AlexUK

The shockwaves conveyed the violence of the explosion so well!
They must have the code lying around somewhere. Just throw it in and make it optional.
Just one example I found. You really can feel the force. What I would do, though, is to not render the whole hemisphere, but only a ring in the horizontal plane which becomes more and more transparent with increasing height. This way, you get the impression of the shockwave racing outwards while not obscurating the debris in the middle.
 
Ohhh, CMx1: How full of excellent design choices it was!
 
Best regards
Thomm

I know everybody is excited and would like to know what is next after the Base Game... believe me we are all excited too!
As far as follow-on modules go.. yes several are planned, but what they are specifically we will keep to ourselves until after the game is released.  For now the focus must stay on the base-game for us, but feel free to conjecture and dream, I enjoy those threads, but we won't be confirming or denying anything until after this one is on the street.
Just so you guys know that we aren't ignoring you in those discussions, we are trying to stay focused and not get sidetracked so we can deliver this thing in time.
Cheers, Bil

I am old enough to remember when Nixon was President and the Vietnam war was still going on...
...but I digress. What I remember most vividly about the Cold War was the period in 1981-83 when tensions between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. were very high and a lot of people actually thought a nuclear war could break out. Not the good old days by any means.
Back to the game, one thing which a lot of CM players will like is that the Tank vs Tank combat is very balanced. This is not WW2 where U.S. tanks are going up against much better German tanks or CMSF/CMBS where U.S. Abrams dominate the battlefield.
M60/M1 vs T-62/64/80 is pretty well balanced. Each side has strengths and weaknesses and one side does not dominate the other which puts a premium on...wait for it...tactics!
another plus for the red side...no Javelins! 😎

Thanks for the answer. Sounds like a huge undertaking and I'm glad you guys were willing to take it on!

So the BAOR module is already in the works, I presume? Looking forward to see some chaps in their black berets and their SLRs.

So welcome to our Beta AAR.  Introductions, I am The_Capt...hello.  Some old timers may remember me from back in the day but for the newbies (and hopefully there are a lot of you) I am the Simon to Bil's Garfunkel.  While Bil is detailed, deliberate and cool all resting on a foundation of real talent; I am erratic, insecure and hot-headed resting on very occasional unpredictable sparks.  Between the two of us we try to make wonderful music.
So first the obvious, what is CM Cold War and where did it come from?  Well the game is our brainchild, not that it took a serious leap of imagination as people had been talking about a Cold War game for years.  Bil and I had been looking for a title to cut our designer-teeth on for years as well, and after a few false starts we approached BFC with the idea about 7-8 years ago, to which Steve sagely looked at two complete amateurs and said "uh, sure...why don't you guys go pull some stuff together and we will do lunch".  So we did up all the boring and work-like stuff most of you never see; project documents, historical research, backstories, TO&Es (pouring over things like Senate Arms Committee records and back issues of the US Army magazines), and campaign designs.  Once we did all this we came back to Steve like proud children that had just performed surgery on the family cat.  Steve's eyes went a little wider and very Bruce Willis-like said, "ok let's give these kids a shot".  I am pretty sure we were to remain a weird side project in the basement - that is where the older Beta Testers go in the end - but last year things accelerated and we found ourselves suddenly thrust into the rock and roll lifestyle of computer wargame designers...without the groupies, cocaine or leather pants.
So with a very small team, a tight timeline and another look from Steve that was somewhere between "ya, there is no way these guys are going to make it" and "but if they do...?" (seriously, support from the BFC guys has been outstanding) we started the journey.  So when you play the game on release (it is no secret we are on track for Apr, after Easter) you know who to curse when something either does not look quite right or you are getting beat up on a campaign (the Soviet one is particularly brutal).  If you love the game, praise the entire team, if you are angry that the Soviet officer holster does not look right, feel free to vent at either Bil or I, mostly Bil.
Onto the AAR.  Ok in the proudest tradition of this thing, Bil will wow you all with dazzling intelligence products that would make an ASIC weep.  I, on the other hand, prefer a  more tactile and coffee-stained approach...I also tend to lose these fights.  This map comes from the US campaign, a scenario called Dollbach Heights, but do not worry the scenario is completely different so no spoilers.  This whole thing is occurring in the backdrop of a Cold War-gone-hot strategic situation set in summer of 1982, which may seem quaint today but back in '83 we actually came pretty close.  The Soviets are basically making a break for the Rhine as fast as possible before reserves can be called up and fly-overs conducted.  The US forces are the tripwire forces of V Corp with units like the 11 ACR and 3rd Armd Div (for this AAR we do not assign particular units) as the game centers on the Fulda corridor (between the West German border and Frankfurt).  So the strategic game is simple, Soviets have to move fast as possible to get in close to the major urban areas, knock France out and put the UK into close range.  The bet back in Moscow is that at this point NATO will fracture as half of them sue for peace...we will see how that works out.
A couple points on force balance and doctrine.  So this is 1980, the beginning of a vapid and synthesizer-infested decade (trust me I was there). The US forces are still recovering from the entire Vietnam experience.  Goldwater-Nicols has not happened so we are still talking about conventional service competition in the US military, which was unhealthy (still is) and a US Army that was slowly coming out of the old ROADs models and heading towards AirLand Battle.  The TO&Es are based on the '77 force structures (you will note US tank platoons have 5 tanks).  The "so what?" is that US forces are pretty much at their most vulnerable point in this era.  They lack mass and are moving to active defense and maneuver warfare but the equipment has not caught up.  It is going to feel weird to some but this is a modern (well semi-modern) title where US forces do not dominate the battlefield.  They have to be played carefully to achieve parity.  For example the T62 can kill an M60A3 in the front from about 1500m, so the US player must be elegant and clever...like the gentle fox.
The Soviets on the other hand are the bear that eats said gentle fox and then poops him out, barely breaking stride.  The Soviets at this point are pretty much near the top of their game.  Their equipment is solid, if a little blind, and they have mountains of it. Soviet operational doctrine is actually very good, it uses mass much like it did in WW2, and frankly Genghis would be proud at how well the Soviet can throw MRRs at a problem and simply keep going.  The T64 is a beast, probably the best Soviet tank in the game (particularly the B versions), the T80 can throw a punch too.  The Soviet use of ATGM is frankly terrifying.  First, they literally put those things on just about everything, and the AT 5 feels like the modern day Javelin in that, if it can hit, it will kill.  In testing one scenario of the US Campaign, I played sloppy and watched an BMP MRB shred all the US armor in about 5 mins...so there is that.   
At a tactical level the Soviet are all about lining up the punch.  They were not mindless hordes, they would prepare and shape with recon but when they decided to throw that punch...oh, my.  First they would drop the sky on top of you using massed artillery.  Then they would advance en masse  along multiple axis projecting dilemma everywhere for an opponent.  They would then trade shots until your armor is gone and finally they might dismount and clean up any poor infantry you have left.  I say 'might' because they would often simply bypass those huddle GIs and just keep going.
So for this AAR, I will try to emulate the soviet approach as much as possible.  Stay tuned and see how it turns out.       

And now let's get serious:


https://aw.my.games/en/news/general/development-t-80b

I am going to bed now. I hope I don't wake up tomorrow and find out that this day was just one long dream... 
 
 
 
 

I love surprises 😁

Yeah.....That!  Exactly! 
  My keyboard is wearing a light coating of tea! 
You kept that quiet. 
Christ yes!  @BFCElvis.....Where do I send the money? 

It's off to a very good start and we are not even into March yet
Cold War CM!

This is a great way to start the day! Modern warfare with near equal forces and no javelins. 

Although I'm currently 100% WW2 (and thankfully I know a little bit about it), BFC seems to be doing its best to get me into more modern conflicts.  Oh well, time to start learning again 😉.

Yeah I too have had my suspicions since the last round of patches (the scripts text file was full of new additions including Pattons, M113's, T-80's & LAW's ).
Excellent news and it'll be a guaranteed purchase from me.

My guess is that they wanted Fire and Rubble somewhat halfway out of the door before they announced anything new. My hope was/is that they were working on more stuff and 2021 might be a very good year

This is a great way to start the day! Modern warfare with near equal forces and no javelins. 

This is a great way to start the day! Modern warfare with near equal forces and no javelins. 

This is a great way to start the day! Modern warfare with near equal forces and no javelins. 

🤔

I was wondering what they were working with all the releases being so slow lately...

I am loving this! Cold War is my specialty

Distant sound .wav's (they could be generic "standard" & "heavy" like gun shot trails currently are)... also a "heavy bullet zip" sound would be appreciated.
Infantry that are cowering/supressed could be yet more resiliant to long range fire.
The Alt-T option that removes all foilage could instead make foilage translucent.
A creeping barrage artillery option (especcially for WW2 battles).
Bullet impacts much more likely to generate dust puffs/debris/mips.
 
 

Spoilers for scenario R2V too close for comfort
 
..... 
 
I send my men up left side. Once they spot the bunker, then concentrate all fire onto its side. Even though no penetrations. In the meantime the US soldiers that they have also spotted kill many of them. Really frustrating as I spent so long getting them in position to flank the trench complex.
 
Given  that their shots have no chance of penetrating the bunker from the side, shouldn't their fire be directed against spotted infantry?
 
 
 
 

Maybe not weird, but when I target a Bradley at a building, it launches a Tow, then starts to reload TOW and doesn't fire cannon. Before TOW reloads, which takes an age, often get an RPG that takes it out. Maddening. I would much prefer TOW not to reload, and fire cannon instead (unless targeting a target against which cannon would have no effect, but even then, may prefer cannon if it strips off external systems and shocks crew). 

Steve in his 2021 greeting said 'CMBS/Steam/Very Soon'. I expect Slitherine's definition of 'very soon' is much quicker than BFC's. It was working with Slitherine on deadline-driven 'government work' that's had the effect of delaying everything else last year. BFC's been busily working away but unfortunately much of it is not for your eyes. But they have gotten into the habit of working to a deadline, which may have positive downstream effects.