Rise of the Reds Update: Dirty Business Options

[MARS]

Right, this year's April Fools' Day is officially over so here's the actual update you've been waiting for, bright and early.

Central Africa, 2041

With his earlier concerns now proven valid, General Orlov received the green-light to investigate a suspicious area in what used to be Congo-Kinshasa until the brutal horde of the elusive 'Warlord Sulaymaan' had taken control, turning it into a haven for everyone with passion for violence.
"Sentry up ahead. Sasha, take him out", Leytenant Sergey Kosygin wispered to the point-man while his Spetsnaz group slowly advanced towards the supposedly 'abandoned' warehouse compound under the cover of the night.
Moments later, the unsuspecting guard's lifeless body hit the ground, his brain-stem severed by an expertly thrown hatchet. Despite being only lightly guarded, the team found the inside of the complex to be bristling with mercenaries, terrorists and other thugs.
"This is Volk to Oryol. We seem to have come upon a large-scale black market operation here." Meanwhile, General Orlov observed the team's actions through the cameras on their helmets, carefully analysing every detail of their surroundings.
"Looks like a large arsenal of weapons; AKs, RPGs, machine guns. Plenty of ammunition too..." Orlov commented on the live footage. "Volk, could you zoom in on those picture-looking things on the board by the large truck?"
As the image became clearer, it revealed a series of photos with names written under them in scribbled writing. They included North African politicians installed by the Europeans, corporate advisors from the US, as well as Chinese and Russian military commanders.
But there was one photo that got everyone's attention: General Yevgeny Romanovich Orlov, 106th Guards Airborne Division - wanted dead, bounty: 700.000 Dollars in diamonds/gold.
Nervous silence befell the attendants inside the command tent while the team kept scanning the scene. Suddenly, a meagre looking figure in a dirty labcoat emerged from a nearby structure and confronted a tall bearded man, seemingly in charge of the place, near the truck.
"Are you seeing this, Oryol? Who is this guy?", Leytenant Kosygin inquired. "Doesn't look like one of them. Cell leaders generally don't wear labcoats and glasses, do they?"
Orlov nodded in agreement while the facial recognition software tried to identify the stranger, eventually coming up with a 62% match. "The closest ID we got is one Munir Aziz Khan", said Orlov. "Wanted for treason by Pakistan's ISI since 2037. It says that he's a virologist."
"Understood, Sir", the squad leader confirmed while signalling his marksman to ready the Dragunov. "Do you want us to eliminate him? They would most likely spot us but taking him out should be worth it."
"No...Abandon the area immediately and set up an observation post at the following location...", the General replied while sending coordinates about a kilometre away. "Radio-op; tell the comrades in Juba to get in gear - I need the Tupolev!"

The Black Market unlocks the GLA's tier-1 technologies and provides them with a number of useful upgrades as well as a steady stream of income.
In addition, it is the place where GLA leaders put out bounties on enemy soldiers, allowing every cell to gain additional funds for destroying the enemy upon construction of a Black Market.
However, due to the growing importance and interconnection of Black Market activities, every cell may only operate one such facility at a time lest they spark too much attention from international law enforcement agencies.

The Chemical Lab becomes available after tier-2 technologies have been unlocked. Here, defected scientists work on improving the GLA's arsenal by means of illegal research and ordinance modifications.
In addition, it is also a very sturdy structure which can be used to shelter the vital, yet vulnerable Command Trucks in the event of a heavy assault, general power attack or superweapon strike.
Due to the scarcity of dedicated scientific personnel, every cell may only maintain one laboratory at a time.

Do note that unlike the other GLA buildings, these two will not be connected to any tunnel network.

That concludes today's update. As you can see, the GLA has underwent a large number of changes to their basic mechanics in order to make them fresh and interesting compared to the other factions.
You may also like to hear that our upcoming version is more or less complete content-wise at this point and that we are currently in the process of testing, testing, testing and more testing in order to assure the highest possible level of quality upon release.

[Shiro]

So many structures, so few bombs to destroy them /Granger

[GDIZOCOM]

Gotta love the lore and the new buildings

[Massey]

Right, this year's April Fools' Day is officially over so here's the actual update you've been waiting for, bright and early.

That concludes today's update. As you can see, the GLA has underwent a large number of changes to their basic mechanics in order to make them fresh and interesting compared to the other factions.
You may also like to hear that our upcoming version is more or less complete content-wise at this point and that we are currently in the process of testing, testing, testing and more testing in order to assure the highest possible level of quality upon release.

i dont say this offend.... plz pkz dont release too soon.

This post has been edited by Massey: 2 Apr 2012, 7:11

[MARS]

Happy to oblige if you could kindly refrain from quoting that entire wall of text including pictures just to drop a single line of your own.

EDIT: Thanks for fixing it.

[Massey]

this is nothing more then just a little giggle commect...

any one esle notice the BM pic's share the same tank traps

[SpiralSpectre]

Oh man, you just gotta love these steady, regular updates.

The lore has been pretty fun so far. This week's one has been specially good - it's very well narrated, does a great job in revealing the contents through a group of infiltrator's observation. It also has good suspense, for all we know the Spetsnaz guys could get blown up anytime following the GLA encounter traditions. And to top it up it ends with a boom. BTW bonus cheers for making that hatchet kill and for mentioning ISI!

As for the content - good to see the black market up and running again. The bounty idea should be fun, sounds like a handy partial modification of the old gen power.

Good to see the command trucks will have the option of shelters. I does feel just a bit strange to think a building full of volatile chemicals and explosive ammunition is so sturdy and such a place is used to shelter GLA commanders but it's GLA we're talking about! And if things weren't a bit strange, it wouldn't feel like GLA!

[apmdward007]

soo the cash bounty will no longer use in general power?
because it enchance with the new black market??? or will still remain?

[MARS]

Here's how it works: The Cash Bounty is no longer associated with general powers in any way, shape or form. Instead, it can be purchased as a three level upgrade, available on all GLA
tech trees, at the Black Market. So in addition to producing money every few seconds, you also get an increasing amount of money for every kill once you purchase the first upgrade.

[TheSpudd]

Oh good goodness, I'm loving the Chemical plant! Black Market looks brilliant.

[Massey]

Here's how it works: The Cash Bounty is no longer associated with general powers in any way, shape or form. Instead, it can be purchased as a three level upgrade, available on all GLA
tech trees, at the Black Market. So in addition to producing money every few seconds, you also get an increasing amount of money for every kill once you purchase the first upgrade.

So if i got this right.... *GLa rebel* Shot a soldier $1 (EG) next soldier $2, $3, $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10
So if u keep ur level 3 units alive for a long time... they will make more money then if a new unit made the killed instead?
If thats right, i would look out for level 3 units a lot more vsing the GLA.

[Shiro]

So if i got this right.... *GLa rebel* Shot a soldier $1 (EG) next soldier $2, $3, $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10
So if u keep ur level 3 units alive for a long time... they will make more money then if a new unit made the killed instead?
If thats right, i would look out for level 3 units a lot more vsing the GLA.

*beep* Wrong. You have 3 different upgrade levels, much like you had 3 levels for the Gen Power. The higher the upgrade the more money you get. It doesn't matter what level your own units are because the money you get is a percentage of the value of the object killed, 10, 20 or 40%. As a small bonus, when you have upgraded to the highest cash bounty the Black Market guys realise they can sell more stuff because you give them enough protection (otherwise you wouldn't accept so many bounties) so the Black Market income is increased from $20 to $50.

This post has been edited by SorataZ: 2 Apr 2012, 10:43

[apmdward007]

how will the chemical lab can shelter the command truck?

[SpiralSpectre]

^Um... I thought you simply garrison the CT in the lab...

As a small bonus, when you have upgraded to the highest cash bounty the Black Market guys realise they can sell more stuff because you give them enough protection (otherwise you wouldn't accept so many bounties) so the Black Market income is increased from $20 to $50.

That sounds really interesting. So far only the US were able to improve their steady income rate.

BTW it slipped my mind earlier but it's pretty unique that the GLA gets their steady cash supply as soon as they reach tier 1, unlike others who has to reach tier 2 and build another structure/unit. Maybe that'll have some interesting effect in their gameplay and make it even more different from the gameplay of the other factions.

So... I'll bluntly ask - does this have any significant impact on GLA build order or overall gameplay? Like you don't mind being stuck in tier 1 for a while since you're already getting steady cash and could use the tier upgrading time to build units and/or expand instead? Or is this me over-thinking/fantasising?

This post has been edited by SpiralSpectre: 2 Apr 2012, 12:15

[The_Hunter]

it's only a single black market that produces 20$ every while.
The cash bounty upgrades (which are insentialy their most important income) still require tier 2 before they can be purchased.

[GuardianTempest]

(lore-related)
Chemical Lab, sure this can do wonders for Ibrahiim, but what about TC and Sulaymaan? What sort of chemical goodness will they get? (other than the standard toxin boost)

[Dangerman]

The Chemical Plant looks very cool but the tower (if that what's it called) for the black market seems to be a bit off for me, though good work as usual and from the looks of it you'll have to keep killing enemy troops, vehicles and buildings to get extra cash since the Black Market can only be built one at a time which is very interesting.

[MARS]

(lore-related)
Chemical Lab, sure this can do wonders for Ibrahiim, but what about TC and Sulaymaan? What sort of chemical goodness will they get? (other than the standard toxin boost)

That's not a concern at this point because the generals will not be added for quite a while. Chances are they're going to get visually distinct structures once the time comes.

[Panzer4life]

Awesome update, though I hope the funds received from them black market makes up for their being only one is sufficient. Also, does the chemical lab blow up into a toxic cloud when destroyed?

[n5p29]

does Palace still exist then?

[The_Hunter]

does Palace still exist then?

Nope.

[n5p29]

Nope.

I'm confused, then the Chem Lab is tier-2 holder building? if not then they got another building (but unannounced yet) for it?

[MARS]

From this update:

The Black Market unlocks the GLA's tier-1 technologies and provides them with a number of useful upgrades as well as a steady stream of income.

Again from this update:

The Chemical Lab becomes available after tier-2 technologies have been unlocked.

From the 'Tunnel Rats' update:

In addition, the GLA no longer uses a static command centre to call in general powers; this, along with radar-coverage and an upgrade that unlocks their tier-2 technologies, is the function of their Command Trucks.

Should be enough clues to finally piece things together I would say.

[Jester]

Awesome job as usual guys very interesting lore aswell

This post has been edited by Jester: 2 Apr 2012, 14:26

[n5p29]

[...] and an upgrade that unlocks their tier-2 technologies, [...]

Should be enough clues to finally piece things together I would say.

uhh... I must missed that sentence part. sorry for bothering. >.>