Thoughts on combat system

[Nupremal]

Does anyone else feel that as tech goes up, the casulaties unrealistically increase? It seems like high tech armor just gets wasted and destroys as well far too much.

Hubert, have you considered adjusting the combat engine to look more at relative strength vs. absolute? As it is now it seems that high attack and high defense means very high casualties for both sides. Just seems a bit too much to me.

[pzgndr]

I've commented on this a few times. There is indeed a skewing towards higher casualties with higher tech, and higher experience for that matter. One would think similar battles between say two L0 tanks and two L5 tanks would be comparably matched and losses would likewise be comparable. But the combat formulas do not take into account relative differences between attacker and defender tech levels. The bad news is that losses are unnaturally higher; the good news is that this skewing is applied to both sides.

A couple years ago I wanted to propose some changes so I made myself a spreadsheet with the current formulas and some examples, and then tried making adjustments for "better" results. I found this to be easier said than done. The problem with relative tech values is that differences can be negative and can cause errors. I messed with it for quite a while and just could not arrive at a solution I felt comfortable recommending. I believe this is an inherent problem with attacker/defender formulas like this, rather than more simplistic odds-based combat results tables (CRTs) with modifiers.

So, with the current system players get a fun game with lots of interesting tech advances but eventually at the higher levels combat starts to become an abnormally bloody affair. A work-around that I and others have used in mods is to limit tech and experience levels to about 2 or 3. This seems to keep combat results more reasonable. A similar work-around to slow down rapid tech advances is also limit how many chits can be invested, again to about 2 or 3.

[Big Al]

interesting. I nerfed the tech levels in my game because of that. Tanks are at best a 3 for example.

[arado234]

I can see problems the other way though.If you only allow level three max tech.then the Allies with their superior mpp base just have to build a whole bunch of stuff at level 1 or 2 and this will negate prettywell all Axis higher tech.units.Since they can only be at best one tech.level higher.Thats not going to be enough to help offset Allied numbers.I think if someone wants to go allout and get ultra rugged tanks then let them.They can still be worn down by cheap A.T.guns and even inf. with level three A.T.hurts.

[Big Al]

I dropped the tech chances of success and I dont think it will have that much of an impact. Although could be.

All I know is that with a high anti-tank tacs can vaporize any armored corp with in reality was not the case. Artillery was the main killer of most men and machine.

[Nupremal]

Here is a better way

You can mod the changes to .5 per tech level!

I did that for all of them except for Heavy Bombers, since I already gave them 1 strike

I dont use anti-tank guns

This reduces tac units - I already lowered their attack to 1 at start so now best it gets is 4.5 at tech 5!