Larry has said that most of the Global techs will be reprints of Anniversary. Let’s go over what we know:
1.1) Improved Artillery: I’ve never seen this in action in a game, but the ‘extended infantry support’ element seems pretty conceptually sloppy. Why not have artillery fire before all other units instead, with casualties unable to return fire (like the sub’s ‘first strike’ ability)? That, or some kind of ‘suppression’ ability (i.e.: on a successful roll, x# of enemy units cannot return fire this turn) would be preferable.
1.2) Rockets: Again, uninspiring, but it’s been around so long it’s an institution. Why not have as many AA Guns as you like fire on any complex, but only take 1d6 x 0.5 as damage off of the factory for each of them (rounding up halves; with the possibility of the defender firing at 1 to prevent each of these if they have Radar)? At least that might give us a reason to buy more AAs in this brave new world wherein facilities have their own built-in AA defences :)
1.3) Paratroopers: This one’s locked in, confirmed by LH himself, and has been discussed elsewhere. Seems like a well-executed and exciting development…
1.4) Increased Factory Production: Huh Not sure this one’ll be around anymore. Will the +2 production bonus still be a welcome boost, when the rules surrounding Industrial Complexes have changed so drastically? I guess in some places, having 5 units instead of 3 might be crucial; and in some rare situations being able to build 12 units will be preferable to ‘only’ 10. This is a ‘wait and see’ spot in the tech lineup.
1.5) War Bonds: This smelled of ‘tacked on at the last moment’. A 1d6 cash bonus each turn is not why any player invests in tech. You want your units on the board to become more effective; otherwise, you’ve wasted time and money. Best case scenario, you get your 5IPCs back at the end of the turn, but you probably should have spent that on a land unit instead of tying up money in this useless crapshoot. Hopefully this ‘tech’ will be cut to make space for something more interesting and rewarding.
1.6) Mechanized Infantry: This is its own piece now, so this will need to be jettisoned. What will take its place? Speculations and house rule suggestions are welcome!
2.1) Super Submarines: This was a boring tech to get in the original game, but they’ve pushed subs’ power level so hard now while cutting the price that this is actually pretty exciting. It’s the cheap naval equivalent of Heavy Bombers–especially given the new convoy disruption zones Smiley I’d like to see something more elegant and interesting rules-wise than a simple +1 buff to attack, but if it ain’t broke…
2.2) Jet Fighters: We now have tactical bombers that attack on 4; so the excitement of having our fighters perform the same function for 1 IPC less (and unescorted) is fairly underwhelming. Either Jets should be given ‘first-strike’ (sub ability), or ‘targeting’ (the ability to choose the units it fires at), or they should be taken off the roster to make room for a more interesting tech.
2.3) Improved Shipyards: Holy crap. Any tech that requires you to reference a freaking table every time you use it needs to be left on the cutting room floor. Unless it’s rules for nuclear bombs. In which case, cut this tech out and put ‘Nuclear Bombs’ in its place. Maybe The Bomb could be a simpler rule, too, like “All of your strategic bombers do 3d6 damage when conducting strategic bombing. If a facility attacked by your bombers would take more than its maximum # of damage counters, remove it from the board.” Tell me if that isn’t more exciting than discount battleships!
2.4) Radar: Whatever. I’ve never seen anyone even remotely happy to roll this, but I guess that sometimes those darn planes need nerfing. Randomly. In a tech roll.
2.5) Long-Range Aircraft: One again, the weight of history drags forward this institution. This one is pretty exciting; certainly game-changing, if not game-warping. One of the more hoped-for techs.
2.6) Heavy Bombers: Remember the good old days when this meant 3 dice? And the kind of okay days when it meant 2 dice? Well, in these bad old days it means 2 rolls on 1 dice, keeping the best result. And that blows. Sure, people kept complaining about it being ‘unbalancing’, but really–it only rolled 2 dice on the attack, and defended on a 1; and it cost 12 IPCs! You needed to be rich to have a lot of them lying around, and even richer to have sufficient cannon fodder to protect them in combat, so they were a ‘win more’ tech… but at least they were fun. Now, Heavy Bombers will be about as boring to roll as Radar. Why not just give 'em a +1 buff on attacks? Now HB are yawn-inspiring rather than fear-inspiring. We need a new tech here, or a return of the 2d6 HB!! Heed my call!
Okay, that’s just a beginning, to get the fire stoked. I really want to get all of you codebreakers in on this one… let me know how you think the tech tables will look when Global '40 is released. And of course, any insights from former or current playtesters will be more than welcome. :-D
Addendum:
As I’ve said, we know that in the Global '40 game Air Bases will enable the paratrooper tech: Up to 2 infantry can be moved up to 3 spaces from any functional Air Base. For free. No bomber required! Niiice.
And people have been clamouring for a ‘sub pen’ rule for some time. So, perhaps Global '40 will deliver a symmetrical advantage for Naval Bases? It could take the form of the following:
Sub Pens: Friendly subs in Sea Zones adjacent to operational Naval Bases you control cannot be attacked.
What this means is that the Allies will have to work together to get at the German U-Boats, and the Axis to get rid of UK subs. One power will have to strategically bomb the Naval Base (or take over the territory the Naval Base is located in), and the other power will have to follow through with a destroyer-enabled force to detect and dispatch the subs afterwards.
This provides at least some motivation to strategically bomb naval bases (where before there was little to none), and gives a player on the defensive navally a chance to protect their investment and enable a counterattack.
Of course this is only a speculation. Even if this doesn’t come to pass, it will probably end up being a house rule used by my gaming group. :-)
Let’s try to work out some other new techs to fill in more of those weak spots in the current line-up…