Mods like DH will kill off "stock" RO. No doubt about it. At best, DH will split the community. Every mod of a base game does this once the prime time of the base game wanes. In the end you will have to smaller communities fighting over resources and players. It is a cycle that repeats itself.
As for the quality of any mod, that remains to be seen. I know from credible sources that DH, for one, has/had extreme issues with level performance. "Great" looking maps, but killing PCs trying to run them. If DH has corrected/improved those aspects, then perhaps we have a great project ready to hit the scene. Every mod team has had problems and continues to work toward the best product they can make. I will try the DH mod, but as far as my commitment goes, IF I continue any work for the franchise in 2008, it will be for the base game. Others will have to decide that for themselves from players to model makers to coders. To each his own. Come 2009 we can all start over again...well, some of us, anyway.
As for the quality of any mod, that remains to be seen. I know from credible sources that DH, for one, has/had extreme issues with level performance. "Great" looking maps, but killing PCs trying to run them.
The beginning of the decline of RO coincided with the devs not playing any more. They are more important to the game than they seem to think. I almost never see any of them online any more. In the mod and early days of RO they played and made improvements to the game based on what features they wanted, but since the game was released and updated it seems they took the money and ran. I'm sure they are actually hard at work on their next title, but the effect is the same. Come back devs!
Cough * CC * Cough
what I would have done,if I was in charge of one of the mods(CC,MN,DH)is this...
Since the Ro community is smaller then other similar games,and it seems to be dwindling I would have released the NEW vehicles to the Ost front.
Give the Germans the Jagdpanther,Jagdtiger and King Tiger also the Panzer II.
The Russians could receive some Lend lease Stuarts,Grants,and Shermans.and some T-26 and some of those BT-whatevers that you see in the CC media.
Doing this would breath some new life into the ost front and keep players interested/busy until the mods can be released.
thats my 2 cents on what I would have done.
Who knows who will still be playing months from now if nobody does anythingPeople are gonna find something else and then what?