Here's the scenario...
A mission has been built and promoted. The orginating field had just been restored by the efforts of supply drivers to get the necessary strats availalbe specifically for this mission. People have joined and some have been patiently waiting 10 minutes or so for it to launch.
It is a bomber/escort mission. Flights of B24s, P51s, N1Ks, Spits, and P47 Jabo.
About 20 - 25 people are signed up.
2 minutes before the mission is scheduled to launch, an FW190 roars into the field and porks the ordnance. By himself.. .. but that's another thread..[/B]
Now the mission can't launch for those aircraft with bomb loadouts, so the mission builder relocates the mission to a more remote field, adding more delays to the time the participants will be able to see action. Which degrades from the enjoyment level of the 20+ players involved.
From a strategic standpoint, the tactic of the FW driver ( who, btw, has had his( her? ) soul condemned to Hell by all those watching helplessly from the tower ) was pure brilliance. Good job! you.. @#$!%.
From the gameplay/participant management standpoint, it really damaged the enthusiasm of those involved.
From the mission builder's perspective, it really sux, as changing all the airfields and waypoints in a mission is a royal pain in the butt. Can't just 'set all fields'.. sigh..
Ok..so, here's the 'wish'
Within 10 minutes before a mission's start time, any resources that were available when the mission was posted should continue to be available up through mission launch for those participants in the mission.
This would be in effect as long as the mission start time was never changed after any needed strats were destroyed at the base
Let's further restrict this by saying that it only applies to missions that had a launch time within 1/2 hour of the initial posting time.
Keep in mind that a mission cannot be posted if the required strats are not available at the originating field(s).
Now, the grandfathering feature would only apply to strats, not hangars. If hangars are down, they're down, since they can't be restored by supplies.
The net effect is that the strat that was hit MAY not be permanently down - for up to 10 more minutes- at a certain field IF a mission had been posted beforehand and will be launching with such strat within 10 minutes.
Consider it like this.. The base procurement officer will release ordnance from the ammo dump 10 minutes before the launch of the mission.. not a minute sooner. Once that ord is away from the ammo dump, and being loaded onto the A/C, it shouldn't be considered as tied to the ammo dump.
If the mission commander decides to change the start time, the bullheaded procurement officer storms into his office and demands the ord to be returned to the ammo dump... whether or not the dump still exists. Then the ordnance can be re-procured at the proper time for the mission. If the ammo dump is gone.. too bad.
Same thing goes for troops. Get their sorry butts out of the barracks and into the waiting C47s/M3s/LVTs 10 mins before mission launch. Here, again, if the mission commander changes the start time after the troops have been procured, they are returned to their barracks. If the barracks are destroyed, they're either shot on the spot, or sent to Procurement Officer Training School.
Merry Christmas!
