cousin_joe
03-31-2004, 01:00 AM
The best thing about the new techs is that since they're directed (research what you want), and reasonably cheap (avg 30 IPC), there is much more ability to get the tech that compliments your strategy. Also, I like the fact the techs are MORE equal. Note "MORE equal", but still needing some improvement. Here's a breakdown of the new techs by letter grade for cost-effectiveness, including their old grade (in brackets), and how to go about equalizing things more.
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JET POWER
Grade: D (prev F)
Best For: Ger
Comment: For only a small boost in defense, on very few units, definitely not worth investing your 30IPC early in the game on. It will take forever to get the returns on this investment, if ever. And even though FTRs are reduced in price, there still isn't much incentive to buy new ones.
suggestions: I understand air-to-air combat as in A&AE is out the window, as there is concern about FTRs having too many roles, but if a player invests 30IPCs into Jet Power, In addition to the +1 bonus on defense, give them a +1 bonus in defending SBR raids. My biggest complaint with Heavy Bombers, is not the degree of damage, but moreso the fact that little can be done to prevent this damage. If a player wants to defend vs. Heavy Bombers, or SBR in general, give them that option. Here is how I would envision it working.
-Attacker declares SBR Raid on Territory X
-For every FTR present on Territory X, player declares if he wants that FTR involved in SBR Defence (If so, it can not be used to defend any ground attacks on that territory as well)
-For every FTR involved in SBR Defence, the player gets an extra AA roll @ 1
It might not seem to amount to much, but it definitely makes investing in Jet Power more viable, as well as providing players an option to counter SBR to some degree (while not making SBR obsolete). It might also encourage more FTR production.
Potential Grade: B
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ROCKETS
Grade: A (prev F)
Best For: UK, Ger
Comment: At an avg cost of 30IPC, with a return of investment around 7 IPC/turn (assuming 2 rockets), I'd say the designers did a good job with this one.
Suggestions: none
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SUPER SUBS
Grade: F (prev F)
Best For: ***, Ger, US
Comment: With the loss of their Immediate Submerge ability, SUBs have basically gone back to being Sitting Ducks, particularly to aircraft. Don't expect any returns on your investment as most SUBs don't make it past round 2.
Suggestions: See Rules Discussion #1a which suggests an Attempted Submerge (vs. the Immediate), where the sub needs to make a proficiency roll (either 3 or 4, or less) in order to Submerge. This would greatly increase it's survivability and potential to return your investment. Furthermore, Super Subs should get a +1 to their proficiency roll as well, making them all the more elusive.
Potential Grade: B
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LONG RANGE AIRCRAFT
Grade: B- (prev B-)
Best For: USA, ***
Comment: Useful under certain circumstances
Suggestions: none
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COMBINED BOMBARDMENT
Grade: F (prev N/A)
Best for: USA, UK, ***
Comment: Let's see, 30IPC investment for a 50% chance of picking off a 3IPC INF per round, per Destroyer (with most countries having only 1, as there is little incentive to buy more). You do the math, definitely not very cost-effective. I think this rule was meant to give DESTs something to do once the Atlantic was clear, namely soften up Western Europe for the inevitable D-Day. Unfortunately, there is not much need to make DESTs with the current ruleset. Furthermore, I don't think it fulfills this role very effectively (recall, 1INF is lost in the Amphibious Assault everytime you bombard)
Suggestions: If we increase SUB viability, as suggested above, then more DEST will be needed as well, making this a little more cost-effective (2 DEST instead of 1 maybe). Note, just a little. But there's more... It's called Combined Bombardment, Right? Well, why not let both Destroyers AND Battleships act as Artillery in that it gives a 1 point boost to an accompanying INFs attack as well. The results:
-when softening up a target (eg. W Eur), say using 1 DEST and 1 INF, chance of removing a defending unit goes up to 83% (from 67%), Even better if using a BB, or if you have mulitple DESTs
-when conducting the actual attack (D-Day), you get a unit that attacks at 2 for the full duration of combat
That 30 IPC investment is looking a lot better (though not extreme)!
Potential Grade: B
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HEAVY BOMBERS
Grade: A++ (prev A+++)
Best For: USA, ***, UK
Comment: The drop from 3 to 2 Dice was a necessary one, but I still think they are overpowered. Most people will definitely have at least 2 (but usually many more), meaning a return of investment of 14IPC/turn, AT THE MINIMUM! (minus purchase costs, maxed out damage, and AAkills but still VERY cost-effective). And with no air-to-air combat, these things have fairly good capability to bomb at will, with nothing but a single AA shot at 1 to defend against them (17%).
Suggestions: Give players a potential counter, see Jet Power above. This change would not make Heavy Bombers useless. If he goes for Jet Power, consider that equivalent to 30IPC's of successful bombing. Furthermore, SBRs are still possible as the benefit is so small (a single extra AA roll at 1). Also, those Heavies are still quite effective in regular combat. This also really add some flavour to the game as Germany is really going to have to think about where they position those FTRs (WEur to defend vs. amphibs, Ger to defend vs SBR, or Eastern Front to exchange territories).
Potential Grade: A+
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There you have it! 6 Techs, all more equally viable, and all promoting different strategies, at a cost-effective price.
Jet Power - For the Defensive, I hate SBR type
Rockets - For the Economic Warfare type
Super Subs - For the Terror from the Seas type
Long Range Aircraft - For the Tactical Flexibility type
Combined Bombardment - For the Nickel and Dime you type
Heavy Bombers - For the Terror from the Skies type
The nice thing about these techs as well is that they get away from the dull, drawn-out, boring Infantry Push Mechanic type of game. I can think of at least a couple of other Techs I'd like to see in a 2nd printing but I'll describe them later. For now, comments anyone???
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JET POWER
Grade: D (prev F)
Best For: Ger
Comment: For only a small boost in defense, on very few units, definitely not worth investing your 30IPC early in the game on. It will take forever to get the returns on this investment, if ever. And even though FTRs are reduced in price, there still isn't much incentive to buy new ones.
suggestions: I understand air-to-air combat as in A&AE is out the window, as there is concern about FTRs having too many roles, but if a player invests 30IPCs into Jet Power, In addition to the +1 bonus on defense, give them a +1 bonus in defending SBR raids. My biggest complaint with Heavy Bombers, is not the degree of damage, but moreso the fact that little can be done to prevent this damage. If a player wants to defend vs. Heavy Bombers, or SBR in general, give them that option. Here is how I would envision it working.
-Attacker declares SBR Raid on Territory X
-For every FTR present on Territory X, player declares if he wants that FTR involved in SBR Defence (If so, it can not be used to defend any ground attacks on that territory as well)
-For every FTR involved in SBR Defence, the player gets an extra AA roll @ 1
It might not seem to amount to much, but it definitely makes investing in Jet Power more viable, as well as providing players an option to counter SBR to some degree (while not making SBR obsolete). It might also encourage more FTR production.
Potential Grade: B
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ROCKETS
Grade: A (prev F)
Best For: UK, Ger
Comment: At an avg cost of 30IPC, with a return of investment around 7 IPC/turn (assuming 2 rockets), I'd say the designers did a good job with this one.
Suggestions: none
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SUPER SUBS
Grade: F (prev F)
Best For: ***, Ger, US
Comment: With the loss of their Immediate Submerge ability, SUBs have basically gone back to being Sitting Ducks, particularly to aircraft. Don't expect any returns on your investment as most SUBs don't make it past round 2.
Suggestions: See Rules Discussion #1a which suggests an Attempted Submerge (vs. the Immediate), where the sub needs to make a proficiency roll (either 3 or 4, or less) in order to Submerge. This would greatly increase it's survivability and potential to return your investment. Furthermore, Super Subs should get a +1 to their proficiency roll as well, making them all the more elusive.
Potential Grade: B
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LONG RANGE AIRCRAFT
Grade: B- (prev B-)
Best For: USA, ***
Comment: Useful under certain circumstances
Suggestions: none
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COMBINED BOMBARDMENT
Grade: F (prev N/A)
Best for: USA, UK, ***
Comment: Let's see, 30IPC investment for a 50% chance of picking off a 3IPC INF per round, per Destroyer (with most countries having only 1, as there is little incentive to buy more). You do the math, definitely not very cost-effective. I think this rule was meant to give DESTs something to do once the Atlantic was clear, namely soften up Western Europe for the inevitable D-Day. Unfortunately, there is not much need to make DESTs with the current ruleset. Furthermore, I don't think it fulfills this role very effectively (recall, 1INF is lost in the Amphibious Assault everytime you bombard)
Suggestions: If we increase SUB viability, as suggested above, then more DEST will be needed as well, making this a little more cost-effective (2 DEST instead of 1 maybe). Note, just a little. But there's more... It's called Combined Bombardment, Right? Well, why not let both Destroyers AND Battleships act as Artillery in that it gives a 1 point boost to an accompanying INFs attack as well. The results:
-when softening up a target (eg. W Eur), say using 1 DEST and 1 INF, chance of removing a defending unit goes up to 83% (from 67%), Even better if using a BB, or if you have mulitple DESTs
-when conducting the actual attack (D-Day), you get a unit that attacks at 2 for the full duration of combat
That 30 IPC investment is looking a lot better (though not extreme)!
Potential Grade: B
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HEAVY BOMBERS
Grade: A++ (prev A+++)
Best For: USA, ***, UK
Comment: The drop from 3 to 2 Dice was a necessary one, but I still think they are overpowered. Most people will definitely have at least 2 (but usually many more), meaning a return of investment of 14IPC/turn, AT THE MINIMUM! (minus purchase costs, maxed out damage, and AAkills but still VERY cost-effective). And with no air-to-air combat, these things have fairly good capability to bomb at will, with nothing but a single AA shot at 1 to defend against them (17%).
Suggestions: Give players a potential counter, see Jet Power above. This change would not make Heavy Bombers useless. If he goes for Jet Power, consider that equivalent to 30IPC's of successful bombing. Furthermore, SBRs are still possible as the benefit is so small (a single extra AA roll at 1). Also, those Heavies are still quite effective in regular combat. This also really add some flavour to the game as Germany is really going to have to think about where they position those FTRs (WEur to defend vs. amphibs, Ger to defend vs SBR, or Eastern Front to exchange territories).
Potential Grade: A+
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There you have it! 6 Techs, all more equally viable, and all promoting different strategies, at a cost-effective price.
Jet Power - For the Defensive, I hate SBR type
Rockets - For the Economic Warfare type
Super Subs - For the Terror from the Seas type
Long Range Aircraft - For the Tactical Flexibility type
Combined Bombardment - For the Nickel and Dime you type
Heavy Bombers - For the Terror from the Skies type
The nice thing about these techs as well is that they get away from the dull, drawn-out, boring Infantry Push Mechanic type of game. I can think of at least a couple of other Techs I'd like to see in a 2nd printing but I'll describe them later. For now, comments anyone???