My wish is that Infantry warfare is implemented in Aces High contributing to add another level of gameplay and a more elaborate representation of ground and base capture. Also this would allow several new things: you could attack or defend a field, start ground battles, lead platoons against AI or human controlled platoons, make captures look more realistic. A whole new game within the game would develop... without going to extremes like in other games...
My wish is that HTC creates animated troops totally AI and/or player controlled. These troops may walk, run, kneel, lay down, hide. These troops will have differentiated armament within the platoon, as in real life: some will have rifles, others sub-machineguns, there may be one .30 team, or one bazooka or panzerfaust AT team, maybe one light mortar. They all have a few hand-grenades, some a couple of sticky explosive satchels, there will be a wireless operator, one medic. They will behave much differently when under AI control or player control. Under AI control, they are automatically spawned in a defensive perimeter or lauched on a target to wich they will proceed directly. If player controlled, they will be able to manouever and act differently, to a certain extent.
You may drop a platoon of "dum AI" paratroopers or you may jump yourself leading a platoon giving them directions and orders (hide, duck, spread, attack, defend, destroy building, whatever); you will be able to “cycle” between troops like in bomber gunner positions. Once killed, your “persona” will be transferred to the next soldier, until there is no one else alive... Troops carry some ammunition with them but it is finite. They may be able to use Supply Boxes if available. One Medic will be able to heal one small caliber wound for as long as he may reach the wounded soldier. Medics are unarmed and, if killed, they are not replaceable. Radio operators allow for Vox comms. Once killed, no more vox comms will be possible.
Displacement of the platoon will be similar to the existing, plus one: by armoured personnel transport vehicles, C-47, LVT and by foot. The platoon will be transported in a group of vehicles that will work as bomber drones, except in the case of the C-47 and when on foot. When you spawn a platoon you will be able to choose to drive them only or to lead them aswell; in the first case, they will be “dum AI” controlled from the lauch point on; in the second case, the player drives the vehicles, launches the troops and all walk from there to the target. All vehicles will disappear immediately after all troops are afoot.
Implement AI and/or human controlled Troop Town/Airfield/Vehicle Base/Port/Factory Defense Corps (tied to the availability and integrity of the Barracks and the Training Facilities) that are immediately and automatically deployed by the flashing of the town/AF/VB/port/factory. This defensive platoon would immediately deploy and establish a defensive perimeter around the map room. If automatically deployed, they would assume pre-determined positions. If player controlled, they would execute their leader orders.
Spawn points would be two, depending if they are automated or player controlled: around the map room, if automatically generated, in the barracks or VH if player generated. In auto mode, the base generates one new platoon only after the previous one is eliminated; in player generated mode, there may be generated an unlimited number of squads, depending of the players involved as long as the Barracks are up.
How would work captures, then? The same way they do now plus by entering/capturing and HOLDING the map room for 2 minutes. And by how many troops? By a minimum of 1 squad of soldiers (9 men?).
In the United States Army, Rifle Platoons are normally composed of 42 soldiers. They are led by a platoon leader (PL), usually an Infantry second lieutenant (2LT), and with a Platoon Sergeant (PSG), usually a Sergeant First Class (SFC). Rifle Platoons consist of three nine-man Rifle squads and one nine-man Weapons squad. The Platoon Headquarters includes the PL, PSG, along with the PL's Radio-Telephone Operator (RTO), Platoon Forward Observer (FO), the FO's RTO and the Platoon Medic.
The German Army equivalent of the platoon is the Zug, consisting of a platoon headquarters (HQ) squad (Zugtrupp) of four to six men, and three squads (Gruppen) of eight to eleven men each. Three Züge make up a company (Kompanie), with the first platoon usually commanded by a company-grade officer (Kompanieoffizier), usually a first (Oberleutnant) or second lieutenant (Leutnant), who is also the company's second-in-command. The second and third Zug are led by experienced NCOs, usually master sergeants (Hauptfeldwebel). In the first platoon a master sergeant is assistant to the platoon leader, with this role filled by a sergeant (Feldwebel) in the second and third platoons. Each squad is led by a corporal (Unteroffizier) and its size corresponds to the typical passenger capacity of its squad vehicle (either wheeled or armoured). The task of the platoon HQ squad is to provide support for the platoon leader and as a reserve force (such as two additional snipers or an anti-tank weapon crew.)
We currently have all the vehicles needed to deply these platoons: 2 x C-47 (27 troops capacity each?), 1 Jeep + 4 x M3 (10 troops capacity each) or 1 Jeep + 4 x Sdkf 251 (11 troops capacity each?).
What do you think?
