Command: Showcase - Icebreakers is out now on Steam.
To show off this new release, developers Jacob Keyes and Kushan will be streaming the scenario over on the Slitherine Twitch channel from 11:30 AM -1:30 PM EST.
As the globe warms Arctic ice retracts, turning the frozen Siberian coastline into the worlds next great shipping lane. Ships transiting the Northern Sea Route (NSR) from Shanghai to Copenhagen travel only 1/3rd of the old distance, and avoid strategic bottlenecks like the Suez Canal and strait of Gibraltar. It is in this new, thawing theatre that the Russian President and MoD see an avenue of restoring national pride, a theatre which most in the west feel comfortable cropping out of their maps. Investments and military constructions are initiated turning this barren sea lane into an arctic kill-zone, emboldening the Russian parliament to declare that their laws regarding this new waterway supersede the United Nations Law of the Sea. In response, the U.S. President and Canadian Prime Ministers decide to challenge Russia’s claims in the region.
In Showcase: Icebreakers it's up to you to lead a Freedom of Navigation operation in one of the most inhospitable climates on earth, the Arctic circle. Leading the fleet is the Polar Star, an icebreaker capable of plowing through the sheets of sea ice. Following behind her are several allied surface action groups including Zumwalt and Arleigh Burke Destroyers, along with Harry DeWolf patrol ships, and more. While there is no carrier as a part of the fleet, you will have the support of Air Force units stationed in Alaska.
Information is ammunition, and with Russian satellites active you will need all the help you can get to control the flow of information. US CYBERCOM has prepared an attack package code named “Widowmaker" which will help deal with the Russian satellites.
War has not been declared, but hostilities could begin at any moment. The Russian response to your actions will dynamically change according to the level of hostility you display. This is made possible by our new "Road to War" script that models gradual escalations from harassment and skirmishing, to outright warfare.
With this release we also have a small update primarily to support this DLC. The changelog is posted below.
* New weapon type: Laser dazzlers. (Background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzler_(weapon))
Dazzlers differ from high-energy lasers as they have a deliberately wider, more dispersed (and less powerful) beam pattern. This reduces the destructive effect but makes it easier to hit their intended target. They are used primarily to damage/destroy visual/EO/IR sensors, on manned as well as unmanned platforms and weapons. When used against manned aircraft, they can cause temporary blindness and even lead to the aircraft crashing if at low altitude.
* ADDED: #15453: Add ability to place reference points relative to any unit or any reference point
* ADDED: Show if comms being jammmed on unit.components wrapper
* TWEAK: #15475: Weapons in final phase always redirected to target
* TWEAK: Rudder turn speed and overswing prevention logic
* TWEAK: Show if comms jammed on Comms window
* TWEAK: Setting "WCS free" now explicitly informs that neutral targets are excluded from engagements
* FIXED: Patrol & prosecution zone issues
* FIXED: ACs where blocked in refuel loop
* FIXED: #15485: TimeToReady inside event not working
* FIXED: Do not perform expensive "Terrain type effects - Advanced" checks for satellites
* FIXED: #15502: Aircrafts RTB if WP 2 it's close to WP #8
* FIXED: Weapon ETA cache was cleaned every second + Weapon ETA recalc logic
* FIXED: SM-6 Blk IB (fired against ground target) petered out way short of max range
* FIXED: Cater for BOL-attack when checking for water-surface targets
* FIXED: Restore visibility to :methods (fixes several reported issues in B1328.13)
* FIXED: #15488: RPs relative to a unit not being saved
* FIXED: #15486: Dipping sonar not detected by subs
* FIXED: #15445: Wrong position of contacts in scenario
* FIXED: RPs relative to units where not working correctly
* Added support for the "Showcase #4 - Icebreakers" scenario.
* Includes updated versions of all official scenarios. All scenarios were updated to the v504 DBs, in addition there have been fixes & tweaks to the following scenarios:
- Falklands - Cry Havoc Bluff Cove: Added Saint Julian Air Base
- Live - No BREXIT, no Problem!: Fixed USS Missouri Doctrine, should no longer RTB at scenario start
- Live - You Brexit - You Fix It!: Fixed USS Missouri Doctrine, should no longer RTB at scenario start. Updated Russian AAW loadouts and Swapped German NH90 DBIDs
- Live - Pole Positions: Fixed US submarines not being assigned to missions when playing as Russia
- Standalone - South China Sea Clash: Swapped USA LCS DBIDs, CCG WHEC DBID, and Updated UnitDestroyed events