Busy night, but there’s always room for another! It’s that time of the week where grogs everywhere gather around the OneHexAway digital tavern and chug down pints of delightful news information. Come in, and shut the door!
Combat Mission Cold War is coming out soon
Battlefront.com is ever more frisky! Last year they have finally opted into selling their excellent Combat Mission series into Steam, starting of with CM: Shock Force 2 mid 2020 and pumping out CM: Black Sea just last month. Now, this once shy Battlefront is becoming the sassiest of wargaming devs, striving to be on the headlines week after week. This time, the lovely folks announced Combat Mission: Cold War (check it out here).
Combat Mission Cold War is set in the tipping-point years of a conflict that gripped the world for 45 years. Between 1979-1982, both the NATO and Soviet Warsaw Pact militaries began the shift away from industrialized warfare of the early 20th century and towards the modern digital battlefield of today. Combat Mission Cold War simulates several “what if” conflict scenarios between US and Soviet forces centered on the strategic Fulda Gap and environs in West Germany. The game also simulates the early days of the US National Training Center (NTC) as US forces began to rapidly transform away from Vietnam era doctrine and towards the revolutionary AirLand Battle concepts that would define warfare in the modern era. Combat Mission Cold War is intended to be a sandbox for experimentation, for example how would a situation unfold when equipped with M-60A3s or M1s in 1982 facing off against T-80s? How about the same situation with M-60A1s or M-60A2s in 1979 against T-64s or T-62s? The game allows a player to do just that! Combat Mission Cold War comes with 15 standalone scenarios set in the US V and VII Corp sectors of West Germany and 3 full length campaigns: -The NTC Campaign. The National Training Center in the California Mojave Desert was established in 1982, right at the end of Combat Mission Cold War’s time frame. The NTC campaign puts you in command of a US Army Company Team as it begins its rotation and trial by simulated fire against the premier Soviet style formation in the world, the NTC OPFOR (Opposing Force). -The US West German Campaign. Set in the southern Fulda Strategic Corridor between Fulda and Hanau, the US campaign unfolds across historically accurate maps as player take charge of the 2nd Bn TF of the 28th Infantry Regt in a race to stop the Soviet juggernaut. In keeping with the sandbox theme of Combat Mission Cold War, there are two versions of the US Campaign, 1982 and 1979 to allow players the opportunity to see and compare the differences in equipment between the two periods. -The Soviet Campaign. Set north and east of Fulda, the Soviet Campaign follows the “Ride of the 120th Motor Rifle Regt” on the opening 48 hours of a fictional “what if” West German invasion. Players will fight on historical battlefields “that never were”, such as Eiterfield and Alsfeld as part of the first wave of Soviet troops racing towards their divisional objectives.
Valor & Victory arriving soon
Ye’old dice trowers and counter pushers will be happy to hear that the famous board game is getting a digital edition especially developed for tabletop game lovers.
With 20 scenarios based on real events shortly after the Normandy Landings in 1944, the game challenges you to achieve different goals: eliminate the enemy, capture objectives or move certain units off of the map. Valor & Victory is a complete WWII wargaming system, covering infantry and armored combat, close assaults, armored overruns, fortifications, and much more. Valor & Victory comes with full multiplayer support: challenge your friends in 1v1 multiplayer matches over PBEM or in hotseat mode. If you’re looking to test your skills, sign up for official tournaments and climb the leaderboard as well. An extremely intuitive built-in scenario editor allows you to build and play your own scenarios either against the AI or against your friends. Pick a map, set the objective, choose the factions, place units and defenses where you prefer. Add details and customize your rules: decide the number of turns, the weather conditions and the starting team. The scenario editor gives you all the tools to create custom challenges without limitations.
The exquisite gentlemen at Yobowargames and Matrix are looking for brave beta testers. You can apply here if you’re interested.
Read this very interesting piece on the Roal Netherlands Army
Someone way more smarter and informative than me worte a fantastic piece on the Royal Netherlands Army, one of the two armies coming out in the DLC for Armored Brigade. This piece goes to lenght detailing the Koninklijke Landmatch mission, tactics, organization and their role withing the wider context of NATO operations. Make sure to check it out here.
RSA ground vehicles are coming to War Thunder
Gainjin Entertainment could be dairy retail specialist, given their advanced curriculum in milking the cash cow that is War Thunder. This time they’re launching an “Ixwa Strike”, the company’s first major update for 2021. This is going to add a parallel branch for South African units in the British Tech Tree. If you’re interested in reading more about some of the up-and-coming units of Ixwa Strike you can catch a nice read about the Olifant Mk1A here.
Nebuchadnezzar and TasteMaker are out now and looking might fine
First IMPRESSIONS (get it?) on Nebuchadnezzar are somewhat positive so far according to Steam reviews, with the game sitting at a respectable (but not impressive) 75% positive accolades. By reading these first IMPRESSIONS it seems those disappointed with the game were expecting more of a Pharaoh-like city builder instead of the intensive resource gathering gameplay akin to Anno. But hey, first IMPRESSIONS, right? Okay, I’ll stop.
I’ve just heard about TasteMaker a couple of minutes ago while writing this and I must say the trailer is pretty glorious with gigantic rats in the restaurant and what appears to be actual shit on the floor. The gipsy jazz song would make Django Reinhardt proud.
Strategy and Wargaming 