I love how WAR ROOM mechanics are already manifesting into A&A house rule ideas. Great job!
Technology
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Tech should capture the most prominent ones:
1. Superstructure
2. Tanks
3. ASW (Anti-Submarine-Warfare) (which is Hydrophones and Depth Charges)
4. Chemical Weapons and Countermeasures (Chloric Gas, Mustard Gas, Gas Masks)
5. Fighters, Bombers
6. Heavy Artillery, Railway (or Longrange) Artillery1: Later in the war even more extensive defense systems were build. Massive concrete structures significantly improved defense because infantry and light artillery were significantly reduced in their offensive power.
Effect: Attacking Infantry/Artillery -12. Tanks were not introduced before 1917. At first they were extremely unreliable getting improved during the war.
Introduce some kind of “reliability” roll to determine which is inactive during a combat. Reliability gets improved with rounds.
Make them cost 4 therefore and to my opinion a tank should negate the “trench” effect for one infantry.3. ASW was introduced not before 1916 and even then UK had not the proper ship types to to use the technilogy in an effective way.
Submarines should not be able to be detected before ASW is researched. Submarine ruled the seas 1914/1915 almost uncontested.
If researched destroyers get a detection roll and a depth charge roll on 1.4. Chloric gas was the first gas attack to be used in WWI. It was blown towards the enemy trenches. Mustard gas was used later fired from artillery to eliminate the unpredictability of wind.
Both should be preemptive strikes before combat.5. All aircraft were reconnaissance planes 1914 with A0/D0 at the outbreak of war just improving artillery accuracy.
3 different steps of fighter research could get the combat values up. Bomber can be researched after you reched step3 of fighter development.6. Almost all artillery 1914 was light field artillery (except G and A-H)
Heavy Artillery rolls with 2 dice,
Railway Artillery rolls on 3, can shoot from one tt afar and is not affected by superstructure. Cannot support infantry though. -
Here’s what we’ve got so far. The remit for this board has been A&A style technology - techs that improve or modify existing rules and units without increasing the overall complexity too much. Most of them are based off A&A techs from previous games (Aerial Photography is just Advanced Artillery under another name, although Aerial Photography requires Air Supremacy).
E1 - Motorized Transportation - Infantry, Artillery, and Tanks that begin movement in your capital may move 2 spaces, subject to all other movement rules.
E2 - Improved Shipyards - Naval units cost 1 IPC less.
E3 - Increased Production - Tank and Fighter costs are reduced by 1 IPC.
N1 - Super Submarines - During sea combat, super submarines fire before all other ships, whether on attack or defense. Casualties from a super submarine attack are destroyed before they can return fire.
N2 - Battle Cruisers - Cruisers attack at 4 or less, but still defend at 3 or less. Additionally, cruisers may perform offshore bombardment at 3.
N3 - Anti-Submarine Warfare - Your cruisers prevent enemy subs from submerging in combat or moving through them at a 1:1 ratio.
A1 - Anti-Aircraft Guns - Artillery may target fighters before combat begins, hitting at 1, limited to the number of artillery available or the number of fighters present, whichever is smaller.
A2 - Advanced Aviation - Fighters attack and defend at 3 or less.
A3 - Aerial Photography - If you have air supremacy, your artillery can support 2 units instead of one.
L1 - Wireless Communications - During combats where friendly forces are also in the contested zone, roll a die. Up to that many friendly artillery are used to boost your attacking forces on a 1:1 ratio, but may not participate in combat.
L2 - Chemical Warfare - In one attack this turn, roll a die: 1-4 that many infantry do not roll defensively; 5-6: No effect. If used against you, halve the number of immobilized infantry.
L3 - Stormtrooper Tactics - Attacking infantry with artillery support roll at 4 or less.
The current sticking point: Should Anti-Submarine Warfare negate Super Submarines’ first strike capability? Perhaps it should only modify it. Perhaps Anti-Submarine Warfare should read:
Anti-Submarine Warfare - Your cruisers prevent enemy subs from submerging in combat or moving through them at a 1:1 ratio. Super Submarine casualties may return fire before being removed.
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I don’t think ASW needs to affect super subs, just to keep the techs clean and short.
Otherwise I am cool with all these techs, getting more people on board to support it for testing in its current form as a Wove/Oztea tech chart.
The next hurdle is how you get a breakthrough.
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Perhaps a blending of tech tokens at 3 IPC with an automatic, free die roll every turn. So, even if you don’t buy any tech tokens, you still get a shot at a breakthrough.
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Perhaps, for those who like more historical flavor to their optional rules, the number of free dice depends on the power rolling.
Greater Major Powers roll 2 free dice a turn.
Lesser Major Powers roll 1 free dice a turn.
UK, France, Germany are definitely Greater Major Powers.
Italy, Ottomans are definitely Lesser Major Powers.
Now, how about USA, A-H, and Russia.
Or, just give everyone 1 or 2 free tech rolls every turn, with more rolls being available at 3 IPC each.
Although, again, do we prefer tech tokens to tech rolls?
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If a power does not invest in research, why give it anything for free?
Everything costs money: Facilities, Laboratories, Researchers, materials, etc….No: 5 IPCs PER ROLL is perfectly fine!
Question is: How does progress in research happen? Yes, in reality!
There are 2 possibilities:
1. Slow Progress: You manage to proceed in a step-by-step-way until finally reaching your goal!
2. Breakthrough: a “flash of genius” delivers the decisive idea for the (almost) immediate breakthrough.SO:
- Research is a 3-step-process.
- a roll of 1,2,3 means research failed
- a roll of 4,5 proceed one step on the research chart
- a roll of 6 means immediate breakthrough
In WWI both forms took place on a regular basis!
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Don’t think there is enough money without National Objectives to justify tech spending in this game.
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Of course it also depends on the usefulness of the research areas!
Basically in a WWI game only Germany and UK are supposed to research anyway. Maybe France.
The Ottomans for instance simply do not have enough money and this is fine, as well.
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Of course it also depends on the usefulness of the research areas!
Basically in a WWI game only Germany and UK are supposed to research anyway. Maybe France.
The Ottomans for instance simply do not have enough money and this is fine, as well.
Well, with Germany only making 35 to start and surrounded by enemies, I don’t think they can afford even 5 IPC’s for a ‘shot’ at some tech that may or may not be useful. The UK? They need to build ships and units to both put in India and in France. Not many IPCs there either. France? Yup- even less money.
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I just wanted to point out the idea how research ought to be handled derived from real research!
I still haven’t got my copy so I cannot judge from playing experience.
But: Germany might have 35 to 40 at its disposal at the start of R2. So why should 5 IPCs - or 3 if you lower the original A&A cost - be “unaffordable” if - and only if:
1. The techs are actually useful/powerful
2. The risk of lossing all money is significantly reduced (4,5,6 with some kind of success instead of only 6)Regarding 1.:
Forgot to mention that in my opinion a power should be able to directly assign a certain tech to be researched!
Not: In A&A, I research on a strange “column 2” as USA hoping for some ship improvement and accidently get radar!
OR let me say: If you try to improve submarines, you don’t end up with longer-ranged aircraft! :wink: -
Or, just give everyone 1 or 2 free tech rolls every turn
Every 4 turns each nation should get one tech of their choosing. The economics of this game are more like Milton Bradley, which messed up the balance if players went for broke and bought all tech. This makes the poorer nations at a disadvantage. So if you could choose a tech periodically, it would take the urge to buy it less. The strategy would always be there as players would pick different techs depending on need.
Paying for a tech would be possible, but i insist that is random research and only 6 techs. Using the Milton Bradley tech system would work.
Of course, if you randomly roll for a tech you got, you just reroll.
Lastly, each nation should have ONE Tech/NA that conveys the flavor of that nation only. For example, Germany had Zeppelins and nobody else.
This makes a unique playing experience.
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Two types of transport:
1. Freighters (old type) can carry any 2 land units/planes; have combat value of 1.
2. Liners (new type) can carry infantry only up to 3 units; no combat value.
Maybe the combat value for freighters can be treated as a tech (Q ship), but only if it has cargo space.
Some kind of gunboat; can motor up rivers into a land tt. Helps to keep an army in supply…
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New units arent tech. National Advantages maybe…
A while back I had this as a rule, so lets tweak it a hair.
3 IPCs per roll
1-2 No effect
3-4 Tech Token ( set aside a marker and roll again next turn)
5-6 BreakthroughChoose chart 1 or 2 and roll as many dice as you got breakthroughs. You may pick ONE from any of those techs.
So if you buy 6 dice for 18, and roll 1,2,3,4,5,6 you get two tokens and two rolls.
You roll both on chart 1 and can pick from either ADVANCED FIGHTERS or CHEMICAL WARFAREYou pick advanced fighters and can roll 2 next turn.
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OK. How are we dividing the 12 techs?
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Either land/econ and air/naval
Or CP/Allies.
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Here’s the opening proposal. The first chart is CP leaning, the second chart is Allied leaning. I’m surer about the placement of some techs than others.
Chart 1
1 - Super Submarines - During sea combat, super submarines fire before all other ships, whether on attack or defense. Casualties from a super submarine attack are destroyed before they can return fire.
2 - Chemical Warfare - In one attack this turn, roll a die: 1-4 that many infantry do not roll defensively; 5-6: No effect. If used against you, halve the number of immobilized infantry.
3 - Stormtrooper Tactics - Attacking infantry with artillery support roll at 4 or less.
4 - Increased Production - Tank and Fighter costs are reduced by 1 IPC.
5 - Motorized Transportation - Infantry, Artillery, and Tanks that begin movement in your capital may move 2 spaces, subject to all other movement rules.
6 - Advanced Aviation - Fighters attack and defend at 3 or less.
Chart 2
1 - Improved Shipyards - Naval units cost 1 IPC less.
2 - Battle Cruisers - Cruisers attack at 4 or less, but still defend at 3 or less. Additionally, cruisers may perform offshore bombardment at 3.
3 - Anti-Submarine Warfare - Your cruisers prevent enemy subs from submerging in combat or moving through them at a 1:1 ratio.
4 - Anti-Aircraft Guns - Artillery may target fighters before combat begins, hitting at 1, limited to the number of artillery available or the number of fighters present, whichever is smaller.
5 - Aerial Photography - If you have air supremacy, your artillery can support 2 units instead of one.
6 - Wireless Communications - During combats where friendly forces are also in the contested zone, roll a die. Up to that many friendly artillery are used to boost your attacking forces on a 1:1 ratio, but may not participate in combat.
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First, thinking about swapping Increased Production and Aerial Photography.
Second, here’s a write up of the tech rules.
Research and Development
(The Research and Development Phase takes precedes the Purchase and Repair Units Phase)In this phase, you may attempt to develop improved military technology. To do so, you buy dice that give you a chance for a scientific breakthrough.
Research & Development Sequence
1. Buy research dice
2. Redeem researcher tokens
3. Roll research dice
4. Roll breakthrough dice
5. Mark developmentsStep 1: Buy Research Dice
Each die costs 3 IPCs. Buy as many as you wish, including none.Step 2: Redeem Researcher Tokens
Discard your researcher tokens, claiming one research die for each researcher token.Step 3: Roll Research Dice
Roll your research dice and assess the results.Failure: If you roll a “1” or “2,” your research has failed.
Progress: If you roll a “3” or “4,” your research has progressed, but no breakthroughs have been made. Take one researcher token for each “3” or “4” you roll. Researcher tokens entitle you to roll free research dice on your next turn, one for each researcher token.
Success: If you roll at least one “5” or “6,” you have successfully made a technological breakthrough.
Step 4. Roll Breakthrough Dice
If you rolled a “5” or “6” on any research die, choose one of the two breakthrough charts and roll all your successful research dice to see which technological advance you get. You can only receive one advance each turn. Once the breakthrough dice are rolled, choose one of the breakthroughs on the chart whose number matches one of the dice you rolled.For example, you had 2 successful research dice. You choose Breakthrough Chart 1 and reroll your successful research dice, resulting in a “1” and a “2.” You may choose between Super Submarines and Chemical Warfare.
If you have already received the same result on a previous turn, reroll until you get a new technological advance. Once you have received all the advances on a chart, you cannot gain any more advances from that chart.
Step 5: Mark Developments
If your research was successful, place one of your national control markers inside the appropriate advancement box on the research & development chart. Your development becomes effective immediately.Any number of powers may develop the same technology, but powers cannot share their technology.
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Excellent writeup.
We may be ready to take it to Larrys forum and shove it in his face.
Who knows, maybe they can put it on the last page of the FAQ as an official optional rule. -
Tanks is a must.
They were not available 1914 and were introduced 1916.
Drop one of those vague “I have no better idea”-research techs instead (like Improved Shipyards)“Stormtrooper Tactics” isn’t a tech but a German National Advantage.
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Not sure you can make the ‘tank’ (in other words one of 3 land units available in the game) as a tech- what if by chance the CPs roll and roll and roll and never get tanks?
I would prefer either a turn or two of having the new tech before the other side copies it -or- you pick your tech you get every 4th, 6th, etc turn.
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