Profile of SturmtigerCobra

Just: You will maybe surprised what the plan is from Relic.

It's highly unusual that the CoH community has been without an official CM for 3+ months now. Despite its flaws, CoH2 has a higher player retention/average playtime than any other steam RTS game which is important when Sega calculate potential market profit from CoH2/CoH3 DLC.

According to steamspy which use the steam API system, CoH2 during last month had approx the same number of active players as AoE2.
CoH2;
466.210 active players (december 29, 2017)

AoE2;
410.934

CoH1;
80.005
https://steamdb.info/app/228200/graphs/
DoW3;
42.912
https://steamdb.info/app/285190/graphs/
Even CoH1 has two times more active players than DoW3.

So what is going on? Why the radio silence?
Why Amplitude gave up its independence and joined Sega
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-11-02-why-amplitude-threw-away-its-independence-and-joined-sega

"Myself and Mathieu are both fans of two games - Mathieu is a big, big fan of Company of Heroes [Relic]. And I have been a big, big fan of Total War [Creative Assembly] from the very beginning. I can't even begin to think how many hours I have spent in those games.

This interview from before Sega buying Amplitude about community content and interactions with games2gether
Endless Space GAMES2GETHER Interview
https://www.gamingnexus.com/Article/Endless-Space-GAMES2GETHER-Interview/Item3493.aspx

https://www.games2gether.com/
https://www.games2gether.com/ (Updated on 2017-09-04) and http://www.companyofheroes.com/ (Updated on 2017-09-14) were updated with only 10 days apart.
https://www.games2gether.com/endless-space-2/blogs/591-endless-space-2-moddb-competition

Top leader in Sega Europe talk about community content;


I have mentioned this in previous posts. I strongly suspect they are going to expand on new modding tools/community content (UGC). Relic and Sega have hinted at this previously in several posts/interviews, such as the much delayed 2016 roapmap;
http://www.companyofheroes.com/blog/2016/12/09/coh2-the-road-ahead
New Content (UGC)

Although we plan to continue releasing new in-game content in future updates, we will now be leveraging UGC such as vehicle skins and maps to help offer new gameplay experiences to the community. We hope that advances to COH2’s modding tools will also take place in the coming months, allowing additional forms of content to be created by the community as well - however this is still to be confirmed.

From CoH1;

Company of Heroes gets a massive modding update 10 years on
https://www.gamespace.com/all-articles/news/company-of-heroes-modding-update/
From the press release:
Company Of Heroes 1 Update & Modding Celebration
Real-time strategy classic Company of Heroes continues to mark 10 years in the trenches with a celebration of its dedicated fan base. The game’s community has played an integral part in its enduring appeal through the submission of incredible user-generated content and innovative mods.

Company of Heroes 2 to give 50% of Proceeds from Polycount ‘War Paint’ Skin Competition back to the Community

“This is a unique opportunity to test a self-sustaining model where players can access top quality content, reward the content creators, and fund community-led events,” said Alex Price, Brand Director at Relic. “We’re excited to see how this might pave the way for more collaboration with players and designers across our portfolio of games.”

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/271106/Company_of_Heroes_2_to_give_50_of_Proceeds_from_PolycountlsquoWar_Paintrsquo_Skin_Competition_back_to_theCommunity.php

As for CoH2 going FTP, Relic/Sega updated the domain for www.coh-online.com on 2015-04-14
http://whois.domaintools.com/ (tool to check domain updates)
https://web.archive.org/web/20110208053135/http://www.companyofheroes.com/ (check old web, below image was from 2011)

www.coh-online.com redirect to http://www.companyofheroes.com/

The Korean and American versions feature the entire single player campaign from the retail release while the Chinese version does not.

http://companyofheroes.wikia.com/wiki/Company_of_Heroes:_Online

Asian COHO website;
http://coho.sdo.com/
https://web.archive.org/web/20110122182806/http://coho.sdo.com:80/homepage/index.html

However, the community backslash against DLC commanders in CoH2 might have messed up that FTP plan (for now).
We'll see "soon" enough.

Just announced;

http://store.steampowered.com/app/779340/Total_War_Three_Kingdoms/
https://www.polygon.com/2018/1/10/16874098/total-war-three-kingdoms-china-pc-price-release-date

The team at Creative Assembly has lifted the veil on its next project. Called Total War: Three Kingdoms, the epic strategy series will simulate the battlefields of ancient China for the first time. More surprising still, the PC title is scheduled to release this September.

The Total War series blends pausable real-time combat with grand strategy. Over the years, Creative Assembly has set the series in ancient Rome, Europe in the Middle Ages, feudal Japan and even Games Workshop’s Warhammer fantasy universe. With the rise of Steam in China, the time seems right for the series to cater to that demographic.

This is the second entry in the Total War franchise scheduled for release in 2018. Total War: Thrones of Britannia is part of an ongoing initiative to create spin-offs of the franchise centered around key historical events. However, that game still doesn’t have a release date.

Three Kingdoms will be set in the year 190 CE, in the midst of turmoil for the Han Dynasty. With a child emperor on the throne, the empire is in chaos.

“He is but a figurehead; a mere puppet for the tyrant warlord Dong Zhuo,” reads the trailer’s description on YouTube. “It is a brutal and oppressive regime, and as Dong Zhuo’s power grows, the empire slips further into the cauldron of anarchy.”

The action will center on three different heroes who will defend, or potentially betray, the child emperor. The game is billed as a “historical strategy game,” so expect a healthy dose of lore to accompany any footage of the game over the next year.

THE RISE OF STEAM IN CHINA
http://influencematters.asia/2017/04/12/the-rise-of-steam-in-china/


http://www.pcgamer.com/total-war-three-kingdoms-heads-to-ancient-china-later-this-year/
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-01-10-total-war-three-kingdoms-announced-taking-the-series-to-ancient-china
https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2018/01/10/total-war-three-kingdoms-takes-the-series-to-ancient-china/#5418c86c6eef

So Kyle recently updated his linkedin profile and has resigned as CoH CM:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylejfehr/
New job role in Relic;
Associate Designer

Good luck to Kyle in his new position and great thx for being a good CM for CoH2.
For reference this was posted by Kyle a long time ago, so this move was not really a big surprise;

*SNIP*
Lastly, I have a dedicated passion for improving my skills in game design. In my free time I enjoy making game mechanics and prototypes using the Unity game engine and read books on game design to further improve my knowledge and skills. In the near future I hope to use my experience, knowledge and abilities to transition into a game design and/or production type role.

So who will be the CM for CoH2? Currently, it looks like Andy_RE Communications Coordinator (ANDY BERGIN/Andrew Bergin?)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-bergin-90b744123/

My current responsibilities include:

Studio side communications and press coordination.
Creating content for Relic's social media channels and website.
Providing communications support for the Dawn of War and Company of Heroes brands.
Organizing and participating in both internal and external events.

Andy was in the recent DoW3 stream;
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/160886252

Was recently involved with the official posting for the survey, map contest, meet a Relican and humble bundle giveaway?
For posts by Andy
http://www.companyofheroes.com/blog
http://www.companyofheroes.com/blog/2017/12/13/give-the-gift-of-rts
Meet A Relican - COH;
https://www.relic.com/#news/8368
WHO IS MR. ANDY_RE ?
https://community.companyofheroes.com/discussion/244360/who-is-mr-andy-re
MISSED THE FUTURE OF COH SURVEY?
https://community.companyofheroes.com/discussion/244425/missed-the-future-of-coh-survey

A few more updates;

Ninja Tracks that are involved with the AoE 4 music, has previously worked on Battlefield 1 (WW1 game) and Star Wars Battlefront. A very good fit IMO.
https://www.ninjatracks.com/bio/
https://www.youtube.com/user/NinjaTracksMusic/featured
Ninja Tracks - Last Transmission ("Age of Empires IV" - Announce Trailer Music)

Battlefield 1 Official They Shall Not Pass Trailer

Battlefield 1 Official They Shall Not Pass Trailer Music - (Ninja Tracks - It's All So Clear Now)

GAMEPLAY TRAILER FOR STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT 2 FEATURING OUR CUSTOM TRACK RESIST!
https://www.ninjatracks.com/news/

STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II TRAILER REVEAL FEATURING OUR CUSTOM TRACK "LEGACY"!!
https://www.ninjatracks.com/news/

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Trailer 2 Music | Ninja Tracks - The Machination


MS gaming highlight AoE4 announcement as "Top Microsoft Gaming Moments of 2017"
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2017/12/20/top-microsoft-gaming-moments-2017/
posted on December 20, 2017

Reinvesting in Age of Empires
Celebrating the 20-year anniversary of the Age of Empires franchise with the community at gamescom this year was epic. We announced Age of Empires IV there, which has long been on many fan wish lists. Add that we are partnering with Relic Entertainment, one of the best RTS developers in the world, and there is a lot to look forward to with the storied PC franchise. It’s just the beginning, as Age of Empires: Definitive Edition launches early next year, and Definitive Editions of Age of Empires II and Age of Empires III are planned in the future.

800.000 CoH2 keys was giving out according to steamspy:

http://steamspy.com/app/231430

So the peak today (sunday) could definitely go above 20K players. This could indirectly help increase the budget for CoH3. Good news.