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Broken Arrow
Asid:
Broken Arrow - Dev Diary #5 - Motostrelki specialization
Wed, 1 February 2023
First off, the big news!
Demo Available at Steam Next Fest
Broken Arrow will be part of the Steam Next Fest.
What does this mean? It means that everyone starting on February 6th at 10 am Pacific time will be able to download and play the Broken Arrow demo, consisting of one playable scenario from the single player story campaign.
We’d love to hear your honest feedback on the game, so don’t refrain from hopping in the game, giving it a try and letting us know what you think. We’ll be collecting the feedback through a special survey that you can access from within the game.
We will also be streaming the same scenario live on Twitch twitch.tv/slitherinetv on Tuesday February 7th at 8 pm GMT. Furthermore, join us at Tea Time on February 9th at 4 pm GMT for an exclusive live interview with Félix Habert, Creative Director for the game.
Motostrelki Battlegroup specialization
Motostrelki or motorized/mechanized infantry is a specialisation focused on ground mobility and aims to achieve superiority through numbers rather than quality.
Offensively, this specialisation allows you to deploy a large quantity of cheap infantry squads equipped with older weapons and spread them rapidly over the battlefield with light wheeled armored transports (BTR). Each squad and its transport might be outclassed if they encounter stronger enemy units but some BTRs might find undefended routes of approach. This allows their infantry to pour through enemy lines and end up destroying weak and expensive support units like artillery and anti aircraft platforms and compensate for earlier losses.
Defensively, the BMPs which are tracked armored vehicles equipped with anti-tank guided missiles and autocannons will pose a threat to the enemy. However, they remain light vehicles that are no match for a tank. So it is generally a better solution to spread them in order to shoot missiles from multiple directions and hit the tanks weaker side armor.
Having more units to manage than the opponent can be an advantage but can also become a burden in some situations as it is harder to keep track of all of them so it’s hard to prevent losses.
RECONNAISSANCE
Razvedka: This 5 men squad has better observation equipment than the regular infantry squads and trades the usual machine gun for a stealthier SVD marksman rifle. They are equipped with several RPG-26 lightweight anti-tank rocket launchers that can damage light armored vehicles.
They have access to standard BTRs and MT-LBs as transport but also BMPs which can bring a lot of punch to this reconnaissance unit.
Snaipery: This is an entire squad of soldiers equipped with precision rifles of different calibers. Rather than being spread in different squads these marksmen work together as a team to totally deny an area to enemy infantry. This fire power comes at the expense of stealth that is not on the level of other snipers.
Spetsnaz GRU: An elite squad of 7 men equipped with suppressed weapons, advanced observation equipment and top tier rocket launchers. They can also provide laser designation for planes and artillery.
In addition to these infantry units this specialization gives you access to BRDM-2 and BRDM-3 wheeled recon vehicles as well as the FORPOST UAV, a reconnaissance drone that can be equipped with 2 kornet anti tank missiles.
INFANTRY
Motostrelki: This is the backbone of this specialization. This squad of 7 men is equipped with Ak-74M rifles, 2 GP-34 underbarrel grenade launchers, a PKP machine gun and a RPG-7 anti tank rocket launcher.
Reservisty: An under-strength squad of 6 men equipped with old AK-74, PKM and RPG-7 transported in BTR-80 or MT-LB. They have a limited amount of ammunition so they won’t put up a fight for very long. It’s best to have them patrol your rear to detect infiltrated enemy units that might run into them or guard your flanks and act as a speed bump in case of an unexpected enemy attack.
AGS squad: Automatic grenade launchers and their serving crew that can provide fire support against infantry and light vehicles. They are extremely vulnerable to helicopters however.
PZRK Igla: Soldiers equipped with Igla man portable anti-air missiles. These small missiles lack range so they are better at shooting down helicopters than planes.
PTRK Konkurs: A squad dedicated to anti-tank duty equipped with Konkurs ATGM. These units don’t have access to BMPs as transport as in the Russian doctrine the anti-tank capability comes from the vehicles themselves in BMP equipped units so they don’t have dedicated ATGM teams.
SPG-9: A squad equipped with SPG-9 recoilless rifles to provide fire support against infantry and vehicles. They lack the power to really damage tanks' frontal armor though.
Engineer Shturmoviki: A squad of heavily armored soldiers specialized in explosives that will clear buildings from enemy presence in no time.
FIGHTING VEHICLES
Transports:
• All these troops have access to BTR-80 wheeled armored personnel carriers that can be upgraded to BTR-82A model with 30mm autocannon or BTR-82AT with a remotely controlled turret with improved optics and 2 konkurs ATGMs. It is also possible to add a cage armor to increase the protection against rocket propelled grenades but this removes the amphibious capability of the vehicle.
• The MT-LB is a tracked transport also available to all troops. It is lightly armored, but can receive a cage armor just like the BTR at the cost of the amphibious capability. It is only armed with a single machine gun by default but can be upgraded with a turret similar to BTR-80/82A with KPVT or 30mm autocannon.
• The BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle is available to all troops except the anti-tank teams. It is armed with a 30mm autocannon and a konkurs ATGM by default, but can receive an additional grenade launcher or be upgrade to
BMP-2M standard with better optics and 4 modern kornet ATGM that can be guided 2 at a time on the same target. It is also possible to upgrade the armor while retaining the amphibious ability.
• BMP-3 is the next generation of IFV that comes with a 100mm low pressure gun in addition to the 30mm autocannon for additional long range fire support. The turret can be upgraded with better optics and shtora jammer or be totally replaced by the epokha turret with a 57mm autocannon, kornet and bulat ATGMs. The armor can be upgraded with explosive reactive armor that substantially improves the resilience against explosive damage.
Fighting vehicles:
• 9P148 Konkurs: An anti-tank vehicle with 5 konkurs ATGM mounted on the roof of a BRDM-2 chassis that can be upgraded with a new turret equipped with 4 kornet ATGMs.
• 9P162 Kornet: An anti-tank vehicle based on the BMP-3 chassis equipped with 2 kornet ATGMs anf be upgraded to the 9P167 Khizantema with better optics and missiles that can be guided on 2 different targets independently.
• T-62M: One of the oldest soviet tanks still in service available in multiple variants with additional armor, optics, with or without ATGM…
• T-72B: The workhorse of the soviet army is available to the motorized infantry specialization with the possibility to upgrade the armor with different generations of ERA and the fire control system to guide more modern gun launched missiles or rather remove this ability to field the tank for a cheaper price.
SUPPORT
The Russian army in the game is globally support heavy compared to the USA and the motorized specialization is a good illustration of that:
• 2S23 Nona-SVK: A BTR platform equipped with a 120mm mortar. It’s wheeled chassis allows it to rapidly reach its destination and relocate after shooting but the loadout is rather low with only 30 rounds carried.
• MT-LB based mortars: the basic configuration called “Deva” is a standard 82mm mortar transported in the MT-LB but it is possible to upgrade it with a Vasilek mortar shooting rapid bursts of 4 rounds or a 120mm mortar.
• 2S4 Tulpan: This is a massive 240mm mortar shooting 130kg projectiles. The rate of fire is low as a crank system is needed to reload it but the effect is devastating when the shell lands.
• 2S3 Akatsia: A classic 152mm howitzer. The low accuracy is compensated by the high availability and low price that allows you to buy multiple batteries and saturate the area. It can be upgraded to the M2 standard with better reload time and accuracy.
• 9K58 Smerch: A powerful LMRS shooting 300mm rockets with multiple possible warhead types. The rockets must be reloaded one by one with a crane after shooting which makes the process extremely long.
• TOS-2 Tosochka: One of the newest equipment available to the motorized infantry specialization. This wheeled MLRS can shoot up to 18 220mm thermobaric rockets per salvo with deadly effect against infantry and light vehicles.
• Ural ZSU-23-2: This is the most basic air defense system you can get: a truck with a twin 23mm autocannon bolted to the rear platform. The ZU-23-2 can be upgraded with improved optics and Igla missiles to improve its performance.
• ZSU-23-4 Shilka: A self propelled anti aircraft artillery armed with 4 23mm autocannons resulting in a massive rate of fire. The basic variant doesn’t have any radar and is mostly used as a fire support vehicle but it can be upgraded with a radar to increase its range against helicopters and Igla missiles can also be added to threaten aircrafts as well.
• OSA-AKM: This old surface to air missile system is the most basic anti aircraft unit of this specialization able to engage aircrafts in high altitude.
Its old radar makes it back at tracking low flying helicopters.
• S-350E Vityaz: This truck mounted surface to air missile launcher is no laughing matter for planes:.Its 12 ready to fire missiles have massive range and deadly accuracy. The only downside is the inability to track low flying helicopters so you need to escort it with a unit dedicated to that.
HELICOPTERS
Only the oldest helicopters are available to this specialization:
• Mi-8MTV-2: The classic workhorse of the Russian army in its oldest version still in service. This helicopter can carry a mix of troops and supplies as well as gunpods and rockets on 4 pylons.
• Mi-24P: The famous attack helicopter armed with a fast firing twin 30mm autocannon attached to the fuselage. 6 pylons are available to equip the classic gunpods and rocket baskets but also Kokon anti tank missiles and R-60 anti air missiles.
The Mi-24 is able to carry a full squad of infantry even if this is not its primary role.
• Mi-24V/VP: Similar to the Mi-24P but with a chin turret instead of the fixed gun. The turret is armed either with a Yak-B 12.7mm minigun (Mi-24V) or with a twin 23mm autocannon (Mi-24VP)
• Mi-24K: This is the recon and fire support variant of the helicopter. It loses its ability to carry troops because observation equipment takes the space in the compartment. It also loses the ability to guide Kokon missiles because the aiming system has been replaced by a laser designation system
PLANES
• Su-25SM: This is a rather slow ground attack plane that can carry unguided bombs of different weight and types: general purpose, retarded, cluster, incendiary, thermobaric.
Rockets of different calibers up to the massive 340mm S-25 can also be carried as well as Kh-25 anti tank missiles, the massive Kh-29 missiles or Kh-58 anti radiation missiles.
Out of 10 pylons, 2 can be equipped with electronic countermeasure pods to increase the survivability of the plane or be equipped with short range infrared anti-air missiles to hunt down helicopters or as self defense against other planes.
• Su-24M2: This is a supersonic bomber with variable-sweep wings that delivers a lot of unguided bombs of every type and weight.
Will you prefer quantity with up to 26 OFAB-100 (100kg) bombs? Or size with up to 3 FAB-1500 (1500kg) bombs?
• Su-24MP: This version equipped with additional electronic sensors is dedicated to suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD). It hunts radar equipped enemy units and destroys them with its Kh-31 anti-radiation missiles.
• Mig-29SMT: This is a light fighter designed to engage enemy aircrafts with short range infrared R-60 and R-73 missiles and medium range R-77 and R-27ER missiles.
The number of missiles it can carry is low and its autonomy is short even with additional fuel tanks so it is best used for interception rather than air patrol.
It can also carry rocket pods and small bombs but air to ground is clearly not the domain where this plane shines.
Asid:
Broken Arrow Live Stream
Mon 6 Feb
Broken Arrow's Live stream with XTRG
In the Broken Arrow demo mission, players will be tasked to infiltrate a platoon of U.S. Marines Force Recon to destroy critical coastal defenses on the Baltic shore.
Clearing the sky of enemy planes, and escorting their landing craft and hovercraft to the shore, waves of powerful M1A1 Abrams and armored vehicles can be unleashed to dominate the battlefield.
The mission will see American troops fight block for block in intense close-quarter infantry battles against airdropped enemy paratroopers. Forces can be resupplied with heavy-lift helicopters from a carrier group offshore. Prospective commanders need to take care and repel the assault of a full tank company with the combined arms help of helicopters and planes.
We will be streaming the demo scenario live on Twitch on Tuesday February 7th at 7 pm GMT +1 and on Thursday February 9th at 5:30 pm GMT +1.
twitch.tv/slitherinetv
Upcoming Event Starts Thu, 9 February 2023
Asid:
New trailer for Broken Arrow & message from the devs
Mon, 18 September 2023
We’re back from WASD x IGN where we were able to showcase the latest version of the game with a playable mission. We were delighted to meet some of the Broken Arrow fans, as well as to introduce the game to many new players.
We have some big news today!
First off, as promised, here is a new trailer featuring Deck Customization!
Let us know what you think in the comments section.
Furthermore, we just updated the screenshots on the store page, so let us know if you spot the new ones!
We also have a message directly from the devs, who want to give you an update on how development is going and what we can expect in the next couple of months.
Greetings Friends!
It's been a while since we brought you news about Broken Arrow, but rest assured radio silence is a sure sign that the team is working tirelessly, at least in our case. 😁
We are working on a beta version. The closed beta will start in the next couple of months and will feature multiplayer, unlike the demo released in February. The ability to play single player mode will also remain.
You will be able to sign up for the closed beta a little later.
We want to create a complete and polished gaming experience from the very beginning, so we are currently holding an internal testing, finalizing some details and of course creating a server infrastructure to handle many thousands of players simultaneously. Testing is designed to help us balance the game so that players feel they have a certain role and are not overwhelmed. It is planned to try out several game modes, from time-tested to truly bold and innovative.
Let us remind you that we set the task of creating matchmaking to be as fast and efficient as possible, so we are introducing one main multiplayer game mode and several secondary ones available in user lobbies.
Since the February demo we have improved the interface, made huge strides in optimization and stability, especially in 5v5 online matches with a large number of units, carried out balancing and improved ergonomics incl. airstrikes and aviation.
We initially distributed our efforts in such a way that in our game there was no bias in any direction and there was a balance between the popular single player and multiplayer. For the lion's share of players who avoid multiplayer we have prepared several ways to have fun, from full-fledged atmospheric single player campaigns to cooperative modes with high replay value.
The first two campaigns for the USA and Russia will be available on an initial release and will take place in the Baltic states. The list of campaigns will expand.
The Scenario Editor, which we use to create cutscenes and campaigns, will be available to players so they can create and share their own videos, scenarios, and campaigns.
Additional campaigns are planned as DLC and will come with new nations (and specializations for existing nations) and maps.
Regarding the release we think that we’ll get the clearest picture from the results of closed beta testing. Of course, we want to release it as soon as possible, but primarily do it in such a way that 4 years of our efforts are not in vain and the game reveals all its potential.
Thank you for your support and see you soon on the battlefields!
BROKEN ARROW
Asid:
Broken Arrow’s beta starting on November 16 - Sign-up now
Mon, 6 November 2023
We’re well aware of the huge anticipation surrounding Broken Arrow.
Dozens of thousands of fans have been patiently waiting for the beta. It was originally meant to start a few months ago, but we decided to wait a couple of extra months. You can never be too careful.
Well, the wait is (almost) over. The beta of Broken Arrow will begin in ten days, on November 16
Can everyone get in?
For now the beta will be a closed beta, meaning that everyone can apply for the beta but we reserve ourselves the right to handpick those who will be given access.
How do I get in, then?
It’s simple, you can apply here. You will need to register a Slitherine account (which is free) and fill the form. Due to the sudden influx of traffic, the website might temporarily be unavailable. If it happens please bear with us, it will be back online soon. If you are having technical issues with signing up for the beta, please reach out to our customer service at support@slitherine.co.uk
How do I know if I am chosen?
Slitherine’s producers will reach out to you by e-mail, the same e-mail address you used for registering your Slitherine account. The e-mail you receive will contain all the information you need to access the beta version of the game and on how to provide feedback on it. Furthermore, you might be selected even after November 16, as our team will look into adding more and more testers as the beta progresses.
Can I stream the beta?
Absolutely not. Everyone who gets in the beta is automatically under NDA. We’ll have options for making versions of the game available to all (players and reviewers alike) at a later date.
.
Asid:
A new Dev Diary and one last message before the end of the year
Wed, 20 December 2023
Before we get to the dev diary, we wanted to thank each and everyone of the many, many thousands of testers who took part in the closed beta.
It was a terrific experience for us and seeing so many people enjoy multiplayer games while sharing their opinions on the game in the private beta channels only reinforced us with the conviction that Broken Arrow is going to be a great game.
The closed beta ends today: as mentioned before, we’ll be back in January with the intention of opening a public demo. We’ll reveal the actual date in early January.
We have one last dev diary for you for 2023, so enjoy the read and enjoy the holidays.
Dev Diary #7 - A sense of detail
Today’s dev diary will be focussing on the development team’s attention to details: the game is overflowing with nice visual details at every level and it is our intention to showcase that.
Textures and models
The first thing you notice when arriving in the hangar which serves as background for the main menu is how detailed the vehicles look. Each vehicle from the good old classics to the most unknown prototypes or the newest machines barely in service have received the same attention. Blueprints and in-depth photographic research are used to be as close to reality as possible.
Customizable elements also received a lot of attention to make sure they are perfectly compatible with the rest of the vehicle.
If you move the camera around and zoom a bit more you will notice even more details like the cockpits of the planes, the weapons they carry and the pylons holding them.
Helicopters are not to be outdone, with a level of customization equivalent to the planes.
Here is a MH-60M IDAP of the special forces equipped with laser guided rockets DAGR and stinger anti-air missiles.
When switching to the infantry tab you will notice that soldiers’ equipment vary from one squad to another to show their role, and each soldier is slightly different from the next with different body sizes and variations in their equipment.
The weapons carried by infantry and mounted on vehicles also received particular attention.
Animations
Time to launch a battle where all these units will come to life.
Here are just a few of the little things you can notice when you zoom in on the battlefield.
The 2K22 Tunguska is a short range anti aircraft vehicle equipped with guns and missiles. As in reality they can move independently. The unit is also equipped with a radar that can be deployed to increase the detection and firing ranges, it also allows it to intercept cruise missiles.
The 2S1 Tulpan is a heavy 240mm mortar. The shells are so heavy that it’s impossible to load them from the muzzle like other mortars, so instead the tube is lowered and the shells are loaded from the breach by a crane after each shot.
ATGM stands for Anti-Tank Guided Missiles. They are generally stored in tubes that also contain the cable used to guide them. Once the missile has reached its target the tube must be replaced.
Here, a konkurs missile fired from a BTR-90 reloaded from the hatch of the turret.
A Bradley carries 2 ready to launch ATGMs on the side of the turret. Once both missiles are fired they must be replaced using the rear hatch.
In some tanks, empty shell casings are simply dropped at the bottom of the compartment and discarded later. But vehicles with autoloaders generally include an ejection mechanism.
In the game you will see the casing being ejected by the autoloader just like in reality. Autoloaded tank guns are generally slower to reload than their manually loaded counterparts but have the advantage to maintain a steady rate of fire even when the crew is shocked.
The Derivatsiya is a BMP-3 chassis equipped with modern sensors and a 57mm gun shooting airburst rounds very deadly against slow flying aircrafts. It also provides efficient fire support against infantry.
The recoil of the gun is animated, the ejection hatch opens after each shot as a shell casing is ejected and bounces on the ground.
Speaking of recoil, the movement induced by each shot has an effect on the suspension of the unit dynamically depending on the power of the gun and the orientation of the turret. Vehicles in water also swing dynamically with the waves and the recoil of their weapons.
You have the possibility to activate the afterburner on planes that can do it in reality. When you do, flames spout from the engine, a thick smoke forms behind the plane and when the sound barrier is reached you can see and hear the sonic boom effect. In addition, on planes with variable-sweep wings this is accompanied by the animation of the wings switching to supersonic mode.
Some units like the S-300V need to be deployed before becoming operational. This cooldown is accompanied by the animation of the deployment.
Iskander-M deploying its 2 ballistic missiles before shooting. This unit can also be customized to carry cruise missiles instead in which case it is named Iskander-K
Finally the internal parts of the vehicles are modeled and their doors are animated. You can see the infantry filling the compartment when entering in a vehicle or helicopter.
Maps
Broken Arrow's maps feature dense, detailed urban areas that rival city-building games.
But suddenly the battle rages on and the enemy leaves you no respite. Bombs fall from the sky and hit a high riser which collapses from the impact.
That's it for today, we hope you enjoyed the dev diary. Merry Christmas and happy new year, see you in 2024.
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