Matrix Games Forums

After Evasion/Pursuit has been determined,then the fleet combat strenghts can be calculated.

Example:
Lets say that just because a sea area contains 3 British fleets off 60 Heavy ships, does not mean that all 60 ships,would be in a position to take part, in any combat action that takes place in the sea area.

My reason for this statement is based on the fact that,in 90% of sea battles fought during, the Napoleonic period this was indeed true.Why is this true,well I shall explain,in the age of sail, all ships are at the mercy of the wind and tides,and each and every ship involved had different sailing qualities,some were fast sailers and some were much slower,which meant that they often spread out more when ordered into battle,plus the crews ability and moral played a very big part in any battle,as naval battles were fought over great distances,that could be anything from 5 - 50 miles approx in size,it also shows what happens when the 2 opposing forces,make initial contact from different angles & direction.

So to simulate the effect of fleets being spread out over a large area,I propose that a D6 die roll be made, to take this into account,this simple step will give the game a much needed boost to the naval combat.It now means that just because you have a big stack off 3 or more fleets of ships,does not automatically mean you will win the battle, or for that matter be able to contain ships in a port blockade,the element of surprise and chance now come into play!

For far to long the tactic of putting a huge stack of ships in the blockade box, and then forgetting about the bottled up enemy fleet,has just led to the naval aspect of the game to stagnate,and be predictable and boring,now with the addition of the D6 die roll for actual fleet combat numbers,the players assumption that his bigger fleet stack will win,now has an element of doubt attached,as the saying goes assumption is the mother of all **** ups!!!

The player with a smaller fleet,France & Spain etc,could with the luck of a die roll,now be in a position to attempt more combat & break any port blockades.

How this is calculated see below:

To see how many of the 60 British ships actually take part in any combat.

Die roll 1 - 2 = 25% of the 60 British ships = 15 ships only are allowed to fight in combat.
Die roll 3 = 50% of the 60 British ships = 30 ships only are allowed to fight in combat.
Die roll 4 = 75% of the 60 British ships = 45 ships only are allowed to fight in combat.
Die roll 5 - 6 = 100% of the 60 British ships = all 60 are allowed to fight in combat.

French & Spanish combined fleet of 40 ships.

To see how many of the 40 French & Spanish ships actually take part in any combat.

Die roll 1 - 2 = 25% of the 40 French & Spanish ships = 10 ships only are allowed to fight in combat.
Die roll 3 = 50% of the 40 French & Spanish ships = 20 ships only are allowed to fight in combat.
Die roll 4 = 75% of the 40 French & Spanish ships = 30 ships only are allowed to fight in combat.
Die roll 5 - 6 = 100% of the French & Spanish ships = all 40 are allowed to fight in combat.

As you can see depending on each sides die roll,the weaker force could in fact end up the stronger force?[;)]

Hello HFJ:

I would think that this would be a good basis for an option as part of a revised Naval Movement, Transport, Disembarkation, Reconnaissance, and Combat System.

best
Mardonius

Hiya Mardonius, Since we do not know when if at all, a new advanced naval chit pick system might be introduced,I was thinking that something had to be done about the big stack syndrome in the mean time,as we both know the war at sea is far different from what happens on land,so the different formations and probabilities in regard to opposing forces direction of contact had to be taken into account,and I feel my idea goes some way in reflecting this .

The trick with changes to the naval rules is to preserve the balance of power in the game, and that would take some statistics or lots of play testing.

ORIGINAL: Dancing Bear

The trick with changes to the naval rules is to preserve the balance of power in the game, and that would take some statistics or lots of play testing.

Hi Dancing Bear, The balance of power in the game is variable to say the least,with the simple act of diplomacy and new allies etc,so the power balance is always changing!

As for altering the naval aspect of the game,I'm all for play testing to see if some thing new works or not,anything is better than what is on offer just now regarding the naval game.

In the original EiA rules, for every fleet counter greater than 1 in a naval stack, one is deducted from the eligible move distance of the combined fleet. Thus, attempting to move fleets from large stacks really reduces the range they can achieve. This was only an optional rule, mind you, but it was commonly used from what I remember.

Cheers,

Ted

ORIGINAL: Ted1066

In the original EiA rules, for every fleet counter greater than 1 in a naval stack, one is deducted from the eligible move distance of the combined fleet. Thus, attempting to move fleets from large stacks really reduces the range they can achieve. This was only an optional rule, mind you, but it was commonly used from what I remember.

Cheers,

Ted

Hi Ted, I feel the above optional rule for reduction of big stack movement range should be introduced into the game,but my main concern is that the combined big stack fleets of 60 - 80 heavies are counted as ships that can and will fight in any battle,yet in all fleet battles over the course of history,there was only ever a small portion of the available ships actually get within range of the enemy ships,as my post earlier in this thread points out.

For far to long the tactic of putting a huge stack of ships in the blockade box, and then forgetting about the bottled up enemy fleet,has just led to the naval aspect of the game to stagnate,and be predictable and boring,now with the addition of the D6 die roll for actual fleet combat numbers,the players assumption that his bigger fleet stack will win,now has an element of doubt attached,as the saying goes assumption is the mother of all **** ups!!!

The player with a smaller fleet,France & Spain etc,could with the luck of a die roll,now be in a position to attempt more combat & break any port blockades.

How this is calculated see below:

To see how many of the 60 British ships actually take part in any combat.

Die roll 1 - 2 = 25% of the 60 British ships = 15 ships only are allowed to fight in combat.
Die roll 3 = 50% of the 60 British ships = 30 ships only are allowed to fight in combat.
Die roll 4 = 75% of the 60 British ships = 45 ships only are allowed to fight in combat.
Die roll 5 - 6 = 100% of the 60 British ships = all 60 are allowed to fight in combat.

French & Spanish combined fleet of 40 ships.

To see how many of the 40 French & Spanish ships actually take part in any combat.

Die roll 1 - 2 = 25% of the 40 French & Spanish ships = 10 ships only are allowed to fight in combat.
Die roll 3 = 50% of the 40 French & Spanish ships = 20 ships only are allowed to fight in combat.
Die roll 4 = 75% of the 40 French & Spanish ships = 30 ships only are allowed to fight in combat.
Die roll 5 - 6 = 100% of the French & Spanish ships = all 40 are allowed to fight in combat.

As you can see depending on each sides die roll,the weaker force could in fact end up the stronger force? [;)]