Battleground: Europe
A historical realism, balance and proof of concept mod that aims to improve on Company of Heroes 2’s core gameplay, BG:E utilizes heavily and carefully researched data for weapon penetration, unit speeds, armor values, rates of fire, squad sizes, unit caps and compositions and adds additional units and abilities to help achieve a more diverse, balanced and enjoyable playing experience. If vanilla CoH2’s balance, battle scale and meta appeals to you, this is probably not a mod you’ll enjoy. However, if historical accuracy is something you appreciate and you’re looking for a more PvP-focused mod that offers increased realism, bigger, longer, more intense and challenging battles, more unit options and choices, rewards intelligent unit use and accommodates different play styles, then you’ll want to try out this mod.
Basic Changes
Engineers: All combat engineers have access to tank traps, barbed wire, sandbags and mines to deter enemy attacks. They also have unlocked demolition charges to clear away defenses your opponent may have set up.
Infantry: All combat infantry can sprint to quickly get into position or seize points. In addition, most combat troops can employ grenades, go to ground to avoid fire, dig trenches and set up sandbag walls for protection. All squad loadouts and sizes are as accurate as possible for the time period covered.
Tanks: All tanks are impervious to small arms fire and have the ability to dismount their crews to conduct repairs or seize nearby points as desired or needed. In addition, most tanks can be set to use anti-infantry or anti-tank rounds and can be ordered to hold fire and/or prioritize fire against vehicles. Other key changes to vehicles include historically accurate turret traverse speeds and movement / rotation speeds.
Factions: All factions have at least two different Companies to choose from, with support options changing to fit your chosen Company. Several commanders can even change the type of Companies you can field.
Buildings: Ambient / map buildings are more resilient to small caliber weapons fire and their HP is based on size and material composition, making larger buildings far more useful as defensive strongpoints. In addition, occupied buildings can be upgraded to serve as reinforcement points and repair depots via a simple ability accessed from the HQ.
Weapons: All weapon rates of fire, aim and reload times, magazine sizes, penetration values and so on have been reworked to perform as closely as possible to how they performed in real life. All small arms have the ability to suppress and also have a chance of inflicting instant kills on infantry, making automatic weapons extremely deadly.
Gameplay Changes
AI has been overhauled. Instead of "cheating" in higher difficulty settings by receiving bonuses to resource income and allowing it to see units it normally shouldn’t, reaction times get progressively faster and the AI is able to do more things at once, such as capping multiple points while attacking multiple objectives. In addition, the AI has access to and uses the same abilities players do.
Flanking vehicles really matters. Most vehicles have far weaker side and rear armor that can be readily exploited.
Gaining veteran levels for all units extends sight range and skill with their weapons bit by bit, so it pays to keep your squads alive and fighting. Even the most basic units can have a use late game.
Informative tooltips and unit descriptions have been added that convey information about their armor, the penetration and range of their main weapon, and the unit’s intended role. At a glance, you’ll know how effective a given unit will be against a particular foe and how it’s supposed to be used.
Unit build times and costs use a standardized formula / system that reflects a given unit’s actual historical "combat value". Units are capped using historical values to promote diverse builds and discourage mindless unit spamming.
Population cap expanded to 230 and unit population sizes adjusted to realistic and historical values to allow for larger armies and bigger battles while still maintaining balance.
Sight areas removed from all capture points and fuel / munitions caches to allow for a far more realistic and tactical game.
Sight and weapon ranges have been expanded to take advantage of larger maps while still accommodating smaller ones.
Cover really matters. Garrisoned and entrenched infantry are much harder to hit with conventional small arms.
Faction Notes
Germans: Split into Ostfront and Westfront forces, the German factions are noted for their reliance on costly but generally superior equipment to defeat the enemy. Players are rewarded with powerful anti-infantry and anti-tank weapons, troops with exceptional fighting skills, and some of the most powerful armored fighting vehicles in the game. Note that Ostfront and Westfront armies have many units and structures in common, making it easy to switch back and forth between the two.
Soviets: A faction that lacks any form of subtlety and geared around giving the player the ability to throw a large amount of men and material at the enemy to achieve victory. Noted for its heavy use of powerful artillery, submachine guns, and cheap infantry and tanks.
Americans: A faction with arguably the most versatile core infantry. Rifle squads enjoy solid firepower and resiliency thanks to their large squad size and semi-automatic rifles and can be readily upgraded to deal with nearly any situation. American armored units are no less versatile than their infantry, with speed and mobility well suited to cavalry actions and rapid flanking maneuvers.
Commonwealth Forces: Commonwealth troops are noted for their resilience and determination in the face of enemy fire. Players can command either well-protected Infantry Tanks for a slow but steady advance, fast Cruiser Tanks for rapid and decisive strikes into the enemy’s rear, or even deploy entire paratrooper or commando regiments behind enemy lines. As a bonus, players can determine the Commonwealth nationality of their company, each nationality having its own set of support options.
FAQ
Q: What time period does this mod cover?
A: Mid to end of 1944. Any units that did not see operational use during this time period have not been included.
Q: Why is X unit not included?
A: The unit either did not see significant operational use during the time period this mod covers, the unit requires custom visual assets that the game does not allow, or the unit has been deemed to be too unreasonably powerful to warrant its inclusion.
Q. Why is X unit only an option for Y company?
A. Companies are based off historical TO&E documents dated around the time period of the mod. If it wasn’t listed in those documents, it’s not going to be available.
Q. Even though the mod has better sight and weapon ranges compared to the base game, would you consider increasing sight and / or weapon ranges further in the future?
A. Sorry but no. Although I like them, not everyone enjoys playing on large maps and the current sight and weapon ranges is a necessary compromise for players that prefer or predominantly play on smaller maps. As long as small maps exist and people play on them, this will not change.
Disclaimer
This is, first and foremost, a historical realism mod that is intended to change Company of Heroes 2 into how I feel it should be and is currently a one-person project that is worked on when time permits. That being said, only feedback related to bugs and game breaking issues is currently being accepted. Also note that there are powerful artillery units and abilities that are designed to soften up / break defenses and punish blobbing with extreme prejudice. You have been warned.
Hope you enjoy this.
Sincerely,
Jed
