Lighter that Air?

[zoomar]

I saw that RTW2 will include a technology tree for lighter than air in addition to heavier than air. All the discussions in the developers notes have focused on carriers. How will airships br handled, as actual units in tactical situations or as "behind the scenes" multipliers to general scouting or ASW effects, something like submarines in RTW?

[aeson]

Based on the image in this post, it would appear that airships are units that can show up in battle scenarios. Whether or not they are controllable, I do not know.

[halseyincarnate]

I haven't seen anything definite but i'm imagining that they'd mostly be a scouting unit. Given how easily they would be able to be taken down by medium/heavy AA I can't see them being an effective anti-ship option. Anti-sub is more up in the air.

[rob06waves2018]

Mar 23, 2019 13:38:48 GMT -6 halseyincarnate said:

Anti-sub is more up in the air.

Pun hopefully unintended!

[Adseria]

As I understand it, airships will be researched, unlocked and improved like submarines. You then build an airship base, which is automatically populated with the latest airship designs, and can be upgraded to house additional airships. In battle, these airships automatically fly reconnaissance missions.

I don't know if they have any effect during the strategic layer, though.

[director]

I notice that airship has two fighters for escort, like USS Akron and Macon.

Before I build any, I'd like some knowledge whether their likelihood of crashing in bad weather is realistic. It would be helpful also to know how to close the base in later years.

Perhaps someone will role-play a game where Austria commits to an all-zeppelin 'Navy of the Skies'... That is one AAR I'd guarantee to read.

[zoomar]

Personally, I think treating airships like submarines seems like a really good way to handle them. In both world wars airships were very valuable ASW units that could attack subs themselves or more commonly report their location and track them until other ASW ships showed up. I would think they should have a positive value in trade warfare that would make it worthwhile to consider building them. Otherwise why bother. Seeing that airship with parasite fighters seems to imply airships might have a fairly detailed research tree, perhaps even more detailed than subs in RTW1, and depending on what one researches they might actually be useful in tactical situations. It would be a hoot if players could research and deploy large rigid airships that carried a dozen or so attack bombers like the USN's proposed ZRCV airships of the early 1940's. On the other hand, the game will need to simulate the fact that airships are very vulnerable to weather.

[AiryW]

Mar 28, 2019 10:58:34 GMT -6 zoomar said:

It would be a hoot if players could research and deploy large rigid airships that carried a dozen or so attack bombers like the USN's proposed ZRCV airships of the early 1940's. On the other hand, the game will need to simulate the fact that airships are very vulnerable to weather.

I'm looking forward to building a navy that consisting 100% of airships and battleships.

[bluewasps]

Just imagine if the USN had some of these for typhoon cobra.

[akosjaccik]

Mar 29, 2019 7:51:01 GMT -6 AiryW said:

I'm looking forward to building a navy that consisting 100% of airships and battleships.

Not to steer the topic too much away, but after all, it's friday.

[avimimus]

They were also used for merchant raiding briefly if I recall - although the main role was recon followed by ASW...

[director]

Okay, I'll go there:

Zeppelin Pirates!

[AiryW]

Apr 1, 2019 11:39:03 GMT -6 director said:

Okay, I'll go there:

Zeppelin Pirates!

Is it too late to see if Timothy Omundson is available to do the voice acting on this game?