Questions

[Millsy]

Have just seen this on the NWS site.

Tt's almost as if you had developed this just for me. This is exactly the sort of naval warfare version of TOAW that I had been looking for to game an AH that I am working on (in summary 1941 GB/Dutch vs France following dispute between Dutch & France following break up of belgium).

Couple of questions : (not showstoppers as will purchase in any case just wondering just how ideal it is)


Does the 'atlantic' map include the channel/north sea ?.
what about the dutch navy - or can i just add them to RN ? - in my AH are allied with UK against France so would have trade with caribean (dutch BC against French cruisers anyone ?)
My AH envisages a BEF in Flanders so would need supply across southern north sea - can I do this by having troops on Dutch soil.
what about coastal forces MTBs and the like- or are they just very small, fast escorts ?
did I read elsewhere that airplanes cant lay mines - can submarines ?
Another pet subject - coastal artillery - or is this effectively just defences of ports
Do ports and airbases have AA defences ?That aside ------- wow bring it on ( and soon) !!!

[tony_glazebrook]

Have just seen this on the NWS site.

Tt's almost as if you had developed this just for me. This is exactly the sort of naval warfare version of TOAW that I had been looking for to game an AH that I am working on (in summary 1941 GB/Dutch vs France following dispute between Dutch & France following break up of belgium).

Couple of questions : (not showstoppers as will purchase in any case just wondering just how ideal it is)


Does the 'atlantic' map include the channel/north sea ?.
what about the dutch navy - or can i just add them to RN ? - in my AH are allied with UK against France so would have trade with caribean (dutch BC against French cruisers anyone ?)
My AH envisages a BEF in Flanders so would need supply across southern north sea - can I do this by having troops on Dutch soil.
what about coastal forces MTBs and the like- or are they just very small, fast escorts ?
did I read elsewhere that airplanes cant lay mines - can submarines ?
Another pet subject - coastal artillery - or is this effectively just defences of ports
Do ports and airbases have AA defences ?That aside ------- wow bring it on ( and soon) !!!

Millsy - answers below:
Q1: Yes
Q2: We have the de Ruyter and Tromp already included; nothing else of the Dutch navy so far but you can build your own and give them dutch class and ship names
Q3: yes
Q4: nothing smaller than a small sloop of several hundred tons will be in release 1. We may add MTBs later - yet to be decided
Q5: airplanes can't, neither can subs although giving subs minelaying is one of the first things I'd add to a second release
Q6: artillery only acts in defence of ports
Q7: yes - the amount is a function of their infrastructure, which can be developed, as well as degraded by enemy attack.

Cheers

[Millsy]

Many thanks - minor disappointment :cool:over air/sub minelaying and coastal forces however still an excellent addition to my gaming software !. :)

I am already planning how I will set up the AH scenario in S@S, and it has already cost me £ as I finally purchased a laptop so my wife will still see me rather than disaapering for hours into the back room to play on the desktop (plus a 45 min train commute each way into London every day).

Thanks once again I am very much looking forward to seeing the real thing especially the ship builder and the large a/c list.

One last question - is the ship builder flexible enough to build

monitors/coastal defence battleships
different sorts of merchants - what about large (Queen Mary ) liners for fast troop transport (or are they already in)

[tony_glazebrook]

Many thanks - minor disappointment :cool:over air/sub minelaying and coastal forces however still an excellent addition to my gaming software !. :)

I am already planning how I will set up the AH scenario in S@S, and it has already cost me £ as I finally purchased a laptop so my wife will still see me rather than disaapering for hours into the back room to play on the desktop (plus a 45 min train commute each way into London every day).

Thanks once again I am very much looking forward to seeing the real thing especially the ship builder and the large a/c list.

One last question - is the ship builder flexible enough to build

monitors/coastal defence battleships
different sorts of merchants - what about large (Queen Mary ) liners for fast troop transport (or are they already in)

Millsy: In answer to your questions:
- yes, you can design monitors/coastal battleships. Eg, you can build a ship with 6 * 12 inch guns, 21 knots, low steaming radius and BB scale armour for under 20000 T. This is just one example. The ship design engine allows for 5 to the power 8 possible BB designs (ie nearly 400,000 designs), ranging from smallest monitors or pocket BBs of under 20000 T up to the H class monsters of over 120000 T)

- there are 5 sizes of merchant ship - ranging from around 4000 to around 14000 GRT (with varying speeds also). The biggest is therefore smaller than the large ocean liner conversions. If there was enough interest in having a wider range, we could add this to a later release.

[Millsy]

Couple of further things

As part of the research into the AH that I am playing with I was researching where major trade flows were for my major combatents (Britian/Dutch vs France). Is S@S clever enough to know for example where French imports mainly come from and thus where convoys need to start from ?
Given my combatents there is likely to be some conflict in Atlantic, Med & Pacific/Indian Ocean - at a strategic level can I swap between the three maps or will I need to have three seperate (but interlinked) campaigns ?
Can i start the process in say 1935 even if hostilities only break out in 1941 so that by the time the shooting war starts that any changes to the order of battle are already in service given the lead time in building a ship ?I read on another thread that you were considering pre-publishing the 'manual' in advance of the software - i for one would be very interested in this as would stop me asking these questions, and more to the point enable me to focus my research on the key areas that would enable me to set up the War over Belgium Timelime (WOBTL) alternate history .

Many thanks and I look forward to launch day.

Fantastic work by the way !

[tony_glazebrook]

Couple of further things

As part of the research into the AH that I am playing with I was researching where major trade flows were for my major combatents (Britian/Dutch vs France). Is S@S clever enough to know for example where French imports mainly come from and thus where convoys need to start from ?
Given my combatents there is likely to be some conflict in Atlantic, Med & Pacific/Indian Ocean - at a strategic level can I swap between the three maps or will I need to have three seperate (but interlinked) campaigns ?
Can i start the process in say 1935 even if hostilities only break out in 1941 so that by the time the shooting war starts that any changes to the order of battle are already in service given the lead time in building a ship ?I read on another thread that you were considering pre-publishing the 'manual' in advance of the software - i for one would be very interested in this as would stop me asking these questions, and more to the point enable me to focus my research on the key areas that would enable me to set up the War over Belgium Timelime (WOBTL) alternate history .

Many thanks and I look forward to launch day.

Fantastic work by the way !

Millsy - the level of detail we put in the pdf is still being finalised. The game will include full hyperlinked help files; we just need to work out what to put in the separate pdf. There are pros and cons in having a full .pdf. The grognards, such as you, are likely to welcome a full pdf. The others may be put off by the sheer size. There is so much functionality in SAS that the decision was made to go the in-game help file route, so that players can get just the help they need, when they need it. Your request has been noted though :-)

Regarding your questions:
1. The economic currency in SAS is "resource points'. These are produced at centres of industrialisation, when these are supplied with raw materials. SAS dynamically calculates every turn the most productive routes for a player given the levels of raw materials and industrialisation at the available ports. These routes are then used by the computer AI when determining where to send convoys. The other determinant is when the resource stores at a port are forecast to need supplement, eg because troops are stationed there and at the current consumption rate and local production rate, supplement will be needed. All this is automatically calculated by the AI. But you can override any convoy mission and set them up yourself if you want.

The starting levels of raw materials and industrialisation for a port are set when a campaign is created. Thereafter, the industrialisation factor (but not the raw materials factor) can be improved by targeted infrastructure spending, and degraded by enemy attack (aerial and surface bombardment).

The system seems to be sophisticated enough to naturally sumulate major trade flows without being too complex. As an example, we are beta tesing at the moment a Pacific scenario that models Japanese dependance on resources from the East Indies and Malaya.

2. Each campaign must be based on one theater only. That theatre can theoretically be anywhere in the world, but there is a limit in the game engine to the number of hexes that a theatre can have. You can adjust hex size, but the larger the size, the less operational and tactical definition you have. The max size for a hex is 240 nm and the max number of hexes is approx 70 * 50, so you could have an area about 17000 * 12000 nm, but as I said, at 240 nm a hex, the tactical and operational definition is less. The Pacific scenario we ship with - which will be the largest of the initial scenarios, will have have hexes that are 96 nm in size.

3. You can start a campaign in 1935 if you want. When ships are specified as part of the campaign starting conditions, the default is to have them start immediately (ie on turn 1) but you can also specify any to have a delayed launch of any number of weeks.

Cheers

[Stratos]

Guys really looking forward to this one, looks like an amazing naval campaign sandbox. Will be amazing ( for me ) If you can create a WW1/Interwars addon

[Warship NWS]

Guys really looking forward to this one, looks like an amazing naval campaign sandbox. Will be amazing ( for me ) If you can create a WW1/Interwars addon

A WW1 edition is already planned on. ;)

[Millsy]

Thanks very much for the full and informative answers - am waiting expectantly to get hands on the software !


Economics - sounds excellent - truthfully I am happy for the AI to work out the trade flows etc as would prefer to concentrate only on blowing up merchies than plotting convoys - not enough whang-age !
That's cool - was wondering about how to handle Gib (which I suspect is going to get a pounding in WOBTL as effectively interdicts the french forces in Atlantic & Med)
Also fine as will let me increase the battlefleets to make things a little more even.
Already have a embryonic idea around 'operation otarie' ... that's french for sealion.Keep up the good work and hope to see the game itself soon.

The work involved here must have been huge.

[tony_glazebrook]

Thanks very much for the full and informative answers - am waiting expectantly to get hands on the software !


Economics - sounds excellent - truthfully I am happy for the AI to work out the trade flows etc as would prefer to concentrate only on blowing up merchies than plotting convoys - not enough whang-age !
That's cool - was wondering about how to handle Gib (which I suspect is going to get a pounding in WOBTL as effectively interdicts the french forces in Atlantic & Med)
Also fine as will let me increase the battlefleets to make things a little more even.
Already have a embryonic idea around 'operation otarie' ... that's french for sealion.Keep up the good work and hope to see the game itself soon.

The work involved here must have been huge.

Millsy - yes, a LOT of work! As I like to say to people when they ask - the game started out as inspiration, then became perspiration, and now it's desperation (as in trying to finish it!)

Thanks for your positive comments. It's all been a lot of fun, but knowing that there are people very interested in it helps push us even harder.

[Warship NWS]

As I say about game publications.. its like giving birth to a porcupine. ;)

[Millsy]

As a project management professional I for one don't underestimate the effort here, can i offer my asistance in any way either as a play-tester, member of a user group (post release) or as a sanity checker for any ideas - whatever.

You have my email from my registration - if I can help in any way please let me know.

Regards

Ian Mills

[tony_glazebrook]

As a project management professional I for one don't underestimate the effort here, can i offer my asistance in any way either as a play-tester, member of a user group (post release) or as a sanity checker for any ideas - whatever.

You have my email from my registration - if I can help in any way please let me know.

Regards

Ian Mills

Ian - I'll leave it to Chris to respond on this one.

Cheers

[Warship NWS]

Ian - I'll leave it to Chris to respond on this one.

Cheers

I already sent him an email.

Thanks.

[Warship NWS]

Hi Millsy, please resend your email.. your last one got bumped in my spam box. Thanks.