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Proposed PAVN/NLF Commander Ability: Deploy Recoilless Gun

VTD75

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Sep 23, 2017
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Gameplay Overview:

The idea of this new ability would be to give Northern commanders the ability to spawn a static Type 36 or Type 52 recoilless gun (similar to the current DshK mount) on the battlefield. The gun fires HEAT ammunition, as on the RPG-7, which would likewise be able to penetrate walls and cover; as with the RPG-7, the gun would produce lethal backblast upon firing.

The guns would have considerable range - many hundreds of meters - but could not be elevated upward more than 20 - 30 degrees (in real life, due to the danger of backblast being reflected off the ground).

Any player would be able to use the gun once it is in play, but the commander would receive an assist for each enemy player who is killed by the gun (assuming the commander themselves is not using the gun). Enemy players would be able to capture guns currently in play, and turn them on their former users, as with the current DshK guns. In addition, like the DshK in its current incarnation, recoilless gun mounts would be vulnerable to enemy or friendly explosives or artillery.

Background:

Over the course of the Vietnam War, the PAVN and NLF made extensive use of recoilless guns, since they provided a high degree of firepower, while being relatively lightweight when compared with conventional artillery. Recoilless guns were used to assault US and ARVN positions, attack riverborne craft such as Swift Boats, and to ambush and defend against vehicles, including light armor.

Two of the principal recoilless weapons used by the Northern forces were the Chinese Type 36, and Type 52/56 recoilless rifles, which were straightforward copies of the American Second World War-vintage M18 57mm and M20 75mm recoilless rifles respectively.

Both guns could be mounted on the standard M1919 machine gun tripod, although the Chinese versions were often mounted on the tripod of the ZB-30 heavy machine gun. The M18 / Type 36 could also be fired from the shoulder, although at 20 kg, it could not be reasonably carried as an individual weapon.
M18 - Type 52.png
Above: The M18 (Left) and Type 52 (Right) Recoilless Rifles. Reproduced from Wikimedia Commons: [1], [2]


Both weapons were capable of firing armor-piercing HEAT ammunition. Being much earlier developments than weapons such as the RPG-7, their armor penetration was comparatively modest - the M20 / Type 36 could pierce about 76mm (3”) of steel, while the M20 could manage 100mm (4”). This would have been inadequate against Main Battle Tanks such as the M-48, bur would have been perfectly acceptable against the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier, or even against light tanks such as the M41 or M551. Because these weapons were rifled, as opposed to smoothbore, as on later recoilless weapons, they had excellent accuracy in the direct-fire role.

Reasoning:

Currently, the North often has great difficulty on the attack in Rising Storm 2. Because Northern Forces have fewer supporting abilities, they rely heavily on the use of the RPG-7 to clear enemy strongpoints. However, if the RPG slots are occupied by inexperienced players, or individuals who simply have poor teamwork skills, then the Northern side may have little or no supporting RPG-7 fire.

This proposal solves this problem by allowing the Northern commander to deploy an additional explosives-firing weapon, for their own use, or use by another player, in order to overcome particularly difficult positions. This will, in turn, improve balance on maps where the North often has difficulty on the attack (e.g. Hue).

Additionally, this proposal will give Northern forces a unique ability that will help differentiate them from their Southern enemies. It will also make playing as the Northern commander more interesting, by giving them an offensive ability other than ordering artillery barrages.

Finally, in the event that the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier is added to the game, having recoilless guns available will allow the North to tackle Southern armor if – in the same vein of the problem described above – the players occupying the RPG slots are not up to the task.

Balance will be maintained by:

• The vulnerability of players using the recoilless weapon (similar to the DshK).
• The cooldown on the ability, which will limit the number of guns that are in play on the map
• The inability of the guns to fire at higher elevations, since recoilless weapons could only fire at high angles / indirectly when a pre-prepared backblast pit had been dug behind the weapon.

Commanders would need to carefully select deployment positions in order to get the most out of their guns, which would in turn, reward player skill.

***

Comments?
 
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For what it is worth po pattara has already made a Type 36 for this game for GOM but it was only in briefly before being removed due to lack of animations.


Notably 3 Type 36s were used at Long Tan.


The Type 36 was usually used with a tripod, so it could function like the DShK currently does.'


The US Army. USMC, ARVN, and Australia all used the US M18 recoiless rifle, which the Type 36 is a direct clone of. Only the text on the ammunition and the mount would need to be changed to allow it to be used by all factions.

The Chinese text on the AP shells was:

57
ç ´
甲
黑索今

I don't yet know what the text of the HE shell was, I don't have a clear enough pic.
 
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Yoshiro;n2329581 said:
More ways for players to interact and control the world via deployables and commander abilities is something the team has spent alot of time considering.

Your consideration is all we ask for, and is much appreciated.

I do hope that the dev. team continues takes a look at measure to help the North on the attack in campaign maps, where the PAVN / NLF seem to encounter a lot of difficulty.
 
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