Post news Report RSS Paratroopers – Bringing the hammer down

All of our efforts at designing the strategy game recently culminated in the first playsession where generals took part in the war, which brings me to the topic for this blog post. While monitoring the feedback from players, we noticed many complaints regarding the way Paratrooper assault teams behaved in the strategy game. Following our mantra of listening to user feedback, we have decided to change the Paratrooper assault team mechanics in the game.

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By Reto.Indusninja, IT Architect

In a series of posts over recent weeks, we’ve been giving you glimpses of how the strategy game in Heroes & Generals has been shaping up. Starting with the campaign map post from Reto.placebo, which outlays the campaign map for the strategy game; followed by Reto.Crestangen who gave a glimpse into the workings of the fighter squadron. The latest, by Reto.Vashu, was an in-depth description of the UI that allows players to customize their soldier.

All of our efforts at designing the strategy game recently culminated in the first playsession where generals took part in the war, which brings me to the topic for this blog post. While monitoring the feedback from players, we noticed many complaints regarding the way Paratrooper assault teams behaved in the strategy game.

German Paratrooper Unit
German Paratrooper Unit

As they were in the last version of the game, paratroopers would travel from their origin to destination along linked paths only. This seemed counter-intuitive to many players - if paratroopers are in planes, they should perhaps fly (similar to how the fighter squadron works currently). Following our mantra of listening to user feedback, we have decided to implement this mechanic into the game.

Battle front lines
Battle front lines

But we’ve gone a step further. This elite light infantry force is now redesigned to capture objectives wherever they are sent - be it a quick reinforcement to defend a strategic town or an offensive drop deep into enemy territory to cause distraction, open flanks or cut off the enemy supplies. Armed with such features, paratroopers provide flexibility to their commander in strategic planning like very few units in the war do.

Attack range
Attack range - Battlefields containing enemies can only be targeted if they're in the attack range (red circle)

In practice, the paratroopers utilize the same kind of interaction model as that of fighter squadrons. Both units have a transport radius, which is their operation radius for moving to a friendly territory, and a smaller attack radius within which they can move to an enemy town. Once the move order is given, both units fly directly to their destination.

Onwards - to Battle
Onwards to Battle - Paratroopers fly (very much like the fighter squadrons) to reach their destination.

But differences start to appear once these units appear at their destination. While the fighter squadron need an on-going mission at the destination point (and then they’ll join that battle, otherwise return to the airbase), the paratroopers have the option of starting a mission on the destination.

Attack a battlefield
Attack a battlefield - Unlike fighter squadrons, paratroopers can fly to a battlefield and the commander can tell them to attack it.

Paratroopers capture a battlefield
Paratroopers capture a battlefield - At the end of the battle (if the paratroopers are successful), then they capture the battlefield. However, they're converted to ground light infantry - symbolized by losing the wings on their insignia.

However, this strong attack mechanic comes at a cost. After fighting in a mission, paratroopers are converted to grounded infantry units. That means they will not be able to fly until their commander gets them back to a friendly (and supplied) airfield, where they can get their transport planes back and be ready to parachute into future missions. Some of the possible advantages of the paratrooper assault teams are depicted in the screenshots below:

Attack Behind Enemy Lines
Attack Behind Enemy Lines - Commanders can use their paratrooper assault teams to penetrate the enemy's front lines, by dropping behind and punching through the front

Attack Weak Enemy Units
Attack Weak Enemy Units - Given the right intelligence, paratrooper units can be used to take out weakened enemy assault teams

Another interesting by-product of this mechanic would be that an over-zealous and hasty commander could make a huge mistake of attacking a territory too far behind the front-line, which could be fatal for the paratroopers, since they have no way of getting out or receiving reinforcements.

Nowhere to go
Nowhere to go - Even though the paratroopers captured the battlefield and destroyed an Assault Team, they find themselves cut off from reinforcements and surrounded by enemy - almost certain to be destroyed

So enjoy your “Fallschirmjäger”, but use them wisely commanders!... Oh, and check back later for more updates.

Sign up for an Alpha-key here!

(Original Heroes & Generals blog link)

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Serathis
Serathis

Nice. Now all we need is a few hundred more players so this game feels like a war :)

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ShrikeGFX
ShrikeGFX

The interface could use more work, that red background is a placeholder right ?

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fragfest2012
fragfest2012

I would play this if I got reminders of when the play sessions were.

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SphericalOrb
SphericalOrb

Just wondering are "German Paratrooper Unit" referred to as "Fallschirmjäger" in-game?

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