The importance of wide maps/battlefields in CMSF.

[kipanderson]

Hi,

When it comes to ATGMs, and HEAT AT ammunition in general, life will be far more interesting in CMSF than many would have predicted a few years ago. Not many years ago it was close to conventional wisdom that the new, advanced types of light weight armour would be able to defeat most types of HEAT warhead. It turns out that this is not the case.

The view was that light-weight active armour as used on many an APC/IFV and maybe tank side armour would be able to cope with most types of HEAT warhead. It is true that the single warhead RPG7s of ‘70s design can be defeated by such new types of armour. However, the now commodity item, mid-90s, fully mature tandem warheads have proven far more troublesome than many believed they might. In order to stop warheads of the tandem type, perfected in the early ‘90s, you need bulk. You need a heavy weight of armour. It does not have to be steel alone but a mix of ceramics, glass fibre, heavy metals and steel. But all in quantities that add up to very great weight.

Modern tanks with frontal armour equal in weight to 400mm of steel can withstand the most of latest tandem HEAT warheads. However, APCs/IFVs and tanks side armour cannot not. One famous such example is the clean penetration, through both sides, of a M1 in Iraq by what was believed to be a shoulder fired 105mm tandem warhead as used on most ’90s Russian infantry anti-armour weapons. Including RPG7s. Imagine the ease with which the heavier Russian tandem ATGMs would penetrate the side armour of M1s and any APC/IFV.

One important consideration in CMSF will be to build realistic terrain . By this I do not only mean the correct mix of houses, orchards and such, but realistically wide battlefields on which to fight the battles. In the real world the battlefield does not suddenly end 500m either side of the small hamlet or village a US company combat team is tasked to attack. The battlefield goes on far beyond. This means that a Syrian AT team armed with a Russian Kornet ATGM some 1,500 to one flank of a village being attack by a US force may be presented with numerous, easy targets all of whom would be penetrated successfully by the Kornet .

The situation may be very similar to that on the Eastern Front in ‘43/’44. The Panther cannot be penetrated by the standard Model’42 76.2mm Soviet field gun/AT gun over its forward arc. However, the same gun can penetrate the Panther’s side armour, even at a 45 degree strike angle, at great distance. Thus if you build artificially narrow battlefields in CMBB you can get the impression that Panthers were unstoppable by such Soviet field artillery. However, build more realistic, wide and often open terrain and the humble Model’42 76.2mm gun becomes lethal against the mighty Panther. Ambushed again and again with long-range shots at its sides.

Build realistic Syrian terrain, including making the battlefields 2000m plus wide, and the cheap and cheerful Russian ATGMs of the mid’90s suddenly become far more deadly. Thus the games far more realistic and more balanced and fun .

Whether in CMBB or CMSF wide maps and battlefields matter.

All good fun,

All the best,

Kip.

[Sixxkiller]

Well this is a new one, telling Battlefront how to make the game better before even seeing it.

[flamingknives]

New? On this board?

People were telling BFC how to suck eggs (or, in this case, how to make games) while all this was still on the CMAK board.

[Sixxkiller]

I was being sarcastic sheesh