Vanilla Campaigns+ mod for Wargame: Red Dragon

As of the latest patches and Epic Game Store release this mod only works with the Steam version.

This is a simple mod which aims to retain the vanilla campaign experience but give the player a few more tools in their toolbox. Big changes include battlegroup edits combined with the fact that Aircraft can now spot ground targets.

There are a few balance tweaks and multiple battlegroup edits to provide a fresh feel on replays of the campaign. I made this mod because I wanted to use some different units, so I tried to sprinkle them in where they were at least semi-appropriate. I tried to keep this close to vanilla, so no 1000 unit armies and starting with 2500 points in battle. The biggest change is that aircraft can spot ground targets, which can definitely be abused for CV hunting by the player, but play how you want to. I think it's more fun and makes sense.

Campaigns Modded:
2nd Korean War
Climb Mt Narodnaya

Balance Changes:

• All aircraft can spot ground targets. Most ground-to-air attack aircraft are better at this, but interceptors can still provide reliable reconnaissance.
• Anti-ship F-18s and Intruders are a bit cheaper now, because after playing 2KW around a dozen times the sheer superiority of OPFOR navies and the AIs bonuses/spammyness become especially tiring at sea.
• Start with 40 points in 2KW.
• Start with 65 points in CMN

Battlegroup Changes:

• Too many to list, (screenshots help) but some highlights:
• Small amounts of US troops have been incorporated into the campaign's starting South Korean battlegroups.
• This includes US Army elements, such as a handful of Abrams tanks to South Korean Armored groups, US Riflemen in mechanized and infantry groups, and US helicopters (Apache, Apache Longbows, Kiowas) in Attack Helicopter groups.
• The F-5 squadron now starts with some A-10s (use to micro against early NK tank spam. Hint: use the gun only, reloading the missiles takes forever and is inefficient in the face of cheap tank hordes!)
• The F-86 squadron now has some older Skyhawks, too.
• NATO navy battlegroups have a few more ships each.
• One of the french artillery battlegroups has been replaced with a mechanized UK group, complete with Warrior IFV infantry and Challenger tanks. (Note that there's a lot of jank in changing these things, but I've tried to adjust flavor text to accommodate. There's a screenshot of where to find it, it shows up with the Daguet Divisions.)
• Japanese logistics company is now a heavy lift company, which has a few airborne-capable Sheridan tanks. Don't engage directly with enemy armor, still. But they can handle waves of enemy APCs just fine...
• The SK F-16 squadron now has a pair of SEAD F-16s
• The Aussie F-111 squadron now has a pair of SEAD F-111s and Cluster F-111s
• The starting SK Special Aviation Battalation now has 4 MHL-60 DAPs, and some US Light Riflemen in UH-60s
• The North Koreans have a few B-5 bombers, better watch out! Their single bomb can take out an entire block!
• Singelplayer red dragon is basically a tower defense game in disguise, so I've added a few more FOBs to some battlegroups.
• Kongos have been added to some of the marine battlegroups. They're incredibly expensive but their main gun has seriously long range and can shutdown entire areas so long as it has line of sight.
• Again, there's a lot of small changes throughout. Hard to keep track. Screenshots showcase some new units.

V2 UPDATES:

For Narodnaya:

• All squadrons have more flying range. Previously the 7 AP range of squadrons meant that if you deployed a squadron it could only fly amongst one half of Japan. Now, if you move linerally through Japan you'll be able to have consistent air support if you leapfrog airfields. There wasn't enough AP to leapfrog between certain airfields before.
• 3 Su-24M bombers added to VVS SEAD Sqd
• Most infantry and mechanized battlegroups have more infantry than before, making them a little more robust.
• The MLRS Coy now has BM-30 Smerch launchers.
• The Mig-29 fighter squadron now has a variety of ground attack Mig-29s
• The IL-102 squadron now has some Su-25s. Can you believe the vanilla campaign didn't let you use the iconic Frogfoots?
• Some North Korean B-5s have been added to the ground attack Mig-27K squadron.
• The Spetsnaz Brigade now has more Spetsnaz... it only had two recon spetsnaz units before?
• Some of the marine battlegroups have larger, blue water vessals now. Coastal defenses beware... (IE, Sovremennys)
• The Yak-141 fighter squadron has a pair each of Yak-38 and 38Ms for limited ground support.
• The AA-oriented 345 VDV Rgt had East German Flak-Kom Strela-10Ms, when the URSS equivalent MT-LB Stela-10m is available. Seemed an odd subsitute when the russian version is available, so it's now Russian missile AA. This regiment also had 32(!) Igla teams. It has been reduced to a more modest 12, but I've added a 4 Konkur teams and some more VDV to make the entire regiment a little more well rounded. It's still weighted towards AA though.
• The Naval Anti Ship Coy is now a Naval Air Assault Coy with marines riding in KA-29TBs. Did you really need more useless anti-ship missile helicopter anyways? It's flavor text description has been adjusted accordingly.
• Mi-28 Havocs have been added to the DShV Regiment, as well as some VDV in M8-8s just in case you wanted 'cheaper' VDV than the ones in Mi-24Ds.
• Advanced 2S19 MSTS-S have been added to the Heavy Artillery Coy.
• Some VDV units have had their BTR-D's replaced with BMD-1 and 2s. Now, BTR-D's are great and all for keeping VDV cheap, but the lack of *any* VDV coming with a decent IFV was odd, considering that the BMD exists at all and being airborne is kind of its a thing. Therefore a few VDV regiments now have their VDV riding in BMDs. It's not just BTRs anymore, which was the case before (seriously it was only BTRs, not a single BMD). What's curious is that I don't think the ubiquitous use of BTR-Ds was intended. In BGM the unit list will say the transport is BTR-D, but when clicking on the unit the LimitationPerUnit filter list will sometimes say BMP-1 or 2 before I make any changes, meaning there may have been a bug causing the proliferation of BTR-Ds.

For 2KW:

• Minor fixes and tweaks, was able to change some pawns.
• Replaced the German MRLS unit with a combined force of Scandinavian units. Flavor text: In solidarity with their NATO allies the Scandinavian nations of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden have sent forces to accompany the German component. The force is mainly a motorized infantry unit built around a component of Norwegian paratroopers, but it's complemented by the unique Swedish STRV103 tanks and Danish Otomatics. It's well rounded and has it's own logistics component but it doesn't excel in any one area.
  • This regiment will become available when the German component does. The German MRLS units have been folded into their mechanized company.
  • There are no good campaign map pawns for Scandinavian units. Therefore, the pawn is a Humvee. I can't find anything more generic.
• The starting South Korean 1st Recon Company is now a US 1st Infantry Company. Has a large volume of regular US infantry (not marines) which are only 'Trained'. Useful for defending or assaulting wooded or urban terrain. Be mindful that US Riflemen have pretty bad-to-mediocre AT. They're also in crappy M113s. But they are very cheap. US Light Riflemen have long range AT, but it doesn't have much stopping power.

V3 UPDATES:

Balance

• M47 Superdragon IIs, used by Light Riflemen 90, now has an AP of 20, up from 15. Price increased from 20 to 30
• SU-24 SEAD planes can now spot ground units.
• US Marines 90 can now ride in LAV-25s. The Marine BG's now have some marines in LAV-25s. The 4th Armored Rgt now has its infantry riding in LAVs, while the 9th Marine Rgt keeps its marine infantry in LVTPs.

For 2KW:

• USS Enterprise now starts with more cohesion and has a higher cohesion ceiling. It can now 'avoid battle' during the first turn. Yes, this means you can retreat from the opening ambush.
• Added some more coastal vessels (Fremantles, Dong-Haes, Baek-Hus, etc) to the marine landing forces from the Belleau Wood. Previously it only had STRBs that could operate in coastal water.
• The Marine helicopter group launching from the Belleau Wood now has some helicopter-borne JGSDF infantry. Flavor text of the group updated: Sailing from Japan, the Belleau Wood's helicopter assets have been augmented with a component of helicopter-borne JGSDF infantry. This combined unit must rely on other means of supply for extended engagements, but between the helicopters and infantry this formation is a hard counter to enemy armor.
• The ROK 9th Infantry Regiment (the one starting in Seoul) now has one less Dong-Hae (now two total), but gains one Po-Hang and two Fremantles.
• The UK Royal Marine helicopter recce company has had its SAS replaced with SBS
• Some US Light Riflemen who were riding in humvees are now in M113s
• The ROK F-86 sabre squadorn is now a group of Skyhawks and a pair of F-15D Strike Eagles. Flavor text also updated.
• The 9th Infantry Rgt that starts in Seoul is now a ROK 9th Marine Regiment. Has more Haebyung and zero US troops.

For Narodnaya:

• Russian carrier groups now have 3 AP, allowing them to move and attack the same turn.
• Missed a Mig-29 squadron that still had 7 action points, limiting the airfields it could rotate through. Now has 9 AP. Reminder that carrier-based squadrons are supposed to have 7 AP.
• Attack Heli Squadron now has a pair of Ka-50s
• Recon Heli Squadron now has a pair of Ka-52s
• Some ultra expensive T-72BUs added to the starting Independent Tank Regiment
• Some Russian regiments start with more moral/cohesion.
• Some Russian regiments have higher cohesion ceilings (instead of 1 pip, they can have 2 or 3).
• 12 Kyu-Maru-Shikis (Type 90) tanks have been added to Japan's Western Tank Regiment. \
• 311th Gds Rifles Btn now has more infantry

INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS (Steam Only!):

ONLY COMPATIBLE WITH STEAM VERSION
1. In Steam, right-click WRD and click on Properties.
2. Click on the Betas tab, then opt into the "compat_replay_pre_epic".
3. The game will redownload and install the older game version.
4. Drag and drop the contents of the downloaded folder into your game directory. Overwrite when prompted.

Notes:

• This mod was made with BGM, Battlegroup Manager. BGM doesn't play nice with the latest DLC text files so I have to use older files, so DLC units will be blank. No DLC units were added to the campaign, so this isn't a big issue. Obviously you can't play online with this, further minimizing the problem.
• I've tried changing some of the strategy map pawns (IE, the vehicle that a battlegroup has on the map) but this game DOES NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL. It becomes crash-city unexpectedly. I'll keep playing around with it, but let's all just be thankful that the British Mechanized battlegroup's Challenger 2 pawn actually works!
• I've tried to change the flavor text for some of the battlegroups but it's an absolute chore in BGM and between all my version control and bug testing I've put that on hold for now.

If you have recommendations for adding units, or changing a battlegroup let me know.

Future Plans

TBD