Nothing much changed in the rules, but we will see more individual Control Points on large maps with big capture areas. An example is Kashan Desert, where in v0.87 you have both South and North Bunkers needed to be captured and defended before the attack on the Villages. In v0.9 you have both Bunkers CPs in separate groups, so you need to only capture and defend one at a time. We believe this addition will help teams that want to do maneuvers with multiple squads.
2. Insurgency game mode
The maximum number of Weapon Caches needed to be destroyed by coalition forces was lowered from 10 to 7 caches. Also the amount of tickets gained from destroying a cache was increased from 10 to 25 tickets. This change will hopefully make rounds either shorter or more balanced.
The civilian collaborator kit rules were also tweaked so that coalition forces can only engage them inside the ROE if they executed any of these actions in the last minute:
- Used any weapons from other kits, except the collaborator and unarmed kits
- Used the epipen or resuscitate hands
- Occupied any vehicle position
- Respawned in the game
3. Command and Control game mode
The maximum number of Forward Outposts that can be placed in this mode is now limited to one, but the amount of defenses was doubled (2 AAs, 2 ATs, 4 HMGs and 20 static defenses) as well as the distance they can be placed in relation to the FO (from 200m to 400m).
The idea is that you build and defend your FO and attack the enemy FO, centralizing your forces for multiple squads engagements. If your FO is destroyed your team will start bleeding tickets until it's repaired or rebuilt. The farthest away from your main base you build your FO, the more the enemy will bleed tickets, if their FO gets destroyed. From one ticket every 5 seconds bellow the 1000m mark, up to 8 tickets per second if more than 4500m+. Also there's a big penalty in tickets if your FO is destroyed, so make sure to defend it.
4. Vehicle Warfare game mode
Initially in v0.9 as a tank only mode, it will be featured on several large maps. The focus is really on vehicle engagements, so no other kits besides the Crewman, Pilot and Officer kits are available for request. Also no Forward Outposts or Rally Points can be deployed. There's stronger ticket bleed as you capture more Control Points as an attempt to focus the fight around the CPs.
5. Co-Operative and Single Player game mode
In v0.9 we have integrated coop with the main mod in several (but not all) maps. There are some different rules applied to this mode like number of limited kits, no shoveling of deployable assets, vehicle layouts, etc. This is our replacement of the Training game mode that was removed in v0.9 as it didn't reach the objectives we had for it.
6. Rally Point spawn
After several public beta tests during the months of november and december (0.874B, 0.874C and 0.874D), and receiving great feedback from the community, we reached a decision to go with the changes featured in 0.874D. Read the news post for an insight behind these changes, and why we think they are good.
- Rally Points expire after 60 seconds from being placed.
- Rally Points cannot be placed with a single enemy close (100m radius).
- Rally Points are limited to only one placement before needing to be "rearmed".
- Rally Points are "rearmed" by the Squad Leader when spawning (except on the RP) or getting close to a Forward Outpost, Command Post or Supply Depot.
7. Deployable assets
We will see the addition of the deployable Anti-Tank and the new Squad Leader Radio with a custom list of assets each faction can deploy. Also, we have the following changes to the rules surrounding the deployable assets:
- Maximum number of Forward Outposts available is raised from 4 to 6 outposts.
- Forward Outposts can be built 200m apart (decrease from 300m).
- Forward Outposts can be built with one supply crate instead of two.
- Deployable assets (HMGs, AAs, ATs, Foxholes, etc) require two supply crates to build.
- Deployable assets can be placed up to 200m from the Forward Outpost (increase from 150m).
8. Limited Kits
The main change is that the following infantry kits now require 4+ players in the squad to be requested (instead of 2): Automatic Rifleman, Medic, Grenadier, Rifleman AT (anti-tank), Rifleman AP (anti-personnel) and Marksman. The following special kits still require 2+ players in the squad: Officer, Sniper, Heavy AT (anti-tank), Heavy AA (anti-air) and Combat Engineer. Vehicle kits (Crewman and Pilot) remain the same with only one player needed. All these kits can be requested at the default places like Vehicle Depots, Supply Crates and APCs.
One big update that affects all kits is that they remain on the ground for 5 min, instead of the default 30 seconds. Also a new "drop kit" mechanic is available as a right-click option of the middle button in the Squad comm rose, making it easy to switch kits with other players if needed.
Another nice addition are the several new "alternative" kits, that bring unscoped alternatives to the default scoped rifles. These can be requested pressing the right-click button on the kit request list. If that specific kit for that faction has an alternative, you will get it, otherwise, just the normal kit. Includes kits like the Officer, Grenadier, Automatic Rifleman, Marksman, Rifleman AT/AP, etc, depending on the faction.
9. Commander
The new ACVs were presented few months ago and will be the new home of the Commanders when they are not in the field. That's right, the Commander has the possibility of accessing his command screen from anywhere again. Of course, the UAV is still available only in the ACV.
This was agreed upon the addition of the new Mutiny system in v0.9. Only Squad Leaders can vote for Mutiny against the Commander that is not doing his job of communications, intelligence and integration of the team.
Also, improved area attacks are available as well as a decreased reload time for the Artillery strike from 60 min to 40 min. The new Foxholes present a good defense against area attacks like Artillery and Mortars as they are not destroyed by these projectiles anymore.
Well, that's it for now, and I'm sure I forgot something. Thanks to [R-DEV]bosco and [R-MOD]crazy11 for the pictures. Hopefully you guys can appreciate all the work involved on making this happen, several of us are looking like the screen posted above
I am really looking forward to 0.9 now!
