Hello there! In today’s dev diary we are going to shine a light on a completely new unit that will be introduced in Steel Division 2: Commanders. These specialized units are similar to the Leader units from Steel Division: Normandy 44, but operate on a higher level, provide more powerful benefits, and bring a new tactical gameplay mechanic.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/919640/Steel_Division_2/

You should know the drill by now: please disregard any technical issues, graphical bugs, unfinished unit statistics or “baguette” language. We promise that this will be fixed at launch.

Let's get a couple of things out of the way. Leaders from Steel Division: Normandy 44 will still be present in Steel Division 2. You can think of our new Commander unit sitting one level “higher” on the hierarchy compared to Leaders, and come with more powerful benefits, as well as a new game mechanic (read more about that below).

Both types of units will use the so-called “leader aura”. This is a circular area of effect centered on the unit. This leader aura is 240 meters wide; picture this as the influence zone where a squad is still at runner’s range of his commander.



To refresh your memory: a Leader unit in SD44 would give 1+ XP to any unit found in its leader aura. Not only that, suppressed units in its aura couldn’t surrender. Commanders work the same, but give 2+ XP to units found in its area of effect. Nice!



With great power comes great responsibility, so Commanders can only be found in the Support tab, and only one Commander unit can be brought per phase.


We didn’t only bring Commanders to give you more bang for your buck, we also wanted to add a new mechanic that would expand the tactical options available to the player. This is how it works:

Next to the already mentioned aura effect, we are introducing a “leader link” benefit that each Commander unit will provide in the field. What it does is that each Leader unit within 1500 meters of a Commander unit will be linked to it, and as a result, provide an additional 1+ XP to each unit found in its leader aura. Think of it as effective use of radio by the Commander to organize, rally and direct the combat troops on the battlefield nearby. If used right, the linking of Leaders with their Commanders can provide a valuable boost in unit experience.



It doesn’t end there. Each linked Leader in turn projects it’s own “leader link” to connect Leaders further afield. This link has less range, only 1000 meters, but will have the same effect on the unit XP within the aura of these second tier Leaders. If you successfully link your Commanders and subordinate Leaders you will, in effect, create a chain of command that will substantially increase your unit’s fighting capabilities across the map.

The chain of command is a powerful tool, but it can be fragile. If you destroy one of the Leader or Commander units, the link will be broken. If you wipe out a key unit, the whole chain of command will collapse, and all this extra benefit will be lost. Protect your Commanders and Leaders well, as the enemy forces will be actively on the hunt for them.



The game will also tell you when one of your Leader units is too far away to benefit from the chain of command: a dotted line with a cross will appear. Move your units closer to allow the Leaders and Commanders to establish a connection.

One final, small detail: in Dev Diary #7 Combat in Army General we talked about how HQ battalions in Army General influenced how many combat battalions you could deploy, and that they would have other tactical effects as well. Each HQ battalion in this new dynamic campaign mode acts as a Commander unit, meaning that bringing them to a battle will be crucial as they might prove the difference between a resounding victory or humiliating rout.

As you know, the launch of Steel Division 2 is inching closer, but before we get there, there are still some cool new mechanics and features left to be explored in our upcoming dev diaries. So sit tight and stay tuned for the new entry, which will come next week. Don’t forget to check out the Steel Division 2 newsletter,pre-order the game on steam, and visit our pre-order store.

Welcome back to another Steel Division 2 dev diary! In today’s entry, we are going to show you a massive new feature that will bring tons of replayability and hours of battle fun: Historical Battles. Steel Division 2 will ship with six Historical Battles at release, all based on real-life engagements that occurred during Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/919640/Steel_Division_2/

As always, a disclaimer about what you are going to read next. We are still knee-deep in development, which means you have to disregard any “baguette” language, technical issues, unit info incongruities or other bugs you might see. All of this will be fixed at launch.


As the name discloses, Historical Battles are real-life battles that were fought on the Eastern Front in the timeframe that we are depicting in Steel Division 2. They won’t be for the fainthearted, as these scenarios will focus on some of the toughest engagements during the most crucial days of Operation Bagration, spread across a number of important dates and locations.



They will all be playable either in single player, cooperatively and multiplayer, with varying team sizes, from 2v1 to 3v3 players, for instance. The Battlegroups and Divisions for each battle will come fixed, meaning premade. However, some of the battles will allow you to select among several available Battlegroups.

We brought over the Historical Battles from Steel Division: Normandy 44, but as you might remember, these battles were not part of the base game, only coming later in the Back to Hell DLC. We can’t emphasize enough that these Historical Battles will provide an enormous amount of gameplay and will be playable both solo or in cooperative mode from day one.


Let’s get down into the trenches and check out each Historical Battle in detail.

• Autobahn zur Hölle (June 23rd, 1944)
  This Historical Battle will depict the opening Soviet move against Orsha, one of the most heavily defended strong points on the German front. The scenario pits the well-entrenched Sturm-Regiment 195 from the elite German 78. Sturmdivision against heavy assault elements from the 26th and 84th Guards Rifle Divisions. The Soviet troops will bring assault engineers, super-heavy artillery, and special breakthrough armors such as KV heavy tanks, OT-34 flame tanks, and even the mighty ISU-152 assault guns.
  
  
• Bobr (June 26th, 1944)
  Even before the fall of Orsha, Soviet armored forces had already bypassed the town and were racing through the German rear almost unopposed. One of the few regular units available in the area was the French collaborationist LVF (also known as the Grenadier-Regiment 638). This Historical Battle sees elements from this unit, supported by a handful of elite German Tiger tanks and a few PaK 40 anti-tank guns, fight against the Soviet vanguard of the Sherman-equipped 18th Guards Tank Brigade.
  
  
  
  
• Krupki (June 28th, 1944)
  The delaying action fought at Bobr gave just enough time for s.Panzer Abteilung 505, acting as lead element for the incoming 5. Panzerdivision, to detrain at the Krupki railhead. However, a Soviet battlegroup managed to attack them almost still on the freight cars, thanks to local partisans, and the Red Army managed to gain a foothold in Krupki. This Historical Battle will see Tiger tanks from s.Panzer Abteilung 505 and some security forces engage the Soviet 2nd Guards Motorized Brigade supported by partisans.
  
  
  
  
• Pleshchenitsy (July 1st, 1944)
  Further north, Soviet cavalry and mechanized units were driving down on Minsk, and a battlegroup of the 5th Panzerdivision was ordered to counter-attack the key crossroads at Pleshchenitsy. In this Historical Battle, 5. Panzer tanks, including Panthers as well as the few remaining Tigers, are supported by Panzergrenadiers and will go head-to-head with the Soviet 35th Guards Tank Brigade and 8th Guards Mechanized Brigade, which brings partisan support. The scenario will also see the Luftwaffe offering as much air cover as they can, matching the Red Air Force temporarily.
  
  
  
  
• Lenina (July 1st, 1944)
  On the same day as Pleshchenitsy, Soviet forces further South pushed further west to encircle and isolate Army Group Center. In this Historical Battle the recently arrived 4. Panzerdivision is fighting a desperate action to save the weary 4. Kavallerie-Brigade from being overrun by elements from 9th Guards Cavalry Division supported by the 219th Tank Brigade.
  
  
• Naratch Lake (July 4th, 1944)
  Pursuing the German forces in the north, the Soviets got too bold and overextended themselves gravely. Quick to grasp the opportunity, the retreating Germans reminded the Red Army they are not to be underestimated, even in defeat. This Historical Battle will see Gruppe Hoppe, a small mechanized battlegroup made up of Nashorn tank destroyers, StuG’s and a few tanks, with pioneer and infantry support, clash against the 388th Rifle Division which brings a motley assortment of tanks from 39th Guards Tank Brigade including T-34/76’s, T-70’s, Valentine’s, and even some Lee’s and Matilda’s.

We are pretty stoked that with Steel Division 2 players will be able to jump in and play with Historical Battles from day one. What do you think?

As always, stay tuned for the new dev diary which will come next week. Don’t forget to check out the Steel Division 2 newsletter,pre-order the game on steam, and visit our pre-order store.

Welcome back to a new dev diary for Steel Division 2. As you know, one of the big new features of the game is the Army General, the turn-based Dynamic Strategic Campaign mode where you control dozens of battalions on real-life maps set on the Eastern Front during Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944.

In previous entries, we talked about movement, action points, combat, and aerial denial in Army General. In today’s diary we’ll focus on some of the finer and underlying details you’ll encounter in the new mode, including how to fight against the AI, the flexibility of the Autoresolve feature, and the underlying statistics that determine your battalion’s combat power.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/919640/Steel_Division_2/

A big disclaimer: what you are going to read and see is still in active development. Disregard any typos, glitches or baguette-language; this will all be fixed at launch.

In Army General, we have given you, the player, as much flexibility as possible in deciding when and how to do battle. This includes resolving any of the tactical battles automatically (hence the name Autoresolve). However, we didn’t want to give you just an on-off switch; instead, we allow the player to select how involved they want to become.



Maybe you want to play boots on the ground, maybe you are not interested in a particular engagement and want the computer to handle everything while you watch how the real-time tactical battle unfolds, or maybe you want to be involved on a more strategic level, like a true commander, influencing each phase from afar, making decisions based on the detailed information presented to you during the course of a battle.

An important element that plays a key role during Autoresolve combat is the relative power of your battalions versus the enemy’s battalions. The power of a unit is determined by three colored parameters: the close combat (blue) value, the armored (green) value, and the support (red) value. These values represent different types of equipment and weapons: close combat is infantry weaponry, armored are tanks and associated vehicles, support is artillery.

The higher these values, the more powerful a unit. But, to gain the upper hand, it is wise to think “combined arms” and mix the battalions you send into an engagement. Bringing battalions specialized in one area, such as an armored unit, is especially useful and might allow you to swing the balance of force in your favor.

Whenever you are given the option to engage in a real-time tactical battle, you can choose to give some or all your battalions to the AI. This works both on a tactical level as it does on the strategic campaign map. Yes, this means that, for instance, you can select to play only with your ground support planes and have the computer take care of the rest.

If you wish to remain on the campaign map, and you select Autoresolve, you can choose which of your units will do combat. You can still influence the battle phase-by-phase, telling certain companies to fall back or pushing stronger units forward.



This means that you can see the battle unfold with each phase. Except in certain rare cases, it will not be possible to know which forces, or their combat power in detail, you will be fighting. Of course, timely reconnaissance might be able to help you gauge the enemy formations better, though.

At the conclusion of an engagement, you will see a detailed statistic screen, which shows the player everything that happened during each phase, the combat power of the units, which battalions and companies took part, their losses, and more.

If you manage to trump the enemy so profoundly they are unfit to fight in the next phase, the battle can be won before the end of Phase C. The opposing unit will retreat, and you can advance forward.

That's it for today. We love to see what you think of Army General and Steel Division 2, so don’t hesitate to comment and discuss.

Don’t forget to check out the Steel Division 2 newsletter,pre-order the game on steam, and visit our pre-order store.

Hello all! Welcome back to a brand-new dev diary for Steel Division 2. We like to keep on bringing you the good stuff, so in today’s rather big entry we’ll be delving deep into the new Deck Builder.

The Deck Builder is still being worked on, so disregard any typos, glitches or strange language. This will all be fixed at launch.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/919640/Steel_Division_2/

We are proud to present the new Deck Builder, where you will create and customize your own Battlegroups to be used in skirmish matches (solo, cooperative, and multiplayer). Compared to Steel Division: Normandy 44, we have vastly increased the freedom players have in creating their own Battlegroups: you decide your own economy rate; unit cards are no longer locked to a phase; in the new Deck Builder you decide how and when to bring a unit to the battle. Keep on reading to find out more.

Each Battlegroup is created from a parent division, which comes with strengths and weaknesses, as well as the number of open card slots per unit category. In Steel Division 2, there will be nine Axis and nine Soviet parent divisions to choose from (not taking into account the four Allied and four Axis divisions from Normandy 44 from the Back to War pack ).

There will be even more divisions to choose from with the History Pass that offers access to DLC’s planned to release during the year after the game officially launches on April 4th.

https://youtu.be/Byaq-Zn48aA
Our main objective was to give the player the freedom to create their own playstyle, as they see fit, without having to resort to fixed economies, phases or experience levels. Of course, Steel Division 2 will ship with the option to autofill your Battlegroups, so you can jump in and play straight away.

When you create a Battlegroup, you need to choose which parent division you want to work from. The division you will select will determine the number of open card slots available per category (Tanks, Artillery, Defenses, Air, etc.). It also gives you a number of activation points. Each card slot requires activation points to unlock, the cost of which rises the more slots you want to use in a particular category. Each Battlegroup comes with 50 activation points, but there will be divisions that might come with more (or less).

Next to the division's name, you will see the emblem or coat of arms, the type, the nickname or official title if it has one, as well as the Division Rating. The rating ranges from A to C and gives an indication of the relative power of a division. Essentially, A’s are top tier multiplayer divisions, while B’s and C’s might be a bit trickier and better suited for other modes.

The first thing you will notice entering the Deck Builder are the rows and columns of open slots where you will place your unit cards. You can use the filter function to see the cards per phase. Once you select a card, the user interface will show you the different options available for the category, as well as all the details of the unit card selected, their firepower and other detailed statistics, the number of units a card brings, their in-game tactical economy cost, and much more. You can also filter by type or name.



Gone are the days that each division came with a fixed economy rate for each phase. In Steel Division 2, for each Battlegroup, you choose your own tactical economy rate from four different presets. This will determine the points you will gain per minute and per phase during a game.

For instance, Juggernaut will be an economy type that heavily focuses on income during the late game. Maverick, on the other hand, will see a higher tick rate in Phase B. There will also be an aggressive early game preset and a balanced economy rate one. Deciding on the right tactical rate will be an important decision in creating a viable Battlegroup!

Another way we expanded the player’s freedom in customizing their own Battlegroup is giving the player the freedom in deciding in which phase they want to bring a unit card. Depending on which phase you have placed a unit card in your deck, you can now determine how many individual troops or tanks you will bring to a battle. We feel this is a major upgrade compared to the previous game, which used a fixed phase-system. Not only that, the number of troops per card will differ depending on their veterancy level, which is also an option you can choose when adding a card to your deck. There are three experience levels: Rookie, Veteran, and the mighty Elite.



Let’s take a look at an example: the ubiquitous T-34 tank. You select the parent division (say the renowned Soviet 2nd Tank Corps) which gives you a large number of card slots in the Tank category. A unit card of T-34’s with Rookie veterancy in Phase A will bring 4 tanks. In Phase B, with the same veterancy level, this number will rise to 8 tanks. And in Phase C, you will get a whooping 16 T-34’s. There is a trade-off if you want to bring more experienced tanks, though. They are better fighters, but more expensive as well. In our case, the second veterancy level, Veteran, will give you 3 tanks in Phase A, 6 tanks in Phase B, and 12 tanks in Phase C. Say you want your most experienced troops, Elite level, you can only bring 2 T-34’s in Phase A, 4 tanks in Phase B, and 6 tanks in Phase C.

As a side-note, some very specific unit cards will come with a higher default veterancy level; this indicates that these are battle-hardened troops. The vast majority of the unit cards will come without any phase or experience level limitations.

The same flexibility has been extended to your infantry unit cards. In Steel Division 2, you can select the transport your infantry units will use when on the battlefield. Choose a lend-lease Studebaker, or go for a vehicle with a mounted machine gun. The more powerful the transport, the more expensive your unit will be.



There will be a maximum number of transport vehicles. For instance, an average Battlegroup will have a pool of various types of trucks, the standard variant amounting to 300 trucks in total. You will be able to get all your infantry motorized, but the more powerful versions carrying weapons, such as half-tracks, will be limited in availability. This is authentic if you look at the real-life availability of equipment for German and Russian formations of that era. We have extended this authenticity to all the equipment and number of vehicles in your deck; while not exact, the total number of tanks, for instance, will be pretty close to what was fielded in the summer of 1944.

We are very excited about our new Deck Builder, and we think that you will come to love it as much as we do. It gives more freedom and more detail to our players, deepens the complexity while at the same time being as authentic as possible. Just the way we like it. Let us know what you think!

As always, stay tuned for the new dev diary which will come next week. Don’t forget to check out the Steel Division 2 newsletter,pre-order the game on steam, and visit our pre-order store.

Welcome back! By now, you should know all about the important news that dropped last week: Steel Division 2’s release date (April 4th), the amazing Back to War pack bringing some Steel Division: Normandy 44 divisions, and the Steam pre-order.

We’ll keep up the good news in today’s dev diary as we are going to talk about a pretty cool addition to the Breakthrough mode. You might have guessed it from the title, and yes, it’s true, players will be able to deploy defensive structures in Steel Division 2.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/919640/Steel_Division_2/

Disclaimer: As always, what you are going to read is still in development. We’ll make sure all glitches, issues and baguette language will be excised at launch.


Barbed wire, trenches, gun pits, different types of bunkers; you will be able to deploy and use all as a defending player in the Steel Division 2’s improved Breakthrough mode.

A reminder: Breakthrough mode sees a defending player occupying 75% of the map while the attacking player will need to advance and break through. Only the defending player will be able to build defenses, and only during the deployment phase.

You will have full control over where to place these defensive structures; for trenches and barbed wire, you will be able to paint and draw a line directly on the map. Players will be able to place and rotate gun emplacements and bunkers to ensure the best possible field of fire. Of course, certain types of terrain, such as heavy forest, open water or towns, will limit the locations where you can build.



Defenses are like any other unit in your deck: they occupy their own category, and each unit card brings a certain number of individual structures or deployable length (in meters). Each division will have access to the same defensive structures, but some defensive-minded divisions (wink, the incoming Back to War pack 352. Infanterie, wink) will have a much larger number of defenses slots available.


Let’s take a closer look at what you can build.

• Barbed wire: Pretty self-explanatory. A nice stretch of barbed wire will slow down any enemy troops - tanks and vehicles included. Great to funnel units into kill zones. Barbed wire is “painted” on the map and measured in meters, and on average, a unit card will give you 3 kilometers of barbed wire (sounds a lot, but trust us, you will have to be careful where you deploy).
  
  
• Trenches: Works the same as barbed wire when it comes to constructing it. Trenches will shelter infantry, and to give an indication to our Normandy 44 veterans, will offer a similar amount of protection as being garrisoned in a house. You will have roughly 1.5 kilometers of trench available.
  
  
• Gun pits: Gun pits are like trenches, but instead of infantry, they are singular points which will protect large pieces of equipment such as anti-tank guns, AA guns or artillery. Gun pits come empty but offer good all-around protection, and you can remove your guns during a battle if needed.
  
  
• Bunkers: Hardened structures which are essentially stationary weapons with armor. They are fixed positions, very well-protected, but with only a limited field of fire. They come in different shapes and sizes, from a machine-gun bunker to a light anti-tank rifle bunker, or even an AT bunker with a 76.2 mm gun, for instance.

Defensive structures are very resilient and will be able to take a lot of punishment. Defending players can construct their defensive lines as they see fit, but they have to be smart about it. Placing a defensive structure in the open to have the best field of fire, will surely allow it to find a quick and explosive end when the match starts.

Better yet is to place gun pits and bunkers behind obstacles such as hills, and use them at short range for devastating ambushes. The same for trenches: have them run through a village instead of outside of it.


Will you be able to construct defensive structures in all the modes? No, we have decided to limit defenses to Breakthrough mode (with one exception). Why? This comes back to the underlying reasons to include bunkers and trenches in Steel Division 2. It makes sense from a historical point of view. On the Eastern Front, the Germans and Soviets alike created complex defensive stretching for many kilometers with numerous strong points and fortifications, such as the German-made Panther-Wotan line.



From a gameplay point of view, defenses make sense as well. We wanted to implement them for Steel Division: Normandy 44 but never got around to it. And: Breakthrough mode in Normandy 44 was quite popular, and we wanted to build on this in Steel Division 2. That’s why defenses appear only Breakthrough; it is a natural fit. Also, we wanted not to make these player-built defenses a hindrance and slow down a regular skirmish game. Right now, we feel it’s a great new feature that is both authentic and lots of fun. Both defenders and attackers in Breakthrough will have to keep their wits about them.[/h1]

Though, having said that, you will be able to dig in and use defensive structures in Army General, our new turn-based Dynamic Strategic Campaign mode. Digging in takes time and action points, but it will give your battalions access to more defensive structures.

If an enemy unit attacks your dug-in formation, the subsequent battle scenario that will play out will reflect this.

We are curious to see what you think of the ability to construct and use defenses in Steel Division 2. Don’t hesitate to comment and discuss!

You think we’ll just stop with bunkers and trenches? In next week’s dev diary we’ll detail another great new feature in Steel Division 2: the Deck Builder. Until then, don’t forget to check out the Steel Division 2 pre-order page here or to sign-up to our weekly newsletter here. See you next week!

You asked for it, you will get it. We're bringing back 8 Divisions, 4 additional Nations, and 350+ units from Steel Division: Normandy 44 to Steel Division 2!

What? That's not enough? Okay - we're also adding exclusive, never-before-seen units that weren't even in the first game.

You what? You want even more?! Well - the Steel Division 2 Back to War pack, giving all of the above, will be completely free for Steel Division: Normandy 44 owners. Happy now?



Time to have a look at what will be included in this pack!

In this pack, we have included some of the most awesome units and Divisions from Normandy 44. Here's the complete feature list:

• 4 additional Nations: USA, Canada, United Kingdom and France
  
• 8 Divisions: 4 from each side, playable in solo, coop, and multiplayer real-time skirmish
  
• 350+ units from the first game
  
• Exclusive never-before-seen units

Of course, you want to know which divisions are included. Here are the ones we have chosen, and a bit of detail on why we picked these ones in particular:

• 3rd Armored - USA: One of the most iconic armored divisions from the Battle of Normandy. One of the two "Heavy Divisions", which works extremely well with our new deck system which will be detailed in the next dev diary. In addition of having lots of tanks, all the infantry is transported into battle in half-tracks.
  
• 3rd Canadian Infantry - Canada: An assault division featuring awesome equipment (including a lot of modified British and American vehicles), which makes it an almost-armored division.
  
• 15th (Scottish) Infantry - United Kingdom: Simply one of the best allied divisions of Steel Division: Normandy 44, featuring high-quality equipment. As we wanted to give two armored divisions and two infantry divisions, this one was an obvious choice.
  
• 2e Division Blindée - France: This one's special. Not only because it's from the baguette country and it's voiced by our team, no, also because it features a lot of recon units which, as you know, don't move the frontline anymore. Again, this division works extremely well with our new deck system.
  
• 21. Panzer - Germany: Beute is fun, which is cool, because this division features a lot of beute equipment. Also, this division brings the Königstiger back to the game. But we'll talk about the new equipment below.
  
• Panzer-Lehr - Germany: A bit like the American 3rd Amored, it's one of the most famous amored divisions, and its infantry is also 100% mechanized.
  
• 116. Panzer - Germany: The most "standard" and balanced of all the divisions of the first game. Features a nice mix of light and medium tanks.
  
• 352. Infanterie - Germany: This one is a bit trickier to explain. Because it fits extremely well with a new feature we'll talk about in the next dev diary. Let's say... it will be extremely efficient in Breakthrough mode...

As you could have guessed, it was important for us that the chosen division fits with Steel Division 2's bigger scale and new features.



Of course, Divisions from Normandy 44 means units from Normandy 44, and you will be able to play with the most iconic units from our first game. From the monstruous Königstiger to the Achilles tank destroyer, and all the Sherman variants (Firefly, Calliope...), you'll be able to admire all the upgraded 3D models in Steel Division 2's new Armory, build your decks with the new Deck Builder, and lead all the 350+ units on the battlefield in the expanded real-time tactical battles.



But that's not all. Steel Division 2's new gameplay style allows us to introduce some units that weren't even featured in Steel Division: Normandy 44. For example, as Steel Division 2 now features heavy artillery, we were able to bring some of the nicest toys, such as the gorgeous Allied's Long Tom 155mm Howitzer and his inseparable M4 High Speed Tractor. The Back to War pack also features, among others, the AEC Matador medium artillery tractor, the BL 5-inch howitzer, the Laffly truck, the Do 217 bomber, and some interesting tank variants, such as the Panzer III N, the Panzer III K and the Panzer IV F1!



Last but not least, Divisions from this pack also feature units from Steel Division: Normandy 44's DLC, such as the Feldgendarmerie from Back to Hell DLC's Division Festung Groß-Paris Division.

All the units are obviously balanced to fit with Steel Division 2's updated scale and new features.

Yes it will. It's a way to thank you guys, our players, our community, for your support and dedication over the years.



In next week’s dev diary, we'll talk about a brand new feature of Steel Division 2 concerning the Breakthrough mode. And after that, we'll talk about the new Deck Builder (finally) - promised! Don’t forget to check out the Steel Division 2 newsletter, pre-order the game on steam, and visit our pre-order store.



See you next week!

In last week’s dev diary, we talked about movement in Army General, as well as action points and how your battalions can use these. In this new Steel Division 2 dev diary, we’ll focus on that juicy next step, and what happens when two (or more) units go head-to-head. Glorious combat!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/919640/Steel_Division_2/

Mind you, we’ll talk more about the familiar real-time tactical battles on a later date. This time, it is all about the combat on a strategic level in our new turn-based dynamic campaign mode.

Once more a disclaimer: what you are going to read and see is still in active development. Disregard any typos, glitches or baguette-language; this will all be fixed at launch.

You know that battalions, your key units in Army General, have action points which you use to maneuver them on the campaign map. Once you encounter an enemy unit, and you want to engage them, you will need to have at least 3 action points (we will talk about this feature in more detail further below). As a player, you select the enemy unit you wish to target, and the option to do battle will appear, as well as the Battle Planner.



Now, depending on which opposing battalion you have selected, the game will tell you which of your battalions will be able to support you, and in which battle phase they will appear if you do select them. That’s why maneuvering your units before the fight is so important: distance and location determine which units can be thrown in combat.

As you know, the battle phases are listed as A, B or C, and displayed in big, fat letters above a unit on the campaign map. They correspond to the familiar battle phases you encounter in the real-time tactical battle. Taking into account distance, you can select a different enemy unit to see how the possible disposition of your forces will change.


Enter the Battle Planner. In this screen, you will see the slots of three different Battlegroups which are numbered as I, II or III. Each Battlegroup has space for two battalions. You will need at least one phase A battalion, in Battlegroup I, or else you won’t be able to engage in combat.



You can bring one additional battalion to the fight, but if you want to bring more and unlock the next Battlegroup, you will need to bring an HQ battalion. The same applies for Battlegroup III. This way, in total, you can have two HQ battalions and four battalions. Depending on where your HQ battalion is, and which battle phase they will enter, its subordinate battalion will arrive at the same time.

As we highlighted in the previous dev diary, planes, apart from being strategic assets which can limit air and ground movement (through artillery or arial denial), reduce the action points to zero (through a bombardment), or unveil enemy positions (through aerial recon), can also be employed on a tactical level and brought into a real-time battle with the help of an HQ battalion.

HQ’s will also have other effects, especially during the tactical combat, but we will talk about this in a future diary.

Remember when we mentioned needing 3 action points to start a battle? To be exact: a battalion will use an action point for each battle phase. This means that a unit with 2 action points can still arrive in phase B - if they are close enough - but only if there is at least one unit that can kick off the battle in phase A.

If you enter the real-time battle, the game will select a specific map depending on the location and where you are attacking from. So, if you find yourself deep in a forest, the tactical map will mirror this. Your actions and location on the strategic map reflect the specific scenario of the tactical battle.



For instance, you can have a classic conquest skirmish scenario if you advance one of your units against an opposing battalion that moved during the previous turn. Or, you enter in a closer combat scenario if both units didn’t move in their last turn. There is also a full breakthrough scenario (which we will talk more about in an upcoming dev diary) which occurs when one of the units is fortified! In each case you will have different starting positions, a number of flags or where the frontline is situated. That’s right, the new system from the Conquest mode will also be featured in Army General.

In next week’s dev diary, we’ll reveal something cool. Like very cool. Something you guys asked for since the game's announcement. Don’t forget to check out the Steel Division 2 newsletter, wishlist the game, and visit our pre-order store. See you next week!

Hello, and welcome back to the latest dev diary for Steel Division 2. In this one, we are going to give you a detailed look at how movement and action points work in Army General, the new turn-based Dynamic Strategic Campaign mode in Steel Division 2 .

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As always, a disclaimer: what you are going to read and see is still in active development. Disregard any typos, baguette-language, or other issues you might encounter.

If you have followed our previous dev diaries, you might remember that the battalion is the key formation you will be able to control in Army General. As a true commander, each turn you will order them to move, attack or defend - all of which cost action points. Each formation will come with a set number of action points.

The vast majority of the battalions will have 4 action points, but some special units - those pesky behind-enemy-lines partisans, for instance - will have more. After each turn, simulating half a day on the Eastern Front, half of your action points will be replenished (for most battalions this means 2 points). Reconnaissance battalions will welcome 4 action points after each turn. This reflects their intended role as fast movers and scouts.

As you know, we aim to be as authentic as possible in Steel Division 2. Our campaign maps in Army General, for instance, are reproduced on a 1:1 scale, meaning that every point of interest you see has been taken from real-life army maps used during Operation Bagration. This includes the towns, rivers, marshes, railway lines, forests, roads including highways, plains and other types of terrain. All these environments will have a different effect on your ability to move a unit.

Fun fact: when we talk about roads, we distinguish between “normal” roads and highways, though probably not in the same way you think of roads nowadays. In Belorussia, highways were simply one-lane paved roads, while a “normal” road was unpaved, and often no more than a dirt track. But even a muddy trail was better for motorized units, compared to traveling off-road through forests or across the plains. We made sure to reflect this on an Army General campaign map.



When you select a unit, the game will automatically calculate the distance your unit can travel (in kilometers) and how many action points this will cost. The dotted brown line is the maximum range of your battalion. Most units will have a very similar range and move with the same speed.

By default, you will be able to travel using 3 of your 4 available action points. Why? Because if you have zero points at the end of a turn, it might put your battalion in a precarious situation.

Each battalion has something that we call the zone of control. This should be a familiar term for you old-school tabletop wargaming fans, but essentially it means the amount of surrounding space a unit is able to exert influence over. This is shown in-game through the circular white boundary line around a battalion. When two opposing battalions encounter, their zones of control will automatically latch on, meaning you won’t be able to move through them - unless you want to do battle. You can still try to maneuver your units around the enemy, though.

If you are left with zero action points, your battalion is very vulnerable. You can’t move, you can’t attack, but most importantly, your zone of control (the white line) turns grey, which means that any opposing unit can push you back without doing battle. An inglorious retreat. As an attacking player, you have the initiative in this case: make the enemy fall back, or force them into combat.



That’s why it’s crucial to keep some of your action points in reserve. This also means that you have to be careful planning your offenses and not advance too far ahead.

However, there is a reward involved in using all your action points. If you manage to encircle an enemy formation completely, they might be cut-off from their own frontlines. Stranded, their logistical lifeline cut, it means that their action points will not replenish after each turn. It’s a great way to defeat the enemy, to bypass them, without incurring any severe losses.

Area denial in Army General comes in various shapes and sizes. It means that you can use artillery units or planes to bombard a certain sector of the campaign map. Artillery is limited by their range; planes are not. Any opposing unit hit will lose all their action points. It is a great way to limit the movement of enemy formations.



Another way is the air strike, which uses air support planes, to try to slow the enemy; these can target a piece of the map, and any enemy formation that wants to move through will lose action points as they do.

In the next dev diary, we will lift the lid on how combat works in Army General. Until then, don’t forget to check out the Steel Division 2 pre-order page here or to sign-up to our weekly newsletter here.

Hello all - welcome back to a brand-new dev diary for Steel Division 2. In one of our previous entries, a couple of eagle-eyed readers noticed something was a bit different with the mini-map in one of the screenshots featured. Good spot! We let the cat out of the bag, so today we are pulling back the curtains on the new objective-based Conquest mode in Steel Division 2.

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Before we continue, a big disclaimer about what you are going to read next. The new Conquest mode is still very much a work-in-progress. Amongst other things, lots of the visuals are still being created, including how the actual objectives will look like at launch. Obviously, disregard any baguette-language and other typos; this will all be fixed in the final version.

In Steel Division 2, the new Conquest mode will feature a number of set objectives (think of them as flags) on each map. The familiar frontline system from Steel Division: Normandy 44 is still present, but in the new mode your ultimate goal is to capture the objectives. How do you do that? Simple, by pushing the frontline forward with your units, as you would in the first game, until your sphere of influence extends over the objectives. You don’t need to park a unit on a flag: when the frontline covers it, it’s yours.



A typical map will have 12 objectives per side. This number depends on the map, its size, and the number of players. These symbolic objectives are not simple capture points. We have situated these at strategically important locations, very much centered on real-life points of interest, such as crossroads, towns, railway lines or bridges.

The objectives will not influence your income rate. Instead, the number of flags in your possession will determine how much your opponent "combativeness", pictured as a bar under the mini-map, will decrease. The game stops when this meter finishes, and the number of captured flags is tallied to determine the level of victory of the winning player. There is no time limit in the new Conquest mode, but the moment you start controlling objectives, you will be able to see a clock running down. The more flags you have over your opponent, the quicker this timer will go.

We had a couple of reasons to update the Conquest mode, but one important consideration was to give both new players and veterans a more realistic and better-contextualized way on how they could win a game. Simply put, in the first game, only using frontlines as a game system was a bit too abstract. With the new objective system, we have added military-like goals to each map. Together with the visual feedback from the frontlines mechanic, the new objectives make the mode look and play more realistic.

Another element was to give the player the chance to turn back the tide of a battle, regardless of which phase they were in. We noticed that in Steel Division: Normandy 44 matches were often decided within the first five minutes. We wanted to temper these Phase A-blitzkriegs, while at the same time, allowing players in Steel Division 2 to come back and have them decide the outcome of a match at the end of a game, and not at the very beginning. Both the addition of the objectives and the new way to calculate the level of victory at the end of a game allows us to do this.


"They [don't] see me crossin', they hatin'"

Objectives can, and will, change hand frequently in Steel Division 2. Think of the importance paratroopers will now have in capturing an objective and holding out against all odds. Recon units, on the other hand, will not move the frontline at all, but they will still serve as a reconnaissance tool and a great way to probe an enemy’s defenses. But all the work you do by capturing and holding important points will be tenuous at best - to win a game in Conquest, you really need to defend what you’ve gained.

That’s it for this week. Sign up to the Steel Division 2 Newsletter here to be the first to know when the next dev diary will hit. Also, don’t forget to check out the Steel Division 2 pre-order page here where you will find all the details on exclusive Camos and Aces, free DLC, early access to the beta, and much more - if you order Steel Division 2 now!

Happy New Year! It is time for the first dev diary of 2019, and we are more than excited to delve deeper into the Army General. Today we will lift a veil on battalions, and how these historical army formations take center stage in our “game-within-a-game” turn-based Dynamic Strategic Campaign mode for Steel Division 2.

As always: All of the images and videos in this article are from an early development version of Steel Division 2. They contain work-in-progress elements, as well as some typos and baguette language. Obviously, this will be fixed in the final version.

Before we continue, did you know that the pre-order for Steel Division 2 is now live? From early access to the beta to exclusive Aces and Camos and free DLC, make sure to check out the different pre-orders that are now available on our webstore.

Let’s back up a little. With Army General, we set out to recreate some of the most important and brutal operations that took place on the Eastern Front in the early summer of 1944. This new mode allows you, the player, to control dozens of historical battalions across a set number of days, involving everything from ad-hoc Kampfgruppen to behind-enemy-lines partisan troops, and air assets such as reconnaissance planes.



The turn-based Army General campaigns combine the strategic aspect of warfare, such as movement, supplies, reinforcement, and deciding where and when to do battle, with the familiar real-time tactical battles where you fight it out across the plains, hills, dense forests and open countryside of Belarus. You can decide to do this all yourself, or let the AI take control of certain tasks, such as auto-resolving the battles.

We’ll talk more about some of the particular gameplay aspects of Army General in our future dev diaries, but first, let’s look at the order of battle in a bit more detail.

Army General will be played at the battalion level. It will be the key building block of your order of battle and the main unit the player will be able to control. Each battalion has a number of companies assigned to it, which is translated into a numerical strength, as well as the number of tanks or equipment depending on historical data. To give you an indication of their size, during the Second World War, a German infantry battalion would number about 600 combat troops, or if armored, approximately 70 tanks. We tried to be as authentic as possible with the battalions you are able to field; this means that some of them will be understrength, while others will use captured or outdated tanks (German security units for example) or lend-lease equipment (on the Russian side).



An important disclaimer: all the battalions are historical in Army General, which means that the player will not be able to customize their own formation in this mode. Instead, you will have to use whatever forces are available at the start - though you will have access to reinforcements in the course of a campaign.

A country’s army follows an organizational chart shaped like a pyramid, with at the top the all-encompassing Army Group (German) or Front (USSR), and at the bottom the company. The battalion takes its place under the umbrella of a regiment or brigade, but is placed above the company. The division - the units with a recognizable identity like the ones we featured prominently in Steel Division: Normandy 44 - is made up of a gathering regiments or brigades and independent battalions. Each battalion, in turn, is made up of a number of companies.



In-game, we have represented this breakdown of unit composition as closely as possible. Within the Army General mode, you can use the Battleorder viewer, which shows all the formations that were present in all its details, including the number of armored vehicles, for instance.

We should note that due to a difference of organization between the Soviets on one side and the rest of the belligerents (the Germans and Western Allies), we have decided to adapt the Soviet order of battle to match the scale. Soviet mobile units (armored, mechanized and cavalry), at any given level of command, were always smaller than their Western counterparts. For example, a Soviet tank brigade, although made up of two to three tank battalions, was actually slightly less powerful than a single German armored battalion. Therefore, in Steel Division 2, Soviet tank brigades are played as battalions with their “official” battalions counting as companies. It doesn’t affect overall strength ratio and makes it easier to manipulate the larger number of Soviet formations.



There is an additional exception: the actual strength of a battalion or division is less than their real-life counterparts. We made the decision not to simulate the masses of cooks, clerks, runners, administrative assistants, radio operators and more, who, behind the scenes, make any sizable unit run. Instead, we focused on the combat troops; we think this is clearer and makes it less confusing for the player.

In Army General, a battalion has three attributes: assault (infantry and close combat units), armor (tank and anti-tank units) and support (mostly indirect fire, such as artillery). Furthermore, each battalion always features one HQ company. This HQ is the beating heart of the battalion: small in size but packed with command staff, supply, and recon units communication to coordinate everything. Subordinate to an HQ company are your combat companies, which again, are divided into different types: from assault companies equipped with small arms, grenades, and machine guns, to armored companies and artillery companies. Each battalion can have a maximum of 7 companies under their wings.



Likewise, there are HQ battalions. These are, in much of the same way as the HQ company, small but specialized units that the player will need to use for other combat troops to be put into battle. For each HQ battalion you bring to an engagement, you are allowed to bring one additional combat battalion. You can do this three times for a single battle. This means, three HQ battalions and three of your combat battalions. Why did we do it like this? It represents the higher HQ’s ability to exercise command and control over large formations. Besides, we wanted to make sure that the player wouldn’t be fighting dozens of small-scale battalion-vs-battalion battles, again and again. This mechanic allows us to have all the combat be equally exciting, with a sufficient number of forces involved to make each set-piece battle interesting and worthwhile.

To give the player an indication of their combat power, each battalion has a numerical value, calculated by the price of each company, which is displayed above the order of battle of a battalion. The first value is what the battalion brings to the battle; the number in brackets is the reserve combat power. Each battalion also displays the number of action points. Formations use these points to move, engage into combat, and perform other special abilities (recon, ground denial, bombardment, etc). Different types of troops see their points replenished at different rates. Some, like reconnaissance troops, might find themselves fully replenished much quicker than other units.

Rest assured, there is much more to unveil about the Army General. We will talk about how the battalions interact with each other on the strategic map in a future dev diary, including combat, how movement works, and special units and actions.

In the meantime, make sure to tell all your friends about Steel Division 2, make them wishlist the game on Steam, or sign-up to the newsletter here.

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We will be back in a week. That’s when we hope to talk a bit more about some of the new tactical mechanics and aspects players will encounter in Steel Division 2.