ECA Update: In the Rear, with the Gear news - Rise of the Reds mod for C&C: Generals Zero Hour

Good morning everybody! As usual, we hope you've all had a great week and things are going well for you all. This week we are jumping into some of the new changes to the ECA's support unit roster.

To understand why the Light Excavator (affectionately called the 'Bobcat" by the testing team) was created, we need to understand what it is intended to replace. Since the introduction of the ECA in 1.8, the Tear Gas Strike Generals Power had been a staple for the faction. It was intended to be a useful and reliable way of leveraging the ECA's inherent slow production times with an effective debuff power that could give the ECA units a fighting chance against more typical factions. As beloved and useful as the power was, unfortunately the overlapping damage types needed to make the Tear Gas Strike work was one of the most consistent causes of game crashes in multiplayer.

As such, the decision was made to scrap the power and spread tear gas utility throughout the remaining unit roster, with units like the Heavy Sniper and Lynx receiving tear gas based abilities to try and fill the hole that resulted from the removal of the old Generals Power.

However, this left ECA with a Generals Power slot that now needed filling. Whilst a huge emphasis has been placed on making ECA more reliable, aggressive, and unit focused in 1.9, we still wanted to explore new ways that we could support defensive playstyles - after all, they are still a major focus for the ECA faction, even if it is in a more unit focused way now.

This has led to the creation of a new Generals Power, 'Combat Engineering'. This Power allows ECA engineering units like Engineers, Warhound AVRE's and Pioneers additional construction options to help build more defences on a larger scale than ever before. It also allows them to call down a new unit, the ECA Light Excavator.

During Operation Nemesis, European forces in North and West Africa frequently had to contend with severely degraded or outright non-existent infrastructure in various GLA-controlled countries. As a result, military engineering resources for the construction of operating bases and lines of communication were spread thin. This led to the formation of a new doctrine where local commands would pool these resources as an on-call reserve that could be airlifted to any engineering element in the field as needed. As the stranglehold of the GLA receded and European control of the region expanded, these same engineering assets would also see increasing use in the construction of new infrastructure for the civilian populace.

Once authorised by the commanding general, European Engineers, Combat Pioneers and Warhound AVRE commanders can requisition a 'Bobcat' Light Excavator to be para-dropped to their location by an A400M transport. Like its larger sized cousin, the Light Excavator is a construction vehicle capable of erecting the standard assortment of European facilities and providing repair support. This allows forward forces to rapidly consolidate their position with defences and establish new facilities without the delay and risk associated with driving a slow, vulnerable Excavator all the way from the base through potentially unsafe territory.

Early into the Russo-European War, many continental members of the European Alliance lost most of their air assets to an onslaught of air strikes, missile bombardment and sabotage action. It was not until the decisive turn-around of Operation Pandora and the United States' entry into the war that the European air forces once again took to the skies with greater confidence, launching from secure bases on the British isles, the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. It was from this point onwards that the same successful tactic of air-lifted engineering support would be used to great effect in the liberation of France and the Low Countries.

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The following 2 units have been in the game since 1.86, but never previously received much attention due to their rather minimal impact on the unit roster. Originally intended to be a late game use for Supply Tracks, both the Medic Track and Engineer Track have been remade from scratch to be dedicated units with their own quirks and abilities.

A popular choice of many European militaries is the Bandvagn family of Swedish all-terrain vehicles, whose unique articulated design gives them exceptional mobility in snow, swamp, desert and mountain environments. Besides the many combat-oriented variants, such as the Lynx personnel carrier and the Fenris cryogenic weapons carrier, the simple Supply Tracks play a key role in the logistical sustainment of ECA operations and can be converted into medical or repair support vehicles as needed, or ordered directly from a Field Command Post as such.

The Medic Track houses an emergency stabilisation and treatment facility to heal wounded European infantry in the field. The Third World War produced an extensive list of highly distinguished medical personnel of whom some examples shall be provided:

Meryl Mitchell of the British Army fought in the defence of Ramsgate in 2047 and later deployed to the European mainland. When her medical post was caught in the path of a Russian breakout attempt near Utrecht, she operated a heavy machine gun under fire, thwarting the attack at the cost of her own life.

In late 2048, European and American forces liberated northern Italy. Amidst fighting in Cremona, a US Marine recon element was shattered by an ambush. Arriving in response, Bruno Husseini of the Italian Army ran 80 metres ahead of his unit under enemy fire to aid a wounded Marine before his comrades caught up and repelled the attackers.

During the liberation of Germany in early 2049, Dutch Army medical officer Hendrik Mulder stood his ground against armed members of an extremist resistance group that tried to force him to surrender wounded Russian soldiers under his care, saving them from deadly reprisal. The group was arrested by military police.

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The Engineer Track is equipped with a bulldozer blade and a utility crane to repair European hardware in the field. The Third World War produced an extensive list of highly distinguished engineering personnel of whom some examples shall be provided:

During the Russian invasion of the Baltic countries in the summer of 2045, Vladimir Cernavskis of the Latvian Army repaired a broken detonator while under fire to complete the destruction of a critical motorway bridge that bought additional time for the evacuation of Riga, sacrificing his own life in the act.

After the fall of Berlin and surrender of the German government in 2046, the Bundeswehr fought on, including Tobias Liang whose unit was repairing battle-damaged tanks on the French side of the Rhine when a vanguard of Russian paratroopers attacked. The small engineer detachment held on for a half hour until reinforcements arrived.

During the counter-offensives of 2048, European forces had to clear thousands of unexploded munitions, including one dramatic instance where a thermobaric bomb was found near a historic church. Instead of detonating it safely, French Army specialist Gabriel Baron chose to dismantle it alone in a tense operation.

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We hope you've enjoyed this peek into some of the more personal stories of the more humble ECA support units. They may not be the units shooting the shells and destroying targets directly, but having these units in your army compositions is going to often be the decisive factor in whether you survive or perish.

Whilst we are here, we would like to also give another shout out to MaelstromX103 for his sensational stream last night. We want to thank him, the testers and players who joined (especially Trenchdog for his sudden attendance, great to have you back 😁), and most importantly, all of you who joined in.
If you missed the stream, be sure to keep an eye on Maelstrom's Youtube Channel, subscribe and ring the bell so that you are notified when the VOD is uploaded.

That's all for this week, we will see you in the next one!