Research and design are completely different concepts. Through research, we learn to make armor that offers better protection for a given amount of weight. Design is the art of deciding how much of that armor a particular vehicle should have, given its mission and the tradeoffs that we’re willing to accept (fuel use, speed, off-road mobility, etc).
While there were minor differences in the basic technology employed by the major combatants of WWII, it was design that had the most impact on actual operations. The Germans certainly had the technology to match anything the Soviets built. Yet, due to design considerations, these two armies fielded tanks with very different capabilities. The T-34 had superior cross-country mobility because it was emphasized in the design process, not because the Germans didn’t have the technology.
Even within the forces of a single nation, you find the simultaneous development and production of very different designs intended for different missions. All these designs represent the current state of their technology. By 1944, the Germans were simultaneously producing 9 different kinds of fighter aircraft in significant quantities (over 100). The range of capabilities from Me-109’s to Me-262’s to He-163’s to Me-410’s is huge. Yet, they all came from the same nation at the same level of technology, because they were designed for different roles.
HOI3 offers the player excellent opportunities for technology research, but very little in the way of design. For example, you can research better engines, airframes, weapons, and fuel tanks for your interceptors. But, you get little chance to change mix of design elements to create a new type of aircraft (some preset instances exist such as MR fighters). Currently, the capability to create something new is only available to modders.
For the next installment of the HOI series, we should bring that capability to the player, in the game. If I want to design an assault gun for infantry support…in 1938…that should be possible, within the technology available at that time. If I decide I want to increase (or decrease) the ratio of machine guns and mortars in new infantry units (design new infantry battalion) then I should have that option. This would obviously result in a unit with combat capabilities and costs different from the ‘basic’ version. An IC-limited nation would choose less armament (Italy), while a manpower-limited nation would chose more (Germany).
This system would better reflect the vast variety of WWII combat units and equipment. It will appeal to the ‘History Nuts’ who argue endlessly about why their favorite units aren’t included and whether or not the Scharnhorst was a BC or a BB or a CA (in fact, it was just a Scharnhorst…a design that made different tradeoffs between speed, armor, and weaponry). It will appeal to micro-managers who like to tinker with the pieces. It appeals to the builders/modders/designers who don’t have the time or ability to make their own ‘mod’. And, it need not add complexity for those who don’t want it. Just turn it over to the AI as some currently do with diplomacy, espionage, or even combat.
How would it work? Split research and design into separate functions. Research would be in basic sciences with military application such as ballistics, metallurgy, electronics, optics, hydraulics, engines, etc. The technology behind heavy/medium/light tank engines is all the same. This research expands the envelope of the possible. Differences come in the design stage.
Design is where the specific tradeoffs of price and performance elements are balanced. There are a couple of ways the design stage could be implemented. One way would be to allow the player to specify a few hard requirements (as in, ‘I need an aircraft with 400km range and 5 air-attack’) and allow the game to fill in the other characteristics (cost, fuel use, time to build, etc).
Another way would be to allow the player to set priorities. For example, ‘design an infantry unit that prioritizes hard-attack and low-cost’. You might allow them to rank their priorities high-to-low or give them points to distribute amongst the capabilities. Then, the game would offer the player a design based on their priorities and their current technology.
In either case, the player now has a new unit type available on the production screen.
The old ‘interceptor’, ‘fighter’, ‘multi-role’ types should be replaced with more specific names (something like Spitfire XIV and Hurricane Mk II). For player-developed designs, it would be up to the player to name them (defaulting to something like ‘aircraft model 12’). There would be no automatic updating of old designs (unless the player opts for AI control). If you want to replace your P-40’s with P-51’s, you need to create a design and upgrade whichever units you want to change.
Personally, I believe this would add a significant amount of flavor and ‘fun’ to the game.
While there were minor differences in the basic technology employed by the major combatants of WWII, it was design that had the most impact on actual operations. The Germans certainly had the technology to match anything the Soviets built. Yet, due to design considerations, these two armies fielded tanks with very different capabilities. The T-34 had superior cross-country mobility because it was emphasized in the design process, not because the Germans didn’t have the technology.
Even within the forces of a single nation, you find the simultaneous development and production of very different designs intended for different missions. All these designs represent the current state of their technology. By 1944, the Germans were simultaneously producing 9 different kinds of fighter aircraft in significant quantities (over 100). The range of capabilities from Me-109’s to Me-262’s to He-163’s to Me-410’s is huge. Yet, they all came from the same nation at the same level of technology, because they were designed for different roles.
HOI3 offers the player excellent opportunities for technology research, but very little in the way of design. For example, you can research better engines, airframes, weapons, and fuel tanks for your interceptors. But, you get little chance to change mix of design elements to create a new type of aircraft (some preset instances exist such as MR fighters). Currently, the capability to create something new is only available to modders.
For the next installment of the HOI series, we should bring that capability to the player, in the game. If I want to design an assault gun for infantry support…in 1938…that should be possible, within the technology available at that time. If I decide I want to increase (or decrease) the ratio of machine guns and mortars in new infantry units (design new infantry battalion) then I should have that option. This would obviously result in a unit with combat capabilities and costs different from the ‘basic’ version. An IC-limited nation would choose less armament (Italy), while a manpower-limited nation would chose more (Germany).
This system would better reflect the vast variety of WWII combat units and equipment. It will appeal to the ‘History Nuts’ who argue endlessly about why their favorite units aren’t included and whether or not the Scharnhorst was a BC or a BB or a CA (in fact, it was just a Scharnhorst…a design that made different tradeoffs between speed, armor, and weaponry). It will appeal to micro-managers who like to tinker with the pieces. It appeals to the builders/modders/designers who don’t have the time or ability to make their own ‘mod’. And, it need not add complexity for those who don’t want it. Just turn it over to the AI as some currently do with diplomacy, espionage, or even combat.
How would it work? Split research and design into separate functions. Research would be in basic sciences with military application such as ballistics, metallurgy, electronics, optics, hydraulics, engines, etc. The technology behind heavy/medium/light tank engines is all the same. This research expands the envelope of the possible. Differences come in the design stage.
Design is where the specific tradeoffs of price and performance elements are balanced. There are a couple of ways the design stage could be implemented. One way would be to allow the player to specify a few hard requirements (as in, ‘I need an aircraft with 400km range and 5 air-attack’) and allow the game to fill in the other characteristics (cost, fuel use, time to build, etc).
Another way would be to allow the player to set priorities. For example, ‘design an infantry unit that prioritizes hard-attack and low-cost’. You might allow them to rank their priorities high-to-low or give them points to distribute amongst the capabilities. Then, the game would offer the player a design based on their priorities and their current technology.
In either case, the player now has a new unit type available on the production screen.
The old ‘interceptor’, ‘fighter’, ‘multi-role’ types should be replaced with more specific names (something like Spitfire XIV and Hurricane Mk II). For player-developed designs, it would be up to the player to name them (defaulting to something like ‘aircraft model 12’). There would be no automatic updating of old designs (unless the player opts for AI control). If you want to replace your P-40’s with P-51’s, you need to create a design and upgrade whichever units you want to change.
Personally, I believe this would add a significant amount of flavor and ‘fun’ to the game.
