Tech problems

[VonDox]

@aldrahill My A&A group has always struggled with TECH and it doesn’t seem any different in GW36. In our last game Germany had 13 of the 16 techs by the end of 1941. While the US had 8 of the 16 techs because of some bad rolls. I guess we might need to make a house rule that once a tech is started you can’t stop researching it unless you want to lose that advance OR you have to move back 1 stage so you can start another tech. So even if you get lucky in make 10 rolls in 2 turns and you want to switch over to a new tech those stage 2 techs drop down to stage 1. Does anyone else have an issue of run-away tech OR is that what everyone expects/wants in this game?

[Aldrahill]

@vondox Assuming Germany upgrades their Medium to a Major straight away, Germany gets a total of 54 tech rolls by the end of 1941.

They’d have to have literally succeeded on 52/54 rolls to end up with 13 out of 16 techs :P If they manage to defy probability like that, I say kudos to those German scientists.

Are you sure they weren’t accidentally adding the French Major to their tech rolls, giving them a total of 6 rolls?

[VonDox]

@aldrahill Yes, our german player was very lucky in our last game… While I, the USSR was not and had only 3 techs on the board by the time he attacked me in 1940. Nothing like changing history when jets, heavy armor, advanced artillery and advanced mechs are pouring over your border. He blasted pass and me drove into the Caucasus and got Turkey and Iran both on his side. The game was over by then since he had upwards of 90 IPPs and Japan had all of the Netherlands Islands and most of China and was over 70 IPPs.

I look at the 1939 set-up charts and none of the nations have tech beyond stage 2 except Japan with heavy BB’s at stage 2. Since many of the tech rolls are 7+ it’s almost 50/50 odds you make it a tech or not. I think my group could solve it’s tech issues by not allowing a nation to research more techs until they finish a tech line. This would slow the introduction of tech (if your playing the 36 opening ) to something similar to what is shown in in the 1939 tech levels for that opening set-up. There is nothing in the rules that state you are allowed to switch to a new tech line if your playing the 36 game and there is nothing to say that you can’t.

[insaneHoshi]

@vondox said in Tech problems:

@aldrahill Yes, our german player was very lucky in our last game

There is lucky and there is a player getting 52/54 rolls which has a chance of 00.0000000000082% occurring.

You guys were probably doing something wrong, and if you weren’t, you shouldn’t be trying to balance it around an exceptional set of luck.

There is nothing in the rules that state you are allowed to switch to a new tech line

The part of the rulebook that says “For each tech roll, select a tech and roll…” (paraphrasing) lack of conditions regarding switching, says you are allowed to switch.

[VonDox]

@insanehoshi Germany upgraded the factory in eastern Germany to a major and then built another factory (major) in East Prussia. So he had a total 6 rolls a turn! ( not all starting in 1936 of course ).

One of the things that attracted me to this game was the tech and how it’s played. What I had not expected/failed to understand was the ability to stop researching a tech line and then start a new one. If agree 100% with you that before I start making house rules we need to play more and we are planning to do the 1939 start this time and with the tech positions as indicated. We will see how it goes… Yes, I did want to throttle the german player because of the luck he was having…

[insaneHoshi]

@vondox Are you playing v2 or v3?

As far as I am aware the 39 setup’s doesn’t have starting techs.

[VonDox]

@insanehoshi It does… For example if you look at the set-up chart for GERMANY in 1939 they start with the following techs ALL at stage 1: Adv mechs, heavy armor, jet fighters, adv. subs, strat rockets and heavy battleships for a total of 6. USA starts 1939 with the following: Heavy bombers, heavy carriers, heavy battleships and attack transports all at stage 1.

I guess, based on the fact that GERMANY has 6/ea tier 1 techs to start off with in 1939 would indicate that you CAN STOP researching 1 tech line and start another.

I have toyed around with the idea that no tech can NOT go beyond tier 1 (July 1939) instead of tier 2 in the 1936 scenario. So you could have, maybe, if you were Germany or the US 10 or 12 tier 1 techs in 1939 if you got slightly above tech rolls. This would mean the soonest techs could hit the game if you got all 3 rolls would be July of 1940… Which would mean the first TECH/advanced units wouldn’t hit the board ( moveable ) until Jan of 41. To me that is more reasonable

[insaneHoshi]

@vondox I see now, ty.

[Trig]

@vondox Just a note, Germany can’t build majors in East Prussia. It isn’t German Home country.
That said, if you have 6 factories, you will be getting absurd amounts of tech. But 6 is also overkill on the most part. You usually can get what you want with 5 at most. I don’t see many nations going above 3 or so. Maybe 4 for the UK and 5 for Germany, US and USSR.

[VonDox]

@trig Wow… you’re right… I guess I should have double checked that when they were building I just assumed they read were reading the sheets. I just looked at the Japanese sheet as well and the minor factory in REHA is not in home territory as well… BIG MISS… Well, it was our first full game play through and for some of the others they didn’t even get a chance to review the rules before they arrived.

[TheVeteran]

@vondox no issue with tech in this game at all ever