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Buck just asked a question that caused me to grasp a concept. And this is rare: because it is a pwhex concept, it means it can retrofit to all forms of RHS (other than AIO - which cannot use interior river systems).

What if river craft can pass to sea

BUT ocean ships may not pass upriver?

The only catch is this: once your river vessel leaves the river system, it may never return. It then "converts" to an ocean vessel. It can sail on exterior river systems, but not interior river systems.

Exception: Anything coded as PT, LCM or AG can, if it is lost, be made to reappear at any port, including an interior river port.

I like the idea..

DO IT!!

While my mind can grasp the interior river system concept, the usefulness of the river craft going to sea in perpetuity in the context of the game eludes me. Also, if this causes, or may cause, the AI to have interior port routing problems, I am against it.

The river transportation system has various functions in different places. So varied are these that no single idea applies to all - never mind all situations.

AI does not understand interior river systems. It will attempt to send naval units in them to distant points. This solution would mitigate that problem: those that are permitted to connect to the sea (most) would then at least not cause TFs to go to nowhere. But the reverse case problem - ships at sea trying to go upriver - would remain. This solution does not hurt the AI - but helps it a bit. Of course, it would be nonsensical to send river boats to San Francisco - but AI is that way.

There are isolated interior river systems: the upper Mekong for example will NEVER connect to anything - because of a geographic obsticle to marine traffic - so whatever is there - or is made by players to appear there - is trapped. A similar situation exists on the upper Yellow River - although this is caused by an artificial obsticle rather than a natural one.

The Ganges/Bhramaputra system is a major logistical support system. It probably never gets involved with enemy action - and there is never any reason to send ships from it to sea - unless you wanted to use them for coastal or exterior river operations somewhere in Asia.

The Amur triple river system is similar - with major logistical functions for both sides - at different sections - for most of the war. But it ends up being a major battleground - the Russians used it with great effect to flank the Japanese in 1945 - and the Japanese might have done that (if they had sunk the river monitors by air power) earlier. This is the grand case of a mini-naval war in the interior. But if they were losing, the Russians might want to save some vessels for coastal work - between Sakhalin and the mainland - and Magadan - stuff like that. Japan would only send the vessels out to work some other river - say the Yangtze.

IRL river boats navigated globally - usually when built - but the British and American ones often went back when withdrawn. So it isn't unrealistic. Russian ocean ships are built on the Amur - and floated out - a one way trip in fact - they can never return.

Thailand has a problem - should its monitors be in the river - or at sea? We can put them in the river - and let a player decide to send them out for coastal work.

Lots of variations - but I generally favor "power to the players."

ORIGINAL: el cid again

Buck just asked a question that caused me to grasp a concept. And this is rare: because it is a pwhex concept, it means it can retrofit to all forms of RHS (other than AIO - which cannot use interior river systems).

What if river craft can pass to sea

BUT ocean ships may not pass upriver?

The only catch is this: once your river vessel leaves the river system, it may never return. It then "converts" to an ocean vessel. It can sail on exterior river systems, but not interior river systems.

Exception: Anything coded as PT, LCM or AG can, if it is lost, be made to reappear at any port, including an interior river port.

Sorry to resurrect this old thread. Intital tests of this concept (under last PWHEX issued 12/19) is showing the opposite of what you describe above for ocean ships. That is, ocean ships can pass upriver into the interior but once they do they THEN can not return. I haven't checked the river ship because I am running the CAIO 7.7881 that has no river ships.

I will check some more to verify but wanted to let you know of the issue early.

There is a problem in the Ganges river system - and it will be fixed today.