The player starts with an infantry soldier from each faction and can buy additional soldiers with in-game credits. These soldiers are equipped with a default rifle and can play the Encounter game mode immediately. Upon players reaching higher levels, they unlock the ability to participate in other game modes and recruit soldiers of other classes. Playing with a soldier increases that soldier's rank and unlocks new weapons and "badges," which can be equipped to provide bonuses in-game. When entering a battle, the player is presented with an interactive map, showing terrain and which team controls which control points. In the Skirmish and Encounter game modes, the player must click on the spawn point of their team and can choose whether to spawn on foot or in a vehicle; teams win by successfully holding one control point or three points until a bar at the top of players' screens for each team fills. In the Assault game mode, the same rules apply, except players can also spawn on control points captured by their team. Tank versus Tank rounds use the rules of Encounter games, but players are restricted to playing with tanks. Teams will always consist of soldiers from the same nation, unlike some World War II games that have teams of mixed nationalities. The game includes period tanks, planes, and land vehicles. Tactical decisions made by players of officer rank in a real-time strategypart of the game, conducted through a Risk-like map of the European Theatre, affect reinforcements and logistics in FPS battles. Players will encounter a variety of terrain, from fields and countryside to large cities. The game features four game modes for the FPS aspect of the game: Assault, Skirmish, Encounter, and Tank versus Tank.
Assault
In assault, one team will be defending from an offensive team, or in rare cases, two offensive teams. The goal of the offensive team is to seize two or three main control points, while the defensive team has to defend those points. These main control points are linked by smaller strategic positions that must be taken prior to the next successive point being eligible for capture. The offensive team wins if it captures all main control points, while the defensive team can win by either holding out with all main control points until a timer runs out, or capturing all the offensive team's control points. Assault cannot be played by players until their player level is IV. This unlocks the Assault maps, after which all soldiers owned by that player can play Assault, regardless of rank.
Skirmish
Skirmishes are basic games that can be played by any character that has reached Rank I. Skirmishes consist of two teams that each have a spawn point. These teams must then fight for control over three control points. When a team is holding a point, a bar for that team at the top of the screen gradually fills up. The more control points occupied, the faster the bar will fill. The game ends when one team succeeds in holding multiple control points for long enough.
Encounter
The Encounter game mode is a simplified version of a skirmish, designed for new players, but available for play by all. Like a skirmish, a team wins when it has held control points long enough to fill a bar at the top of the screen, but unlike a skirmish, there is only one control point. This allows new players to get a feel for the game, and will let them proceed to Skirmishes following their first Encounter round.
Tank versus Tank
The Tank versus Tank game mode is based on the Encounter game mode, with one control point being fought over by two factions; however, the game mode is designed to facilitate tank-heavy battles by allowing players to only participate with tanker-class soldiers. Teams have two spawn points each, and AI-controlled infantry are spawned in to fight alongside the player-controlled tanks. Reto-Moto is currently testing more "specialist" game modes with pilot and recon soldiers to further available options for those playing with non-infantry classes.
Development
Heroes & Generals is developed using Reto-Moto's own browser-based 3D game engine, called "Retox". The development-model is referred to as "User Driven Development", and the idea behind it is to show how the game is being made, and in the making the developers hope to get feedback from the players. Heroes & Generals uses the Battleye Anti-Cheat system.
