expanded naval segment

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

I was thinking the other night I'd kind of like to see the naval part expanded and deepened a little more.

I'd like to see carriers knocked out of action (their flight deck wrecked) as it should be, rather than either being sunk or being fully capable of laucnhing and recovering. With damage control being able to repair them after a while (within reason) or if they weren't sunk, they'd respawn as newly repaired and fully operational faster and further out.

I'd like to see a wider variety of Task Groups, with regards to size and composition, and I'd like to see the lone CV or CV with two destroyers eliminated, since no navy in their right mind would send a CV out alone or with a destroyer or two.

Task Groups spawn from deep within a country should have the largest force, and smaller groups should be available closer to the front, in a progressive graduation, the closer to the front the smaller the group. Of course, the country should maintain the ability to spawn the big groups but to a lesser extent as their territory decreases. Start with the port(s) nearest HQ having a Task Group with two BIG battleships, two medium battleships(I know we don't have battleships at all, yet), two cruisers (mixture of heavy, medium, and light), four destroyers, and two carriers. By the time you reach the front lines on a big map you get one (or none) medium battleship, one cruiser (or two if no battleship, one medium and one light or one heavy), two destroyers, and one carrier.

I'd like to see a slightly more complex ship damage model, meaning it would take more than just tonnage of ordinance to sink one. As in it would take hits in the right places with big enough bombs to sink a ship.

I'd like to see large (Iowa class and their predecessors, and/or Yamato class), medium battleships (Bismark and Tirpitz), and three classes of cruisers (the Hood and the Indianapolis for example) added.

I don't see the need to make the ship models terribly complex, meaning they don't need to worry with a complex watertight door model, but the magazines should be there, as should the fuel and the engine room and boiler room. The armor belt should be there as well. Just complex enough to make it rewarding to put the right bomb in the right place. Put a 2K armor piercing bomb into the powder magazine and all it takes is one. Or into the hangar deck.

I think it would make for some really massive pitched battles in the air and on the sea for the big task groups. Some variety, and some strategy added to the naval segment to give people more reasons to get serious about attack and defense of a Task Group.

All this would be real valuable later as TOD went to the Pacific theatre as well, so it wouldn't be "wasted" development time or truly be a detriment to getting TOD going, but rather a semi parallel sort of thing that could be added to the current game as a patch or a succession of patches and be used in TOD as well.

[Sikboy]

I'm looking forward to HTC visiting the Role of Ships in AH, especially with regard to the Damage model.

Hopefully once ToD is out the door this will get some attention.

-Sik

[Raider179]

I would like to see LSTs with the cv groups.

[Jester]

Would like to see the CV model redone as stated above with reguards to damage. If we have it now so guns are knocked out but would like to see it done like the fields - after so many hits in certain places fuel and ord would be affected as well as certain type of aircraft. Also a list and speed reduction would be neat to have as well.

Another thing I would like to see would be "Skins" for the fleet. Depending on the scenario or set-up in the CT the carriers and ships could be made US, British, Japaneses, German, etc. Would make things much more realistic.

LCM's that would bring troops and a single tank to the beach would also be an interesting idea as well. If troops are carried they could dump them out as usual as soon as they hit the beach. If carrying a Tank, as soon as it hits the beach the LCM driver could switch to the tank and the boat would dissapear.

[Sikboy]

Originally posted by Jester

Another thing I would like to see would be "Skins" for the fleet. Depending on the scenario or set-up in the CT the carriers and ships could be made US, British, Japaneses, German, etc. Would make things much more realistic.

I would almost bet that this is on the way as the Terrain team gears up to put out new Maps. The new Object editor might even  allow them to take this even a step further, using new models depending on the Terrain.

-Sik

[Kweassa]

The problem is always with gameplay.

 Personally I'm all for more realistic DM for capital ships. Flight decks punctured, service elevators busted, fuel leaks, rudder damage.. etc etc..

 However, the CV is pretty easy to destroy unless a certain squad dedicates itself to the CV's protection with active CAP in the league of real military operations.

 In this kind CV protection, the players search out nearby fields, kill all the ordnance, and maintain regular CAP over the CV at all altitudes between 3k to 15k for hours. It's possible and effective, but not many MA folk are upto this sort of selfless task in the first place.

 And even with that kind of protection, if the enemy are as determined go kamikaze the ships there's no stopping them. If something like a P-51D or a Typhoon just dives straight to the CV with 2K bombs strapped into it, basically there's no stopping it. Radar detection range is way too short to stop anything like that in time.

 So, with due consideration, HTC upped the CV endurance to whoppin' 8000lbs required, which seems to be doing fine.

 It's ahistorical and ridiculous, but the need to do at least 4~5 precise and successful bomb runs to sink a CV with a single JABO plane does do the trick in maintaining the frail balance between too weak a CVs and too strong a CV. Currently, the 8k load makes sure that at least, if the CV has reasonable protection, it will survive for a long time.

 But what if the CV is damaged and inoperable by a single bomb hitting a 'sweet spot'? I think the CV will become totally ineffective as any kind of real combat platform. Especially when the fear of death is non-existant, the need to form a predictable-yet-reasonable attack pattern is also non-existant in the game.

 In real life a certain altitude and certain attack pattern would be required to go through a bomb run and come out of it alive.. In the MA, no need at all. If the expendable newbie is nearby in your ranks, you can strap a bomb to his belly and throw him at the enemy CV and he will do his mission.

 
 If there is any method which ensures the CV will be a good combat platform, despite the fraility of more realistic DM, then I'd agree.

[Sikboy]

I think I've mentioned it before, and Grits just mentioned it in the Gameplay forum, but AP bombs might be a good equalizer that would allow give the fleets some additional survivability in the MA.

I don't really know how the breakdown would work, but the idea here would be to limit AP bombs to planes that typically used them, or restrict them to planes who's primary purpose was Ship Attack. Then bring on the Judy (Yes, yes, small Bombload I know).

[edit] I suppose dropping HE on the flight deck of a CV would still be effective :confused

-Sik