[Global 1940] Research System Total Overhaul

The research system in Axis & Allies has always been one of the game’s most divisive and unsatisfactory features. It works like a casino slot machine. Techs are poorly balanced with one another. Many are useful only if you’re playing certain countries, and you have little to no control over which ones you end up with. In short, it’s all luck and no strategy. Many have tried tweaking one or two things to improve it a little; many other players just scrap it and cut research out of their games altogether. I have yet to see anyone try to rebuild the whole system from the ground up, at least not in a way that I found to be much of an improvement. So that is what I am attempting to do here.

BASIC PREMISES

1
You will choose what tech you are attempting to develop, not rolling for it randomly. You may attempt to unlock one technology per turn.

2
Your country will now have a research level, which determines how many dice you get to use on your research each turn. All countries (China excluded) start at level 1.

3
Rolling the dice is a free action at the start of each turn. After selecting which tech you are aiming for, you make one roll, using a number of dice equal to your country’s research levels. If you roll the required number of hits, that technology is unlocked, and takes effect immediately.

4
Rolling a 4, 5, or a 6 all count as a hit now, not just a 6.

5
Techs are now sorted into tiers. In order to unlock a tech, you must roll a number of hits equal to its tier. A tier 1 tech needs only one hit, a tier 2 requires two hits, etc. All hits must be scored during the same roll on the same turn - you do not add up any hits you scored on previous failed attempts. Thus, tier 1 techs are available to any country immediately from the start of the game, but it is impossible to research tier 2 techs or higher without upgrading your research level first.

6
You may upgrade your research level by one slot per turn by spending the required number of IPCs. The cost of raising your research level starts out low, but scales up and becomes more expensive each time. Level 2 costs only 5 IPCs, but level 3 costs 10 IPCs, level 4 costs 15 IPCs, and so on, each level costing 5 IPCs more than the one that came before it.

7
Upgrading your research level takes effect the turn after it is done - if you spend 5 IPCs to move up to level 2 in the first round of the game, you begin rolling with two dice from the second turn onward.

8
Only nations that are at war are allowed to upgrade their research level. The United States and the Soviet Union will still roll for a tier 1 tech each turn while they are at peace, but they may not advance to research level 2 and beyond until they have entered the war.

9
The UK’s European and Pacific halves share the same research level. They make one roll per turn, and may still advance only research level per turn, but they are allowed to split the cost of a research level advancement between their economies however they please (i.e. 3 from Europe and 2 from Pacific to advance to level 2). Any techs unlocked by the British player are unlocked for both Europe and Pacific.

THE MATHEMATICS

The probabilities in the new research system work out very differently from those of the old one. While an element of luck and uncertainty remains, it is much less than that of the original game’s. Your spending will be rewarded much more reliably, and you will even unlock quite a few things if you choose to spend little or even nothing - just not as much as someone who does make a larger investment.

Technology tiers range from 1 to 4. All standard techs are ranked at 1, 2, or 3. The only tier 4 technology is the Atomic Bomb, which I will detail later on. Below I’ve calculated the probabilities of unlocking a tech at each tier depending upon which research level you are at:

TIER 1 TECH
1 Dice: 50%

2 Dice: 75%
3 Dice: 88%
4 Dice: 94%
5 Dice: 97%
6 Dice: 98%

TIER 2 TECH
1 Dice: 0%
2 Dice: 25%

3 Dice: 50%

4 Dice: 69%
5 Dice: 81%
6 Dice: 89%

TIER 3 TECH

1 Dice: 0%
2 Dice: 0%
3 Dice: 13%
4 Dice: 31%
5 Dice: 50%
6 Dice: 66%

TIER 4 TECH
1 Dice: 0%
2 Dice: 0%
3 Dice: 0%
4 Dice: 6%
5 Dice: 19%
6 Dice: 34%

Here is a quick chart of the costs for raising your research level:

Level 1 - Cost: 0 (Cumulative: 0)
Level 2 - Cost: 5 (Cumulative: 5)
Level 3 - Cost: 10 (Cumulative: 15)
Level 4 - Cost: 15 (Cumulative: 30)
Level 5 - Cost: 20 (Cumulative: 50)
Level 6 - Cost: 25 (Cumulative: 75)

I have not put a hard cap on how high you can raise your research level, though level 6 might be a good place for it, since the cost of advancing further than that will definitely outstrip the diminishing returns on your investment.

 Over the course of twelve turns, a player who spends nothing at all and remains on level 1 will likely develop around six tier 1 technologies. For a mere 5 IPCs, you can still focus on tier 1 techs and end up with around three more than you would have if you spent nothing - or you can gamble on getting a couple of tier 2s. At that price, level two is a great investment for everybody. The one time payment of half your income for a turn if you’re Italy or Australia may hurt a bit, but you will definitely reap a return on your investment - as opposed to the out of the box model, where buying one research dice probably gets you nothing and is an absolute waste.

At a price of 10 IPCs, level 3 becomes a very hard choice for those minor powers, requiring a full round of their starting income (the UK and the USSR may also be sweating a bit). If you do make that sacrifice, however, you are now favored to unlock a tier 2 tech every other turn, or a tier 1 on almost every turn.

Level 4 at 15 IPCs prices out the minor powers, unless they’re doing particularly well, and will hurt for the all but the richest of countries. At this level, the odds of unlocking a tier 3 tech go up to about 1 in 3.

Level 5 and beyond will likely be unaffordable to all but the US and either Germany or Japan if they are dominating their particular halves of the board. They’re really only a good investment if you are pursuing the Atomic Bomb.

TECHNOLOGIES AND TIERS

One thing is clear from the math: you will unlock a lot more technologies over the course of a game than you would in the standard system. The 12 techs included in the base game are not adequate to support this system - every player would unlock almost all of them during a game of normal length. Therefore, I have greatly expanded the list of technologies available - in my current draft, there are over 40 of them available, which I will detail below.

 One of the great virtues of my new system is its modularity. There is no hard upper limit to the number of techs that can be added. Adding more techs does not diminish the availability of the ones that are already there, like it would with the standard system’s random selection. It’s perfectly fine if some techs are more powerful than others - they just need to be placed on the higher tiers instead. If you’d like to add a few more techs of your own to the system, you are free to do so. If you don’t like a few of the techs, you can strike them off the list. If you think a tech is overpowered or underpowered, you can move it up or down a tier without breaking the system.

All of the techs that came in the different main editions of Axis & Allies are integrated into the list. Many of the others are drawn from the options available in the TripleA House Rules scenarios (credit to Bung, Veqryn, and the other creators). And some are originals of my own devising. I have sorted them into tiers based on both historical fact and gameplay balance, trying to put innovations that arrived later in the war into higher tiers, along with those that have more powerful effects on the gameplay. Sometimes, those two prerogatives are at odds with each other, and I welcome feedback and debate from the community over what exactly belongs where.

TIER 1

Airborne Operations
Unlocks the Air Transport unit (A0/D0/M5/C6). The Air Transport may load one infantry class unit (Infantry, Militia, Marine, or Elite) and deliver it into battle. It has no combat value but may be taken as a casualty in battles. Alternatively, for those that don’t want to play with new unit types, this tech could unlock the Paratroopers function that comes with the out of the box game, which allows up to 2 infantry from each of your territories with an air base to be launched up to 3 spaces away to join an attack launched by your other units from adjacent territories. I personally hate this for adding too much complexity and prefer the Air Transport option.

Amphibious Operations

Unlocks the Marine unit (A1/D2/M1/C4). The Marine attacks on a 2 instead of a 1 when it is part of an amphibious assault. Marines load into Transports with the same limitations as standard Infantry; however, you may also load Marines into Cruisers or Battleships at a limit of one per ship. The Marine can be supported with +1 attack by Artillery just like normal Infantry; however, this bonus does not stack with the boost it gets on amphibious assaults; a Marine landing alongside an Artillery still attacks on a 2, not a 3.

Close Air Support
Allows the Tactical Bomber to support one Infantry, Marine, Elite, or Mechanized unit with +1 attack. This bonus may not stack with one provided by an Artillery or Assault Gun, or the one that the Marine receives on an amphibious landing.

Combined Arms Tactics
Allows the Tank to support one Mechanized Infantry with +1 attack. By default, the Tank may pair with a Mechanized and allow it to blitz alongside it, but does not provide an attack boost. This boost does not stack with others provided by artillery units or by a Tactical Bomber with the Close Air Support tech.

Destroyer Bombardment
Allows the Destroyer to fire a bombardment shot when supporting an amphibious landing at its normal attack value of 2. By default, only the Cruiser and Battleship may bombard. This tech also allows the Destroyer to support one Escort with +1 attack (by default, only the Cruiser can do this).

Destroyer Escorts
Unlocks the Escort unit (A0/D1/M1/C5). This ship has the same ASW capability as the Destroyer, allowing it to suppress the special abilities of one enemy Submarine (or two, if Sonar tech is also researched). The Escort has no attack ability on its own, but can be supported to attack at 1 if paired with a Cruiser (or a Destroyer, if you also research Destroyer Bombardment). It has minimal combat capability, and is hampered by its slow speed, but it can be a good alternative for nations on a tight budget.

Destroyer Transports

Allows the Destroyer to load and transport one infantry class unit (Infantry, Marine, Elite, or Militia).

Escort Carriers
Unlocks the Escort Carrier unit (A0/D1/M1/C9). The Escort Carrier may base one Fighter or Tactical Bomber. It also shares the ASW ability of the Destroyer. While similarly priced to the Destroyer, the Escort Carrier has little innate combat ability of its own, and only moves one space per turn instead of two. A more affordable alternative to a full price Aircraft Carrier for fleets on a budget.

Fast Submarines
Allows the Submarine to move at a speed of 2; the default movement value of the Submarine is now reduced to 1. This handicap is somewhat offset by the default speed of the Transport being lowered to 1 as well, and by the new limitations imposed on the Destroyer’s ASW abilities.

Fast Transports
Allows the Transport to move at a speed of 2; the default movement value of the Transport is now reduced to 1.

Fleet Operations
Allows the Battleship to support one Cruiser with +1 attack during combat or bombardment.

Prime Movers
Allows the Mechanized Infantry to support one Artillery or AA Gun with +1 movement speed. While a Mechanized is allowed to blitz when paired with a Tank, an Artillery or AA Gun paired with a Mechanized cannot blitz with it.

Self-Propelled Artillery
Unlocks the Assault Gun unit (A2/D2/M2/C5). This unit, known as the Mobile Artillery in the House Rules edition, may blitz in the same manner as a Tank, and may provide +1 attack support to an Infantry, Marine, or Mechanized unit in the same manner as a regular Artillery. The Assault Gun also defends at a value of 3 when paired with a Tank.

Submarine Wolfpacks
Allows each Submarine to roll two dice when convoy raiding and use whichever value is higher when inflicting IPC losses on the enemy.

Sonar
Allows ASW units (the Destroyer, Escort, and Escort Carrier) to suppress the sneak attack, free passage, and escape abilities of up to two enemy Submarines; the default is reduced to just one. Destroyers in the base game have the ability to suppress an unlimited number of enemy Submarines, which is widely regarded as being a bad design choice. Submarines are much more viable as a result.

Torpedo Bombers
Allows each Tactical Bomber to fire one torpedo shot at enemy ships before naval combat begins. The attack succeeds only on a roll of 1, but any hits landed take effect immediately before the main combat begins, in the same manner as a Submarine’s sneak attack. Only surface vessels may be targeted; enemy Submarines are immune.

TIER 2

Advanced Artillery
Allows each Artillery or Assault Gun to support two Infantry, Marine, or Mechanized units with +1 attack (the default is one).

Anti-Aircraft Radar
Allows the AA Gun and the anti-aircraft defenses of Factories or Bases to shoot down attacking planes on a roll of 2 (the default is just 1). Each AA Gun fires at a maximum of up to two enemy planes.

Armored Flight Decks
Turns the Aircraft Carrier into a two hit point unit (the default is reduced to just 1). Carriers were a one hit unit in early editions of Axis & Allies and a two hit unit in later versions. Implementing this as an upgrade reflects the introduction of designs like the American Essex class or the British armored carriers that proved much harder to sink than those of the early war.

Armored Trains
Unlocks the Armored Train unit (A0/D3/M3/C9). The Armored Train has a movement range of 3, but may only move during the non-combat phase between friendly territories (you must control an enemy territory for at least one turn before you are allowed to move the Armored Train into it, similar to the rules against landing aircraft in territories you’ve just conquered). The Armored Train has 2 hit points and can repair after taking damage if it spends one turn in a territory with a friendly Major or Minor Factory. The Armored Train may load and transport up to two infantry class units (Infantry, Marine, Elite, or Militia) or one infantry class unit and one heavy unit (Mechanized, Artillery, Assault Gun, AA Gun, Tank, or Heavy Tank). Armored Trains cannot be loaded into Transport ships and will thus prove useful only to certain countries (i.e. Germany, the Soviet Union).

Deep Conscription
Unlocks the Militia unit (A0/D1/M1/C2). The Militia fits into Transports at the same rate as the normal Infantry, but cannot receive combat bonuses from Artillery or any other units that support the standard Infantry. Each nation is allowed to field no more than 12 Militia total, to control excessive spamming.

Escort Fighters
Allows Fighter units escorting a strategic bombing raid to shoot down enemy planes on a roll of 2 (the default is just 1).

Flying Boxcars
Allows the Air Transport to carry up to 2 infantry class units (Infantry, Marine, Elite, or Militia) instead of just 1.

Heavy Transports
Allows the naval Transport to carry up to 3 infantry class units (Infantry, Marine, Elite, or Militia) or 2 infantry class units plus 1 heavy unit (Mechanized, Tank, Assault Gun, AA Gun, or Heavy Tank).

Improved Interceptors
Allow Fighter units defending against a strategic bombing raid to hit enemy planes on a roll of 2 (the default is just 1).

Industrial Advancements
Allows the Major Factory to place up to 12 units, and the Minor Factory to place up to 4. Damage to factories is now repaired at half the cost (1 IPC will repair 2 points of damage).

Modern Fortifications
Unlocks the Bunker unit (A0/D3/M0/C5). The Bunker may be placed in any friendly territory with at least one infantry class unit (Infantry, Marine, Elite, Militia) or Mechanized. It has two hit points and may be repaired after battle only if one those previously mentioned units is also present in the same territory. Bunkers may be targeted in strategic bombing raids (including by Tactical Bombers) and are destroyed after receiving a total of 5 damage. Only one Bunker can be built in a particular territory per turn (you are allowed to build others as long as they are in different locations), and the number of Bunkers you may build up in a territory over successive turns is limited to a maximum equal to the territory’s IPC value (i.e. 3 Bunkers in a territory with an IPC value of 3).

Night Fighters
Allows the Tactical Bomber to defend against strategic bombing raids as an interceptor, hitting enemy planes on a roll of 1 (by default, only the Fighter can intercept). Tactical Bombers do not benefit from the Improved Interceptors technology.

Shipborne Radar
Allow the Battleship and the Cruiser to fire an AA shot at enemy planes before combat begins, hitting on a roll of 1. Each ship fires at up to 2 enemy planes. Any aircraft hit are destroyed immediately and do not take part in combat, in the same manner as when they are hit by a land based AA Gun. If the enemy is using Tactical Bombers and has the Torpedo Bombers research, the ships fire their AA rolls first. The surviving Tactical Bombers take their torpedo shots, and then the normal combat begins. Battleships and Cruisers do not benefit from the Anti-Aircraft Radar tech and continue to fire AA shots on a roll of 1.

Shipyard Improvements
Reduces the cost of naval units by 1 for lighter vessels, and 2 for heavier ships. New costs are as follows: Escort 4, Transport 5, Submarine 6, Destroyer 7, Escort Carrier 8, Cruiser 10, Aircraft Carrier 14, and Battleship 16. Shipyard Improvements also reduces the construction time of the Aircraft Carrier and the Battleship to one turn (by default, both ships now take 2 turns to build).

Special Forces
Unlocks the Elite Infantry unit (A2/D2/M1/C5). The Elite receives +1 movement and is allowed to blitz when paired with a Tank. It does not receive any attack bonuses from Artillery units, but if Close Air Support has been researched, it can attack on a 3 when supported by a Tactical Bomber. The Elite loads into Transports at the same rate as standard Infantry, and shares the Marine’s ability to load into Cruisers or Battleships at a rate of one per ship.

War Bonds
Roll one dice when collecting income and gain that number of IPCs as a bonus on top of your country’s normal income.

TIER 3

Dual Purpose Guns
Allows the AA Gun to fire an AT shot before normal combat begins at enemy Tanks or Heavy Tanks. Each AA Gun may fire at up to 2 enemy tank units, with a shot hitting on a roll of 1. Any Tanks that are hit are destroyed immediately and do not take part in the subsequent combat, just like aircraft downed by AA fire (though Heavy Tanks will survive with one hit point). AA Guns may take AT shots only when they are defending against an enemy attack, not when they themselves are part of an attacking force. The AA Gun may only fire against aircraft or against tanks in the same battle; they may not split one shot at a tank and one shot at an aircraft, even if the enemy only has one of each type of unit. The controlling player must choose which type of target their AA Gun will be fire at before rolling the dice. If multiple AA Guns are present, some can be assigned to AA fire and others to AT.

Flying Fortresses
The Strategic Bomber unit become immune to anti-aircraft fire from enemy AA Guns, facilities being targeted in a strategic bombing raid, and Cruisers or Battleships with Shipborne Radar. Strategic Bombers may still by shot down by enemy Fighters on interception missions (or Tactical Bombers with Night Fighter tech).

Heavy Bombers
The Strategic Bomber rolls two dice when attacking or conducting a strategic bombing raid. In normal combat, the Strategic Bomber rolls twice and uses the better of the two as its result - it can still only score one hit, but will only miss now if both of its rolls fail. In a strategic bombing raid, the Strategic Bomber rolls twice and inflicts the sum of both rolls as damage to the enemy facility. Note: the default attack value of the Strategic Bomber in normal combat has been reduced from 4 to 3.

Heavy Tanks
Unlocks the Heavy Tank unit (A4/D4/M1/C9). The Heavy Tank is a two hit point unit. It will repair at the beginning of the controlling player’s next turn after suffering from damage in battle. The Heavy Tank moves only one space per turn and thus lacks the normal Tank’s blitz ability. It does not support Elite Infantry with extra movement or blitzing ability, but it will allow the Assault Gun to defend at +1 value. The Heavy Tank shares the regular Tank’s ability to pair with a Tactical Bomber and allow it to attack at +1 value (4 instead of 3).

Jet Fighters
Allows the Fighter unit to attack with a roll of 4 (the default is 3). When defending a land territory containing a friendly Air Base, Fighter units will defend on a roll of 5 (the default is 4).

Kamikaze Tactics
Unlocks the option to use Japan’s kamikaze tokens (which are now disabled by default). This technology is only available to Japan. The kamikaze function the same as they do in the base game.

Long Range Aircraft
Provides aircraft units with 2 extra movement points. Fighters and Tactical Bombers now have a range of 6, Air Transports have 7, and Strategic Bombers have 8.

Strategic Rockets
Allows each Air Base to launch a rocket at an enemy factory or base located within 4 spaces, which functions as a strategic bombing raid and deals one die roll of damage. Rockets cannot be intercepted and may not be fired through neutral territories.

Super Carriers
The Aircraft Carrier may now base up to 3 Fighters or Tactical Bombers (the default is 2). Escort Carriers are not affected. If the Shipborne Radar technology has been researched, the Aircraft Carrier now receives an AA shot that follows the same rules as the Battleship or the Cruiser.

Super Submarines
Allows the Submarine to hit ships on a roll of 3 (the default is 2). If Submarine Wolfpacks has been researched, its effect is further improved; the Submarine will still roll two dice when convoy raiding, but instead of inflicting damage equal to the higher of the two, it will inflict IPC damage equal to the sum of both rolls.

Total War Economy
The cost of building a Major Factory is reduced from 30 to 20. The cost of building a Minor Factory is reduced from 12 to 10. The cost of upgrading an existing Minor Factory into a Major Factory is reduced from 20 to 12. The cost of building an Air Base or Naval Base is reduced from 15 to 12.

TIER 4

Atomic Bomb
Unlocks the Atomic Bomb unit (A0/D0/M0/C8). The Atomic Bomb has no combat value or movement points in its default state, but may load into a Strategic Bomber and allow it to conduct a nuclear attack. The controlling player may use the Atomic Bomb to conduct either a tactical or a strategic attack. In a tactical attack, the Atomic Bomb targets either all enemy land or all enemy sea units within a single zone (air units are not affected) and rolls one dice against each and every one of them, destroying them with a roll of 4 or less (with the exception of 2 hit points units like the Bunker, Armored Train, Heavy Tank, Battleship, or Aircraft Carrier with Armored Flight Deck, which will only be damaged). If the controlling player is attacking that zone with other units, the Atomic Bomb attack takes place before the main battle begins, and any units destroyed by the Atomic Bomb are removed immediately and do not get to fire in the first round of combat.

If the Atomic Bomb is used in a strategic bombing raid instead, it automatically deals the maximum damage value to all enemy facilities in that zone (i.e. 20 points to a Major Factory, 6 points to a Minor Factory, Air Base, or Naval Base, and 5 points to a Bunker, which will destroy it outright). Note that Bunkers will only be damaged in a tactical nuclear attack but destroyed by a strategic one, making the latter choice preferable in a territory protected by many Bunkers).

The Strategic Bomber delivering the Bomb is fired upon by any enemy AA Guns present during a tactical attack, or by one facility’s anti-aircraft defenses and any intercepting aircraft during a strategic attack. If it is shot down, the Atomic Bomb is destroyed along with it and has no effect on the enemy.

Only one Atomic Bomb may be purchased by the controlling player each turn, but they can have more than one Bomb on the board if they are each produced in subsequent rounds. The Atomic Bomb takes two turns to build. You may purchase your next Atomic Bomb during the turn that your first spends under construction.

Atomic Bombs that are on the ground (including ones that have been loaded into a Strategic Bomber but haven’t been used yet) are vulnerable to attack by other players on their turns. You may use Tactical Bombers or Strategic Bombers to conduct a strategic bombing raid against the Atomic Bomb under modified rules. Each attacking bomber unit rolls a single dice (Heavy Bomber technology is disregarded), with a hit being scored against the Bomb only on a roll of 6. The Atomic Bomb is considered protected by dedicated anti-air units and will take AA shots at each and every attacking bomber unit in the same manner as a factory or base, scoring a hit on a 1 (or 2 with the Anti-Aircraft Radar tech). Fighters (and Tactical Bombers with the Night Fighter tech) are permitted to take part in the air battle under the normal escort and interception rules. Any 6 rolled by an attacking bomber unit destroys the Atomic Bomb immediately.

The Atomic Bomb may also be targeted through a land attack upon the province in which it is based. If targeted in this manner, the Atomic Bomb will not take part in combat - but if the attack succeeds, the Atomic Bomb will be captured. The capturing player can then load the weapon into one of their own Strategic Bombers on their following turn - unless, of course, the original owner manages to counterattack and recapture it before that can happen.

Hopefully, these rules will allow the Atomic Bomb to become an exciting part of the gameplay, rather than just an instant “research this and I win” button. The rules for capturing or destroying them in an air raid should make for some very fun and dramatic battles.

UNIT REVIEW

With this potentially dizzying variety of technologies that unlock a variety of new units and offer many upgrades to the existing ones (and several alterations to the base stats on some of them), it would be helpful to go over each unit and which technologies interact with them.

Land Units

Infantry (A1/D2/M1/C3)
Synergies: +1A w/Artillery (Default), +1A w/Assault Gun (Self-Propelled Artillery), +1A w/Tactical Bomber (Close Air Support)

Still the backbone of every army. No technologies have a direct impact on Infantry stats, but several offer allow them to benefit from improved supporting units. Self-Propelled Artillery and Close Air Support are both available at tier 1 and allow the Infantry to receive attack support from additional units (the Assault Gun and the Tactical Bomber), while Airborne Operations and Destroyer Transports provide new options to transport them. At tier 2, Advanced Artillery will double the number of Infantry your artillery units can support, while Flying Boxcars, Heavy Transports, and the Armored Train offer further means of moving them around.

Militia (A0/D1/M1/C2)
Synergies: -
Unlocked with Deep Conscription (Tier 2)
An emergency stopgap unit to be pumped out in large numbers at low cost when one of your Major Factories is on the brink of being overrun. For the cost of 10 IPCs you could get 5 Militia instead of 3 Infantry, providing a little extra cannon fodder to shield any more valuable units you still have. Their population cap of 12, inability to receive artillery support, and innate weakness means they will never actually replace regular Infantry as the core of your army.

Marine (A1/D2/M1/C4)
Synergies: +1A w/Artillery (Default), +1A w/Assault Gun (Self-Propelled Artillery), +1A w/Tactical Bomber (Close Air Support)
Unlocked with Amphibious Operations (Tier 1)
Performs identically to the standard Infantry, with the added bonus of attacking at a 2 in amphibious assaults and being able to load onto Cruisers or Battleships. They also benefit from the same techs that offer new fire support or transportation options. The price of 4 per unit, however, makes them less cost effective to mass in large numbers, but still valid as a specialist unit. For 12 IPCs, you can buy 3 Marines or 2 Infantry and one Artillery; the Marines would roll three 2’s on an amphibious attack versus the Infantry + Artillery’s two 2’s and one 1, and the Marines can be more loaded more flexibly. The reduction of the Transport’s base speed to 1 (unless you research Fast Transports) makes the ability to load into faster Cruisers and Battleships an even greater advantage than normal.

Elite Infantry (A2/D2/M1/C5)

Synergies: +1M and Blitz w/Tank (Default), 1A w/Tactical Bomber (Close Air Support)
Unlocked with Special Forces (Tier 2)
The last and most expensive infantry class unit. At 5 IPCs, the Elite is a specialist unit, too costly to displace regular Infantry in their role (you can get 2 Infantry and 1 Artillery for the price of 2 Elites). The Elite also costs more than the Mechanized, with which it shares some overlap, being able to blitz or move two spaces when paired with a Tank. The Elite’s main advantage lies in its much greater transportation options compared to a Mechanized. You can load more of them into Transport ships, take advantage of Cruiser or Battleships, and put them in the Air Transport. While any infantry class unit can be airdropped into battle, the Elite is the only one that will attack at a 2 unsupported, making it ideal for airborne assaults. As for the Marine, the Elite has all the same abilities and more - but it costs one extra IPC, and it’s on Tier 2, making it tougher to unlock. For basic invasions of single island territories, the Marine is likely the better buy, while the Elite may be better suited for invasions of continental territories where you expect to move ahead and attack more territories after conquering your beachhead.

Mechanized Infantry (A1/D2/M2/C4)
Synergies: +1A w/Artillery (Default), Blitz w/Tank (Default), +1A w/Tank or Heavy Tank (Combined Arms Tactics), +1A w/Assault Gun (Self-Propelled Artillery), +1A w/Tactical Bomber (Close Air Support), +1M to Artillery or AA Gun (Prime Movers)
With a price at 4 IPCs, the Mechanized Infantry will suffer at first from low cost efficiency in comparison to standard Infantry, but it benefits from several technologies that allow it to synergize with other units. Combined Arms Tactics and Close Air Support allow the Mechanized Infantry to receive fire support bonuses from Tanks and Tactical Bombers, while Prime Movers offers the Mechanized the unique ability to tow Artillery two spaces into battle. The ability to tow AA Guns two spaces will become even more of an asset if you later research Dual Purpose Guns. All three of these technologies are at Tier 1 and thus easily accessible even to nations that don’t heavily invest in research.

Artillery (A2/D2/M1/C4)
Synergies: +1A to Infantry, Marine, Mechanized (Default), +1M w/Mechanized (Prime Movers)
Still your main unit for supporting Infantry on the attack, although it now has some competition from the Assault Gun should you choose to unlock it. The Artillery benefits immensely from Prime Movers at Tier 1, which allows the Mechanized Infantry to drag it an extra movement space, and from Advanced Artillery at Tier 2, which allows it to support two separate units. The Armored Train also offers an interesting option to move the slow Artillery unit around quickly through friendly territory. Artillery’s sole advantage over the Assault Gun is being 1 IPC cheaper, making it more cost effective.

AA Gun (A0/D0/M1/C5)
Synergies: +1M w/Mechanized (Prime Movers)
AA Guns may be taken as casualties during battle, but their only combat ability is to fire AA shots before a battle begins (1 shot each at up to 2 aircraft, hitting on a roll of 1 and destroying it immediately if successful). AA Guns benefit from three different technologies, one at each tier. The first is Prime Movers, allowing it to be towed two spaces when moving if paired with a Mechanized Infantry. The second is Anti-Aircraft Radar, which will double the attack value of its AA shots to 2, making it a much more potent threat to enemy aircraft. The final upgrade is Dual Purpose Guns, giving the AA Gun the ability to take shots at attacking Tanks or Heavy Tanks using similar rules to AA fire. The Armored Train, if unlocked, can load one AA Gun and move it up to three spaces in a turn. The Flying Fortresses tech should also be taken note of, as it will render enemy Strategic Bombers invulnerable to AA Guns if researched.

Assault Gun (A2/D2/M2/C5)

Synergies: +1A to Infantry, Marine, Mechanized (Default), +1D w/Tank or Heavy Tank (Default)
Unlocked with Self-Propelled Artillery (Tier 1)
An alternative choice for providing fire support. While the Artillery’s lower cost makes it the more cost effective choice for supporting slow masses of Infantry, the Assault Gun’s speed and ability to blitz makes it ideal for accompanying mixed formations of Mechanized and Tanks on deep attacks. Even if you research Prime Movers, regular Artillery still can’t accompany these units on a blitz. The Assault Gun’s other advantage is defending on a 3 when paired with a tank unit, which also gives it edge over the cheaper Mechanized Infantry in that situation.

Tank (A3/D3/M2/C6)
Synergies: +1A to Tactical Bomber (Default), +Blitz to Mechanized (Default), +1A to Mechanized (Combined Arms Tactics), +1D to Assault Gun (Self-Propelled Artillery), +1M and Blitz to Elite (Special Forces)
The main offensive shock unit. Combined Arms Tactics will allow them to provide fire support to Mechanized Infantry, while Self-Propelled Artillery and Special Forces unlock the Assault Gun and Elite Infantry, which both benefit from synergy with Tanks and can accompany it in blitz attacks. The role of the Tank changes little in the new system, but it will be operating alongside a greater variety of units.

Heavy Tank (A4/D4/M1/C9)

Synergies: +1A to Tactical Bomber (Default), +1A to Mechanized (Combined Arms Tactics), +1D to Assault Gun (Self-Propelled Artillery)
Unlocked with Heavy Tanks (Tier 3)
A “land battleship” with a very distinct role from the regular Tank. A slow unit that can’t blitz, but takes two hits to kill and dishes out more damage than any other land unit. At Tier 3, the Heavy Tank will not be available until later in the game and will require a substantial investment in upgrading your research level in order to unlock it, not to mention its own high price per unit. 3 Infantry can be bought for the same price, which is probably the better buy if you’re looking to defend - but the Heavy Tank definitely outperforms those 3 Infantry when it’s on the attack.

Armored Train (A0/D3/M3/C9)
Synergies: -
Unlocked with Armored Trains (Tier 2)

The Armored Train offers a unique hybrid role of mobile bunker and fast land transport (same capacity as a sea Transport, 2 infantry type units or 1 infantry type + 1 heavy). It is the only land unit with a speed of 3, although it is limited to traveling in friendly territory and in non-combat turns. With 2 hit points and defense rolls at a 3, the Armored Train has the same combat stats as a Bunker, but is much more expensive. It is also slightly disadvantaged in having to return to a factory in order to repair, while a Bunker may repair battle damage as long as one of your infantry units is present in the same territory. The Armored Train also has an advantage in that it cannot be destroyed through strategic bombing the way a Bunker can. Compared to the Air Transport, which can also be used to shuttle units across land territories, the Armored Train has less movement range, costs more, and is unable to cross water obstacles or invade enemy territories - but on the plus side, it carries more units (even with Flying Boxcars researched, an Air Transport still can’t carry units like Artillery or Tanks) and serves as a powerful defensive unit in battle.

Bunker (A0/D3/M0/C5)

Synergies: -
Unlocked with Modern Fortifications (Tier 2)
The Bunker is an immobile defensive unit. With 2 hit points and a roll of 3, it outperforms any unit short of a Heavy Tank in fighting a defensive battle. Its obvious downside is that it is solely capable of defending one territory. Bunkers are relatively cheap, but construction is limited to one per territory each turn (and capped by the province’s IPC value if you’re building more than one in the same place over successive turns). Bunkers cannot replace Infantry entirely as defensive units, since Infantry must be present in order to place and repair them. Note that they are vulnerable to strategic bombing raids; they can be targeted by both Tactical and Strategic Bombers, and it only takes takes 5 points of damage to knock them out. Be especially wary if your enemy has researched Heavy Bombers; attacking with two dice allows one Strategic Bomber to reliably wipe out a Bunker on each raid. Researching Anti-Aircraft Radar at Tier 2, which allows your Bunkers to fire back during strategic bombing raids with a roll of 2, can help make Bunkers more resilient against this type of attack.

Air Units

Fighter (A3/D4/M4/C10)
Synergies: +1A to Tactical Bomber (Default)
Fighters remain excellent general purpose units that can take part in combat on land or at sea, and be used to intercept or escort strategic bombing raids. Fighters benefit from several different techs. Improved Interceptors and Escort Fighters, both available in Tier 2, improve the Fighter’s abilities to shoot down enemy bombers or protect your own during strategic bombing raids, while the more powerful upgrades are available at tier 3: Long Range Aircraft, which extends their short range, and Jet Fighters, which raises their attack value to a 4, and their defense to a 5 when defending a territory with a friendly Air Base (Jet Fighters in this circumstance are the only unit in the game that is able to roll that high). Note that researching the Escort Carrier in Tier 1 also unlocks another ship that the Fighter can land on.

Tactical Bomber (A3/D3/M4/C11)

Synergies: +1A w/Fighter or Tank (Default), +1A to Infantry, Marine, Mechanized, or Elite (Close Air Support), +1A w/Heavy Tank (Heavy Tanks)
With a higher price and lower defense stat than the Fighter, the Tactical Bomber may be a less desirable option at first, but can be improved with a variety of techs to become a highly versatile unit. Close Air Support allows the Tactical Bomber to serve as a substitute for Artillery when it is not available while Torpedo Bombers gives it a unique first strike ability against enemy ships. Both are available at Tier 1 and thus easily accessible, while Tier 2 offers Night Fighters, allowing Tactical Bombers to join Fighters in defending against strategic bombing raids. Finally, Long Range Aircraft at Tier 3 extends the Tactical Bomber’s range to 6 and allows it to threaten deeper targets. The Tactical Bomber is also capable from the start of being used in strategic bombing raids, though it can only target bases or Bunkers (or the Atomic Bomb), not enemy factories, and will not benefit from the Heavy Bombers or Flying Fortresses researches.

Strategic Bomber (A3/D1/M6/C12)
Synergies: -
The Strategic Bomber’s attacking ability in battles has been reduced from 4 to 3, making it no better than the Fighter or Tactical Bomber, and less cost efficient than either, while being all but useless in the defense. It makes up for this with its ability to target enemy factories and infrastructure. Strategic Bombers will have a fairly easy time of it at first, but struggle as nations begin moving into Tier 2 and fielding technologies like Anti-Aircraft Radar, Improved Interceptors, and Night Fighters (with Industrial Advancements also capable of mitigating damage inflicted on factories by making it cheaper to repair). They will experience a renaissance in the late game, however, with Heavy Bombers, Flying Fortresses, and Long Range Aircraft offering dramatic improvements to their ability to inflict damage, avoid defensive fire, and reach faraway targets. Not to mention the Atomic Bomb, for any nation that manages to develop it, a super weapon that will require a Strategic Bomber to deliver.

Air Transport (A0/D0/M5/C6)
Synergies: -
Unlocked by Airborne Operations (Tier 1)

The Air Transport comes at the same price as its naval counterpart (unless Shipyard Improvements is researched) and has advantages as well as disadvantages. The first advantage is speed; it can move many more spaces in the same turn, especially before Fast Transports is researched. It is untouchable by enemy Submarines, and it can move over both land and water territories. Its main disadvantage is its lack of carrying capacity, being capable of lifting only one infantry class unit by default. Flying Boxcars (at Tier 2) allows for a second infantry unit, but the Air Transport still can’t lift heavy artillery or vehicle units, while Heavy Transports, available at the same tier, allows the sea Transport to carry three infantry units. The Air Transport will also be fired upon by enemy AA Guns, and an airborne assault cannot take advantage of naval bombardment or the Marine’s +1 attack boost like a landing by sea. Both Special Forces, which unlocks the Elite Infantry, and Long Range Aircraft should be researched if you plan to rely heavily on airborne assault tactics.

Sea Units

Transport (A0/D0/M1/C6)
Synergies: -
The humble Transport begins the game at a big disadvantage compared to the standard version, with its speed reduced from 2 to 1. It can still move 2 spaces with the aid of a Naval Base, and is somewhat compensated by enemy Submarines being similarly reduced (at least until they themselves are upgraded), but long distance convoy trips will be slower and more perilous than they were before. Powers like the US, Britain, and Japan that have to ship a lot of units across the ocean will find Fast Transports an essential tech to research early (fortunately, is Tier 1 and available immediately). Transports can also be upgraded at Tier 2 with Heavy Transports, allowing them to carry an additional infantry class unit on top of their normal capacity. Finally, as with all naval vessels, Shipyard Improvements (Tier 2) will make the Transport available at a lower price of 5 IPCs.

Escort (A0/D1/M1/C5)
Synergies: +1A w/Cruiser (Default), +1A w/Destroyer (Destroyer Bombardment)
Unlocked by Destroyer Escorts (Tier 1)
The cheapest naval vessel, the Escort is not available right away, being locked behind the Destroyer Escorts option. The Escort has the lowest fighting power of any ship, but it does share the Destroyer’s ability to suppress an enemy submarine. The Escort is handicapped severely by its low speed - while Transports and Submarines can both be upgraded to move 2 spaces, the Escort is stuck at 1. In spite of its ASW ability, the Escort will actually be at a disadvantage when fighting a Submarine in a one on one - the Sub will roll at 2 and the Escort only at 1 when the Escort is attacked, and the Escort can’t kill the Submarine at all when attacking on its own. Destroyers can also unlock the ability to bombard or transport a unit through research, while the Escort cannot. All this to say, the Escort will not make the Destroyer obsolete - but it can still be effective as a cheaper stopgap or as a supporting asset to other units. Apart from anti-submarine defense, the Escort may also be used as a cheap cannon fodder unit to absorb damage and screen more important vessels. The Escort is useless at attacking on its own, but it can attack at a 1 when paired with a Cruiser (or with a Destroyer, if you also research Destroyer Bombardment). Escorts benefit strongly from the Sonar technology in Tier 1, which allows their ASW ability to affect two Subs instead of just one, and from the price reduction to 4 IPCs from Shipyard Improvements in Tier 2 (you can buy 3 of them for the price of 2 Submarines after that).

Submarine (A2/D1/M1/C7)
Synergies: -
Submarines begin the game at a handicap, with a speed reduction to 1, while their nemesis the Destroyer remains capable of moving 2 spaces. But this penalty is offset by a great advantage: the Destroyer can no longer suppress an unlimited number of Submarines, just one of them (until Sonar is unlocked). This change makes mass production of Submarines much more viable as a strategy. Powers investing in Submarines have two techs they can research right away in Tier 1 to improve their capabilities - Fast Submarines and Submarine Wolfpacks. While the benefit from Submarine Wolfpacks may be limited, making a difference of 1 or 2 IPCs per convoy raid, it becomes much stronger if you later research Super Subs - which allows convoy raiding to deal double the normal damage. Super Subs also raises the Submarine’s attack to 3, making it a much more dangerous threat to other ships, but at Tier 3, it will not be easy to get to. Shipyard Improvements reduces the Sub’s cost to 6. Submarine operators should also be aware of technologies that affect their enemy’s ability to defend against them - Destroyer Escorts and Escort Carriers both unlock a new ship with ASW capability, while Sonar allows each ASW ship to affect two Submarines. All three can be unlocked in Tier 1.

Destroyer (A2/D2/M2/C8)
Synergies: +1A to Escort (Destroyer Bombardment)
The Destroyer is the only ASW vessel available immediately, although both the Escort and the Escort Carrier can be unlocked through research. Destroyers are capped to suppressing one Submarine at the start of the game, making Sonar an essential tech to research if you’re up against a foe relying heavily on Subs. While the Escort is cheaper, and the Escort Carrier can land a plane, the Destroyer has more innate fighting ability than either, and be further upgraded through research. In addition to Sonar, the Destroyer can be enhanced through Destroyer Transports, allowing them to carry 1 infantry type unit, and Destroyer Bombardment, which lets them fire a bombardment shot in amphibious invasions. Destroyer Bombardment also allows the Destroyer to pair with the Escort and provide it with an attack of 1 (it normally has 0), allowing for new attack strategies. All three of these techs can be researched in Tier 1. Shipyard Improvements will reduce the price of the Destroyer to 7 IPCs.

Escort Carrier (A0/D1/M1/C9)
Synergies: -
Unlocked by Escorts Carriers (Tier 1)
The Escort Carrier is half the ship for a little more than half the price, in comparison to the standard Aircraft Carrier, with the added benefit of the Destroyer’s ASW ability. The Escort Carrier can be constructed in just one turn, while prior to Shipyard Improvements, an Aircraft Carrier takes two, making the Escort Carrier more expedient if building in a hurry is essential. Before the Armored Flight Decks tech is researched, two Escort Carriers actually makes for a more durable option to base two planes than one Aircraft Carrier. Their speed of just 1 is a severe limitation, however, particularly in the Pacific where objectives are many spaces apart. The Escort Carrier is thus more of a defensive option or a cheap stopgap, not a viable offensive replacement for the Aircraft Carrier - all the more so if the Aircraft Carrier is upgraded with Armored Flight Decks or Super Carriers. The Escort Carrier will benefit from researching Sonar, which allows it suppress two Submarines, and Shipyard Improvements, with reduces its price to 8 IPCs.

Cruiser (A3/D3/M2/C12)
Synergies: +1A w/Battleship (Fleet Operations), +1A to Escort (Destroyer Escorts)
A middleweight fighting vessel that can support amphibious invasions with bombardment, the Cruiser lacks the durability of the Battleship, but can built in only one turn while a Battleship will take two (before researching Shipyard Improvements). Cruisers begin the game with questionable cost effectiveness, but can be enhanced with several different technologies. Fleet Operations, available in Tier 1, allows the Cruiser to attack and bombard at a value of 4 when paired with a Battleship. The Marine can also be unlocked early with Amphibious Operations, providing a unit that can be loaded and transported using the Cruiser (the Elite Infantry, available through Special Forces at Tier 2, can also do so). If Destroyer Escorts is researched, the Cruiser can support an Escort and allow it to attack at 1. Shipyard Improvements will reduce the cost of the Cruiser to 10 IPCs. Shipborne Radar, also available in Tier 2, will provide the Cruiser with a new fleet air defense role, allowing it to take AA shots at enemy planes before a battle begins. While the Battleship unlocks the same ability, the Cruiser is the more cost effective of the two for that purpose.

Battleship (A4/D4/M2/C18)
Synergies: +1A to Cruiser (Fleet Operations)
The most powerful fighting ship, with 2 hit points and the ability to bombard during amphibious assaults, the Battleship has been handicapped with a longer construction time - if you buy one, it cannot be deployed until the end of your next turn, not the end of your current turn. This makes Shipyard Improvements at Tier 2 a crucial technology to aim for if you intend to focus on Battleships - it not only reduces their price to 16 IPCs, but also reduces their build time to the standard one turn of other units. With Fleet Operations research, the Battleship will provide gunfire support to Cruisers, giving them +1 attack. Researching Amphibious Operations or Special Forces will allow you to produce Marines or Elites that can load onto Battleships, and researching Shipborne Radar will provide the Battleship with an AA shot capability.

Aircraft Carrier (A0/D2/M2/C16)
Synergies: -
Aircraft Carriers begin the game with two handicaps compared to the standard version - they take 2 turns to build, and they only have 1 hit point. Both disadvantages can eliminated through Tier 2 researches; Armored Flight Decks will provide a second hit point, while Shipyard Improvements will reduce build time to one turn (and cost to 14 IPCs). Unlocking the Escort Carrier in Tier 1 may provide a useful auxiliary or alternative until these techs can be researched. At Tier 3, Super Carriers will provide the Aircraft Carrier the ability to land a third Fighter or Tactical Bomber. While Shipborne Radar (in Tier 2) provides no immediate benefits to Aircraft Carriers, if you research both Shipborne Radar and Super Carriers, the Aircraft Carrier will gain an AA ability like that of the Cruiser and the Battleship. Finally, Torpedo Bombers in Tier 1 should be noted; while providing no direct benefit to the Carrier, it improves the ability of any Tactical Bombers it launches to attack other ships.

Facilites

Major Factory (C30)
Industrial Advancements will allow the Major Factory to place 12 units instead of 10 and halve the price of repairing damage, while Anti-Aircraft Radar will allow it to fire back at Strategic Bombers on a roll of 2 instead of 1. Both are available in Tier 3. Finally, researching Total War Economy in Tier 3 will bring a massive price reduction to the Major Factory (from 30 IPCs down to 20), and also reduce the cost of upgrading a Minor Factory into a Major one (only 12 IPCs instead of 20).

Minor Factory (C12)
Minor Factories may place 4 units instead of 3 and repair damage at half cost after researching Industrial Advancements, and fire on Strategic Bombers with a roll of 2 instead of 1 with Anti-Aircraft Radar. Total War Economy will reduce the price of the Minor Factory from 12 IPCs to 10, and make it much cheaper to convert the Minor Factory into a Major Factory.

Air Base (C15)
Air Bases will defend on a roll of 2 against Strategic Bombers after researching Anti-Aircraft Radar, and be reduced in cost from 15 IPCs to 12 with Total War Economy. If you research Strategic Rockets, Air Bases will become rocket launching facilities, able to target one enemy facility per turn with a strategic bombing raid at a distance of up to 4 spaces. Finally, researching Jet Fighters will allow the Air Base to support your Fighters, making them defend on a 5 when they’re in the same territory.

Naval Base (C15)
Air Bases will defend on a roll of 2 against Strategic Bombers after researching Anti-Aircraft Radar, and be reduced in cost from 15 IPCs to 12 with Total War Economy. If the Battleship or the Aircraft Carrier (after researching Armored Flight Decks) take damage, they must spend a turn in a zone adjacent to a Naval Base in order to repair it.

RACE TO THE BOMB

Much of my thought about the pacing and the pricing of the research system has gone into the question of how long it will take for players to unlock the Atomic Bomb. Recalling the math from earlier, the minimum Research Level at which it is even possible to roll for the Atomic Bomb tech is level 4 - which only offers a 6% chance of success. For a better than remote chance, you need to get to level 5, which raises the odds to a measly 19%. You need to reach level 6 in order to have a decent chance of 34%.

Reaching research level 4 requires a cumulative spending of 30 IPCs, level 5 takes 50 IPCs, and level 6 takes 75 IPCs - all of which could have been spent on units instead. Each turn attempting to research the Bomb and failing is also a turn you missed out on developing a lower tier tech with a much greater chance of success, making it a poor strategy to try to develop the Bomb on a shoestring by only spending to level 4 and hoping to throw a Hail Mary.

The United States is the nation financially best situated to invest in Atomic Bomb research - but paradoxically, will start behind in the race because it is not allowed to raise its research level beyond 1 until it has entered the war. This adds a crucial strategic consideration for the Axis when considering an early declaration of war by Japan - attacking early becomes a dangerous gamble, allowing the US to begin advancing toward the Bomb sooner.

The Axis players can actually get a head start on raising their research levels, and in theory, reach the Bomb before the US can - but their smaller budgets and more pressing need for military units makes it a riskier and more difficult proposition for them.

Fastest possible route to the Bomb, if every single thing goes right? Germany advances to research level 2 on its first turn, on its second turn advances to 3, on its third turn it moves to 4. On turn 4, the German player throws four dice and rolls a miracle, all four hit. The German player buys their first bomb. Atomic Bombs take two turns to complete, so the German player waits till the end of turn 5 before placing their first Bomb. On turn 6, the weapon gets loaded into a bomber and dropped on a target. Is this actually likely to happen? Not at all, the German player is unlikely to succeed at that roll at all without advancing further to level 5 or 6, and may find himself in a bad position with all that early spending on research levels instead of units.

There is in fact a strong possibility of being the first nation to unlock the Atomic Bomb, and yet losing the war anyway. The Bomb is very powerful, but it is not a game-winning weapon on its own. If your opponents took advantage of the turns you spent advancing your research level and buying fewer units to strengthen their own forces and position on the board, you may find yourself pushed into a corner that you can’t fight your way out of, even with the help of the Bomb - and your enemies might be only a couple of turns behind you in fielding it themselves.

Together with the rules for capturing or destroying it, and its awesome effects if you actually manage to drop it on the enemy, the Atomic Bomb should become a centerpiece of tension, drama, and excitement, without actually deciding the final outcome of the game in and of itself. I think it will be a very fun addition to play with.

NATIONAL ADVANTAGES

One final element that this new and improved research system lends itself to is the old concept of national advantages - special bonuses unique to each country. This could be implemented by certain countries being given easier access to particular technologies, whether by having them available at an earlier tier, rolling for them at an advantage, or just being granted access to them for free. I would consider this section an optional variant of my proposal, to be adopted or left out as the players wish, though I personally would recommend its inclusion.

AUSTRALIA
Australia begins the game with Destroyer Escorts already unlocked. Australia rolls for Amphibious Operations, Destroyer Bombardment, Destroyer Transports, Fast Transports, and Sonar at an advantage (dice succeed on 3-6). Special Forces is available at Tier 1.

BRITAIN
The UK begins the game with Destroyer Escorts, Fleet Operations, and Torpedo Bombers already unlocked. The British roll for Airborne Operations, Amphibious Operations, Escort Carriers, Fast Transports, Improved Interceptors, Jet Fighters, Shipborne Radar, Sonar, and War Bonds at an advantage (dice succeed on a 3-6). Anti-Aircraft Radar, Armored Flight Decks, and Shipyard Improvements are available at Tier 1. Heavy Bombers is available at Tier 2.

CANADA (Optional)
Canada begins the game with Destroyer Escorts already unlocked. Canada rolls for Amphibious Operations, Fast Transports, Self-Propelled Artillery, Shipyard Improvements, and Sonar at an advantage (dice succeed on 3-6). War Bonds is available at Tier 1.

CHINA
China does not take part in the research system at all, but it begins the game with Deep Conscription unlocked, granting access to the Militia unit.

FRANCE
France begins the game with Modern Fortifications unlocked, allowing it to place a Bunker as part of its 12 IPC bonus units when liberated. France also begins the game with War Bonds, which defies the normal rules and provides income even when the French capital is occupied. France may spend its War Bonds income to purchase units at any US, UK Europe, or (if playable in the scenario) Canadian factory as if that facility were one of its own. France rolls for Destroyer Bombardment, Destroyer Transports, Fast Transports, and Fleet Operations at an advantage (dice succeed on a 3-6).

GERMANY
Germany begins the game with Close Air Support, Combined Arms Tactics, and Submarine Wolfpacks unlocked. Germany rolls for Advanced Artillery, Airborne Operations, Fast Submarines, Improved Interceptors, Jet Fighters, Prime Movers, Special Forces, Self-Propelled Artillery, Strategic Rockets, and Super Submarines at an advantage (dice succeed on a 3-6). Night Fighters is available at Tier 1. Dual Purpose Guns and Heavy Tanks are available at Tier 2.

ITALY
Italy begins the game with Torpedo Bombers unlocked. Italy rolls for Airborne Operations, Destroyer Escorts, Fleet Operations, and Self-Propelled Artillery at an advantage (dice succeed on a 3-6). Shipyard Improvements is available at Tier 1. Long Range Aircraft is available at Tier 2.

JAPAN
Japan begins the game with Amphibious Operations, Fleet Operations, and Torpedo Bombers already unlocked. Japan rolls for Destroyer Transport, Fast Submarines, Fast Transports, Special Forces, Super Carriers, and Super Submarines at an advantage (dice succeed on a 3-6). Shipyard Improvements is available at Tier 1. Long Range Aircraft is available at Tier 2. Japan is the only nation that can research Kamikaze Strikes.

SOVIET UNION
The USSR begins the game with Armored Trains and Close Air Support already unlocked. The Soviet Union rolls for Airborne Operations, Deep Conscription, Dual Purpose Guns, Heavy Tanks, Prime Movers, Self-Propelled Artillery, and Special Forces at an advantage (dice succeed on a 3-6). Total War Economy is available at Tier 2.

UNITED STATES
The United States begins the game with Airborne Operations and Amphibious Operations already unlocked. The US rolls for Armored Flight Decks, Destroyer Escorts, Escort Carriers, Escort Fighters, Fast Transports, Fleet Operations, Flying Boxcars, Heavy Bombers, Heavy Transports, Self-Propelled Artillery, Shipborne Radar, Shipyard Improvements, Sonar, Submarine Wolfpacks, Super Carriers, and War Bonds at an advantage (dice succeed on a 3-6). Industrial Advancements is available at Tier 1. Flying Fortresses and Long Range Aircraft are available at Tier 2.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

The research system in Axis & Allies is fundamentally flawed, and has seen little improvement over the various editions of the game. It functions as a lottery, is poorly balanced, adds little strategy to the game apart from how many IPCs to throw away gambling on it, and most of the time serves only to frustrate the player, whether seeing their money to go to waste on miss after miss, or raging as their opponent gets lucky and wins a game-altering advantage over them.

My aims in redesigning this system from the ground up were to make research and technology add a deep layer of strategic choices to the game, and to make the competition fun and exciting for everyone at the table. What is fun and exciting? Unlocking new things. What is frustrating and boring? Spending your money and getting nothing in return. So you’ll be unlocking things a lot more often in this system, almost every turn in fact if you’ve spent a little on upping your research level and aim for for the more conservative lower tier techs. There is still an element of luck and uncertainty here - your rolls can fail - but because the rolling itself is free, you’re not losing any of your money on it. When you do spend money on research, the return on your investment is lasting and meaningful.

The new system is also incredibly flexible and modular, where the original was rigid and tied down to only a small number of techs. You have as much freedom as you like to add techs to the list, take them off, move them up or down in the ratings, and several ways to give different countries favored techs that they can acquire more easily.

The new system does add a good deal of complexity to the gameplay, in terms of adding in many new units or unlockable bonuses, and even making some changes to the base stats of long established units (most of which can be overcome by research). Yet the way the system itself works is simple, straightforward, and fast. You choose which tech you want to go for, you roll for it, and then you decide whether you want to buy another research level to have an extra dice to roll with next turn.

The strategic choices offered by the new system are deep and meaningful. You will unlock many technologies, easily a dozen or more in a long enough game - but there will be two or three dozen that you don’t get to unlock. You have tough choices to make, not only between which techs you’re going to aim for and which ones you’ll go without, but also what order to unlock the techs you do choose. With each nation’s unique situation and advantages favoring different choices from one another, and the need to factor what moves your enemies are making into your own research decisions, my hope is that this new system will inject a lot of fresh thinking and debate into a game meta that has grown overly stale, were optimal strategies for everything have been figured out and there’s little adventure or experimentation.

There’s a bit of a conundrum for me in how to get this idea off the drawing board and actually begin testing it out. Overhauling a core system of the game like this is easier to do when you just play it out on the table, but adding so many new unit types is difficult (and expensive, if you want something nicer than paper counters). On the other hand, adding new units is easy in TripleA, but rewriting the rules on this scale is a daunting task, one that I myself certainly don’t have the skill for. So I’d like to put this whole idea out here as a gift to the community - hopefully some of you out there might be interested enough to trying playing a game with it, or see what can be done within the bounds of the TripleA engine.

@Panther said in Research System Total Overhaul:

@Vendetta

Welcome to the forum :slightly_smiling_face:
I suppose these are House Rules for A&A Global 1940? Please confirm or indicate which edition you address. Thank you.

(I’ll remove this comment once the target edition is visible.)

Thank you, this is for Global 1940. I can no longer edit the OP, would you be able to add [Global 1940] to the title and remove the note in the parentheses from the OP?

@General-6-Stars said in Research System Total Overhaul:

So how do you get 2 dice for Tier 1 Tech ? Or is that just showing odds for 1 dice etc. etc ?

If I want 2 dice for Tier 1 Tech, do I pay 5 icps for the 2nd dice ?

Where’s your revised values for the pieces ?
Since you have defaults now.

Have you tested this out yet ?
This will take many games to see how it plays out.

I really can’t comment more on this topic based on this game is mostly for play abilities and some costs for pieces is not correct.

I lean more towards historic ways in my games. IMO.

Good Luck. I do like a lot of your techs though.

The number of dice you roll is equal to your country’s research level. By default, everyone starts at Level 1. At Level 1, you roll one dice each turn. Rolling costs nothing.

The only time you spend money is when you are upgrading to a higher research level. You spend 5 IPCs to advance to Level 2.

At Level 2, you roll 2 dice each turn. You only have to buy Level 2 once - once you’re on it, you stay there, and you will roll 2 dice each turn for the rest of the game, no extra charge. You will roll 2 dice whether you’re researching Tier 1 or Tier 2.

So leveling up not only gives you a shot at researching higher tier techs, it also raises the odds you’ll succeed at researching the lower levels.

When you buy Level 3, you roll 3 dice each turn. And so on. The catch is that leveling up gets more expensive each time. Only 5 IPCs to buy Level 2, but 10 for Level 3, 15 for Level 4, 20 for Level 5, etc.

If you enjoy games with a more historical feel I think you’ll like the National Advantages section I added.

Tech Tiers Shortlist

I realized it would be helpful to have a quick reference list of which techs are available at which tier without all the explanatory text.

TIER 1
Airborne Operations
Amphibious Operations
Close Air Support
Combined Arms Tactics
Destroyer Bombardment
Destroyer Escorts
Destroyer Transports
Escort Carriers
Fast Submarines
Fast Transports
Fleet Operations
Prime Movers
Self-Propelled Artillery
Submarine Wolfpacks
Sonar
Torpedo Bombers

TIER 2
Advanced Artillery
Anti-Aircraft Radar
Armored Flight Decks
Armored Trains
Deep Conscription
Escort Fighters
Flying Boxcars
Heavy Transports
Improved Interceptors
Industrial Advancements
Modern Fortifications
Night Fighters
Shipborne Radar
Shipyard Improvements
Special Forces
War Bonds

TIER 3
Dual Purpose Guns
Flying Fortresses
Heavy Bombers
Heavy Tanks
Jet Fighters
Kamikaze Tactics
Long Range Aircraft
Strategic Rockets
Super Carriers
Super Submarines
Total War Economy

TIER 4
Atomic Bomb

Thank you for the feedback, let me try and go through this point by point.

@SuperbattleshipYamato said in [Global 1940] Research System Total Overhaul:

Something makes me uncomfortable though about reducing the capabilities of submarines and destroyers. They’re certainly more historically accurate and it’s definitely sound on paper. Maybe I just don’t like weakening units.

Messing around with the core units that everyone is already familiar with is not to be undertaken lightly, but in this case I feel justified because the Destroyer and the Submarine are each other’s primary opponents, and both are affected. One change I didn’t go out of my way to note is that I switched the cost of the Transport and the Submarine (Transport is now 6 and Submarine is 7) to reflect the greater difficulty in conducting ASW warfare with these changes. While both units start off weaker than out of the box, if you choose to focus your research on them you can actually make them better than they are in the standard game.

Do you think the reductions in capabilities of destroyers and strategic bombers without reducing their cost unbalances them and will make them less likely to be purchased? Or did you think they were overpowered in the out of box rules?

I think the Strategic Bomber is often bought for ahistorical purposes - it gets used a lot for attacking ships and supporting ground units in battle when heavy bombers generally weren’t all that efficient in either of those roles historically. So lowering their roll to a 3 in regular battles should discourage that a bit.

I think they will probably be less attractive to buy if you’re not aiming to complete the Tier 3 researches for them - but if you do unlock those, they become very powerful. Heavy Bombers is once again a hard-hitting tech that allows for double dice damage against factories, and Flying Fortresses will allow them to negate the Anti-Aircraft Radar if the enemy has it (and punish those who don’t invest in Improved Interceptors).

Historically, strategic bombing took a long time to reach its full potential. A lot of improvement was needed in equipment, tactics, and doctrine before the bombing campaigns began to do truly meaningful economic damage. I think the Strategic Bomber should have a fairly easy time of it in the opening moves, struggle in the middle game as counter technologies are researched, and then become very powerful in the late game when its own improvements are finally introduced.

Not a fan of the milita limits, but I understand why they have to be like that. I’ll think of a solution.

The hard cap was a carry over from how it was implemented in TripleA House Rules. I’m not really a fan of hard caps either (it feels like when you run into the one of those invisible walls when you’re playing a video game).

Perhaps there might be a limit instead on how many can be placed per turn, but not how many you can have in total. It would have to be figured out through play testing. The important thing to me is that Militia should be a situational unit that you deploy in emergencies; it should never displace the Infantry from its role as the workhorse of your army.

I feel like “Improved Interceptors” and “Escort Fighters” technology should be combined, considering a new fighter that excels at one probably excels at both. Moving it up a tier will work.

I actually placed these on Tier 2 deliberately because of the reasoning I outlined above on the strategic bombing meta. The strategic bombing counters (Anti-Air Radar, Improved Interceptors, and Night Fighters) are all at Tier 2, while the bomber upgrades are Tier 3 and harder to get. If you’re specializing in bombers, Escort Fighters is the one option you have available to unlock sooner in Tier 2 to help deal with these threats.

You’re right in that making a fighter better at one thing often makes it better at the other, but interception and escort are missions that have some distinct requirements. A fighter designed around interception needs high performance and heavy firepower and often cuts corners with other other things, like fuel capacity, while the bomber escort mission demands long range and high reliability. So I feel comfortable keeping these separate (and I like how it makes the player specialize).

The kamikazes shouldn’t be a technology. To be accurate have them activated either later in the game or when Japan is “losing” (that would be defined, of course, but my idea isn’t fully formed yet). They also seem too weak for tier 3.

I think it should be. Right now, it’s sort of just a tacked on gimmick - this integrates it as a part of the overall game system. Many of the “techs” in this system actually represent the development of new doctrines and tactics, and this is one of them. Placing it at Tier 3 will introduce it at the correct time in the game.

You may be right though that it is underpowered and not something the Japanese player will actually be inclined to choose compared to other Tier 3 researches. One way to strengthen it could be to allow the player to purchase additional kamikaze tokens - you get the 6 tokens you do in the base game for free when you complete the research, and you can buy additional ones at a low price (I’m thinking 4 or 5 IPCs but I’m not set on a number yet).

To keep cheap kamikaze spam from then becoming too powerful, perhaps kamikazes should be vulnerable to the AA fire you get if you research Shipborne Radar, and defending Fighters get one round to fire at them (on a 2) if you’ve researched Improved Interceptors.

Night Fighters isn’t really historically accurate.

Many bomber airframes were developed into night fighters; the Mosquito, the Ju 88, the Do 217, the Pe-3, and the P-70 are several examples.

A better idea would be to have a whole other system called “night bombing” where strategic bombers don’t have to fear interception and maybe not even anti-aircraft fire, but bombing damage is decreased by half (this is all tentative), and then the Night Fighters technology will allow fighters to intercept.

It’s an interesting idea, but one thing I consciously avoided (apart from the Atomic Bomb) was adding entirely new and untested systems to the game.

I don’t want to sound confrontational, but:

“Destroyers in the base game have the ability to suppress an unlimited number of enemy Submarines, which is widely regarded as being a bad design choice.”

Where’s the evidence for that? I’m just curious.

The designers of the TripleA House Rules variant went to great lengths to introduce a whole new system to replace this, revolving around the idea of depth charge shots. I found their idea interesting in theory but too difficult to get used to. My preferred solution is thus to to modify the original system rather than replace it entirely.

In the traditional rules, if you’re playing Britain, you never really need to have more than one or two destroyers on the board at a time - you just send it around with your stack of planes and you can wipe out more or less endless numbers of submarines. I don’t like this, and no one I’ve played with bothers investing in submarines much because of it. I’m hoping this will change that and make the Battle of the Atlantic a lot more interesting, with more cat-and-mouse gameplay.

I agree some tactical bombers should be allowed to intercept though, so perhaps a better title is “Dual-Use Aircraft”, to better represent the bombing and intercepting aircraft like the Ju-88 and Mosquito.

Night Fighters sounds cooler :sunglasses:

In the end, some of the names are just chosen for flavor and distinctiveness. I think this one has some justification though, like I said before.

Maybe Heavy Bombers and Flying Fortresses can be combined and increased to Tier 4, but I don’t think their seperation is as bad as that for the above mentioned fighter upgrades.

I believe on principle that the Atomic Bomb should stand alone in a tier above all others.

The national advantages are great, I was always a fan of those. It also really solves my gripe with some of the technologies already existing for certain nations at the start of the war by allowing them at the start. Definitely makes it more historically accurate. It also makes the huge selection of technologies less overwhelming by proving incentives for certain technologies.

They were definitely one aspect I missed from the earlier editions of A&A. In hindsight, many of the old advantages were somewhat gimmicky and poorly balanced, so I think shifting them to the tech system like this is the right answer.

My goals with these were just as you said - add some historical accuracy and encouragement for the players to follow their nation’s historic specialties, without railroading them into it - you can still ignore your advantages and go after Heavy Tanks as Japan if you want.

I think the limits on bunkers can be historically accurate, but I’m drawing a blank. I feel like there is an explanation. I would appreciate if you could give me one. Thank you!

The bunker unit represents heavy networks of fortifications (think the Maginot Line, the Gothic Line, the Atlantic Wall). These massive constructions can’t be built overnight. One in a territory per turn represents a limit on how quickly these defenses can be built up.

Can you use air transports to move units in the non-combat move?

Yes, you can use it to shuttle guys around during non-combat.

So Armoured Trains take an entire turn to repair, and are not repaired at the beginning of a turn like carriers or battleships?

The carrier and the battleship must be in a zone next to a Naval Base in order to repair, likewise the Armored Train must be in a territory with a factory. If your train is in Moscow, and damaged in a failed German attack, it could actually repair at the start of your turn. If it’s out at the front and gets damaged, then yes, it does need to spend a turn going back to a factory to return to full strength. This is in deliberate contrast to the Heavy Tank, which can repair at the start of your turn no matter where it is. I think it balances out because the Train also plays an important role as a land transport, while the Heavy Tank is used only for fighting.

Can Bunkers be placed in another power’s (that is friendly) territory? Does it have to have an in infantry unit of your own power?

That idea hadn’t occurred to me. My thought would be yes, you could build one in an ally’s territory, but you must have one of your infantry units present there.

If a Bunker is damaged in a strategic bombing raid, does that have any effect on the amount of hits it can take in non-strategic bombing raid combat?

In the TripleA House Rules version, it didn’t. I’m not sure whether that was a deliberate choice or just an engine limitation they couldn’t find a way to work around. I think ideally that 1 or 2 points of strategic bombing damage would have no effect, but 3 or 4 points would reduce it to one hit point until it was repaired all the way down to 0.

For Torpedo Bombers, considering it’s written that it’s like submarine surprise strikes, does that mean when the bombers hit, the enemy unit that were hit still fire back like how they are in submarine surprise strikes?

My understanding of submarine surprise strikes is that the surprised unit gets killed immediately and does not fire back (otherwise what’s the difference from a normal attack?)

Is there a “tech tree”? Do you have to get a certain tier 1 tech to get tier 2 or 3 techs? Or if you wanted to, can you go straight for the Atomic Bomb? Hypothetically, could you get Flying Boxcars before Airborne Transport (not saying that’s a good idea)?

I didn’t write any write any rules for having to unlock certain techs in order to get access to others. There’s a couple cases like that where one requires an earlier one to be useful, but I think they’re obvious enough that no one should make that mistake by accident.

Rushing for the Bomb and ignoring everything else is an option, but consider the opportunity cost - if you spend 5 rounds rolling for the Bomb and failing, your enemy might use those same turns to pick up 3 or 4 different techs and get quite an advantage over you.

If you have two dice and they both hit (and you were focusing on a tier 1 technology), could you get two tier 1 technologies? And can you split your dice between different technologies?

I chose not to allow this, both to control the pace that techs arrive at (no more than 1 per country per turn) and to remove overly complicated decision making. The advantage of rolling two dice for a tier 1 is that you succeed 75% of the time instead of just 50% - you will unlock more techs over time than a player who stays at level 1 and doesn’t spend anything.

I assume changing Anti Aircraft Artillery to hit up to 2 aircraft, not 3, was intentional?

Yes. The price of the AA Gun has also been reduced from 6 to 5.

Do jet fighters defend at 5 when scrambling from a friendly air base?

I’d say no, historically the first generation jet fighters were very fuel thirsty and short ranged, so I’d say the advantage only applies when they are in that territory, not when scrambling to a neighboring one. I introduced that because I wanted Jets to have more of an impact than just the attack boost. In the older editions, it made the fighter’s defense go up to a 5. That’s too powerful to give to them all the time - but when it’s just that one special circumstance, I think it will work well.

So aircraft carriers and battleships now have to wait a full turn to be repaired? So they’re repaired during the place units phase, not the purchase units phase?

Battle damage is a more serious consequence now. Like I said with the Train, you can still be repaired at the start of your turn if your enemy attacked you at one of your own bases and you survive with damage, but otherwise yes, you’ll have to bring them back to base first.

One possible strategy to deal with this is to make use of the cheap Escort unit (5 IPCs, 4 if you get Shipyard Improvements) as a screen and lose those before having your BBs take a hit. It might also encourage additional Naval Base builds in the Pacific to have more forward repair sites.

How do you think low luck would impact this system? Your system is still superior, but I have found that low luck makes the out of box research system less frustrating.

The one thing I would say low luck is probably not going to play nice with is the Atomic Bomb.

Overall, besides what I outlined above, my only remaining complaint is that it adds too many possibilities in the game that I’ll go crazy. That’s one of those “complaints that are compliments” in case I wasn’t clear. :+1:

Thank you, this idea started out small and then became a bit of a monster as I fleshed it out.

One final thought that occurred to me, the Atomic Bomb option seems like a great way to encourage players to keep the game going instead of resigning around turn 8-10 when one side is at a clear advantage.