Post by potrero on May 10, 2020 1:43:01 GMT -6
So I got to thinking during my last playthrough: what if there was a bit more control of the use of mines in the game? Obviously it wouldn’t be good to go too deep into micromanagement, but there are a couple of things that (I think, at least) could improve the game in this area.
First, have a button on the UI that opens a “mine warfare doctrine” (or whatever) window during wartime. The window should have separate menus for home waters and enemy territory. Options for home waters could be something like
==Heavy Defensive Minefields: More expensive, but discourage enemy submarines and coastal raids and has a good chance of sinking or disabling any who try. The downside is that you also run an increased risk of friendly ships accidentally running into your own mines, which can hit you in the prestige of it happens often enough,
==Minimal Defensive Minefields: Cheap, essentially just dropping a few outside your major bases to keep the neighbors off your lawn, and eliminates the chances of mine-killing your own ship, but allows the enemy free run of your coastline. Coastal raids will be more common and will have to be dealt with. Losing coastal raid battles in your own territory will cost you prestige as the press/public/Congress will want to know why you won’t use every option at your disposal to secure your nation’s shores.
==Moderate Defensive Minefields: Balanced option.
Mining your own territory can be abstracted as subcontracting the local fishermen, so it happens regardless of how many mine-carrying ships you have. For enemy territory, you can choose any of the following options, but their effectiveness will depend on how many mine-capable ships you deploy to a given theater
==Submarines Only: Minelaying subs will mine the approaches to major enemy bases. Higher danger to the subs involved.
==Aggressive Mining Operations: Everything you have that carries mines will booby trap the ocean off the enemy’s coast. If a shrimp farts, people ten miles inland will hear the blast. With enough minelayers, you can seriously mess up the enemy’s war effort, as they will have to either clear the mines or lose their fleet when they try to sail, and you are guaranteed some mine kills as minefields are generally found when a ship randomly blows up in seemingly empty water. The fewer minelayers you have, the less effective this will be. Also, dropping mines near the enemy coast will expose your minelayers to greater danger. Also runs the risk of a neutral ship wandering into your minefield and going boom, which will cost you tension and/or prestige much like the Lusitania random event.
==No Offensive Mining: Exactly what it says. Cheaper and eliminates the possibility of a minelayer getting ambushed or a noncombatant being sunk, but also makes life easier for the enemy.
And if you can do it, they can do it too, so you better have minesweepers handy to lead the way.
Once the war is over, assuming you picked either of the “mine the crap out of it” options, bring up a decision box saying that the deadly mines that were so necessary during the recent hostilities are now a major hazard to navigation. Think the North Sea in 1919, where the US and Royal Navies spent months clearing the minefields that had helped keep Kaiser Bill’s fleet bottled up in port. Options could be
==“This is our responsibility, and any innocent mariner lost to those mines is blood on our hands. We will get to work immediately to make the seas safe once again!” Boost prestige, lower tension, but costs money for the next four months. For that same period, minesweepers may be lost, because accidents happen. After four months, the minefields are cleared and it’s business as usual.
==“I’m sorry, we will do what we can, but we just don’t have the capability to clear all those mines.” Budget increases (so you can build more minesweepers), but at a substantial cost in prestige. Minefields will remain active for a year or two, and your own ships (not just minesweepers) are susceptible to mine incidents. Foreign ships may also strike mines in random events that cost prestige and tension during that period.
==“Who cares? We won.” Lose prestige, tension increases, but your budget is unaffected. Minefields remain active for five years (until somebody else cleans them up) and the friendly and foreign mine incidents from the previous option will be more likely during the time, with the corresponding penalty in tension and prestige.
To go with all of this, perhaps minesweepers should be a separate type distinct from corvettes. Corvettes can continue to be your gunboats, subchasers, and light escorts as before, but cannot have minesweeping or laying capability. Minesweepers have a minimum displacement of 600 tons, maximum of 1400, and MUST have minesweeping gear, though minelaying capability is optional. They can have ASW capability, but never as much as a comparable corvette since it’s a secondary role for them.
This would force the player (and the AI) to run a more diversified fleet to cope with this dimension of warfare. As in real life, destroyer-minesweepers will be handy as well, especially older DDs that could do with a refit. Having minelaying cruisers, destroyers, and submarines gives you more options in wartime. Mines would not by any means take over all of warfare, they’re just another thing to be balanced with everything else.
What do you guys think?
First, have a button on the UI that opens a “mine warfare doctrine” (or whatever) window during wartime. The window should have separate menus for home waters and enemy territory. Options for home waters could be something like
==Heavy Defensive Minefields: More expensive, but discourage enemy submarines and coastal raids and has a good chance of sinking or disabling any who try. The downside is that you also run an increased risk of friendly ships accidentally running into your own mines, which can hit you in the prestige of it happens often enough,
==Minimal Defensive Minefields: Cheap, essentially just dropping a few outside your major bases to keep the neighbors off your lawn, and eliminates the chances of mine-killing your own ship, but allows the enemy free run of your coastline. Coastal raids will be more common and will have to be dealt with. Losing coastal raid battles in your own territory will cost you prestige as the press/public/Congress will want to know why you won’t use every option at your disposal to secure your nation’s shores.
==Moderate Defensive Minefields: Balanced option.
Mining your own territory can be abstracted as subcontracting the local fishermen, so it happens regardless of how many mine-carrying ships you have. For enemy territory, you can choose any of the following options, but their effectiveness will depend on how many mine-capable ships you deploy to a given theater
==Submarines Only: Minelaying subs will mine the approaches to major enemy bases. Higher danger to the subs involved.
==Aggressive Mining Operations: Everything you have that carries mines will booby trap the ocean off the enemy’s coast. If a shrimp farts, people ten miles inland will hear the blast. With enough minelayers, you can seriously mess up the enemy’s war effort, as they will have to either clear the mines or lose their fleet when they try to sail, and you are guaranteed some mine kills as minefields are generally found when a ship randomly blows up in seemingly empty water. The fewer minelayers you have, the less effective this will be. Also, dropping mines near the enemy coast will expose your minelayers to greater danger. Also runs the risk of a neutral ship wandering into your minefield and going boom, which will cost you tension and/or prestige much like the Lusitania random event.
==No Offensive Mining: Exactly what it says. Cheaper and eliminates the possibility of a minelayer getting ambushed or a noncombatant being sunk, but also makes life easier for the enemy.
And if you can do it, they can do it too, so you better have minesweepers handy to lead the way.
Once the war is over, assuming you picked either of the “mine the crap out of it” options, bring up a decision box saying that the deadly mines that were so necessary during the recent hostilities are now a major hazard to navigation. Think the North Sea in 1919, where the US and Royal Navies spent months clearing the minefields that had helped keep Kaiser Bill’s fleet bottled up in port. Options could be
==“This is our responsibility, and any innocent mariner lost to those mines is blood on our hands. We will get to work immediately to make the seas safe once again!” Boost prestige, lower tension, but costs money for the next four months. For that same period, minesweepers may be lost, because accidents happen. After four months, the minefields are cleared and it’s business as usual.
==“I’m sorry, we will do what we can, but we just don’t have the capability to clear all those mines.” Budget increases (so you can build more minesweepers), but at a substantial cost in prestige. Minefields will remain active for a year or two, and your own ships (not just minesweepers) are susceptible to mine incidents. Foreign ships may also strike mines in random events that cost prestige and tension during that period.
==“Who cares? We won.” Lose prestige, tension increases, but your budget is unaffected. Minefields remain active for five years (until somebody else cleans them up) and the friendly and foreign mine incidents from the previous option will be more likely during the time, with the corresponding penalty in tension and prestige.
To go with all of this, perhaps minesweepers should be a separate type distinct from corvettes. Corvettes can continue to be your gunboats, subchasers, and light escorts as before, but cannot have minesweeping or laying capability. Minesweepers have a minimum displacement of 600 tons, maximum of 1400, and MUST have minesweeping gear, though minelaying capability is optional. They can have ASW capability, but never as much as a comparable corvette since it’s a secondary role for them.
This would force the player (and the AI) to run a more diversified fleet to cope with this dimension of warfare. As in real life, destroyer-minesweepers will be handy as well, especially older DDs that could do with a refit. Having minelaying cruisers, destroyers, and submarines gives you more options in wartime. Mines would not by any means take over all of warfare, they’re just another thing to be balanced with everything else.
What do you guys think?