In my previous WWAUT post I mentioned that we are working on a number of items as we push towards our next major Red Orchestra 2 update. Today I want to focus on another upcoming item sure to please both fans of Red Orchestra 2 and Killing Floor.

As you probably know, we here at Tripwire are big fans of modding (many of us having gotten our start in the Make Something Unreal contest), and support it through the release of our SDK's, contests to promote content creation and more. The latest being the <a href="http://www.heroesofstalingrad.com/counterattack-map-making-competition/">Counterattack Mapping Contest</a> for Red Orchestra 2 with thousands of dollars up for grabs! With phase 1 done and judging getting underway, the custom mappers are already hard at work for their phase 2 entries.

But we aren't stopping there, the next big thing we are doing is integrating <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/">Steam Workshop</a> into both Killing Floor and Red Orchestra 2! This feature of Steam allows players to browse content created for our titles, find what they like and subscribe to it with the click of a button. This will keep them always up to date. You can read more on all it all works <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/workshopsubmitinfo">here</a>.

We look forward to the fans having an easier time finding the great community generated content, from maps, mutators, and total conversions.

In my previous WWAUT post I mentioned that we are working on a number of items as we push towards our next major Red Orchestra 2 update. Today I want to focus on another upcoming item sure to please both fans of Red Orchestra 2 and Killing Floor.

As you probably know, we here at Tripwire are big fans of modding (many of us having gotten our start in the Make Something Unreal contest), and support it through the release of our SDK's, contests to promote content creation and more. The latest being the Counterattack Mapping Contest for Red Orchestra 2 with thousands of dollars up for grabs! With phase 1 done and judging getting underway, the custom mappers are already hard at work for their phase 2 entries.

But we aren't stopping there, the next big thing we are doing is integrating Steam Workshop into both Killing Floor and Red Orchestra 2! This feature of Steam allows players to browse content created for our titles, find what they like and subscribe to it with the click of a button. This will keep them always up to date. You can read more on all it all works here.

We look forward to the fans having an easier time finding the great community generated content, from maps, mutators, and total conversions.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/coY-Wbawa7E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HsYn0g3PQ2I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Above you will find the two trailers shown to the press at Gamescom of the upcoming expansion for Red Orchestra 2: Rising Storm. Rising Storm takes players into the islands and jungles of the Pacific and introduces new weapons, and features as well as the Japanese and American factions. Stay tuned for more Rising Storm news in the future!

Tripwire would also like to congratulate the custom level designers who submitted their maps for Phase 1 of the Counterattack mapping contest. All of the entries can be found <a href="http://forums.tripwireinteractive.com/forumdisplay.php?f=135">here in the forums.</a> Contact your favorite server admins and get them to run your favorites (many already are)!

And it isn't done yet, with the second phase just around the bend, there are already several
<a href="http://forums.tripwireinteractive.com/forumdisplay.php?f=84">new maps in development</a>, so go show your support and give them feedback!

Last but not least, for those who have the Red Orchestra 2 Beta (the stand alone beta) installed, the Multiplayer Campain server will go up for its first test later today (in aprox 4 hours). We look forward to seeing you on the battlefield.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/coY-Wbawa7E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HsYn0g3PQ2I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Above you will find the two trailers shown to the press at Gamescom of the upcoming expansion for Red Orchestra 2: Rising Storm. Rising Storm takes players into the islands and jungles of the Pacific and introduces new weapons, and features as well as the Japanese and American factions. Stay tuned for more Rising Storm news in the future!

Tripwire would also like to congratulate the custom level designers who submitted their maps for Phase 1 of the Counterattack mapping contest. All of the entries can be found here in the forums. Contact your favorite server admins and get them to run your favorites (many already are)!

And it isn't done yet, with the second phase just around the bend, there are already several
new maps in development, so go show your support and give them feedback!

Last but not least, for those who have the Red Orchestra 2 Beta (the stand alone beta) installed, the Multiplayer Campain server will go up for its first test later today (in aprox 4 hours). We look forward to seeing you on the battlefield.

Welcome back to the latest edition of the What We Are Up To post. For those just joining us, these are designed to tell you the community what is going on behind the closed doors here at Tripwire. Today is the first in a series that will be touching on our immediate and long term plans for RO 2. This post will focus on the map, multiplayer campaign and player requested refinements.

As some of the players have noticed, like before the Game Of The Year update, the RO 2 beta (the stand alone beta, NOT the opt in beta) has been updated. This has brought the beta to the same version as the live game. As the weeks and months go on we will be continuing to introduce things to the beta for player feedback before it all eventually ends up in the next RO 2 patch.

The first change, which has already been introduced in the beta, has been to turn on Multiplayer Campaign. Stay tuned to the RO 2 beta forum in the future as we schedule tests to gather feedback from players and identify what needs work.

Coming shortly we will have player requested refinements entering the beta as well. Increased stamina capacity in classic, a change to player movement while players are firing machine guns, as well as some tweaks to countdown and UI functionality to help players understand what is expected of them and what is happening during the game.

Also on the way will be our next official map. While we aren't ready to give out many details just yet (including the name), what we do want to do is let players know what our goal is with this map. It has been designed to bring back one of the combined arms style of experiences from RO 1 that has not been represented in an official map so far. Multiple tanks on both sides engaging each other over large tracks of land while infantry move up and capture the objectives. If the tanks try and get up close and personal in the objectives without friendly infantry support they will soon find themselves dodging infantry exposing themselves only long enough to damage or destroy the tank. We think it will be an great addition to to the gameplay of RO 2.

We'll be looking for feedback from the community on all these things and more as the beta advances. In the coming days I'll also be touching on major system changes, the upcoming Rising Storm and more. Speaking of Rising Storm, some of the Tripwire team is on the ground in Germany at Gamescom with Tony from Rising Storm, so keep your eyes out for new information and media!

Welcome back to the latest edition of the What We Are Up To post. For those just joining us, these are designed to tell you the community what is going on behind the closed doors here at Tripwire. Today is the first in a series that will be touching on our immediate and long term plans for RO 2. This post will focus on the map, multiplayer campaign and player requested refinements.

As some of the players have noticed, like before the Game Of The Year update, the RO 2 beta (the stand alone beta, NOT the opt in beta) has been updated. This has brought the beta to the same version as the live game. As the weeks and months go on we will be continuing to introduce things to the beta for player feedback before it all eventually ends up in the next RO 2 patch.

The first change, which has already been introduced in the beta, has been to turn on Multiplayer Campaign. Stay tuned to the RO 2 beta forum in the future as we schedule tests to gather feedback from players and identify what needs work.

Coming shortly we will have player requested refinements entering the beta as well. Increased stamina capacity in classic, a change to player movement while players are firing machine guns, as well as some tweaks to countdown and UI functionality to help players understand what is expected of them and what is happening during the game.

Also on the way will be our next official map. While we aren't ready to give out many details just yet (including the name), what we do want to do is let players know what our goal is with this map. It has been designed to bring back one of the combined arms style of experiences from RO 1 that has not been represented in an official map so far. Multiple tanks on both sides engaging each other over large tracks of land while infantry move up and capture the objectives. If the tanks try and get up close and personal in the objectives without friendly infantry support they will soon find themselves dodging infantry exposing themselves only long enough to damage or destroy the tank. We think it will be an great addition to to the gameplay of RO 2.

We'll be looking for feedback from the community on all these things and more as the beta advances. In the coming days I'll also be touching on major system changes, the upcoming Rising Storm and more. Speaking of Rising Storm, some of the Tripwire team is on the ground in Germany at Gamescom with Tony from Rising Storm, so keep your eyes out for new information and media!

There is a patch coming today for RO 2. It will be a large download, but that is because we're converting our files over into something that will work much more efficiently with Steam's new content system. Future downloads will much smaller allowing us to update the game more often. Other changes include:


<b>Maps</b><ul>
<li>Mamayev</li><ul>
<li>Balanced reinforcement count in Allies favor</li>
<li>Added additional cover</li>
<li>Added ammo depot to Axis staging area</li></ul>
<li>Barracks</li><ul>
<li>Improved cover between NCO barracks and Admin</li>
<li>Modified area that could be used to fire on a spawn</li></ul>
<li>Pavlovs House</li><ul>
<li>Moved ladder in Zabs house to a better location</li>
<li>Modified initial Allied spawn protection</li>
<li>Added new routers to help the Allies leave their spawns without getting killed as easily</li>
<li>Modified several spots in Zabs House that could be used by the Axis to overlook the Allied spawn exit</li>
<li>Modified Allied spawning location when the Axis are pushing the final Allied objective</li>
<li>Added additional cover to some areas of the map</li>
<li>Blocked off tank access to the yellow building area behind Zabs House</li></ul>
<li>Red October Factory</li><ul>
<li>Rebalanced reinforcement count</li>
<li>Added additional map time</li>
<li>Decreased artillery use timer</li>
<li>Removed 2nd Axis tank</li>
<li>Modified number of window firing points for Axis on the 1st obj</li>
<li>Modified initial Russian spawn protection</li>
<li>Added more cover to the 1st and 2nd objective areas</li></ul>
<li>Station</li><ul>
<li>Added more cover to the initial Axis approach</li>
<li>Modified 1st Axis spawns </li></ul>
<li>Spartanovka</li><ul>
<li>Modified capzones for Housing Block 1 & 2 </li></ul>
<li>Grain Elevator</li><ul>
<li>Added several obstructions to break up line of sight</li>
<li>Increased capture time on last objective</li>
<li>Increased duration before allies lose all of their reinforcements</li>
<li>Fixed map boundary times being 1 second</li></ul>
<li>Commissars House</li><ul>
<li>Added new cover from first spawns</li>
<li>Added cover to road ahead of Commissars North Hall</li>
<li>Increased size of snow mounds around Commissars House</li>
<li>Modified map boundaries</li>
<li>Modified objective setup</li>
<li>Modified spawn locations and handling </li></ul>
<li>Training</li><ul>
<li>Fixed ref pose bots in squad leader training </li>
<li>Fixed minor lighting issues across all maps</li></ul></ul>

Gameplay<ul>
<li>Fixed bullet impact effects not being visible when on a fixed MG</li>
<li>Fixed weapons getting lowered while aiming left from prone</li>
<li>Increased spawn protection time to 20 seconds if standing in the area when it’s activated</li>
<li>Correct initial ammo count for P38 and TT33 (added one)</li></ul>

UI<ul>
<li>Fixed the scroll bar on the server browser player list. It should no longer continue to snap to the top.</li>
<li>Fixed voted maps sometimes disappearing from the right-hand map voting box</li>
<li>Fixed flickering text on the loading screen when downloading a custom map</li>
<li>Fixed “FT1, FT2, FT3” etc text stuck on screen for squad leaders and commanders</li>
<li>Fixed Marskman roles missing from some maps in action mode. Squad view shifting down as roles open up eventually making roles un-selectable.</li></ul>

Webadmin<ul>
<li>The 'Mutate' command can now be used from the management console</li></ul>

<b>* Attention Modders *</b>
We found that most custom maps will need to be republished if you haven't already done so using the opt-in beta. Mutators are generally still compatable, but we recommend all modders briefly test their content. Continue checking the modding forum for more info.

There is a patch coming today for RO 2. It will be a large download, but that is because we're converting our files over into something that will work much more efficiently with Steam's new content system. Future downloads will much smaller allowing us to update the game more often. Other changes include:


Maps

• Mamayev
• Balanced reinforcement count in Allies favor
• Added additional cover
• Added ammo depot to Axis staging area
• Barracks
• Improved cover between NCO barracks and Admin
• Modified area that could be used to fire on a spawn
• Pavlovs House
• Moved ladder in Zabs house to a better location
• Modified initial Allied spawn protection
• Added new routers to help the Allies leave their spawns without getting killed as easily
• Modified several spots in Zabs House that could be used by the Axis to overlook the Allied spawn exit
• Modified Allied spawning location when the Axis are pushing the final Allied objective
• Added additional cover to some areas of the map
• Blocked off tank access to the yellow building area behind Zabs House
• Red October Factory
• Rebalanced reinforcement count
• Added additional map time
• Decreased artillery use timer
• Removed 2nd Axis tank
• Modified number of window firing points for Axis on the 1st obj
• Modified initial Russian spawn protection
• Added more cover to the 1st and 2nd objective areas
• Station
• Added more cover to the initial Axis approach
• Modified 1st Axis spawns
• Spartanovka
• Modified capzones for Housing Block 1 & 2
• Grain Elevator
• Added several obstructions to break up line of sight
• Increased capture time on last objective
• Increased duration before allies lose all of their reinforcements
• Fixed map boundary times being 1 second
• Commissars House
• Added new cover from first spawns
• Added cover to road ahead of Commissars North Hall
• Increased size of snow mounds around Commissars House
• Modified map boundaries
• Modified objective setup
• Modified spawn locations and handling
• Training
• Fixed ref pose bots in squad leader training
• Fixed minor lighting issues across all maps

Gameplay

• Fixed bullet impact effects not being visible when on a fixed MG
• Fixed weapons getting lowered while aiming left from prone
• Increased spawn protection time to 20 seconds if standing in the area when it’s activated
• Correct initial ammo count for P38 and TT33 (added one)

UI

• Fixed the scroll bar on the server browser player list. It should no longer continue to snap to the top.
• Fixed voted maps sometimes disappearing from the right-hand map voting box
• Fixed flickering text on the loading screen when downloading a custom map
• Fixed “FT1, FT2, FT3” etc text stuck on screen for squad leaders and commanders
• Fixed Marskman roles missing from some maps in action mode. Squad view shifting down as roles open up eventually making roles un-selectable.

Webadmin

• The 'Mutate' command can now be used from the management console

* Attention Modders *
We found that most custom maps will need to be republished if you haven't already done so using the opt-in beta. Mutators are generally still compatable, but we recommend all modders briefly test their content. Continue checking the modding forum for more info.