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.


"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.

Another great update Mars you never cease to amaze me

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

Great update.

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?

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

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

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.

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 ?

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.

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




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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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

I guess you will see tomorrow

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.

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!

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...

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.

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.

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.....

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?

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?

Awesome update, a rather pleasant surprise to find out that driver-killing weapons are still available. The Pandora sounds truly devastating, though I personally can't wait to see the revised Venom.

Of course the Pandora is awesome but I almost got more excited by the mentioning of a Pandur IFV. The RoE version included a Pandur and the latest teaser trailer and sceenies included a 6x6 vehicle that seemingly both could repair friendlies and fire at non-friendlies.

On another note, I think SWR are teasing us big-time before Christmas. I still believe the 1.8 release will come in March.
Looking forward to the next update!

Something tells me that i will rather enjoy the bad stuff of this thing one hell of a gun

Fantastic. The Venom protocol is going to have to be seriously impressive to make me want to use anything other than this - megatanks are great, but no way I could pass up on all these shiny explosives

Plus, who can resist the temptation of stealing dozers?

Dont even think of stealing MY dozers

I'm afraid stealing dozers with Pandora is... well, quite impossible
(that is, even if they'd be vulnerable to driver killing weapons, which I'm not sure of)

Woah chillingly awesome update, one of the best so far. Now for my few questions:

1. How long can the Pandora shoot for, MARS's post on MODB says shorter than the TOPOL M but compared to the stationary Howitzer?
2. Radius? Since in the trailer it killed Infantry what looked to be like near-Superweapon range (SCUD, Tremor and Nuclear Missle).
3. How powerful is Jaeger's missle strike?
4. Are the Russians going to do more extreme measures because of these events?


I defintely think its coming Christmas day or a day or so afterwards. You don't have the Pandora update and the Hero update together like this...

PANIC.jpg



interesting, throgh now Venom is probably the most enigmatic unit the ECA has unreveled
through i wonder what will come with it

stealing the dozers....


man my favorite part!

I am pretty sure that is not going to happen. Originally hijackers could steal dozers, but it caused balance issues. So most likely, they will either be immune to driver kill weapons, or just outright die.

Love the lore, but the ECA crew deserved the death they got, using neutron weapons, even if in the face of utter annihilation, destroys any respect I might have had for the ECA high Command. Time for Mother Russia to have Ivan's manifest destiny take place. To battle Comrades!

A quick question, the ECA protocols, what if you find the one you chose isn't the right one for the situation, does that mean you are stuck with it for the rest of the match?

Yeah, desperation has gotten them to deploy atomic bombs on their own soil. Now they totally deserve to get mangled, right? /sarcasm.

As for your question, yes, that's what it means.

Russia is claiming war crimes? Does the russian government have any idea what Aleksandr is actually doing? Or is it just "ECA Lies designed to turn us weak?"

this is the first time i hear this, and i am sure you are more at fault for letting a hijacker get away with stealing a dozer

Is Manticore immune to neutron weapons, cause that way one can try stockpiling them. Also are there other units which will be immune to driver-kills?

Well, that is how I remember it anyway. I remember that they were killing multiplayer games when your dozer was stolen in the first 2 minutes.

And also, what about the GLA? How will you be able to steal their "dozer?"

It was more due to the fact one could build a command center far away and get a worker to fully build one.

Looking on the map, I see that Norway and a tiny part of southern Germany, Austria and northern Italy is still russian free teritory.. is that bc of the alps making it hard to conquer?

You said that the beginning of the invasion of England was their darkest hour, but launching nuclear warheads on the enemy in your own country cause of desperation isn't that brighter.. (except of the detonation itself.. )

And concerning how many Sentinels (which are considered expensive) the ruskies still have despite of the enormous fortifications and european defensive skills,I think the other nations will start entering the war soon.. if they wait any longer, war would be over and everything would be red but we know that this will not happen

Judging the ECA high command for this step is st*pid.. I am sure a lot of leaders would act like this if the situation arises.
And concerning how "important" the masses of soldiers -of- -his- -own- -nation- are for Aleksandr, he would do things like that waaaay earlier..

That is correct; both the Alps and parts of Scandinavia are still held by the ECA due to the difficult terrain.
The darkest hour on the continent, where most of the fighting's at, obviously lasted a whole while longer. The costly battle of the Netherlands, the failed invasion of the UK and now this. The tide is turning.
Interesting point about the leaders you raise there. There is a -reason- why Zhukov is the one with the nukes instead of Aleksandr. You'll see why that is very soon.

So would it be very highly imbalanced if someone has to go through the ECA tech tree and build their tier 2 building, choose a certain protocol, build a costly prototype unit, drag it to one of the opponent's dozer, neutron fry the dozer, send his infantry in the empty dozer - all that to capture it? That sounds like a lot of work to me... probably worth the dozer. Isn't the Hijacker more like a different case? After all it's cheaper, available earlier, can be mass produced and so on.

It's gonna be totally even as soon as Zhukov fires the first nuke. I am still hoping he wouldn't do something, you know, kinda cliche. but will have to see.

Oh, so this attack is due to a realy large russian battle groop? I guess it have to, cause it wouldn't be a "turningpoint" otherwise.

Will this part of France be radiated for long? Or will it be like "in game" were radiation only last for some seconds?
I also do not know how the radiation effect of a neutron weapon looks like in RL, I am not a physicist.

OT @MARS: Im ersten Satz wollte ich sagen das der Pandora-angriff einer größeren Einheit (Division oder so) gebührt hat.. kann man das mit "due to" übersetzen? Verdammt gutes Englisch das du drauf hast!!
@ all: I was just asking MARS if I translated my first scentence well enough from german to englisch

Neutron radiation doesn't last long, so it probably won't be radiated. What is really the problem is what is going to happen if they decide to fire into civilian towns.

Yes, it has, and yes, this is how politics sphere works, unfortunately. There's no such thing as "being ashamed" in geopolitics, especially in a WW3.



Well, RF definitely could/would use that as an excuse to go nuclear. But, judging from your responses, I guess that happens way later?

Well MARS, when I talkj about Russia, I talk about the Russian federation, not the wet dream that Alexsander or Surov has. Also, I really love to see Zhukov, Orlov, and several other sane Russian pull off a coup-de tat and other throw Alexsander and make Surov pays for his crimes against Russia (the incident that caused Russia to attack the ECA, and for having a maniac in charge of the war). I hope Zhukov denies Alexsander his nuclear weapons to Alexsander and uses them to destroy Alex's concrete fortress.

But still, For da Rodina!

It still stands that Russia is the aggressor in this war and more importantly the other superpowers have a bitter past with them and would side with the ECA instead of them anyday. If Russia uses this as an opportunity to go nuclear then they would lose the tiny moral ground they suddenly received thanks to ECA's desperation and nothing would hold back the rest of the world from jumping on Russia itself. Like you said, that's geopolitics for ya.

Again the way things are going if Russia doesn't do something soon the magic tank and arty will eventually clean all Ruskies in Europe and Venom will pull out Alek's pure, virgin balls without any kinda foreign intervention.