Battle of the Buldge Next Version

Lots of stuff I'd love to see in EIR. I'll highlight them.

Here's the forum post so you can see the screens
http://botb.fiffa.net/index.php?topic=82.0

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Okay, we are not very far from release, but again and again there is some minor detail fixing,
that stalls the process a little... but to give you an impression, here it is...

German 6th Panzerarmy Doctrine, Kampfgruppe Peiper..

Combat Groups have been reduced in Numbers,and heavier restrictions, to lay more emphasize on buildable units.
There are also some tweaks to Doctrine abilities, as well as completely new ones.

The same Combat Group entering the village of Foy.

The new version will contain just a few new maps, but again tweaks to the graphical output.
In Battle, there are no more territory borders, building or unit selection markers visible.

US Airborne attacking, with Calliope Support

Unit sight range in new BotB is now dynamic. As a unit moves, its sight range decreases, as well as the weapons accuracy.
That gives non moving units advantages for defending. On the other hand, moving units are harder to hit.
A sprinting ability has been added for all combat infantry, thus decreasing sight range even more, but very useful for quick
hit engagements.

Urban Combat in La Roche

Urban combat in BotB has been reworked for the new version.
Abilities like Grenades, Stickies or Fausts are now usable within a building, too.
Units in buildings become invisible and can only be detected within 20 meters,
giving them good ambush opportunity, as they now all can hold fire when inside a building.

The Focke Wulf FW190, one of the new models...

alongside with a US M21 Mortar Carrier Halftrack, a Panther converted to M10
and of course the good old Sturmtiger,
Jagdpanzer IV and Maultier, BotB continues to add new models to the Force Pool.
Lets see what the OE can deliver later on.

Oouch!!!

The US AT team got an Axis Counterpart, the Panzerschreck team. As in reality,
Schrecks now are operated by specialized crews and cant be upgraded anymore.
The Loader provides support for the gunner, shortening reload times and therefore
the Gunner can concentrate on aiming and has better accuracy. ( US Bazooka team as well )
Both, Schreck and Bazooka teams can ambush when in cover.

Volksgrenadiers hiding from the enemy

No need to.. Volksgrenadiers now can make use of Grenades, too.
Why shouldn't they ? At least they are not very good at it, but they
can learn how to do it better. So do all others....

Veterancy has been overworked for the new Version.
Squads now "learn". With each veternacy level, they can spot a little more far, their accuracy grows,
their reload time decreases,they become less easy to suppress, they can shoot a bit more far.... and so on.

You have many "green" troops and just some experienced squads ?
Well, get them near to each other. Experienced Infantry Squad leaders
now provide bonuses not only for their own squad, but for others near them as well.
A bit similar to Company HQ, but less effective , of course.

A Fallschirmjaeger squad.

This could be the last occasion to see an Infantry squad armed with a Panzerschreck.
As said before, Schrecks are now operated by Specialists,
handling that weapon more defective.

But of course, Line-Infantry still has the opportunity to fight against tanks.
All German Infantry units are upgradeable with Panzerfausts now,
but each bundle has to be bought for the individual unit.

Speaking of upgrades...
In BotB you cant do upgrades in the middle of nowhere anymore.
Infantry can only purchase them, when they are near an HQ or Forward HQ.
Vehicles need to be at a repair station or supply yard, where the upgrade can be applied.

US Sherman M4A3 76W and a King Tiger.

Tank Warfare!!
And now, we are speaking of TANKS!!
You thought that tanks were already a threat in BotB ? Well, fasten seatbelts, please.

Courtesy of Blitzkrieg Mod, all ballistic guns ( Tanks and ATs )
were majorly reworked, using historical penetration data.
One Shot Kills will often be seen, and the appearance of a King Tiger will freeze the Allies Commanders blood.
( As long as there is no M36 nearby Wink )
Turret rotation speed and reload times have been set to historical values, when available.

Range stays about the same, (as in old BotB of course, much more than in CoH )whereas AT guns generally have a little more range, due to balancing reasons.
AT guns also camouflage when in cover.

Flanking of tanks has become even more crucial, as you will
experience frontal penetration of panthers and Tigers as a rare gift.
Commander and Gunner upgrades increases the tanks sight range, movement decreases it.
Veterancy gives them hidden abilities, hold fire button prevents them to fire at will.

So prepare for some harsh engagements.

American Infantry assaulting a German Bunker.

Well, alright. A Bunker. Ever found it strange, that Bunkers and other
heavy emplacements can be built within minutes, as the concrete normally
needs weeks to dry ? Wink Well, we did. In Normandy, such Bunkers can make sense,
as the Atlantic was heavily fortified. A lone forest in Belgium ? During a surprise attack ? No way.
So Bunkers and MG Emplacements have been removed, ( base defenses not ) and
other defensive abilities have been strengthened.

Medic and Repair Stations can be built separately, Tank traps are totally uncrushable and
must be blown with Defuses. Barb wire has the chance to ruin vehicles tires or tracks when overrun.
Mines costs have been lowered.

BMW Motorcycle Scout Squad

As the new visibility system now is in, combined with the new arms,
seeing the enemy before he sees you, is eminent to win a battle.

BotB provides your scouting units with toggable Googles. When stationary, Your scouting units
( Scout Infantry, Cycles Jeeps ) can make use of it, increasing their sight range.
While this is active, the unit cant move before untoggled.
Scout Cars like M8, SdKfz 222, 234/1 and 234/2 cant use them by default, but can do so with earned Veterancy.

US Repair team repairing a damaged M4A3E8

The repair teams have been altered for the new version as well. Old ones were quite charming, but had
some disadvantages, they took long to run over the map, got lost, repaired what they wanted aor not at all.
Not really the kind of obeying orders you are used to in the military. Grin

New Teams work differently. First of all, ALL German Doctrines now can build them, too, in the Kriegsbarracks,
but need upgrade to Assault phase for it.
The new team consists of two units. The Squad is loaded in a truck when produced, and has to leave it.
Repair is now targetable again, so you can repair ATs guns. The truck itself is quite important.
It contains equipment and stuff, and when near, the engineers repair faster than without the truck.

The ATC - Automatic Territory Capturing - in BotB

The new BotB Version features AGameAnXs ATC Script.

What exactly is this, and how does it work ?

First of all, it doesn't change anything to resources mechanic.
Captured territories still deliver the same old resources of Manpower, Ammo and Fuel.

What ATC does: It completely replaces the method of capturing for CoH.
Normally, you are used to send your troopers to a single point in a territory and
they raise the flag to have it captured for their nation. If the enemy wants to capture,
it has to first remove the flag, then raise their own. Not a bad system, but not very realistic, either.

How do you capture a territory in real life ? Well , if you repell any enemies from the territory and
move your own in. This is the way ATC does it. Almost. In fact, it uses numerical superiority.

On the top left of the screen, you see a percentage value of the territory where your mouse points at.
The percentage value ranges from -100% to 100%. If you have more infantry in the territory, the
value raises. If it is higher than 25%, the territory is yours. When you still have soldiers inside, it raises up to 100.
It still raises when no soldiers are inside, but significantly slower.
If the enemy has numerical superiority, the value decreases and when less than 25%, the territory becomes neutral.
If the value is lower than -25%, it falls to the enemy.

The superiority is NOT defined by squad count, its defined by soldiers count. The bigger the squad is, the faster they capture.
A 10 man rifle squad will always be able to hold the territory against an 8 men Volkssquad, f.e.

The Strategic points totally disappear from the battlefield, but still are visible on the tacmap, so you may
still be able to give command queue orders. Observation posts have been taken from the game as well.

This system is much more real-life than the original one, and although it has some graphical buggers,
but despite that, its now our weapon of choice, as it really adds to the realism, which is the No.1 goal of BotB.

The Bugs: Your own territory is blue, neutral territory white and enemy territory red.
The same with strategic points.
So far.
Strategic points colours are totally messed up... dont look at them. The territory DOES
deliver the suppllies, if you own it.
On the Big Tacmap, territories randomnly change to white, as if they are neutral.
But they arent. Dont let that irritate you.
Have a look at the thick main Border, thats always correct. Or have a look at the minimap,
where territory colours are displayed correctly.

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