When to design ships? Or basically, how to start exactly?

[racerd]

So I got the game, and I am getting used to the mechanics and gameplay.

But how to start? Ok if I look at Intel reports the others are enlarging their fleets with Bs or CAs which I can do as well.
But when is a good time to make your own design? Does it make sense to design a BB as your first class?

And am I correct that the superstructure stuff is cosmetic only? As is the number of funnels?

[seriousstrategygamer]

Jul 11, 2019 9:49:44 GMT -6 racerd said:

So I got the game, and I am getting used to the mechanics and gameplay.

But how to start? Ok if I look at Intel reports the others are enlarging their fleets with Bs or CAs which I can do as well.
But when is a good time to make your own design? Does it make sense to design a BB as your first class?

And am I correct that the superstructure stuff is cosmetic only? As is the number of funnels?

May I kindly point to my tutorial?


Regarding when you should build... well, it depends. Normally I would start building new capital ships once there is a big technological shift. Early on typically in the ship design field, like turret layouts for capitals, or if you get a decent quality new large gun.

Alternatively, if there you are sitting on a lot of cash - otherwise you risk loosing budget.

[racerd]

That is indeed a wonderful tutorial!

Anyway it looks to me like in the first 3 years it is not very useful to design a new ship due to absence of tech?

I find it hard by the way to keep up with the other powers, they are building like crazy from day 1 and I have to postpone my builds sometimes to keep it all in the black, if I try to enlarge my fleet at the same rate (playing France).
Also it seemed like UK, USA and Germany got more often their naval budgets increased compared to me.

[alsadius]

Usually, I look at when I'll have free cashflow in my budget, and build new ships to match. I don't like building designs more than a year or two old - better to design new at that point. So in my current game, I saw recently that I was going to have a few carriers finishing soon, and my battleship fleet was starting to feel old, so I designed a new BB to use up that budget. Then once my next big block of cash comes around (probably in a year or two, when my BCs finish), I'll design something to use that up - maybe a new DD design at that point.

[klavohunter]

You can't make BBs or BCs at the start. Usually what I aim for first is a bigger CA design after a year, using a Dock Expansion to upgrade the potential tonnage of my nation's ships.

A big, fast, well-armed new CA or two can help dominate early wars, but try and not get *too* aggressive with it, or the AI will get lucky and torpedo it instantly dead.

Also, make sure you're not short on CLs, DDs, and KEs. Stock up on those now, because once the Dreadnought Race starts in earnest, your entire budget will often go into BBs and BCs for years on end.

And have fun!

[lukasdietrich]

Depends on your nation as well. As well as game size. If you are playing as GB, Germany or the USA even before big tech advances you usually have enough cash to keep ships constantly being built or rebuilt at all times.
Even your early pre dreadnoughts if they are 'oversized' can last you into the 30s or 40s as you can refit them to have better quality guns, be a bit faster and have better firing directors. They do make excellent coastal defense ships until about the 30s when you want to begin to scrap them. Assuming your budget can handle them. You can keep them in reserve or mothballed and then bring them out when tension is high or there is a war.

I am also a big believer in the submarine and as all nations I almost always have some building. They can take up your budget, but once a war starts you will lose them fast but also if have enough of them you can hammer enemy trade with them and drive them to the bargaining table as make your wars shorter.

[griffin01]

Jul 11, 2019 13:29:33 GMT -6 lukasdietrich said:

Depends on your nation as well. As well as game size. If you are playing as GB, Germany or the USA even before big tech advances you usually have enough cash to keep ships constantly being built or rebuilt at all times.
Even your early pre dreadnoughts if they are 'oversized' can last you into the 30s or 40s as you can refit them to have better quality guns, be a bit faster and have better firing directors. They do make excellent coastal defense ships until about the 30s when you want to begin to scrap them. Assuming your budget can handle them. You can keep them in reserve or mothballed and then bring them out when tension is high or there is a war.

I am also a big believer in the submarine and as all nations I almost always have some building. They can take up your budget, but once a war starts you will lose them fast but also if have enough of them you can hammer enemy trade with them and drive them to the bargaining table as make your wars shorter.

I'm quite confident that refitting machinery and guns on predreadnoughts is a waste of money. Especially the gun refits are SO expensive, you could build half a BB for that, and it is always better to have 1 new ship than 2 with upgraded guns.

[stevethecat]

Spending money on upgrading pre-dreads is questionable at best, not unless you luck into a must have fire control upgrade before any of the BB/BC unlocks.

It's good to keep an eye on the Intel reports of rival ships, see if you have anything in your fleet that can deal with it and at what cost.

For instance early fire control is so awful that you don't need to build a huge battleship fleet if you can't afford it, a good torpedo destroyer fleet is a more affordable counter.

Early CAs once superfiring turrets are available can be solid investments.

The biggest issue I run into is over spending in ships and then having nothing to hand to make the best of new techs and the insanely expensive larger air groups.

[jma286]

Destroyers are definitely a good investment as a smaller nation. As far as major rebuilds the only ships that really merit it are mid-game BBs and BCs which have the firepower and protection to remain competitive late but need more speed and AA and upgraded fire control. Any 12 and 13" designs I make rarely last beyond 1930.