WARNO News

Cold War RTS Warno has launched in Early Access

Pop in a Scorpions cassette and crank up the volume, because Cold War RTS game Warno has arrived in Early Access on Steam. It's missing some core features that make for some of its key selling points, but there's enough here to get a sense of how developer Eugen Systems has gone about marrying concepts from its Wargame series with its newer Steel Division games' format.

Set in a slightly divergent 1989, Warno has you commanding either NATO or Warsaw Pact forces in a hypothetical Cold War-gone-hot situation in the Fulda Gap region of Germany. While Eugen says more units will be arriving over the course of Early Access, at launch Warno gives you access to two pre-made battlegroups and their associated units. There's the American 3rd Armored Division and the Soviet 79th Guards Tank Division.

You can only play skirmish mode for now - the Army General campaigns will be added at a later date. At launch, Warno has four maps to pick from: Chemical, Death Row, Two Ways, and Danger Hills. These can support battles ranging from 1v1 to 4v4, and you can either fight against and alongside AI or play co-op or head-to-head against human opponents.

Read the rest of the story...

WARNO - Out Now!

Get ready, commander. It is going to be a glorious day!

We hope you are as excited as we are because today is the much-anticipated launch of our new World War III battle simulator, WARNO! Strap in, stock up, prepare the troops, and get ready to deploy!

There is a whole bunch of info we have prepared for today’s post. Let’s see what you can expect from WARNO’s Early Access launch, including all the features, details about the first two starting battlegroups, what to expect at a later date, and some features that are still knee-deep in development.

[h2]WARNO is Out Now![/h2]
Get your WARNO while it’s hot off the press! Our new game has now launched and is live.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1611600/WARNO/

To celebrate, and welcome as many Wargame and Steel Division veterans and new players as possible, we have decided to released WARNO with a 25% discount! This temporary launch discount is like we did with the launches in our Wargame series; it will give everyone the opportunity to step into our new game and start playing.

We are ready to hit the road with you, our players, and make the best possible WARNO - something we can’t alone! And remember: WARNO’s launch is only the beginning in terms of content, features, mechanics, and game experience!

[h2]What is in this Early Access?[/h2]
All right, here is the WARNO Early Access launch lowdown. What can you find in the very first version of our game?

We bring you the old-time favorite Skirmish mode. This mode is playable from 2 (1v1) to 8 players (4v4).
Skirmish mode can also be played Solo (single player) versus the AI and online - of course.
We feature 4 different Skirmish maps with illustrious names such as Chemical, Death Row, Two Ways and Danger Hills.
The launch version will contain 2 Divisions from which you can create your own battlegroup: the U.S. 3rd Armored Division and the Soviet 79-ya Gv. Tank. Div. See what these Divisions got to offer further below!
A wide range of units, from infantry to tanks, self-propelled artillery, recon, helicopters, aircraft, etc.
The Armory is fully functional (but only with the units available to the featured battlegroups).

[h2]What can you expect next?[/h2]
Of course, the launch is just the start of all the fun. What can you expect during WARNO’s time in Early Access? We can’t be pinned down with an exact date or number of features, but rest assured, the following are all incoming!

More maps.
More divisions.
More nations.
More units (including units for the two available battlegroups, which are missing some).
More planes and helicopter loadouts.
Crew-served and towed weapon systems (infantry ATGM, field guns, mortars, etc.).

[h2]Might be delivered, but unsure[/h2]
We know you will ask, so we wanted to be upfront. The following features we aim to deliver during the Early Access period, but when, how, or in what form depends on overall progress and development. We cannot make any promises!

This includes:

Some Army General campaign(s).
Some Scripted Scenario(s).
Some tutorials.

[h2]WARNO Divisions Highlighted[/h2]
Let’s dive deep into the two starting Divisions featured in WARNO. From these Divisions, one on NATO’s side and one on the Warsaw Pact side, you will be able to create and customize your battlegroup.

Our Steel Division 2 veterans should be knowledgeable of the process, but with each new Division, we showcase not only the units in-game but also provide some additional historical context. This will also be useful for returning Wargame fans and new players.

Before we kick-off, we will highlight some overall changes that might be useful. Note that most are still under review, subject to change.

To make the selection of an anti-aircraft unit easier - especially when you need one the most in the heat of battle - we split up the SUPPORT tab into two new categories: AA (Anti-Aircraft) and ART (Artillery). The former category covers all AA units, from MANPAD teams, SAM units to AA helicopters. The latter, the big indirect fire guns, including MLRS units.
The TANK category now includes both main battle tanks and dedicated anti-tank units, such as ATGM vehicles and specialized squads.
Command units can be found in the LOG (Logistical) category but now only contain unarmed units (jeeps, M577, helicopter, etc.). These represent battalion commanders and officers. The combatant Command units, including tanks and infantry, are now in their respective categories, TNK and INF.
The old Wargame’s VEH (Vehicle) tab, which was an umbrella group for a host of units we couldn’t fit in other categories, has been removed. Instead, these units have been divided across other categories:
- Anti-Tank (AT) units are now featured in TNK, as mentioned above.
- Armored Personnel Carriers and Infantry Fighting Vehicles are now also featured in TNK. Unarmored jeeps and truck transports are nested in INF. This only affects the Armory, not the actual battlegroup deck building, where transport vehicles can only be chosen when selecting your Infantry units.
- Engineer armor (including flamethrower or spigot mortar-equipped tanks) can be found in the TNK category.

[h2]U.S. 3rd Armored Division’s Background[/h2]
It’s time to get the dirty details. What does NATO’s U.S. 3rd Armored “Spearhead” Division has to offer in WARNO?

This division might ring a bell to our Steel Division 2 veterans. The very same ”Spearhead” division landed in France in June 1944 and fought its way from Normandy all the way to Eastern Germany before being deactivated at the end of World War II. This was only as a brief respite in the formation’s history.

Reactivated as a training unit in the late 40s, the 3rd Armored Division was brought back to operational status in 1955 and from there stationed in Germany. Headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, it would call the country home during the Cold War, returning to the United States in 1992.

The formation was stationed in Frankfurt, close to the V. Corps (commanded in ‘86-’87 by a certain Colin Powell, who had previously served as an officer in the 3rd Armored Division in the 50s). Several of its battalions were posted further east, near the Inner German Border.

In the event of a conflict, the 3rd Armored Division’s battalions would have been the first responders to any Soviet offensive - and most likely its first casualties. In some terms, its mission was one of near-sacrifice: hold off any hostile elements in the Fulda region as long as possible so that reinforcements could deploy from the rear and allied nations. In WARNO, at the first warning of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, monitoring the frontier in this sector, the 3rd Armored Division mobilized and engaged the Soviet spearhead.

Expected to do some of the hardest fighting, 3rd Armored Division was one of the best trained, equipped, and combat-ready divisions of the U.S. Army during the Cold War.

[h2]U.S. 3rd Armored Division’s Game Overview[/h2]
What can you expect of the 3rd Armored “Spearhead” Division in WARNO?

TNK

The division will have access to a lot of cheap tank slots, as well as the most powerful ones: plenty of M1A1 Abrams, but also a few of the brand-new M1A1HA (HA standing for Heavy Armor) with its depleted uranium armor.
A handful of M728 CEV engineer tanks bring heavy high explosives to bear, able to dislodge infantry entrenched in urban terrain.
You’ll also find ATGM carriers and squads in this category, such as the M901A1 ITV (TOW-2).

INF

The 3rd Armored doesn’t lack in soldiers, but with all its mechanized battalions equipped with Bradley IFV, this means that almost all its infantry are half-squads. This is due to the limited passenger space in those infantry fighting vehicles.
These so-called Fire Teams are 5- or 6-man strong squads, one fielding two LMGs and a LAW rocket launcher, while the other is equipped with one LMG and a Dragon II ATGM.
Only a few full-sized 11-man Mechanized Rifles squads are available, being deployable in either trucks or M113 APCs.
Engineer squads are either equipped with Satchel demolition charges (explosives) or Dragon II ATGM. Engineer half-squads are called Assault Groups, and they come with M202 Flash incendiary rocket launchers.
A handful of Aero-Rifles (10-man squad with two LMG and LAW) can be brought to the battlefield with UH-60A Blackhawk transport helicopters.
Finally, some lighter Military Police’s 5-man groups complete the roster, armed either with an M60 machine gun or more rarely an M67 90mm RCL recoilless rifles. While recoilless rifles may have been outdated by 1989, they have more range than LAWs and can fire either HEAT or HE rounds, making them less powerful but more versatile than an ATGM.

ART

The artillery category features the M106A2 107mm mortar carrier, the M109A2 self-propelled 155mm unit and the fearsome M270 MLRS with both a cluster and HE loadout.

This category includes the M163 PIVADS (autocannon) and M48A1 Chaparral (missiles) self-propelled anti-air vehicles.
You will also find infantry Stinger teams and Stinger-armed OH-58C/S helicopters.

REC

The 3rd Armored offers quite a bit of choice in the reconnaissance category. Slot allocation, though, is limited. Better choose wisely!
For instance, you can deploy 4-man infantry Scouts, M113 ACAV (with LMG, HMG, and recoilless rifles - some things never get old). Or an M150, which is an M113 with a single TOW launcher. These were assigned to recon companies after being replaced by the M901 in an anti-tank role. Or the OH-58C Scout with a minigun or its successor the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior with its Hellfire ATGM. You can always opt for a Bradley CFV.

HEL

Helicopter support includes the AH-1F Cobra with rockets or the AH-1F TOW Cobra with mixed rockets and TOW loadout.
You can also choose for the AH-64A Apache in three different variants: full (76!) rocket loadout, mixed Hellfire/rockets, or full (16!) Hellfire payload.

AIR

Aircraft featured include the F-4E Phantom, as well as the F-4G Phantom II. You can also deploy the F-111E Aardvark tactical bomber and the A-10A Thunderbolt II ground attack plane.
These aircraft are available in no less than 10 different loadouts, including HE, cluster, napalm, ATGM, or SEAD roles (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses).
F-15C Eagle fighters complete this list, contesting the Soviet planes for air superiority.

The 3rd Armored “Spearhead” Division is a well-balanced formation with plenty of armored fighting vehicles, mechanized recon, as well as potent helicopter support. It might lack anti-air defenses but can dominate on the battlefield as a hard-hitting offensive battlegroup.

[h2]79-ya Gv. Tank. Div’s Background[/h2]
The Soviet 79-ya Gv. Tank. Div, known as the 79th Guards Tank Division, traces its glorious military history back to the Battle of Stalingrad, where it was one of the veteran (and decimated) infantry divisions (the 284th Rifle Division) elevated to Guard status for its part in defending the city. Later on, during World War II, it fought in Crimea, Poland, East Prussia, and then Berlin, where it was the first division to receive and relay the German request for a cease-fire.

The 79th Guards Rifle Division remained on occupation duty in Germany after the war, and would do so until 1992. It changed its name and organization several times during the Cold War, being converted to a tank division in 1965. Being part of the 8th Guards Army, the 79th Guards Tank Division is the sole organic armored division available.

The formation was earmarked to spearhead any Soviet offensive into Western Germany near the Fulda sector. Its role was to brush aside the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment’s delaying screen and clear the way - heavy casualties were expected… and accepted. Upon reaching more tank-friendly terrain, it was straight to the Rhine from there for the division.

Much like the American counterpart, and for the exact same reasons, the 79th Guards Tank Division was one of the best-equipped and trained divisions in the Soviet Army.

[h2]Soviet 79-ya Gv. Tank. Div’s Game Overview[/h2]
What can you expect of the 79th Guards Tank Division in WARNO?

TNK

As with all 8th Guards Army formations, the 79th Guards Tank Division had priority with the latest tank shipments. This means you can deploy the advanced T-80BV with reactive armor bricks or the plain T-80U.
With the replacement rate of tanks being quite slow, older variants such as T-80B can still be encountered in the division.
Also available in this category is the BRDM-2 Konkurs ATGM tank destroyer.

INF

The Infantry category features 3 variants (notwithstanding the Command one) of Motorstrelki: 8-man BTR- & 7-man BMP-transported ones, both with one LMG and an RPG-7, and a second BMP-transported one with Metis ATGM. There is also a BMP variant with the Metis light ATGM.
Saperi (engineers) squads come with a satchel or RPO thermobaric launcher. There is also a Command variant.
Transport choices range from BMP-1P and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, BTR-60 APCs, and unarmored UAZ-469 jeeps and GAZ-66 trucks.

There is a large amount of choice in the AA category, from small Igla teams to Strela-10M medium and OSA long-range SAM units.
That’s not all: Buk heavy SAM and Tunguska SPAAG complete the list.

ART

You can field the self-propelled 2S1 Gvozdika 122mm and the 2S3M Akatsiya 152mm units.
The BM-21 Grad rocket launcher is also available.
More units will be added on a later date!

REC

The 79th Guards Tank Division has lighter recon units compared to the American counterpart. They are 4-man Razvedka infantry scout teams in UAZ jeeps,7-man Razvedka heavy squad or 7-man Spetsnaz GRU special force squads in an armed Mi-8TV helicopter.
Vehicles include BRDM-2 armored cars and BRM-1 recon.
Finally, an unarmed recon helicopter can also be deployed.

HEL

Let’s be honest, some of the coolest helicopters came out of the USSR! However, on a divisional level, they were few and far in between. A handful of utility Mi-8 and the fearsome Mi-24 are available in a transport or close air support role.
Regardless, the helicopters that can be deployed will come in a variety of loadouts, with different weapon sets and combat roles in mind. The helicopter slots will, unfortunately, be limited and expensive.

AIR

While helicopter support might be limited, aircraft choice will be plenty. There are no less than five different SU-25 loadouts, including rockets and ATGM, for instance.
Furthermore, you’ll get to deploy three different types of SU-24M, as well as MiG-23ML and MiG-31 for air cover.

The 79th Guards Tank Division is a top-notch armored division, fielding some of the best equipment the Warsaw Pact has to offer. It might lack helicopter support but makes up for it with its combined air assets and ground units.

[h2]See you on the battlefield![/h2]
Before we say goodbye, we would love to ask you, our dedicated player, to please help us make a better WARNO together. We can’t do it without your help and input! Don’t hesitate to drop us a line and leave us your feedback and comments. We aim to iron out any technical issues and bugs as soon as possible but have patience.

We also want to ask you to treat your fellow player and the development team respectfully. We are working as hard as we can. Some features might change, while others will be added. We do not tolerate any flame wars, hate speech, trolling, rants, or anything else untoward the community or the studio. Play it cool, commander!

Join the awesome (and passionate) growing WARNO community. You can check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Join the excellent Discord server, the new Reddit page and Instagram.

The time has come. Lock and load. See you on the battlefield, commander!

Maps, maps, maps - and a tournament!

Hello commander!

We are happy to have you back for our latest WARNO DevBlog. Only a couple days now, and we’ll launch WARNO into Early Access on January 20th! Exciting times, indeed. Today we will talk about an essential feature of all our games: maps!

We know maps have always been a hot topic. We wanted to show you the hard work of our expert designers in creating expansive and detailed environments. Not only that, we want to tell you how we intend to take WARNO’s map making to the next level.

Keep reading to find out more!

[h2]Setting the objectives[/h2]
Let’s go back a bit. The Wargame series set the bar with the battlefields we could offer: large playing areas with a detailed ground environment, realistic topology, and all environmental aspects affecting gameplay. We wanted to level up the experience in WARNO by offering you richer, even more intricate environments. We aimed to increase the realism factor and immerse the players effortlessly in our near-historical conventional World War III conflict.

With that in mind: how did we achieve that?

[h2]Nothing more realistic than reality[/h2]
You want realistic? You get realistic! The WARNO mapmaking team has carefully studied the landscape and environment of Western Germany, specifically the Fulda region, near what was once called the Inner German Border between West and East Germany.

At the end of the 1980s, Fulda was one of the two potential invasion routes the Warsaw Pact might follow in the event of a conflict with NATO. As such, it was very important for our creative teams to take special care in rendering this particular European environment as faithfully as possible. Fulda, for instance, is characterized by lots of cultivated areas, such as farmlands and small towns, comprising 80% of the region. However, it is also partly hilly, with interspersed plains and valleys, some forests, and mixed woodland and pastures.

[h2]Shaping the environment[/h2]
The technology we used to recreate the terrain is based on DEM (Digital Elevation Models). We use satellite imagery and feed it into our proprietary game engine. Once processed and interpreted, a map is generated that follows the contours and relief of the original terrain. As far as the in-game environment is concerned: what you see in WARNO exists in real life!

Drawing the terrain
A major part of what the player can observe in terms of land density are fields and visible scenery. Particular care is taken in the way the fields are drawn, but also the details that make them unique such as fences, ditches, greenhouses, bocage, treelines.

Through the trees, the forest
In order to make the integration of WARNO’s forests as realistic as possible, we had to implement a new transition system, specific to treelines and the forest’s edge. This allowed us to generate an organic zone at the boundary of our woodlands where the vegetation would be less dense (mimicking real life).

From towns…
One of the major advances we intended with WARNO was the integration of realistic town and urban terrain. Using new rendering techniques, created specifically for the game, we were able to recreate numerous small towns (many of which actually existed in this part of Germany). In addition to the realistic urban layouts, just putting roads and houses and other buildings in place is not enough; we wanted to emulate the atmosphere as it existed in the late 80s and early 90s. From car models to garden furniture - the final finishing touch brings it home.

...to industry and factories
Just forest and towns were not sufficient. In the built-up areas of Germany in the late 80s, you would find a whole slew of other buildings, from large farms to factories and offices. We wanted to reinforce the immersion through diversity. Each WARNO map contains dozens of unique little vignettes and dioramas.

The teams are already working on the production of new models, assets and scenery that will be used in the next maps of WARNO.

It’s all about storytelling
The best map-making is all about telling a story. And with WARNO maps, we want to press home the reality of war hitting the inhabitants of Fulda and nearby. After months of tension and escalating rhetoric, the invasion still came as a surprise. Once the Warning Order was issued, the civilians had hours, or sometimes only minutes, to flee their homes and livelihoods.

In the rush, everyone left multiple signs of their panic to leave. WARNO is filled with this evidence, and you can encounter a host of details that provide a credible pre-conflict atmosphere.

One of our biggest challenges was that whenever a player dives in deep, leaving the tactical aerial view to zoom in and placing the camera at the ground level, they can read all these little stories.

[h2]Wrapping it up[/h2]
There is still a lot more to discover about WARNO’s maps. And yes, that includes the magic words Map Editor. More info to come soon, promise!

Over the past few years, we have been hard at work at designing, modeling, building, and recreating all the places that will be part of your WARNO experience. We very much look forward to delivering these new environments to you. We can’t wait to hear your feedback once you get to play on our maps. And, if you find some time during all the combat and onslaught, take a peek at the human level, and see which stories you are able to encounter.

[h2]A message from our community[/h2]
Before we leave you, we wanted to share a community message from the Simulated Divisions League (formerly known as the Steel Division League).

It is their pleasure to announce the very first community-powered WARNO tournament on the 22nd of January, starting at 1 pm CET. How does WARNO competitively play in 1v1 environment? They are eager to find out, and we hope you are too! The tournament will be casted live, and recorded by most of your favorite content creators (and maybe some new ones too). Get ready to show off your Wargame and Steel Division skills.

This opening tournament is only the beginning. They will be expanding their offer to provide ever more tournaments and multiplayer events for all kinds of players for both WARNO and Steel Division simultaneously. In particular, we will be looking to take our successful League format to WARNO. In case you haven’t, be sure to join the Eugen Discord server to be kept up to date with the latest news and tournament details!

[h2]Bidding you au revoir[/h2]
That’s it for this week. Only a couple more days left, and then we are ready to release WARNO into the wild. Hold on just a little bit longer, commander! If you have forgotten, be sure to wishlist WARNO!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1611600/WARNO/

Join the awesome (and passionate) growing WARNO community. Check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Join the excellent Discord server and the new Reddit page.

See you on the battlefield!

Cold War RTS Warno is set in a convincingly plausible alt-history 1989

Cold War-era RTS game Warno is gearing up to hit Early Access, and developer Eugen Systems is taking an interesting approach to its setting. The studio is keen to include historical orders of battle, but it also needs a fictional war for its NATO vs. Warsaw Pact factions to fight - and so, it's tweaking history in a couple key places, as it explains in the latest devblog.

Warno's first major divergence from history as it really happened is a bloodless coup that ousts reformist Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and his allies from office in 1987. Historically, Gorbachev was reelected in 1990 and left office after the August putsch in 1991, but in Warno, the party hardliners take control of the USSR much earlier, replacing Gorbechev with a troika representing the Communist party, the army, and the KGB.

In the game's fiction, this leads to swift condemnation from the western superpowers, which enact new sanctions against the USSR. US president Ronald Reagan, heeding the most hawkish of his advisers, rescinds a key nuclear treaty, and NATO ramps up military training exercises in western Europe, taking a weather eye toward the crucial Fulda Gap - a heavily militarized region in Germany seen as the natural approach into Europe for Russian tanks, and vice-versa.

Read the rest of the story...

Deutschland '89

Happy New Year, commanders !

In today’s DevBlog, we will look at WARNO’s scope, theater of operation and historical context. With the introduction of Army General campaigns and divisional battlegroup system to WARNO, we are sticking more closely to reality … although still being an alternate timeline. History didn’t pan out the way we know …

[h2]Countdown to the Apocalypse[/h2]
The date is 1989, and for the past two years the Cold War has grown much hotter than we ever got to know.
As soon as Mikhail Gorbachev became the new General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985, his attempts at reforming the ailing USSR brought him on a collision course with the most orthodox, Stalinist wing of the party. The introduction of Demokratizatsiya (democratization) and Glasnost (political transparency) in the Soviet society alienated him from the party’s Old Guard. These hardline politicians started plotting against him.
Gorbachev and his reformist allies were removed from power in a bloodless military coup in April 1987. The position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was replaced by a Troika (a group of three men) representing the Party, the KGB and the Army.

Soon, the Soviet Union was brought back to heel, and any trace of political overture quickly forgotten. Unrest in the Batlic States and Armenia was crushed without remorse. Even neutral Finland, though not a Soviet state but with a press and political establishment press having grown openly critic of the Soviet Union under Gorbatchev’s short rule, was brought back in line. In a covert move reminiscent of Czechoslovakian President Dubček’s forced resignation after the Prague Spring of 1968, the then-neutral Finnish government is forced to include a majority of pro-Soviet members, thrusting the country into Moscow’s sphere of influence - under a very clear threat of arms.

The so-called Helsinki’ Coup” of 1987 was the trigger of a further worsening and renewed tension between the West and East. An outraged U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s annulled the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces agreement, about to be signed, widening the gap between the two major powers. Following the advice of his most hawkish advisors, Reagan initiates a second phase of the so-called New Cold War he devised in the early 80s. An even more aggressive posturing in Western Europe is instigated, which includes the funding of counterinsurgencies, and defense armament deals with old and new allies alike.

Western economic sanctions and rising military expenditures force the Soviet Union into ever worse trade deals, inflating its already crippling debts. Oil reserves are dangerously low and food shortages throughout the zone of influence, including Eastern Europe and Baltics barely averted.

Meanwhile, the Troika and its Warsaw Pact’s most hardline allies strengthen their hold on their respective countries, squashing the rising wave of dissident and peaceful civil groups. East Germany , Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Romania become even more repressive. In Poland, Wojciech Jaruzelski tightens his grip on his country with an even harsher Martial Law.

In 1989, both U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the new U.S. President George H. W. Bush, having succeeded Reagan, greatly admonish the Soviet Union’s violent crackdown on its citizens, and promise a greatly renewed effort in “the fight for freedom and democracy.” New armament deals, support for democratic groups behind the Iron Curtain, mobilization plans, and technological advancements are revealed. The pace of war accelerates rapidly. Overtly, NATO takes an a cautious approach, but in secret rearms and prepares for a potential conflict in Western Germany.

When a larger than ever version of the REFORGER exercise was announced for September 1989 at the beginning of the year, the Troika paranoidly believed it to be an elaborate smokescreen for a land conflict in Western Europe. The Warsaw Pact is deemed to be only minutes away from a full-on NATO invasion. The Soviet Union sees no other recourse but war.

Under cover of its own massive exercise in East Germany announced for the end of June, Zapad-89, the Warsaw Pact mobilizes its forces. The whole month of May and into June sees massive troop movements, chiefly on the eastern side of the Inner German Border. Even after the official conclusion, the armies remain active. Suddenly, on June 20th sees the withdrawal of most East German Grenztruppen (border guards). War is coming home.

June 21, 1989, 07:05 - the offensive begins.

[h2]Willkommen in Deutschland[/h2]
Now that you know more about WARNO’s alternate context, let’s have a look at its setting…
We will focus on the Central Germany’s theater of operations, and more specifically the infamous Fulda Gap.

The Fulda Gap was a natural corridor between the Vogelsberg (North) and Rhön and Spessart (South) mountain ranges, running along the Kinzing River valley. It was the obvious point of passage of any army moving from East and West or the other way around: Napoléon used it as a route of retreat after his defeat at Leipzig in 1813, and the Americans drove through it the other way in the last month of World War II to meet the Soviets “as far east as possible”.

For the same reasons, during the Cold War, the Fulda Gap was regarded as one of the two possible focal points of Soviet invasion in West Germany. The other one being the North German Plains, in the area of responsibility of the the British Army of the Rhine.
As such, the Fulda Gap and this sector of the Iron Curtain, was one of the most guarded and militarized in the world during the Cold War.

NATO’s forward defense was CENTAG, an army-size formation with a mission to hold the Fulda Gap long enough for further NATO reinforcements to be mobilized to counter-attack. It controlled four army corps, both American and West German, with possible additional reinforcements coming from the rear and other NATO members.

On the other side of the Iron Curtain stood elements of the mighty Soviet Western Group of Forces (WGF). More specifically the 8th Guards Army acting as the spearhead of any Warsaw Pact invasion, with the 1st Guards Tank Army earmarked for close support. The East German 3. Armee was also present, although historically wouldn’t have been used as a separate command, but rather his assets used as support force for Soviet armies depending on the situation.

This setting will be the background for WARNO’s featured Army General campaigns and Scripted Scenarios pitting NATO’s CENTAG against the Warsaw Pact’s Western Group of Forces.

While Army General campaigns and Scenarios will focus on historical divisions and formations from both CENTAG and WGF, the multiplayer battlegroups and units will be drawn from a wider area, including REFORGER units, some French and British troops being featured under the NATO banner and additional Western Group of Forces assets for the Warsaw Pact.

[h2]To be or not to be?[/h2]
So, what will you get when WARNO is finally released?

First, four Army General campaigns set in CENTAG’s theater of operation, featuring all the US, Soviet, East and West German divisions (and yes, independent units too, such as, let’s say … cavalry regiments😉) and units historically stationed in this area. That’s a MASSIVE order or battle, down not just to company level (as currently in Steel Division 2) but now to platoon level! And of course, all of them playable from both sides, in solo, coop or versus.
Several (final number still under review) Scripted Scenarios. These are not strategic campaigns, rather tactical scenarios. Unlike Skirmish, these missions will have a specific briefing with special setting, deployment or victory rules to present a different challenge, and so on. Also playable from both sides in solo, coop or versus.
Although Army General campaigns will focus on CENTAG and Western Group Forces (that is US and West German vs. Soviet and East German forces), 6 nations will be in total playable in multiplayer: USA, West Germany, USSR and East Germany of course, but also including France and the UK. In this way, we have most of the Cold War’s major weapon manufacturers and nations covered.
16 historical battlegroups, each corresponding to a real-life division or brigade with all its combat equipment, vehicles, units, variants, camouflage patterns, weapons, voice acting, … Both NATO and Warsaw Pact nations were organized and trained to operate together on the battlefield; you can expect allied units to be included in certain battlegroups, be it in air support or the full firepower of a “foreign” brigade. We will return to that matter in detail in a later DevBlog …
Over 600 units, with major improvements in modeling and weapons/FX/combat sounds over our previous games.

That’s quite a lot, but we know you … what about Poland and Czechoslovakia are you wondering? And why only CENTAG, what about NORTHAG and SOUTHAG?

They aren’t forgotten. Don’t worry, we won’t skip them. But we can’t do everything at once.
NORTHAG and SOUTHAG will be featured at a later date as Army General campaigns DLC, with their own massive and exhaustive OOBs, AG campaign maps and scenarios, specific units and nations, …

NORTHAG, under British command, will cover the combats in the North German Plains and focus specifically on the British & Poles (and some others 😉).
Although SOUTHAG didn’t exist anymore since France’s withdrawal from NATO’s integrated military command in 1966, exercises had been held in the late 80’s to anticipate its quick recreation in case of war in Germany. With the First French Army at its core, it would have taken over command of the Southern part of CENTAG with some German & US troops under its control. It will focus specifically on the French & Czechoslovaks (and again, some others).

[h2]That’s all for today[/h2]
Let us know what you think! In case you haven’t, don’t forget to wishlist WARNO on Steam.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1611600/WARNO/

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See you next week ..