Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor (Now with a Trailer!)

[Imperial Dane]

It's nice i will agree Although i prefer the Colour Scheme for the Tiger Ace

[Martino]

http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/company...1728612069/p-2

Don't remember reading this in the GamesRadar preview, but then my memory could just be defunc at the moment. But seem an interesting statement by the preview if its true.

There was an interview with Josh Mosqueira (posted here somewhere) where he said mentioned that this is what was planned for CoH - lots of mini DLC additions rather than full-blown "expansions" like OF.

[Imperial Dane]

Well seeing as they are already working on one expansion more.. let's see how well that holds

[Crazy Ivan]

Here's a theory I want to bounce off the thread in general concerning the unlock units [that I haven't seen before];

Isn't it a good sign that there will infact be more than the 4 we've seen, and that they will have more effect that just minor stat change/model changes because they can only be used in custom games by option?

I'd like it if Relic was generous enough to make something unique tied to each badge awarded from the Campaigns instead of just shenanigans from the DLC. That'd give you a real sense of tangible accomplishment then.

[say1988]

Pretty sure someone said badges will "just be there for the extra challenge" (paraphrased), not unlocking things.

[primusamurai]

It looks very good.
I hope there will be a new type of game play. Nothing is sure till the release date, i'm sure of that,but i hope for the best.
As from my opinion this game really needs more factions.

[Alte]

Considering the number of extra units (skins) in this....."expansion"(yeah right ) it would be nice to make a replacement for the stubby gun Panzer IV of the PE in the shape of Brummbar which does the job(irl) of this obsolete vehicle (for 1944)forcefully injected in OF due to layziness, and lack of imagination.

[senseo1990]

Imagine the unit-sounds of the Brummbär:
"Rawwr! I am the mighty Brummbär" oO
As long as it wont fire like the Stuh its okay^^

[say1988]

Screw the Brummbar, unleash the Sturmtiger .

Seriously replacing the P4 IST with an assault gun would be great. Get a more powerful vehicle at the cost of a turret, though I can't help but think that in the current state of the game the turret is too important to pass on.

[Cpt.Tycho]

well sturmtiger...hmm...axis version of churchil with mortar eh?

[senseo1990]

More like a Churchill with mortar which would kill just everything that moves...and in addition to that everything that doesent move O.O

[TheWickedGerman]

Sturmtiger i played in BotB Mod, and was totally OP in my view. Could lay waste of almost a whole screen if I recall correct.

[senseo1990]

Yep the one in BotB seems to be like a v1 rocket...but that doesent mean that it has to be like that in ToV

[Imperial Dane]

Considering it's a cannon mounted on a tiger, it's going to have to be one hell of a weapon in any case, and no the Brummbär would not be a suitable replacement for the PIV Infantry support tank , and the new units are actual new units and not just new skins.. In any case a Brummbär would work better as a replacement for the StuH than the PIV support tank, seeing as they have more in common than the PIV IS and the Brummbär.

And i think a nice replacement unit for the Panzer IV Infantry support Tank would be a Regular Panzer IV.. So the Panzer Elite can actually have some Panzers !

[Alte]

The best would be a regular PZ IV i agree, so we can justify the "panzer" part of the faction name, but it wont happen. The stubby is clearly not meant to be a real tank, but a locked down direct fire infantry mass murderer of some sort, thats why i suggested the Brumm.

Sturmtiger is a irrelevant piece of equipment and i dont consider it a candidate,
Although i am a fan of german "heavy steel" i would like to see more of the unglorified(underatted) tanks which were the backbone of panzerarm (aka more panzer IV variants, less Tigers and their almost non existing modifications)

And what new units ?
The only one i could call "new" is the M18 and thats a stretch, turning a bike into a schwimmwagen or one heavy recon(M8) into another, isnt a new unit, its a replacement skin with some "balance" patching incorporated with it.

And when are we going to see a PAK 40

[torenico]

Brumbar is OK, and replacing the StuH 42 or what the hell?! not replacing! a new unit. I still want to use the StuH in every round i play :P

Sturmtiger no, used in little Numbers.








And please, no Maus :P

[Lethal Dosage]

A Pak40 would indeed be good, but i think Relic would really make everyone's day by allowing all arty/at guns to be able to be towed! Towed guns would be great, especially if they got rid of the Brit 17pdr and 25pdr's emplacements and allowed them to be towed around the battlefield, it'd make them a whole lot more useful, and especially for users of the Flak36, 25pdr and 105mm, it'll allow them to be a little more mobile instead of just arty bait.

[Imperial Dane]

@Alte: yes it is meant to be an infantry murderer, it's an infantry support tank, not an actual tank, that is the point, and not necessarily lock downed all the time, that does tend to make it a big fat target.

And the Brumm as i suggested would better work as a heavier replacement for the StuH than anything else, they are the same kind of weapon while the Infantry support tank is meant to work as that.

And how about waiting to get some actual information on those new units before saying they are new skins ? As far as i can see they will be new units, otherwise by your description, no new units are actually new units as by your account, all additional units are new skins with some balance patching.

As far as we know the new units are the M18 Hellcat for the Americans and the Staghound for the British, but we also know that replacement units will be abound so apparently the Americans will be able to replace their M8 with a Stuart tank, yet we don't know if it will have the same abilities.

And we don't know if the Schwimmwagen is going to appear, and if so, to whose side it will.

and a Pak 40 ? To be honest i would rather see an option to tow AT guns and artillery pieces than more AT.

[Herr Kodax]

Anyone noticed that there's a commander now at that open hatch on the turret?

[Alte]

Lethal Dosage i absolutely agree, all guns should(must) be movable and towed and i still dont understand why developers made artillery pieces like flak 38, 17 pounder etc. fixed buildable (building like) glass rays of death


Imperial Dane you are judging from a position that the Brummbar would suck like the STUGG familiy does, but the lack of turret is the smallest problem, they are bad because they dont hit anything and their ROF is well, you hardly can call it ROF, they are ineffective because the programmers made them like that.

And i hope I am wrong with the whole "skins and units" thing because i burned myself too much in the last 2 years thinking optimistic about games(promises) and overall hype.

[Imperial Dane]

The 17 Pounder is a glass ray of death ? It's surprisingly tough considering it's made out of sandbags and webbing ! And the Flak cannon doesn't really have any protection. Besides, the point with them is for fixed defensive positions, and while one could argue that the fact that the Flak 88 is already so weak that it should have some sort of movement, on the other hand, it's a pretty powerful gun and so is the 17 pounder, they are meant for defensive positions.. although i have seen 17 pounders used otherwise..

And no i am not judging from the position that it would suck like the StuG, note that i Said StuH which is actually effective to a certain degree, and i am judging from the fact that they are both made for the same purpose, assaulting positions.

And i hope i am right about the whole skins and units bit, but i tend to have faith in Relic, some i rarely have in other companies, i might still be wrong, but my experience with Relic would say that those new units would be interesting at the least and not just new skins. But at the moment we know very little about anything, we know about the Tiger Ace campaign, we know a little about the allied new units and a little about one of the new multiplayer modes. So it is hard to actually say something really conclusive when we have only seen a fraction of it all.

@Herr Kodax: Seeing as that is taken from the Tiger Ace campaign , i imagine it is the crew thing that was talken about we are seeing in effect, in this case the ability for the commander to appear in that open hatch, and should also be able to get an MG there to fire with.

[say1988]

While the Brummbar is more like the StuH than the P4 IST, they play the same role: butchering lots of infantry. I can see replacing the Panzer IV with a wher one (It changes dynamics), but does the PE really need more AT? Maybe in a team game with all PE, but I doubt very often. Unless they have a different replacement to wipe out late game elite infantry blobs.

Brummbar would change from: rush in, lockdown, wipe out infantry, to staying back with the PGrens and annihilating any infantry that walks in its path. You just have to find a balance between firepower and turning ability that makes it on par with the P4.

PS Sturmtiger was a joke, as much as I would love to see it, I don't think it would fit (unless possibly it replaced an end of tree unit, say replace the jagd as an infantry/building killer).

[Imperial Dane]

Well do they Need more AI as well ? :P In any case, until we know what the Axis is going to get in new units, it is going to be hard to argue what will be in and what should be in. I mean i would love to see a Panzer III my self, either for the Panzer Elite or the Wehrmacht, or both. Then again, there isn't much left in the Axis armory that has not been added :P

[say1988]

No they don't need more AI, but they wouldn't get more, just different. And if I were PE I would never give up my heavy AI for AT, or even a multipurpose unit.

[Pyros]

I've been playing Company of Heroes Online and going through some of the files in it, and it appears that it contains both a "UMS Invasion" mode (probably the same Invasion mode as in ToV), but also a "UMS Push" mode, which sounds like you're the one invading. I wouldn't be surprised if this is also from Tales of Valor.

[Imperial Dane]

@say: And there you have it, the choices which they intend to bring in :P Some might not trade it out, some might, in the end it will all depend on playstyles

@Pyros: Don't you mean the playtest beta ? As far as i know, you need to be chinese to play Company of Heroes online :P

But a push mode ? Well that might be the opposite, or a mode where you have to push through some fortified area..

[Pyros]

No, I mean CoHO. I'm in the beta for it. There also appears to be some new maps, which I wonder if they're also from ToV as well. One seems to take place in Greece.

[Imperial Dane]

You're in it ? How did you do that ? And greece ? Well that would possibly confirm my suspicions as to where the PE campaign might take place *cough* Crete* Cough*

[DarkWarrior]

so.......how about that top beta players of the patch get to try out that new "up comming new relic title"

[Imperial Dane]

Considering that was probably before Tales of valor.. Can't say, although i might be wrong. Perhaps another CoH expansion ?

[Kosake]

Crete? That black day of German Airborne History, when 15.000 FSJs were dropped onto 40k Allied soldiers instead of the estimated 10k and still managed to capture the island despite lack of heavy weapons and stuff?
Sounds great... Would also fit in that 3 Missions per side idea.

[Imperial Dane]

Well that and seeing as one of the mini campaigns is apparently a PE campaign, and the PE have Fallschirmjaegers, i have suspected this for some time as i really couldn't imagine much else on a 3-4 mission basis involving some "small" force.

[SodR]

Here some new stuff for ya:

http://www.gamereplays.org/community...owtopic=441139

[Imperial Dane]

Interesting, although that it was Villiers Bocage has already been told i believe in the previews. Otherwise one could guess it :P

But nice effort nonetheless.

[senseo1990]

I am wondering why Relic doesent give us any information? I mean isnt the release of the addon in 2 months? And what do we know? "New Gamemodes, Campaigns and Units"
So as far as I am concerned there are 3 possibilities: 1) ToV will come a few months later 2) In fact, the Addon sucks...so there is nothing to show (I dont think so ^^) 3) Relic sucks, because they just play the addon themselves because it's so great and forgot to give us news ... ( I hope so)

[Imperial Dane]

Or it could be because someone has a plan on how to do things.. Problem is we don't know it. And in the end, as far as i know, Relic doesn't have much to do with the actual marketing, that is the Job of THQ, their Publisher. So it's a bit hard to say, i mean i imagine Relic wants to show off as much as they can.

But with the Community site up, i imagine you can expect some new stuff to come in the following weeks

[Pyros]

I think they'll be forced to start showing us things soon. The CoHO beta has given away multiple game modes, new units, new features, etc. It doesn't do THQ any good to sit on this information if the community has already begun to leak it.

[Imperial Dane]

Well i think we should be a bit wary about assuming everything new in CoH Online being Tales of Valor content too.. But yeah that as well.

But with the Community site up, we should at least see some small updates. But in the end, it all rests with THQ.

[senseo1990]

Im so excited about Tales of Valor =O I hope that I wont be dissappointed...but I believe in Relic

[Imperial Dane]

Well if you didn't. Why are you here then ? :P But they seem rather intend on delivering a good product

[senseo1990]

The new official community site which went online today says this about the release of ToV: "Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor will be released in 2009. " Maybe an indicator that ToV won't be released in march? Now that I think about it? Who actually said ,that it will be released in two months? It was an official statement , wasn't it?

[Imperial Dane]

Well the only place i recall reading about it is the place where it was first seen. Amazon.com.

[YurdleTheTurtle]

The new official community site which went online today says this about the release of ToV: "Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor will be released in 2009. " Maybe an indicator that ToV won't be released in march? Now that I think about it? Who actually said ,that it will be released in two months? It was an official statement , wasn't it?

Seems kind of unlikely that it'll be released so soon. There has been little media coverage, no hype/marketing strategies have been displayed, and DoW 2's release is going to tie up at least some of Relic's time.

I'm predicting middle-late 2009.

[Imperial Dane]

Well i've already posted this link on the Community site, but imagined that not everyone goes there already so :
http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=58470

A bunch of new screenshots from december which seem to have gone unnoticed.
What i notice is a rather new area that gives me the idea of germany, so the american mini campaign might take place there.
Also several things spring into my eyes:
http://www.worthplaying.com/kiwi_pop...fValor_015.jpg
Airborne infantry in green and with what looks like to be thompson SMGS.

and then i am not so sure about the next couple of screenshots but here goes:
First look at this one and note the incoming axis vehicles: http://www.worthplaying.com/kiwi_pop...fValor_019.jpg
Then in this screenshot, same place, different angle and later in the battle: Notice the burning wreck: http://www.worthplaying.com/kiwi_pop...fValor_017.jpg

Looks to me like a new light tank for the germans.

So some rather revealing screenshots if i am right.

[Panzer Jager]

That's some great stuff there Imperial Dane.
Pretty sure those Airborne will end up being SP only (the Paratrooper campaign, as seen on the cover) and they appear to be wearing uniforms that would suggest Operation Market Garden or Varsity. Your statement about this possibly being Germany will probably be quite true; judging by the surrounding architecture and the Airborne uniforms.

Also in the Link with the burning wreck featured, it appears one of the Paratoopers is holding an M1919 .30cal LMG. It's hard to tell with such a low-resolution.

[Imperial Dane]

Also looking further at the tank wreck, plus remembering the bit about the Hotchkiss being mentioned in the files.. Well i do believe that thing is the Hotchkiss ! that or some other type of tank which i can't judge :P

So that should be interesting, although i am still hoping to see a Panzer III for some reason :/

And yeah, those paratroopers in green are probably Singleplayer only. Although it would be interesting if new infantry was available as well.

[nigo]

I think the tank on SS its a French Somua S-35 Captured.

[Sturmhaubitze]

I think the tank on SS its a French Somua S-35 Captured.

It's admittedly hard to tell between an S-35 and a Hotchkiss 35 at a distance. Though after looking very closely at the positioning of the driver's view port, I'm quite sure it's the Hotchkiss.

[Imperial Dane]

Well it was the Viewport in the chassis that rather decided things for me.

[sighman]

the official website says that TOV has 3 campaigns and 3 online multiplayer modes. 1 campaign and 1 operation has already been confirmed.