Desert War Engine: Expanded Naval System

[bcgames]

I started thinking about an Expanded Naval System when I was working on the Salerno scenario. I think I've found a way of doing it. Emphasis...a way versus THE way...

Bottom line: Keep the game engine a land-centric game system. Keep the naval system expansion simple. Use existing game engine concepts and components (code) to bring it to fruition. This Expanded Naval System would be implemented in the fourth game in the series...after Stalingrad and Monty's Front. Whatever the fourth game is...I think it needs to advance the capabilities of the engine--maybe that's naval.

The Basics.

Naval Assets. The Expanded Naval System would continue to be asset driven--no counters on the map. A naval asset would represent a single ship as in Desert War or multiple ships depending on the game topic. Besides ships, naval assets would also represent PT Boats, E-Boats, Mine Barrages, RADAR, SONAR, etc. Naval aviation will be represented as an air asset (no change to current rules...except a new air asset mission--Counter-Naval).

Naval Missions. Naval assets can perform the following missions:

Ground Support. As in Desert War--no change.
Ground Attack. As in Desert War--no change.
Ground Interdiction. As in Desert War--no change.
Counter-Naval. The purpose of this mission is to limit the impact of enemy air, naval surface and sub-surface forces and activities on friendly naval forces. This includes attacks on port activities (berthing, repair, warehousing, fuel, etc.)
Naval Interdiction. The purpose of this mission is to reduce the effectiveness of enemy transport to move troops and supplies (fuel, ammo, personnel, equipment) by sea.
Naval Transport. The purpose of this mission is to move troops and supplies (fuel, ammo, personnel, equipment) by sea to a beachhead or port.
Note: If this sounds like a rip-off of the current air game...it's cuz it is--accept its "resolved at sea".

Borrowed Capabilities. The following game concepts/components are expanded to create the Expanded Naval System:

Airfield = Beachhead. Like an airfield, in order to be a supply source a beachhead needs to have a naval transport unit assigned to it.
Supply Depot = Major and Minor Ports. Supply points arriving at a port are subject to attrition by enemy Naval Interdiction. This calculation is separate from Land Interdiction (current system).

Other Stuff.

Air Units have a new mission...Counter-Naval. Air assets assigned to this mission can be regular air units or naval aviation units.
We'll need a Naval Interdiction CRT. This will operate like the current land Interdiction Table 'cept with different numerical results.
We'll need a Counter-Naval CRT. Naval and air forces participating in the Counter-naval are subject to strength and readiness loss for air assets and/or removal of naval assets (sunk/damaged/expended).

So those are my thoughts on how to expand the naval game without pulling the player too far away from the ground game. It uses "known capabilities" that should ease the player's education on how to do it by game four.

What do you think?

[bcgames]

P.S. The discussion above presumes capabilities established in Stalingrad: Nightmare on the Volga have been achieved.

[bcgames]

We are leaning in this direction. From the players perspective, the Expanded Naval System mechanics would mirror/reinforce those already existing in the game engine.