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The continual upgrades to the SC2 WaW engine have gradually improved the model quite a bit, but the naval war still seems to have the most problematic aspects. I have encountered three problems in recent games. Though minor, they are still irritating.

One – Inadvertent Oceanic Transfer

The use of entry arrows to allow movement from, for example, the Atlantic to the Red Sea, is a sensible improvisation. The ability of a sub to be invisible until ‘discovered’ when an opposing unit runs into a hidden submarine (or U-boat) is also reasonable. However, there are times when a unit being ‘ambushed’ by a submarine inadvertently ends up on an entry point for inter-oceanic transfer. This is even more likely to happen when the ‘interesting’ fiction of a submarine being able to evade and disappear from an attack requires a prolonged hunt in the vicinity of the transfer arrows. Just recently I had to ‘re-locate’ a strength one U-boat and did it using one of my last units in the area – an under strength Destroyer. I successfully found and killed the evading U-boat, but my success was followed by the victorious warship disappearing into the inter-ocean worm hole at the end of the turn.

This seems to be a clear travesty of both intent and game design here. One method of preventing this would be to require a player to confirm all interocean transfers at the end of a turn (for all units ending the turn on an arrow). Seems like a lot of work though.

A second method might be to NOT transfer any unit that ends its turn in an arrow as a result of contact with an opposing unit, or perhaps requiring confirmation that any unit that contacts an opposing unit at the end of its turn really intends to proceed to an interocean transfer.

This is a minor issue, but when it happens it can be darned annoying.

Two – British Transports unable to use western Red Sea and Persian Gulf Interocean transfer arrows in Operation Neptune

Operation Neptune is a very interesting scenario. However, the naval aspects – when playing against a human, as opposed to the AI – are very challenging for the Allied player. In my efforts to support an Allied campaign in the Middle East in the face of the huge Axis navy, I have had occasion to use the interocean transfer arrows south of Cuba extensively for my US forces. However, an effort to send some of my few remaining British forces by these arrows has NOT worked. I cannot understand why this is so – British transports can use the arrows near Africa, and there seems no physical nor political reason within the game scenario that would preclude British transports using the arrows south of Cuba. But British transports stubbornly sit on top of those arrows and do not transfer.

Again, this is comparatively minor – the scenario will not be won or lost on this technicality. But it does seem wrong.

Three – Axis Naval Inter-Sea Transfer from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf in Operation Neptune.

As the Axis player I have been able to shift Axis ships from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf, but only ONE of the two arrows seems to function….again, a minor issue, but what gives?

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