Thoughts on "Modern" Wargaming

[bayonetbrant]

Trying to use a Cold War MTOE to 'approximate' a current US MTOE barely works for just swapping out tank platoons - 4 M1s then, 4 M1s now.  But there's no recognition of the relative differences between those old 105mm M1 slicks from the 80s and the current 120mm M1A2 SEPs in their targeting, engagement capabilities (especially the TC's independent sight), or information sharing.  There's no update to the kinds of information the BN scouts can provide - assuming the game ever portrays the scouts correctly (this has been a looooooooooong time heartburn for me and was discussed on at least one GrogCast).  There's no update to the assets that have been pushed all the way down to BN / BDE level, such as the MI and EN COs that provide the brigade with an organic capability they used to have to ask the DIV for.    Those MI COs have the UAVs, which are a HUGE recon advantage that Cold War-era brigades don't have.  The changes in equipment in the MTR PLTs - much faster fire computers and larger calibers - are never reflected in the games because everyone just forgets that the mortars even exist.
The shoot-and-scoot capability of the M109A6s make a HUGE difference in survivability for the cannons that older M109s never had, but you've got to accurately portray their distribution and mobility on the map somehow.

We haven't even talked about Strykers yet.

Just swapping out 4-tank M1 platoons from today for aa 'comparable' counter from Assault is like trying to swap out a Korean-war era infantry platoon counter for one from Red Star White Star.  They're both infantry, right?  Hardly.

[Mad Russian]

When you are discussing hard factors, thermal sights, 120mmSB vs 105mm rifled, those are things that can be shown in games pretty easily. The tank platoon with 4 tanks in it at any given time will be tremendously difficult to show the soft factors, such as the sharing of information, the TC's independent sight, etc. How do you propose that this be done?

Good Hunting.

MR