Game of the Week, Aug 5 to 11

Hi everyone,

It’s Game of the Week time!

This week’s Game of the Week is Modern Campaigns – Korea ‘85.

Modern Campaigns – Korea ‘85 is latest 4.04 version, released a month ago, and our product description encapsulates this hypothetical campaign well:

Ever since the cease-fire of the Korean War of the 1950's, an uneasy peace had existed on the Korean peninsula. As the Cold War grew in intensity through the 60's and 70's, the positions of the two sides became increasingly strained. By the mid 80's both sides were armed and ready to do battle once more. It would only take one incident in the world to trigger a new Korean War, one that would be fought with weapons and attack helicopters. With events in Europe carrying the course of history in unexpected directions, the time for the new Korean War has arrived.

Modern Campaigns – Korea ‘85 was the first title that Ed 'Volcano Man' Williams (First World War Campaigns designer extraordinaire) created for John Tiller. Ed brought his usual manic attention to detail to this title, using the forces on the ground and available in 1985 to create a very plausible situation. Like the other hypothetical titles published by WDS (Sealion ’40, Japan ’45, Japan ’46 and the NATO vs Warsaw Pact series), existing plans and doctrine were the basis for the scenarios included, allowing players to game out what would have happened in a 2^nd Korean War.

There are 73 Scenarios included. Below is a list of the major engagements included many with multiple scenarios:

• Hypothetical invasion of Korea in the summer of 1985 - North Koreans only.
• Hypothetical invasion of Korea in the summer of 1985 – North Korean and Chinese forces.

The master map (56,210 hexes) including Yonan in the north, Taegu in the south, and Sokch'o in the east.

Modern Campaigns – Korea ‘85 includes the aforementioned playable scenarios, and campaigns, as well as a Getting Started scenario to introduce new players to the game system. The included scenarios are a good mix of small (division), medium (corps) and large (army) engagements.

We included a lot of historical documentation and notes with this title, you can review each by clicking on the links below.

Getting Started Guide

Designer Notes

Planning Map 1

Planning Map 2

There has been a range of books covering the situation on the Korean peninsula. Following are some representative books for anyone that would like some more background on the campaign. You can click on the book images below to be taken to the Publisher or Amazon, if applicable.

Informational

The Korean War: A History. Written by Bruce Cumings, his work examines the war’s origins, the role of different nations, and the lasting impact on the Korean Peninsula. A great primer to understand the various geopolitical factors that resulted in the partition of Korea.

The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War by David Halberstam. This meticulously researched book offers a comprehensive account of the Korean War. Halberstam delves into the political, military, and human aspects of the conflict, providing a vivid portrayal of the challenges faced by both American and Korean forces.

Korea: A New History of South and North. The authors draw on decades of research to explore the complex history of modern Korea. From Japanese occupation to Cold War division and beyond, they delve into the unique commonalities and sharp differences between North and South Korea. The book sheds light on the evolving identities of both nations and prospects for unification.

Origins of the North Korean Garrison State: The People’s Army and the Korean War (Cold War History). This book goes beyond conventional narratives by drawing on North Korean documents and testimonies from North Korean veterans. It sheds light on how two critical factors—the Korean People’s Army (KPA) and the Korean War—shaped North Korea into what we now recognize as a closed, militarized, and xenophobic garrison state.

The Grand Strategy that Won the Cold War: Architecture of Triumph. his book demonstrates that under the leadership of President Ronald Reagan and through the mechanism of his National Security Council staff, the United States developed and executed a comprehensive grand strategy that ultimately emasculated much of the communist world as it existed in the 1980’s.

Now for video content:

SmartWargames covers Korea ’85 in his video below. Note this is the John Tiller Software version

Following are some in-game screen shots of what to expect. Each image can be clicked for a full-sized view.

As mentioned, the build we are making available today is a new 4.04 version that was released in May. A range of new features are included, and you can read the Changelog here. All new purchases will be this latest version.

If you already own Modern Campaigns – Korea ‘85, please note that you will have a new installer available in your store account. There will not be an update available for existing installations.

Beginning with the recent Squad Battles updates, then Panzer Battles then Musket & Pike updates, Civil War Battles and now on to Panzer Campaigns - we have been requiring a complete clean install of your games to get the new version. There's a variety of reasons for this - core changes to file formats (moving to PNG files in some cases), new infrastructure for future A/I enhancements, Windows 11 compatibility changes and the enormous size many of the updates have grown to be. Regarding that last point, many of the updates were retaining backwards compatibility with ancient installers, in some cases back to the HPS days! This required inclusion of a huge number of files, and in some cases an additional Batch file to reorganize everything into the new file structures. It was getting problematic on several points, not the least of which was some security software packages were blocking the batch files from running.

So, these fresh installs will resolve all of those problems in one fell swoop. You uninstall your existing copy of the game using the built in Windows "App Management" feature in the Control Panel. You then do a clean install of the game, and everything is in its proper place. 

We will be doing this for every game series we publish, in time - if all goes well during the course of 2024. Once the new "base line" is established we will begin to offer incremental updates again on the site. These will only include files changed since that new baseline for that series. With that said, you can ALWAYS do a clean install at any time, and the installer linked in your Store Account is the most recent version.

So, again, how do you get these new versions? 

You must go and login to your Store Account to download new full installers. 

Notes regarding Store Accounts.

1. If you go to login using one of the above links and it tells you "no account found" - don't worry! - just send us an email at the Help Desk and we will locate your records. It's just a matter of completing the account setup process.
2. When you login you will see all your orders listed there. Under each order number is the word (Downloads). If you click that it will take you to a page where you can do a new download of the game and it will also display your serial number. Again, each of the installers is fully up-to date with the latest patches already included.

 

If you don’t already own this title, what are you waiting for? You can buy it directly from the dedicated product page.

We hope you enjoy this week’s, Game of the Week. Like all WDS titles, there is a lot of game play included at a very attractive price.