The Soviet War Machine is Cranking Up! news

The credits for everything you're about to see here can be found in the images section of 1949's page.

So lets get this update started. Russia is a tough faction with some tough units. Most of its units have the purpose of attacking, while their few buildings are mainly geared toward defense. Let's start with the units, which will be pictured here. Building plans will be listed here, with the buildings themselves being shown in a later update (not all of their necessary assets are around right now).

The first unit is the Conscript Squad

I should probably say horde instead, because each unit has about 30 men in it. You will never know the exact amount, because the conscripts themselves don't count toward the pop limit, so the squad member counter doesn't count them either. It does count the two officers and their two guards, however. Even one Conscript unit can be a severe threat to the enemy, who must target the squad's few weaknesses to gain victory. Firstly, there are the officers, whose deaths can cripple the effectiveness of the entire unit. The NKVD Officer, the chap with the nice blue cap in the back, is responsible for telling the squad members to hold their ground. If he dies, then the remains of the squad will automatically fall back to head quarters, having lost their will to fight. The bold looking fellow in the foreground is the Infantry Officer, who serves a similar purpose. The exact effects of his death are being looked at, though I'm thinking his death will generally nerf the unit but leave it in combat. In other words, target the officers first, it could end a Soviet assault before it even starts. Otherwise, get some heavy machine guns.

The much more disciplined soldiers of the Soviet Army are its Shock Troopers.

These fellows are relied upon to take control of buildings and capture points. They are armed with AK-47s, which are the best weapons for cover breaching in the mod. Their weapons can give them a great advantage against a foe in even the heaviest of cover. However, their own ability to use cover is rather limited, so they are best used as a mobile strike force for continual assault. They come in groups of 6, and are fairly expensive.

Another key unit in Russia's arsenal is the Heavy Engineer Squad

These men come to battle bearing PPSHs, and are the Russian factions main AT unit. They will be equipped w/ RPG 6 Anti-Tank grenades for this purpose. They will also be responsible for building heavy fortifications. However, they are not built from the Russian headquarters, but can be summoned to the battlefield once Russia has built its first structure using Shock Troops. In any case, these 5 man units serve a key role in Russia's army.

Finally, we get to the IS-3, Russia's monster tank. In the image here, you will see Russia using its tanks in an entirely new armor command system.

You may not be able to tell, but these IS-3s are actually all part of the same squad. In other words, if one gets destroyed, another can be reinforced to take its place at a reduced cost. All Soviet tanks can be purchased in varying quantities. For instance, A T-34 can be gotten as a single unit, or in groups of 3 or 5. Because these units can be reinforced for low cost, their higher initial purchase cost makes deploying them worth it. However, a Soviet commander should note that the larger a group is, the more difficult it is to command it. They no longer receive individual orders, so they can easily start running into one another until they create an ugly traffic jam.

On the subject of Soviet buildings, these will be few in number. However, they each fill an important role. In order for the Soviets to get snipers, they must build a building that spawns them, but they cannot be commanded. They just populate the region and fire on any enemy that passes in front of them. Other buildings will have similar defensive roles, but not all of them have been decided yet. I want to push the limits of what I can do with the engine, so I'll tell the exact details when the building update comes. In any case, expect to see some new stuff from Russia.

That said, I think I'll go to sleep now, I haven't been getting much sleep lately (this isn't the mod's fault, btw, I just have insomnia). I hope you enjoyed this update.

With Regards,
Jimmy Hoffa