I find several dramatic inaccuracies/drawbacks in the current trade system.
1. Impossibility to stockpile resources. It is a common fact that production and consumption of resources varies greatly depending on construction projects needs and front line situation. For example, we may be focused on Navy buildup and need steel in huge quantities, but afterwards we plan to concentrate on Air Force. That is going to require aluminium, which we may not be able to trade for, because we are embargoed by that time (recall Germany, that had to buy almost all rare materials from USSR and all oil from Romania and Hungary after being embargoed and blockaded by British and French). This mechanic eliminates strategic materiel reserves as such. In real life it is virtually impossible to conduct economic life without resource stockpiles in peacetime, not to mention time of war.
Where is Germany/Italy going to get Aluminium after declaring war on Allies/Comintern? Where are we going to get natural rubber?
Historically, governments had huge influence on international trade focus, especially considering strategic resources. In the case of dictatorships like Axis powers and USSR (which had absolute state run economy and no trade deals, I repeat, not a single deal was ever struck as a private venture) regulation was nearly absolute.
And even if we somehow manage to trade through blockade as Germany, for example, AI having controls of convoys is going to drain our merchant Navy to naught. Germany is going to lose all (every single) merchant ship to British Grand fleet blockade within a month, at best. This system is absolutely unrealistic and not representative of the real WWII event line.
2. Inability of stockpiling oil/fuel/food is going to make strategic buildup and strategic military operations impossible. For example, we are mobilised and are preparing to launch Blitzkrieg into Poland as Germany. On the last day of August our fuel/oil consumption is going to be average, but immediately after hostilities commence, we are going to need unheard of amounts of fuel/ammo for our tanks/ships/planes. It is simply impossible to have industry/trade cover such a raise in demand in such a short time and keep the supply line rolling. We shall have no fuel within day. NO MORE BLITZ for "ze Germans". We shall have to get horses to tow tanks and give Bismark sails to sortie into the Atlantic...Uboats going to be powered by muscle power through bicycle drives
?
3. Industrial production of weapons, especially heavy ones, is going to require large amounts of materials, that are simply impossible to trade for immediately and keep them coming, unless you're USSR/USA/GB and have unlimited supplies. Simply put, if we are Germany/Italy/Swededn/Finland etc, we shall first need to gather metal/rare materials/rubber needed to produce our ships/tanks/planes, before we can actually start construction. Otherwise, we're agoing to "enjoy" 100% construction penalties for our projects.
Now, lets consider some examples.
A) Nickel, tungsten are vital rare materials for armor/artillery/ammunition construction. Germany had stockpiled those for they had nowhere to buy them from. By 1944 they completely ran out. Germans HAD to use their uranium for armour piercing ammunition instead of tungsten and lower amount of nickel in their tank armour alloy. German nuclear program was effectively ruined by that (and, please, don't say it was all because of Norwegian resistance and their little heavy water plant venture). Read Albert Speer and see what he had to say about Germany's strategic resources and war effort.
B) Oil/fuel demand in time of war DOES NOT depend on on its production. It ONLY depends on military NECESSITY. We cannot forsee exact amount of fuel necessary to be produced and delivered, but rather we need a certain amount of ready to use fuel stockpile, that we can take from without having to wait to trade for oil or make synthetic fuel.
During D-Day invasion allies unloaded millions of tonnes of fuel into Normandy bridgehead and even built a fuel line across the English Channel in order to have it ready for use, because refineries simply cannon produce such amounts of fuel as needed for combat in a day and have it delivered instantly.
C) It is a well known fact that during the war Germany was dependent on iron ore from Sweden for its heavy weapons. But it isn't a well known fact that German Navy (Kriegsmarine) ordered and accumulated relatively large numbers of highest grade armour plates and sheet steel for its warship construction programs BEFORE the war. German shipbuilding and even tank production ran on those long after hostilities broke out. Without those stockpiles there would have been no Uboat construction program for Doenitz and no Elephant tank destroyers
D) To show that even USA could find a way around supply stock pile, lets take a look at their nuclear project. USA had to conduct geologic recon, build mines and start mining for uranium ore long before theoretical nuke was ready and even long before uranium ore processing plant in Tennessee was ready. Otherwise, it would have taken years longer to have the bomb ready. Perhaps, we're not going to have uranium as a resource in our game, but example itself shows that even nations as USA HAD to stock pile.
To conclude it, I'd like to say that present economical/trade mechanic is not viable and does not even remotely represent trade/economic system that actually took place during WW2.
Dear developers, please, be so kind to reconsider trade/resource/economic mechanics and, perhaps, affect changes into the game, so that we (buyers/gamers) could have a fun and accurate game on release.
P.S. If anyone is interested in resource trade numbers during WWII, I could either start a thread or provide some references to read about it.
Thanks.
1. Impossibility to stockpile resources. It is a common fact that production and consumption of resources varies greatly depending on construction projects needs and front line situation. For example, we may be focused on Navy buildup and need steel in huge quantities, but afterwards we plan to concentrate on Air Force. That is going to require aluminium, which we may not be able to trade for, because we are embargoed by that time (recall Germany, that had to buy almost all rare materials from USSR and all oil from Romania and Hungary after being embargoed and blockaded by British and French). This mechanic eliminates strategic materiel reserves as such. In real life it is virtually impossible to conduct economic life without resource stockpiles in peacetime, not to mention time of war.
Where is Germany/Italy going to get Aluminium after declaring war on Allies/Comintern? Where are we going to get natural rubber?
Historically, governments had huge influence on international trade focus, especially considering strategic resources. In the case of dictatorships like Axis powers and USSR (which had absolute state run economy and no trade deals, I repeat, not a single deal was ever struck as a private venture) regulation was nearly absolute.
And even if we somehow manage to trade through blockade as Germany, for example, AI having controls of convoys is going to drain our merchant Navy to naught. Germany is going to lose all (every single) merchant ship to British Grand fleet blockade within a month, at best. This system is absolutely unrealistic and not representative of the real WWII event line.
2. Inability of stockpiling oil/fuel/food is going to make strategic buildup and strategic military operations impossible. For example, we are mobilised and are preparing to launch Blitzkrieg into Poland as Germany. On the last day of August our fuel/oil consumption is going to be average, but immediately after hostilities commence, we are going to need unheard of amounts of fuel/ammo for our tanks/ships/planes. It is simply impossible to have industry/trade cover such a raise in demand in such a short time and keep the supply line rolling. We shall have no fuel within day. NO MORE BLITZ for "ze Germans". We shall have to get horses to tow tanks and give Bismark sails to sortie into the Atlantic...Uboats going to be powered by muscle power through bicycle drives
?3. Industrial production of weapons, especially heavy ones, is going to require large amounts of materials, that are simply impossible to trade for immediately and keep them coming, unless you're USSR/USA/GB and have unlimited supplies. Simply put, if we are Germany/Italy/Swededn/Finland etc, we shall first need to gather metal/rare materials/rubber needed to produce our ships/tanks/planes, before we can actually start construction. Otherwise, we're agoing to "enjoy" 100% construction penalties for our projects.
Now, lets consider some examples.
A) Nickel, tungsten are vital rare materials for armor/artillery/ammunition construction. Germany had stockpiled those for they had nowhere to buy them from. By 1944 they completely ran out. Germans HAD to use their uranium for armour piercing ammunition instead of tungsten and lower amount of nickel in their tank armour alloy. German nuclear program was effectively ruined by that (and, please, don't say it was all because of Norwegian resistance and their little heavy water plant venture). Read Albert Speer and see what he had to say about Germany's strategic resources and war effort.
B) Oil/fuel demand in time of war DOES NOT depend on on its production. It ONLY depends on military NECESSITY. We cannot forsee exact amount of fuel necessary to be produced and delivered, but rather we need a certain amount of ready to use fuel stockpile, that we can take from without having to wait to trade for oil or make synthetic fuel.
During D-Day invasion allies unloaded millions of tonnes of fuel into Normandy bridgehead and even built a fuel line across the English Channel in order to have it ready for use, because refineries simply cannon produce such amounts of fuel as needed for combat in a day and have it delivered instantly.
C) It is a well known fact that during the war Germany was dependent on iron ore from Sweden for its heavy weapons. But it isn't a well known fact that German Navy (Kriegsmarine) ordered and accumulated relatively large numbers of highest grade armour plates and sheet steel for its warship construction programs BEFORE the war. German shipbuilding and even tank production ran on those long after hostilities broke out. Without those stockpiles there would have been no Uboat construction program for Doenitz and no Elephant tank destroyers
D) To show that even USA could find a way around supply stock pile, lets take a look at their nuclear project. USA had to conduct geologic recon, build mines and start mining for uranium ore long before theoretical nuke was ready and even long before uranium ore processing plant in Tennessee was ready. Otherwise, it would have taken years longer to have the bomb ready. Perhaps, we're not going to have uranium as a resource in our game, but example itself shows that even nations as USA HAD to stock pile.
To conclude it, I'd like to say that present economical/trade mechanic is not viable and does not even remotely represent trade/economic system that actually took place during WW2.
Dear developers, please, be so kind to reconsider trade/resource/economic mechanics and, perhaps, affect changes into the game, so that we (buyers/gamers) could have a fun and accurate game on release.
P.S. If anyone is interested in resource trade numbers during WWII, I could either start a thread or provide some references to read about it.
Thanks.
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