M203 40mm Grenade Launchers?

[dt Walter Robinson]

The splash screen shows a soldier with a rifle-mounted GL, is this something that could actually be implemented, and a have a few soldiers in some units project not just HE shells, but also smoke?

Range in real life is about 350m.

[DasaKamov]

Originally posted by dt Walter Robinson:

is this something that could actually be implemented

Probably not. With combat being abstracted as it is, and with the M203's grenades having a relatively small effective radius (being used primarily to target enemies hiding behind cover, which is also abstracted in WARNO), there's no real purpose for the M203.

It's similar to how there are no hand grenades specifically depicted in WARNO, despite them being standard kit among the general infantry.

The Mk. 19 is likely to be the only infantry-portable grenade launcher we'll see in-game.

[breversa]

This mod: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2937054662 replaces (at least some) engineers' satchels with M203s.

[dt Walter Robinson]

Thx both of you for responding!

:D

@breversa yes, I have a version of that mod, and I really like the engineers changes!

[Sneaky_Beaky]

Introducing the M203, as well as thrown grenades like in EE, would be rad as hell and make infantry gameplay much more lively.

[breversa]

The reason why neither hand grenades nor grenade launchers are pictured in the game is a matter of scale:

When you try to have small-arms equipped infantry, ATGMs, tanks, AA missiles and artillery in the same game (… and make it fun!), you have to pick a range scale (in WARNO, it’s about 1-3km) and expand/compress the range of any weapon outside that scale towards it.

That’s why you have submachine guns like the Skorpion with an in-game range of 500m (real-life: more like 15m), and HAWK with an in-game range of 5-ish km (real-life: 45-50km).

Grenades have a real-life range of 10-150m (whether hand- or launcher-fired), which is the same as SMGs, so they would get the similar 500m in-game range to have any impact.
Would you be happy with that?

One other way to picture those short-range weapons is to abstract them as the "CQB" trait (= being able to be used when assaulting building), or the "shock troops" trait (= inflicts more suppression at close range), both of wich are already present in the game for weapons and troops that would use them.

EDIT:
I personally think that grenade launchers/rifle grenades is a more realistic but purely cosmetic replacement for satchels, but then I would find it weird that only combat engineers would be equipped with them, and not standard infantry.

[dt Walter Robinson]

I would thank every person who contributed to this discussion - each of your responses is valuable and I am grateful for your contribution!

IMO, I think that not only should squad-based GL be a regular thing (not just for HE, but SMOKE as well), but hand grenades could fill a valuable role in CQB - it is about the ranges that these distinctly different, but useful weapons excel at.

I have seen how useful HE blasts are at compromising an enemy squads' position can be with the AGL - a lesser, but more numerous version of that barrage could be useful, too.