Greetings, Commanders!
It has been almost two days since Men of War II launched and it is amazing to see how many of you are playing the game! We have just published a hotfix that solves a critical issue. This issue was preventing some users from playing single-player missions, as they would get stuck on the "local server requested" screen. The hotfix also adds a maps package to the Editor. We are already working on a major patch that we hope to release early next week. Here is a preliminary list of fixes that we're aiming to include in the next week's update:
- Reduced server wait times
- Fixes to several crashes reported by users
- Increased AFK timeout limit
- Fixes to the flow of several missions
- Additional button slot in the central hotbar
- Improved visuals for various maps in the game
- Design and animation improvements for various unit and weapon models
- Localization fixes
And while we are working on these fixes, we are also preparing a more long-term development roadmap, which is based on your feedback. Honestly, we can't wait to share more with you!
The Importance of Your Feedback
In the past year, we have organised 4 public playtests, each implementing new features and changes based on your feedback from the previous one; we hope this proves our dedication to working with our fans and making Men of War II the best game it can be for everyone. After the first Multiplayer Tech Test in March of last year, the new Battalion system was met with mixed reactions. A significant part of the player base was criticising it and demanding it be reworked, but there were many of you who enjoyed it. From that point on, we formed the philosophy of adding features and game modes that those unhappy with the original state of the game could enjoy, rather than removing features another part of the community liked.
We have added the Combined Arms and Classic Modes, and eventually the Realism setting as well; and we truly believe that much of the frustration we see in some reviews stems from the fact that players may not realise how much they can change their gameplay experience simply by playing on different-than-default settings. We do accept that as our fault - we are working on improving the in-game presentation of the different options to make it much clearer for everyone. But for now, if you are one of the players who already enjoys Men of War II, we ask a simple favor of you; help us and support us by posting a review. On the other hand, if you are unhappy with the game and would like it to be improved, join our community, share your feedback, and we will continue listening to you and working hard on making Men of War II even better.
Don't get us wrong - in no way do we dismiss criticism, and negative reviews are an absolutely legitimate way to voice your opinion. We only ask you to give the game a fair chance; Men of War II was specifically designed to include as much content and variety of gameplay as possible for both casual and hardcore RTS players, for both single-player and multiplayer enthusiasts:
- In single-player, the 3 narrative campaigns work differently than the 2 historical campaigns, which are different from the dynamic Conquest campaign mode; we have posted all the details here.
- In multi-player, Battalions, Combined Arms and Classic Mode offer vastly different experience, as you can learn here.
And since we whole-heartedly believe in giving players the choice to enjoy the game as they see fit, we made sure that whatever content you choose to play, you can do so in two very different ways:
- Competitive Setting (default for all single-player, and for Battalions and Combined Arms multiplayer match-making) if you prefer faster-paced, more action-oriented and accessible gameplay
- Realism Setting (default for Classic Mode multi-player match-making and accessible through custom lobbies for all other multi-player modes) if you are a fan of more hard-core RTS gameplay, reminiscent more closely of Men of War: Assault Squad 2.
You can easily switch the two settings for single-player by turning Realism Mode on or off in Settings => Packages. Full details of all the changes Realism Setting entails can be found here.
With that in mind, if you are still considering whether or not to purchase Men of War II and try it out for yourself, when browsing the reviews section, consider how long some reviewers have spent in the game; and whether an opinion formed after 0.5 hours can be fair and fully informed, since that is just about the length of a single battle out of all the content and features we mentioned.
Frequent Concerns
We would also like to take this opportunity to openly address a few points that are brought up often, even as we continue responding to everyone individually:
- The game is always on-line - That is true for now. Repeated connection to game servers is necessary to ensure all progression rewards (including for single-player actions) are being awarded, and that no-one can cheat in multi-player matches. However, we have heard your concerns, and we have started developing an off-line mode for single-player even before the release, but it will take some time to implement. We have been open about this, the "always on-line" requirement is clearly stated in the system requirements and elsewhere; we absolutely understand it might be an insurmountable obstacle for some players and if you are in such a situation, we humbly ask for your patience to wait and buy the game once we have implemented it.
- I keep getting disconnected or experience other technical issues - We are sorry you are experiencing such difficulties. We are working on patches to fix all the bugs and are constantly working on the server infrastructure to improve stability - but in order to achieve this, we need your help. Whenever you run into any problems, report them on the Men of War II Discord server or here in Steam Discussions, but to give us the most information to work with, please upload your game logs to a file-sharing service of your choice and share the link with us. These files can be found in: C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Men of War II
- The game is too different, it should resemble another game more - It is of course perfectly fair to compare Men of War II to different RTS games. However, it is its own game; we feel like developing a clone of already existing games perhaps with just a few more units, maps or even game modes, would do the community a huge disservice. We hope that other titles in the genre continue being successful, doing their own thing and releasing more content - the more variety of games there is, the more choice, the better!
- The game has health-bars on tanks - All games made in some version of the GEM engine use a HP system to determine when a vehicle is completely destroyed + damage system for individual parts. The only difference is in the fact that in the Competitive setting, Men of War II displays this information, to be accessible to more casual players. If you do not like this feature, the Realism setting might suit you better, or you can turn off this part of the UI in Settings, the choice is completely up to you!
- The graphics are outdated, they look like old Men of War games - The engine powering the game (GEM RTS) has been significantly upgraded since the first time we’ve shown you Men of War II, features such as improved lighting using Physically Based Rendering and improved aquatic spaces have been implemented; if you are interested in details, you can read up on the topic in our devlogs here and here!
Joining the Community
If you truly want to help improve the game, it is best to also join the conversation in our community - on the official Men of War II Discord server or in the Steam discussions, not just post a negative review. It was thanks to player feedback that Best Way have been able to develop the Classic Mode, Realism Setting, improve the overall balance of units, and much more - the team is absolutely committed to continue working on the game and on fixing the issues that you find most pressing, and we hope that with all the improvements and additions that were implemented after our multiple public playtests, we have the track record to prove it. We read every suggestion, every criticism, every negative review, to make sure your voices are heard; and we will soon inform you about the fixes and updates we are working on.
Have Fun!
We don't want you to get the impression that the Men of War II community is just about reporting bugs and other unpleasant stuff. The point of a game is to have fun - and the ever-growing group of commanders on the Official Men of War II Discord server is welcoming and friendly; whether you want to just chat to someone, find new team-mates or share your videos, screenshots or live-streams, there is a channel for you. But we are extremely happy to say that the community already formed around Men of War II offer so much more than that!
The Simulated Divisions League is organising a Men of War 2 Launch Tournament, for everyone who wants to test their skill in friendly competition this Saturday, May 18! It will be played in the 5v5 Battalion game mode - All Information and Sign ups can be found here!
The first mod for Men of War II has released already, and more are on the way! If you would like to embark on a trip to alternate history, where Operation Overlord failed, definitely check out Lost Eagles on the Steam Workshop!
That is all for now, but expect much more to come soon. In the meantime, if you enjoy the game, please leave Men of War II a review here on Steam, and we will see you on the battlefield soon, Commanders!
