CoH: Tales of Valor announced

[H.Bogard]

Three campaigns, new multiplayer modes and a “direct-fire” feature that "allows even more tactical control during the heat of battle." The game is scheduled for release in Spring 2009 for PC.

Press release and more info here. (http://www.twistedpolygon.net/news/pc/thq-announces-company-of-heroes-tales-of-valor-for-pc.html)

[KingGorilla]

I jist came.

[Food Nipple]

Three new campaigns? Two new factions plus Whermacht campaign?

Is it wrong that I'm still more excited for DoW2?

[ShivaX]

Cool, though I'd love a little more info.

[Telefrog]

Wow. I just read this on Relic's official forum. This sounds really underwhelming.

Hey folks, I just wanted to clear up some of the initial questions about Tales of Valor.

1) No new factions are going to be introduced in Tales of Valor.
2) The new units are new models and textures. New.
3) Direct fire is something that we're featuring in the campaign, and perhaps one of the new multiplayer modes. It's not something you'll be using in a standard multiplayer game.

There ya go. I think that the expansion will have something for everyone, single-player fans and fans of multiplayer.

Also, this (http://www.edge-online.com/features/good-company?page=0%2C0&%24Version=0&%24Path=/&%24Domain=.edge-online.com).

Tim Holman, senior producer for Relic and the CoH franchise, describes Valor as a "series of short stories" as opposed to the "one big novel" format adopted by previous entries in the Company of Heroes franchise.

"We moved away from the mechanic of building a base, building a large army and going out and finding the enemy," he said. Instead, Valor, staying true to its title, will highlight more personal, "heroic moments."


That's what everyone wanted, right? More puzzle levels. :(

Direct-fire will be a "toggle-able" mode in which a tank's turret, for example, will follow the player's mouse cursor, allowing a tank's turret to move and control independently from the vehicle's path.

Holman explained, "If I'm coming around the edge of a building and I know there's an enemy there, I can enter my move order and swivel my turret around. As soon as I come around the corner--boom. I fire and the guy's gone. When you press your mouse button you are firing. But it still uses a ratio of hit or miss."

New units will be introduced in the single player campaigns and the studio is working on how they fit into multiplayer. Relic's goal for Valor is to add one new unit per faction, all of which will be vehicles.

So, one new unit per faction, no new factions, (where are my Russians, dammit!) puzzle levels focused on mini-stories, and a "direct fire" ability that won't work in multiplayer anyway? No thanks.

This will be the first Relic expansion I pass on.

[CptTripps]

I jist came.

Haha, you were the first person I thought of when I saw this :) CoH is my favorite RTS of all time. That along with Myth II and it's WWII mods.

I expect nothing but greatness and from past experiences would buy this over Starcraft 2 if they were released on the same day.

[KingGorilla]

I wonder if this is just the Western equivalent of the CoH Online Asia is getting.

But thus far, they have not splintered Multiplayer by denying new features or maps. Just different armies. It is when they deny that to me that I get pissed.

[ShivaX]

So, one new unit per faction, no new factions, (where are my Russians, dammit!) puzzle levels focused on mini-stories, and a "direct fire" ability that won't work in multiplayer anyway? No thanks.

This will be the first Relic expansion I pass on.

Underwhelming, but I love the game so much I'm just looking for an excuse to play it again. It better be damn cheap.

[ClannerDelta]

Telefrog, it sounds underwhelming but new factions would suck. Relic is just terrible at balance. They've shown it continually in DoW and CoH. So I would prefer they focus on things like adding some more competitive maps, more balance, making sure the new units fill a role worth filling, etc.

As for the puzzle levels. I'm not entirely sure that's what they meant. Moving away from base building isn't a bad thing. It's always been one of the weak points of story driven campaigns in RTS's. You build up for 50 minutes for 10 minutes of firefighting then move on. Focusing more on the tactical nature of CoH as opposed to the Macro aspect (which is weak and dumbed down to begin with) is something I think they are making the right decision on.