Rise of the Reds Update: Fall of Man Options

[MARS]

Off the Spanish Atlantic Coast, May 2048
French Aircraft Carrier 'Richelieu'

President Jean-Philippe Marmont stared blankly at the strategic map of Europe, watching his country disappear bit-by-bit under the dark crimson overlay that marked the Russian-controlled territories. Paris, Le Mans, Lyon, Marseille; all of them had long fallen under the blood-red shadow that enchroached relentlessly upon the last fighting ECA remnants in the south near the Garonne river. Beyond that, the only thing still standing between the Federation and its total victory on the continent after three years of warfare would be the Pyrenees mountains, followed by the valiant but hopelessly outmatched armies of Spain and Portugal. Despite having repelled an amphibious invasion at the coast of England, the British were still unable to mount a landing of their own and what was left of the free Dutch, Belgian and German forces had pulled back into the Iberian Peninsula to recover. These bloodied, battle-hardened units were too precious to be wasted in the meat grinder that France had become, acting as veteran training instructors for thousands of hastily recruited volunteers that were rushed into the remaining ECA battle groups.

Nobody knew what was going to happen next. Would the Russians starve the last bastions of Europe into submission and press for a dictated peace? Or would General Aleksandr once again attempt the impossible and send his ravaging hordes onwards? In that event, the ECA would soon have to resort to a general conscription of all able-bodied men and women. To the average European, Aleksandr had long overshadowed President Suvorov as the true evil behind this increasingly ruthless, total war and nobody in their right mind would be willing to surrender to a Shock Trooper. But Marmont could no longer bear witness to an entire generation of Europeans bleeding out on the battlefield, only for their sacrifices to be erased once the victors proceed to dictate their version of history. He was tired, bitter and lonely. With the remaining European exile governments scattered and the Alliance's Prime Minister Norman Fitzgerald still fighting a hopeless diplomatic battle in front of the powerless United Nations, someone had to make the choice in favour of a last, decisive stand; draw the final line.

Near Toulouse, later that day

"Mont Blanc, this is Cuirassier. Sensors are functioning as intended and we're in position to observe", the commander of a lone Pandur IFV reported. The anxiousness and fear in his voice came through quite noticeably. "Force de frappe is standing by. Operation Pandora is a go, I say again, Pandora - is - go", a senior French officer on board the carrier replied while President Marmont stepped forth and whispered: "May our children forgive us. Vive la république". The Pandur commander took position behind his periscope, observing a full column of Sentinel tanks as they approached through a valley some kilometres away. With such heavy weaponry in action, the ECA defenders in this sector were expected to fall within a matter of hours. The senior officer started counting down to the moment of truth: "Commence fire mission in 3...2...1..."

Within seconds, more than a dozen bright spots flared up on the digital map all the way between the outskirts of Bordeaux and Toulouse and the Pandur commander had to squint his eyes at the intense flash that engulfed the entire valley, dazzling him even through the filter lenses. For a brief moment, the searing, unearthly brightness shone through even the most miniscule spaces in the vehicle's supposedly airtight hull. The flash faded and was followed by a deep grumble which grew into a raging storm that blew past the hull-down vehicle. The IFV shook violently while the surrounding trees burst into flame, bended with the blast wave, then snapped back towards ground zero from the rapid change in pressure. "It's tearing us apart!", the weapons technician panicked while the driver tried to reassure him with baseless optimism: "We'll make it, just hold on!"

"Cuirassier, this is Mont Blanc. Come in, Cuirassier", the senior officer inquired. The commander regained his senses and looked through the periscope once again, reporting his observations. The lush springtime countryside down in the valley had been turned into a blackened wasteland littered with the charred, skeleton-like remains of uprooted trees and burned farmhouses, while an ominous pillar of dust and fire rose above the hellish scenery, towering miles high into the sky where the top portion transitioned into dark, looming clouds. Even the mighty Russian tanks were no match for this nigh-apocalyptic magnitude of firepower. Mesmerised by the awe-inspiring sight, the commander kept staring until he noticed a gash of blood dripping out of his nose. His heartbeat started to soar and a cutting, excruciating pain manifested in his head. "What the hell is happening to us!?", the technician screamed in terror as he experienced the same rapidly developing symptoms while his muscles went haywire with uncontrollable spasms. "Too...close...", the driver rasped before breaking into a horrifying cough with his insides writhing in pain. Moments later, the entire crew had succumbed to the intense barrage of highly penetrating neutron radiation that destroyed their bodies within minutes. Disturbed silence befell the attendants in the Richelieu's CDC as the haunting screams of the three faded into static. The line had been crossed.

One of the most feared albeit decisive weapons deployed in the Russo-European War, the Pandora is a military refit of a European Space Agency payload delivery mechanism that used an electromagnetic railgun to fire small satellites and Solaris maintenance equipment into orbit. By the time Russian forces found themselves at the verge of victory in southern France, ECA high command made a controversial decision to avert its defeat: Despite the official ban on neutron weapons that had been imposed on behalf of China after the Global War on Terror, the European nuclear powers Britain and France have modified some of their regular nuclear weapons into so-called 'enhanced radiation warheads'. Whilst just as devastating as any other tactical nuclear weapon, these neutron bombs are designed to emit an extreme magnitude of radiation during the explosion which is strong enough to penetrate the armour of even the most heavily protected vehicles, leaving them intact for capture by anyone willing and desperate enough to stomach the sight of what remains inside after the crew members have succumbed to the neutrons. The Pandora is capable of launching these terrifying warheads over long distances, letting them detonate right upon impact or upon delayed proximity activation after they have hit the ground.

ECA commanders are advised that choosing the Pandora protocol marks a crucial point in the military chain of escalation. In addition to unlocking the Pandora weapons platform, a number of other drastic measures will be implemented: Vulcan bombers that would have otherwise been armed with conventional Smart Bombs will carry free-falling neutron bombs and European chemical companies will be ordered to shift their production towards vicious nerve agents like Sarin, Tabun and Soman which will replace the non-lethal tear gas that can be deployed via the Eurofighter's munitions dispenser in order to wipe out enemy troops caught in the open and even inside structures or vehicles. At present, the global political community is still heavily torn over the appropriateness of these extreme methods. For all intents and purposes, the Pandora protocol constitutes a gross violation of international law and the Russian UN delegation has openly refered to it as a war crime of the highest order mere hours after its first implementation.

Painted anti-flash white in order to better reflect the immense thermal radiation released by a nuclear explosion, this variant of the Vulcan B.3 bomber is exclusively used to deliver tactical neutron bombs, which replace the conventional Smart Bombs once the Pandora protocol is initiated.

[Jester]

Another great update Mars you never cease to amaze me

[BlitzGeneral]

Now I see what was meant about the European's darker side...

Great update.

[RocketMan]

Did I get it right? The ECA will have access to neutron weapons, and will be able to kill vehicle drivers? Weren't the driver killing weapons supposed to be out of the game?

[MARS]

The_Hunter has recently found a way to utterly break SAGE's back and implement driver-kill weapons that don't interfere with the Bike logic.

[katmoda12]

The_Hunter has recently found a way to utterly break SAGE's back and implement driver-kill weapons that don't interfere with the Bike logic.

shit bricking
and
shitting bricks

[Massey]

The_Hunter has recently found a way to utterly break SAGE's back and implement driver-kill weapons that don't interfere with the Bike logic.

That trusty rusty spoon can make anyone or anything work for Hunter....

[TornadoADV]

I know this is the rule of cool and all. But spall liners with a powdered boron carbide layer are extremely effective at absorbing free neutrons and neutron emissions caused due to neutron flux when heavy metals are bombarded with high energy radiations.

[Nemanja]

This update was one of better ones.
TBH this Pandora Artillery looks much more tempting to choose than Manticore.
And there is a dozen of other very interesting upgrades by choosing it.

The_Hunter has recently found a way to utterly break SAGE's back and implement driver-kill weapons that don't interfere with the Bike logic.

I don't understand it.I am sorry if I'm asking question which was answered before,
but I never understood why Neutron weapons were removed,and what is the reason of their return now ?

[SpiralSpectre]

So that's what France has been doing! Finally the Pandora gets revealed with finally some dark side of ECA. Really great surprisingly fast update. Really nice to see Neutron weapons back. That's probably the biggest surprise in the long line of surprises we got since the beginning of ECA updates.

[MARS]

I know this is the rule of cool and all. But spall liners with a powdered boron carbide layer are extremely effective at absorbing free neutrons and neutron emissions caused due to neutron flux when heavy metals are bombarded with high energy radiations.

All true, there is protection, but you cited it yourself: Rule of cool.

I don't understand it.I am sorry if I'm asking question which was answered before,
but I never understood why Neutron weapons were removed,and what is the reason of their return now ?

Basically, we had to remove driver-kill features like Chinese n-weapons and Kell's snipe ability because certain vehicles like the Hover Crusader were implemented using code that is known as bike logic. If hit by a driver-kill weapon, these vehicles would flat-out die rather then get emptied, which is why driver-kill features had to be removed in order for us to have units like the Crusader. However, The_Hunter has recently found a very complicted way to circumvent this issue.

[Anubis]

This update was one of better ones.
TBH this Pandora Artillery looks much more tempting to choose than Manticore.
And there is a dozen of other very interesting upgrades by choosing it.



I don't understand it.I am sorry if I'm asking question which was answered before,
but I never understood why Neutron weapons were removed,and what is the reason of their return now ?

Don't judge before you experience playn both experimentals.

Because old EA neutron coded fucked up rider logic ( basically the one used by bikes for example when they switch drivers ). Hunter however discovered an awsome new way to prevent that, so neutrons make a comeback.

[MARS]

Before anyone asks: This addition makes driver-kill weapons a unique and strictly limited ECA theme feature, so it's -very- unlikely that Kell's ability and China's N-bombs make a return.

[SpiralSpectre]

Just a crazy idea but will ask anyways - are you guys going for updating in a (near) daily basis aiming for a Christmas/New Year release? Had to ask.

[GDIZOCOM]

The fact that sire Hunter found a workaround makes me want to peek the code when 1.8 comes out (show us your ways master)

On another note, The Pandora looks epic though I feel sorry for the guys inside but then again, it is just experimental. As for the choice affecting other areas, is this the placement upgrade granted that outfits other units upgraded command sets and weapons? Or did you do it another way?

[Destiny]

I hope to see that French Aircraft Carrier in-game :3







...on another note, the Pandora is pretty amazing. Never thought the ECA (or the French) would return to the trenches of Verdun. They're almost like a low-tech version of the GLA's chemical weapons

[IPS]

Just a crazy idea but will ask anyways - are you guys going for updating in a (near) daily basis aiming for a Christmas/New Year release? Had to ask.

I guess you will see tomorrow

[BlitzGeneral]

I know it's rather pointless to ask now, but when this mod is finally done would you guys mind posting a guide explaining how you managed to tweak SAGE so much to get all these new features? I'm interested in modding myself and would like to be able to look outside the box, though obviously I'd never COPY any of your work.

[Massey]

if i remember right... they did a simalar thing one or two years back, update after update just like their first release and then nothing for like 6months.... so im getting a little bit cheery but somewhat waiting to see what happens....

We be watching!

[MARS]

The fact that sire Hunter found a workaround makes me want to peek the code when 1.8 comes out (show us your ways master)

On another note, The Pandora looks epic though I feel sorry for the guys inside but then again, it is just experimental. As for the choice affecting other areas, is this the placement upgrade granted that outfits other units upgraded command sets and weapons? Or did you do it another way?

Basically, every one of the three protocols grants you the eponymous unit and a number of other benefits:
Manticore - Lets you build a Manticore tank + upgrade tanks with either Hydrogen Fuel Cells or Nano Shock Absorbers
Pandora - Lets you build a Pandora artillery + replaces your Smart Bomb and Tear Gas GPs with a Neutron Bomb and Nerve Gas (only if you have unlocked the basic versions, obviously)
Venom - Lets you build a Venom exosuit and then some...

[Shatterfury]

Well I had a hunch that EA just made a little demonstration of what the engine is capable and that demonstration is named Generals.The real game is being developed by SWR.

I hope that in one of ECA`s missions we will have the possibility to access all 3 protocols, that would be so awesome.

I`ll keep my fingers crossed for the campaign,I hope it will be designed to be long with each mission expected to take around an hour at least.Maybe the campaign could also have 2 or 3 AIs not one and the names could be more like 112th Armour or 14th Infantry not the generic RF and ECA and they those could be limited in their choices of units.Hell maybe we could chose the general at the start of the campaign so we can finish it 3 times will all 3 generals.

Wishful thinking.

[Knjaz.]

Great update. I guess, the time when Russia/Zhukov will go Nuclear is relatively close?



As a tester, I'll say just that-

THAT'S ONE HELL OF A GUN.


Don't fall under impression that it's "definitely better than other protocol choices", though.

This post has been edited by Knjaz.: 19 Dec 2012, 14:30

[GDIZOCOM]

Basically, every one of the three protocols grants you the eponymous unit and a number of other benefits:
Manticore - Lets you build a Manticore tank + upgrade tanks with either Hydrogen Fuel Cells or Nano Shock Absorbers
Pandora - Lets you build a Pandora artillery + replaces your Smart Bomb and Tear Gas GPs with a Neutron Bomb and Nerve Gas (only if you have unlocked the basic versions, obviously)
Venom - Lets you build a Venom exosuit and then some...

I'm assuming if you fiddle around with the codes it's possible to have all three at the same time?



....you really had to say then some.....

[Shockfan42]

Nice update, not epic and grimm. Then, its is for what say that Pandora release the bad things in the world. If it is a war crime, Russia level up it at critical levels (nuclear vs. neutron/chemical agents). The third world war is in the more darkest hour. The only hope can be the Venom prototype?

[Shredder]

Amazing update! I like the darker side of the ECA.

There's only the Venom left out to reveal.
But I guess we're gonna wait some more time until we see that one, aren't we?

This post has been edited by Shredder: 19 Dec 2012, 15:26