There’s a whole army of changes coming to Men of War II, with the team at Best Way fully embracing community mods and sharing a full development roadmap of their own. Whether you’re new to the battlefields of this classic RTS series, or a long-time fan, Men of War II’s upcoming mods and updates make this the perfect time to jump in.
Offering three content-rich story campaigns – Soviet, American, and German – that can be played alone or with up to five players, Men of War II is already packed with replayability. But these new ways to play will keep you coming back to experience the art of war again and again.
The original Men of War game had a whole catalog of mods, setting it apart from its contemporaries as the team actively encouraged players to craft their own community content. Using Steam Workshop, they’re easy to install and implement in its successor. Let’s take a look at some of the best mods currently being developed by the community for Men of War II.
The best mods for Men of War II
The Lost Eagles Mod is a hugely popular piece of community content, featuring full voice acting and an incredibly detailed campaign. Technically a remake of a mod for Men of War: Assault Squad 2, you’ll jump into the shoes of Jason Baker of the 101st Airborne Division, marooned with a small squad of survivors far beyond enemy lines. Food, water, and contact with the base are all non-existent, forcing you to try to forge a network of survivors and locals to keep yourself safe. Once you’ve played the base game of Men at War II, Lost Eagles adds a whole new, and completely free, campaign. What’s not to love?
Another mod originally made for Assault Squad 2 but back by popular demand is Born in the Fire: America. Its Men of War II iteration is in the final stages of testing, and at release will include five of the fan-favourite missions exploring American battlefields of the 18th and 19th century, such as Little Big Horn or Bunker Hill. This is a perfect example of how dedicated fans take the Men of War series’ attention to detail and historical fidelity far beyond its official World War II setting.
If realism isn’t your thing and you’re more likely to go hunting for the quirkier mods, Men of War II’s creator community has plenty of those. This Toy Soldiers Theme mod, although early in development, will let you play with little plastic men, in green, red, and beige, just like when you were a kid.
Official resources for aspiring modders
All this fan-created content is only possible thanks to Men of War II’s built-in Editor. The plethora of tools and options it offers can be a daunting sight for new users, but if you feel like giving it a go, Fulqrum Publishing and Best Way have teamed up with Skilletti, author of the Lost Eagles Mod, and prepared a helpful video guide explaining the basics of modding for their game.
And if you feel like you need a more advanced and thorough source of information, the development team maintains public documentation for the GEM RTS engine, including a section on modding.
Upcoming changes to Men of War II
The team at Best Way has split their goals into short, mid, and long-term targets, carving out a roadmap for Men of War II’s future well beyond the initial release. After two months of post-launch development, the short-term goals have been all but fulfilled, with a last few fixes from that category coming in a patch next week – namely fixes to “camera stuttering” experienced by some players, improvements to single-player stability, and a more convenient way to switch between the game’s two overall settings, ‘Competitive’ and ‘Realism’.
The development team is now fully committed to finalizing the announced mid-term targets, including some slightly bigger concepts. One of the most exciting changes fans can expect is the implementation of the offline single-player mode, a way for individual players to go at it alone, regardless of their online connectivity capabilities. You can also expect improved and expanded tools for modders, and an overhaul to the difficulty mechanics, being developed alongside the community to better serve their needs.
Things continue to move in the long-term, with some far-reaching goals and ongoing projects bringing constant improvements to the game. Textures and models will be cleaned up and upgraded, modding tools will be made even easier to use, and tweaks to aid immersion will be included in further updates. The Men of War II Discord is very active, with players giving full feedback to the devs and seeing their wants and needs represented in further updates, from game balance to quality-of-life improvements.
If you want to learn more about Men of War II, chat with the devs about the upcoming changes, or brainstorm your own custom content and mods, join the Discord server. Or just jump right in and experience the historical fidelity and action-filled gameplay on the Eastern and Western Fronts of WWII by downloading Men Of War on Steam today.
Source: Wargamer
