This year’s most anticipated release among tactical realism gamers is just a month away. Some players in the community like *Succubus* of TeamWarfare League are claiming that Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 “will be one of the best shooters ever made.”

He recently interviewed Alan Wilson, Vice President of Tripwire Interactive, developer of RO:

TWL: What makes Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 standout? What will differentiate this from the crowd of “Yet another WWII shooter?”
TI: Well the setting is the Eastern Front, which is not as well trod as the Africa or the Western Front where UK and Americans are always good and the German are bad. This setting there are no real goodies and baddies so there is more of a balanced feel. Another thing that adds to the balance is it not just infantry and it is not just vehicles. There is a balance in the maps so that the vehicles need artillery and infantry support. Tanks without infantry are as vulnerable as infantry without tanks. In addition, the game is designed for realism not a Hollywood experience. This is not a scripted linear event driven game; this is a multi-player experience from start to finish that deliver authenticity and balance. In fact, our goal was not to make you feel like you have watched a war movie, but that you have been to war. It is an immersion into war simulation.

TWL: OK, Now that I’m all excited, how long do I have to wait to start killing my best friends, I mean, when does the public finally get their hands on this work of art?
TI: Oh, you do not have to wait long. We are distributing the game on Steam and via a box publishing deal with Destineer around mid-March. They will go to the two publishers simultaneously, but likely you can get your hands on the Steam version a bit sooner than the box.

TWL: What sort of control will server administrators have over the game?
TI: Because RO is based on Unreal there is an extensive list of commands that admins can use to tweak the game for their players. The stock commands of course are there, but we also built in extra admin commands. In addition there are extra spectator modes that should keep the game interesting even after you die.

TWL: Some players have been playing for a long time now. What will players be able to expect in terms of new or updated vehicles, weapons and “toys” with the release of the retail version?
TI: Well, we have totally reworked the vehicle combat. We have all new gun sights, weapon ballistics and armor ballistics, range settings on the optics, which are needed for some of the large maps we are including. Some of these maps are in excess of 500 meters. WE have included coaxial machine guns, which are great. The guns are very accurate, I hope that in a few years we can tell the story of how we found some of the weapon details for this game, it is a fascinating story. For the infantry, we’ve put in more movement options as well as the scoped G43 and SVT40.

We feel the vehicles have caught up with the infantry side of the game. We have doubled the number of vehicles in the game. We have fourteen in total. We have the German SdKfz251 half-track, the Panzer 3G, Panzer 4F1 and Panzer 4F2. The German forces also have the Panther, and Tiger, the Sturmgeschutz 3 assault gun. We have remodeled and rebuild with new interiors; including views in turret and we feel they are very accurate. For the Soviet, we have included the BA64 armored car, the T-34 M1941 and T34-85, KV1S, IS2 and the T60 light tank with a 20MM auto cannon. This thing is fast and is an infantry’s worst nightmare. Oh, we also included SU76 assault gun.

In addition, we have included a nice mix of maps, some that are primarily infantry, some that mostly tank maps and some that are in-between. In fact, one of the tester’s favorite maps is Konigsplatz right in front of the Reichstag. It is just intense, and it pulls the game together. Either side can win it but it is always a hell of a battle. You can tell that our mappers are really into this project, some of them are talking about making a racetrack for the BA64. Oh My.

Read the second part of the interview at TeamWarfare League.