Steam News

New Red Orchestra Mod and Sale

June 9, 2009, 11:38 am - Valve - Product Release

9 June 2009 — Tripwire are happy to announce the release of Darkest Hour, the latest full mod for Red Orchestra, over Steam. To celebrate this release, Red Orchestra is 66% off until Monday, June 15th.

Darkest Hour is free to all those who own Red Orchestra and can be simply downloaded and installed through Steam. Darkest Hour finally brings the Americans to Red Orchestra, focusing on the beaches of Normandy, Operation Market-Garden, the Battle of the Bulge and on into the Reich. A trailer is available on the Steam web page, along with screen shots and more information. Now you can play as American, British or Canadian troops, with a huge range of additional features:

• More than 20 new infantry weapons, such as the ever-distinctive Garand, M1 Carbine, .30-cal, Bren, FG42, Thomson and the Enfield rifles
  
• American Bazooka, British PIAT and German Panzerschreck to go tank-hunting with
  
• New infantry features, including Airborne drops onto the battlefield, bullet suppression and supersonic cracks, plus a new radioman class for calling in artillery strikes
  
• Over a dozen new crewable vehicles including the King Tiger and JagdPanther for the Germans, countered with multiple types of Sherman in 75mm, 76mm and 17-pounder versions, plus the Cromwell, M10 Wolverine and Achilles
  
• 11 new maps, including:
  
  • Juno Beach — Canadians storming the beaches in classic D-Day action
    
  • Carentan — the US 101st Airborne assaults the town shortly after D-Day
    
  • Brecourt — 101st Airborne attempt to put a key German artillery battery out of commission behind the beaches
    
  • Ginkel Heath — British paras drop into a hotly-contested LZ at the start of Operation Market-Garden
    
  • Wacht-am-Rhein — sweeping tank combat during the Battle of the Bulge, including the fearsome King Tiger
    
  • Stoumont — American infantry and armor try and hold back the SS PanzerGrenadiers in the streets of the Ardennes town
    

So whether it is the Normandy campaign, jumping onto the dropzones around Arnhem or the bitter fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, new and old players alike will get a chance to see why RO remains a classic. Now with the opportunity to re-play those battles RO-style, courtesy of Darkest Hour: Europe 1944-45! For more information on the mod (and to see the trailer) head to the Steam page.

Red Orchestra Update Released and Weekend Deal

March 12, 2009, 11:40 am - Valve - Press Release

A major update is now available for Tripwire Interactive's Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45, adding in all new Steam Achievements and the new "Fallen Heroes" map. As always, if you already own the game, your copy will update automatically through Steam, for free.

To celebrate, Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 is Steam's Weekend Deal at 66% off until Monday, March 16.

For more information about Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 and Steam, please visit www.steamgames.com.

Red Orchestra Update Released

March 12, 2009, 11:31 am - Valve - Product Update

Updates to Red Orchestra have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Red Orchestra

• Added 44 Steam achievements
  
• Added new map Fallen Heroes
  
• Fixed issues in several maps: Zhitomir1941 (Fixed spawn protection exploit), BlackDayJuly (Fixed unreachable artillery radio), HedgeHog (Fixed artillery on spawn exploit)
  
• Player counts should now show accurately both in-game and in the Steam server browser
  
• Added VOIP support for Listen Servers
  

Weekend Deals: Eve Online and Red Orchestra

June 6, 2008, 11:24 am - Valve - General Announcement

Two great deals are available this weekend on Steam.

First up is Eve Online for just $9.99. This expansive sci-fi MMORPG has earned numerous awards from the gaming press including the 2007 MMRPG.com "Best Overall Game" award.

Secondly, the makers of Red Orchestra are showcasing Darkest Hour, a brand new mod for the WWII online action game. To encourage folks to check out Darkest Hour, Red Orchestra and other RO mods, Red Orchestra is on sale for just $4.99.

Both offers end Monday, June 9th.

Red Orchestra Adds Steamworks Matchmaking and More

March 20, 2008, 11:16 am - Valve - General Announcement

Tripwire Interactive has updated the WWII multiplayer classic Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 (RO) with support for Steamworks, a complete suite of publishing and development tools available free of charge to game developers and publishers.

In this Steamworks update for RO, Tripwire has leveraged the online matchmaking services offering, including integration of the Steam Server Browser, the Friends’ “Join Game” functionality (for use in and out of game), as well as support for player and server stats viewable on www.steamgames.com.

“Adding support for Steamworks was an easy decision for Tripwire,” said John Gibson, president of Tripwire Interactive. “The work to add this collection of services was minimal and will have a big impact for our fans. The matchmaking abilities added today will make it much easier for RO players to find matches. And leveraging the Steam Server Browser saves Tripwire time and money over the long haul, allowing us to invest more in gameplay and less in supporting services.”

Beginning today, the update will be automatically applied via Steam via Steamworks auto-updating feature to both the retail and online versions of Red Orchestra.

Red Orchestra Update Released

March 20, 2008, 11:05 am - Valve - Product Update

Updates to Red Orchestra have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Red Orchestra

• Steamworks is now used for all backend matchmaking
  
• RO will now show up in the Steam server browser, making it much easier for people to find RO matches
  
• Steam friends matchmaking now works allowing people to use Steam friends to join the server their buddies are playing on both in game and out of game
  
• Outdated servers will no longer show up in the servers list. This will prevent the issue of getting mismatches when attempting to connect to servers that aren't running the latest version of the game
  
• The buddies tab has been removed from the in-game server browser as all buddy functionality is now operational using Steam friends
  
• Added spectator, start, and end cameras to Krivoi Rog
  
• Fixed an exploit in Smolensk Stalemate where you could get under the terrain
  
• Enhanced security features
  

Red Orchestra Summer Update, Five-Day Freeplay

August 29, 2007, 4:50 pm - Valve - Product Update

Tripwire Interactive today released its next update pack for Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45, the award-winning WWII online action game. The update includes a new map, a new vehicle and some major graphical enhancements to the game and is available to owners of the game for free through Steam. To give gamers a chance to try the updated version, Tripwire is offering a five-day freeplay period, August 29-September 3, as well as a 20% discount for new purchasers.

The new map - Krivoi Rog - gives players the largest tank slugfest to date, with 16 square kilometers of terrain, 3000 meter viewable range and up to 50 players. This map also features the new vehicle - the German Panzer IV G, providing the German players with some additional fire-power for the mid-war period.

In addition to the new map and vehicle, Tripwire has created an all-new adaptive bloom system for the game's graphics, making the bloom crystal-clear even at low resolutions. For further eye-candy, Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering settings are now configurable in-game.

There are plenty more changes, updates and bug fixes in the update. Read the full changelog on the game page for details.

Tripwire also announces a six day freeplay period, this Wednesday through Monday. Anyone who does not have Red Orchestra can play the full game completely free for six full days. Simply download the game from Steam and start playing-the freeplay period starts at 1pm on Wednesday, August 29 and runs through 1 pm PST on Monday, September 3. Those who purchase Red Orchestra via Steam before September 5 will receive 20% off the regular price.

Red Orchestra Update Released

August 29, 2007, 9:43 am - Valve - Product Update

Updates to Red Orchestra have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Red Orchestra

• Added a new map – Krivoi Rog
  
• Added a new adaptive bloom system
  
• Added new tank variant – the Panzer IV G
  
• Added a screen shaking/blurring effect when a player is hit by a melee attack
  
• Engine enhancement to support much larger terrain sizes
  
• Added a forced team balance system which will swap players to the other team when they die if teams are unbalanced

Red Orchestra Update Released

June 8, 2007, 2:30 pm - Valve - Product Update

Updates to Red Orchestra have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Red Orchestra

• Players that don't have a role selected will no longer show as being on the Russian team
  
• Fixed players being able to see through the blackout view if they were using the scoreboard
  
• Fixed various artillery and grenade team killing exploits that would allow players to circumvent the team kill kick/ban system
  
• Fixed artillery exploits that would allow players to call in artillery in areas where they should not be able to

Red Orchestra Summer Assault Starts Now

May 31, 2007, 10:35 am - Valve - General Announcement

New maps, increased player limits, 10 free days of play for friends, plus 20% off list price

Tripwire Interactive today released a major update for Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45, the award-winning WWII online action game. For current owners, the updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. Those who purchase the game before June 11 will save an additional 20% off the $19.95 list price.

The update includes:

• Ten new maps, all winning entries in Tripwire's Custom Map Competition. Highlights include:
  
  “Smolensk Stalemate”: the contest winning map features perfectly balanced to-and-fro infantry combat through ruined villages and trenches in August 1943.
  
  “Leningrad”: features close-quarters infantry fighting in the ruined streets of the city, above them in the bombed-out buildings and deep beneath them in the sewers, all with close-in armor support.
  
  “Berezina”: the After-Hourz team surpass themselves on this rural/village map, introducing not just a new vehicle (the Russian BT-7 light tank), but also the first functional anti-tank gun in the game. To cap it off, the BT-7 even carries tank-riders.
  
  “Black Day July”: one of the very best for tank combat fans, set in the rolling countryside around Prokhorovka as German and Russian armor clash en masse during the Battle of Kursk.
  
  
• Increased multiplayer count. A new level of intensity with 50+ player multiplayer battles (up from the previous limit of 32).
  
  
• New community made content, including the Russian BT-7 light tank with infantry tank riders and the first player controllable anti-tank gun in the game.
  
  
• New soundtrack: The “Orchestra” comes to the Ostfront - the game now features a complete in-game soundtrack from composer Matthew Burns.
  
  
• Gameplay enhancements. The addition of several features requested by the clan/ladder/league community to enhance competitive play.
  

To give gamers a chance to try the updated version of one of the best sellers on Steam, Tripwire is offering both retail and Steam customers two free Steam Guest Passes. All owners of Red Orchestra can invite friends to try the game with no obligation to purchase. Upon receiving and activating the Steam Guest Pass, the invited friend has ten days of Red Orchestra play available for free.

Watch the new all-action trailer for the game.
Learn more about Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45.