Hey guys... I posted over in the PR forum and am cross posting here as well - just a friendly FYI: There was a new PoE2 release today with a ton of new content and new maps - It's a great time to check-out this mod if you're interested!

Originally Posted by WhiskeySix

Point of Existence 2
Release 2.5

The PoE2 Devs have been hard at work, logging hundreds of man-hours since last winter creating new content, polishing old content and generally making a better game for you to enjoy. Tired of those same old 2142 maps? Looking for a change of pace from PR? Haven't played PoE2 in a while? With today's huge release, now is the perfect time to give PoE2 a shot!! Click below for a step-by-step download and installation guide:

How to get started with PoE2 (for free)!!

The War -- PoE2 is based in modern times and features a conflict between Ukraine and U.N.-representatives, Germany and the United States. The full context for the war can be found here. Basically, Ukraine, seeking to regain power it held when it was part of the Soviet Union, invaded neighboring country Belarus. Within weeks they had crushed the Belorussian resistance and neighboring countries began to wonder if they were as vulnerable to occupation as Belarus had been.

The U.N. liberation plan consisted of a massive airborne assault and armored spear head from Poland. The German forces would rush to Kiev in the heart of the country, while the United States protected their northern flank from the Ukrainian troops based in Belarus. On a dim night in September, the invasion of Ukraine was started.

The Mod -- Every vehicle and weapon in PoE2 is completely new - the models, vehicle dynamics, and weapon damage systems are all custom. The design philosophy was to avoid 'mirroring' - where vehicles and weapons for all factions would be have equal performance. Instead, the entire game system was designed to take advantage rock-paper-scissors balancing.

For example, while one faction's APC may have superior speed and maneuverability, the other has amphibious capabilities. One fighter may be more nimble, but the opposition has faster get-away speed with it's larger afterburner. One attack helo flies like a loaded dumptruck, but it's armor keeps it in the air - the other is agile and fast, but lacks staying power.

Or for infantry kit balance, consider the medic's kit: the Ukraine medic carries an iron-sighted AK-74u with great stopping power and full auto; the German medics carry G36k's that aren't as powerful but have nice optics; and the US medics carry an iron sighted M16, with burst or semi fire modes and laser like accuracy.

This philosophy is also reflected in map design, where both sides often have very different resources with which to complete their objectives. For example, sometimes one force will have close air support available, while the other will not - instead starting with great defensive positioning and anti-air equipment.

New features in version 2.5:

Improved Visual Effects

Prozac has been hard at work making new effects for our tanks as they fire, including new effects for the 2 new Abrams round types. He also has made some new impact effects for the Anti Material rifles!

Improved Vehicle HUD's

D_FAST has been one of the driving forces behind POE since the POE1 days. He has done coding, modeling, statics and quite a bit of concept work. This showcase of his attention to detail is testament to his work ethic. A new member to our forums, Shmidt recently brought examples of tank huds to our attention. This inspired D_FAST to revamp the appearance of our heavy tank huds. In addition to the obvious visual changes, if you watch the movie you will find that he has also adjusted the hit indicator to better blend with the new huds. We have also fixed the issue of your hud disappearing when you face into the sun as shown in the final screen shot in this series.

New M1A2 Abrams ammunition

As some fans noticed in a previous PoE2 update, our Abrams had a little icon indicating a 3rd round type for them. We actually have 2 new round types for the Abrams that ColdFusion. Dfast, and Prozac have all been working on. First we have the fan suggested Canister round which will be standard on all Abrams in the mod. The Canister Round fires a shotgun shell like blast to decimate light vehicles and infantry. Our other round is the XM1111 which is a missile that the Abrams can fire. The missile locks on to other ground vehicles to deliver a nasty punch but like the T55, this version of the Abrams will be more rare on the battlefield.

Expanded Single Player Support

In our current public release we have 16 maps with single player. Dorayacoop and Cold Fussion have been hard at work on our coming patch, which will feature 7 more maps getting single player updates, 2 of which are brand new maps. The older maps getting updates include Olesko Keep, Pripyat, Op Sabre, Lutsk, and Guardian whilst the new maps shipping with Single Player are Matador and Kharkiv.

Destructable Environments

Dr. Destructo has been hard at work blowing things up and making more destructible environments for us to use. Don't blow everything up at once.

Six GREAT New Maps!!

Melitopol Depot by Dr. Destructo

Many of the new maps feature his destructible static’s but Melitopol Depot stands out as most of the map is made up of the good Dr.’s destructible environments.

]

Fall of Kiev by Ga_Knomboe_Boy

This map small, tight, and infantry focused map, will play very will even with smaller population games.

Matador by Greasy_Mullet

It's the second day of a massive armor battle taking place in a overcast valley. The US armor column has come to reinforce their German Allies in what is our first joint map against Ukraine. Each side will get 20 pieces of armor to battle it out over this war torn map.

Green Acres by Ga-Knomboe Boy.

Expect the sunny fields of this map to run red with combined arms goodness. The images speak for themselves:

Kharkiv by Greasy Mullet.

This is an urban map that features the US Military taking on the Ukraine defenders in the city, which will primarily be about infantry tactics. The map got a nice lightmap polish by Jilted when he did the lighting in 3Dmax. This map will ship with AI straight out of the box so you single player/coop fans will be able to enjoy it.

Aces High by Greasy Mullet.

Aces puts the focus on 3 main combat aspects. Each will offer something different to players and hopefully the map will give everyone something to do, even if you HATE to fly. One of my favorite maps for 1942 was Coral Sea. While the air combat and bombing was an important aspect of the map, there was very much a fun game for those that could not fly or did not enjoy flying, which is what I hope to create with Aces High.

1. The air combat, which will feature about a dozen or so planes per side on the 64 player map, is all about controlling air flags with a massive radius. These air flags are more about controlling a large area than doing a circle jerk in the sky. If you want to take and hold these flags, your squadron must be up in the flag zone in force taking out the enemy planes.

2. Support roles are critical. Anti Air is a given for how large it’s role is on this map. Not only does each main sport a crazy amount of AA but the island is overflowing with it as well. The island just also happens to be within striking distance of those air flags the planes need to get. Support also has a role in the Arty guns on the DDX for the Allies and a firebase in the mountains for Ukraine. These arty guns are needed to support the ground troops taking on the island.

3. Finally the ground grunts. While the map is about planes, the ground grunts must take and hold this island to bring it all together. Holding the island gives them valuable AA and enough flags to tip the bleed in their favor if they also can hold 1 air flag. On the island the ground guys will find lots of cover with fast and furious fighting going flag to flag.

The team that can bring all 3 together will do well on this map. No one part can win without the others. You need the Planes to take out the arty, players in AA to take out the planes, and arty to pound the island with the AA.