Modern-era combat starting with a missile salvo

[scaffold]

Hello! Having progressed to the late 1960's and fighting a war I found that often the fleets are positioned so close to each other that the scenario actually starts with a violent missile exchange that decimates involved forces in seconds. Not sure about anydoby esle, but I personally view this as a game-design flaw. Surely the player (and AI for that matter) has to be give a chance to at least do something before missile exchange starts?

[director]

Yes, it is a flaw. RtW3 (like 1 and 2) is actually 3 games in one: the strategic, for ship design and construction; the operational, where you opt for or against accepting a mission in wartime; and the tactical, which lets you fight battles. Of these, the middle level is far and away the weakest link, as it relies on a library of scripted setups leavened by some random numbers, and has remained pretty much unchanged since RtW began, despite the massive changes in doctrine from radar, aircraft, missiles and automatic weapons (to mention a few).

A fully-implemented operational game would let you plan campaigns, assign resources (including fuel) to missions and in general manage the operations of your navy. Currently, RtW3 gives you great control over building and fighting the ships, but almost none over the operational level.

[williammiller]

Expansion of the 'opening battle' is on our list...that's all I can say at this point :-)

[director]

williammiller - That's good to hear! Thank you.