RO2 Gameplay Mechanics and Features

Gameplay Mechanics

Squads

The team for each side (i.e. Axis or Allies) is divided up along the lines of a real-life platoon of the period. This means there will be an overall Platoon Commander, plus a number of Squads and, sometimes, a small sniper team as well. Each squad consists of about 10 men - the Squad Leader, plus 2 or 3 fireteams. Depending on the nature of the unit and/or the mission, the fireteams are likely to be a rifle team, an assault team (equipped with SMGs) or an MG team (Light MG plus a couple of back-up soldiers).

In the Single Player game, you will start as a (lowly) member of a rifle squad and progress through to become the Commander, with the ability to command and direct squads and call in artillery. As a Squad Leader, you can independently direct the fireteams of your Squad.

In Multiplayer, you can choose the role you take (unless someone else has already taken the role you want to play) - as well as which Squad you join. This means that, if you are playing with friends, you can band together to form your own Squad. In MP play, there are additional benefits to the Commander and Squad Leader roles. The Squad Leader can set an artillery target and request the Commander for artillery. The Commander has very limited artillery assets, though, so he will have to decide where it is most needed. So long as the Squad Leader is alive and in a "safe" location, other players from his squad can choose to spawn on the Squad Leader, potentially getting them back into the fight quicker. The Commander can also "Force Respawn". This allows the Commander to respawn all the players on his team currently "dead" immediately, instead of waiting - delivering instant reinforcements. The catch is that this cannot be used very often, so the moment needs to be carefully chosen to have the most impact. This same "Force Respawn" is used in the Countdown game mode - even more tactically important!

Roles

In addition to the Commander and Squad Leader mentioned above, the infantry are divided up by roles. These relate both to the initial equipment load-out each soldier carries, as well as to your Profile Stats, as you can rank up in each role. These roles are:

• Rifleman - the core of the squad, equipped with bolt or semi-automatic rifle
• Assault - soldiers equipped with SMGs for close-assault tasks
• Machine Gunner - equipped with the light MGs
• Engineer - equipped with SMGs, plus satchel charges and anti-tank grenades
• Marksman - equipped with a scoped rifle
• Anti-Tank - equipped with anti-tank rifles

Weapons

The game contains a wide range of weapons, some of which will be familiar to players - some of which will not! Most weapons are available from the start, although some are "Hero" weapons that must be unlocked. Weapons have various upgrades available for them, as your skill with those weapons progress - for the details, look at each weapon on your Profile Stats pages.

You can carry two primary weapons (Key "1"), a pistol (Key "2"), grenades (Key "3"), special items, such as smoke grenades and satchel charges (Key "4") and binoculars (Key "5"). But keep in mind that the more you are carrying, the more encumbered you will be, which will slow you down. There is also a key for the weapons special actions, such as select fire and barrel change (Key "G").

General use of all the weapons is covered in the appropriate Training Missions in the Single Player game, including instruction on aiming, reloading, sight-setting and deploying.

Pistols

The Germans are equipped with the Walther P 38 and the Mauser C96, while the Russians have the TT-33 Pistol and the Nagant M1895 revolver.

Rifles

The game has two standard bolt-action rifles - the Mauser Karabiner 98K for the Germans and the Mosin-Nagant M1891/30 Rifle for the Russians. Both can be used with a bayonet - and both can have various sniper scopes fitted to them.

Automatic and Assault Rifles

Both sides fielded semi-automatic rifles - the Russian SVT-40 and the German G 41(W). Both can be equipped with various sniper scopes. The Russians also produced small numbers of the fully-automatic version of the SVT - the AVT-40, firing a full-power rifle round, making it very powerful, but hard to control. The Germans issued a small number of the MKb 42(H) in 1942, to field-test the prototype of the world's first assault rifle (that was later issued as the Stg 44). This fires a lighter round than other rifles and can be upgraded with a sniper scope.

Machine Guns

The light machine gun (LMG) is the main squad support weapon. The Russian DP-28 LMG uses a large, flat drum magazine, firing at around 600 rounds per minute. The German MG 34 LMG uses a 50-round drum as standard, but can be upgraded to a 75-round double drum, firing at over 900 rounds per minute. Both can be used in the assault role, but both are far more accurate when deployed on their bipods.

The game also includes the MG 34 HMG in its heavy machine-gun role, emplaced on the Lafette tripod, where it is belt-fed. The Russians are equipped with the Maxim M1910 water-cooled heavy machine gun, also belt-fed.

Machine Pistols and Sub-Machine Guns

Light, fully-automatic weapons, intended for close assault work. The German MP 40 can be upgraded with a dual magazine, while the Russian PPSh-41 uses a stick or drum magazine, as well as having a single-shot capability when upgraded.

Grenades and Explosives

The game includes the standard German Model 24 Stielhandgranate and the Russian F-1 frag grenade. In addition, each side has an anti-tank grenade. These aren't always the most effective and you have to get close to use them - but that may be better than nothing at all. The Russians are equipped with the RPG-40 AT-Grenade, while the Germans use the HHL3 AT-Grenade.

Commanders and Squad Leaders are also equipped with smoke grenades. The RDG1 Smoke-grenade for the Russians, and the NG39 Smoke-grenade for the Germans.

The engineers on both sides are equipped with standard 3 Kg demolition charges, known as satchel charges, used for destroying obstacles and fortifications and, sometimes, for attacking enemy tanks.

Anti-Tank Rifles

The Soviet Union made large numbers of anti-tank rifles, including the semi-automatic 14.5mm PTRS-1941 used in game. The Germans captured large numbers of these in 1941, made their own (improved) ammunition for them and pressed them into service as the PZB 784(R).

Vehicles

There are two vehicles in the game at launch - the Russian T-34/76 and the German Panzer IV. The T-34 has a crew of 4, with 3 positions playable, while the Panzer IV has a crew of 5, 4 playable. While most of the vehicle operations are covered in the Tank Training, this is a quick recap of the crew positions:

• The driver in both vehicles sits in the hull, front left. He directly controls the tank and can see to the front through vision devices and to the left side, through a view port.

• The hull gunner sits in the hull, front right, in both vehicles and operates the machine gun mounted in the hull.

• The loader sits in the turret, on the right side of the gun. His task is to ensure that the main gun is loaded as quickly as possible with the type of round requested by the commander. This is NOT a playable crew position.

• The gunner and commander are separate positions in the Panzer IV but are combined in the T-34. This was a Russian design decision to help keep the turret smaller and the overall weight of the tank down (making it faster), but it makes it harder to command the tank and fire. With later models, they moved to a 5-man crew like the Germans.

Communications and Command

There are two key concepts, that will be covered in training, but are also covered here. The first are the "wheels" for Communications and Commands. Players can bring up the Communications wheel by pressing and holding the Communication key (default is "V"). While the key is held, the Communications wheel will stay on-screen. Use the mouse to select options from that wheel.

To issue commands, players can either press and hold "F" to place the pointer in the world (for example, if you want to order someone to "move to" a specific location) and left-click to have them move there; right-click to set an artillery target. Press the Quick Command key (default is "B") to bring up wheel. Players can click in the center of the wheel to select the unit you want to give the order to and use the mouse to select options from that wheel.

The options available on the wheel will be dependent on the role you are playing and the current situation.

The Commander can also use radios on some maps to issue specific commands. These include calling in artillery and recon planes, as well as forcing respawns. All these items are on a timer, so they cannot be used too often. One of the key elements is the use of the recon plane. After a short delay, positions of enemy units visible to the recon plane will be reflected on the Commander's Overhead map, so long as he is still using the radio. After a further short delay, this information will also be relayed to his Squad Leaders.

Overhead Map

The Overhead Map gives the player a more "strategic" view of the battlefield. It will show the locations of team members, the rest of your squad, your Squad Leader and any enemies "spotted". It will also show your location and the location of all the Objectives that are currently open. If an artillery strike has been called by your Commander, that will also be shown. Resupply points (where you can go to get more ammo if you are running low) will be shown.

HUD - Infantry

The HUD on screen for infantry is intended to be as minimal and unobtrusive as possible. Most of the HUD elements will show only when they change (i.e. you need to take notice) and the last category make up the Tactical View, which only shows when you press and hold the Tactical View key (default is "T") (see below).

The key piece that is permanent is the mini-map. This will show a local view of the overhead map, along with any of your team-mates that are within that area and visible/within hearing range of the player. Below that is the grid reference of your current location. The mini-map does NOT show enemies.

The following key HUD elements only appear when they change:

• Morale - the music in game will give you a clue to your morale status and so will the stance of your indicator
• Encumbrance - an indicator of how much weight you are carrying, so how quickly you will run out of stamina
• Location Hit Indicator - will show you where on your body you have been hit and the criticality
• Hero bonus indicator - shows if you are close enough to a Hero character to get bonuses from him
• Stance indicator - shows standing, crouched, prone or sprinting
• Suppression bar - shows the level of suppression you are under - and so does the player view!
• Stamina bar - shows how much Stamina you have; when you are out of stamina, you cannot sprint
• Objective capture - the Objective capture status indicator shows the status of the Objective you are in, who owns it, if it is contested and the relative strength of the forces on the Objective
• Interaction icons - these show you when you can interact with something in the world, such as Cover, objects to Mantle, Ladders, stationary MGs, and Ammo resupply areas
• Range setting - when in Iron Sights, you can set the sighting range on some weapons
• Deployment icon - these show you when you can Deploy or Rest your weapon to steady it
• Ammo - ammo is shown in numbers of clips/magazines/grenades, NOT individual rounds
• Re-Supply indicator - shows when you are close enough to a supply point to pick up fresh ammo
• Objective status - the status of all contested Objectives is shown above the mini-map
• VOIP icon - shows up when you activate your microphone to talk to other players
• Kill and score messages - give you information on kills and scoring

The HUD (and your view) will change when you are suppressed or wounded. Suppression will blur your view slightly, making it harder to aim when under direct fire. Being wounded will be indicated by a reddening of your vision. There are also Peripheral Vision Indicators that may appear at the side of the view. These work to simulate your real life peripheral vision: if something is moving to one side of you, you can detect the movement, but you can't tell what it is, without turning your head to look. It could be a friendly - or it could be an enemy flanking you.

HUD - Vehicle

When you are in a tank, the HUD is changed to reflect that. The parts that refer to a single soldier (Stance, Stamina, Encumbrance etc) are removed and replaced by a Vehicle indicator instead. This includes:

• Player position and viewpoint - the position you are in is shown in green, and shows which direction you are looking
• Turret orientation - showing where the turret is facing, relative to the hull
• Vehicle damage - is indicated by coloring of the relevant section of the vehicle
• Crew status - dead or injured crew are indicated with red position indicators
• Ammunition - the number of rounds remaining for the main gun will be shown, along with the type of round (AP, HE) currently selected along with the number of drums of MG ammo.
• View ports - when you can look through different view ports in the tank, an icon will appear
• Speedometer - shows your current speed in Km/hour
• Throttle setting - shows your current throttle setting

Tactical View

When you press and hold the Tactical View key (Default "T"), the elements of the HUD that are normally hidden are made visible - handy when you want to check your status. The Tactical View also places a number of indicators in the world to help you:

• Objective location and status - indicators will appear in the world, showing active Objectives, who owns them and how far away they are, so that you can quickly orient yourself and decide where to fight
• Game mode information - the time remaining, reinforcements left and other information will be displayed
• Radios - if you are a Commander, the location of any radios will also be shown
• Squad Leader location - shows where in the map your Squad Leader is

Unsupported Features

• Controller Support