Darkest Hour Beta v2.0 download - Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 Game

Official Beta 2.0 Changelog

NEW CONTENT

Scoped Enfield No.4

The British now have their own sniper rifle, which replaces the Springfield on British maps. It has the same 10 round capacity as it's non-scoped variant and due to the constraints of RO's existing system, reloading has been split into two, each loading no more than 5 rounds at a time. If 0-4 rounds remain, you will only load as many as required to have 5 rounds in the weapon. If you have 5-9 rounds loaded, you will load until the weapon is full. e.g. If you have 2 bullets left and attempt to reload, you will only load 3 more. To reload to full capacity, you will need to press reload again. It has been broken up in this fashion, as reloading is currently not interruptable and players would otherwise be defenceless for the considerable length of time it takes to load 10 rounds.

New Fallschirmjager character model

Fresh from one of our new 3D Artists, 2_k, the Fallschirmjager has a brand new model, complete with a variety of different uniforms and helmets. It automatically replaces the old reskinned RO German soldier that was used prior to this point.

Panzerschreck and Bazooka Rockets

When an AT soldier is killed or drops his AT weapon, his unused rockets are no longer lost. They are now dropped/picked up in the same manner as PIAT bombs. Keep an eye out for their distinctive shapes when scavenging weapons and ammunition from the fallen.

Useable Static-Line Parachutes

On selected maps, Soldiers can now be issued with static line parachutes. To activate them, simply step out the door of the aircraft at any point in its flight path and the static line will automatically deploy your parachute. Once in the air, you have some control over your movement but it is only minimal - just enough to choose a landing zone and start heading for it. You cannot use your weapon while parachuting. Remember that you're an easy target while you're in the air, so choose your drop zone carefully!

Attention Mappers: If you intend to include parachutes in future maps, you must add both a ParachuteStaticLine and a ParachuteItem to a player's loadout.

Cromwell Tank

The British now have a tank they can truly call their own. The Cromwell.

The Cromwell was the fastest British tank to serve in the Second World War, with a top (ungoverned) speed of 40 mph or 64 km/h . Unfortunately this speed proved too much for even the Christie suspension and the engine was governed to give a top speed of 32 mph or 51 km/h, which was still fast for its time. Thanks to its Christie parentage the Cromwell was very agile on the battlefield.

The dual purpose 75 mm main gun fired the same ammunition as the US 75 mm gun and therefore it had around the same HE and armour-piercing capabilities as the 75 mm equipped Sherman tank. The Cromwell's armour ranged from 8 mm to 76 mm thick overall but the maximum thickness was later increased to 102 mm with appliqué armour plates which were welded on. This armour compared well with that of the Sherman although the Cromwell did not share the Sherman’s sloped glacis plate. The Cromwell crews in North-West Europe succeeded in the Cromwell with superior speed, manoeuvrability and reliability outflanking the heavier and more sluggish German tanks; however, the Cromwell was still not a match for the best German armour and British tank design would go through another stage, the Comet tank, before going ahead in the tank development race with the Centurion tank.

Jagdpanther Tank Destroyer

The Jagdpanther ("Hunting Panther") was a tank destroyer built by Nazi Germany during World War II based on the chassis of the Panther tank. Many historians consider the Jagdpanther to be the best tank destroyer of World War 2
A heavy tank destroyer design based on the 88 mm Pak 43 gun and the Panther tank chassis was ordered in late 1942 as design SdKfz 173. Production started in early 1944; at the same time Hitler specified the Jagdpanther ("hunting panther") name.

To accommodate the gun, the sides of the Panther tank were extended up to provide a roomy interior, while maintaining a very low profile. Both the Panther Ausf. G and Jagdpanther had side armor of increased elevation to enhance this effect even further and to harmonize production.
It was armed with an anti-tank version of the same long-barreled 88 mm gun as the Tiger II and a 7.92 mm MG-34 machine gun in the front glacis plate for local defence. The Jagdpanther had a good power-to-weight ratio and a powerful main gun, which enabled it to destroy any type of Allied tank. The Jagdpanther's low profile meant that it was easily camouflaged. Because it was based on the existing Panther chassis, the vehicle did not suffer too many mechanical problems. It was manned by a crew of 5, a driver, radio-operator, commander, gunner, and a loader.
Two variants can be distinguished, one with a welded steel band around the main gun mantlet and the other with a bolted-on band. The versions with the bolted-on ring were equipped with Pak 43/4 gun. Early Jagdpanthers had a monobloc gun barrel and two vision openings for the driver, whereas late versions had only one.

Sherman 76mm Tank

The first 76 mm gun Sherman to enter combat (in July 1944) was the M4A1, closely followed by the M4A3. By the end of the war, half the US Army Shermans in Europe had the 76 mm gun. The first HVSS Sherman to see combat was the M4A3E8(76)W in December 1944.

The growing numbers of Panthers on the western front led the US Army to deploy 76 mm-gun Shermans to Normandy in July 1944. The higher-velocity 76 mm gun M1 gun gave Shermans anti-tank firepower at least equal to most of the German vehicles they encountered, particularly the Panzer IV, and StuG. However, with a regular AP (Armour Piercing, Shot) ammunition (M79) or APCBC (M62) shells, the 76 mm could only have a chance to knock out a Panther at close range with a shot to its front manlet, or with a shot to its flank. At long range, the Sherman was badly outmatched by the Panther's 75 mm gun, which could easily penetrate the Sherman's armor. This contributed to the high losses of Sherman tanks experienced by the U.S. Army in the European Theater of Operations (ETO)

Thompson SMG Select Fire

The Thompson now has both fully automatic and semi-automatic fire modes. Simply press your "switch fire mode" key and you'll change between the two. While semi-automatic is no more accurate than full-auto, it's much more controllable and allows for more precise mid-to-long range shooting.

British Voices

Our new voice pack brings a touch of class (and a lot of "colour") to the British army, with a full set of voice commands for both infantry and vehicles. The battlefield truly comes to life when the insults start to fly!

Ardennes Panther

There is now a second camouflage pattern available for the Panther in Ardennes maps for added variety.

Snow Tanks

The first in a series of new winter textures for the Ardennes. The M10, Sherman, Panther G, Sdkfz251 (halftrack) and Stug now have snow variants for better camouflage on winter maps. Even more are on their way in future releases.

2 new camouflage textures for the Panzer 4(with matching skirt armour) & 2 new textures for the Panther G, both textures also have snow versions.

More Changelog info here