Today we're taking a look at the Bradley vehicle, one of the units coming with Broken Arrow. It is but the first of a series of showcase videos in which we're going to show you many units included in the game. Do let us know what you think and if you would like to see something specific.
Modularity is a key element of modern military equipment and some old vehicles have also been upgraded a lot over time: Reactive armor and active protection systems have been added to improve their survivability while missiles, fire control systems and optics have been upgraded to improve their lethality.
Broken Arrow will represent all these elements and let you choose your own configuration. Never has an RTS proposed such a level of customization for your army.
Broken Arrow is a large-scale real-time modern warfare tactics game. A unique army building system and deep units customisation tools allow for endless replayability. With 200+ realistic military units and technologies, each battle is more immersive than ever before.
Broken Arrow - New Gameplay Video
The developers at Steel Balalaika have been hard at work during all of 2022 so far. Their hard work is paying off, and the game is turning out to be a real jewel.
We can't wait to show you more, and we are pleased to announce that soon we will be resuming our developer diaries series.
In the meantime, we have decided to prepare a new gameplay video to showcase the current state of the game.
Last but not least, we are aware that so many of you are wondering when the game is going to be released. We're not quite ready to give you a precise date, yet, but it is going to be in the first half of 2023.
Until then be sure to stay tuned, the developer diaries are going to give you a lot of insight on the game, and we'll be sure to show you something big before the winter holidays.
Units Contest Enters Week 3
Greetings everyone,
Each week we have been showing the silhouette of a real, in game Broken Arrow unit. So far, the first two have been relatively easy.
The first was something distinctive and modern:
The second was something classic:
We had lots more key art and in game screens of these units on our discord as well, so be sure to check those out.
However, now it is time for the gloves to come off. This week we have something much harder:
Can you work out what it is? Then join us on our discord here and go to the news channel. We'll have the link there to enter your answers. The reveal will come at the end of the week.
Good Luck.
Units Contest
Greetings everyone,
We know that things have been a little quiet recently, but we want you to know we are still hard at work. To keep us all entertained while the work is getting done, we’re come up with a fun little contest for everyone to take part in.
Do you consider yourself to be a bit of an identification chart expert? Can you tell the difference between a BMP-1 and a BMP-2 with a single glance? If so, we have a fun contest for you!
Each week we will be showing the silhouette of a real, in game Broken Arrow unit. You’ll then have to guess exactly which one it is. At the end of each week, we’ll show you the answers along with real in-game models for you to look at and enjoy.
But, that’s not all. Those that consistently get the answers correct will be able to unlock special cosmetic ranks and text colouring on our official Discord. We’re planning to play this game for a while, so there will be a lot of new content to look forward to.
To get started, join our discord here and go to the news channel to see the first picture!
Good Luck.
Home of Wargamers Live+ - Broken Arrow gameplay reveal
After the success of the first Home of Wargamers Live+ in May, Slitherine is ready to double down.
Tune in on our Twitch channel on December 14th at 2 pm GMT for the Home of Wargamers Live+ Winter Edition.
It will be a four hours long live event during which you’ll have the chance to look at upcoming and unannounced games.
But what about Broken Arrow?
Broken Arrow will be featured at 5.35 pm on that day. We'll have Félix Habert, Creative Director of Steel Balalaika Studio, and Neil McKenna, Producer at Slitherine, live at Milan.
They will talk about Broken Arrow and show exclusive unreleased footage.
Save the Date! HowLive Plus Winter Edition on 14th December 2021 on our Twitch Channel. See you all then!
Broken Arrow - Dev Diary #3 - Infantry
We have previously discussed vehicles and helicopters, and it’s now time to shed some light on the oldest weapon platform of them all: the infantryman.
Infantry has a very important role in Broken Arrow because it has the upper hand over vehicles and helicopters in entire sections of the battlefield.
Marine Raiders boarding a CH-53E Super Stallion. This helicopter can contain up to 3 squads of 14 Raiders and lift up to 16t of cargo.
Infantry is inherently a very defensive type of unit: it moves slowly, it is difficult to detect and hard to dislodge from urban, wooded or mountainous terrain. Attacking infantry with vehicles in these types of terrain is like asking for a beating. It requires intensive indirect fire support for suppression and your own infantry to progress. If enemy artillery starts sticking its nose into this already messy situation it can lead to a long and costly stalemate. So it’s generally advised to move around that kind of defensive position if possible.
The basic infantry squads generally come with a set of rifles, light machine guns and grenade launchers to fight against other infantry squads and they usually carry short range anti tank weapons.
More specialized squads carry powerful long range weapons including heavy machine guns, anti tank guided missiles (ATGM) and man portable air defense missiles (MANPAD). These weapons increase both your defensive range and the level of threat you pose, which might force the enemy into dealing with them.
Some American infantry weapons (M4A1, M203, CQBR, M110 SASS, M40A5, M107, Mk16 SCAR-L, M32, AT-4, Carl Gustaf, Javelin)
Recon infantry consists of smaller squads down to 2 men sniper teams which trade firepower for stealth. They also have better observation equipment than line infantry. They can be used to infiltrate enemy lines to observe troop movements, find valuable enemy support units and provide target designation for artillery and airstrikes to destroy them. An army without recon is blind and you can’t shoot what you can’t see, so never underestimate the importance of recon squads.
Air assault squad next to the airdroppable “Naparnik” MRAP (K-4386 Typhoon VDV)
Special forces are very versatile units that can be customized to fulfil many roles, ranging from recon teams on steroids, saboteurs able to blow up bridges, silent assassins using suppressed weapons, groups of marksmen using sniper rifles of multiple calibers, to heavy door kickers dedicated to clearing buildings in no time with full auto shotguns and multiple grenade launchers. Because of that, when you meet enemy special forces for the first time, the nature of their equipment is always a surprise – but never a good one.
Tactical mobility
Infantry on foot is very slow, so if you don’t want your troops to arrive after the battle is over you have to provide them with transport. Each transport method has its advantages and drawbacks.
Ground vehicles are the most common solution, they can be wheeled to move faster on roads or tracked to move faster off road, especially in forests. They can be basic battle taxis armed with a simple machine gun or grenade launcher, or heavily armed fighting vehicles equipped with autocannons and missiles.
Vehicles are the slowest option but also the most flexible. Once the infantry is unloaded they can easily stay hidden behind some cover to pick up the infantry again if needed. They can also fight alongside infantry and provide fire support during the assault, or long range anti tank support in the open.
Russian VDV
Because infantry is the lightest type of unit, that means they can also be deployed rapidly and in large quantities anywhere on the map using helicopters and planes.
Dropping paratroopers allows you to seize a position super fast but offers very little mobility after the jump. A position held by paratroopers can easily be avoided. Also if things go sour there is no way back. Russian paratroopers fare better in that regard, as they can be dropped with a large panel of combat vehicles to support them. But every vehicle takes the place of numerous men in the plane, so it’s up to you to find the right balance.
Helicopters are an interesting alternative as they are still much faster than ground vehicles and allow the infantry to redeploy if needed. However it will be hard to land helicopters in the middle of a fight, so you will have to plan ahead.
Marine Raiders deployed on a crest with helicopters DID YOU ENJOY THIS DEV DIARY? COME JOIN US ON DISCORD.
If you’d like to discuss this dev diary or anything else about the game, please join us on our official Discord server here.
Click on the thumbnails below to download the hi-res artworks.
Broken Arrow - Dev Diary #2 - Helicopters
In our previous dev diary we introduced some of the mechanics related to ground combat vehicles. Let’s rise above all this fighting in the mud and focus on a more elevated subject: helicopters. Helicopters are like cavalry units, they are fast, can pack a lot of punch but are not very resilient. They can have very different profiles depending on their armaments and sensors, which can be customized. For each pylon you can choose what kind of weapon you want to attach, or simply leave it empty to deploy the helicopter more cheaply.
Unit preview #1: Ka-52 Alligator and AH-64D Apache
Whenever possible, other elements can be customized, such as additional countermeasures, or the longbow radar on the AH-64.
Unit preview #2: AH-64D Apache with longbow radars
Attack Helicopters
The most dangerous machines, they can perform different tasks. Attack helicopters can be equipped with advanced weaponry: missiles can engage tanks at very long range; volleys of rockets can suppress infantry and destroy light vehicles in seconds; guns provide more sustained fire power. They can carry anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down other helicopters and fight off planes. When equipped with the right sensors, attack helicopters can also perform reconnaissance missions. Some attack helicopters, like the Mi-24 and its latest evolution the Mi-35M, have the ability to transport one squad of infantry, even if that’s not their primary role.
The big downside of all helicopters is the limited amount of ammunition they can carry. They need to land to resupply, leaving them very vulnerable to artillery fire.
Transport Helicopters
They can be of various sizes, from the tiny MH-6 little bird that can only transport a few men to the most powerful beasts like the CH-47 Chinook, or the giant Russian Mi-26. This last one can transport multiple squads of infantry at once, supplies and even sling load vehicles across the battlefield.
Unit preview #3: CH-47 Chinook can carry up to 4 squads of infantry and lift vehicles and supplies.
SHORAD
SHORAD stands for short range air defense. These vehicles are the bane of helicopters with their guns and/or missiles.
Unit preview #4: Pantsir S1 anti-air system is armed with 12 ready to fire missiles and 2x 30mm cannons.
Even though they are very deadly to helicopters, they don’t have the same mobility: it’s a game of cat and mouse to avoid enemy anti-aircraft units.
To avoid them, helicopters have the ability to fly “nap of the earth”: they reduce their altitude to hide behind the terrain. This maneuver allows them to avoid being detected, and breaks the line of sight if targeted. The downside is that at such low altitude their flight speed is reduced; this makes them more vulnerable to other threats, such as ground vehicles and infantry.
As a last resort, helicopters equipped with counter-measures can drop them to try to lure missiles away; keep in mind that there’s a limited amount of use and there is nothing you can do against a 30mm shell already flying your way.
Unit preview #5: Nap of the Earth flight
Pick the right unit, and use it the right way
It might look like a rock-paper-scissors system where helicopters hunt tanks, anti-aircraft hunt helicopters and tanks hunt anti-aircraft, but Broken Arrow is not a game of hard counter. The right unit used the wrong way can swiftly be destroyed by what it was supposed to be hunting.
For instance, many tanks have machine guns on the roof. They do not match helicopters’ weaponry but flying over a platoon of tanks that are hiding in a forest will probably get your helicopter killed even if it has 16 Hellfire missiles on board. And if a tank meets with the double fast firing 30mm gun of a Pantsir at close range, chances are the tank will be stripped of all its external sensors, making it inoperable.
Asymmetric Gameplay
The units in Broken Arrow are based on real military equipment, which means that each nation in the game will have its own gameplay style based on the actual vehicles and armaments used by said nation in real life.
For instance, US and Russian doctrines about helicopters are very different, leading to the development of very different equipment. The USA tends to have lighter helicopters but with better sensors, while Russia has heavily armed transports.
DID YOU ENJOY THIS DEV DIARY? COME JOIN US ON DISCORD. If you’d like to discuss this dev diary or anything else about the game, please join us on our official Discord server here.
Click on the thumbnails below to download the hi-res artworks.
