Imperialism 1870 . . . Version 2

[Art of War]

i think you can crank up the tech paradigm to 20 or 30...

[Art of War]

sorry for the continual post, but the Battlecruiser shouldn't be as powerful as the Battleship. It should be about equal offensive, 3/4 of the defense of a battleship, and maybe two more movement points, ie:

Battlecruiser
Offensive:
14

Defensive:
9

Movement:
15

[Dr. Nick]

Give it less hitpoints, if anything, to reflect the lack of armour.

And make Dreadnought a lot more expensive.

[Case]

I prefer the steam yaught to the steamer - speed is more important then cost (and carrying capacity?)

[curtsibling]

I agree with case, the steamer should be ditched.

[Exile]

A brief aside on "essential" and "ditch it."

Curt,

Thanks for the input. I appreciate it. I'd suggest to you that you're thinking in narrow terms. For example, I never use the Machine Gun unit. I always build and use the Highlanders, small transports, and the Expedition (if I'm playing Britain, US, or France). I'm thinking about doing away with the large transport. In my mind, it's redundant.

It's all in how each individual plays the scenario--a matter of personal style and taste. Like it or not, it seems that whatever I change, it's going to disappoint someone. In the final analysis, the person to please is myself. Especially if I happen to be a perfectionist.

To all those naval warfare experts,

About predreadnought battleships, dreadnoughts, and battlecruisers (not to mention armored cruisers); My Jane's book on Battleships (I forget the exact title). Read. Learn. Don't make me have to go get a quote.

Then, for some units, there is the matter of atmosphere. I realised in playtesting that, simply because I didn't ever want to use a given unit or purchase a specific wonder or improvement, that didn't mean that someone else wouldn't find a unique use for it or enjoy playing with it. The African stuff gives the scenario a touch of flavor that I was seeking when finishing it up. If it fits the period, and it functions properly, leave it alone--someone else probably enjoys it.

I am thinking about keeping the Machine Gun unit since so many people seem to like it. Any thoughts about ditching the large transport?

The input I really need now is the "use patterns" by players (I REALLY watch the pbems, but they just don't convey enough information of the detailed sort). I'd like to know if the units are well-balanced--should a given unit be more or less powerful? The unit mix is not going to change much. What will make the scenario better, and consequently more FUN, is to create better relationships between the various elements of the game. While preserving the flavor of the period.

For example; the Steam Warship, by itself, and not a veteran, has a small chance of successfully attacking a coastal city. If it's a veteran, it's just the opposite; there is only a small chance of the attack not succeeding. However, if the city has defenses, there is very little chance that a single Steam Warship will win the battle, veteran or not. I NEED information like this. This is the kind of info that allows me to tweak for best results.

Keep the feedback coming. Right now, I'm finished with everything. I'm waiting on some unit graphics and looking for a new jungle tile. That's it, and I'll kick the new version out the door.

[curtsibling]

Well you did ask for suggestions!

I await the new version with eagerness!

Although I may eventually edit myself a 'private version' with all my favourite units!

The bottom line is this: MGE needs more unit slots!

[Goingonit]

I do use the steamer - for trade, at least. I don't build them, but the steamers at the start of the game are very useful. They could all be replaced with steam yachts, though.

I have built 1 large freighter in my game so far - it was for an invasion fleet. But 2 ordinary freighters would have sufficed.

I find armoured cruisers quite useful, being both fast enough to control an ocean and powerful enough to kill lots of steam warships and other naval units. Thus, these get used for naval superiority and defense of trade routes. OTOH, I haven't used light cruisers at all, because they're too weak to justify building them.

Both battleships and dreadnoughts have also come in handy; I use them for shore bombardment.

I haven't even researched the tech for highlanders, and I hardly build any machine guns.

[Exile]

YeahthatswhatImtalkinabout . . . .

Goin,
Your use and analysis of the role of the Armored Cruiser is precisely the way they were intended to be used.

Light vs. Heavy or Armored cruisers; when you look at simple tonnages for the ships, you'll quickly see the differentiation between the light cruisers and other types. The light cruisers are usually not much more than very heavy destroyers, with the resemblance becoming closer over time. The armored and later heavy cruisers were capital ships. They carried much less armor, lighter armament, and were not nearly as broad in the beam as battleships.

To really get a good feel for cruiser warfare during this period, type in "World war one naval combat" into google and take a look at the first site that comes up. There are some very detailed descriptions of the battles that occurred early in the war between light cruisers, armored cruisers, and battlecruisers (not to mention some great stuff on Jutland!). (It's the Darren Millford UK site)

[Goingonit]

Exile,

As it happens, I just read "the price of admiralty" by Keegan (including a great chapter on Jutland and WWI naval warfare). Though he doesn't talk much about the minor battles in WWI (he is more concerned with the fleet actions), he is very informative about the period.

Keegan discusses the light cruiser as a response to torpedo boats and destroyers; they were well-armed and armoured enough to destroy anything with torpedoes (thus protecting the dreadnoughts) but too small to take on anything else.

Looking back, I might suggest creating a new unit: the torpedo boat. It would be essentially a cheaper submarine that you can see, and would be able to take potshots at capital ships. This would allow the light cruiser to fulfill its intended function (wreaking havoc on lighter ships such as torpedo boats). You could also use this unit to replace destroyers, or just use destroyers to fulfill this role (which is what they came to eventually do).

[Exile]

Goin, look at the ImpRead file and you'll see my own attempt to address the Destroyer/torpedo boat thing.

I've received a whole batch of new unit graphics today and I can say that there will be very few of the older unit graphics remaining. I am still searching for an interesting Jungle terrain tile.

I am seriously considering setting up some events for each player that give each major empire (Fr, GB, US, Rus, Ger, Japan) a SPY occasionally.

The interval would be set at 150 or 200. Very few spies would appear during the course of the game, and each one would be a precious resource. The purpose is to provide about 4 or 5 spies during the length of the scenario to each player. If the 150 or 200 number isn't quite right, I'd tweak it until it was.

I like the extra dimension added by the addition of espionage. What I detest is the abuse of the spies' abilities. By providing them only once-in-a-blue-moon to the players, I resolve the problem of abuse and put something back in the game that will add to the fun. Hopefully.

Feedback?

[techumseh]

1. Maybe use the missile flag w. torpedo boat

2. You might be unaware that the diplomat/spy options are entirely editable, unlike those of the settler/engineer. Just delete the undesired lines in the Game txt. file. Of course, only the human player is affected. The AI carries on with a full range of spy abilities.

[Boco]

The bottom line is this: MGE needs more unit slots!

I was just thinking the same thing for ToT! Unit slots are like a closet....

[Goingonit]

I think the spy thing is a good idea.

I also agree with Tecumseh's idea of giving destroyers/torpedo boats the missile flag, to represent that most, if not all, of the boats in the flotilla would be destroyed after a massed attack.

This would make gameplay more historical, in that light cruisers, not destroyers, would be used for raiding shipping (as they were actually used) and destroyers/torpedo boats would be used for attacking stronger units in the hopes of sinking or at least weakening them (as they were actually used). You may also want to make them 8/3 with 1/5 HP/FP, or something like that.

[Art of War]

where can I get an editor for ToT?