Since a completely revamped rock-paper-scissors sea combat system could need ages to be created, implemented and
properly tested (properly tested means running several pbem games and checking that the overall game balance
and alchemy is not lost), I reiterate my proposal of a few simple adjustment to tone down LS (light ships)
and correct some mistakes with respect to EIA. They can be implemented very quickly (as optional rules if you wish)
and many of them are just old EIA rules, so they should not need extended playtesting
1) Extend the -1 combat malus from the actual "stack composed of LS only" to "stack with more LS then HS (heavy ships)".
2) Give a +1 bonus to both evasion and interception to a side which as more then 1.5 times LS then his opponent
(it means reducing your chances of being intercepted/evaded if you have a LS advantage or increasing your chances
of intercept/evade if you have the LS advantage. Again, maximum bonus is going to be +1 (you cannot have a +2
thanks to Nelson).
3) Fix piracy, it is probably bugged: it seems no gold is ever subtracted from your targets, no matter how hard
you try.
4) Both fleet political point value in battle and maintenance cost should be reduced to 1/2 not 1,
or if you want to be more precise 2/3 for HS fleets and 1/3 for LS. Transport can cost 1 $ and be worth 1 pp when
loaded with troops (repelling an invasion is a sure political hit) and 1/2 if empty.
5) Stack movement should be slowed down, as per classic EIA optional rule (balanced to account for more fleets in
EIANW). Movements should be: 7 space for 1-2 fleets, 6 spaces for 3-4 fleets, 5 spaces for 5-6 fleets
and 4 spaces for 7 or more fleets.
Some explanations for the above proposals:
1-2) As I said, LS are too effective for their cost and their historical relevance.I would slightly tuning them down,
penalizing inconsistent combat formations with more LS then HS. Furthermore, I do not want to reduce their damage
capability (both as inflicting and taking losses) to 1/2 as someone suggested for two reasons: a) I am trying to
change as little as possible in order to minimize risks of ruining overall alchemy and balance. b) As stated in
EIA classic rules:
EMPIRES IN ARMS is a strategic and diplomatic game for upto 7 players that covers the Napoleonic wars from 1805 until 1815.The military counters in the game generally represent corps andfleets, with each army factor being equivalent to roughly 1000 to 2000 men and each "ship" equivalent to 1 ship of the line or a number of smaller ships of approximately equal force.
Therfore one should not think a single LS factor as a single frigate or whatsoever, but as a more effective group
of ships roughly equivalent to a ship of the line (slightly less effective in combat, more in scouting).
3) Has anyone ever witnessed an income damage to some nation targeted by piracy? I never, so I presume
something is bugged.
4) I said this a million of times: an EIA fleet is roughly composed by 1 heavy plus 1 light fleet in EIANW.
Therefore pp values and maintenance costs should be adjusted accordingly to restore the spirit of EIA rules
5) This was an optional rule in EIA. The rationale is that - as noted in this thread - EIANW suffers from a big stack
syndrome, historical naval battles tended to be much smaller then the ones taking place in EIANW. Moreover, moving
a large fleet together by sailing was not easy, to be sure everyone was with you you had to wait lost ships
effectively reducing your overall speed. A little example of how this rule could affect gameplay:
GB is at war with Spain, which keeps its fleet in Cadiz: Currently GB can safely move troops back and
forth from UK to the Mediterranean just passing with a large enough stack in front of Cadiz: the Spaniard will
never dare to attack superior GB forces. With this option in place, a huge stack with troops cannot sail anymore
between Mediterranean sea and UK (or viceversa). Moving fleets one by one, on the other hand, exposes GB to
the risk of interceptions by the Spanish forces sitting in Cadiz, so that GB has to be slightly more cunning (like
blockading Cadiz with some fleets and using the rest to move troops - but this limits the size of the army you can
transport) --> Overall a more interesting game
I hope this changes are simple enough that they could be easily included in 1.07 or 1.08 patches. Discussion on these proposals are welcomed in this thread, as much as new proposals, as long as they are extremely simple to implement, cheap and with a low impact on overall game mechanics. If you have more complex proposal, just go to the EiANW Naval Rules Redesign Working Group (NRRWG) or the Napoleonic Naval threads, they are meant for a more radical restiling
