Combat Mission: Black Sea (2025)

Combat Mission Black Sea
Combat Mission: Black Sea (1)
CMBS logo

Developer

Battlefront.com, Inc.

Publisher(s)

Battlefront.com, Inc.,
Slitherine Software UK Ltd.

Release Date

January 30, 2015

Engine

CMx2

Platform(s)

Windows
MacOS

Availability

www.battlefront.com
Steam
Matrix Games

Combat Mission: Black Sea (CMBS) is a military grade simulation depicting a fictional series of escalations between Russia and Ukraine which results in open conflict in the summer of 2017.[1] CMBS is based on the extremely powerful and proprietary CMx2 game engine. As with all Combat Mission titles based on CMx2, Black Sea is supported by intermittent paid "upgrades" which keep the game current with the latest version of CMx2 and add additional functionality to the base game.

During the development of Black Sea, a real-life armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out in early 2014. In response to this event, Battlefront has stated on their website:

"It is important to note that the storyline for Black Sea was first developed in 2009 and production started in 2013. In early 2014 Russia invaded Ukraine, making our story much less hypothetical. As a direct result we slightly modified the story's timeline to minimize contradictions with real life events. However, we deliberately made no attempt to portray an ongoing, undecided conflict. This means Black Sea is not equipped to simulate the "frozen conflict" that has since evolved in eastern Ukraine."[1]

Contents

  • 1 Gameplay
  • 2 Story
  • 3 Gameplay content
  • 4 Factions and Formations
    • 4.1 United States Army
    • 4.2 Ground Forces of the Russian Federation
    • 4.3 Ukrainian Ground Forces
  • 5 Equipment
    • 5.1 US Army
    • 5.2 Russian army
    • 5.3 Ukrainian army
  • 6 Add-ons
    • 6.1 CMBS Battle Pack 1
  • 7 Upgrades
  • 8 System requirements

Gameplay[]

In Combat Mission: Black Sea players engage in tactical warfare using highly detailed modern military units roughly battalion sized and below in a true 3d environment. Commands are issued to individual vehicles, squads, and teams on the battlefield each with their own unique "soft factors" such as morale, experience, and leadership. Advanced physics simulations calculate the ballistics of every engagement and determine the individual impact on armor and subsystems for every round fired. Players can choose to control the action in either real-time or in a turn-based game mode where they plan out their moves in sixty-second intervals. Black Sea also features a Quick Battle system which lets players set up battles with random or deliberate conditions as well as an editor allowing players to create their own maps, scenarios, and campaigns. The base game comes with four campaigns and 22 standalone scenarios.[1]

Black Sea's modern setting also allows for unique gameplay mechanics that set it apart from other entries in the Combat Mission series. These include amphibious vehicles, UAVs, electronic warfare conditions, active protection systems, GPS and laser guided munitions, night vision and thermal imaging optics, and surface-to-air missiles.

Story[]

In late 2016, the Ukrainian government announces to the world it intends to join NATO by the end of next year. In response to this announcement, separatist sentiment in eastern Ukraine boils over and the Donbass region erupts with an armed revolt. A local referendum declares the region an autonomous state and requests that Russia deploy troops in the area to provide security during their transition. Russia recognizes the referendum and honors the request for troops. The Ukrainian government in Kiev does not recognize the referendum, but cannot mobilize enough troops in time to prevent the Russian occupation. This results in a months long standoff between Russian and Ukrainian forces over claims to the Donbass region, and neither side showing signs of backing down. A sympathetic NATO begins to deploy American and European troops to eastern Poland in support of the Ukrainian government and in hopes of deterring Russian escalation. The effort does not have the desired effect however, and Russian forces continue to rapidly increase and greatly outnumber the combined NATO and Ukrainian military presence. Tensions reach a breaking point in June of 2017 when a firefight breaks out between Russian and Ukrainian forces that claims multiple lives on both sides. The next morning, fighting breaks out across the entire border and the conflict begins.

The outcome of the conflict is dependent on the players performance in the game's various campaigns. The three factions represented in Black Sea each have their own campaigns depicting the conflict from their perspectives. They are: "Task Force 3-69" (USA), "Crossing the Dnieper" (Russia) and "The Shield of Kiev" (Ukraine).

Gameplay content[]

The game shipped with three factions and four campaigns

  • Training Campaign
  • Task Force 3-69 (USA)
  • Crossing the Dnieper (Russia)
  • The Shield of Kiev (Ukraine)

Also included were 21 standalone scenarios:

  1. Ambush
  2. August Morning
  3. Bridgehead at Kharalyk
  4. Brutal
  5. Cry Havoc
  6. Dueling Shashkas
  7. First Clash
  8. Gagarina Ave Checkpoint
  9. Galloping Horse Downfall
  10. Gauntlets Crossed
  11. Going to Town
  12. Hold the Line
  13. Interdiction
  14. Into the Breach
  15. Morning Coffee
  16. Objective Delta
  17. Opportunity Knocks
  18. Phase Line Green
  19. Platoon House Aleksandra
  20. Rollin' on the River
  21. Valley of Death

Scenario Editor shipped with the game for user made scenarios and campaigns. Quick Battle generator makes it possible to play custom scenarios and there is multiplayer as well.

Factions and Formations[]

Black Sea features three major factions in the base game; United States, Russia, and Ukraine. Each faction's military units and formations are faithfully recreated based on the real life structure of their respective militaries. These formations determine which type and how many of each unit will be available in any particular battle. In Quick Battles, the player has the option to select and modify which formations they bring into the game. Formations can be broken down or combined into larger groups that can vary in size dramatically based on the scenario. The following tables include all major formations found in the base game.

United States Army[]

Infantry Brigade Combat TeamArmored Brigade Combat TeamStryker Brigade Combat TeamShared Formation
Infantry BattalionCombined Arms BattalionStryker Infantry BattalionMANPADS Platoon
Infantry Battalion (Task Force)Combined Arms Battalion (Task Force)Stryker Infantry Battalion (Task Force)Supply Section
Cavalry SquadronCavalry Squadron (Armored)Cavalry Squadron (Stryker)COLT Section
Brigade Engineer BattalionBrigade Engineer Battalion (Armored)Brigade Engineer Battalion (Stryker)Air Controller Section
Long Range Surveillance PlatoonAntiarmor Company
LNO Advisor Section

Ground Forces of the Russian Federation[]

Motor Rifle BrigadeTank BrigadeShared Formations
Tank Battalion 41Tank Battalion 31Sapper Company
Motor Rifle Battalion (BMP, BTR, MTLB)Motor Rifle Battalion (BMP, BTR, MTLB)Air Defense Artillery Battery
Battalion Tactical Group (BMP, BTR, MTLB)Tank Battalion Tactical Group (BMP, BTR, MTLB)Air Defense Missile Battery
Reconnaissance Battalion (New, Old)Reconnaissance Battalion (New, Old)Supply Section
Antitank BattalionForward Observer Section
Sniper PlatoonAir Controller Section
RPO Platoon

Ukrainian Ground Forces[]

Mechanized BrigadeTank BrigadeShared Formations
Tank Battalion 40Tank Battalion 31Brigade Reconnaissance Company
Mech Infantry Battalion (BMP, BTR)Mech Infantry Battalion (BMP, BTR)Sapper Company
Battalion Tactical Group (BMP, BTR)Tank Battalion Tactical Group (BMP, BTR)Air Defense Battery
Mountain Infantry BattalionMANPADS Company
Corps Reconnaissance BattalionSupply Section
Artillery Brigade Antitank BattalionForward Observer Section
ATGM BatteryAir Controller Section
Sniper Company
RPO Platoon

Equipment[]

US Army[]

Small arms

  • M4A1 Carbine (some with ACOG/LWTS)
  • M4A1 Carbine w/M320 Grenade Launcher
  • M110 SASS sniper rifle
  • Mk. 21 Precision Sniper Rifle
  • M107A1 antimaterial sniper rifle
  • M249 SAW PIP light machinegun
  • M240L medium machinegun
  • M9A1 pistol
  • M25 CDTE airburst grenade launcher
  • M2A1 Heavy Machinegun
  • Mk. 19 Automatic Grenade Launcher
  • M136 CS AT4 rocket launcher
  • FGM-148 Javelin Anti-Tank Missile System
  • BGM-71 TOW ATGM
  • FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS
  • M224A1 60 mm Mortar
  • M252A1 81 mm Mortar
  • M120 120 mm Mortar
  • M67 grenade

M113 Armored Personnel Carrier Series

  • M1064A3

Stryker vehicles

  • M1126 Stryker Infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV) (normal, ERA, .50 cal and Mk. 19 variants)
  • M1127 Stryker Reconnaissance Vehicle (RV) (normal, ERA, .50 cal and Mk. 19 variants)
  • M1128 Stryker Mobile Gun System (MGS) (normal and ERA variants)
  • M1129 Stryker Mortar Carrier (MC) (normal and ERA variants)
  • M1130 Stryker Command Vehicle (CV) (normal and ERA variants)
  • M1131 Stryker Fire Support Vehicle (FSV) (normal and ERA variants)
  • M1132 Stryker Engineer Squad Vehicle (ESV) (normal and ERA variants)
  • M1134 Stryker Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) (normal and ERA variants)

Infantry Fighting Vehicles

  • M2A3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) (normal, ERA and APS variants)
  • M3A3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (CFV) (normal, ERA and APS variants)
  • M7A3 Bradley Fire Support (B-FIST) Vehicle (normal, ERA and APS variants)

Tanks

  • M1A2 SEPv2 Abrams (normal, ERA and APS variants)

Light Vehicles

  • M1151 HMMWV (normal, .50cal, Mk. 19 and M240 variants)
  • M1151 Reconnaissance HMMWV (normal, .50cal and Mk. 19 variants)
  • M1152 HMMWV
  • M1167 HMMWV
  • M1200 Armored Knight
  • Light Medium Tactical Vehicle (LMTV)

U.S. Air Assets

  • AH-64D Apache Longbow
  • AH-64E Apache Guardian
  • F-15E Strike Eagle
  • F-16CJ Fighting Falcon

U.S. Army UAV Support

  • RQ-11B Raven
  • RQ-7B Shadow
  • MQ-1C Gray Eagle

U.S. Artillery Assets

  • M109A7 Paladin 155 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer
  • M119A3 105 mm Howitzer
  • M777A2 155 mm Howitzer

Russian army[]

Small Arms

  • AK-74M assault rifle
  • AK-74M w/ Grenade Launcher
  • AKS-74U personal defence weapon
  • SVD sniper rifle
  • PKM medium machinegun
  • PKP Pecheneg machinegun
  • Makarov PM pistol
  • RPG-7V1 rocket launcher
  • RPG-7V2 rocket launcher
  • RPO-M Shmel thermobaric launcher
  • RPG-26 rocket launcher
  • AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher
  • AGS-30 automatic grenade launcher
  • AT-4C / 9K111 ATGM
  • AT-7 / 9K115 ATGM
  • AT-13 / 9K115-2 ATGM
  • AT-14 / 9K135 Kornet ATGM
  • Igla SA-18 MANPADS
  • Igla-S SA-24 MANPADS
  • 2B14 82 mm Podnos mortar
  • 2B11 120 mm Sani mortar

BTR series Armored Personnel Carriers and variants

  • BTR-80A
  • BTR-80AK
  • BTR-80 1V152
  • BTR-82
  • BTR-82A
  • BTR-82K

MT-LB series Armored Personnel Carriers and variants

  • MT-LB
  • MT-LBM-6MA
  • MT-LBM-6MB
  • 9P149 Shturm-S
  • 9K35 Strela-10M3
  • 2S24
  • MT-LBu 1V14

BMP Infantry Fighting Vehicles and variants

  • BMP-2
  • BMP-2K
  • BMP-2M
  • BMP-3
  • BMP-3K
  • BMP-3M (normal, ERA, Shtora and Arena variants)
  • 9P157-2 Khrizantema-S
  • BRM-1K
  • BRM-3K
  • PRP-4M

Tanks

  • T-72B3 (normal and APS variants)
  • T-90A
  • T-90AM (normal and APS variants)
  • SA-19 Grison / 9K22 Tunguska SPAA

Light Vehicles

  • BRDM-2
  • BRDM-2M
  • BRDM-2 (AT-5B)
  • BRDM-2M (AT-5B)
  • UAZ-469
  • GAZ-2975 Tigr (normal, MG and AGL variants)
  • Ural-4320

Russian Air Assets

  • Mi-24PN Hind F gunship
  • Mi-28N Havoc gunship
  • Ka-52 Alligator gunship
  • Su-24M2 Fencer D
  • Su-25SM Frogfoot close air support
  • Su-34 Fullback

Russian UAV Support

  • ZALA 421-08
  • Pchela-1T
  • Orlan-10

Russian Artillery Assets

  • MT-12 100 mm Gun
  • 2S34 Chosta 120 mm Self-Propelled Gun
  • 2S1 Gvozdika 122 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer
  • 2A65 Msta-B 152 mm Howitzer
  • 2S19 Msta-S 152 mm Howitzer
  • 2S19M1 152 mm Howitzer
  • 2S19M2 152 mm Howitzer
  • 2S3M1 Akatsiya 152 mm Howitzer
  • 2S3M2 152 mm Howitzer
  • 2S7M Malka 203 mm Howitzer

Ukrainian army[]

Small arms

  • AK-74 assault rifle
  • AK-74 w/ Grenade Launcher
  • AKS-74 assault rifle
  • AKS-74U personal defence weapon
  • SVD sniper rifle
  • RPK-74 machinegun
  • PKM medium machinegun
  • Makarov PM pistol
  • RPG-7V1 rocket launcher
  • RPG-7V2 rocket launcher
  • RPO-A Shmel thermobaric launcher
  • RPG-22 rocket launcher
  • RPG-26 rocket launcher
  • SPG-9 recoilless gun
  • MT-12 100 mm Anti-Tank Gun (normal and MT-12K variants)
  • AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher
  • AT-4C / 9K111 ATGM
  • AT-7 / 9K115 ATGM
  • Corsar ATGM
  • Skif (Stugna-P) ATGM
  • Igla SA-18 MANPADS
  • 2B14 82 mm Podnos mortar
  • 2B11 120 mm Sani mortar

BTR series Armored Personnel Carriers and variants

  • BTR-70
  • BTR-70K
  • BTR-4E

MT-LB series Armored Personnel Carriers and variants

  • MT-LB
  • 9P149 Shturm-S
  • 9K35 Strela-10M3
  • MT-LBu 1V14

BMP Infantry Fighting Vehicles and variants

  • BMP-2
  • BMP-2K
  • BRM-1K
  • PRP-4M

Tanks

  • T-64BV
  • BM Bulat
  • BM Oplot (normal and APS variants)
  • SA-19 Grison / 9K22 Tunguska SPAA

Light Vehicles

  • BRDM-2
  • UAZ-469
  • Ural-4320

Ukrainian Air Assets

  • Mi-24P Hind F gunship
  • Mi-24PM Hind F gunship
  • Su-24M Fencer D
  • Su-25 Frogfoot close air support

Ukrainian Artillery Assets

  • MT-12 100 mm Gun
  • 2A65 152 mm Howitzer
  • 2S19 152 mm Howitzer
  • 2S3M1 152 mm Howitzer
  • 2S7M Malka 203 mm Howitzer

Add-ons[]

CMBS Battle Pack 1[]

(Requires Game Engine 4)

Includes two new campaigns, one for the USA, and one for Russia, as well as six standalone scenarios and 27 new Quick Battle maps. In total, this Battle Pack includes 21 new challenging missions![2]

Upgrades[]

Combat Mission: Black Sea was initially developed and released using version three of the CMx2 engine. As of March 2021, only one upgrade is available for CMBS updating the title from version three to version four. Purchasing upgrades is only necessary for players who bought the game before version four of CMx2 was released. All new purchases of CMBS use the most current and latest version of CMx2.

System requirements[]

System Requirements MINIMAL:

  • Operating System:Win7/Win8
  • Processor: Pentium IV 1.8 GHz or equivalent speed AMD processor
  • Video Card: 256 Megabyte dedicated VRAM or better and must support 1024x768 or higher resolution in OpenGL (Intel integrated video may produce blurry text)
  • Sound Card: DirectX 10 compatible Sound Card
  • System Memory 2 GB RAM
  • Hard Drive Space: 3.5 GB
  • Other requirements: DVD drive (for hardcopy version only)
  • The game does not work in a virtualized environment (virtual machine)

System Requirements RECOMMENDED:

  • Operating System:Windows 10
  • Processor: Pentium IV 2.8 GHz or equivalent speed AMD processor or better
  • DirectX 12 compatible Sound Card
  • Video Card: 1 GB dedicated VRAM or better and must support 1024x768 or higher resolution in OpenGL (Intel integrated video may produce blurry text)
  • System Memory 4 Gigabyte or more RAM
  • Hard Drive Space: 5 GB
  • Other requirements: DVD drive (for hardcopy version only)
  • The game does not work in a virtualized environment (virtual machine)
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