To Arms! news - Forgotten Hope 2 mod for Battlefield 2

Hello and welcome back to another update of Forgotten Hope. Today we've got two items; first, we'll talk about the next patch for Forgotten Hope 2 and second, we'll show you some nice renders of weapons that will be available on our Normandy maps.

Before we release Normandy, we've got one more patch coming up for Africa. It will feature three brand new maps and a number of bugfixes (and perhaps new weapons and vehicles). These three maps are in the final stages of development, so we expect this patch not to takes as long as 2.1 to be released. For this patch, which we're calling Forgotten Hope 2.15, we've prepared a teaser that shows screenshots of all three new maps. What the names of the maps are and what they're about we'll leave for you to guess. Feel free to share your guesses on our forum.

We have as many as five new weapon renders today. Let's start with the American weapons, both of which were modeled and skinned by Seth Soldier.

Although the Springfield M1903 rifle first entered military service in the US army in 1903, it was still used in large numbers during the Second World War, especially before the M1 Garand was available in large quantities. By the time of the Normandy landings, the M1 Garand had mostly replaced the springfield, but it still remained the favoured weapon for snipers. The A4 version of the M1903 was adapted for snipers and first appeared in 1942.

The M1 Carbine was first issued to US soldiers in mid 1942. It was developed to be a lightweight, but accurate weapon, as the M1903 Springfield and M1 Garand were thought to be too cumbersome for fast and light troops. Especially for the Airborne a seperate version with a folding stock was made, called the M1A1 Carbine. Although the Carbine fired rounds of the same caliber as the M1 Garand (.30), its rounds were much shorter and many soldiers complained about its lack of stopping power and penetration.

Next, we have three German weapons. Let's start with the explosive ones, both of them modeled and skinned by Knoffhoff.

Both the British and the Americans mainly used fragmentation (pineapple) grenades. These grenades not only cause a concussive explosion, but they can also blast deadly shrapnel up to 50 metres away. The standard German handgranade however, didn't have much of a shrapnell effect at all. To increase the deadlyness of this grenade, the Germans developed special caps that you could slide over the explosive head and would fragment during the blast. Also note that this isn't the same M24 grenade as in 2.1, but a newer version, called the Stielhandgranate M43.

In late 1943 the German army introduced a new weapon in anti-tank combat, called the Panzerfaust (meaning armour-fist in English). The initial version of this weapon could only reach about 30 metres, but the versions used in Normandy can reach as far as 60 or even 100 metres. Contrary to popular belief, this weapon is in fact not a rocket, but a recoilless gun. A rocket has a propellant in the projectile, that carries it through the air. The panzerfaust carries two charges in the barrel, one of which fires the projectile away, while the second creates an equal force in the opposite direction to cancel out the recoil. Be careful though, this second charge creates a dangerous fire-jet at the other end of the weapon, which will severly burn anyone standing behind you.

Last but not least, we have the Sturmgewehr 44, both modeled and skinned by Seth Soldier.

The StG44 only entered service in July 1944, but before that the previous versions of this rifle (MP44 and MP43) had already been used on the front lines. This weapon is commonly regarded as being the first assault rifle in history. It fired powerful 7.92mm rounds, which were more like short rifle rounds than submachinegun bullets. Combined with its relatively long barrel and good accuracy, this weapon combined the best aspects of rifles and submachineguns. Nearly 426,000 of these assaultrifles were build during the war. Many people claim that the famous AK47 was only copied from the StG44, but while the overall design was similar, the mechanics are completely different.

On February 12th 1941 the German Afrikakorps arrived in Africa. They were led by general Erwin Rommel, who confindent after his successes in France, was sure he could beat the British in North Africa. The Afrikakorps joined up with the Italian forces in Libia and even though Rommels orders were to stop the British 8th Army's advance called Operation Crusader, he instead started a major counter offensive and began pushing the British back towards Egypt. This was the beginning of a long and bloody engangement in Africa that would redefine the German Blitzkrieg. Now you have the chance to take part of this great conflict. Either enlist with the British 7th Armoured Division, part of the 8th Army, and fight to protect British Egypt and push the germans back, or enlist with the 90. Leichte Afrika-Division, part of the Afrikakorps, and fight your way towards Cairo. No matter who wins, the fighting in North Africa will prove to be "The End of the Beginning" of World War II.

Regardless of which side you choose to fight for, you will fight with honor on the battlefield and with your comrades beside you. You will feel the struggle and pressure veterans had to face. You will be propelled into battles you have never seen before. You will fight the way war is meant to be fought. You will fight the Forgotten Honor way. Develop in real time as a soldier in the desert war, gain new friends, earn respect and promotions from your officers, and gain medals for your valiant efforts. Take part in the greatest military strategies in the desert war and deliver victory to your army.

"The End of the Beginning" will offer you:
* 32 vs 32 battles every Friday night.
* Team play on the highest possible level
* Two armies lead by experienced officer corp
* An original World War 2 chain of command with Generals giving orders to company officers and through them to every single soldier.
* Battles where first half is played on a European server and the second half is played on a American server
* Sunny Mediterranean beaches
* Unforgettable atmosphere created by very active and friendly community with people from all over the world.

Forgotten Honor - Best Forgotten Hope Tournament

That's all for this week, but be sure to come back next time for another update. Until then, feel free to visit our IRC channel and our public forums to discuss this update and other news.