Jump to content

1982 vs 1989 vs 2017


Stardekk

Recommended Posts

If Battlefront will release a Module for CW which expands the timeline to 1989, how will it be compared (mostly in terms of balance, that is) to 1982 (CMCW base game timeline) and 2017 ? (CMBS base game timeline).

I know that in 1989 almost every  Soviet tank has ERA, which means your average TOW will have a hard time penetrating tanks (Unless its a T0W-2\A ?)
But, almost every US unit will have thermals and advanced FCS, and if I'm ont wrong in this timeline tanks do not have thermal smoke yet, so you  can fill the battle with dust and smoke and it will very quickly turn into a one-sided shooting range, plus, you TOWs will be able to shoot through smoke, unlike in 1982.

Edited by Stardekk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The general trend (which has been echoed by a lot of the literature) is that by the late eighties the Soviets wouldn't really have had a chance. How much of that carries over to the tactical level is an open question, but I do think the trend is definitely going against the Soviets by this point, for a number of reasons, most notably perhaps are the US advantage in microtechnology.

You can see some of that in 1982, even - the more thermals you add to the game, the more Shock Force-like the battles become. It would be cool to see the influence of ERA on things, but I suspect you'll start to lose what makes CMCW particularly interesting. I don't think the advancements are all one-sided, but they seem to be heavily weighted in the favour of the US.

For that reason, if there was to be an extended timeline, I think I'd be more interested in an expansion to the timeline which went earlier instead.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In FCRS (Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm) a wargame that feature Brigade/Division level operations in 1989, Soviets player can still triumph NATO player with carefully planned artillery bombardment, keep well spaced, rested echelons in high combat readiness, determined to send out 2nd echelons to explore any breakthrough. But that’s an operational wargame. The game itself is balanced with devastating artillery effects and exaggerate numbers of Sov Tanks that can fire tube launch ATGM.

I agree in Combat Mission scope, a 1989 timeline will bring a tremendous challenge to Sov player.

Soviet’s land force looks formidable in 1982

On the other hand, Soviets air power and sea power in 1982 have the largest technology gap with NATO.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to mention that artillery shrapnel is not causing any damage on optics and stuff like that in CM (sadly). 
It will give a huge buff to the soviet player. Soviet tactics are (of course) mostly centered around arty, so gtiving the arty the stuff it should do like it does IRL will make the tactics more deadly... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...