In the original version of this map, the starting IPC values were as follows…
Germany - 50
Japan - 40
Italy - 24
Russia - 44
UK - 75
USA - 85
I intentionally gave the Allies a much higher IPC total than the Axis for two reason… One, its more historically accurate, and two I think it leads to better gameplay. Â If both sides start out with similar income, then the game can easily turn into a stalemate that drags on forever.
As for the UK’s income, I realize that this seems a little high, but this high income only really lasts if the UK has a way to defend it all. Â After the first round of the game, the UK can easily find itself down 10-20 IPCs due to loss of territory and convoy zones.
As for the convoy zones themself, I really like them and think they add a lot to the gameplay. Â If you’re not familiar with the rules for them, here’s how they work… Â Each convoy zone is a seperate territory. Â If an enemy ship enters the convoy zone a control marker is placed in it. Â The original owner of the convoy zone does not collect any income from the zone as long as this marker is in place. Â The original owner of the zone, or one of his allies, can clear it by entering the zone with one of his own ships. Â (Transports can’t capture or clear a convoy zone.) Â Also, the enemy doesn’t need to keep a ship inside the captured convoy zone to maintain control of it. Â Even after he leaves the zone, the control marker is left in place until someone from the other team clears it.
Also, if it bothers anyone that there’s both convoy zones and pretty much the whole world, just look at it this way… Â The IPCs generated from convoy zones don’t just represent natural resourses and labor. Â They instead represent the increased efficiency gained by global trade through a willing network of colonies and partners. Â Or think of it like this… Â If Germany captured all of the UK’s territory in WWII, would Germany have been able to increase its industrial output by the same level that the UK had prior to its capture? Â I think the answer to that would be “no”. Â A bunch of subjugated territories aren’t going to work as well together as a group of willing trade partners. Â The convoy zones, while not perfect, help to represent this portion of a coutry’s income that can be blocked, but not captured.
Linking convoy zones to specific territories, sort of like how its done in AA:P is ok, but I’m not sure if its worth the effort and extra hassle involved with keeping track of all of it. Plus, its hard to say that a single convoy zone represents the trade with just one territory and not a whole region instead. If we assume that convoy zones represent everything from smugglers, to trade with neutrals, to trade with remote parts of normal territories, then I don’t see anything wrong with keeping the convoy zone in play even though some of the territories in the region near the convoy zone might have been captured by enemy ground forces.