Technology

@oztea:

Please drop economic bombing. The tech is 3 paragraphs long and has no place in WWI.
Can we find another air tech for gods sake?

How about improved aerial combat tactics?  According to Wikipedia, “By the end of World War I, aerial combat had progressed to the point where dogfighting tactics based on such doctrine as the Dicta Boelcke had progressed to the point that air supremacy could be achieved; the earliest example is the Italian air offensive against the Austro-Hungarians just before the end of World War I.”

Well we already have planes becoming 3/3.
We could have them be allowed 2 rounds of dogfighting or have them get longer range.

Bombing is so out of place it makes me sick. It just didn’t have the kind of impact in WWI.
And besides, no one will want bombers. Its more important to boost your stack of artillery than it is to maybe blow up 1-3 IPCs

@oztea:

Please drop economic bombing. The tech is 3 paragraphs long and has no place in WWI.

Can we find another air tech for gods sake?

OK, I’m nothing if not flexible. I just have to be hit over the head a couple of times for the flexibility to rise to the surface. :-D

Air Techs

7. Advanced Aviation - Fighters attack and defend at 3 or less.

8. AA Guns - Artillery may target fighters before combat begins, firing at 1. The number of dice that may be rolled is limited to the number of artillery available or the number of fighters present, whichever is smaller. A nation with AA Gun technology may use it against fighters in a bombing raid, provided they have artillery units present in the targeted territory.

9. Bombing - Fighters may perform a bombing raid on an adjacent territory instead of engaging in combat, scoring a hit on a roll of 1. If the target territory has fighters present, one round of aerial combat takes place before the attacking fighters roll to inflict damage. Bombing raids take place before all other combat. Surviving fighters return to their original territory before land combat begins.

Bombing is now strictly tactical bombing. I’ve stuck with only adjacent territories to account for the fighters need to fly there and back. Since it’s now only tactical bombing, should they hit on a 2 or less just like fighters do, rising to 3 or less with Advanced Aviation?

Here are some other options that work within the role planes have:

Coordinated Observation: Your fighters may grant air superiority to friendly forces in contested territories. Friendly fighters also grant your forces air supremacy.

Observation Specialists: When you have air superiority your artillery attack at 5.

Id still rather use my fighter to boost artillery than risk it on some ill begotten bombing raid.

The utility of fighters is in observation.
For air techs we have an attack boost, a defense against air, i think an observation enhancement tech would be logical.

Air Techs

7. Advanced Aviation - Fighters attack and defend at 3 or less.

8. AA Guns - Artillery may target fighters before combat begins, firing at 1. The number of dice that may be rolled is limited to the number of artillery available or the number of fighters present, whichever is smaller. A nation with AA Gun technology may use it against fighters in a bombing raid, provided they have artillery units present in the targeted territory.

9. Aerial Photography - In combat, choose an enemy unit to target before you roll for each artillery unit.

I thought you wanted to keep rolling to a minimum.

Calling out each artillery shot one by one will take a long time.
I think arty shooting at 5
Or HALF of your artillery can shoot at 5 with air superiority would be better.

All the techs need to be 2 or 3 sentences max. Larry doesn’t wrote paragraph long techs.

@oztea:

All the techs need to be 2 or 3 sentences max. Larry doesn’t wrote paragraph long techs.

Don’t think Larry cares what we do since it sounds like he isn’t for doing techs in this game (or he would have had them in it).

“In a regular combat situation with military units as targets, roll 3 dice for each attacking heavy bomber instead of 1 die per bomber - thus each bomber could score up to three hits; in a strategic bombing raid when an industrial complex is your target, toss 3 dice for every bomber that survives an antiaircraft attack. Add the totals. The sum is the number of I.P.C.'s the opponent who owns the complex must surrender to the bank - an economic disaster for your enemy.”

There’s even a semi-colon.

@oztea:

I thought you wanted to keep rolling to a minimum.

Got me. :-D

Aerial Photography - In combat, choose half your opponent’s casualties, within the rules of the game.

That heavy bombers text is 10 years old, when Larry was young and reckless.
The shorter the techs are the better chance at having one tech ruleset endorsed as the standard by the community.

I think half your arty shooting at 5 is more fair.
Attacker assigning casualties means “take all your artillery off bro”

Economic Techs

1. War Bonds - During your collect income phase, collect an additional number of IPCs equal to 10% of your National Production Chart level, rounded up.

2. Increased Production - Tank and Fighter costs are reduced by 1 IPC.

3. Improved Shipyards - Naval units cost 1 IPC less.

Naval Techs

4. Anti-Submarine Warfare - Your Cruisers prevent enemy subs from submerging or moving through them at a 1:1 ratio.

5. Battle Cruisers - Cruisers attack at 4 or less, but still defend at 3 or less. Additionally, cruisers may perform offshore bombardment at 3.

6. Armed Transports - Transports defend at 1 or less.

Air Techs

7. Advanced Aviation - Fighters attack and defend at 3 or less.

8. AA Guns - Artillery may target fighters before combat begins, hitting at 1. The number of dice that may be rolled is limited to the number of artillery available or the number of fighters present, whichever is smaller.

9. Aerial Photography - Your artillery can support 2 units instead of 1. (should add, if you have air supremacy).

Land Techs

10. Radio Communications - During combats where friendly forces are also in the contested zone, roll a die. That many friendly artillery may be used to boost your attacking forces on a 1:1 ratio, but may not participate in combat.

11. 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.

12. Stromtrooper Tactics - When you are the attacker, you may conduct a second round of combat.

Turned Aerial Photography into Advanced/Heavy Artillery, but dependent on air supremacy.

Edited to clarify Aerial Photography.

I can get behind this list 95%
The only glitch is stormtroopers. Not sure how the mechanics of the game will react to something like that.
We need to discuss the ramifications.

Yes, I came up with it late last night. The first iteration was allowing some sort of advance into another territory if you overran the first one, but that seemed a bit much. Perhaps a second round with infantry and tanks only?

Yeah, these aren’t bad. Kind of miss the CP/Entente division of techs, but I sort of lost track of this thread and there’s probably a good reason for how you did it.

@ossel:

Yeah, these aren’t bad. Kind of miss the CP/Entente division of techs, but I sort of lost track of this thread and there’s probably a good reason for how you did it.

I just sort of did it after being brought round to the 12 tech system, grabbed what I could out of the Allies/CP tech split, added some of my own, and oztea worked to to bring them back to earth.

After skimming an article on Stormtrooper tactics, how about:

Stormtrooper Tactics: Attacking infantry with artillery support roll at 4 or less.

“The stormtroopers attacked immediately after the bombardment.  In contrast with the standard infantry units used at the beginning of the war, the men were equipped with a wide variety of weapons, not just the standard bolt-action rifle.  Wire cutters and explosives engineers created gaps in the barbed wire belts.  Grenade throwers, flame throwers, machine gunners, and mortar crews infiltrated enemy positions.  Three or four waves of infantry followed. (Koch 506)  The attacking troops had no fixed objectives and left pockets of resistance for supporting troops to deal with. (Barnet 290)  Success, not failure, was reinforced.  The stormtroopers carried with them the first widely used sub-machine gun, the MP-18.  The new sub-machine gun was light and easy to handle, and had much greater firepower than a rifle. (Reid 10)  Infiltrating troops often advanced beyond artillery range, leaving their flanks vulnerable.  Since most artillery was too bulky to be brought forward in the attack, light trench mortars and machine gunners protected the flanks. (Koch 506)  The great German offensives were also supported by air power.  Seven hundred thirty German planes were massed against 579 Allied planes in Operation Michael. (Toland 26)”

From http://www.johnsmilitaryhistory.com/stormtrooper.html