I had suggested a naval warfare system before (which got some mild attention), but I didn't really know much about Medieval naval warfare, and the suggestion was a bit complex for a game in which use of the ocean matters so little. Recently, however, I was reading on the subject again, and I went back to my original idea and rewrote parts of it to be more accurate and simple.
To begin, the way I'd conceive of naval battles working is that they would proceed in three phases (corresponding to the three phases of land combat): Volley, Ramming, and Boarding. Of course, having one phase per day would be an abstraction, but it would be no more an abstraction than, say, Fire and Shock phases in EU4.
Combat between fleets would involve both the ships themselves and the armies aboard, and it would be assumed that when a ship sinks, it takes the troops aboard with it. In the Volley phase, destruction of ships would be low (most damage would be to the troops), and Archers and Cavalry Archers would have a huge advantage in dealing damage. In the Ramming phase, only the quantity of ships matters. Finally, in the Boarding phase, melee infantry would have a huge advantage, cavalry would have a disadvantage, and archers would have a great disadvantage.
Multiple flanks would not be needed, but if implemented, I would imagine that all flanks would be on the same phase at any given time. Admirals would add modifiers to combat, and there could possibly be weather effects on sea provinces inflicting attrition damage or having other effects (this would work well with land combat, too, though it may be too big of a strain on the engine).
Finally, I would have at least four special naval retinues. Greeks would get Fire Ship retinues that are extremely good at the Ramming phase and the Norse would get Longboats that can carry their loot and travel over open sea. Berbers would get special Pirate fleets that are capable of looting provinces that they are next too and have free complements of melee infantry, Italians would have Escorts that are good at Ramming and carry free complements of melee infantry and archers (basically, a little bit better at every phase), and Republics would get Trade Convoys that can gather Trade Value from a zone regardless of if it's controlled by them or not**.
*I think Berber looting would be balanced in that they would be much harder to intercept by the defenders, but they would be unable to penetrate the interior of the country. They would also be inferior to republics.
**Trade Convoys wouldn't be particularly useful for increasing income due to their own expense, but they'd be an effective tool for denying income to the enemy, much like how privateering works in EU4. For rival republics in Italy, a major goal of war would be to destroy the other's Trade Convoys to protect one's own trade, and that would require naval superiority.
Overall, I think this would be a simple but worthwhile system. By limiting new ships to retinues and having the rest of it use existing troop types, it would require less learning and buildings, and it would go a ways towards fleshing out certain cultures/governments. I could easily see myself paying, say, $20 for a DLC that adds this and also expands on trade mechanics.
To begin, the way I'd conceive of naval battles working is that they would proceed in three phases (corresponding to the three phases of land combat): Volley, Ramming, and Boarding. Of course, having one phase per day would be an abstraction, but it would be no more an abstraction than, say, Fire and Shock phases in EU4.
Combat between fleets would involve both the ships themselves and the armies aboard, and it would be assumed that when a ship sinks, it takes the troops aboard with it. In the Volley phase, destruction of ships would be low (most damage would be to the troops), and Archers and Cavalry Archers would have a huge advantage in dealing damage. In the Ramming phase, only the quantity of ships matters. Finally, in the Boarding phase, melee infantry would have a huge advantage, cavalry would have a disadvantage, and archers would have a great disadvantage.
Multiple flanks would not be needed, but if implemented, I would imagine that all flanks would be on the same phase at any given time. Admirals would add modifiers to combat, and there could possibly be weather effects on sea provinces inflicting attrition damage or having other effects (this would work well with land combat, too, though it may be too big of a strain on the engine).
Finally, I would have at least four special naval retinues. Greeks would get Fire Ship retinues that are extremely good at the Ramming phase and the Norse would get Longboats that can carry their loot and travel over open sea. Berbers would get special Pirate fleets that are capable of looting provinces that they are next too and have free complements of melee infantry, Italians would have Escorts that are good at Ramming and carry free complements of melee infantry and archers (basically, a little bit better at every phase), and Republics would get Trade Convoys that can gather Trade Value from a zone regardless of if it's controlled by them or not**.
*I think Berber looting would be balanced in that they would be much harder to intercept by the defenders, but they would be unable to penetrate the interior of the country. They would also be inferior to republics.
**Trade Convoys wouldn't be particularly useful for increasing income due to their own expense, but they'd be an effective tool for denying income to the enemy, much like how privateering works in EU4. For rival republics in Italy, a major goal of war would be to destroy the other's Trade Convoys to protect one's own trade, and that would require naval superiority.
Overall, I think this would be a simple but worthwhile system. By limiting new ships to retinues and having the rest of it use existing troop types, it would require less learning and buildings, and it would go a ways towards fleshing out certain cultures/governments. I could easily see myself paying, say, $20 for a DLC that adds this and also expands on trade mechanics.
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