Arderne assault count down!

We've openly acknowledged the fact that we've split multi-player and single-player content so that players can choose to purchase what they prefer. We know that not everyone enjoys both - though out of all of the COH campaigns, AA is certainly the one multi-player fans will enjoy the most. We see a lot of comments about how people only care about multi-player content, and while our online forums may lean towards mutli-player sentiment, gameplay numbers indicate that campaign play is still a very significant and exceptionally important aspect of our franchise. Further to that, Ardennes Assault will also hopefully provide a more natural 'onramp' process that helps convert some of our campaign players into future mutli-player enthusiasts.

As for comments on cost - it's hard for us to address those. I don't want to argue with you guys, but I do want to strongly emphasize the value of Ardennes Assault, which I think many people are not aware of. A few important facts:

- The Ardennes Assault campaign is much larger than the original COH2 campaign
- It plays differently. It has a new 'meta-map', which may sound like silly marketing jargon. But what this map allows you to do is progress through the campaign in a non-linear fashion - it favors a dynamic game-play style. Further to this, how you proceed through this meta-map will impact the difficulty of proceeding missions. Taking one 'path' through the map means that certain nodes (or missions) will increase or decrease in difficulty as a result.
- In addition to the meta-map path differences, you can choose which of the three companies you use to play each mission. Each company has different gameplay styles and different abilities. Your experience in the same mission can drastically differ depending on which company you select for it.
- Actions in one mission impact your 'future game' - losses are persistent, as is veterancy. This increases the emphasis on strategic decision.
- Each of the companies is led by a commanding officer that adds further narrative elements to the game in ways our franchise has never done before. These narrative moments change based on how your game is going, and the decisions you make. They will react to your wins and losses, and your gameplay has an immediate impact on how these characters experience the war. Your decisions can also lead to their death.
- Two friends can start AA at the same time, and have very different in-game experiences. This makes AA even more interesting for casters and streamers, as the 'lets play' content will vary from person to person.

There is a LOT of new stuff, and the replay value is huge.

In addition to all of that, we wanted to offer a more compelling pre-order reward than we did with WFA. Skins are awesome, but this is another thing we've never done before. The Rangers pre-order isn't just another unit, it is also another narrative element to the overall game. In the same way that the other three companies are led by commanding officers, so are the Rangers. You can choose to take him and his company into battles in the various missions, and your decisions will impact whether him and his men live or die, how he feels about the war, and how he reacts to it.

Hopefully this information helps a bit. Ultimately, you'll all make the decision regarding whether or not you will purchase Ardennes Assault, but we hope that you will. I don't think you'll be let down - a LOT of work has gone into this project. A lot of love, too. Because I felt like making it extra corny right here at the end.

Jump back to quoted post17 Nov 2014, 10:57 AMCasTroy

Cynthia_RE posted:

When exactly is Ardennes Assault dropping? The answer might surprise you!

0000 hours / 12 AM CET, November 18th
1500 hours / 3PM PST, November 17th
2300 hours / 11PM GMT, November 17th


Hope that helps...

Jump back to quoted post17 Nov 2014, 10:57 AMCasTroy

Cynthia_RE posted:

When exactly is Ardennes Assault dropping? The answer might surprise you!

0000 hours / 12 AM CET, November 18th
1500 hours / 3PM PST, November 17th
2300 hours / 11PM GMT, November 17th


Hope that helps...

Jump back to quoted post17 Nov 2014, 12:08 PMpigsoup

so it came out? i just googled gmt and it is already 12 pm

but pst is still 4 am wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuat??????????

Jump back to quoted post16 Nov 2014, 16:55 PMBeltFedWombat

* shrugs *

I bought the engine and 80% of the assets plus the CE and loads of other DLC... so why would I pay AAA game price for an expansion?

Answers on a postcard.

Jump back to quoted post16 Nov 2014, 16:58 PMKhan

People are actually are actually excited for it? People are actually buying it? Wut?