We're releasing a new update for the game, bringing it to version 8.6.5. This patch brings several changes, fixes and additions.

Maps:
- Added Crescent Bay MP Map
- Updated all [Tournament Settings] Maps to use NoDeploy feature
- Updated Return to Raseiniai and Kiev to Zhitomir to use NoDeploy feature

Editor:
- Added new "NoDeploy" feature. Can be used to stop players being able to deploy onto hexes where they usually would be able to
- Enabled extra factions like US Army, IJN, RAF, etc. in editor

General:
- Added several new units
- Added new unit skins
- Reduced biplane fighters to 2CP
- Several other balance changes
- Can now turn off the Fog Of War when viewing a full game replay

Fixes:
- Misplaced counter on Construction Yard
- Restart Scenario option not available if you press ESC rather than click Options button

Order of Battle is getting a new trilogy of DLCs that depicts World War 2 from the Allied perspective. Allies Defiant, the first chapter, deals primarily with the British involvement in battles across Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa from spring 1940 to late 1942.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466340/Order_of_Battle_AlliesDefiant/

Allies Defiant will be released on January 28th. We are currently looking for beta testers willing to provide us with feedback and criticism on the new campaign. If you would like to take part in it, please sign up here.



In the first battle the player takes command of British units deployed to Norway, but as the war intensifies on the Western Front in May 1940, the next two scenarios feature defensive battles in Belgium and France.

Afterwards the campaign moves to North Africa, where British forces battle Axis troops in Egypt and Libya. In spring 1941 the player gets to fight the crucial naval battle at Cape Matapan in the Mediterranean Sea, before they are reassigned to participate in the defence of Greece.



The last stage of Allies Defiant focuses again on the desert war, which changed dramatically with the arrival of Rommel's Afrikakorps. Since the Desert Fox managed to drive the Allies back into Egypt in 1942, the player has to deplete enemy offensive strength before he can finally resume offensive operations themselves. Allowing them to deal Axis forces a decisive defeat at El Alamein.

A new tournament for Order of Battle: World War II is about to begin and this time you'll be closer than ever to your enemy. The tournament includes three maps, all featuring close encounters and closely matched battles.

• Two Bridges is a small, tight map featuring the USA vs the USA with 3 paths to fight over and lots of enemy structures to destroy. Earn cash for destroying enemy bunkers and Victory Points for pushing them back from the central victory locations.
• Play as Germans and Italians in the middle of a sandstorm in the map Sandstorm at the Oasis. 
• The Crescent Bay is a new scenario that will put you in the shoes of the Japanese and Americans, fighting each other over harbours and oil infrastructure.

If you’re not familiar with Slitherine’s PBEM system, here’s how it works: the system will pair you with opponents and create your PBEM games for you automatically. You will be notified by mail of when the tournament is starting and when it is time to play your turns. The tournament follows the Swiss Tournament rules.

Sign up to test your skills and climb the leaderboard! All you need to do is opt in here and own at least one Order of Battle DLC. 

Have fun!

We are ending support for the Mac version of Order of Battle at the end of 2020.

How it’s going to work:
- We will be releasing an update to the game before the end of 2020. This will be the final patch update for the Mac version of Order of Battle.
- You will retain access to any DLC you already own, and you will continue to be able to purchase any of the currently available DLC should you wish.
- Future DLC campaigns will not be released for the Mac version of the game.
- You will continue to have access to the PBEM servers, but will not be able to play against anyone who uses a Future version of the game. We will make a legacy PC version available so that players can continue to play against their friends on PC if they wish.

Unfortunately, the effort required to keep the game up-to-date for the very small community of Mac users is just not sustainable anymore for the team.

Please reply to this thread for any questions you may have.

We're releasing a new update for the game, bringing it to version 8.6.1. This patch brings several changes and fixes along with two tournament multiplayer maps.

BUG FIXES
- Cost for deployment was not subtracted for core-imported aircraft after initial deployment stage when on airstrip
- Scrambling spec was not working for carrier-borne aircraft

UI
- added arrow to campaign map for linked Soviet DLCs

UNITS
- A few unit data changes

RISING SUN
Scn Guadalcanal: added missing event pic

USMC
- Scn Guam: changed trigger for secondary objective

RED STAR
- Scn Moscow: added few missing German trigger texts


RED STEEL
- Scn Kholm: turn progression now 2/day to avoid overlap with next battle

RED STORM

Campaign
- changed "Battle of the Bulge" event
- Scn Kerch-Eltigen: changed early victory trigger
- Scn Partisans: added correct French text, changed paratrooper survival check
- Scn Karelia: fixed issue denying victory over turn 30

MULTIPLAYER MAP UPDATES:

Added:
- [1v1] Peninsula Invasion [Tournament Settings]
- [1v1] Wake Island Assault [Tournament Settings]

Changes:

Return to Raseiniai 1942
- 1VP per turn for all VP's (reduced value of some flags)
- More Per Turn Income for Russians
- Added Russian spotter plane with their reinforcements
- Increased supply base capture reward for early turn captures
- Added deployment at supply bases for all turns for Russians (instead of only during deployment and reinforcement)

Kiev to Zhitomir:
- Fixed issue where scores were logged against wrong player for tournaments

The Invasion Operations Tournament is exploring the interesting and unique challenge that comes with invading the enemy from the sea and against entrenched defenders on land. Invasions are always a tricky business. The advantage is hard to predict as the attackers often know where the defenders are. But that may not help against the truly entrenched and determined on their home turf.

Take on other players and both sides to see who will come out on top.

The Invasion Operations Tournament is the second official Order of Battle tournament and features 3 unique scenarios:

Peninsula Invasion (1942) – This fictional scenario occurs near the start of the Japanese invasion of Burma. This is a unique take on an invasion front that was historically mostly overland. The Japanese forces must cut a vital rail link whilst the British defenders must make the best use of the dense jungle to frustrate their attackers.

Wake Island Assault (1942) - Distracted by the battle at Pearl Harbour, the American defenders at wake island repel one invasion only to face a second, more determined attempt. The defenders historically were overwhelmed and eventually captured. The balance of power for this mission has been evened out so anyone could come out on top.

Karjelan Kesä Fictional Scenario (1941) - This scenario features the German forces attacking over the Karelian Peninsula with the Russian forces defending north of Leningrad. This fictional scenario covers a “what if” situation where Germany took the lead in this theatre, rather than just helping to arm the Finns.



If you’re not familiar with Slitherine’s PBEM system, here’s how it works: the system will pair you with opponents and create your PBEM games for you automatically. You will be notified by mail of when the tournament is starting and when it is time to play your turns. The tournament follows the Swiss Tournament rules.

Sign up to test your skills and climb the leaderboard! All you need to do is opt in here and own at least one Order of Battle DLC.

Have fun!

Celebrate the end of the Soviet Trilogy by joining the Red Storm Release - Eastern Front Tournament.

The Eastern Front Tournament is the first official Order of Battle tournament and features 3 unique scenarios:

• Karjelan Kesä Fictional Scenario (1941) - This scenario features the German forces attacking over the Karelian Peninsula with the Russian forces defending north of Leningrad. This fictional scenario covers a “what if” situation where Germany took the lead in this theatre, rather than just helping to arm the Finns.

• Return to Raseiniai Fictional Scenario (1942) - German forces rushing to take crossings over the Dubysa river in Lithuania and Russian forces mustering to repulse them. What if Barbarossa was a year later? Raseiniai was a tank battle in 1941, but what if it occurred in 1942 with 1942 tanks?

• Kiev to Zhitomir (1943) - Russian forces counter-attacking in Ukraine have re-taken Kyiv and are pushing westwards. The German forces are counter-attacking. This historical conflict has a few tweaks for multiplayer balance and should make for an exciting match.



If you’re not familiar with Slitherine’s PBEM system, here’s how it works: the system will pair you with opponents and create your PBEM games for you automatically. You will be notified by mail of when the tournament is starting and when it is time to play your turns. The tournament follows the Swiss Tournament rules.

Sign up to test your skills and climb the leaderboard! All you need to do is opt in here and own at least one Order of Battle DLC.

Have fun!

Red Storm is available now and is the third and final DLC in the Soviet Trilogy for Order of Battle: World War II franchise. The new expansion covers the battles of the Red Army from 1943 to 1945.

The campaign begins with the fierce tank battle near Prokhorovka during Operation Citadel which was the last grand German summer offensive on the Eastern Front in mid-1943. The failure of Operation Citadel led the Red Army to be almost always on the offensive after. The ultimate goal of this campaign, therefore, is the defeat of the Third Reich in the Battle of Berlin.



You will now be able to purchase light Ba-64 armored cars, devastating BM-31 Katyusha rocket launchers or hard-hitting 100mm anti-tank guns. Improve your air forces with the agile Yak-3, the heavily armed Yak-9T and the more advanced Yak-9U as well as the improved medium Tu-2 and heavy Yer-2 bombers.

It is not just the allies getting new equipment, however, as the enemy is also fielding brand new equipment: the Germans now deploy their deadly 8.8cm Pak 43 as well as the nimble Pzkw II Luchs and new He-162 jet fighters in 1945. Their Hungarian allies will also field Turan tanks, Zrinyi SP guns as well as the Bf-109 and Me-210 aircraft.

If you want to see the new units in action, don't miss the stream later today, at 6 PM BST.  Don’t forget that you can also sign up for the up and coming Eastern Front Tournament! All you need to do is opt in here and own at least one Order of Battle DLC.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1379170/Order_of_Battle_Red_Storm/

Red Storm, the third and last DLC in the Soviet Trilogy for Order of Battle: World War II, will release on September 17th.

Red Storm covers the battles of the Red Army from 1943 to 1945 and features 15 new scenarios. The campaign begins with the massive tank battle near Prokhorovka during Operation Citadel, the last grand German summer offensive on the Eastern Front in mid-1943, and ends in Germany, where you will have to defeat the Third Reich in the Battle of Berlin in 1945.

Red Storm features 15 new scenarios and many new units for the Soviet, German and Hungarian factions. Eager to know more? Here's a sneak peek of the new air units.




The Yak-9 fighter was based on the robust Yak-7 and entered service in late 1942, during the battle of Stalingrad. It soon became available in ever-growing numbers, which helped the Soviet Air Force immensely to battle the increasingly stretched Luftwaffe in 1943-44.

Several variants were developed for specific purposes, like the Yak-9 B fighter-bomber, the D and DD versions for long-range escort missions, or the Yak-9 T equipped with a heavy 37mm gun able to destroy heavy bombers or even small naval vessels with just a few shots. The gun was so large that the cockpit had to be moved back to make room for the weapon. Of the nearly 17000 Yak-9 fighters produced ca. 2700 were built in the Yak-9 T variant.




The Yak-3 was a fighter aircraft developed from the earlier Yak-1 with the goal to create a dedicated air superiority fighter that was highly agile, robust and easy to fly. The plane turned out to be one of the smallest and lightest combat fighters fielded by any nation during the war.

When the aircraft entered service in summer 1944 it quickly demonstrated that it was a deadly dogfighter. With German air losses mounting the Luftwaffe issued specific orders to avoid air combat vs. the Yak-3 below altitudes of 5000 metres, where the Yak was most formidable. Between spring 1944 and summer 1946 over 4800 Yak-3 fighters were produced.




The Tu-2 was a modern twin-engined frontline bomber, developed since 1937 by the famous Soviet engineer Andrei Tupolev. He was imprisoned during Stalin's Great Purge, then allowed to continue work, and released again in summer 1941 due to his important role for the Soviet military.

The Tu-2 entered service in late 1942, and proved to be fast, agile, and able to absorb serious damage. But it was also complicated to produce under war-time conditions. As only limited numbers of this type reached the front lines in 1943 the design was reworked into the Tu-2 S to greatly simplify production. The new variant was built from December 1943 and proved to be an outstanding bomber aircraft which played a key role in the Red Army's final offensives.




The He-162 Volksjäger ("People's Fighter") was a result of the German Emergency Fighter Program which called for a simple jetfighter that could be built quickly to counter Allied air power in late 1944. At this point, the superior Me-262 jet had already entered service, but it was complicated, expensive and not always reliable.

Out of many advanced late-war designs the futuristic-looking He-162 was chosen for cheap and rapid mass production. While it was plagued by initial problems, and needed experienced pilots, its short service and post-war tests revealed it was a capable fighter indeed. But with only 120 pieces delivered by May 1945 the plane came too late to make a bigger impact. It remains a rare sight in OOB, but nonetheless a dangerous opponent.


To celebrate the release of Red Storm and the completion of the Soviet Trilogy, we're opening recruitment for the Eastern Front Tournament, that will start on September 22nd. Make sure to sign up.


If you want to see the new units in action, don't miss the preview stream later today: see you on Twitch at 6 PM BST.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1379170/Order_of_Battle_Red_Storm/

The first tournament test of Order of Battle is coming to an end (have a look at the current scores), and we're now ready to run a new one. The second test will start on August 21st, and will last three rounds: sign up here. 



HOW IT WORKS

All you need to do is sign up, then the system will pair you with opponents and create your PBEM games. You will be notified by mail of when the tournament is starting, and when it will be time to play your turns.

Please note that this is a Beta tournament, so there might be bugs. If you encounter any, please let us know and we will address them.

The Tournament will begin on August 21st, 9 AM UTC, and it will last 3 rounds, each lasting one week. You can sign up here. The tournament follows Swiss Tournament rules: you can find the full list of rules here.

Even though Order of Battle: World War II is a free-to-play game, you will need to own at least one DLC to be able to play multiplayer and to join the tournament.