"Death on the Vistula"
QuoteHello everyone,
We are glad to announce the first History Pack DLC for Steel Division 2: Death on the Vistula! Available on Thursday, October 17th, and part of the Steel Division 2 - History Pass, this first paid DLC will be packed with awesome content!
That History Pass is now available for pre-order for US$35, by the way.
QuoteLet's have a look at what Death on the Vistula DLC will bring!
The last massive tank battle in the East
Poland, July 28th, 1944. The Operation Bagration offensive closes in on its ultimate goal. Having destroyed Army Group Center, the 1st Belorussian Front races ahead to prevent the Germans from reforming a strong defensive line, overconfident in its own abilities. Stalin aims to capture Warsaw and install a pro-Soviet government.
With their sights set on the grand prize, the Polish capital city, as well as a bridgehead the Vistula river, the Soviets fail to notice that they are heading straight into a trap. The Germans, having received reinforcements from five elite Panzerdivisions, are converging on the Red Army vanguard from three directions.
This new Army General campaign pits the crack IV. SS-Panzerkorps (Totenkopf and Wiking Panzerdivisions) against the three tank corps-strong Soviet 2nd Guards Tank Army. Various elements from other armored or mechanized divisions will also be available, including 4. Panzerdivision, 19. Panzerdivision, Hermann Göring Panzerdivision, 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps, 11th Tank Corps, and more...
Massive content
The Death on the Vistula DLC will feature tons of awesome exclusive content:
1 Huge Army General Campaign: Vistula
4 New Divisions:
5. SS-Panzerdivision "Wiking"
Fallschirm-Panzerdivision "Hermann Göring"
Armia Krajowa
1st Polish "Tadeusza Kościuszki" Infantry Division
200+ new units
4 new Historical Battles :
River of Blood
Fighting Retreat
Escape from Brest
Memento Mori
2 Exclusive Aces :
Karl Nicolussi-Leck and his Panther A
The "Chwat" Jagdpanzer 38(t)
Of course, we will reveal all the juicy details of this gorgeous amount of new content in the upcoming Dev Diaries!
New features and more maps for everybody
We are proud to announce that a new feature will be added to the game: the Smart Orders. Introduced in our latest blog entry, these new tactical commanding tools will greatly reduce the required amount of micromanagement. It does so by letting the AI manage the execution of orders given to selected group of units. We can't wait to tell you more about the Smart Orders, which we will do in detail in a dedicated Dev Diary that will be published later this week.
Moreover, releasing on the same day as the Death on the Vistula DLC, three new tactical maps will be available as free Reinforcement Pack DLCs for everyone who owns Steel Division 2:
Brest, west
Zbuczyn
Gora Kalwaria
These brand-new battlefields offer new tactical possibilities for skirmish players in any game mode, including solo, coop and multiplayer!
Last but not least, a major update with a host of improvements and adjustments, as well as tutorials for Army General will be released alongside the Death on the Vistula DLC on October 17th!
Stay tuned
Keep an eye on the Steel Division 2 Steam page and on our social channels in the near future, we have a lot to tell you about this exciting new content that is coming in hot!
See you!
More About This Game
Still disappointed overall that they chose Bagration as the focus. I recently finished a book on the Operation and there really was no contest. By this time in the war, the Germans in AGC were so depleted and worn out that there just wasn't much of a contest and the issue was never in any doubt.
That's not to say that the battles as the Soviets can't be challenging, but the late war on the Eastern Front is just not a period that I prefer to focus my gaming.
Same. Though to be fair, while I want to get back into learning and playing the new campaign(s) (i.e. different stages of the same campaign), I've been too busy having fun elsewhere to appreciate it. Someday!
I am thinking of getting back into it now. I got the best pack for this game and have been waiting for some down time to play the campaign properly.
I would wager I might get close combat and thrn be dissappointed its not steel Division!!
I got Steel Division and was disappointed that it wasn't Close Combat. :-\
I tell you what I tried the campaign as the Germans yesterday and the points system in campaign battles really gives the ai a huge edge. Allowing it to spam units quickly. Making each wave huge.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 30, 2019, 01:04:08 PM
Still disappointed overall that they chose Bagration as the focus. I recently finished a book on the Operation and there really was no contest. By this time in the war, the Germans in AGC were so depleted and worn out that there just wasn't much of a contest and the issue was never in any doubt.
That's not to say that the battles as the Soviets can't be challenging, but the late war on the Eastern Front is just not a period that I prefer to focus my gaming.
And continuing to the Vistula isn't any better. I wouldn't mind going forward in the timeline to Kursk with DLC. Even better, I wonder if there'll be tools for modders to create their own campaigns.
Quote from: Skoop on October 05, 2019, 07:55:37 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 30, 2019, 01:04:08 PM
Still disappointed overall that they chose Bagration as the focus. I recently finished a book on the Operation and there really was no contest. By this time in the war, the Germans in AGC were so depleted and worn out that there just wasn't much of a contest and the issue was never in any doubt.
That's not to say that the battles as the Soviets can't be challenging, but the late war on the Eastern Front is just not a period that I prefer to focus my gaming.
And continuing to the Vistula isn't any better. I wouldn't mind going forward in the timeline to Kursk with DLC. Even better, I wonder if there'll be tools for modders to create their own campaigns.
Kursk is backward in the timeline. Operation Bagration was July - August 1944. Kursk was a year earlier. But I agree...Kursk would have been a much more interesting battle to game.
I was going to say Kursk wouldn't have had as many toys; but the Tiger was already in service and the Panther was first deployed at Kursk, right?
Quote from: JasonPratt on October 06, 2019, 12:34:03 PM
I was going to say Kursk wouldn't have had as many toys; but the Tiger was already in service and the Panther was first deployed at Kursk, right?
Yep, I think something like 90 Panther tanks were used at Kursk.
Yes, they were there. But they were a dismal failure due to mechanical problems that was cause by their being rushed from the production lines to the front before much testing. Most of them broke down or were withdrawn for repairs.
^ Now that you mention it, I recall seeing that, too, somewhere!
(There's a really nice set of older British documentaries on the development of German armor before and across WW2, each ep focusing on production model, plus some other episodes for things like APCs, StuGs, and tracked arty. Jagdpanzers are grouped under their basic tank model chassis episodes. I'm sure I last saw the Panther failure at Kursk in the Panther episode for that series.)
Bound to be on youtube right?
I do remember the Panthers at Kursk had engine fires or broke down. Some got into combat though.
I have a series of three relatively new hardback books on armor combat on the Eastern Front and I remember the author commenting on how rushed the Panthers were - and if logistics and supply were better they could have made a real difference in the war as a whole...can't remember the author's name off the top of my head.
Quote from: Destraex on October 07, 2019, 08:44:47 AM
Bound to be on youtube right?
Indeed, I downloaded them from YT somewhere! I'll try to re-find them. (They're also legitimately for sale in a collection at Amazon.)
BEHOLD! -- the collector's edition DVD set. www.amazon.com/German-War-Files-Germanys-Ultimate/dp/B000V6LTA8
They can generally be found on YT (on lower quality scans) under the title "The German War Files" with specific descriptions about the episodes. There are 8 eps that I know of, could be more (8 dvds but could be one ep per dvd):
Pz 1 and 2
Pz 3
Pz 4
Pz 5
Pz 6
Stugs (and StuHs)
Self-propelled arty
Panzergrenadiers
Mechanized anti-tank platforms are included with the eps of their tank chassis.
The Panzer 4 episode has the most haunting ending: a lone bombed Pz4 watching down from the Golan Heights upon the Israeli plain below -- an evil that sleeps and does not die.
Update: there are 20 eps (spread across the 8 dvds).
Update 2: there are 20 eps, but the 8 dvds in that set focus only on the armored land vehicles.
Here's a full playlist (since the DVDs are out of print and a full collection can get pricey fast): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0CE9B341FADD6657
That first episode "Panzer: Germany's Ultimate War Machine" is more like a spare odds-n-ends of things that didn't make it into the other episodes, leading off with a short account of the battle of Kursk. (The sound tends to overwhelm the narrator sometimes.) It also features rare archive training films concerning, for example, proper Stug tactics.
Aside from eps on Panzers 1 through 6, and the Stugs, plus mechanized arty, and mechanized infantry (APCs), plus the spare-leftover-ep ;) , there are two eps on the Fallschimjagers, two eps on fighters, one ep on the night fighters, one ep on dive bombers, two eps on level bombers, one ep on jets and rockets, and one ep on support aircraft. (Plus one ep on infantry weapons.)
Basically the Heer/Wehrmacht landwar capabilities are covered; only navy is excluded.
I can't tell you how many times I've watched these. Some of the best out there.