Rise of the Reds Update: Countdown to Zero Hour Options

[MARS]

Good evening, ROTR fans. After the release of 1.72, we are proud to present you the first update in a series of weekly updates that will showcase the features of the European Continental Alliance. Alongside the usual media renders and content descriptions, we will also shed some light on the ECA's backstory, going back all the way to the...'confusing' events of Zero Hour and working our way forward to the outbreak of the Russo-European War and beyond. We sincerely hope that you will enjoy the show and get straight to the business without further ado.

European Union, 2028

While China and the US spent the bigger part of the 2020s fighting the GLA, the European Union was minding its own domestic business, and for good reason: Years of failed financial and social policies and the ever-increasing empowerment of the Brussels-based central institutions, fuelled by the ill-conceived vision of creating a unified super-state, had turned the continent into a hotbed of civil unrest long before the GLA set its sights on it. In the light of political turmoil and a gaping divide between rich and poor, the aloof, self-serving leadership ruled in favour of even more centralised control, hoping that these issues could eventually be solved through myopic actionism and social engineering alone. During the twilight years of the Union, the situation had deteriorated to the point where armed resistance movements sprung up and tried to wrestle control away from the central government. A few of these attempts were relatively successful thanks to parts of the armed forces siding with the secessionists while the less lucky regions soon found themselves 're-integrated' though peacekeeping operations which are still the subject of judicial trials.

The GLA's supreme leader General Mohmar alias 'Deathstrike' had chosen his target wisely: The Union Republic of Germany was the central hub of all continental resource transportations and the EU’s last somewhat functional economy after years of bail-outs and monetary inflation. A coordinated attack against its financial heart would bring the entire Union to its knees and subject its decadent people to a level of brutality that they could not even imagine. In early 2028, the German police and military forces, weakened by budget cuts, mutinies and oversensitive rules of engagement, found themselves caught by surprise when a series of common day-to-day protests escalated into a full-blown uprising. Amidst the chaos, a vanguard force of the GLA's most experienced fighters swarmed onto the streets and launched an armed insurrection in Hamburg while cargo ships from North Africa unloaded heavy weaponry into the city's port facilities. After the entire city of Hamburg, with its population of almost two million people, was taken hostage and fortified as the GLA's base of operations, heavily armed raiding parties fanned out into the country, demolishing vital infrastructure and killing everyone in their path. Many of their would-be followers had found their way into Europe long ago as part of the unceasing stream of refugees from the war-torn hotspots of the world. Lacking the necessary special education for a post-industrial society with rapidly eroding social systems, most of them ended up in the derelict, crime-ridden ghettoes of major cities where the uprising gave them an opportunity to vent their fury. Those who refused to join the cause would be coerced into it by force or murdered on the spot.

To the west, self-proclaimed 'anti-capitalists' under a young volunteer known as Ibrahiim polluted the entire Rhine/Ruhr river system with chemicals, leaving large swathes of land uninhabitable for decades to come and drawing a toxic border through western Germany in an effort to deter other European forces from entering the country. Even Deathstrike was impressed by the unforgiving craftiness of the native Frenchman and subsequently involved him in his plans for the decisive attack on Frankfurt, Germany's financial capital and home of the European Central Bank, which was completely razed by GLA forces. Meanwhile the neighbouring countries kept their armies on stand-by to contain the insurrection in Germany, watching helplessly as some of their own cities got silenced under a deadly veil of bio-chemical agents stolen from an American laboratory after the death of Dr. Thrax. Mere hours before the GLA fired all of its remaining arsenal of Scud missiles at the European district of Brussels, the desperate EU government called upon the Chinese to intervene as a last remedy. Within weeks, PLA rapid response forces were deployed to Germany and proceeded to pacify the GLA-controlled areas while making liberal use of napalm, EMP and neutron weapons in the process. In the end, the GLA's 'invasion' of Europe was not logistically sustainable. But Deathstrike had never intended it to be. For more than a decade, his strategy was to inflict maximum damage with a minimum degree of commitment. This doctrine was what made the GLA swift, deadly, and nigh-impossible to eradicate. The attack on Europe was meant to be his final masterpiece. If a minimum degree of commitment could accomplish such feats as the nuclear attack on Beijing or the Baikonour rocket strikes, he reasoned that a full commitment of all available resources, equipment and manpower would accomplish nothing short of the near-total annihilation of a global juggernaut and a turning point in the history of civilisation.

When Chinese forces spearheaded by General Shin Fai's famous infantry corps finally managed to penetrate the Hamburg perimeter after over half a year of vicious fighting against urban guerillas and rioters, Deathstrike knew that he had already gone down in the records of humankind as a conqueror as infamous as Attila the Hun or Genghis Khan. Now, he too had become the 'scourge of Europe'. And with that, he was content as he and his loyal lieutenant, the 'Death Merchant' Anwar Sulaymaan, boarded the last stolen plane out of Germany. Meanwhile, the infamous bombmaker Rodall Juhziz' and his ever-fanatical Scorpion Cell were ordered to stay behind and obliterate downtown Hamburg with a high-yield strategic nuclear warhead in one final, world-changing cataclysm. The earth was scorched and Europe would never be the same again...

This towering fortress of authority acts as the ECA's command centre. It can withstand a considerable amount of punishment thanks to its heavily reinforced concrete walls and is usually the oldest structure in a European-controlled front sector as evidenced by the presence of motivational posters and graffiti which, despite being against official regulations, have not been ordered removed by the rugged senior commanders housed inside this facility. In addition to being the nerve centre of ECA battlefield control, the Region Command is equipped with a powerful diesel generator that provides sufficient amounts of power for the early phase of a battle and the sturdy bunker structures can be garrisoned by infantrymen who are willing to fight until the very end. Due to its strategic importance, there can only be one Region Command in a sector at a time.

Quick deployability across the entirety of its territory has been one of the main strategic benchmarks of the European Continental Army since its creation in 2034. As such, the multinational task force utilises a wide array of structures that consist of pre-fabricated containers and building elements, allowing European forces to set up shop on the battlefield and become fully operational as quickly as possible. The Logistics Center is one of these structures, acting as a central drop-off point for military supply units and civilian logistics contractors whose equipment and manpower have been drafted to support the war effort. After all, any armed force in the world is only as capable as its logistics branch.

Produced by a Swedish utility vehicle company, these high-powered Excavators are operated by civilian engineering contractors in service of the European Continental Army, providing the task force with quick on-site construction capabilities.

These unarmed logistics vehicles act as the ECA's primary supply gatherers. Their sturdy tracks allow them to negotiate even the most difficult kinds of terrain and their shipping space is large enough to carry a sizeable amount of provisions.

[Nemanja]

Hahahahahaaha
Finally !!

[Dangerman]

This is my reaction of seeing the Region Command center render:



This post has been edited by dangerman1337: 7 Oct 2012, 19:14

[ultimentra]

Too cool! Really like the story fluff. Honestly, I think you guys should put it all together (the story fluff) into a novella, and maybe even make a little a money.

I really like the regional command, garrisoning troops inside? Never would have thought of it, simply genius.

[Mr.Kim]

That is a damn big ECA Command Centre and pretty unique ECA's construction unit(Excavator).

Well, I guess in 1.8 will be coming next year.

[Nemanja]

I have just read all the text.
Great story,very interesting,can't wait for more.
And those models and skins are really beautiful,
will European Supply Truck have some extra armor ?
It looks tougher than Chinese one.

[wb21]

Nice Region Command concept. Wonder how many times it's gonna be sturdier than the other factions' CCs.

[The_Hunter]

Nice Region Command concept. Wonder how many times it's gonna be sturdier than the other factions' CCs.

It will still crumble under 2 super weapon hits but it has abit more hitpoints than the others.
The real thing that makes it specialy nasty fortress is those garrison slots making early rushes (on this specific structure) very differcult.

[H3adSh00t]

Well, I guess in 1.8 will be coming next year.

[Knjaz.]

So it begins.

I totally love Region Command Center. I hoped for them to get some defenses with their Command Center, possibly even something like Terran Planetary Fortress from SC2.

It means that Europeans get a garrisonable "bunker" from the very start, right?
Also, does that helipad on top of RCC is there just for the looks or it might/will have some uses?

P.S. And yeah.. the LOOKS of it (and rest of the stuff, but RCC especially).
Great job!

This post has been edited by Knjaz.: 7 Oct 2012, 19:55

[The_Hunter]

I will only tell you that it's not just there for cosmetical reasons

[SpiralSpectre]

Oh my goodness I got petrified by the Command Center. The design, the details... it's getting hard to put together in words. So how many troops can garrison it?

Excavator has a very sleek and unique design for a dozer with it's quad tracks and everything. You can actually see a driver in it! It's main body keeps reminding me of a turtle's shell. xD

The logistics center is also very detailed. Just outta curiosity, is it bigger than the supply centers of other factions? Does the supply track have any special ability? Is it's gathering rate similar to Ironside's trucks in ShW?

As for the lore - we finally get to see a more sensible version of ZH European conflict. EU practically going tyrants, civilian unrest and eventually armed resistance movement, then GLA finally making their move using all these factors in their favour. Still it's odd that rest of Europe just kept their forces on standby around Germany to contain the hell within it's borders instead of facing GLA. But I guess they all more or less suffered from budget cuts, mutinies etc just like the German forces. Reminds me that possibilities GLA arms arriving in German ports via North Africa was mentioned in threads before, you guys did a great job at stringing together all those speculations and possibilities into a good storyline that's far more believable that EA's version.

It's nice to see the mentions of ZH generals. Deathstrike's goals sound pretty sensible now - targeting Europe as an easy prey due to all the mutinies, social and economic problems it suffered from. Then causing maximum impact and chaos while using minimum resources and retreating after shaking the roots of Euro civilsation instead of actually "conquering" Europe.

Again that was an interesting ending to the update that leaves us thinking. So Fai lead PLA throughout the German campaign? Did he and Juhziz both die in the explosion?

edit - is the ECA scout a heli then?

This post has been edited by SpiralSpectre: 7 Oct 2012, 19:51

[Spejjarn]

Yippiiii!!! Nice renders! I really like the story: it explains a lot. I sincerely hope RL school/work wont delay your weekly updates too much (once every third week is just fine with me). Keep up the great work!

This post has been edited by Joakim: 7 Oct 2012, 20:29

[MARS]

Again that was an interesting ending to the update that leaves us thinking. So Fai lead PLA throughout the German campaign? Did he and Juhziz both die in the explosion?

That was supposed to be the implication, hence why they're both absent from the ZH Generals Challenge.

[SpiralSpectre]

That was supposed to be the implication, hence why they're both absent from the ZH Generals Challenge.

But Kassad is in the gen challenges and he died way before the Chinese campaign.

edit - and Thrax too!

This post has been edited by SpiralSpectre: 7 Oct 2012, 20:12

[MARS]

Right, but personally, Fai and Juhziz -not- having challenges always struck me as weirder than Thrax and Kassad having them. Also, in ROTR canon, Kassad did not actually die in the 2nd ZH GLA mission. Deathstrike's GLA merely decimated his followers in order to coerce him back into line. The 1.7 release update actually mentions that Kassad subsequently betrayed the GLA -again- after Deathstrike got killed which led to him being personally executed by Sulaymaan.

[SpiralSpectre]

Oh that slipped my mind.

BTW is Republic of Bavaria the result of one of those uprisings? Is it shown just for extra fluff and fun? It sure doesn't seem to have any real mention in the story.

[Dangerman]

I guess this update explains the angry mobs in europe, I can't see the GLA ferrying hundreds of angry mobs by ship from North Africa, Central asia and the Middle East (as hilarous the mental image of the GLA doing that). This GLA incursion into Germany actually seems plausible considering most of Europe's militaries are heavily cut down compared to the Cold War and further economic decline in the RotR timeline mean more cuts which likely means they'll say for example still be operating Leopard 2A5/6/7s rather than Leopard 3's with fancy PDLs along with parts of various armed forces siding with secceding regions.

Also is a future update going to talk about that Solaris satellite that crashed in Alaska that was mentioned in the storyline page (I noticed it got updated ) that'll most likely set up US-ECA relations for the campaign?

That was supposed to be the implication, hence why they're both absent from the ZH Generals Challenge.

I guess that's a reson why Charles has chosen his type of playstale, is among the troops but he isn't too close to the action. Obviously didn't want to end up the same fate as Fai.

This post has been edited by dangerman1337: 7 Oct 2012, 20:31

[MARS]

BTW is Republic of Bavaria the result of one of those uprisings? Is it shown just for extra fluff and fun? It sure doesn't seem to have any real mention in the story.

It is supposed to be one of the break-away regions that survived and since this is Germany we're talking about, you can be sure that Mr. Wolfgang will be revealed to be involved in some way.

Also is a future update going to talk about that Solaris satellite that crashed in Alaska that was mentioned in the storyline page (I noticed it got updated ) that'll most likely set up US-ECA relations for the campaign?

We will indeed dedicate an update to this 'incident'.

[RocketMan]

Since there'll be only one CC available at a time, will there be any other excavator building structure for the ECA, or maybe something what would allow them to get faster to a new expansion?

By the way, I've noticed that the ECA vehicles are currently heavily thread dependent (considering this and previous updates). Will they get some number of wheeled vehicles maybe?

This post has been edited by RocketMan: 7 Oct 2012, 21:09

[MARS]

They will have an auxiliary structure that performs some functions of a CC that can be built without a limit.

[GeneralCamo]

Nice to see how my concerns about the Solaris Node Plant were addressed.

I see the Logistics Center also mentions Equipment. Do you mean equipment as in something like the Mobile AT Gun from shockwave? Or Equipment as in Light Vehicles?

Oh, and that crane in the CC reminds me of the Red Alert Construction Yard.

This post has been edited by Generalcamo: 7 Oct 2012, 21:33

[Theyseemetrollin]

Wow was not expecting updates so soon haha, I'm impressed, keep up the good work, looking forward to see more. =)

[Nodlied]

Wow. There are no words that can describe the awesomeness of this update.


The story explains everything I've always wanted to know about ZH and it actually makes sense.

As for the CC, I am interested in the way it is going to affect gameplay.
If I may ask though, how many power units will the CC provide?

Oh, and that crane in the CC reminds me of the Red Alert Construction Yard.

Not only the crane. That entire part of the structure reminds me of the RA Conyard. (Which is awesome.)

[Knjaz.]

As for the CC, I am interested in the way it is going to affect gameplay.

I think it'll be awesome for turtlers to help them deal with early rush, but will largely depend on the map and starting positions. Personally, I can imagine as much as selling your RCC at the start to rebuild it at the preferable location right away. Can imagine quite some maps where this could provide positive results (if it costs 2.000. you basically get a War Fortress at target location, without an artillery, though. If I'm right on stats.)

This post has been edited by Knjaz.: 7 Oct 2012, 22:16