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ARCHIVES >>> 5/2009
27.05.2009 23:30 GMT
Hello and welcome back to another update of Forgotten Hope. This week we will take a look at the Sherman V series, or, as the Americans called it, the Medium Tank M4A4. We would also like to promote an unofficial Forgotten Hope 2 Nations Cup that is being organised on our forum. Let's begin with the Shermans. As with the M4A1 model (called the Sherman II by the British), we also have a bunch of M4A4s. This includes the famous Sherman VC 'Firefly', armed with the 17-pounder. These Shermans were modeled by Omni and skinned by Toddel.
Construction of the first M4A4 Medium tank began in July of 1942. It was, much like the M4A2, mainly intended for export through the lend-lease agreement. Later in the war, the UK became the primary user of the M4A4, which they named the 'Sherman V'. (V being the roman number 5, the reason the M4A4 isn't the Sherman IV is because the British started their naming at the M4, which became the Sherman I, while the next version, being the M4A1 was called the Sherman II). An interesting fact about the M4A4 is that is it longer than the other Sherman models. This is because it used the Chrysler multibank engine, which was five car engines combined to run as a single engine. Nearly 7500 M4A4s were built.
One especially interesting, and by far the most common, modification of the M4A4 was the Sherman VC 'Firefly'. Instead of the regular American 75mm gun, it mounted the powerful British 17-pounder. Although there were many problems involved with mounting such a large gun into such a relatively small turret, the firefly design was highly successful and about 2000 fireflies were made during the war. Finally, we have an advertisement for the unofficial Forgotten Hope 2 Nations Cup, being organised on our forum. The idea is to get teams of players from different countries playing against each other until one country can be crowned the winner. A more detailed description can be found below. The sign up thread can be found here.
A team must have atleast 8 and maximum of 10 players. Also a captain is needed to lead and organize the team. However we would like to see as less organization as possible to keep the game fun and let the best players decide on the battle day what they are worth. Also to keep it as fun as possible cause fun will be the goal. But make sure as captain that your team will show up on battle night. We will play with a knockout bracket and the losers will play in the loser bracket. In the end the 2 finalists will compete over the rights to brag and the awesome signature that will be created by Graphical artist SamNadine who also made the awesome poster for this event. Rules: Fellas lets make this an awesome and fun event and may the best country win this year's Cup. Please post this advert on as many as possible communities and clans you know to gain enough players and teams. Also as Captain please accept the task that you will dedicate yourself to this event and that you will do whatever you can to get your players to show up and play. That's all for now, but be sure to come back next week for another update. Until then, feel free to visit our IRC channel and our public forums to discuss this update and other news.
21.05.2009 21:30 GMT
Hello and welcome back to another update of Forgotten Hope. Today we have a render of the British Horsa glider and a lot of screenshots from the map Operation Goodwood. First up is the Horsa. It was modeled by Toddel and Lobo and skinned by Toddel.
The Airspeed Horsa was designed in 1940 - a reaction to the Germans' excellent use of gliders during the invasion of the Low Countries and France. Its first flight was in September of 1941, but it wasn't used in an actual operation until more than a year later. The Horsa was one of the largest combat-gliders of world war 2, with a capacity of as many as 25 soldiers (compared to the Waco's 13 and the DFS 230's 9). Nearly 3800 were built. Next, we have some screenshots of the map 'Operation Goodwood', which was made by Knoffhoff. As usual, you can find the minimap and loading screen in the map section. July 18th, 1944 - 0745 hours. The battle for Normandy is drawing on slowly as with every major operation the Allies advance only a few kilometres at a time. Even after six weeks, the city of Caen is only partly in Allied hands. However, things are about to change. In the west the Americans are about to launch a major breakthrough attempt and in the east the British and Canadians aren't giving the Germans a moment's rest. During the past week, preparations have been made for Operation Goodwood, a major attack east of Caen, designed to tie down the Germans to ease the American operations in the west. Now, after this morning's massive aerial bombardment, 60,000 British men and 760 tanks advance under cover of heavy artillery fire. The attack goes well, but things change when it runs into the German positions at Cagny...
That's all for now, but be sure to come back next week for another update. Until then, feel free to visit our IRC channel and our public forums to discuss this update and other news.
14.05.2009 19:35 GMT
Hello and welcome back to another update of Forgotten Hope. Today we have, much like last week, 2 renders of American equipment; the M3A1 Halftrack and the M1 Mortar. The M3A1 Halftrack was modeled by Agus and Rad and skinned by Agus.
The M3 Halftrack origins date back to 1938 with the M3 scout car, which was designed by the White company. It was later decided to add tracks to the rear of the vehicle, creating the M2 Halftrack. This M2 was too small to be used as a personnel carrier and so it served as an artillery tractor and reconnaissance vehicle. In 1940 the M3 Halftrack appeared. It was much bigger than the M2 and it had room for as many as 13 people (3 in the front cabin and 10 in the back). In total, nearly 41,000 M3 Halftracks were produced in the war. They continued to be used long after the war ended, with as many as 22 countries still using them in the 1980s. The M1 Mortar was modeled by altfuture and Toddel and skinned by Toddel.
The M1 Mortar was a slightly improved version of the Brandt mortar, which in turn was based on the Stokes Trench Mortar, used by the US Army in World War 1. It could fire up to 18 rounds per minute at a maximum distance of 3 kilometres. It could be split up into three parts (the barrel, the base and the bipod) of roughly 20 kilograms each. This allowed it to be quickly moved and deployed, giving the US infantry battalion a lot of firepower and flexibility. That's all for now, but be sure to come back next week for another update. Until then, feel free to visit our IRC channel and our public forums to discuss this update and other news.
06.05.2009 23:45 GMT
Hello and welcome back to another update of Forgotten Hope. This week we've got 2 renders for you. One of the American M3 Binoculars and one of the American M5A1 Light Tank. We have also added last week's Purple Heart Lane to the maps section on our website, together with a picture of the much requested minimap. First up today then, are the M3 Binoculars. They were the standard binoculars of the US Army in the Second World War. These were modeled and skinned by Seth Soldier.
Up next is the M5A1 Light Tank, nicknamed the 'Stuart' by the British. This model was made by Toddel and Ilya and it was skinned by Alina. Although Ilya and Alina are not officially part of our development team, we do hope they can make future contributions to Forgotten Hope.
The M5 Light Tank was the successor of the M3 Light Tank. It was originally called the M4, but the name was later changed to M5 to prevent confusion with the M4 Medium Tank, better known as the Sherman. As with all American tanks, the M5A1 Light Tank is better known by its British nickname; the Stuart. The M5 started replacing the M3 in 1942 and although its hull armour was much improved it still had the same weak 37mm gun as in the M3. Many M5s served in Normandy, but mostly in secondary roles, because it was completely outclassed by German tanks. In the Pacific it was used in much more active roles. It was not until late 1944 that its successor, the M24 'Chaffee' appeared on the battlefield. Last week many people asked for a minimap image to go with the pictures of Purple Heart Lane. We've prepared one and you can now find it in the maps section. That's all for now, but be sure to come back next week for another update. Until then, feel free to visit our IRC channel and our public forums to discuss this update and other news.
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