Rise of the Reds Update: Built to Last Options

[MARS]

Europe, Post-Zero Hour

After the Chinese had put an end to the brutal GLA insurrection of 2028, many things changed in Europe. Exploiting the weakness of the loathed EU central government, popular uprisings and military coups seized the opportunity to retake the sovereignty of their nations. Bit by bit, the overgrown European Union, with its misguided vision of an artificial post-national super-state, was stripped of its powers leading to the creation of the European Continental Alliance, a new framework for future cooperation on the continent, in 2034. One of the first actions of the Alliance was the construction of a massive, fortified "blockade" along the Eastern borders of Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Italy; now the ECA's outermost member states. The reasoning behind the decision was two-fold: To protect the core of Europe from any outside threat and, more controversially, to keep a tight grip on immigration, which was regarded with heavy skepticism in the wake of the GLA attack. Understandably, the former EU countries East of the wall took serious offence to the project, but eventually decided to move away from the ECA sphere of influence to mind their own business, leaving only Hungary and Slovakia as somewhat friendly towards the ECA, if only because of their former historical connections with Austria and the Czechs.

Meanwhile, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia formed the Baltic Commonwealth to better represent their interests in front of a newly liberalised albeit highly ambitious Russian Federation, resulting in an initially awkward but rewarding long-term cooperation. In the South, an irredentist military cadre deposed the civilian government of Serbia and promptly used the country's growing strategic partnership with Russia to settle old scores with its neighbours, making it the leading power of the Balkans while the West turned a blind eye. Finally, the nation of Ukraine, long split by the different mentalities between the Western and Eastern parts of the country, fell into a chaotic civil war after high-ranking government officials tried to bribe their way into a pact with the ECA in 2036. It was at this time that Russia's President Nikolai Suvorov started throwing his military weight into the fray, deploying General Leonid Zhukov and his 20th Army to support the pro-Russian Donetsk Republic that sprung up in the East of the country, thus ensuring its survival. The people of Eastern Ukraine, already Russians at heart and linguistically, were thankful, resulting in a popular referendum that led to the wholesale absorbtion of the short-lived republic into the strong and prosperous Federation. The troubled nation of Belarus soon followed, joining the Ukrainians under the wings of the Russian imperial eagle. By the end of the decade, Suvorov's Federation had accomplished what no other historical incarnation of Russia had ever managed before: To unite a sizeable portion of Eurasia in a stable hegemony with Mother Russia at its helm by means of clever diplomacy and solidarity instead of brute force and intimidation.

Constructed under the supervision of General Willem van der Meer, the Tech Blockade Fortress is the centre-piece of many sectors along the ECA's Eastern border. The heavily reinforced concrete walls can withstand any attack and the structure holds enough fireports to cover every possible angle of approach. In addition, the Fortress comes equipped with a battery of powerful anti-air missiles, allowing it to defy aerial assaults as well. Commanders who find themselves within reach of these looming fortresses are advised to either occupy or demolish them as fast as possible.

In addition to the Blockade Fortress, these heavily sheltered bunker installations act as logistical hubs and defensive strongpoints that can also be garrisoned by infantry units.
You will soon see these structures on a number of dedicated skirmish maps.

[Evan]

Mmmmm a turtlers dream.

[MARS]

Just to be entirely clear though: These are tech/civilian map assets that belong to the ECA lore-wise, not actual structures that the ECA can build in game...But it serves as an introduction to the stuff you'll be seeing after the release.

[GDIZOCOM]

Awesome structures

Question:

Are the bunkers all the same or have some difference from each other?

[Panzer4life]

Love the Lore for both Europe and General Willem, however, isn't General Zhukov and his 20th army the tactical ballistic divisions? If so, why didn't he let loose a few Topols to clear the path forward, it worked for China against the GLA, why not for Russia against the ECA? Also, what weapons does the Blockade fortress have and what is its weapon's range? Finally, you guys seem to be releasing updates more often, are you guys rushing through updates to release ROTR 1.7 and explain the new content before its release?

[Zeke]

Mother of bunkers!! I want the ECA release more than ever now!

DAT RA2 BUNKER!

[MARS]

Love the Lore for both Europe and General Willem, however, isn't General Zhukov and his 20th army the tactical ballistic divisions? If so, why didn't he let loose a few Topols to clear the path forward, it worked for China against the GLA, why not for Russia against the ECA? Also, what weapons does the Blockade fortress have and what is its weapon's range? Finally, you guys seem to be releasing updates more often, are you guys rushing through updates to release ROTR 1.7 and explain the new content before its release?

This wasn't a war between Russia and the ECA. It was a war between pro-Russian Ukranians, supported by the official Russian government, and the (seemingly somewhat shady) pro-ECA government of Ukraine, i.e. a civil war with foreign intervention on the side of the uprising. The ECA wasn't involved in this at all. As for the nukes, well, let's just say there's a difference between deploying nuclear weapons against a terrorist army and the dicatorial regimes backing it in some backwater central Asian mountain country and deploying them against the official armed forces of a sovereign nation in the middle of eastern Europe. Plus, the Russians weren't in this to conquer the entirety of Ukraine. They got in there to protect what was becoming a pro-Russian breakaway nation, thus painting themselves as benevolent liberators in the eyes of these people.

[Casojin]

To add insult to injury, most of the Dutch Army managed to escape the fierce battle intact through an extensive network of tunnels....

Does this mean ECA would utilize tunnel network like the GLA?
I'm starting to imagine two forces meeting inside the tunnels, trying to shoot at each other.

This post has been edited by Casojin: 24 May 2012, 7:14

[Warpath]

The ECA Blockade kind of reminds me of the Iron Curtain back in the Cold War.

[MARS]

Take a wild guess why it's called the 'Concrete Curtain' in the composite image.

[Anubis]

HOLY TITS BATMAN! That architecture is awsome. I just wish ECA buildings will look at least similar. That simply looks badass.

[Comr4de]

HOLY TITS BATMAN! That architecture is awsome. I just wish ECA buildings will look at least similar. That simply looks badass.

Well considering that I still made these while making the ECA buildings, there will be some borrowed design elements from them

For the record: The RA2 bunker was made by The_Hunter, not me, everything else was though

[Casojin]

Williem lore said something about tunnel.
Will it be ingame? And if it is, how is it different compared to GLA tunnel?

[Comr4de]

Yes, Willem will be getting Bunker Complexes; which more or less work like Tunnels - only much more resilient but much more expensive and lengthier to build than a GLA tunnel.

[MARS]

^ Before anyone says that this goes too far into GLA design, please consider that we had to come up with some fitting additions to make Willem more than just the 'sit back and
defend' guy, which would have been very boring due to defence being a more passive thing by definition. So he does get some fun stuff besides souped-up defensive structures.

[BlitzGeneral]

^ Before anyone says that this goes too far into GLA design, please consider that we had to come up with some fitting additions to make Willem more than just the 'sit back and
defend' guy, which would have been very boring due to defence being a more passive thing by definition. So he does get some fun stuff besides souped-up defensive structures.

Not a problem at all. I loved Deathstrike in ShW, and he was "China-but-GLA".

[Massey]

is it me or is there a little bit of ECA updates for a GLA release?
Edit: not that im complaining. just makes me think maybe something is coming thats all.

This post has been edited by Massey: 24 May 2012, 10:11

[wb21]

Awesome bunkers are awesome.
Judging from their description and appearance, does the neutral bunkers have a secondary function (a helipad and an elevated passageway or dock for something) or is it just eye candy?

[General Tatarin]

I hope Lithuania will not be a part of Russian Federation again . By the way, nice update. I think in future, ECA should be my favourite faction, otherwise... who knows... maybe Russsian Federation

[Mcbob]

Greece isn't included in or at least a mutual partner of the ECA considering their significant past NATO membership and major European cultural ties? Interesting.

[RocketMan]

To add insult to injury, most of the Dutch Army managed to escape the fierce battle intact through an extensive network of tunnels....

Can't there ECA tunnel networks be entered only by infantry?

[Shiro]

You can code only one type of tunnel anyway, so even if ECA Tunnels can only be entered by infantry, GLA tunnels could still be entered by infantry and vehicles alike and unloading them would either work on either anyway or right-out crash the game.

[MARS]

Greece isn't included in or at least a mutual partner of the ECA considering their significant past NATO membership and major European cultural ties? Interesting.

Right, but judging by their current situation and the likelihood that things will get much worse before they get better...chances are the newly founded ECA wouldn't even send Greece an invitation, inventors of democracy or not. You can think of the ECA's eastern border as what they consider the 'be all, end all' border of their community, with countries outside said wall only being considered as possible trade partners, tops. Basically, this utopian concept of non-violent expansionism towards the east that drives the present day EU would be gone, as would be membership on the sole basis of 'cultural ties' and NATO. The ECA, while passionate and confident about the identities of its actual member nations and the ties that connect them, will be depicted as quite pragmatic and self-centred. They don't go full-on world police like the Americans in Gens/ZH who somehow consider it their mission to hunt the GLA all the way through the middle east and central Asia, but they can be very egoistical and inconsiderate towards others who somehow threaten their small, generally well-meaning community and are willing to defend it to the knife.

[Alex1guy]

Right, but judging by their current situation and the likelihood that things will get much worse before they get better...chances are the newly founded ECA wouldn't send even Greece an invitation, inventors of democracy or not. You can think of the ECA's eastern border as what they consider the 'be all, end all' border of their community, with countries outside said wall only being considered as possible trade partners, tops. Basically, this utopian concept of non-violent expansionism towards the east that drives the present day EU would be gone, as would be membership on the sole basis of 'cultural ties' and NATO. The ECA, while passionate and confident about the identities of its actual member nations and the ties that connect them, will be depicted as quite pragmatic and self-centred. They don't go full-on world police like the Americans in Gens/ZH who somehow consider it their mission to hunt the GLA all the way through the middle east and central Asia, but they can be very egoistical and inconsiderate towards others who somehow threaten their small, generally well-meaning community and are willing to defend it to the knife.

Truly this is a brave new world...

[Darkfire Angel]

I'm really wondering about those helipads now, and can't wait to play with the ECA even more now. Can't wait to try out the GLA's new toys while I wait though.

As an aside based on the map in the release images would the attached map be an accurate description of Europe?

This post has been edited by Darkfire Angel: 24 May 2012, 13:25

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