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Screenlag

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May 25, 2013
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To start off: I've searched but not found any previous threads which suggested this, but I'm not a regular so if I apologize if it's already been discussed.

The idea is to assign airplanes or squadrons to, for example, a general much like you assign divisions. Exactly like garrisoning land based divisions to guard ports, forts and VPs, this air force general would automatically move about squadrons to achieve air superiority or ground support in selected and relevant provinces or air zones.

For example, if you're playing as Germany, assign 20 squadrons of 100 fighters to an air force general and select all air zones which you want to protect. The general would then independetly move about his aircraft to counter strategic bombing operations done by the enemy. This would work the same over enemy territories, where you assign fighters and bombers and the commander would move about the forces to obtain the players' objectives (Here priority zones could enable the player to direct his AI general). This would introduce commanders to the third military branch. Hopefully this could also mean that it would be easier to have an overview of your air forces than what is possible today.


Pros:
Alleviate the player with micro management, no more cat-and-mouse game where the AI or players rotate their strategic bombers every second. Focus on the grand objective, not individual squadrons
(could) Introduces commanders and skills to the third military branch
Easier overview of the air force in large

Cons:
Help me out here; if done correctly I think this would be an improvement in every aspect.


I believe this would improve the gameplay on the air force side. Once again, I'm sorry if this has already been suggested or if this is the wrong forum for suggesting features. Do you share my opinion in that this would remove bothersome parts of the game play both against AI and human players? Discuss!
 
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You can already attach fighters/CAS to army officers and have them follow the divisions around, which is at least part of what you seem to be asking for. This takes care of the offensive usage of fighters and CAS, bombers will still generally be manually thrown in a particular direction but it still leaves defensive use of fighters as something the player has to manage. Which can be minimized by just leaving 301 fighters in each zone.

The biggest problem with your suggestion is that the AI generally can't be trusted to manage anything properly. The AI might try to match the enemy force in number which results in a more or less even trade of fighters, when a player would doomstack the zone and absolutely massacre the enemy fighters/bombers without suffering near as many losses, which is a way better trade.

The air and naval games lack the sort of dynamic that land has, where infantry divisions are cheap and really good at defending against anything short of a sweaty tank div that costs 10+ times more than the infantry itself. Land warfare allows you to invest less into your defense than what the enemy has to invest into the offense in order to make a successful attack. But for air and navy, you generally need to invest more into it than what the enemy is, for any of that investment to be worthwhile at all. Barring an extreme amount of luck, a more powerful naval or air force is going to destroy the weaker side outright, and have strength remaining to project their threat/effects over the enemy, and whatever middling force is produced and sent out piecemeal is going to get destroyed. The mechanics encourage a very all-or-nothing and doomstack style of play, which I do not find interesting.
 
You can already attach fighters/CAS to army officers and have them follow the divisions around, which is at least part of what you seem to be asking for. This takes care of the offensive usage of fighters and CAS, bombers will still generally be manually thrown in a particular direction but it still leaves defensive use of fighters as something the player has to manage. Which can be minimized by just leaving 301 fighters in each zone.

The biggest problem with your suggestion is that the AI generally can't be trusted to manage anything properly. The AI might try to match the enemy force in number which results in a more or less even trade of fighters, when a player would doomstack the zone and absolutely massacre the enemy fighters/bombers without suffering near as many losses, which is a way better trade.

The air and naval games lack the sort of dynamic that land has, where infantry divisions are cheap and really good at defending against anything short of a sweaty tank div that costs 10+ times more than the infantry itself. Land warfare allows you to invest less into your defense than what the enemy has to invest into the offense in order to make a successful attack. But for air and navy, you generally need to invest more into it than what the enemy is, for any of that investment to be worthwhile at all. Barring an extreme amount of luck, a more powerful naval or air force is going to destroy the weaker side outright, and have strength remaining to project their threat/effects over the enemy, and whatever middling force is produced and sent out piecemeal is going to get destroyed. The mechanics encourage a very all-or-nothing and doomstack style of play, which I do not find interesting.
I know of the attach function to armies, however I feel that they work semi-well. Often times they end up covering weird zones, and they can not be used in a way that I reckon would minimize the micro management which is unavoidable in air combat today. I believe over all that this addition would make for better gameplay. It wouldn't be a radical change, just another tool in your toolbox to wage your war.

I agree that doomstacking works too well for both air and naval combat. However, concentration of force is a central concept in warfare, not least in the air.
 
If you're only wanting to add something to the game, without changing or replacing something that currently exists to give players a new option, I can't really do much to argue against it.

Which is fine, its a video game whose primary purpose is to make PDX money be fun to play. If you have more fun when the planes take care of themselves and you can focus more on other stuff (rather than pausing or just abandoning air entirely), that is perfectly fine. The introduction of officers for the airforce and not just army and navy is interesting, and changing up stuff with the air is also something I want to be explored.
 
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@Screenlag, I do hope you will put your idea into the suggestions forum. I do remember seeing an idea to use the garrison idea for defensive fighters. Even if it has been suggested in the past, it is not up front anymore, so needs a new post, especially since we can now upvote new suggestions.
 
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To start off: I've searched but not found any previous threads which suggested this, but I'm not a regular so if I apologize if it's already been discussed.

The idea is to assign airplanes or squadrons to, for example, a general much like you assign divisions. Exactly like garrisoning land based divisions to guard ports, forts and VPs, this air force general would automatically move about squadrons to achieve air superiority or ground support in selected and relevant provinces or air zones.

For example, if you're playing as Germany, assign 20 squadrons of 100 fighters to an air force general and select all air zones which you want to protect. The general would then independetly move about his aircraft to counter strategic bombing operations done by the enemy. This would work the same over enemy territories, where you assign fighters and bombers and the commander would move about the forces to obtain the players' objectives (Here priority zones could enable the player to direct his AI general). This would introduce commanders to the third military branch. Hopefully this could also mean that it would be easier to have an overview of your air forces than what is possible today.


Pros:
Alleviate the player with micro management, no more cat-and-mouse game where the AI or players rotate their strategic bombers every second. Focus on the grand objective, not individual squadrons
(could) Introduces commanders and skills to the third military branch
Easier overview of the air force in large

Cons:
Help me out here; if done correctly I think this would be an improvement in every aspect.


I believe this would improve the gameplay on the air force side. Once again, I'm sorry if this has already been suggested or if this is the wrong forum for suggesting features. Do you share my opinion in that this would remove bothersome parts of the game play both against AI and human players? Discuss!
Interesting idea.
 
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