TRue, i think the battle damage could be a bit better... How long do the craters stick around for in the dirt? I wish it had a slower speed too( i only play singleplayer and i love watching tank shells fly in slo mo bullet time) lol But its pretty good game i aint gonna lie. .. Call to Arms the WW2 DLC's is still my Goat for that very reason tho
Thank you, Vulcan, for being such a evangelist for SD2, Warno, and Eugen games in general! The games that I love! It's people like you who give these games a presence, and thus allows them to survive and thrive in the RTS world! Thanks again!
Bro Eugen is the most infamous company in RTS genre after Blizzard, maybe even worse. I dont know if u are old enough to remember the drama about EE and ALB, hell, even SD1 was miserable at the launch. Warno is a luckluster compared to RD and ALB. SD2 repeats same mistakes from SD1. But yeah, enjoy 1 hour fight for single town/forest lol.
Make sure to share this with your friends if they like RTS! This Sunday I'm actually away, but every Sunday is usually Steel Division Sunday on my Twitch from 8pm till 12pm BST (currently GMT)! Also a couple of extra things for people new to Steel Division 2: - Most games do not last this long, it is quite regular to put a 50 minute time limit on the game. This is a 10v10 server hosted purposely for this 10v10 designed map that has a 90 minute time limit. (thanks to Hardzen!) - If you buy the game, claim the free DLCs and consider the History (Season) Pass for good value as it gives you 3 entire expansions, their respective campaigns and divisions. - If you are being removed from games for being inexperienced, make your own lobby for newer players. People will join OR come to my stream and get involved in the community!
Thank you for the video. I have a question, in the video you state that it is quite hard to learn how to play. How is the learning curve compared to "Wargame-European Escalation", Wargame Air-land-Battle" and Wargame Red Dragon? is it harder, easier or equal? Please advice. :)
@@vonwar0157 Its more micro intensive regard to single entity unit with major focus of veteran units. RD was focused on special forces making them demigods, EE was just an incubator and ALB was a peak imho. TTK is very short in SD1/2 so u must babysit units, ALB was gameplay wise better due to 10hp bar. SD games tends to be stalemate, with little front movement in mid/late game. In ALB and in EE you were able to schwerpunkt parts of the front and keep the momentum as the map allowed tactical retreat. SD maps are mostly static with minimum dynamic, except the times the enemy is weak. Both games are fun, but ALB will always be superior to SD.
That was a more thrilling 90 minutes than any of the latest Marvel movies. Motivated me to throw together a new C phase deck and get back into 10v10. Great stuff.
I've been short of money and been playing the base game for 3 years (+ the Vistula dlc) and it's the game I always go back to if I want to have a good night gaming. Also Vulcan! You've made my games so much better with your ambient advice in every video ❤
have you been able to come up with the 45$ extra for the rest of the DLC's? since then? What if you put aside $3.00 every paycheck? You would have the DLC's in your sweaty little hands with a year and a half!
You don’t see people doing this sort of thing anymore, showing passion for a game and laughing through losses and wins. Thanks Vulcan, hope you continue playing this awesome game! IS 2
It's the best game since Close Combat battle of the bulge in the 90s, so it was a long wait for someone to make something that could top it. I am 52 years old and absolutely love this game and I have 4100 hours on this game and play mostly AG myself. I don't like playing online matches because of all the whining and hate on the Steel Division discussion forums.
I played the Closecombat serie since CloseCombat 2 came out , it was the best RTS ww2 game out there for the last 20 years, loved to play against my brother and friends via Lan back im the days. Also Aprm Hiddenstroke 2 was fun to play with a group of 10 -15 people on self made maps and big battles. But today steel division is the way to go, I know no better RTS WW2 game in this scale
I think the big thing about "new players" with all strategy games is that the incredibly skilled high tier players end up stomping any newer players in casual games and that tends to kill the scene, as not everyone wants to dedicate an hour of their time to being absolutely crushed by someone with thousands of hours. Also Eugen communities can be quite toxic, all I have to say is "Wargame Chat" and people know EXACTLY what I mean, although WARNO has apparently been banning people like that which is pretty cool. I should probably join some more strategy game communities myself but I genuinely think those are my 2 big problems with the community.
A good player will defeat a newbie in way less than an hour, more like 10 to, maximum, 20 minutes. Plus you can check the rank afterwards. Or arrange matches with other new players or get a coach. Can't really complain about the organised SD2 community, a mirror of society, I'd say neither better nor worse. Maybe even better.
I bought it tonight after watching your videos. I wasn’t disappointed either. COH is so arcade like (and expensive) but this game is incredibly realistic. Thanks for the content and the information.
If you want a game with even HIGHER realism, then I highly recommend "Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy." Scale isn't as big as Steel Division, but equally thrilling though slightly slower paced.
IS-2 ! No but for real, I've discovered this game a while back and even if I tend to play a wide variety of games, I just keep getting back to it. The gameplay is so good and the vast array of units makes me feel like a little kid in a toy shop whenever I make a new division preset, I just get unbelievably excited, especially when I see those bad vehicles that are there mostly for historical reasons like my precious Hotchkiss 35 :3. And of course when I discovered this game, I discovered you as well, which might be one of my favourite youtuber discovery of those last years. Thanks for keeping up the content and contaminating us with your love for this game ! :)
I think that the learning curve keeps people away, for me I love watching game play and I do own the game but I barely play because micro in RTS games have never been my strong suit.
Same, I bought the game as it looked interesting as I do like RTS games, but rarely ever play it simply because this is way to micro-management centric and that takes a lot of the fun away from the game to me.
I started playing sd2 last December and I really love it. There's nothing else like it. My main grip with the game, and I don't know how you'd fix it, is the sheer amount of babysitting you've to do, or tedious micro, let me explain. The game simultaneously in 1v1, (less so in larger lobbies) expects you to micro an entire front of rock paper scissor type units across a huge map. In conjunction with this, many units, let's take small infantry divisions have smoke grenades, so I need to manage an air force, artillery, close and long range infantry, manually move infantry around houses, tanks etc., and you expect me to have the time and ability to tell infantry unit number 78 to throw smoke in front of itself whilst a tank mows it down. I think Steel division 2 has the micro complexity of a smaller scale game, and thus on a large scale it becomes impossible. I'm sure there are many much better players than can manage all this better than I can, but it's a major deterent to new players. Eugen could boost the popularity of their game by codifing and streamlining smart orders to reduce the micro load, as a tangible, practical solution to make the game more popular.
It is possible to play tactical maps (there have been tacitcal tournaments, too), or play with less points (starting points and/or income), thus reducing the amount of units on the battlefield. This is not in qp or ranked, but it can be played this way :)
had a lot of fun in this game, and the honor of playing this match! thank to you i be came fan of this games, keep it up vulcan! and the old SD 44 and RD
Thank you for making these videos. I've always been a fan of RTS titles, but I just purchased SD2 yesterday and your videos were crucial to learning the important aspects of the game. I'm on a win streak against AI but I think I'm ready to get crushed in an online match. Thanks for covering the distance between casual RTS gamers, and the learning curve associated with SD2.
Hi Vulcan , just wanted to say , great video , and you are so right, SD2 is really great ! Just wanted to say this, since i just saw the recent Eugen post, how SD2 will continue with its development, an entire new Tribute DLC ! Nice to see it will continue living on !
I had no idea this game existed. I’m a huge rts fan. The way this game approaches rts is very innovative with huge potential. If any dev reads this, and is unaware of the new Unreal Engine technology, it can actually render graphics at great distances all over the screen without hindering the fps. It is an extraordinary leap for game development technology. Can you imagine this game utilizing that tech? Maybe the evolution of rts we’ve been waiting for!
I really admire your continued passion for Eugen's specific RTS niche, and SD2. All your tips, including the IS-2 / friendly shift-view order tip, really show the depth of your understanding of the game after, what, 2000+ hours you said?
I've never seen this game before and yet I've watched this whole video becouse this game seems very iteresing with your casting of this replay. I'm all into ww2 RTS i came to your channel from your casting with AEcoh and i dont regret it, lovely conent you have on your channel IS2
I have been watching you for a very long time. Spent some time in your streams as well, albeit that was a couple years ago when I had time to spare. Now I am a dad and I barely have time to play games at all. I tried playing SD1 just for fun, but I just can't do it. Am too slow to manage all these units. Still, I love watching games like this. It is so cool. So enjoyable. Thanks for the content bro.
@@VulcanHDGaming Cheers, just one for now haha. Will be gladly watching, but as I mentioned all those years ago, I will probably still fall asleep 3 minutes into every single one of your vids. Nothing against you, it's just that they are so calming I am used to it by now haha. :D
You got me into Wargame near a decade ago, awesome how much RTS content you have accumulated through the years. I recently got 3 friends to try Wargame:RD and surprisingly they all enjoy it, so that is another 4 players you have gotten indirectly into Wargame. Thanks for that. *[celebratory Buratino barrage]* I tried SD1 when it was published and did not like it at all, ended up ignoring Eugen Systems for some years. I only recently started watching SD2 videos and Warno has some potential to succeed Wargame, perhaps me and my buddies will hop into newer titles at some point.
A marathon of a battle, showing how team members can support and reinforce each other. Yes the game looks beautiful close up. Its a rock-paper-scissors game with many types of units. I did watch it all. Great stuff.
What puts me off to steel division 2 is that I find it to be very overwhelming. Learning all the different infantry, vehicle, arty and aircraft types, and how they behave, and how best to use them, when best to use them etc. Not to mention all the different divisions, and deck building etc. For me its juts a lot, and is pretty intimidating. None the less I do own the game, bought it a long while ago, after discovering your channel. You inspired me to get the game, and make it look so easy. I just wish I wasn't so overwhelmed by it.
One thing that really helps A LOT is to activate "show armour/penetration value" in the options. It will show these values as shown in this cast. It is switched off by default. Switch it on and a good portion of the problems are solved :)
@@ElpredatorGYRO I struggle the most with infantry, There are so many different types, and some are very situational. The differences seem very subtle in some cases, and obvious in others. Also my macro isnt the best.
@@ElpredatorGYRO it sure is. Machine guns engage best at 1k meters? But how do I use CQC infantry. I don't even know what the CQC infantry units are even called. It's just going to take a lot of practice, and a lot of trial an error. I'm struggling with normal AI in skirmish.
SD2 is indeed the best RTS. I love all of your videos where you actually play yourself. Especially the long 10v10s. I watch them thrilled until the last minute. A little German lesson regarding 1:16:30 😃 "Spreng" = explosive. English "spring" (the mechanical object) would be translated "Feder" (which also means feather). And in German "Spring!" means "jump!". 😂
IS2!! SD2 is the best WW2 RTS game of all time, period lol. And this was a great representation of how the game shines. I've been watching Vulcan vids since the release of SD44 and this is one of the most exciting ever, great job and that KS for sharing!!
So I got the game based on your recommendation among a few other content creators and this video isnt clickbait. The only thing missing from this game is players but I think people will eventually see it. Here's what my experience as a new player has been, and this game is tough to explain but fortunately easy to enjoy. Learning SD2 is actually quite intuitive and I think with the right mindset your learning experience is just losing a battle. It's surprisingly immersive. A new player can just do the tutorials and hop into a historical battle or something where the units you have are preset.I have too many thousands of hours in Paradox titles. They're great fun, but wow this is something fresh in 2023. It seems like the game has overcome all its early development I come over to Eugen and I try out some of their older titles. They're extremely complicated to learn. This game is really complex underneath, but it's doing all the fine micro for you. Your APM doesn't need to be crazy. It isn't even as frantic as CoH once you're used to a few keybinds. This games design is so cohesive and it has mass appeal. It has a lot of fun things like deck building but you can choose to skip that at first. I find myself wanting to try small changes to someone's decklist after just a few AI skirmish mode battles. I lost to the AI but had a really fun battle trying to ram a bunch of Soviet lend lease Shermans down a PaK alley. It was hilarious and sad to see about half my attack force gone in a few moments. I lost but did managed to get some self propelled artillery in position to constantly hit that PaK bunker. In the process I managed to set up an MG in a windmill and they started fighting back with my remaining armor. Eugen has a polished product that is simple at face value if you really want to just grind out against AI in solo in slow motion. If you want to pause and try different commands. The exciting thing is that unlike with some of the games I play, there isnt a ton of UI clutter. The controls are excellent. The simplicity of the menus is a nice disguise for the insane level of detail under the hood. This game is so polished. I think I said that, but it's like Eugen put thought into everything. You see a lot of arrows and weird overlays like the line of sight hes checking on his tank because tanks don't have good visibility so he wants to see what his tank crew can spot. I had a Tiger E transmission get knocked out in a previous loss. There's just a lot of amusement in the minutiae of the game. This game would be fun for a lot of people if they understood it was actually made for everyone. I believe this is more refined as a product than anything I've seen in the Grand Strategy genre. Sure, you can get a very simplistic game. This game is doing all that simulation for you and you will pick up knowledge along the way. There isn't a constant forced meta. There are players known for playing specific divisions. There are dozens in the base game and free DLC and you don't have to pay like $5 to have your tanks be modeled properly on the map (looking at Hearts of Iron, a game I have a lot of hours in lol). This game is champagne for grape juice prices. Imagine a game where every character is viable. There are stronger divisions but if you are determined enough or skilled at a particular playstyle, you can make it work. If you can play it well and find the right mix of units for a situation, you start to make adjustments to your own "battlegroups" which are just like decks. There's tons of units but the game restricts your new player view by telling you exactly which units a division can have. You're a divisional commander. A general. The resource system is simplified to focus on the core gameplay only. There is no mechanic that feels like "wow this is just bad design." No, I've played this game with a tired brain for 8 hours and loved every second of it. Every moment in solo I'm discovering things. You can "netdeck" like in some collectible card games. So you don't need to know how to fill out a division. There are missions and tutorials where that's done for you, but you should just approach this game with an open mind because I've seen a lot of what's out there. I'm not just talking WW2 games. In terms of online games in general, there is nothing that is built to guide you into finding your own playstyle. You don't need to memorize all the units. Just generalizations about what they can do. My advice as a new player to others is to use videos and guides but to also just try out the game in solo after watching a video like this. Play the tutorial. See your path to becoming a general like that. It's fun. It gets at strategy (which is simple at a UI and mechanical level relative to how much simulation is happening underneath...the attention to detail in this game is something you only see in games made with passion. Like the games made by people who are extremely talented and know exactly what they're doing. I bought all DLC for this game and noticed most of core units are just in the base game. You can get this game on sale for the price of a couple tabletop gaming miniatures - if that. This game satisfies so many things. It has amazing history and teaches you as you play through solo. The game is actually relaxing and more friendly feeling than anything I've ever experienced . I asked if anyone knew good beginner divisions and within 30 seconds, there were 3 people offering some gentle advice. But this game allows you to fail as a general over and over to no consequence. In real life you'd be fired at the least. Every Sd2 player makes mistakes. Everything is viable though. Again: -Runs on old hardware and looks good and plays fine. -controls are really simple -UI is so refined and perfectly informative -value is off the charts. There are games where single vehicles cost more than all the DLC on sale. This can be a sandbox if you want to just try crazy things against the AI. This is hands down one of the best values in gaming and probably will go down as one of the best strategy games of the era. The prices here are pretty reasonable but the DLC is slightly confusing. Tabletop game rulebooks can cost more than this. Steel Division 2 just wants you to notice it lol. I think that's really the only thing I would add to the formula. Just wait for a sale if you aren't sure, but this game is as close to perfection of execution and it doesn't require a huge burden of knowledge. There is a lot to know, but you don't need to be rank 1 to be a more interesting opponent to the high rank. Even skill mismatches will give the losing player some small victories within the battle. Another fine detail is how quickly this game boots up. It doesn't have a bunch of cutscenes when you fire it up. Most of the settings you can just leave default but the advice of the community is good. They are helpful. There's so many of hours of campaign with historical footage and voice acting. It will be many years before a game of this quality is produced again. In the meantime I'm going to appreciate what they've built here. The community is tight knit but very welcoming because I think all strategy gamers recognize which games are pushing the genre forward. Steel Division 2 is that game
i mean the single player stuff is nothing to sneeze at why dont you talk about that part of the game? Older people that play these games aren't always into the multiplayer stuff, cuz they dont like playing with others. Especially other people's children lol
@@raidermaxx2324 It is good as well and a necessary mode to learn the ropes. To that end it's very good for about 100 hours, that was my experience. Couldn't say how many battles at the moment, the main drawback is that most of the campaign mode has a lot of long content which is suitable for players with some experience. It gets the feeling of limited resources quite well from what I've played but autoresolve isn't working properly (I wouldn't auto resolve most battles anyway but it is worse than Total War in this way) , and I personally find the strategic map view to be a bit uninspired thematically. I'd rather it be this way than have a bad tactical experience in the battles. By the time a player will be good enough to beat Hard AI without much trouble in Skirmish 1v1, they may be burnt out of AI play for a while. Which is why I think that part of the game has such split opinions. If you love singleplayer , it certainly is a cut above the competition. There are great historical battle scenarios too. Some better than others of course. The Army General campaigns are not as extensive or exciting strategically as a grand strategy game would be, but you fight with units in a semi-TW game style but with only combat power management to worry about. That isn't inherently a problem, but it means a lot of playing against the AI to get good enough to play the... AI. That is a weird point in the skill curve if you will because you are having fun but you'll know what the AI does with units of certain types, not necessarily positioning them how players would. But AI behavior is a good enough to enjoy in certain aspects of gameplay while being a decent representation of what it's like to have to deal with enemy units. Just make sure you deal with their artillery because it never forgets once it sees, unlike a real player and the fog of war. Real players would move their units but there are offmap fire missions (units with radios to HQ) that can make that de facto impossible. You learn to call in what you need to put out a fire. It's a bit of a mixed singleplayer experience. On one hand it's great, but on the other hand it's limited in more ways than it first appears. The better you get at the game the more you see it. There are ways around. The game requires players to be pretty creative. It's tough to say this game is more MP focused but I'd say that is the core playerbase. The singleplayer only players love the game too I'm sure but don't play it as often. I'm that way with Hoi4. Play it enough times and eventually you see its limitations. For singleplayer grand strategy I liked Victoria II and Europa Universalis IV because of the longer timescale and less predictable results. Back to SD2 being an RTS at its core, its campaigns and SP are not quite the focus. The Army General feels more like a challenge you're already half ready for. Maybe that's the easiest way to describe the campaign mode. But then the positive that transfers to MP is learning to value units while not being passive. If you're more into SP, also check out SDN:44 . That game is known for the campaigns and Western theater setting.
@@raidermaxx2324 Apologies for the format, and I realized you're not new. So take my comment as a 2 month retrospective if you will. I like it a lot and feel like it's really good value. It's just difficult to review this game because the playerbase should be larger just on the SP alone. It's worth the money, I suppose everyone holds these games to standards like they're investing in something. Nah, it's a pretty cheap game on sale even with DLC . I guess what I like is that it has singleplayer that doesn't feel like a waste of time, something not easy to accomplish in a game like this. I have a feeling they're being fiscally conservative at Eugen because the overall economy. I'd rather them quietly slow development than lose their studio trying to make something huge happen for them. They have modern titles which are solid. Just needs people to spend more than a couple hours "giving it a chance". I think if someone is willing to tolerate mistakes and just put up a fight, they'd love SD2
@@Chironex_Fleckeri Oh no apolgies needed, and you do not have to "sell" it to me, I own it, and im a big fan! Its just second to my top game in the genre which is Call to Arms Gates of Hell. Mainly because i prefer single player games to multiplayer, and Call to Arms has a much more respectful offering to single player campaigners than SD2 does, which is geared more towards multiplayer. But yea i mean i appreciate long comments because i'm quite the "wall of text" windbag myself!!
@@Chironex_Fleckeri Wow but thank you for the in depth answer and taking the time to give me your thoughts. Maybe i will give it another chance. But i do have to plug CAll to Arms Gates of Hell in response, have you heard of the series? It is also in WW2 including the Finnish-Russo "Winter War, it's more similar to COH series, the main difference in my opinion, is the ability to "direct control" of a unit like a tank, artillery piece, mortar, or grenadier, (any unit in the game) and kill the other side from a "first person viewpoint" for more "capable tactics" as a human player, instead of AI taking orders from you specifically. And its got a vibrant multiplayer community, and modding is HUGE, also everyone is given access to the "GEM engine" and can make their own scenarios" or "simulations" of actual battles or whatever you want to do which is pretty neat. Also, in single player, the game speed toggle, the lowest setting is literally slo mo bullet time, and for me there is something i cant get enough of is watching shells blow up a building or a mortar emplacement ini brutal slow motion. Also the destruction physics of buildings, the environment, and actual military units, is the top tier in this genre. You can pick up dead soldier's weapons, abscond with an abandoned tank, and also driving a tank and blwoing shit up from a first person view(if you want you dont have to the ai will do it for you if you command it) but there is somthing about that which sets this IP apart . I understand that Men of Assault games did it first, but CAll to Arms does it the best. Anyways, i will give Steel Div. 2 another shot, and i m just throwing it out there, if you havent played Call to Arms, Gates of Hell, you should also give it a shot.. Anyway take care! Told you im a wll o' text guy myself! lol
The 16th Panzer also got mechanized Infantry equipped with Sd.Kfz. 251's, which are very useful especially against lightly-armoured units but also infantry (espacially soviet infantry), it also got rocket artillery which can be devestating if enemy units are packed up close and all this is without the DLC's
That was a hell of a game. GG. Minor tip: when attacking heavy tanks with artillery, give it the return fire order until the whole battery has finished aiming. If the tanks move then you can cancel the strike without giving away your position or wasting a salvo. If it doesn't move then every gun fires simultaneously, making moving out of the barrage much harder (good players move their tanks as soon as the artillery starts landing).
I know this is an old video, but I just found your channel. My friends and I love the Eugen games, it's a nice change from the grind of War Thunder. I hope you're still playing and enjoying these games!
@@oooolah Absolutely! Get you and your friends to come join in on Sunday evening on my Twitch stream! Warno on Wednesdays if you are interested too. Could always use more people to play with!
amazing videos, i just bought the game with my brother and you are a godsend, i never tought i will watch an almost 2 hour long video about sd2. But your commentary, and education is extremely good. Thanks ❤
I started plays sd2 like 2 weeks ago and have been having a blast. I think the biggest thing that turns people away in this game is the learning curve, but once you get the basics, learning a little more every time becomes very enjoyable
Well I'm only 17 minutes into the video and already I know I have to buy SD2! I like your style of presentation and appreciate the helpful suggestions you make for those of us like me with zero knowledge of this game or even this type of game. I look forward to joining the community :)
I would have loved to get into the multiplayer side of this game but I remember playing airland battle when it first came out as a noob and getting completely flamed by everyone in the chat for having a bad game, completely put me off
I played my first multiplayer game today and got steamrolled in about 5 minutes. Safe to say I'm not going to play anymore multi until watching your videos 100 times over. Update, I played a couple more multiplayer games and not only got steamrolled again in a 10v10, but the multiplayer community is exquisitely awful. Nothing but trash talking and no support to actually have a genuine competition or helpful tips to get better.
It feels like WW2 has suddenly reverted back to WW1 style battle of attrition and artillery. That right town became the successor to Verdun with all the indirect fire, and victory being measured in mere inches and meters. Imagine afterwards, the cleanup process for all the intact warheads and the deadly chemicals in the area. I think many soldiers are going face mental and psychical injuries of many descriptions, maybe even a few mutinies. I don't even think the belligerent nations would have any will towards such a war, I don't even think they would be able to manufacture enough ammo (let alone vehicles and manpower) such intense fighting for a month or two.
Artillery was outrageously good in this game, I don’t play but I watch all your vids, my level of expertise sits at panzer commander level games, I would find the level of artillery frustrating as a player, but it’s sure fun to watch skilled players go at it.
100% agree with Vulcan here. Best WW2 RTS out there. And in my opinion, best in general. I am the player that play this game for the Single player campaign aka Army General. I love it. Actual one of my favorite game. Haven't had the courage yet to switch to the MP mode yet. But I always watch Vulcans videos. Truly a great man.
Watched to the end. You said to mention the IS-2 that was on the ridge. Artillery, especially the rocket artillery, seem to dominate the battlefield. I would love to see the stats on what units are the real killers on the battlefield.
28:48 you could say the driver got....."Grilled" 45:12 "king tiger is just trying to enjoy the river" A nearby sign clearly reads: "NO king tigers allowed near the riverbank! Violators will be met with rocket fire!"
Just getting into this game. It's been brilliant so far. Tutorials could do with some improvement but other than that it's great. Interstingly your first point around the cost.... I just picked this up in the Steam Summer Sale for about £8 and another £3 for one of the DLC's (no idea which one). So, £11 for an incredible game........ and now.... back to watching your video!
You have definitely - (oh, errr, IS2) - sold me on this game. Have watched you play for years. I also really liked in THIS episode , that you explained some stuff clearly and slowly, so non-players could get somewhat of a grip. Watched from start to end.
IS2 I did watch it to the end and I really enjoyed it - also thanks to your commentary. Thank you for doing all this. I dusted off my copy of SD2 and started learning what the game is all about, mostly through your vids (and AtkPwr). Thank you for making the steep learning curve less intimidating. :) Love it, or as you would say: Awesome!
I had 8 katyushas on the right side going for KTs, they were the only way to stop the KT's from accumulating and becoming too difficult to deal with since there were more than 1 kt division in that game, sorry about that.
That might be one of the most back and forth, almost tedious, battles I've ever seen. However, it was consistently counter tactics vs. units and assaults... that made the 1.5 HOUR video, WATCHABLE. Not only watchable, but a good teaching video. Great work, thanks for sharing!
Been playing rts since dune 1992. Combine this with a huge interest in WW2 and there it is. The answer to all my prayers. By far the best rts for me for perhaps ever. The learning is indeed quite hard but the process is fulfilling and when you understand how things work it’s Blitzkrieg time baby! 65 hours in and finally able to beat medium ai in skirmish. Oh yeah least I forget, the things your units say are hilarious. “Meine Damen und Herren, verbrannte Erde”
I watched this far, lol. I recently started playing this game with a few friends all coming from company of heroes 1 & 2. I got to say, this has to be the best ww2 strategy game so far and I am very glad that I found it. I am also planning to play this game competitively.
Very entertaining. I always learn something from your commentary. One thing I'm curious about that perhaps you could address sometime... With line of sight being so critical, why isn't smoke used more extensively by players?
I think it is forgotton a lot. It can also be inconsistent and requires more attention to ressuply as artillery holds significantly less smoke rounds than HE.
As Vulcan already addressed the problem out DLC's, i'd just like to say that on instant gaming, you can have the vast variety of the DLC addressed for this game for no less then 12-15 dollars, so if your really interested in the game and wants to expand your possible divisions to play go visit instant gaming to purchase the DLC for nearly nothing.
This is a game that looks so good if you could play in first person like a shooter or would feel like a really good WW2 simulator with the graphics the way they are. Always was a fan of the detail
Your videos are awesome mate! Thanks to you I’m going full on buy-mode and buying the game as well as all DLC:s for it. Can’t wait to delve in. Keep up the great work with your videos 😎
It really does look like the WW2 in color eastern front documentary archive footage. The attention to detail is very impressive from the Eugen team. I really enjoyed the first steal division and wargame red dragon, but I haven't tried multiplayer or this title yet.
IS-2 Absolute madness in this game! Recently bought the game and have been enjoying it a lot. It is quite a steep learningcurve though, but rewarding nonetheless!
The expression is "Getting XCOM-2012ved". Think of it like 1943 variants - the original XCOM, in 1993, was a less commercial and flashy game with less power, but it had more pathos, so it didn't bother you very much if you lost a unit due to RNG. Less power, but it cost a lot fewer deployment points in your psyche. I will stand by this analogy until it gets shelled by, I dunno, an IS2.
The problem with this kind of games like Wargame too. Its so hard to get into MP, since there is players like u having 2000hrs. That really keeps me away from playing MP.
couldn't agree more, with over 1700hrs I still love playing it, im just glad the developers are still fully behind the game considering its nearly 4 years old !!
crazy to try and fanthom that if this battle was real during the ww2 than it would probably not be more than a small battle somewhere, ww2 was so big its crazy to comprehend
got this game because of how fun it seemed after you played it, and am now planning to play consistantly.. looks extremely fun from what you have shown and you do amazing content.. IS2 ;)
This is an almost moving tribute of love to the game! Im looking to get into Warno myself, the micro has scared me off but im coming around to give it a second go.
Watched all the way to the end. I don't play these games (more of a war thunder gamer myself), but super enjoy watching them. So sorry I won't join you, but I expect enough folks'll be there I can keep enjoying your videos!
When i try whit my potato laptop, the lag get really bad when zooming out and mid game become really bad, i have been watching vulcan for a year and a half and he made me buy the game, but i was turn off by the game files size and tecnical issues 😔 Keep it up Vulcan your videos are bellissimi.
Yeah it can be quite an intensive game. I think file size of the game has been made smaller over time though with some new tech or optimisation they use. Recently did it with WARNO too.
Thanks Vulcan, I really LOVE watching you play and I own a copy of the game, but playing it makes me so frustrated that I never stick with it. It just has such a steep learning curve and I can't figure out where to begin, even when I watch the beginner tutorials. 😢
IS2.
My favorite thing about this game is the persistent wrecks. It's always fun to peruse the battlefield afterwards and see all the carnage.
TRue, i think the battle damage could be a bit better... How long do the craters stick around for in the dirt? I wish it had a slower speed too( i only play singleplayer and i love watching tank shells fly in slo mo bullet time) lol But its pretty good game i aint gonna lie. .. Call to Arms the WW2 DLC's is still my Goat for that very reason tho
Thank you, Vulcan, for being such a evangelist for SD2, Warno, and Eugen games in general! The games that I love! It's people like you who give these games a presence, and thus allows them to survive and thrive in the RTS world! Thanks again!
And IS-2
Really appreciate the super! I will continue to do my best to make these games popular 🎉
Bro Eugen is the most infamous company in RTS genre after Blizzard, maybe even worse. I dont know if u are old enough to remember the drama about EE and ALB, hell, even SD1 was miserable at the launch. Warno is a luckluster compared to RD and ALB. SD2 repeats same mistakes from SD1. But yeah, enjoy 1 hour fight for single town/forest lol.
@VulcanHDGamingpl
Why are the prices for rts games in general are very expensive
Make sure to share this with your friends if they like RTS!
This Sunday I'm actually away, but every Sunday is usually Steel Division Sunday on my Twitch from 8pm till 12pm BST (currently GMT)!
Also a couple of extra things for people new to Steel Division 2:
- Most games do not last this long, it is quite regular to put a 50 minute time limit on the game. This is a 10v10
server hosted purposely for this 10v10 designed map that has a 90 minute time limit. (thanks to Hardzen!)
- If you buy the game, claim the free DLCs and consider the History (Season) Pass for good value as it
gives you 3 entire expansions, their respective campaigns and divisions.
- If you are being removed from games for being inexperienced, make your own lobby for newer players. People
will join OR come to my stream and get involved in the community!
I never regreat by sd2
SD2 is great but Combat Mission Battle for Normandy is my personal best.
Thank you for the video.
I have a question, in the video you state that it is quite hard to learn how to play. How is the learning curve compared to "Wargame-European Escalation", Wargame Air-land-Battle" and Wargame Red Dragon? is it harder, easier or equal?
Please advice. :)
@@vonwar0157 hey are you on steam cause ill join you and we can both learn together.
@@vonwar0157 Its more micro intensive regard to single entity unit with major focus of veteran units. RD was focused on special forces making them demigods, EE was just an incubator and ALB was a peak imho. TTK is very short in SD1/2 so u must babysit units, ALB was gameplay wise better due to 10hp bar. SD games tends to be stalemate, with little front movement in mid/late game. In ALB and in EE you were able to schwerpunkt parts of the front and keep the momentum as the map allowed tactical retreat. SD maps are mostly static with minimum dynamic, except the times the enemy is weak. Both games are fun, but ALB will always be superior to SD.
That was a more thrilling 90 minutes than any of the latest Marvel movies. Motivated me to throw together a new C phase deck and get back into 10v10. Great stuff.
Nice one, hope you enjoy!!
should watch on 2x speed
those marvel movies be rent free tho
I've been short of money and been playing the base game for 3 years (+ the Vistula dlc) and it's the game I always go back to if I want to have a good night gaming. Also Vulcan! You've made my games so much better with your ambient advice in every video ❤
Short of money for 3 years? Sheesh
@@brandontucker1898 people have different priorities. Maybe they're in education or perhaps they have other investments
have you been able to come up with the 45$ extra for the rest of the DLC's? since then? What if you put aside $3.00 every paycheck? You would have the DLC's in your sweaty little hands with a year and a half!
You don’t see people doing this sort of thing anymore, showing passion for a game and laughing through losses and wins. Thanks Vulcan, hope you continue playing this awesome game!
IS 2
It's the best game since Close Combat battle of the bulge in the 90s, so it was a long wait for someone to make something that could top it. I am 52 years old and absolutely love this game and I have 4100 hours on this game and play mostly AG myself. I don't like playing online matches because of all the whining and hate on the Steel Division discussion forums.
SD2 is 110% the best WW2 rts. And it's one of the best RTS period. Ever
I played the Closecombat serie since CloseCombat 2 came out , it was the best RTS ww2 game out there for the last 20 years, loved to play against my brother and friends via Lan back im the days. Also Aprm Hiddenstroke 2 was fun to play with a group of 10 -15 people on self made maps and big battles. But today steel division is the way to go, I know no better RTS WW2 game in this scale
@@holzbergerpeter4480 I play gates of Hell and MoW assault squad 2, I prefer this style, they are both the best RTS for me, with CALL TO ARMS
I love SDII but I have to disagree with that second part. Homeworld is a very special game in the genre and remains one of my all time favourites.
call to arms is 1000 times better trust me
@@kolysion164I agree I like the smaller controlled games more like that
I feel like I just watched the battle of Kursk, strangely happy it ended in a draw after such an effort by both teams.
I think the big thing about "new players" with all strategy games is that the incredibly skilled high tier players end up stomping any newer players in casual games and that tends to kill the scene, as not everyone wants to dedicate an hour of their time to being absolutely crushed by someone with thousands of hours. Also Eugen communities can be quite toxic, all I have to say is "Wargame Chat" and people know EXACTLY what I mean, although WARNO has apparently been banning people like that which is pretty cool.
I should probably join some more strategy game communities myself but I genuinely think those are my 2 big problems with the community.
A good player will defeat a newbie in way less than an hour, more like 10 to, maximum, 20 minutes. Plus you can check the rank afterwards. Or arrange matches with other new players or get a coach. Can't really complain about the organised SD2 community, a mirror of society, I'd say neither better nor worse. Maybe even better.
I bought it tonight after watching your videos. I wasn’t disappointed either. COH is so arcade like (and expensive) but this game is incredibly realistic. Thanks for the content and the information.
Welcome and hope you enjoy it! Hopefully see you in game sometime.
If you want a game with even HIGHER realism, then I highly recommend "Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy." Scale isn't as big as Steel Division, but equally thrilling though slightly slower paced.
IS-2 !
No but for real, I've discovered this game a while back and even if I tend to play a wide variety of games, I just keep getting back to it. The gameplay is so good and the vast array of units makes me feel like a little kid in a toy shop whenever I make a new division preset, I just get unbelievably excited, especially when I see those bad vehicles that are there mostly for historical reasons like my precious Hotchkiss 35 :3.
And of course when I discovered this game, I discovered you as well, which might be one of my favourite youtuber discovery of those last years. Thanks for keeping up the content and contaminating us with your love for this game ! :)
I think that the learning curve keeps people away, for me I love watching game play and I do own the game but I barely play because micro in RTS games have never been my strong suit.
Same, I bought the game as it looked interesting as I do like RTS games, but rarely ever play it simply because this is way to micro-management centric and that takes a lot of the fun away from the game to me.
Yeah that is understanable. Thankfully in singleplayer you can slow the game or pause it but in multiplayer it can take a while to get used to.
I started playing sd2 last December and I really love it. There's nothing else like it. My main grip with the game, and I don't know how you'd fix it, is the sheer amount of babysitting you've to do, or tedious micro, let me explain.
The game simultaneously in 1v1, (less so in larger lobbies) expects you to micro an entire front of rock paper scissor type units across a huge map. In conjunction with this, many units, let's take small infantry divisions have smoke grenades, so I need to manage an air force, artillery, close and long range infantry, manually move infantry around houses, tanks etc., and you expect me to have the time and ability to tell infantry unit number 78 to throw smoke in front of itself whilst a tank mows it down.
I think Steel division 2 has the micro complexity of a smaller scale game, and thus on a large scale it becomes impossible. I'm sure there are many much better players than can manage all this better than I can, but it's a major deterent to new players.
Eugen could boost the popularity of their game by codifing and streamlining smart orders to reduce the micro load, as a tangible, practical solution to make the game more popular.
It is possible to play tactical maps (there have been tacitcal tournaments, too), or play with less points (starting points and/or income), thus reducing the amount of units on the battlefield. This is not in qp or ranked, but it can be played this way :)
had a lot of fun in this game, and the honor of playing this match! thank to you i be came fan of this games, keep it up vulcan! and the old SD 44 and RD
Thank you for making these videos. I've always been a fan of RTS titles, but I just purchased SD2 yesterday and your videos were crucial to learning the important aspects of the game. I'm on a win streak against AI but I think I'm ready to get crushed in an online match. Thanks for covering the distance between casual RTS gamers, and the learning curve associated with SD2.
A pleasure to listen to you. I saw you on the field the other day and said thanks. Dredd
One heck of a blockbuster game. Bravo Vulcan! Thoroughly enjoyed your in-depth commentary throughout
Hi Vulcan , just wanted to say , great video , and you are so right, SD2 is really great ! Just wanted to say this, since i just saw the recent Eugen post, how SD2 will continue with its development, an entire new Tribute DLC ! Nice to see it will continue living on !
I had no idea this game existed. I’m a huge rts fan. The way this game approaches rts is very innovative with huge potential. If any dev reads this, and is unaware of the new Unreal Engine technology, it can actually render graphics at great distances all over the screen without hindering the fps. It is an extraordinary leap for game development technology. Can you imagine this game utilizing that tech? Maybe the evolution of rts we’ve been waiting for!
Do you play Call to Arms Gates of Hell Osfront?
I really admire your continued passion for Eugen's specific RTS niche, and SD2. All your tips, including the IS-2 / friendly shift-view order tip, really show the depth of your understanding of the game after, what, 2000+ hours you said?
I've never seen this game before and yet I've watched this whole video becouse this game seems very iteresing with your casting of this replay. I'm all into ww2 RTS i came to your channel from your casting with AEcoh and i dont regret it, lovely conent you have on your channel
IS2
I have been watching you for a very long time. Spent some time in your streams as well, albeit that was a couple years ago when I had time to spare. Now I am a dad and I barely have time to play games at all. I tried playing SD1 just for fun, but I just can't do it. Am too slow to manage all these units.
Still, I love watching games like this. It is so cool. So enjoyable. Thanks for the content bro.
My pleasure! Congratulations on the kid (kids?)! I'll keep bringing you more to watch in future.
@@VulcanHDGaming Cheers, just one for now haha. Will be gladly watching, but as I mentioned all those years ago, I will probably still fall asleep 3 minutes into every single one of your vids. Nothing against you, it's just that they are so calming I am used to it by now haha. :D
You got me into Wargame near a decade ago, awesome how much RTS content you have accumulated through the years. I recently got 3 friends to try Wargame:RD and surprisingly they all enjoy it, so that is another 4 players you have gotten indirectly into Wargame. Thanks for that. *[celebratory Buratino barrage]*
I tried SD1 when it was published and did not like it at all, ended up ignoring Eugen Systems for some years. I only recently started watching SD2 videos and Warno has some potential to succeed Wargame, perhaps me and my buddies will hop into newer titles at some point.
Thanks for supporting the content for so long! I really appreciate it.
A marathon of a battle, showing how team members can support and reinforce each other. Yes the game looks beautiful close up. Its a rock-paper-scissors game with many types of units. I did watch it all. Great stuff.
What puts me off to steel division 2 is that I find it to be very overwhelming. Learning all the different infantry, vehicle, arty and aircraft types, and how they behave, and how best to use them, when best to use them etc. Not to mention all the different divisions, and deck building etc. For me its juts a lot, and is pretty intimidating. None the less I do own the game, bought it a long while ago, after discovering your channel. You inspired me to get the game, and make it look so easy. I just wish I wasn't so overwhelmed by it.
One thing that really helps A LOT is to activate "show armour/penetration value" in the options. It will show these values as shown in this cast. It is switched off by default. Switch it on and a good portion of the problems are solved :)
Another thing : I went in being kind of a nerd of WWII. Most of units are used as you'd expect to be used in "real" life. (kind of)
@@ElpredatorGYRO I struggle the most with infantry, There are so many different types, and some are very situational. The differences seem very subtle in some cases, and obvious in others. Also my macro isnt the best.
@@saturn12002 Flamers > Molotov>TNT
Most of the time in Forests.
In the open, 2 LMGS > everything else.
The game is very bad at teaching players.
@@ElpredatorGYRO it sure is. Machine guns engage best at 1k meters? But how do I use CQC infantry. I don't even know what the CQC infantry units are even called. It's just going to take a lot of practice, and a lot of trial an error. I'm struggling with normal AI in skirmish.
SD2 is indeed the best RTS. I love all of your videos where you actually play yourself. Especially the long 10v10s. I watch them thrilled until the last minute. A little German lesson regarding 1:16:30 😃 "Spreng" = explosive. English "spring" (the mechanical object) would be translated "Feder" (which also means feather). And in German "Spring!" means "jump!". 😂
IS2!!
SD2 is the best WW2 RTS game of all time, period lol. And this was a great representation of how the game shines. I've been watching Vulcan vids since the release of SD44 and this is one of the most exciting ever, great job and that KS for sharing!!
lol no, ALB is far better but dead tho.
So I got the game based on your recommendation among a few other content creators and this video isnt clickbait. The only thing missing from this game is players but I think people will eventually see it. Here's what my experience as a new player has been, and this game is tough to explain but fortunately easy to enjoy.
Learning SD2 is actually quite intuitive and I think with the right mindset your learning experience is just losing a battle. It's surprisingly immersive.
A new player can just do the tutorials and hop into a historical battle or something where the units you have are preset.I have too many thousands of hours in Paradox titles. They're great fun, but wow this is something fresh in 2023. It seems like the game has overcome all its early development I come over to Eugen and I try out some of their older titles. They're extremely complicated to learn. This game is really complex underneath, but it's doing all the fine micro for you. Your APM doesn't need to be crazy. It isn't even as frantic as CoH once you're used to a few keybinds. This games design is so cohesive and it has mass appeal. It has a lot of fun things like deck building but you can choose to skip that at first.
I find myself wanting to try small changes to someone's decklist after just a few AI skirmish mode battles. I lost to the AI but had a really fun battle trying to ram a bunch of Soviet lend lease Shermans down a PaK alley. It was hilarious and sad to see about half my attack force gone in a few moments. I lost but did managed to get some self propelled artillery in position to constantly hit that PaK bunker. In the process I managed to set up an MG in a windmill and they started fighting back with my remaining armor.
Eugen has a polished product that is simple at face value if you really want to just grind out against AI in solo in slow motion. If you want to pause and try different commands. The exciting thing is that unlike with some of the games I play, there isnt a ton of UI clutter. The controls are excellent. The simplicity of the menus is a nice disguise for the insane level of detail under the hood. This game is so polished. I think I said that, but it's like Eugen put thought into everything. You see a lot of arrows and weird overlays like the line of sight hes checking on his tank because tanks don't have good visibility so he wants to see what his tank crew can spot. I had a Tiger E transmission get knocked out in a previous loss. There's just a lot of amusement in the minutiae of the game. This game would be fun for a lot of people if they understood it was actually made for everyone. I believe this is more refined as a product than anything I've seen in the Grand Strategy genre. Sure, you can get a very simplistic game. This game is doing all that simulation for you and you will pick up knowledge along the way. There isn't a constant forced meta. There are players known for playing specific divisions. There are dozens in the base game and free DLC and you don't have to pay like $5 to have your tanks be modeled properly on the map (looking at Hearts of Iron, a game I have a lot of hours in lol). This game is champagne for grape juice prices.
Imagine a game where every character is viable. There are stronger divisions but if you are determined enough or skilled at a particular playstyle, you can make it work. If you can play it well and find the right mix of units for a situation, you start to make adjustments to your own "battlegroups" which are just like decks. There's tons of units but the game restricts your new player view by telling you exactly which units a division can have.
You're a divisional commander. A general. The resource system is simplified to focus on the core gameplay only. There is no mechanic that feels like "wow this is just bad design." No, I've played this game with a tired brain for 8 hours and loved every second of it. Every moment in solo I'm discovering things.
You can "netdeck" like in some collectible card games. So you don't need to know how to fill out a division. There are missions and tutorials where that's done for you, but you should just approach this game with an open mind because I've seen a lot of what's out there. I'm not just talking WW2 games. In terms of online games in general, there is nothing that is built to guide you into finding your own playstyle. You don't need to memorize all the units. Just generalizations about what they can do.
My advice as a new player to others is to use videos and guides but to also just try out the game in solo after watching a video like this. Play the tutorial. See your path to becoming a general like that. It's fun. It gets at strategy (which is simple at a UI and mechanical level relative to how much simulation is happening underneath...the attention to detail in this game is something you only see in games made with passion. Like the games made by people who are extremely talented and know exactly what they're doing. I bought all DLC for this game and noticed most of core units are just in the base game. You can get this game on sale for the price of a couple tabletop gaming miniatures - if that. This game satisfies so many things. It has amazing history and teaches you as you play through solo. The game is actually relaxing and more friendly feeling than anything I've ever experienced . I asked if anyone knew good beginner divisions and within 30 seconds, there were 3 people offering some gentle advice. But this game allows you to fail as a general over and over to no consequence. In real life you'd be fired at the least. Every Sd2 player makes mistakes. Everything is viable though.
Again:
-Runs on old hardware and looks good and plays fine.
-controls are really simple
-UI is so refined and perfectly informative
-value is off the charts. There are games where single vehicles cost more than all the DLC on sale. This can be a sandbox if you want to just try crazy things against the AI.
This is hands down one of the best values in gaming and probably will go down as one of the best strategy games of the era. The prices here are pretty reasonable but the DLC is slightly confusing. Tabletop game rulebooks can cost more than this. Steel Division 2 just wants you to notice it lol. I think that's really the only thing I would add to the formula. Just wait for a sale if you aren't sure, but this game is as close to perfection of execution and it doesn't require a huge burden of knowledge. There is a lot to know, but you don't need to be rank 1 to be a more interesting opponent to the high rank. Even skill mismatches will give the losing player some small victories within the battle. Another fine detail is how quickly this game boots up. It doesn't have a bunch of cutscenes when you fire it up. Most of the settings you can just leave default but the advice of the community is good. They are helpful. There's so many of hours of campaign with historical footage and voice acting. It will be many years before a game of this quality is produced again. In the meantime I'm going to appreciate what they've built here.
The community is tight knit but very welcoming because I think all strategy gamers recognize which games are pushing the genre forward. Steel Division 2 is that game
i mean the single player stuff is nothing to sneeze at why dont you talk about that part of the game? Older people that play these games aren't always into the multiplayer stuff, cuz they dont like playing with others. Especially other people's children lol
@@raidermaxx2324 It is good as well and a necessary mode to learn the ropes. To that end it's very good for about 100 hours, that was my experience. Couldn't say how many battles at the moment, the main drawback is that most of the campaign mode has a lot of long content which is suitable for players with some experience. It gets the feeling of limited resources quite well from what I've played but autoresolve isn't working properly (I wouldn't auto resolve most battles anyway but it is worse than Total War in this way) , and I personally find the strategic map view to be a bit uninspired thematically. I'd rather it be this way than have a bad tactical experience in the battles. By the time a player will be good enough to beat Hard AI without much trouble in Skirmish 1v1, they may be burnt out of AI play for a while. Which is why I think that part of the game has such split opinions. If you love singleplayer , it certainly is a cut above the competition.
There are great historical battle scenarios too. Some better than others of course. The Army General campaigns are not as extensive or exciting strategically as a grand strategy game would be, but you fight with units in a semi-TW game style but with only combat power management to worry about. That isn't inherently a problem, but it means a lot of playing against the AI to get good enough to play the... AI. That is a weird point in the skill curve if you will because you are having fun but you'll know what the AI does with units of certain types, not necessarily positioning them how players would. But AI behavior is a good enough to enjoy in certain aspects of gameplay while being a decent representation of what it's like to have to deal with enemy units. Just make sure you deal with their artillery because it never forgets once it sees, unlike a real player and the fog of war. Real players would move their units but there are offmap fire missions (units with radios to HQ) that can make that de facto impossible. You learn to call in what you need to put out a fire. It's a bit of a mixed singleplayer experience. On one hand it's great, but on the other hand it's limited in more ways than it first appears. The better you get at the game the more you see it. There are ways around. The game requires players to be pretty creative. It's tough to say this game is more MP focused but I'd say that is the core playerbase. The singleplayer only players love the game too I'm sure but don't play it as often. I'm that way with Hoi4. Play it enough times and eventually you see its limitations. For singleplayer grand strategy I liked Victoria II and Europa Universalis IV because of the longer timescale and less predictable results. Back to SD2 being an RTS at its core, its campaigns and SP are not quite the focus. The Army General feels more like a challenge you're already half ready for. Maybe that's the easiest way to describe the campaign mode. But then the positive that transfers to MP is learning to value units while not being passive.
If you're more into SP, also check out SDN:44 . That game is known for the campaigns and Western theater setting.
@@raidermaxx2324 Apologies for the format, and I realized you're not new. So take my comment as a 2 month retrospective if you will. I like it a lot and feel like it's really good value. It's just difficult to review this game because the playerbase should be larger just on the SP alone. It's worth the money, I suppose everyone holds these games to standards like they're investing in something. Nah, it's a pretty cheap game on sale even with DLC . I guess what I like is that it has singleplayer that doesn't feel like a waste of time, something not easy to accomplish in a game like this.
I have a feeling they're being fiscally conservative at Eugen because the overall economy. I'd rather them quietly slow development than lose their studio trying to make something huge happen for them. They have modern titles which are solid. Just needs people to spend more than a couple hours "giving it a chance". I think if someone is willing to tolerate mistakes and just put up a fight, they'd love SD2
@@Chironex_Fleckeri Oh no apolgies needed, and you do not have to "sell" it to me, I own it, and im a big fan! Its just second to my top game in the genre which is Call to Arms Gates of Hell. Mainly because i prefer single player games to multiplayer, and Call to Arms has a much more respectful offering to single player campaigners than SD2 does, which is geared more towards multiplayer. But yea i mean i appreciate long comments because i'm quite the "wall of text" windbag myself!!
@@Chironex_Fleckeri Wow but thank you for the in depth answer and taking the time to give me your thoughts. Maybe i will give it another chance. But i do have to plug CAll to Arms Gates of Hell in response, have you heard of the series? It is also in WW2 including the Finnish-Russo "Winter War, it's more similar to COH series, the main difference in my opinion, is the ability to "direct control" of a unit like a tank, artillery piece, mortar, or grenadier, (any unit in the game) and kill the other side from a "first person viewpoint" for more "capable tactics" as a human player, instead of AI taking orders from you specifically.
And its got a vibrant multiplayer community, and modding is HUGE, also everyone is given access to the "GEM engine" and can make their own scenarios" or "simulations" of actual battles or whatever you want to do which is pretty neat. Also, in single player, the game speed toggle, the lowest setting is literally slo mo bullet time, and for me there is something i cant get enough of is watching shells blow up a building or a mortar emplacement ini brutal slow motion. Also the destruction physics of buildings, the environment, and actual military units, is the top tier in this genre. You can pick up dead soldier's weapons, abscond with an abandoned tank, and also driving a tank and blwoing shit up from a first person view(if you want you dont have to the ai will do it for you if you command it) but there is somthing about that which sets this IP apart . I understand that Men of Assault games did it first, but CAll to Arms does it the best. Anyways, i will give Steel Div. 2 another shot, and i m just throwing it out there, if you havent played Call to Arms, Gates of Hell, you should also give it a shot.. Anyway take care! Told you im a wll o' text guy myself! lol
IS2, watched this with glee, as a Wargame player, I am tempted to make the switch. Such a close finish too.
The 16th Panzer also got mechanized Infantry equipped with Sd.Kfz. 251's, which are very useful especially against lightly-armoured units but also infantry (espacially soviet infantry), it also got rocket artillery which can be devestating if enemy units are packed up close and all this is without the DLC's
That was a hell of a game. GG.
Minor tip: when attacking heavy tanks with artillery, give it the return fire order until the whole battery has finished aiming. If the tanks move then you can cancel the strike without giving away your position or wasting a salvo. If it doesn't move then every gun fires simultaneously, making moving out of the barrage much harder (good players move their tanks as soon as the artillery starts landing).
IS-2 loved the long form vid.
Great commentary as usual Vulcan.
I know this is an old video, but I just found your channel. My friends and I love the Eugen games, it's a nice change from the grind of War Thunder. I hope you're still playing and enjoying these games!
@@oooolah Absolutely! Get you and your friends to come join in on Sunday evening on my Twitch stream! Warno on Wednesdays if you are interested too. Could always use more people to play with!
@@VulcanHDGaming I'll check it out! Thanks!
You asked for a comment at 1:12:00 - I watched the full video! Your channel is the reason I got this game. Love the content keep up the great work!
amazing videos, i just bought the game with my brother and you are a godsend, i never tought i will watch an almost 2 hour long video about sd2. But your commentary, and education is extremely good. Thanks ❤
I started plays sd2 like 2 weeks ago and have been having a blast.
I think the biggest thing that turns people away in this game is the learning curve, but once you get the basics, learning a little more every time becomes very enjoyable
Well I'm only 17 minutes into the video and already I know I have to buy SD2! I like your style of presentation and appreciate the helpful suggestions you make for those of us like me with zero knowledge of this game or even this type of game. I look forward to joining the community :)
I would have loved to get into the multiplayer side of this game but I remember playing airland battle when it first came out as a noob and getting completely flamed by everyone in the chat for having a bad game, completely put me off
I played my first multiplayer game today and got steamrolled in about 5 minutes. Safe to say I'm not going to play anymore multi until watching your videos 100 times over. Update, I played a couple more multiplayer games and not only got steamrolled again in a 10v10, but the multiplayer community is exquisitely awful. Nothing but trash talking and no support to actually have a genuine competition or helpful tips to get better.
It feels like WW2 has suddenly reverted back to WW1 style battle of attrition and artillery. That right town became the successor to Verdun with all the indirect fire, and victory being measured in mere inches and meters. Imagine afterwards, the cleanup process for all the intact warheads and the deadly chemicals in the area. I think many soldiers are going face mental and psychical injuries of many descriptions, maybe even a few mutinies. I don't even think the belligerent nations would have any will towards such a war, I don't even think they would be able to manufacture enough ammo (let alone vehicles and manpower) such intense fighting for a month or two.
Artillery was outrageously good in this game, I don’t play but I watch all your vids, my level of expertise sits at panzer commander level games, I would find the level of artillery frustrating as a player, but it’s sure fun to watch skilled players go at it.
The only disapointing part of this game is that I missed being in it, I am so mad at myself for that. This was so good!
100% agree with Vulcan here. Best WW2 RTS out there. And in my opinion, best in general.
I am the player that play this game for the Single player campaign aka Army General. I love it. Actual one of my favorite game. Haven't had the courage yet to switch to the MP mode yet. But I always watch Vulcans videos. Truly a great man.
Watched to the end. You said to mention the IS-2 that was on the ridge. Artillery, especially the rocket artillery, seem to dominate the battlefield. I would love to see the stats on what units are the real killers on the battlefield.
28:48 you could say the driver got....."Grilled"
45:12 "king tiger is just trying to enjoy the river"
A nearby sign clearly reads: "NO king tigers allowed near the riverbank! Violators will be met with rocket fire!"
Just getting into this game. It's been brilliant so far. Tutorials could do with some improvement but other than that it's great.
Interstingly your first point around the cost.... I just picked this up in the Steam Summer Sale for about £8 and another £3 for one of the DLC's (no idea which one).
So, £11 for an incredible game........ and now.... back to watching your video!
Welcome to the community!
Thank you Vulcan for introducing me to this game. I’ve been playing constantly 10v10 every night am lvl 15 now :)
My pleasure, glad you've been enjoying it so much!
IS-2!
The quality of your commentary is magnificent, Vulcan, keep up the good work!
You have definitely - (oh, errr, IS2) - sold me on this game. Have watched you play for years. I also really liked in THIS episode , that you explained some stuff clearly and slowly, so non-players could get somewhat of a grip. Watched from start to end.
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While I do love the strategical aspect of the game, I especially love the visuals. Those large Mitchell strikes were especially appealing lol
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I did watch it to the end and I really enjoyed it - also thanks to your commentary. Thank you for doing all this. I dusted off my copy of SD2 and started learning what the game is all about, mostly through your vids (and AtkPwr). Thank you for making the steep learning curve less intimidating. :) Love it, or as you would say: Awesome!
Thank you very much for the super! I'm glad to have helped and I hope you enjoy your time playing.
@@VulcanHDGaming I absolutely do. The more I play it the more I enjoy it - it's crazy!
I had 8 katyushas on the right side going for KTs, they were the only way to stop the KT's from accumulating and becoming too difficult to deal with since there were more than 1 kt division in that game, sorry about that.
My poor Kt's :(
Yeah I noticed after recording this when I was getting a screenshot for the thumbnail. You weren't the only one with a tonne of Katyushas either!
IS2! Was a great video and it had me glue to the tele the entire time!
The reinforcement road on the far right near the end was mental, on the minimap it just showed a unbroken stream of units pouring up to the front :D
Great video. Greetings from Spain.
IS-2 Awesome video. Time to scale the SD2 learning curve!
I just picked this game up during the steam summer sale, I'm really enjoying it so far. These videos have been great.
That might be one of the most back and forth, almost tedious, battles I've ever seen. However, it was consistently counter tactics vs. units and assaults... that made the 1.5 HOUR video, WATCHABLE. Not only watchable, but a good teaching video. Great work, thanks for sharing!
Been playing rts since dune 1992. Combine this with a huge interest in WW2 and there it is. The answer to all my prayers. By far the best rts for me for perhaps ever. The learning is indeed quite hard but the process is fulfilling and when you understand how things work it’s Blitzkrieg time baby! 65 hours in and finally able to beat medium ai in skirmish. Oh yeah least I forget, the things your units say are hilarious. “Meine Damen und Herren, verbrannte Erde”
Dune 1992 is the GOAT
I watched this far, lol. I recently started playing this game with a few friends all coming from company of heroes 1 & 2. I got to say, this has to be the best ww2 strategy game so far and I am very glad that I found it. I am also planning to play this game competitively.
CAll to Arms Gates of Hell Osfront smokes Company of Heroes, and even trumps this game, but this game is second for sure.
Very entertaining. I always learn something from your commentary. One thing I'm curious about that perhaps you could address sometime... With line of sight being so critical, why isn't smoke used more extensively by players?
I think it is forgotton a lot. It can also be inconsistent and requires more attention to ressuply as artillery holds significantly less smoke rounds than HE.
What an absolutely amazing battle to watch!
(IS-2)
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Came for 5 min. to see whats the game about, bought it mid video.
As Vulcan already addressed the problem out DLC's, i'd just like to say that on instant gaming, you can have the vast variety of the DLC addressed for this game for no less then 12-15 dollars, so if your really interested in the game and wants to expand your possible divisions to play go visit instant gaming to purchase the DLC for nearly nothing.
That was intense.
Had SD2 on my wishlist for ages but me does think it's time to get it now. Great showcase!
IS-2. Gondor calls for aid! And Rohan will answer! Was thinking about getting this game for Loooong time. Your video made a difference. +1 player
This is a game that looks so good if you could play in first person like a shooter or would feel like a really good WW2 simulator with the graphics the way they are. Always was a fan of the detail
I did buy this game like a year or two ago after I saw it in one of your videos. 600 hours later I gotta say: Thank you Vulcan 😄
Your videos are awesome mate! Thanks to you I’m going full on buy-mode and buying the game as well as all DLC:s for it. Can’t wait to delve in. Keep up the great work with your videos 😎
It really does look like the WW2 in color eastern front documentary archive footage. The attention to detail is very impressive from the Eugen team. I really enjoyed the first steal division and wargame red dragon, but I haven't tried multiplayer or this title yet.
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Loved the reply and excellent commentary once again.
Thanks once again for all the videos you produce and share with us.
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Absolute madness in this game! Recently bought the game and have been enjoying it a lot. It is quite a steep learningcurve though, but rewarding nonetheless!
Good luck moving forward!
The expression is "Getting XCOM-2012ved". Think of it like 1943 variants - the original XCOM, in 1993, was a less commercial and flashy game with less power, but it had more pathos, so it didn't bother you very much if you lost a unit due to RNG. Less power, but it cost a lot fewer deployment points in your psyche. I will stand by this analogy until it gets shelled by, I dunno, an IS2.
Firaxis did that classic so dirty in my opinion. Luckily ive been getting my nostalgia with Xenonauts 2
The problem with this kind of games like Wargame too. Its so hard to get into MP, since there is players like u having 2000hrs. That really keeps me away from playing MP.
IS2! Absolutely awesome video mate, loved every minute. You're the perfect spokesperson for this game
Have you played Calls of Arms: Gates of hell? Can't decide which one to buy
Did you decide? I am in the same boat as you 😂
Really enjoyed this :D Always wonderful to see super long games that are like this! Keep up the great work!
couldn't agree more, with over 1700hrs I still love playing it, im just glad the developers are still fully behind the game considering its nearly 4 years old !!
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Great video as always. Just reinstalled SD2....maybe I'll see some of u in game.
Just got the game, and really enjoying it. Thanks to all the VulcanDGaming videos I watched.
IS-2 cool match. I added it to my steam Wishlist, I'll pick it up when it goes on sale.
crazy to try and fanthom that if this battle was real during the ww2 than it would probably not be more than a small battle somewhere, ww2 was so big its crazy to comprehend
got this game because of how fun it seemed after you played it, and am now planning to play consistantly.. looks extremely fun from what you have shown and you do amazing content.. IS2 ;)
Surprised it took me this long to see this one. You've convinced me. I'm definitely gonna give SD2 multiplayer a shot!
This is an almost moving tribute of love to the game!
Im looking to get into Warno myself, the micro has scared me off but im coming around to give it a second go.
Is-2 been a longtime fan. Made it through this video! Thanks for the videos
This was badass! Although I’d like to see more zoomed combat, but understand you gotta key an eye out. Nice vid
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Appreciate your explanations of how the game is simulating stuff
Watched all the way to the end.
I don't play these games (more of a war thunder gamer myself), but super enjoy watching them. So sorry I won't join you, but I expect enough folks'll be there I can keep enjoying your videos!
IS-2 love this game hopefully more people will come along and play I’d love to play a match with you sometime well into steel division
Its been 10 months but really had to watch this one again.
When i try whit my potato laptop, the lag get really bad when zooming out and mid game become really bad, i have been watching vulcan for a year and a half and he made me buy the game, but i was turn off by the game files size and tecnical issues 😔
Keep it up Vulcan your videos are bellissimi.
Yeah it can be quite an intensive game. I think file size of the game has been made smaller over time though with some new tech or optimisation they use. Recently did it with WARNO too.
well, not 10 minutes in and I'm sold. This looks wicked fun.
Thanks Vulcan, I really LOVE watching you play and I own a copy of the game, but playing it makes me so frustrated that I never stick with it. It just has such a steep learning curve and I can't figure out where to begin, even when I watch the beginner tutorials. 😢
i found that playing the single player campaign and restarting if i get rolled and also turning the game speed to the slowest , really helps
I don't play this game. I watched this entire video. Quite entertaining! Well done.
This game is one if not THE best GAMES EVER! Never get tierd of it, they really nailed it
SD2 is scaled very well. Love warno but it hurts me that in Eugen games WW2 AAA has more area denial ability than surface to air missiles lol
IS-2. I have the base game and some DLC but still on my “bucket list”. Might be time to install and give it a try
Thx for this tarrifiic Video, it´s like watching a Soccer Cup Match 120 Minutes! Watched it from beginnung to the end! Thx buddy