Wargame Red Dragon: SADF nation pack. Until this DLC launches, we’ll be keeping to the biweekly posts.

Let us know what you think. Do this through our Steam forums and Eugen forums, or check our (Facebook and Twitter). Looking for an online game? Visit the kick-ass Discord server or Reddit page.

See you soon, commander!

Hello commander, we hope you are well!

Summer is upon us. And this means that the Eugen team goes on some much-deserved holidays. Before saying adieu and goodbye, we wanted to give you a post on what to expect in the next couple of weeks and drop the small surprise update.

Read on to find out!

[h2]Summer holiday schedule[/h2]
Aah... August. The month of the scorching sun (or drenching rain, depending on where you are). It is traditionally a quiet month for us, and we try to avoid launching any update or expansion. After the release of Nemesis: Storming Toulon and our new Army General Coop Mode, we need to replenish, regroup, and reorganize for the upcoming autumn.

This means that that we’ll pause our blog posts until the end of August. We’ll be back in September!

[h2]A surprise update[/h2]
Before we leave you be: we have rolled out a new feature today which allows you to run your own dedicated Steel Division 2 server. You will likely see improvements in your connection speed, gain the ability to choose the game’s settings, and the option to kick or ban players.

How to run your dedicated server:
https://hub.docker.com/r/eugensystems/steeldivision2



[h2]What more to expect?[/h2]
We don’t want to leave you hanging, so what can you expect from us when we get back? Of course, we have our new Tribute to the Liberation of Italy DLC, which is currently actively being worked on.



We are also still busy with our upcoming fifth Nemesis: Raid on Drvar. And, a new Army General DLC is cooking in the Eugen kitchen. Exciting times, indeed!



[h2]Nemesis: Storming Toulon[/h2]
In case you missed it: our fourth Nemesis DLC is Nemesis: Storming Toulon is now available!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1571590/Steel_Division_2__Nemesis_4__Storming_Toulon/

If you want to know more, be sure to check out:

• The first, official reveal of Nemesis: Storming Toulon, highlighting some of the history and division backgrounds.
  
• A detailed look at all the various new units and elements of both battlegroups. Read about it in this post here.

[h2]See you soon[/h2]
That’s it for us for the time being. We are going to be back in September. And until then: play it cool!

Share your thoughts, through our Steam forums and Eugen forums, or check our (Facebook and Twitter). Looking for an online game? Visit the kick-ass Discord server or Reddit page.

See you on the other side, commander.