@Ichabod:
I only recently became a fan of the A2/D2 fighter dogfight after recently trying it out. I like making fighters hit better than bombers…it makes escorting or intercepting more exciting…and from an axis perspective, I like shooting fighters down because they’re my main scourge!!! In some respects, fighters are more powerful than strategic bombers…If someone is concerned about the cost of losing their 10 IPC fighters, than they better not intercept, because my bombers are coming with an escort of Focke-Wulf 190 fighters!
Just because a fighter costs 10, and a bomber costs 5 (in this HR), doesn’t mean I’ll always take the cheaper bomber as a hit. I want to bomb Moscow so they can’t produce as much ground units. It might suck for the UK player losing fighters, but, I’d be losing fighters too, (which I still need to roll @3 for the main Moscow battle).
Obviously there hasn’t been much discussion on the transport/cruiser HR idea. My preference is not this HR idea as I like the way G40 game mechanism works right now in having to be “in position,” on naval bases ect.
That is precisely what this A0 bomber solved as an unhistorical issue.
In BalMode or OOB SBR, a few StBs and 1 Fg can make futile any interception with 1 or 2 Fgs.
Clever and competitive players will prefer to let the IC’s AAA do the job instead of engaging in “an against the odds” duel.
If you only get 1 interceptor, against 3 StBs A1 and 1 Fg A2 (not so unusual), it is 25% odds of survival. For 33% to hit a Fg.
So it doesn’t change anything for your IC, all 3 StBs are going to bomb anyway.
With 3 StB A0 C5 and 1 Fg A1 against 1 Fg D1. It becomes a 83% one-on-one odds of survival, like an AAA roll.
And if interceptor hit, attacker have an harder choice which benefits defender both case.
1- Loosing a 5 IPCs bomber and (no D6 bombing damage over IC) or
2- loosing a 10 IPCs Fg to allow bomber to get to ICs, still not knowing outcomes of IC’s AAA roll.
Increasing bomber numbers have no impact on Fg intercepting, only Fg escort numbers.
Unlike OOB SBR, which gives the impression that a flock of bombers are going chasing Fgs on their way to bombing target.
Fg interceptor were engage in a squadron against a bomber squadron, not all bombers squadrons were coming to help the poor squadron under enemy’s fire. Bombers stay their course to the target.
However, Fg escorts were watching every opportunity to dogfight interceptors.
So it makes more sense to let all Fg units roll against each other enemy formation.
Of course, giving a minimal combat point seems better to describe one on one StB A1 vs Fg D2 combat.
With low number of units, it has no big impact. But with G40 scale, there is much more units involved.
So, SFR sacrifice a tactical depiction to get a better strategic picture about what were doing Bombers and Fgs in the Air War of WWII. And from my few actual play-test, it pretty much gives what was expected.
As a side note, I very much like SS D12 digit A1 D0 StB C5 against Fg A4 D4 C7.
This ratio of 1 to 4 allows a lot more room on how many bombers you can bring in before it becomes too scary for a lonely Fg to intercept. It takes 6 StBs to be around 50% survival for a single interceptor.
But, with D6 system, the choice imply sacrifice.
And it comes with less change from OOB SBR combat:
StB drop to zero, Fg and TcB remains A1 and intercept D1.