- Removable bayonets, no longer an unlock, for all weapons that historically had them (including sniper rifles). Soviet rifles will shoot off zero with the bayonet removed (unless a sniper), the reverse is true for German non-sniper weapons. The Soviets zeroed with bayonets on and seldom removed them; the Germans did the opposite. Sniper rifles on both sides could mount bayonets but if they were ever fixed it probably meant the sniper was pretty terrible; for this reason they ought to be included, but the rifle should shoot off-zero with them fixed.
- No MKb, AVT, MP 40-II as these were all so rare as to never be seen on the front by ordinary troops, if they were even present at all. A later mod to expand the scope of the game beyond Stalingrad may see the MKb return but not the other two. The MP 40-II is kinda ****ty anyway, and the AVT is just ridiculous with a scope (which I am almost certain was not a thing, the Soviets were practical people, not CoD players). The PPD-40, while rare, would occasionally be seen - so this can become the Soviet hero assault unlock. Germans don't get a new SMG, the MP41 was almost never used outside of Feldgendarmerie units. German heroes can still use the PPSh, or the PPD if they prefer.
- 91/30 sniper gets PEM on side mount. Nothing else. If the game is expanded to cover the rest of the war, the top-mount PE would appear on all maps prior to roughly the Don crossing (as well as further north), and the early SVT-type PU would be appearing around the same time as Stalingrad but not on that section of front. The more definitive PU would appear around mid-1943, I would suspect, as the first batches began to arrive in large numbers.
- Sniper scope 'distortion' effect needs to go. It is totally unrealistic, I have personally never seen a scope - WWII or otherwise - bend the image this badly. WWII scopes had slight blurring and chromatic aberration towards the edges. SLIGHT. The image did not 'warp'.
- PPSh uses drum mag only and has selective fire at all times. Stick mags make a return only if the game is expanded to cover the later war period (about mid-1943 on). Select fire is only removed on any 1944-45 maps.
- G41 limited one slot, as they were issued one to a platoon if they were lucky. Perhaps make it a hero unlock. With this comes the option for 2-3 SVT-40s across the entire German side, bringing them roughly into line with the number of SVTs on the Soviet side while maintaining some authenticity. German troops prized captured SVT-40s as they lacked the G41's constant reliability issues and were generally a better rifle. This may require the splitting of 'elite rifleman' into two classes, unless an in-class weapon limit is introduced and the UI overhauled accordingly.
- Germans get a new class (sniper) with the big 4x ZF 39 (definitely) and 6x Ajack (maybe, as unlock) scopes on the K98; marksman class gets a ZF41 like on the G41 and is attached to rifle squads so they actually, you know, be a marksman. Only one sniper class to balance this out a little, Soviets retain two. The Soviets had no counterpart to the ZF41 and there was little distinction at times between a sniper and a marksman, so they can be left alone.
- Squad leaders get bolt actions instead of semis (and sidearms removed, they were not commonly issued to regular infantry NCOs by anyone as far as I know), commander gets SMG only, no semiauto. Brings the number of autos and semis down across the board and is more historically accurate, also removes some of the incentive for important classes to do dumb ****.
- Lack of SMGs for non-assault classes now means that most maps can stay with their current count of assault classes, some will need less, some may need more.
- Soviet Engineer gets M38 carbine, German engineer gets Kar98k. Possibly have SMG as hero unlock, but not the default weapon.
- Sniper now has binocs and can spot artillery coords for the commander, forcing them more into a recon role than trying to play whack-a-mole against hapless riflemen
- MG has binocs but cannot spot artillery (will probably need to be a new weapon, or make the ability to mark **** with them class-specific if it isn't already - was in RO1 but not sure how it works here), and the important part follows...
- ALL binocs can be thrown away, allowing snipers and MGs to find a friend to work with as a spotter and shooter team
- Less AT rifleman classes, that's what engineers are for (seriously there are too many PTRS and they just tear T-34s up - when they aren't being used to snipe infantry's limbs off)
- Mess with Hero loadouts some, I dunno - still brainstorming ideas for this. Will update this point later.
- HHL functions as a magnetic mine (satchel coding) rather than an impact-fused AT grenade. Satchels lose some effectiveness against tanks, perhaps stunning the hell out of the crew or crippling engines/tracks/guns/optics but not actually blowing the tank up. Need to look into effects of 3kg HE against armour of the time, then edit this as necessary
- Remove MG34 saddle, replace with belt feed that makes user slower, less stamina, longer setup time, etc. - not sure about belt here but the saddle is definitely going now and forever. Most players should be using either a 50rd drum or 100rd belt, with preference towards the drum. If anyone here is a Wehrmacht expert and knows how common it was for troops to carry a loose belt, please do let me know
- Cosmetic things like K98 sight hood, etc. random chance based on how commonly they were seen, not unlocks. No more winter trigger guards, seriously what the hell dudes.
- Maybe up assault class spawn grenades to 4, since there are less assault classes to go around and their job kind of entails using grenades a lot
- Add a pair of egg grenades for frontline German soldiers and up - Landsers commonly carried a pair in their pockets. Not sure how to balance this against Soviets - will update as I come up with ideas
- MG42 as HMG emplacement on winter maps (began to appear noticeably on the battlefield by October; AGS got a bunch sent through to units within Stalingrad, confirmed by quartermaster records)
- Less enemy weapons going around - PPSh and SVT unlockable for Germans, along with sniper rifles as Germans did pick them up to fill shortfalls (perhaps make the 91/30 PU a hero unlock for the new marksman class for Germans?) - perhaps nothing except MP40 unlockable for the Soviets. I know people will prefer certain weapons and this may upset them but outside of commonly prized items like PPSh-41s or SVT-40s this doesn't make a lot of sense and looks goofy. It also means the DP28 will actually be used.
- C96 a hero unlock, everyone else with a pistol gets to choose between the P38 and Luger - if the C96 even remains at all. I can believe some officers using them and perhaps vehicle crews, but the average platoon commander? Probably not. Schnellfeuer variant may be removed completely or kept on for tank crews if tanks are made exitable (more on this later)
- G41 with ZF41 is a hero marksman unlock and only available on a random low chance for spawning - or perhaps specific maps, not sure how to work this yet but I want them to be ungodly rare just like real life. Retarded fantasy-land ZF4 and mount is gone forever, never coming back, deal with it.
- Possibility for an unlockable PE/PEM scope for either German sniper or marksman, they were occasionally captured and mounted on K98s by unit armourers to cover equipment shortfalls. Not sure where I want to go with this yet. Less of a priority as this involves model and texture work as well as coding.
- Engineers get a choice of SMG and AT weapons/satchels or a flamethrower, which is a veteran unlock and handled sensibly - only very limited fuel, penalties to movement, and so forth. Flamethrowers were used extensively on the Eastern Front and in Stalingrad particularly, by both sides.
- Ammo points no longer repair tanks. Deal with it. Conversely, scuttling no longer kills you but force-exits your crew, which brings me to my next point...
- Tanks can be exited, but only after unbuttoning from hatch and a lengthy animation which leaves a good chance of being machine-gunned or walloped with HE. This allows commanders to get out and stand on their tank so they can see what's going on over a hill, something that was an absolute lifesaver back in the days of RO1 tanksin', without allowing the entire crew to immediately bail from their tank just before it takes a lethal hit.
- Bandaging system can get out. Bandaging even a minor wound hastily takes a lot longer than currently, and players do not want to sit still for two minutes bandaging only to die anyway. Back to the old RO1 standard - if you're combat ineffective, you're dead. I MAY revise this later but for now, death to bandaging.
- Bleeding is still a thing, despite the lack of bandaging. It will either be minor enough to deal with or you will have just enough time to charge the MG that shot you, hulk out, kill ten guys and die a hero.
- Being hit in the legs will slow you down, being hit badly will force you to drag the leg. Having both legs shot out from under you will force you to crawl. This is short-term to avoid ****tiness that even I get annoyed with but will cause a persistent penalty to movement speed. Being shot in the arm will **** your aim now and forever, being shot in the hand drops your weapon only. You don't need to pick up ammo separately so quit whining you ****ing girly men.
- On the other hand, if you intend to take another weapon off the ground, you WILL need to pick up spare ammo. Perhaps make it so you action key the corpse of whoever and that gets you it, to avoid the fun debacle of retrieving loose ammo from a pile of dropped weapons in RO1.
- Suppression doesn't grey your screen out and blur it, it makes you physically flinch and does blur your vision a little consistent with blinking. DH did suppression okay but perhaps a little too heavy on the flinching.
- Takes longer to shoulder weapons, cycle bolts, reload, etc. - not too long, but also so that a rifleman can't crank out five aimed shots in five seconds, perhaps add a small 'reset' time after bolting. Also look into changing animations, especially for mag checks which are a little silly right now ('why yes, I have a round chambered, my magazine is half-full!'). Pace things realistically, like RO. This also means that players won't be able to let off a shot every half second with a bolt action once they level the piss out of it - perhaps have the current default level as the middle-of-the-road or even upper limit. Stamina is excluded, as Classic makes it unbearable. Stamina isn't the problem, inertia and map design is. It should take several paces to built into, or stop from, a sprint.
- More variance between class levels, heroes now look truly impressive (e.g. for Germans - helmet covers, E-tools stuck through belt; for Soviets - wearing shelter-halves, Hero of the Soviet Union star, Orders of the Red Banner and stuff) - frontline classes and up have randomised rolled sleeves and unbuttoned collars to look a little more soldierly. Want the game to look more like a scene from Stalingrad than the current trip to Uncanny Parade Ground Valley.
- Sniper periscope? Maybe - need to flesh this out more, but would be useful as ****
- SLINGS. ALL OF THE SLINGS. This is more of an "if this mod ever somehow actually happens AND gets some serious support behind it, add this" thing, but I'm sick of seeing games - especially WWII ones - where weapons lack slings. **** you, everyone had a sling, they weren't those fancy quick detach clasp things we have now and so they were very seldom removed. They add visual interest as well as authenticity and I want them back in.
- Removal of relaxed realism settings. They have no place in Red Orchestra and lead to horribly retarded community-dividing ****fights about MY IMMERSION versus MY MINIMAP. If you want the game to hold your hand then I guess you won't want to play this.
- Soviet troops can now cling for dear life onto T-34s as a means of transport. Germans can do the same on their tanks.
- Speaking of which, new vehicle shortlist! PzIV E , PzIII J, StuG III C, Sd.Kfz.251, Sd.Kfz.250, maybe the Sd.Kfz.222/223 scout cars for Germans. KV-1, SU-76, BA-64, Universal Carrier, maybe even the M3A1 halftrack for the Soviets. The PzIII J replaces the PzIV F2 (I think it's an F2? I only really know the Panther and Tiger II well) as the current mainstay of the Germans, because long-barrelled 75mm PzIVs were pretty uncommon. PzIII can get maybe 3-4 rounds APCR so it has some vague hope of hurting a T-34 frontally, and can maybe annoy a KV enough to make it go away.
