Technology

Well if we are serious about tech then we should reach a consensus as a community on a few issues and try and get a STANDARD TECH house rule.

12 techs or 6?
How should research work? Roll Random? Tech Tokens? Targeted Tech? A different way?
What should the techs be?

Lets not get TOO complicated. And lets draw from what we already have in 1940. War Bonds, Advanced Artillery

Im putting my foot down on planes going from 1/1, to 2/2, to 3/3 to 4/4 no……no no no
Larry wouldnt do that.
Larry would do Jets
And jets means your planes change ONCE and only ONCE to a new stat line.
So aircraft changing to 2/2 is balanced and fair. Not too strong, not overpowered compared to powers without the tech.
Just like how jets don’t become 4/4, then 5/5.

Apparently Gas is a must have tech. Machine guns, Radios, Grenades, were all other big advances of the period.
What other advances can we think of.

Lets brainstorm.

Have depth charges where cruisers get some of the abilities of destroyers. Something like, subs can’t submerge when fighting a cruiser. Gives the allies a chance against the rampaging German subs.

I think Gas is not good.  Wasn’t it just as dangerous to the army deploying it as it was to the enemy???

In the early stages it was, by the end of the war they had gotten the methods of using it down.

@Makoshark13:

Have depth charges where cruisers get some of the abilities of destroyers. Something like, subs can’t submerge when fighting a cruiser. Gives the allies a chance against the rampaging German subs.

Would suck for a CP to roll this tech.

I think there should be some separate tech for CP and for the Allies.

Certainly plausible.
Perhaps a good replacement for “Armed Transports”.

As it stands my proposed techs are:
Air/Naval Techs
1. Undersea Warfare - Your Cruisers prevent enemy subs from submerging at a 1:1 ratio and your Subs may submerge before the first round of combat.
2. Advanced Aeronautics - Your aircraft become 2/2/3
3. Mine Detectors - Roll a die before your ships attack into a minefield: That many of your ships are immune to enemy mines (your choice).
4. Observation Balloons - In battles where no aircraft are present, one of your artillery counts as having air support.
5. Advanced Mines - Your Naval mines strike enemy ships on ‘2’ or less.
6. Naval Aviation - Your Battleships may serve as a landing space for one of your own aircraft. Battleships attack and defend at 5 with naval air superiority.

Land/Economic Techs
1. Tank Pioneer - You may build tanks before turn 4, after turn 4 you can buy tanks for 5 IPCs.
2. War Bonds - At the end of your turn roll two dice, collect the higher number as IPCs
3. Chemical Warfare - Roll a die before attacking a territory, 1-3: remove that many enemy infantry; 4-6: No effect (One Territory Per Turn Only)
4. Conscription - Each time you buy 4 Infantry, receive a 5th free.
5. Radio Communications - During combats where friendly forces are also in the contested zone, roll a die. That many friendly artillery may also participate in the attack
6. Advanced Transportation - Roll a die, that many of your infantry may move 3 spaces this turn (amongst friendly territories worth 2 IPCs or more)

6 Techs only. This does not look like a 12 tech game.

Every 4th turn a player may select one free tech

Example:
On turn 4 each player may select one free tech
On turn 8 each player may select one free tech
Tanks are no longer automatic ( unless you research or select it)

Six Techs:
Bombers: Your fighters can now perform SBR attacks to the limit of IPC they are bombing. They can also move +2 spaces
Gas Attacks: If you got at least one artillery, you can assign one gas attack during your attack against a territory. You get one extra die roll (3 or less) in combat.
Gas Masks: If you are attacked by gas, roll one die and 3 or less cancels the gas attack against you.
Strategic Artillery: Any adjacent artillery you control may fire in battle hitting at 1
Tanks: tanks may be built use OOB rules
Battle-cruisers: Cruisers may move +1 extra space and take 2 hits

If you want to research Tech early, pay 5 IPC for each roll, but the technology you get is random ( the only ones you get to choose are on every 4th turn)

According to djensen’s battle board photo, fighters are 2/2/2.

“Remove one enemy fighter for each die roll of 1 or 2.
Remaining fighters strafe enemy positions.
Remove one enemy land units for each die roll of 1 or 2.”

Edited to fix spelling.

IL battle cruisers is OP
A 9 ipc unit that moves 4 and takes 2 hits

12 techs has been the norm since anniversary edition, i think we can get 12 good ones

Also it would be wise to have either tech tokens OR free (random) tech.

Chemical warfare could wrap together both the attack.and the masks.
But frankly, I don’t even think gas masks warrant being a tech.

Perhaps mine detectors could be changed to “in a naval battle half of your ships are immune to mines” and perhaps advanced mines can be wrapped in with this tech.

If some techs have duel roles then allied powers or central powers both want a tech for different reasons.

Also I don’t see what everybody’s hard on for bombers is.
Though if everyone clamors for it maybe it deserves to be a tech in some way.

I agree that techs should be free, maybe based on a random roll. I think if you make them cost IPC’s, you’ll have to add in income to balance the game. Everyone was doing research during this period, and copying from the enemy as they rolled out new techs. Definitely agree with making a tech common after a turn or so. Maybe put a national marker on a tech that is unique to that nation, then flip the marker when it becomes common.

@oztea:

Perhaps mine detectors could be changed to “in a naval battle half of your ships are immune to mines” and perhaps advanced mines can be wrapped in with this tech.

There are mine detectors that detect land mines, and there are minesweeper vessels which clear naval mines by various techniques (dragging cables, etc.), but I’ve never heard about naval mine detectors.  Modern minesweepers can probably do a certain amount of mine detection using underwater drones equiped with TV cameras, but I’m not aware of any naval mine detection technology existing during WWI.  If it did exist, I’d be interested in hearing about the details.

Regarding the concept of “mine immunity”, I think the closest one can realistically come to it is “enhanced mine resistance” via the use of anti-torpedo bulges.

Navies tried clearing paths through suspected minefields with depth charges.
Special mine clearing units did exist and worked around the clock in 1918 to reopen shipping lanes that the UK had closed. I think like 80% of all naval mines were laid by the UK.

On the subject of gas masks, in the gas attack tech, the fact that it kills a random number (or none) of the enemy reflects the opponent having masks.

Perhaps the tech should be:
Roll a die and apply the following
1-2 remove that many enemy infantry
3-4 remove that many enemy infantry (no effect if the enemy also has the Chemical Warfare Tech)
5-6 no effect

That way masks are rolled into chemical warfare.
We could get this down to 6 techs if some techs do something slightly different that the CP needs or allies need.

But I still think 12 is better.

Maybe Gas would immobilize x number of enemy units the next round vice killing them. ?

@oztea:

Navies tried clearing paths through suspected minefields with depth charges. Special mine clearing units did exist and worked around the clock in 1918 to reopen shipping lanes that the UK had closed. I think like 80% of all naval mines were laid by the UK.

Yes, and as I recall the British and the Americans worked into 1919 to clear the North Sea mine barrage.  But what I meant to say is that naval minesweeping and naval mine detection aren’t the same thing.  The traditional way to sweep tethered naval mines, as I recall, is for two shallow-draft vessels to drag a steel cable between them and sail through a suspected minefield, in the hope that the cable will cut through the tethers and cause the mines to float to the surface, where they can be spotted visually and detonated by rifle fire.  Vessels using this technique essentially work blind, without any detection gear.  Using depth charges to clear mines likewise involves no detection process.

Chemical warfare could wrap together both the attack.and the masks.
But frankly, I don’t even think gas masks warrant being a tech.

No the whole point is to have separate techs where one harms you (gas) and you need to research the remedy ( masks)

If you had both at the same time, their would be no scramble to defeat the gas attacks. Thats the whole point.

I think the effect and procedure could be improved, but rolling dice and killing the result is way too powerful IMO.

Yes I agree.  Gas outright killing Infantry is powerful.  I think they should affect the units, not kill them.  Either immobilize them for a turn or they attack/defend at a lower die roll for a round.

I personally think you should strike gas off the list all together…it’s a very ‘local’ weapon, and simulating at the theater level is a bit silly…just think of it as being incorporated into a standard ‘attack.’