Introducing tactical combat!?
So far any tactical combat is represented by combat events which have a certain probability of occurring. You have no direct control over these.
I propose that HoI3 should take this abstraction away and allow the player to choose specific tactics.
When the little screen for initiating an attack comes up, you should also be able to choose the appropriate tactics. For example, you could choose frontal attack, or armoured wedge, or encirclement, or flank attack, or infiltration etc. All of these would be dependent on the type of unit which is attacking and which land doctrines have been developed. So blitzkrieg may give you the armoured wedge, whereas human wave limits your choices to frontal attack. The point is that each brings distinct advantages and also disadvantages. As you progress through the land doctrine path you of course expand your repertoire of tactics.
Similarly, the defense should also be able to chose its tactics. Initially I was thinking there might be two ways of doing this. When attacked, a window would pop up asking which tactic you would want to use. However, I was thinking that this might become somewhat arduous if the computer is continuously attacking you on several fronts with windows constantly popping up and demanding your attention... Instead, a unit might be instructed in advance to take a particular defensive stance whenever it is idle, just like all land units currently automatically start digging in. Again the various defensive tactics available would depend on land doctrine development, but these could for example be elastic defense, static defense, to the last man, rear-guard, even counter attack.
Another thing which comes to mind is that intelligence gathering could come in and play a role here. Using the various intelligence you may be able to discern which tactics your enemy is using. This will allow you to chose the most appropriate tactic to counter the enemy. So in this case certain attacks will be more effective against certain defences and vice versa. As an example, if you find out that enemy units in a neighbouring province are using a static defense, you could instruct you tanks to conduct an encirclement and thereby gain an attack bonus. However, if you do not have access to such info, then you would have to base your tactics on the strengths of your units and hope for the best!
I realise that this would introduce more micromanagement and clicking, but imho tactics could in this way be really satisfying.
First of all, you'll need a certain amount of skill in order to get the most out of this feature. So much so that you could maybe be able to turn the tables on a stronger opponent, one which on paper should defeat you...
Plus you'll have immediate feedback on your decisions in the form of a victory or defeat. Just like in HoI2 when you get that self-satisfied grin on your face after you finally pull off the encirclement that'll turn the tide
Maybe this could re-emphasize actual fighting by giving it added importance.
So far any tactical combat is represented by combat events which have a certain probability of occurring. You have no direct control over these.
I propose that HoI3 should take this abstraction away and allow the player to choose specific tactics.
When the little screen for initiating an attack comes up, you should also be able to choose the appropriate tactics. For example, you could choose frontal attack, or armoured wedge, or encirclement, or flank attack, or infiltration etc. All of these would be dependent on the type of unit which is attacking and which land doctrines have been developed. So blitzkrieg may give you the armoured wedge, whereas human wave limits your choices to frontal attack. The point is that each brings distinct advantages and also disadvantages. As you progress through the land doctrine path you of course expand your repertoire of tactics.
Similarly, the defense should also be able to chose its tactics. Initially I was thinking there might be two ways of doing this. When attacked, a window would pop up asking which tactic you would want to use. However, I was thinking that this might become somewhat arduous if the computer is continuously attacking you on several fronts with windows constantly popping up and demanding your attention... Instead, a unit might be instructed in advance to take a particular defensive stance whenever it is idle, just like all land units currently automatically start digging in. Again the various defensive tactics available would depend on land doctrine development, but these could for example be elastic defense, static defense, to the last man, rear-guard, even counter attack.
Another thing which comes to mind is that intelligence gathering could come in and play a role here. Using the various intelligence you may be able to discern which tactics your enemy is using. This will allow you to chose the most appropriate tactic to counter the enemy. So in this case certain attacks will be more effective against certain defences and vice versa. As an example, if you find out that enemy units in a neighbouring province are using a static defense, you could instruct you tanks to conduct an encirclement and thereby gain an attack bonus. However, if you do not have access to such info, then you would have to base your tactics on the strengths of your units and hope for the best!
I realise that this would introduce more micromanagement and clicking, but imho tactics could in this way be really satisfying.
First of all, you'll need a certain amount of skill in order to get the most out of this feature. So much so that you could maybe be able to turn the tables on a stronger opponent, one which on paper should defeat you...
Plus you'll have immediate feedback on your decisions in the form of a victory or defeat. Just like in HoI2 when you get that self-satisfied grin on your face after you finally pull off the encirclement that'll turn the tide
Maybe this could re-emphasize actual fighting by giving it added importance.
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