Modern armoured warfare in 1985, which TY models, was much more complex than WW2. Even just modelling tank on tank, you now have two different armours to model, and at least two different anti tank ammunition natures. Some MBTs still had homogenous armour, some had composite (Chobham, K, BDD etc). Some warheads still depeneded entirely upon kinetic velocity, which falls off with range, some on the chemical effect of explosive rounds, which doesn't, but can be harder to range and which can be attenuated by composite or laminate armour.
Then you have the advent of battlefield helicopters, anti tank guided weapons, hand held AA and anti armour weapons, thermal imaging, high tech artillery munitions, laser rangefinders and so on…..
In order to reflect this complexity, but still have a gameable set of rules, TY is a much more stripped down version of FOW, particularly in terms of presentation – less blurb explaining the rules. (Which leaves them vulnerable to blow hards who haven't read or played the rules – virtually any one aspect of the rules can, and will, be held up to ridicule when taken out of context.) They have also speeded up play by moving some of the data to cards, so there is no longer generic 'national' characteristics – each AFV or team has its own specific 'to hit' factor, morale, etc, rather than saying, for example, all Russians are ' trained conscripts'…
I've only read the rules through a few times and played one solo game with them. But I have played an awful lot of other modern rules, and TY sure has them beat for playability and simplicity.
As for the outcome, in terms of authenticity, well, Battlefront seem to have selected the middle course between crediting Soviet weapons and effectiveness with what we thought then, and what we know now – so they aren't superhumans with wonder weapons, but not an undisciplined and half trained conscript rabble with cramped and unreliable weapons either – probably the best outcome for a fun game!
