So for tripleA players, Barney just suggested an idea for implementing the SF ruleset in a way I really like.
The idea is to make the bomber change standard, but include two tech advances, one for AB+2 and one for M3.
This will allow players to easily option those rules “on” if desired, by using a simple edit in Edit Mode. But it keeps them separated off, so it’s clear that they are optional ideas. This allows us to include all the ideas in one place, for flexible playtesting. The standard gamefile will only highlight the bomber idea solo by default, but if a player desired to explore other options such as additional range for aircraft or the crazy M3 concept, then they have an easy way to do so, without requiring a new download or separate gamefiles.
It might even be possible to make A0 a tech option as well. Not sure there, but basically the idea is to hack them into the game using the tech menu, since you can edit technologies very easily in TripleA on the fly. It’s a bit like having them as checkboxes in the main game tab menu. That way if a player wanted to try one or both of those ideas in conjunction with the 1 role bomber they can still do so, but there is a clear divide between the default HR and the optional add ons.
If people find this method agreeable, then its possible to use the tech system as a way to have several possible HRs that can be optioned “on/off” with relative ease. For players who don’t use the OOB techs anyway, this would be no major loss. Instead what they would gain is a simple way to use some optional rules, rules that can be introduced in an incremental way if desired. Allowing players to pick and choose the options that best suit their playstyle or particular HR interests.
There are many OOB techs that are either broken, or not particularly interesting. If we wanted to go for broke that gives us 12 slots for optional rules in TripleA. In 1942.2 v5 there is no tech by default, so here we’d have pretty much carte blanche freedom.
I feel like this is kind of what’s missing from the OOB game. A series of official or at least semi-official standard options, where players can easily choose from the same basic grab bag, to customize their play experience based on the individual preferences of the play group. Here they would just “auto-tech” the desired HR, as a simple workaround for implementation on the fly.
Sound cool?
So basically, it takes a simple concept of the C5 bomber as the default jumping off point, and then gives you a series of complimentary HR tweaks that might be fun to try with such a bomber. Just as an idea of what sort of things we might be able to include… The names of the techs themselves could of course change to describe what we want to introduce.
Heavy Bomber = C5 Bomber Advance @A0 vs A1/D1 to @A1 vs A2/D2, with damage improvements?
Super subs = New Sub/Destroyer dynamic?
Shipyards = New Naval Cost Structure
Long Range Aircraft = AB+2? (for Global) or maybe Factory +2 to range (for 1942.2, with the AB folded into the factory unit)
War Bonds = War Bonds? hehe I don’t know I always loved this as an general concept myself, but maybe it could be tweaked or improved under C5 bomber conditions.
That’s just 5 HR slots right there, you could still put something for the remaining 7 entries…
Improved Artillery Support
Rockets Advance
Airborne_Forces
Increased Factory Production
Improved_Mech_Inf
AA Radar
These would of course all be “off” by default, and you wouldn’t use the R&D roll to turn them on (though I suppose technically you could if you wanted lol), rather the idea is to “Auto-Tech” the desired rule to all players from the Edit Mode menu, if you want to use it. Basically using the tech system would just be an expedient, since it gives us a very simple way to make toggles in TripleA, with an easy to view list, were you can edit each option “on/off” individually. Some HRs would work likely work better than others under such a scheme, but it still gives a cool way to incorporate some ideas into TripleA so that they’re just “ready to go”, without requiring new downloads/gamefiles for every concept one might wish to explore. Here the organizing idea or foundation for all the other optional HRs, would be the main default tweak or the core change, which showcases the C5 bomber under otherwise OOB conditions (in a no tech game.)