Modifying and converting the smaller ships

[Zakhal]

Would it be too hard to give player chance to modify cargo ships, patrol crafts, subs and other smaller vechiles according to his needs?

From cargo ship to minelaying, minesweeping, anti submarine warfare, merchant cruiser (adding few bigger guns so it becomes PG or whatever), etc. Plus maybe CS to CVL. And float plane to sub.

So if the player is running out of msw vessels he could just send few cargo AP to nearest port with fleet HQ or tokyo and choose the modification(msw,asw,float,cargo,cruiser). The ship would then go to port and be unavailable for a certain time (weeks to months) it takes to make the modificition. Making mods would take heavy industry/ship building points and thus slow other ship building projects.

It wouldnt require micromanagement at all and instead be as easy as sending ships for repairs to tokyo/pearl harbor in uncommon valor.

[Raverdave]

I can see it now..............Raver is running low on BBs so he sends his Bathurst class MSW in to be fitted out with 9 ' guns:D

[Zakhal]

To consider the game takes 1500+ turns and with bad luck you might get short with certain type of "always needed" vessel, msw/asw/etc, you might face loosing end just because you cant convert few small cargo ships for the rutine task.

Not a very good reason to end such a long game.

[Pawlock]

Originally posted by Zakhal
To consider the game takes 1500+ turns and with bad luck you might get short with certain type of "always needed" vessel, msw/asw/etc, you might face loosing end just because you cant convert few small cargo ships for the rutine task.

Not a very good reason to end such a long game.

This is the whole crux of games like UV and its big brother to come WITP, you know what assets you have avialable or will become available and you work with it. You protect your valuable assets. The game would take on a completly different dimension if you knew that say if you lost all your MSW's , thats ok , np I'll get more soon enough. Same with your big ships. The element of strategy that is involved in a game where say one person would normally like to eliminate anothers CV force , in order to gain an upper hand in certain theatres would now be more or less obsolete.

If a games over early because one play was careless or had bad luck with his forces ,then so be it, but hey thats war!!!

Basically , know what assets you have and use them wisely, and conversly know your opponents weaknesses and shortages and concentrate on them.

This is exactly what Germany tried to do ,in the Atlantic , sink as much transports as possible in order to deprive Britain of the resources in order to continue the war.