Air Power Issues

[Hakko Ichiu]

I have come to the conclusion that air support is too powerful. I also think there is an easy way to redress the balance. Specifically, I don't believe that air power should be able completely to destroy land units. Weaken them, absolutely, but not destroy them. My fix for this would be to allow air power to take land units down to 1, but no more. I think the experience of tactical air power since 1914 bears this out. Sea units are a different matter entirely, since they can be sunk.

Conversely, I don't think carriers should be destroyed when they attack. If a carrier loses all its planes, it still has a hull. Again, down to 1, but no farther.

Opinions?

[Wolfpack]

Originally posted by Hakko Ichiu:

I have come to the conclusion that air support is too powerful. I also think there is an easy way to redress the balance. Specifically, I don't believe that air power should be able completely to destroy land units. Weaken them, absolutely, but not destroy them. My fix for this would be to allow air power to take land units down to 1, but no more. I think the experience of tactical air power since 1914 bears this out. Sea units are a different matter entirely, since they can be sunk.

Conversely, I don't think carriers should be destroyed when they attack. If a carrier loses all its planes, it still has a hull. Again, down to 1, but no farther.

Opinions?

I agree with the carrier idea, but for the other, it could be that while air power may not be able to completely destroy a unit, it can cause it to completely lose all cohesion or render it completely combat ineffective, which, in this game would equal destruction.

Edit - Of course, if a carrier is attacking another carrier, then of course, it could be destroyed while attacking.

Edit 2 - Me can not form sentences complete

[ May 27, 2002, 04:18 PM: Message edited by: Wolfpack ]

[rleete]

Another fine idea. But I think even attacking another carrier or air fleet, it should not be sunk. Only an adjacent unit should be able to cause it to sink. It's attacking (at range), and it's planes are over the enemy. The enemy (defender) planes are over it's own carrier, not attacking the carrier itself. As a coralary, the carrier at 1 strength should not be able to launch any attacks, only defend.

As to edit 2; Wolfpack, you need to sleep ocassionally! The demo will still be there after your nap!

[PVLLVS MAXIMVS]

Originally posted by R_Leete:

Another fine idea. But I think even attacking another carrier or air fleet, it should not be sunk. Only an adjacent unit should be able to cause it to sink. It's attacking (at range), and it's planes are over the enemy. The enemy (defender) planes are over it's own carrier, not attacking the carrier itself. As a coralary, the carrier at 1 strength should not be able to launch any attacks, only defend.

As to edit 2; Wolfpack, you need to sleep ocassionally! The demo will still be there after your nap!

Actually, given the somewhat large scale of this game, if one carrier attacked another, Id assume that it was a duel between the carriers that lasted a couple of days, and involved the ships sending out bombing parties looking for each other as well as CAP on both sides... so I think that carriers should be able to sink each other, but that cruisers and BBs should only be able to counter attack a carrier if adjacent... after all, that WAS the big advantage of the carrier.

[Wolfpack]

Originally posted by R_Leete:

As to edit 2; Wolfpack, you need to sleep ocassionally! The demo will still be there after your nap!

Sleep....BAH! Sleep is not important! I must prove myself so they'll send me an e-mail begging me to beta test the full game. I can stay awake all week...all month...all...zzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Cortes]

One time I was awake for thirty four hours in the summer.. the trick is celibacy. I won't explain why. Men will get it.

Also, lots of caffeine- I assembled a drink called the Heart Attacker. I'm not giving away the recipe, but it'll keep you Day of Defeating for 34 hours before you collapse in your computer chair! MMM MMM GOOD!

[Wolfpack]

Originally posted by Cortes:

One time I was awake for thirty four hours in the summer.. the trick is celibacy. I won't explain why. Men will get it.

Also, lots of caffeine- I assembled a drink called the Heart Attacker. I'm not giving away the recipe, but it'll keep you Day of Defeating for 34 hours before you collapse in your computer chair! MMM MMM GOOD!

If you really want to stay awake, try to find Mini-Thins...strange name, and I've only seen them in gas stations, but I got some for finals one year. I opened the package and saw these little things about the size of a grain of rice. "What the hell, that won't do anything." I said as I popped about 5 of them. wow...I was awake for the next three days. I felt like I was having crack withdrawls or something. Probably looked like it too. I was shaking and twitching a lot. Kept me up though.

[rleete]

Okay, Cortes, spill it. What exactly is this magic drink? We need to get Wolfpack off the over-the-counter cafeine pills!

PVLLVS MAXIMVS, good point. Never looked at it that way.

[Hakko Ichiu]

Originally posted by Wolfpack:

I agree with the carrier idea, but for the other, it could be that while air power may not be able to completely destroy a unit, it can cause it to completely lose all cohesion or render it completely combat ineffective, which, in this game would equal destruction.

Edit - Of course, if a carrier is attacking another carrier, then of course, it could be destroyed while attacking.

I agree w/edit 2. I still think that a land unit should not be completely destroyed. "No cohesion and combat ineffective" is a pretty good description of strength 1. The unit can still be reformed, however, which is why you ought to have to send in ground troops to finish the job.