Naval Operations - An Abstract Approach

[cwhomer]

Meh, shouldn't think so. Though you might get an event along the lines of "one of our privateers has abandoned his charter and attacked merchants of a friedly nation, they demand repparations be paid"
Giving you the choice between paying up like a good boy, or a hit in relations and a temp. CB.

Oh, don't pay attention to me, I was being hardcore there . Your idea is better.

 

[cwhomer]

I must disagree with the idea presented in the opening post. If you've ever played the Civilization series, you will know that in the later games, they have decided to make the air combat missions more abstract...

I have to side with State Machine. The abstraction of air/naval warfare in the Civ series is very different from the kind of abstraction I think most of us are talking about, based on our experience with HOI II. Basically the way the system works by picking a region to patrol and giving it an order (like "destroy infrastructure" or "anti-submarine warfare") for a set period of time or damage taken. Your giving the orders, you can watch them being carried out, but your not directing every single bombing flight or cruise (which you can if you choose to anyways).

 

[cwhomer]

Hmm, I seem to remember that in times of actual war the regular navies of warring powers would frequently engage in privateering as well. Not the line of battle of course, but the lesser rated ships.

Hence my suggestion of an auxiliary privateer ship unit.

 

[Registered]

Hence my suggestion of an auxiliary privateer ship unit.

I do not like the idea of the player having direct controll over privateers. When a captain went privateer he was, after all, temporarily outside the state's controll. In another thread i proposed a system where a player could issue a charter for a certain searegion for the duration of a war. Privateeers would then appear automatically. Their number depending on things like, distance from homecountry, number of traderoutes in that region (if they are in), number and wealth of coastal provinces in homecountry. Their success depending on your and your enemeies naval level. Those privateers would create some income and, more importantly, hurt enemy trade and distract their navy (unless the AI simply ignores it ofcourse).
At the end of the war those privateers would either go home or turn pirate and attack anything that crosses their path.

 

[Arilou]

Random suggestion:

How about letting navies capture islands (and perhaps even ports/coastal provinces) "On their own"?

Most navies after all included complements of soldiers. At least tiny islands (like in the Carribean) should be "siegeable" by simply stationing a navy nearby....

 

[Quift]

Random suggestion:

How about letting navies capture islands (and perhaps even ports/coastal provinces) "On their own"?

Most navies after all included complements of soldiers. At least tiny islands (like in the Carribean) should be "siegeable" by simply stationing a navy nearby....

Word. and/or carry a small amount of troops. say 2-300 men and some 10-20 cannons. So that even the fort in aden is under threat when the dutch play hardball. Also, regular fleets able to make discoveries when crossing close to uncharted territory. SO that I don't need to make the explorer pass the bloddy island 10 times before he sees it. If the coast they pass is undiscovered there is a chance that they discover it. So if I have a routine of ships passing by St helena, eventually one of them might think it would be good to make a port there.

 

[cwhomer]

I do not like the idea of the player having direct controll over privateers. When a captain went privateer he was, after all, temporarily outside the state's controll. In another thread i proposed a system where a player could issue a charter for a certain searegion for the duration of a war. Privateeers would then appear automatically. Their number depending on things like, distance from homecountry, number of traderoutes in that region (if they are in), number and wealth of coastal provinces in homecountry. Their success depending on your and your enemeies naval level. Those privateers would create some income and, more importantly, hurt enemy trade and distract their navy (unless the AI simply ignores it ofcourse).
At the end of the war those privateers would either go home or turn pirate and attack anything that crosses their path.

So, have it operate as an explorer, in the sense that you don't really control the unit, but it provides other benefits. Sounds like a good idea.

 

[unmerged(6147)]

Unfortunatly, a ship's patrol stops when it runs into a pirate, then requiring two move orders afterwords to return it to its origonal route

Which is exactly what I say in my post.

Besides, you do not use the patrol function for pirate hunting. You use cheap galleys in each sea zone for preventing pirates to interfer in your business.

 

[George LeS]

I've finally gotten the alternative thread started, here:

[thread]238410[/thread]

Of course, many of the discussions will be, of necessity, parallel. What I'd like to urge here, would be further development of how an abstract system would work. That is, how are such things as movement, missions, interception, to function? My own points will be found in the other thread, but I think they'd be better answered here than there; again, I really would like to get more light than heat out of the dual-thread idea.

I'm purposely mostly lurking here, but I am following closely as I can.