Afterconflict News

In this new update we not only have additions to Afterconflict itself such as the AK-74, its DDR-produced counterpart the MPi-AK-74N, DDR production RGD-5 and F1 grenades, the AKMS, and night iron sights such as the 6CH3 and ZVN-64, but we also have the new Afterconflict Development Roadmap alongside the launch of the new Afterconflict Patreon!

Starting off strong, the AK-74 was phased into to the service of the Soviet Army in the late 1970s and served as the USSR's standard-issue rifle among virtually all branches through the early 90s. While the AK-74 was first issued with a more traditional set of wooden furniture, in 1985 production shifted to a plum-coloured polymer (PA-6) furniture, initially only the handguard, but quickly expanding to the stock too, both of-which will be customisation options in-game.



While the plum-coloured furniture was produced through the late 80s to the beginning of the 90s with many different slight variations in colouration, 1991 saw a switch from plum to uniform black colouring, a trend that had been growing in firearms production worldwide, including in both the USSR and its Warsaw Pact allies.



Speaking of Warsaw Pact allies, after obtaining a licence for production (under the condition that they would not export them), the DDR introduced their own domestically produced version of the AK-74, the MPi-AK-74N, from 1985. Aside from its unique furniture that was largely just a continuation of the MPi-KM's 80s production furniture, not only did the DDR start to produce their own 6L10 "bakelite" magazines (an option noticeably absent from the MPi-KM), but as is hinted by its title, all MPi-AK-74Ns had scope rails, making scope rails a new standard among the NVA- a very modern idea that deviates radically from the MPi-KM not having ANY variants with rails aside from custom jobs by special forces units.



Speaking of-which, here is the MPi-AK-74N with a PSO-1 mounted to its rail.



While the ZFK 4x25 scope designed specifically for the MPi-AK-74N was to be introduced to NVA service in 1990, after its introduction in 1985 the MPi-AK-74N didn't have any DDR-produced daylight optics at its disposal, which resulted in special forces units (such as the Fallschirmjäger and Diensteinheit IX) sometimes attaching PSO-1 scopes taken from Soviet-import SVDs to their rifles as a makeshift measure until the development of a more purpose-built scope.

While the Soviet-production black PA-6 furniture is already in-game as seen above, you'll have to wait to see the DDR's answer to the black rifle trend in Afterconflict...

Also on the topic of DDR-produced weaponry, the DDR also produced their own versions of the RGD-5 and F1 grenades.



While their bodies were virtually identical to Soviet-production ones aside from markings, the DDR produced their own fuses under the name "DS-62", although functionally and aesthetically speaking they're largely the same as the standard UZRGM-2 fuse, and there's no apparent difference in functionality in-game either.



While the DDR lacked ability to produce a lot of the NVA's standard equipment, instead relying on imports of items such as the SchM41M, RPK, and the SVD, one of the more specialist items the DDR produced was the ZVN-64 night iron sights attachment that fit over the iron sights of all standard AK-based rifles from the MPi-K all the way to the MPi-AKS-74N, allowing the user to accurately fire their rifle at night- something that'll come in handy in the dark while playing.



On the other hand, while the ZVN-64 was listed as a one-size-fits-all night iron sights attachment, the Soviets had different versions for each type of AK, and there were also different variations in the radium-based paint patterns, though they still served the same purpose and are interchangeable.



Some believe the AKMS's stock to be interchangeable with that of the standard AKM's stock, this however is incorrect as the AKMS's receiver is unique to facilitate the attachment of its folding stock, which also vary depending on if it has a sight rail or not, such as the AKMSL as seen here that will work as intended in-game.



Soon you'll also see some other folding AK variants, some that you can likely guess by the contents of this article, and some that while very similar, are suited for more covert operations.

Now that the added features segment of this development update is finished, we have some very interesting news to share with you that you've no doubt been waiting for, starting with the Afterconflict Development Roadmap!



Counting down from 5 to 1, this roadmap is a general guide to our plans for the development of Afterconflict leading up to our Steam Early Access release. We chose to forgo the addition of dates for the purpose of allowing development to proceed at a more natural (currently brisk) pace, instead of having to either announce a delay on the release of listed features, or to essentially waste time while we are ahead of our internal estimates lest we have to re-estimate all of the dates on the roadmap in accordance with being way ahead of schedule.

This roadmap is also by no means exhaustive of what we plan on doing, and there may be a few surprise additions on the way that aren't mentioned in the text...

To aid in the development of Afterconflict, we have now launched the Afterconflict Patreon which will allow us to raise money for the development of the game and will allow you to get rewards such as access to closed multiplayer testing in the near future!



So-far we have been developing Afterconflict out of our own pockets, and while we intend to continue developing Afterconflict no matter what, the ability to be comfortable in the knowledge that our rent is paid, food is on our tables, and any hardware issues we may face can be promptly fixed goes a long way in enabling us to be more focused on developing and expanding the game.

Another one of our Patreon rewards is exclusive access to a channel on our Discord server, which we'd like to invite you to join!



On our Discord server we discuss everything from the game and Cold War history to posting photos of hedgehogs, and the Patreon-exclusive Discord channel is called "The Bunker", and it's where we post exclusive WIP content that you'll be able to see before anyone else!

We hope you enjoyed reading this development update, if you wish to keep up to date with all Afterconflict updates, be sure to follow our Twitter feed too.

[h2]Welcome back to Afterconflict Armoury; when we say our game will have a high degree of accuracy and realism, that isn't a half-hearted tagline or a marketing ploy, it's a promise.[/h2]

Today we'll be looking at the AKM which near certainly needs no introduction, the Tula and Izhmash-manufactured streamlined successor to the AK that was (along with its various variants) the primary workhorse rifle of the Warsaw Pact from its introduction to the Soviet Army in the early 1960s, all the way until the fall of the Pact at the start of the 1990s.



Though the AK was a historic first design of what would quickly become one of the world's most recognisable series of rifles, it still had various elements that could be improved, most of all on a production front that would assist in the ability to quickly and comfortably equip entire armies not only domestically- but internationally for those fighting for the "right" causes.

Principle among these production changes was a transition from a milled steel reciever to a stamped one of thinner guage steel that resulted in a lighter rifle (by approximately 1kg) retaining all of the structural integrity of the AK due to added reinforcements, while being easier to manufacture.

While there were many other minor production changes from the AK to the AKM, the ones most commonly noticed are the newly ribbed dust cover, different style of now laminated pine (adopted from the Type 3 AK) furniture, and most being fitted with a slant-cut compensator (though this was attached when being placed into service, not out of the factory).



While a ribbed dust cover and the particular type of wood used for the furniture of the AKM won't assist you much in gameplay terms while playing Afterconflict, the difference between using the straight-from-the-factory muzzle nut and attaching the slant-cut compensator is a difference that can be felt while firing the AKM in-game, reducing recoil especially with automatic fire.

On the topic of being straight-from-the-factory, there are many misconceptions about the AKM's variants such as the AKMS, AKMN, and AKML- that they're created simply by attaching a folding stock or an optics rail to an ordinary AKM which is not the case; let's go into each of those variants and their differences.

First off on the trail is the AKMS, an under-folding stock version of the AKM adapted from the AKS before it and overall largely inspired by the German MP40's very similar under-folding stock.



The AKMS's role, as with the AKS, was largely intended for paratroops who required a more compact assault rifle that could be quickly and easily carried and deployed during a combat drop; however in light of the APS's production costs and overall lack of firepower it also found use among vehicle crews.

In terms of the production differences beyond the different stock design, the AKMS has a different rear trunion to facilitate the attachment of said stock, differing rivet positions on the reciever, and the pistol grip always being of the wooden type due to the ordinary "bakelite" (we'll get into that name later) pistol grip often cracking under the conditions faced during the average parachute drop.

When playing Afterconflict folding stock weapons such as the AKMS will no doubt be useful for close encounters when moving in confined spaces as longer weapons are liable to get caught on door frames, windows, etc.
Who knows, you may even be able to use the AKMS in a combat drop down the road...



On to the railed AK variants there is the AKMN and AKML, both of these variants' main objective is to have the ability to mount night vision optics and were factory-fitted with rails to achieve this, however both were often repurposed as marksman rifles by mounting regular optics, particularly during the Soviet-Afghan war.

Of the two types the AKML is largely viewed as superior due to its ability to mount the PSO-1 scope (which the AKMN was explicitly designed not to do), a more favourable mounting position for daylight optics in general, and that it is supplied with a flash suppressor (something useful for both not blowing out your night vision optics or your position at night, good for the more subtle player).



However, though the AKML was ultimately the more favourable of the two, it was produced in smaller numbers than the AKMN, which when you take into account that out of every 100 AKMs produced only 1 of them would be an AKMN, isn't exactly favourable for those that enjoy using optics.

If you wish to use the AKMN or AKML in-game, you'd better to be ready to sacrifice in other equipment departments to afford its points cost, and perhaps it'd be worth just using a PGO-7 scope on an AKMN rather than forking out even more points for an AKML with a PSO-1, the choice is yours.



In addition to the AKMN and AKML being their own variations, there was also the AKMSN and AKMSL, which were a combination of the AKMS with the AKMN and AKML respectively, with a slightly different folding stock that doesn't interfere with the added rail.
As you can imagine, these were even less common than the variants they are a combination of.

Although so far we've had the AKMS, AKMN, AKML, and everything inbetween which are all factory-fitted with their additional components, the AKMP is a variant that virtually any AKM can be converted to.

The AKMP is an AKM with the addition of a set of 6Ч3 tritium ironsights, a cheap and economical way of equipping an ordinary soldier with the ability to accurately fire at night with the help of tracer ammunition, instead of having to rely on AKMNs and AKMLs with large, bulky night optics.



This same logic applies in Afterconflict, instead of trying to equip everyone in a squad with an AKML and their preferred flavour of night optic while being lacking in most other equipment departments, you could instead appoint a member of your team to serve as spotter with a night vision optic and coordinate to effectively engage targets while using a wider range of equipment.

Amusingly, the AKMP being considered its own variation can result in the creation of the AKMSLP, no doubt the cause of annoyance of some Soviet armourers.

An addition to the AKM that warrants its own designation as the "AKMB" is the PBS-1 suppressor and its set of ironsights that are set for the usage of said suppressor and the 7.62x39 "US" cartridge.



The PBS-1 was one of the more specialised AKM accessories, primarily being used by Soviet forces that were required to do their work with discretion (although not quite the level of discretion the PSS pistol was designed for later on), resulting in them generally only being issued to some of the Soviet Union's most elite troops.

Although the AK-74 had been in service for several years before the Soviet-Afghan war, the AKM still found near constant service with Spetsnaz units, largely due to the fact that while the 5.45x39 calibre does not have the ability to be effectively fired through the AK-74 with a suppressor, the AKMB remained perfectly adequate in the role it was required for.

If you're a player that prefers to remain unseen and unheard, perhaps the AKMB will be a perfect match for your playstyle.
Also, remember to fill your magazines with 7.62x39 US as accidentally firing with a magazine full of tracers likely won't do you much help for maintaining a low profile...

Many in the west regard shooting with the PBS-1 sights, 6Ч3 sights, and AK-style sights in general to be difficult and overall inferior to the more open sights of rifles such as the M16A2, however this is largely due to a critical lack of understanding in how AK sights function.

When set to the battle zero sights setting (П), all the shooter needs to do is place the AK's sights at the bottom of the target, this will near always guarantee a solid shot on the centre of the target at normal engagement distances, which with the AKM firing a 7.62x39 bullet, should be enough to immobilize an enemy combatant.
Try this method out in the in-game firing range and you'll see this method's effectiveness!



We make no compromises on realism when people who don't know how certain weapons work complain that they can't use them effectively, meaning we won't do anything like artificially widening the AKM or any other weapons' sights for "ease of use".
As we established, us saying Afterconflict will have accuracy and realism isn't a marketing ploy, it's a promise.

When many people picture the AKM it's usually pictured with a steel magazine, and while that would be correct throughout most of the 1960s, in 1968 a "bakelite" magazine was introduced as both a measure to make production more efficient along while further reducing the AKM's overall weight.

These new magazines would end up accounting for at least 50% of all AKM magazines, and would be the foundation for the distinctive 5.45x39 magazines of the AK-74; you'll be able to choose between either of them while playing Afterconflict.



In addition to the standard 30-round magazines, the AKM has the ability to fit 40-round 7.62x39 magazines taken from the RPK, a particularly popular method used in Afghanistan.
However, while the "bakelite" 30-round AKM magazines account for nearly half of the AKM's standard magazines, "bakelite" 40-round RPK magazines were a lot less common, using them in-game is definitely more of a style-over-substance sort of choice.

I've placed the word "bakelite" in quotes multiple times throughout this article, and while "bakelite" is the common name for most plastic features on pre-90s Soviet weapons, said "bakelite" isn't bakelite at all, it's actually called AG-4, of-which had many minor variations for different pieces, such as the difference between the AG-4 of a PM's grip and that of a 7.62x39 magazine.

Finally on the customisation front there are the choices between the AKM's furniture and pistol grip.
While the AK's birch wood furniture left a lot to be desired, the Type 3 AK and subsequently the AKM's laminated pine wood furniture was of a high quality and able to be easily produced in large quantities by Soviet manufacturers, making both the manufacturing of new AKMs and replacements of rarely broken stocks and other such components an exceptionally easy task.



This was also the case with the AKM's pistol grip, and even though the base AKM largely transitioned to a "bakelite" pistol grip to save on weight, as mentioned previously the AKMS continued using the laminated pine pistol grip to aid in resilience under the sorts of conditions the regular "bakelite" pistol grip would crack and break under.

Though the base AKM's laminated pine wood was virtually always the same, some difference did come in the way of differing finishes, some lighter and darker than others- which along with more heavily used furniture that has had a lot of the finish worn off, will be able to be selected by the player while playing Afterconflict.

There will likely be even more choices added in the future too.



In addition to the Soviet production of the AKM, most Pact-alligned countries had their own domestically produced version of the AKM under licence, of these one of the most notable (and most numerous) is the DDR's MPi-KM, which you can see in-game here.

We'll likely have an Afterconflict Armoury article on DDR weapons in the future, so stay tuned for that!
Other international AKM variants include the Romanian PM md. 63, the Egyptian MISR, and the North Korean Type 68. You may even see some of those in Afterconflict too.



Overall, the AKM is a rifle that needs near no explanation in itself, it's a tried and tested weapon that at over 10,000,000 units produced is one of the most recognisable guns in the world (albeit often listed as the "AK-47" on the news), though with this article we hope to have cleared up a lot of the common misconceptions about the AKM itself and we hope you've enjoyed reading it!

Those with modern tastes in Soviet rifle technology will most certainly enjoy what we have in store next, which we've already been previewing, so keep an eye on our Twitter and Discord for all of our latest previews and updates.

We hope you enjoyed the latest installment in this ongoing series, and we'd love to hear your thoughts and if you've learnt anything new!
If you'd like to talk to others about this article or anything similar in general, the Afterconflict Discord server has been continuing to grow recently and we'd love to have you as part of our community, we discuss all sorts of things from general gaming to sharing different pieces of history from the cold war.



Our Discord server is also the first place you can see our newest previews of weapons, items, and gameplay, so if you want to be the first to see new Afterconflict content, join our Discord server today!

[h2]Greetings and welcome to development update 5!
[/h2]

We've been hard at work developing fresh new content for this update, including additions such as the AKM and AKML mentioned in the previous development update, a few attachments to go with them such as the PBS-1 and PU-1, along with gameplay additions such as blind firing, barrel temperature, and reload animations changing depending on the gear worn.

We mentioned we'd be showing more of the AKM and its attachments in this update, and that's exactly what we're going to do.
While the AK-74 became standard issue for the Soviet Army in the late 70s, the AKM still remained in service with Soviet troops long after it had been "officially" replaced, largely due to its versatility.



One of these points of versatility is that while during the Soviet-Afghan War the standard AK-74 rifle didn't possess a viable method of being suppressed with its 5.45x39mm calibre, the 7.62x39mm AKM had the tried-and-tested PBS-1 suppressor and sub-sonic "УС" cartridge at its disposal which made it a continued favourite of Soviet special forces during the war.
In addition to the PBS-1 being in Afterconflict we'll also be adding the ability to mount the PBS-1's replacement rear-sights, so keep an eye out for that in the future.



Another point of versatility of the AKM during the conflict in Afghanistan is that while not only was the AKM's 7.62x39mm calibre better for use at Afghanistan's long engagement distances than the AK-74's 5.45x39mm, but the limited numbers of AK-74N's were able to be supplmented by AKMN's and AKML's- with the ability to mount and efficiently use scopes such as the PU-1, all of-which you'll be able to use in-game.



The AKML in particular was designed around the use of night vision devices, with a sturdy factory-fitted rail updated from some of the prior AKMN models and a flash hider that reduces interference with said night optics.
In Afterconflict rather than just being a cosmetic choice flash hiders will behave correctly to how they do in real life, making them a vital asset to the more subtle player who may not want the power reduction sub-sonic ammunition fired through a suppressor brings- especially at night.



The previously mentioned PU-1 scope was "created", or perhaps more accurately, recycled near the end of the Soviet-Afghan war in the late 80s to combat the dire shortage of rifle optics needed to effectively combat the Mujahideen over the vast valleys of Afghanistan.



PU scopes deemed to still be fit for use were taken out of arsenal, fitted to a new mount that could be placed on any standard Soviet rail, and named the PU-1, which then due to the simplicity of the PU scope could be accurately zeroed for virtually any rifle from the AK-74 to the SVD.
As in real life, in-game the PU-1 serves as a simplistic, economical alternative to more sophisticated scopes such as the PSO-1 or 1P29.



In addition to the Soviet AKM, we now have the DDR's domestically produced MPi-KM for use while playing as the NVA in Afterconflict.
While the DDR's more streamlined approach to the adoption of new weaponry meant that there weren't as many overt variants of the MPi-KM to choose from as the AKM, there was a notable production change at the start of the 1980s that saw the original wooden lower handguard being replaced by a bakelite one, a cosmetic choice you'll be able to make in-game.



In our next update we'll be showing off a LOT more DDR content including both weaponry like the Pistole-M and gear such as the M56/76 stahlhelm, so stay tuned! Another feature you'll be seeing more of soon is our implementation of smoke grenades, and to complement that here we have the model for the famous RDG-2B smoke grenade, which will be accompanied by the RDG-2Ch too.



If you're quickly burning through magazines on full-auto you may notice your accuracy declining, this is due to the fact that our game also simulates barrel temperature, which realistically rises the more rounds you put through your gun in quick succession- so keep this in mind if you want to keep your shots precise. In the interest of making your shots precise you may also choose a rifle with a rail to attach a scope, but in situations where your attention is drawn much closer than your scope's focus permits, you're now able to switch between the use of optics and ironsights on rifles that permit it, such as the previously mentioned AKML with a PU-1 as seen here!



And finally, one of our most notable recent gameplay additions is the ability to blindfire around cover, which gives the player an improved capacity to suppress the enemy and defend a well-fortified position without making yourself an obvious target.



While it may take some games months to implement features such as these, to get the current iteration of blind firing in game only took a singular hour of development time, so if you have any other suggestions for features such as these in-game we'd love to hear them!

The Afterconflict Discord server is the best place to send your suggestions and we'd love to have you as part of our community, we discuss all sorts of things from general gaming to sharing different pieces of history from the cold war.



Our Discord server is also the first place you can see our newest previews of weapons, items, and gameplay, so if you want to be the first to see new Afterconflict content, join our Discord server today!

Hello, and welcome to a new ongoing series of posts/articles we are creating called Afterconflict Armoury, where we'll be diving into the history and detail of various pieces of weaponry, equipment, and more that you'll be seeing while you're playing Afterconflict!

While others may treat historical accuracy, authenticity, or whatever they may call it as an afterthought, we most certainly do not; when we say our game will have a high degree of accuracy and realism, that isn't a half-hearted tagline or a marketing ploy, it's a promise.

To start off, we'll be looking at the KS-23 which you've no doubt seen in a few of our recent posts detailing the progress we've been making on its inclusion in-game.



Unlike a lot of Soviet firearms that have extensive documentation of where they came from, who designed them, who used them, etc., the history of the KS-23 is a lot less clear. This murky history is largely due to the KS-23 being developed for the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), known for their secrecy, by the Central Scientific-Research Institute for Precision Machine Engineering (TSNIITOCHMASH), known for their more "specialist" designs, from the VSS Vintorez and PSS pistol, all the way to the RG-019 nail gun and PSZh non-lethal pistol.
From what can be gathered, the KS-23 was developed during the 1970s when international incidents such as the 1972 Munich Massacre, and perhaps more specifically, the 1970 and 1973 hijackings of Aeroflot Flight 244 and 109 respectively were changing the landscape of law enforcement and prompted the creation of new equipment needed to deal with modern threats.



With these international incidents and changes, along with the lingering issue of heavily volatile Soviet prison riots such as the 1970 Tol'yatti riots, Soviet law enforcement needed a weapon that could preform well in situations where accuracy was key and had the ability to dynamically change roles to suit the situation at hand. As an example, one of the most important requirements for a new law-enforcement weapon was the ability to penetrate a plane's window with a gas grenade at long distances with a large degree of accuracy, likely only achievable with features such as a rifled barrel.

After careful consideration, TSNIITOCHMASH designed the Karabin Spetsialniy 23mm/23mm Special Carbine, KS-23 for short. Though this new weapon was designated as a carbine due to its rifled barrel, it's regarded by most as a shotgun due to its appearance and function being like that of an ordinary pump-action shotgun, albeit with a monstrous 23×75mmR calibre, translating to a 6.27 gauge by British and American standards, and 4 gauge by European standards.
The 23mm calibre in particular was likely chosen due to a combination of it being a relatively compact calibre capable of firing gas cartridges in an efficient manner, and that the KS-23's barrels weren't even originally designed or made for the KS-23, but instead are barrels recycled from 23mm anti-aircraft guns such as the ZU-23-2 that didn't pass OTK standards. The recycling of barrels was likely done as an efficiency measure as the creation of entirely new rifled barrels for the KS-23 would prove costly and time-consuming when the recycled ones would prove more than adequite for the accurate and safe firing of the KS-23's 23×75mmR cartridges which are of a significantly lower power than that of the 23×152mmB cartridges the barrels were designed for.



However, while many see the KS-23 as a big, overpowered Soviet shotgun (which in various regards, it absolutely is), its use is considerably more nuanced than that, the primary cartridges designed for it aren't even shot shells, but instead are the Cheremukha-7 gas cartridge and Volna-R rubber bullet cartridge, which, to-specification, can be fired with great accuracy, useful in hostage situations such as the aforementioned plane hijackings and prison riots.
While the Volna-R cartridge would be rather pointless in the world of Afterconflict where several years of an all-out international total war has made the concept of using non-lethal rubber bullets against enemy combatants a fairly pointless venture (albeit that the Volna-R, a "non-lethal" cartridge, still has the ability to kill someone stone-dead under 40m), we do plan on including the Cheremukha-7 as a means of flushing out enemy positions at long range.

For instances where the KS-23 needed to be used as a more lethal solution, there is the Shrapnel-10 and Shrapnel-25, shot shells with an effective range of 10m and 25m respectively, along with the Barricade steel slug cartridge that has the capacity to destroy the engine blocks of vehicles, not to mention what it'd do to softer targets.
The latter two of these cartridges will also be available to load while playing, allowing you to be a formidable force at a variety of ranges.

To aid in accurate shot placement, the KS-23 also possesses a dovetail rail that can be used to attach a scope, usually the 10P8 scope which is virtually identical to the PU scope albeit being produced long after the Great Patriotic War, all the way into the 1990s.
You'll be able to use attach one of these scopes to the KS-23 in-game too, making sure you can accurately place cartridges exactly where you need them, whether that be through a second-story window, or into an enemy's cerebrum.



While the KS-23 was only officially adopted by the MVD in the mid-1980s, the KS-23 was likely first acquired by the MVD in the late 1970s, with the first footage to ever emerge of the KS-23 in use being on an MVD training tape recorded in 1979 during the buildup to the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The tape depicts the KS-23 being used against a building full of terrorists, using a 10P8 scope to fire a Cheremukha-7 cartridge through one of the windows; this was at a point where many improvements were being made to the USSR's counter-terror abilities to avoid the same fate as that of the previously mentioned 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.



When it comes to the KS-23's usage among different forces, to this day the KS-23 is mainly used by law enforcement, mostly being seen in the hands of riot police and prison guards, but it has also been used by various different military forces including the KGB and Spetsnaz during conflicts such as the Soviet-Afghan War and Chechen Wars.



As time passed and the KS-23 was tried and tested in real live-fire situations a few flaws started to become apparent. While the full-length KS-23 was able to be effectively used from a long distance, behind a secure police line, or from a prison guard tower; at closer ranges, such as while clearing a building, the KS-23 could prove unweildy due to its length.
To counter this issue, the KS-23M was developed during the early 1990s, sporting a shorter barrel and what was originally a full wooden stock is replaced by a detachable wire stock.
Between the KS-23 and KS-23M exists the KS-23-1, which is effectively the standard KS-23 with the KS-23M's shorter barrel as a mid-way compromise between the KS-23's better ergonomics and the KS-23M's portability, and you'll be able to use all 3 of these variants in Afterconflict, allowing you to better choose which one suits you and your playstyle best.



Overall the KS-23 is a specialist gun designed for specialist tasks, of which it does amicably while retaining simplicity of use and the ruggedness needed of a weapon sent to deal with the situations it was designed for.

We hope you enjoyed the first installment in this new series, and we'd love to hear your thoughts and if you've learnt anything new!
If you'd like to talk to others about this article or anything similar in general, the Afterconflict Discord server has been continuing to grow recently and we'd love to have you as part of our community, we discuss all sorts of things from general gaming to sharing different pieces of history from the cold war.



Our Discord server is also the first place you can see our newest previews of weapons, items, and gameplay, so if you want to be the first to see new Afterconflict content, join our Discord server today!

In this update, we've been continuing to add various pieces of content both common and rare, from the widely recognisable M9 bayonet, AKM, and VSR uniforms, to the less well known MK3A2 grenade and the KS-23 with its various different versions.

Having won the competition to be the US Army's new bayonet in 1986 and being first issued to the US Army Rangers in February 1987, the M9 Bayonet (officially the M9 Multi Purpose Bayonet System) was the US Army's replacement for the previous, less versatile M7 Bayonet (which continued to be used by the USMC).
In Afterconflict, we pride ourselves on attention to detail and the M9 Bayonet is no exception, ours is the period-correct 2nd Generation version with the flat-top M, "lazy" 9, and no date chevron.



Along with the well-known M9 Bayonet, we have the far less known MK3A2 Offensive Grenade, often called the "Concussion Grenade" due to it incapacitating the enemy through its raw explosive power rather than fragmentation, which is far more controllable and predictable in an enclosed environment while rapidly advancing and/or clearing rooms.
These more controllable characteristics were invaluable to Doughboys clearing trenches during the Great War while the MK3A2 was still simply the Mk III, and we're sure they'll be useful to you while playing Afterconflict too.



Back over the other side of the iron curtain, the AKM remains one of the most iconic firearms in the world (despite still always being called the "AK-47" on the news, along with anything else with a vaguely banana-shaped magazine), and you'll be seeing it soon in Afterconflict.



We'll have various different variants of the AKM in-game from the base AKM all the way up to the AKMSNP; as with in real life, the standard AKM will not have a mount for scopes or night vision, that capability is only found on the rarer AKMN, however you could instead simply attach a common set of night ironsights to turn your AKM into an AKMP, the choice is yours. We'll be showing this feature in our next update.

Moving on from weaponry adopted early in the cold war, we have the Dubok and Bravikha camouflage uniforms, prototyped during the 1980s but only truly adopted in the 1990s.
Their more common names are VSR-84 and VSR-93 respectively, however it would be unusual to have the acronym for "Vooruzhennyye Sily Rossii" in a world where the USSR never collapsed.





In addition we have the Berezka uniform used by the KGB Border Guards, giving you plenty of options to blend into your surroundings.



Last but certainly not least we have the KS-23, developed at some point during the 1970s and firing an immense 23×75mmR cartridge, it isn't even considered a shotgun by official standards due to its rifled barrel which was recycled from 23mm anti-aircraft barrels that were rejected from use, classifying it as a carbine.



In Afterconflict you'll be able to wreak havoc with all 3 primary variations of the KS-23, the standard version, the KS-23-1 which has a shorter barrel, and the KS-23M, a considerably shorter variant that has a detachable wire buttstock, good to keep handy for close encounters.



A feature of the KS-23 that's often overlooked is its ability to mount a PU scope via a dovetail mount, not very useful when firing the more conventional Shrapnel-25 shot cartridge, but is likely to come in handy while firing the Barricade slug cartridge, a solid steel slug that has the ability to penetrate cover and vehicles. We'll be showing this in our next update.

The Afterconflict Discord server has been continuing to grow recently and we'd love to have you as part of our community, we discuss all sorts of things from general gaming to sharing different pieces of history from the cold war.



Our Discord server is also the first place you can see our newest previews of weapons, items, and gameplay, so if you want to be the first to see new Afterconflict content, join our Discord server today!