@Baron:
Many discuss the historical plausibility of TT Def@1 or not. And the nature of 1 unit.
I think their is in either way acceptable rationalization. The main focus should be on game mechanism and rules if we want to find out a better rules with TT with the less drawback.
Der Kunstler option, is like making wishful thinking when he hopes than in a tactical calculation (and trying to survive against an overwhelming attackers) someone would prefer to loose a Fg@4 at 10 IPCs before loosing 10 IPCs TTs@1 just to not recreate transport screening battle. Impossible.
The defender will probably still use TTs has screen.
In the 2 TTs for 1@1 and 1 hit, you see that there is only 3 hits to soak by TTs and it is much less unbalancing against Subs (and nearer the TTn0 version of Taken last.)
I’m still thinking under the assumption that we are making adjustment to the actual game, not creating a new one like changing placement of starting units for an other historical period (ex.:1939). Because, in this case, DK’s option is viable for the lover of Classics.
For me, I want the best of both world:
No Warships always protect TTs neither It is almost always preferable to screen my Warships with TTs.
I will always prefer a defender choose casualities over the Taken last rule.
But the game was balance under this last rule and must still be taken in account.
@Baron:
Do you disagree with the principles: defender chooses casualties or, more generally, each player picks is own casualties?
The Transport are taken last rule broke this principle.
I think that is the consequence of the first principle in the Naval battles with TT that most people hate.
For my part, I don’t like either that Warships always protect transport. Historically, I’m sure that on some occasions some TTs were destroyed first. For instance, if the battle of Leyte gulf was made according to Japanese, they would have lured warships away and destroy TTs before retreating. They would have keep their warships for later battles. The plan was to gain time and destroying invasive capacity of the attacker. For them, it was the best way to delay USA.
To keep the core principles of A&A system, we need to find incentive in which defender will find a bit foolish to pick TT before warships. So anybody can hit first TTs then warships but doesn’t see great tactical advantage in it.
You already get into it when you suggested: need 2 TTs to get 1 unit able to @1 and take 1 hit.
Now I have another incentive:
When TT are mixed with warships they don’t get any @1.
It is only when their is no more warship with them that each unit can get 1@1 on defense.
But in any situation a TT worth 1 casualties.
So in a this way any defender will lose some chances to make more hit by picking them first over warships.
Example: 2DDs and 6TTs are attacked.
The defender has the choice to soak up to six hits to keep the defense of 2DDs@2.
Or after 2 hits, can now got 6TTs def@1 and 6 hits.
You see now that it can simulate the warships screening even under the defender choose casualties.
Of course, we can combine with your idea to get it tactically less interesting:
1 TT is @0 and Auto-kill. 2TTs is 1@1 and worth 1 hit. But when in any warships group they loose the @1.
However, defender can still decide to loose first TTs then loose warships.
And, according to my addition, if defender has only 3TTs amongst warship and prefer to pick TTs as casualty, he must destroy all the three TTs in 1 shot (a 21 IPCs hit for the attacker!) It hurts just to soak 1 hit!
But it is still defender’s choice.
Example: 2DDs and 6TTs are attacked.
The defender has the choice to soak up to 3 hits to keep the defense of 2DDs@2 but every hit cost him 14 IPCs vs 8 IPCs for 1 DDs.
Or after 2 hits, can still have 6TTs for 3def@1 and 3 hits.
All in all, the real ennemy of Defenseless TT his :
very rare and naval battles (the few of them there were) were mostly transport fodder trade offs.
Under the defender choose his casualties, these are rules in which I create the most incentive to keep transport as last casualties without using an automatic obligation rule like “TT are taken last”.
I also try to apply only actual game mechanics develop for different units to create this specific mechanic for TTs.
Subs as special ability, TTs have similar ones.
First, TT are not warship and are less armoured and slower than any units able to combat in a sea-zone,
1 single hit from a combat unit destroy 2 transport units. This imply that to soak 1 hit, you must have 2 TTs.
If 1 TT is choose as casualty and there is also a combat unit present, then you must also destroy this combat unit.
2- All TTs defend @1 against any unit, but they cannot defend (@1) as long as their is 1 warship unit defending them in the sea-zone.
3- When TTs are directly attack by any combat unit, this attack is a treated as a First strike, it is preemptive so if a hit is score, 2 TTs are sunk and unable to use their defense @1.
4- TTs can escape (but it is not mandatory), like a submerge ability, by “Scattering” in the same sea-zone.
It is possible under 3 conditions:
a) there is no combat unit able to defend them (like only subs against TTs and Fgs)
b) they endure at least 1 round of enemy’s direct fire on them.
c) there is no aircraft still attacking TTs, aircraft blocks TTs escape (like DDs blocking submerge for Subs).
Well, that’s it. Defender can still now decides to pick transports as first casualties.
But, if their is only one TT, it is a tactical mistake, because loosing 1 TT and 1 combat unit instead of only 1 combat unit, the choice is obvious.
If their is 2 or more TTs, it can be interesting to pick two TTs (but the cost is higher: 2 TTsx7= 14 IPCs) to prevent one warship with higher defense to sink. But it also means that he loose 2 Def@1.
And last, because of the escape possibility, he must evaluate where are is better chance of survival: for the warships or his group of transports submitting to only one round of fire from the surviving attacker’s unit ?
Do you see now, there is much more tactical decision to make for the defender (TT are cannon fodder or they should be preserve at all cost by combat units),
there is no more rules like automatic destruction of defenseless transport and “Taken last rules”.
Example: 7 subs against 1DD 2Fg 1CV 6 TTs.
Under Taken last, it requires 3 hits from sub to destroy the entire fleet.
Now it can take 3 hit soaked by (3 pairs of) TTs + 3 hits to destroy the entire fleet.
It can also be 3 hits, then giving 6 TTs 6@1(or less depending on the how many subs got a hit) against surviving Subs then possible escape.
In the special case, when more hits are taken than warships can take, then the surviving TTs are allowed to fire back, counting it as in the same round.
It is a balance and half-way solution between the Classic, which give to much units for the defender to serve as cannon fodder and change the balance between units (specialy against subs) and the New TT rule which imply automatic and boring destruction of many TTs even if there is only one attacking survivor to destroy them all.
I hope you will take the time to think about it…
