Operation Cinema: Battle for Shipka peak PREVIEW news

UPDATED: 24.1.11 ..........................................

The Mission: "Against All Odds"

Location: Approaching the Shipka peak, Central Bulgaria

Time: 1 month following the battle of Rousse

Terrain: Relatively small mountain site, tight roads connecting the two parts of the road, forrests are common, Historical monuments, few civilian buildings on either parts of the main road also known as Checkpoints Alpha and Bravo

Story: Two centuries ago 3 nations fought on this sacred peak and the outcome changed the course of history, now once again three nations are going head-on to capture the it. Following Operation Cinema, the bulgarians have gained great momentum pushing the arabs into the fields of Dobrogea. But a new danger is coming close: Turkey ,who had up to this point remained neutral due to the civil war wthin her own borders and was thus largely happening in the asian part of the nation, has joined the war. Allthough not at 100% army strenght Turkeys involvement has been nothing but positive for the Arab Khalif, whose Balkan campaign was turning into a dissaster. The turks were unable to contribute large parts of their military due to constant rebel fighting, not to mention the powerplay between different high ranking officers helping the enemy fraction to gain more power for themselfs. They did however contribute arguably their best division the 226th Special Forces Division also known as "The Black Panthers". This division has fough almost every key battle for the new turkish government since the start of the was .Within two weeks turkish forces gain several key victories for their JIHAD allies including breaking the defenses of Athens, which up until this point had been besieged with arab troops beeing unable to enter the city. But before Athens can be completely conquered the "Black Panthers" were split up. 1/3rd of the division was left to fight in the greek capital, while the rest was sent to move swiftly through the balkan mountains to rescue the arab army trapped in the north. Realizing that stopping the Panthers isnt a job for fresh recruits, the bulgarian government decided to send in its most experienced unit so far the 5th Danube Division, that has fough every key bulgarian battle in the war so far ( similar to the Black Panthers ). Now the time has come for these two dominating armies to meet head-on on the historical mountain pass near the Shipka peak. But all did not go well, as the encripled arab army broke through one of Bulgarias reserve divisions and is attemting to reach the turkish army and combien forces. The only saving grace for the "Danubes" is the tight mountain terrain doesnt allow massive army assaults, as well as possible reinforcements from the 1st Bulgarian Armored division. ButIf the two armies combine all of the success gained so far be irrelevant. Can the Black Panthers destroy the Danubes and exact revenge for their ancestors 2 centuries, or will the veteran soldiers of the 5th Danube Division manage to hold the two armies that have encircled them. Outnumbered, Outgunned, Lesser technologies, No reinforcements certain, will our heroes manage to survive Against All Odds...

Player: Bulgarian Captain Zlatko Georgiev, officer of the 5th Danibe Division. One of the standing out officers in the unit, while playing him you will also have support from your friends Sgt. Atanas Stavrev ( MG Gunner ) and Sgt. Dimitar Stoilov ( close quarters expert ). A true tales of Brothers in Arms they witnessed the very first attack on bulgarian soil almost 1 year ago. But now with Cpt Georgievs troops carrying the future of their homeland in the palm of their hands, will they linger; trapped between two powerfull armies, they will either stand up do the unimaginable and emerge victorious... or die trying...

Fighting Sides:
Allies: Bulgarian 5th danube division, T-72s from the 1st Tank Corp, add 2 MiG-29s for air support
Enemy: Turkish Expeditionary forces, JIHAD Commandos, remnants of Arab forces that retreated southward after Operation Cinema

Map Objectives:
- Defend Checkpoint Alpha
The starting position consists of a small restaurant, trooper tents, and an improvized military parking with various obsatcles ( did I mention its very vulnerable to enemy fire ). Decided to add a few enemy BMPs for extra challenge.
- Pick your loadout from the Arms tent and report to General Vazov
No snipers in the tent, sorry. ( they wont do much good in the caves or catacombs anyway). Change that, there will be a Dragunov in there ( mostly because I added a few JIHAD snipers, and the distance is too far for normal weapons ).
- Join your squad and flank the enemy base by going through the foot of the mountain ( Hint: follow the riverbank through the cave )
This part will be pretty linear due to the big distance that needs to be covered on foot, but dont worry, the new and improved JIHAD commandos will surely help you advance quicker:)
- Destroy the barricade preventing you from advancing
Not easy when your enemy is firing from a bridge 300m above you and trowing grenades ( maybe it is worth adding snipers to the possible loadoout afterall ).
But just walking straight forward can get booring eventually, so I decided to change the route through a few caves.
- Continue down the riverbank
Pretty much same story only this time we meet the turkish commandos, and you think JIHAD commandos are strong just wait and see...
- Fight through the catacombs to reach the cellar of the Hotel on Checkpoint Bravo
I think with a little work this part could be very... spooky if you will.
- Secure Checkpoint Bravo
Aside from the hotel, there will be other buildings too.
- Stop enemy counterattack while avoiding enemy artilery ( this will either look great, or will lagg as hell, stay tuned for that ).
- Secure mountain peak
This part will include a massive turkish Blackhawk helicopter assault on the mountain top, as you and your squad try to reach the top first ... in a UAZ... Yeah thats not gonna work.
- Cover retreating bulgarian forces from mountain top
Finnaly you can aquire a sniper and targets are in no shortage, javelin may also be in use.
- Disable the bridge connecting checkpint Bravo with the peak.
Turkish M1 Abrams are conveying on the top, you didnt think you were going to stop them with 1 BTR and a few RPG-7 did you? However could one of helicopter troops had been carrying a Javelin? Hm... And the arab army is comming from the other side with their own T-72s. Not to mention that javelin is starting to run out of ammo. Needless to say the bulgarians are screwed.
- Hold the line until relieved by allied tank units
Both armies are conveying on the mountain top. You and your comrades have taken cover in the big monument at the top, holding precious paintings, war flags and toombs of the known and unknown soldiers that died there 2 centuries ago. Will these toombs be your grave?

DEMO playability: Hopefully 100%

New weapons:
- RPK lmg ( often prefered by bulgarian gunners )
- Tokarev TT33 ( trophy pistol )
- Makarov PM ( standart siderm for the Bulgarian army )
- SCAR-H ( nice Assault Rifle for the Turkish army )

Developer Notes:

- Note that most of the turkish airforce is fighting rebels in the asian parts of the country, hence why no F-35 Raptors ( that and the fact that no game that i have has them ). But we may get some F-16s in there.
- There is a lot of skinning to be done, most notably the Turkish M1 Abrams and Bulgarian MiG-29.
- Notice that the objective is disable the bridge rather than completely destroying it, this is to allow allied troops to advance quicker in the event the defenses hold.
- May have to create new characters from scratch for turkish forces. BO has yet to announce mod tools, so we may get some modified SAS to play turkish forces, until I can find something better anyways.
- JIHAD Commandos still have the M1 Garand ( sometimes with silencer ), but they will also use silenced G3 Rifles.
- The artillery will actually destroy parts of the map to make a more realistic feel. Could it be possible that the floor can come down right on the player? Well see.
- The bulgarian soldiers need more firepower. AK47, AK74u, RPK, RPD, MP5 and RPG-7. If CoD Black Ops mod tools come out, then adding the Steyr Aug becomes top priority.

Disclaimer:
This is only an early preview, it is possible ( and very likely ) that some things can be changed, so if there is an update I will note it on the article Like This .
This is ObiwanBUL signing off.

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