New Gamescom IGN Preview

[gorays]

New gamescom preview with new screens from IGN!


http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/08/...ig-differences

Can't wait for BETA!

[Akranadas]

Wehrmacht!

[Imperial Dane]

Gamespy article with screenshots in full resolution : http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/company-of-...1225779p1.html

Lots of interseting stuff. StuG, Panzer IV, Panther, Tiger tank. Maxim Machine guns. ROA troops, both as infantry and as support crews. Officers in black coats, i suspect there to lead the ROA squads. And different German infantry squads.

[gorays]

Am I the only one who is disappointed in visuals? I mean it looks good but not impressive. It looks like COH 1, which was good back in 2006 but not so much impressive in 2012.

I mean this is relic we are taking about, king in RTS visuals, starting with Homeworld to DOW 2, but COH 2 looks like a step down.

[Hirmetrium]

Well, what were you expecting gorays? They look pretty amazing to me. And it's not like they can push the graphics barrier much further without alienating their previous audience.

[Imperial Dane]

Looks pretty damn awesome to me as well. Plus i'm pretty sure they've yet to add in all the Dx-10 and 11 stuff. Plus i mean if you look at early CoH screenshots and the finished product. There tends to be quite a difference. Also i imagine some things don't translate too well in screenshots. I imagine some bits look much better in motion :P

[Mirage Knight]

OH - proper StuG III! I approve! We can also confirm the SdKfz 250 light halftrack as well.

For the Soviets, we can add the T-70 Light Tank, KV-1 Heavy Tank, and Ilyushin Il-2 to the roster

Edit: Is it my imagination or are those Panzer IV's equipped with Ostketten?

[sporty]

gorays, German PCGH website mentioned that the demo ran on medium settings and DX9, those are promo-shots however.
I concur, it could hardly even be called decent if you consider CoH being a game of 2006. Then again, few or none have produced noteable advancements in RTS graphics, so those screens should still pass as decent I guess.

[Imperial Dane]

@Mirage Knight: What makes you sure it's a StuG III and not a StuG IV ? The Light halftrack is interesting though. Some of all of this must be doctrinal stuff though.

Lots of stuff though. And i suspect there is plenty more to see as doctrines haven't even been delved into besides the IL-2s. Which from what i've read will work a bit like the henschel, that is, you designate a point and then the IL-2 will pass over the area.

Edit: Ah wait, nvm, see it now. It's the mantlet

[Mirage Knight]

Not just the gun mantle - check the nose of the vehicle. The shape's a bit different and you have the Notek light centrally mounted on the nose instead of on the left fender...which also identifies the model as an StuG III Ausf. G. It also lacks the extended bit for the driver that juts out of the left side of the superstructure front. That bit is there on the StuG IV to accommodate the driver due to the fact that the superstructure had to be positioned further back on the Panzer IV chassis.

Interesting thing is that mid and late production StuG III's had the same Saukopf gun mantle used on the StuG IV...some also had the same remote MG mount used on the SdKfz 138/2 Jagdpanzer 38(t) and a coaxial MG 34 for the main gun.

Some of all of this must be doctrinal stuff though.

Probably! It would be interesting to see if you can choose companies via doctrines or buildings. My COH mod has PE players choosing between Armoured Infantry, Armoured Reconnaissance and Armoured Companies by building the appropriate structure - with the SdKfz 250 being a build option for Armoured Recon.

Oh and Relic, for the love of [insert name of deity here] can you give German tanks proper MG 34's for use as hull machine guns? It would be greatly appreciated

On the screenies - anyone notice the scoped G 43's on some of the infantry around that Panther? Panzergrenadiers I guess as they have Panzerfausts on their backs...

[Imperial Dane]

Well i have been dreaming of a force customization of such, that you can choose whether you want an infantry, motorised or mechanized unit for example, and then you could further customize what sort of unit.

What we do know is that doctrines won't quite work like they did in CoH. So question is how though. And yeah, it is interesting they went for an earlier model without the Remote MG, but then, might have made it more difficult to get the MG gunner :P Still, nice to see the StuG III in action. As it was the most produced AFV in the wehrmacht.

Screenshots have me plenty excited, just a bit surprised at the extent the ROA plays, not just as infantry, but manning guns. And those black clad officers certainly also stand out.

Now i just wonder if we can soon get a gameplay trailer..

[Ghost Sniper]

I'm certain they're still messing around with the graphics engine; if you look at the KV-1s' in this image, the lighting seems completely off on them compared to the building, so its likely some of the settings aren't working correctly or they were photo shopped in. Or maybe I'm over-analysing . And if they haven't added DX10/11 yet then its understandable why it looks like only a slight improvement over the original CoH.

The most interesting bits for me though were these points:

Likewise, resources play totally differently... While the details are still being ironed out, developer Relic is giving you the option to choose what resource you need in Company of Heroes 2. In an effort to encourage players to battle over more areas of the map, Relic leaves it to players to determine which resources are important...

Even the way that you capture points has been changed for...Company of Heroes 2 still allows you to order a squad to capture a point in this way, but alternatively they can just sit within a small radius of a point to take it...

Those are some significant changes to the base game.

[ChickenNuggets]

Are the german infantry uniforms based off actual uniforms (ie the texture) because those are some pretty bright green helmets and everything. Just not sure because in CoH 1 the germans were fighting in Normandy wearing winter parkas :S

[Imperial Dane]

@Chickennuggets: Unit identification plays a role in this. Relic wants people to be able to tell troops apart :P

[ChickenNuggets]

Still though, I think it'd be better done like different types of camouflage and gear and one squad has guys with tunics, one with great coats and some with parkas (those big fluffy pants and jacket) and like they've already done with the mortar team where they are wearing white uniforms. But goin' nutz unrealistic aint' cool... But I guess I could just reskin them once I get them :S Just thought it would've been cool to see field grey colours not tropical green :P

[Celution]

Looks very nice and these small tweaks to the gameplay definitely sound interesting and I really wonder how they will be in competitive games. I do immediately notice that the Panzer IV, Panther and Tiger are all recycled models from CoH1, and I do hope these are just placeholders for now and gamescom, because compared to like the T34 they are a bit undetailed and lower quality.

[Imperial Dane]

@Chickennuggets: True. Just not a lot of camo in the winter And i think they've actually got quite a few infantry units. I mean from what i can tell so far there's:

ROA infantry and support units, the guy with the fur "shawls" (think they look a bit silly) Who i'll just call Grenadiers for now. Chaps with more kit and Panzerfausts in white-ish uniforms and white-ish helmets and some with Gewehr 43s. Probably Panzergrenadiers, or i'll call them that for now. Plus some chaps in one screenshot in the back with fully white helmets. Let's just call them Pioneers for now :P And the ones wearing the bright green uniforms are the least valuable troops to the wehrmacht. The ROA; russian Liberation Army. So there's a certain logic to it :P

Another preview btw:http://www.gamerzines.com/pc/preview...-hands-on.html

Mentions that screenshots are still DX9 only. And also mentions some of the units the soviet can build, thus confirming the SU-85 is in as well.

[mandead]

I agree the visuals look pretty mediocre at present, but the game will be awesome.

[LoneWolf666]

The visuals, while good, seem to me a little bit... too familiar? In static screenshots it looks very much like CoH1 with an HD texture pack. Not that it's neccessarily a bad thing, but still.

Also, it seems one of the pet peeves of mine is making a comeback: the bullet flies in a completely different direction than the gun is pointing towards.

Overall it sounds very, very CoH-y so far. It'll probably boil down to quality and polish rather than innovation (funny, I remember when Relic lauded themselves as kings of RTS innovation. ).

Can't wait for more news about their supposedly improved, "unified" skirmish-campaign AI. This could be the first Essence game with non-braindead computer opponents.