Airships

[Cantona66]

Will the airships be moddable to be aircrafts?

[Bill101]

They can be modded into aircraft because they use the Bomber function and can be intercepted by enemy Fighter aircraft, or shot at by AA.

However, the Airship research technology probably wouldn't be applicable in all cases (i.e. for regular bombers). So it really depends what you might want to use this slot for, as the game will already come with three aircraft slots.

In games using the WWII engine the Airship slot is transformed into the Rocket slot that we've had in previous SC games, so really modding them into a new aircraft type only makes sense for WWI games. Unless you want a super fast jet that can't be intercepted in your WWII games?

[Cantona66]

I´ve been thinking about one really long range bomber/recon=FW200 Condor

[SeaMonkey]

So the new recon rule is you have to fly aircraft to a target tile and all adjacent tiles, as well as the target tile, are revealed in clear weather?

Does this count as a strike? Can the old spotting rule be enacted? What about the tiles of the aircraft's path? Can we use the "Ctrl, left click" feature to designate a different path for the return flight?

[Bill101]

Hi SeaMonkey

In answer to your first question that is the case. You just point and click at the target tile, and the Recon Bomber will fly there and back, disclosing enemy dispositions and the strength of resources for all locations en route.

This does count as a strike, and it can be intercepted and escorted by enemy and friendly Fighters alike.

The old spotting rule can still be enacted too, simply by increasing air units' automatic spotting ranges in the editor.

[SeaMonkey]

Thanks Bill and I must say I like where this recon feature is going, it just needs some additional modifications. We should now be able to use the "Ctrl-left click" mechanism to denote waypoints for the aircraft's flight path and since this now uses a strike we should also be able to rebase on the return flight within range.

Does the intercept just cause strength losses or will it cause a premature end to the recon mission in light of a negative combat result?

[CSS]

In WWI airships were mostly invunerable till late in the war.

[Bill101]

Does the intercept just cause strength losses or will it cause a premature end to the recon mission in light of a negative combat result?

It all depends on whether or not the recon bomber is destroyed in the mission. If not, then you get the info as otherwise it would be a bit harsh (and hard to work out what is and isn't fair).

I think it works pretty well, and it can be very handy when trying not only to locate the enemy's reserves and artillery, but also if you think the enemy fleet is operating off your coast.

In naval actions, using a Seaplane Carrier to spot some of the enemy fleet also makes your dash into action all the more effective. That is as long as you've correctly predicted where the enemy fleet might be.

[SeaMonkey]

"(and hard to work out what is and isn't fair)."

An interesting premise Bill, I'm thinking this could be accomodated with an optional mode, "ignore losses". Could be applicable to ground attacks also if the defending player wishes to avoid a retreat. In an "ignore losses" mode, recon bombers would abort the mission if suffering over 50% losses, otherwise it would complete its mission.

Same with ground attacks where a defender wishes to not retreat when suffering greater than 50% losses. Perhaps something to consider for a future patch feature or variant.