Rise of the Reds Update: Direct Action news

After the success of the RQ-16 Targeteer vehicle support drone, the US military has recently introduced the RQ-32, a more advanced model with an all-new quadrotor design which is quickly replacing the original Targeteer thanks to its more efficient build. Its function remains unchanged.

The All-Terrain Vehicle - or simply ATV - is a lightweight, air-droppable modification of the American Humvee which incorporates some design features of the vehicles that were at some point intended to replace the entire Humvee fleet altogether. It is fast, very manoeuvrable and armed with the M268, a lighter triple barrelled successor of the original 7.62mm Minigun that makes it an ideal support vehicle for airborne raiding operations. As of Version 1.85, the ATV Humvee will serve as a mostly visual replacement for the old Airborne Humvees that is available via the Paradrop power.

Founded in 1952 as the original special forces of the United States Army, the Green Berets have taken part in covert operations around the entire globe. Highly proficient in the use of the enhanced M16A5 assault rifle, these elite warriors strike fear into the heart of every infantry man faced with the prospect of fighting them and they can use their underbarrel grenade launchers to fire powerful 40mm high-explosive/fragmentation grenades to obliterate footsoldiers and lighly armoured vehicles with ease. The Green Berets performed excellently during the Global War On Terror and after the US' entry into the Russo-European War, General Francis Thorn, himself a veteran of the Army's 1st Special Forces Group, has requisitioned a large contingent of these excellent soldiers to spread fear and chaos behind the Russian lines in support of ECA resistance groups. As of the upcoming Version 1.85, Green Berets will replace the Rangers that are currently delivered by the American Paradrop General Power.

The members of the 1st SFOD-D, commonly known as Delta Force, are among the most elite soldiers in the United States military. As the most secretive and well-trained special forces unit of the US Army, the Deltas have achieved an unparalleled degree of mastery in the use of countless weapons. Their heavy gunners serve as fire support specialists and wield a combination of weapons that enables them to deal with any sort of threat: Their primary armament is the Mk.48 Mod 3, a machine gun that spews out lethal 7.62mm rounds at an amazing rate of fire, allowing the Operators to rip through infantry, light vehicles and even low flying aircraft with ease. In addition, they carry a lightweight 60mm commando mortar whose advanced precision guided shells make up for their lack of explosive punch through nigh-pinpoint accuracy. As of Version 1.85, Delta Force Operators will replace the generic Missile Defenders that are currently part of the Paradrop General Power. As of 2.0, they will be available as an exclusive trainable unit of General Thorn.

This brings us to a new game mechanic of the American faction which we will introduce in ROTR version 1.85: The POW feature. Since the original pre-release version of Generals already contained assets for such a system which was scrapped during development, we have decided to re-implement POWs as a neat little game mechanic for the American faction. As of 1.85, Ranger Flashbangs will no longer kill enemy infantry. Instead, enemy soldiers who are brought down to zero health via Flashbangs will enter a surrender animation and remain on the battlefield as prisoners that can be captured by Rangers. Every captured prisoner will be automatically transferred to the Detention Camp which is now home to a revised version of the CIA Intelligence power: Each prisoner acts as a single-use 'ammunition' for this new power which will temporarily reveal all enemy units on the map. In effect, it works just like the old CIA Intelligence power, except you now actually have to do some work in order to get your intelligence. The payoff is that the power will be available as many times as you can obtain it. Be warned, however, that not all infantry units may be willing to surrender and if you leave a prisoner on the field for too long, he will regain his senses and return to the fight, albeit weakened by the concussive power of the Flashbangs. Check out the following video for a brief in-game demonstration of the new POW mechanic.