Naval Construction?

[CaesarAug]

Naval Construction research is a new tech category for War in the Pacific. I notice, however, that the automatic research screen does not show any other new parameters which are already common to all other SC games, and all values are set to "0."

I gather that benefits of supply distribution of 5-level ports from this new research is hardcoded only in the Pacific game, at least for the present? Will this research and other new features introduced in Pacific (like Airfields) be incorporated to the rest of SC games at some point? Thanks!

[BillRunacre]

Although it appears in the Automatic Research area, it is actually a Manual Research one (we had spare slots in the automatic area, and moving things about would have been weeks of work).

In due course the engine changes here will be incorporated into the engine of our other games.

[CaesarAug]

Ok, thanks for the info! Porting over new features to existing games, that's pretty cool!

[Tanaka]

Ok, thanks for the info! Porting over new features to existing games, that's pretty cool!

Yes very excited for this!

[mdsmall]

Playing my first game of this title, I am a bit puzzled by this tech, at least for the allies. If say, the USA has level 2 in Naval Construction, can it only upgrade ports that started out the campaign under U.S. control? What about colonies like Fiji or the New Hebrides? If a U.S. unit occupies the adjacent resource, will the USA's tech level enable the USA to upgrade ports there? Or must the British Empire invest in this tech in order to upgrade the ports in their colonies, or those controlled by the Free French?

[Platoonist]

Playing my first game of this title, I am a bit puzzled by this tech, at least for the allies. If say, the USA has level 2 in Naval Construction, can it only upgrade ports that started out the campaign under U.S. control? What about colonies like Fiji or the New Hebrides? If a U.S. unit occupies the adjacent resource, will the USA's tech level enable the USA to upgrade ports there? Or must the British Empire invest in this tech in order to upgrade the ports in their colonies, or those controlled by the Free French?

My general rule of thumb is that when you click on an Allied port whoever's flag immediately displays in the upper left corner of the interface is the power that pays the upgrade costs. From what I've observed if the U.S. captures formerly British, Free French or Australian ports like Rabaul or Kukum in Guadalcanal from the Japanese then it pays the upgrade costs. As the associated major power, the British Empire seems to be responsible at the start of the game for upgrading ports in Free French Pacific territories like New Caledonia, Tahiti and the New Hebrides. Australia pays the costs for New Zealand and New Guinea ports.

[mdsmall]

I appreciated the helpful reply from Platoonist above which answered my question about which member of the Allies pays to upgrade ports this way. But I am still puzzled about how players should make best use of this tech.

It is capped for all majors at 4, meaning that the highest level you can increase a port on an offshore island to is from 5 to 9. That still won't allow you to rebuild damaged ships or aircraft levels of carriers to the full strength of 10 - 8 seems to be the maximum. But you don't need any upgrading at all with this tech to reach 8. Exising 5 level ports can do that.

If I am correct in the above (and I did a hot-seat test before writing this), why bother investing in this tech and upgrading ports at all? The only benefits that I can see are that upgraded ports would have some "extra room" to survive damage from enemy attack and still maintain a level 5 sufficient for partial naval reinforcement. Am I missing something?

[Platoonist]

It is capped for all majors at 4, meaning that the highest level you can increase a port on an offshore island to is from 5 to 9. That still won't allow you to rebuild damaged ships or aircraft levels of carriers to the full strength of 10 - 8 seems to be the maximum. But you don't need any upgrading at all with this tech to reach 8. Exising 5 level ports can do that.

If I am correct in the above (and I did a hot-seat test before writing this), why bother investing in this tech and upgrading ports at all? The only benefits that I can see are that upgraded ports would have some "extra room" to survive damage from enemy attack and still maintain a level 5 sufficient for partial naval reinforcement. Am I missing something?

I would say that evaluation is spot on. Naval Construction isn't meant to give you bustling repair shipyards and graving docks in sleepy tropical islands. It just improves the supply distribution value of ports not connected to a major power's capital, industrial centers or primary supply. I think it's meant to simulate the construction of dock space, oil bunkerage, breakwaters, cranes and cargo & ammo handling facilities in tiny, primitive Pacific ports which were never built with supporting major naval operations or unloading troop convoys in mind. The New Hebrides for example in 1942 had only a single quay meant more for coastal schooners and native craft. Not exactly a place where you could expect to hoist a 16" 2,100-pound shell into a battleship's magazines.

There isn't much point in going crazy with upgrading everything unless you enjoy seeing a lot of blue double-digit numbers radiating from all your ports. Plus, as the war moves on a lot of those upgraded ports just get left behind. Researching naval construction beyond level one or two doesn't seem much worth it either, although the MPP cost is cheap.

[Nginear]

That still won't allow you to rebuild damaged ships or aircraft levels of carriers to the full strength of 10 - 8 seems to be the maximum. But you don't need any upgrading at all with this tech to reach 8. Exising 5 level ports can do that.

Naval Construction is ship supply only - it is not designed to increase the ability of a port to repair a ship.

[worr]

Does it increase supply to the island too? Like an airfield, or troop recovery on that outpost?

[Platoonist]

Does it increase supply to the island too? Like an airfield, or troop recovery on that outpost?

It benefits naval units only. You'll see higher naval supply numbers at sea surrounding the port as you upgrade.