Next update: "Closer", introducing a new game mode

[EUG_PapaYankee]

“Closer”, the next free update for Steel Division: Normandy 44, will be available on September 21st, alongside the Second Wave DLC.

Here’s the content of this upcoming update, still developed with the help of selected members of our community:

• New game mode: “Closer Combat”, as announced in the content roadmap. Do you want to know more about this one? Well, just check the full announcement on Steam!
• Remastered first campaign mission: we have made some serious adjustments to make it a bit more accessible for newcomers. It kinda felt a bit too much stressful and complex for a first mission. The first timer to seize Audouville has been removed, there is now one single deployment zone, and the general pace of the mission has been revamped. Don’t worry, completing the secondary objectives are still a good challenge, and the other missions of the campaign remain unchanged.
• New shortcut to toggle “Slow-mo” in Single Player: No need to click like hell to get more time to plan your actions, just press a key (“P” or “K”, depending on your profile, can be changed in the options), and you’re all set.
• Official servers for 4v4 games, to help reducing lags induced by the peer-to-peer mode.
• More balancing, more bug fixing...

Just 6 days left until the release of this fifth update and Steel Division: Normandy 44 - Second Wave DLC. In the meantime, you could keep an eye on Youtube/Twitch, I’ve heard some streamers and youtubers will have the opportunity to get their hands on this new mode...

 

[Apolyon]

Intresting. I don't know why but I'm a little skeptic about this new game-mode. I'm sure it will increase greatly the pace of Phase A and the intensity of first fights, but one the one hand I'm wondering if the actual balance permite to this mode to function as intended, e.g., AVRE at short range in the very begining of the game would be even more deadly than now. On the other hand, if its in-game speed fits with its real-one, this is probably the only where we could see Renault FT-17 fighing :3

 

[EUG_MadMat]

Intresting. I don't know why but I'm a little skeptic about this new game-mode. I'm sure it will increase greatly the pace of Phase A

Yes & No.
Yes, you come faster to grip with the enemy.
But on the other hand, you can deploy a defense in depth, already set up, in other parts of the battlefield. Therefore you don't have to micro-manage from the start all your "gun rushes" forward to set them all in the perfect spot as far & fast as possible, all at the same time. So, left assured on other potential enemy axes of progression, it lets you concentrate on the actual "strike force".

Regarding AVRE or other Phase A long range units, having the ability to deploy close to the front doesn't make it mandatory for the opponent to stick their unit to it too. On the contrary, it gives you the depth to place your "armored fist" close to the front, ready to strike but not immediately under fire from the enemy. And since you start to earn points once you control 52% of the battlefield instead of 51%, it allows you to let the enemy reveals himself first without immediately losing points.

Being a mostly infantry player myself, I really enjoy not having to organize my defensive screen all at once in the first minute(s). AT guns are now in position, well placed with the LoS tools & ready to fire from the start. It also gives some unsung vehicles, such as the slow French tanks a new life, since they can be positioned in "quick" striking distance of an objective.

 

[Lomak]

Could we get the adjustment of map controll with 52% also for the normal conquest mode? I like the strategically choice to deploy infantry troops without the vehicle.

 

[Crotou]

• Official servers for 4v4 games, to help reducing lags induced by the peer-to-peer mode.

Yay! Very good news.

 

[Stedke]

Great to hear these news! Can't wait to try the new update.

 

[Lykanion]

This new game mode sounds interesting. And I'm looking forward to the CoOp-Missions.

 

[jammiebadger]

Sounds interesting, very much looking forward to trying this out.

 

[Mountsorrel]

Very interesting. Does "transported" mean towed for the purposes of not having to deploy a unit with its vehicle? If so I think hotkeyed mortars firing right from the start at areas of cover likely to be jumping-off points/lines of departure will be the order of the day.

 

[EUG_MadMat]

Very interesting. Does "transported" mean towed for the purposes of not having to deploy a unit with its vehicle? If so I think hotkeyed mortars firing right from the start at areas of cover likely to be jumping-off points/lines of departure will be the order of the day.

Yes. "Transported" means either carried inside or towed.
You can get rid of the transport from deployment, and if it was armed (then "costing" in the infantry+transport combo) you are refunded its price.

 

[dmdelor]

The new game mode seems insufficiently different to be worth splitting up the player base further over. It seems like that should either be a change to how Conquest works, or just not exist, rather than existing alongside Conquest.

Not having to buy transports seems like it potentially makes balancing harder, too:

-The fact that some units cost a lot more due to the transports they come frequently changes if you want to buy a unit or not. This also seems to be an intentional feature of the design; most clearly, consider the Poles, who can get 2x17-lbdr in a free truck or the same 2x17-lbdrs with vet if the pay for an M5 HT with it. (same avail otherwise, same price tag on the guns) Several recon and AT tabs also are strongly shaped by the fact that some of their cards feature an expensive transport but a cheap unit, meaning that when you buy it you'd best need the transport as much as the unit you're buying.

-Much more dramatically, now everyone gets to the front at the same speed. Stuff that deploys slowly just got a lot better because it loses that disadvantage, but only in this game mode.

It seems like Armored decks, in particular, are going to love this since they generally deploy slowly and often can't buy infantry without expensive transports. Decks that rely on deploying fast and then dying slowly to win on points, on the other hand, are going to be much worse off.

With things priced for units deploying with their transports from the back, I feel like division balance is going to be all over the place in this game mode and it's going to be hard to fix without breaking it for the existing modes.

 

[iamthatiam]

Yay! Very good news.

This is music to my ears

 

[Mikeboy]

Could we get the adjustment of map controll with 52% also for the normal conquest mode? I like the strategically choice to deploy infantry troops without the vehicle.

Yeah it'd be nice to have this applied, and possibly greater points increases for map control beyond that, so significant map control matters more than the tickle from minor control advantage early game.

 

[Fussel]

As long as things don't get balanced around this mode I am okay for it to coexist.

 

[Sotahullu]

Well there is only one thing that I am interest in:

 

[I WUB PUGS]

Seems okay.

 

[Mountsorrel]

Yes. "Transported" means either carried inside or towed.
You can get rid of the transport from deployment, and if it was armed (then "costing" in the infantry+transport combo) you are refunded its price.

So what about aim times? If the game starts and recon spots a unit instantly will the aim time of the unit (and turret traverse) start at zero? I know that the game has had issues in the past with tanks in particular "knowing" where hidden units are and facing their front armour towards them. Will a tank placed in deployment suddenly start to turn towards a hidden unit to present the highest armour value towards it without it being seen when the game starts?

 

[Lykanion]

The new game mode seems insufficiently different to be worth splitting up the player base further over.

I agree. But they're consistent in behaviour... they didn't have the guts to cut the destruction game mode in favour of their new conquest mode, they didn't tone down the plethora of different possible settings for lobbies, they didn't leave the lobbies in favour of the new matchmaker.

But all in all, I'll just wait for the release of the DLC and make up my mind once I know the full amount of changes.

 

[Nebelwerfer 42]

“

• Official servers for 4v4 games, to help reducing lags induced by the peer-to-peer mode.

Everything else is great but this is a game saver right here.

I'm glad to see the continued support and rapid news updates, really restores faith in the game, I'll be changing my steam review to positive now.

I'm also glad to see the campaign being revamped to be more user friendly, it should at least in theory correlate well with the price reduction and bring some new players aboard.

 

[Hidden Gunman]

When I first saw the announcement I thought, "Standalone 10v10?"...

More than happy though...