Matrix Games Forums

Production System

Countries have...
Production (Steel/Iron Ore) - Urban areas and iron ore production generate the base production point system for the game. Steel was the most important material for military production. All military and support units are build from production points

Economic Multiple - This is a factor of how much of production is available to buy military assets. When neutral countries produce less than 1x their production based on how far along their entry level they are. When at war as, time goes on, this multiple goes up beyond 1 representing advancements in assembly, factories, worker participation, and production technology. Each country has a different economic multiple.

Oil (Oil Field/Synthetic Plants)- Use to maintain military units and fuel oil dependent units for combat. Only Germany has synthetic plants that come in at historical dates.

Strategic Resources - Each strategic resource a player controls adds 1% to their total production.

Manpower - The available men that can fight. Once a nation gets below 15x their production their default experience starts dropping as they have to get younger or older men to fight for them and the optimal manpower production is exhausted.

Logistics - The supply system for the game. Logistics tells you how many units you can have on the map. Different units have different logistical costs. Ships are the most expensive logistical cost.

Shipyards - How many ships you can have in production at anyone time based on logistical cost.

Merchant Marine - When resources are overseas they must be transported via the sea lanes on the map. Merchant marine are used to move these resources. If insufficient ships are in the pool less resources are transported.

Escorts - Assigned to the different trade lanes to escort merchant marine protecting specifically against submarines. They scatter when encountering naval ships. Ships raiding convoy lanes must be found and attacked.

Trade Agreements - Some countries start the game with trade agreements. Some get them later. Allied countries may send 10% of their production to another ally or 25% of their oil stockpile.

Are these factors modifiable?
I mean, are production multiplies scripted at X or Y year or can a nation pump up its own?

Can logistic assets by bought to expand your maximum unit allotment? (Improving railroads / roads / getting more trains etc?)

Or are we talking of a fixed economical level or if not fixed, predetermined (In the style of War in the East where each turn what you get is pretty much already determined - at least for Germany)

Do you plan the player to build some stockpiles before been able to launch major offensives? I am thinking of Russian front in particular.

ORIGINAL: ncc1701e

Do you plan the player to build some stockpiles before been able to launch major offensives? I am thinking of Russian front in particular.

Exactly[&:]

Well this is where I am confused. I see oil and manpower. But, what is the variable representing unit's supplies like ammunition, food?

I answered this before but it didn't post.

Are these factors modifiable?
I mean, are production multiplies scripted at X or Y year or can a nation pump up its own?

Each country has their own individual production multiple representing mobilization of industry that increases each year. There is no technology to increase your production. You can take strategic resources and production resources to increase your production.

Do you plan the player to build some stockpiles before been able to launch major offensives? I am thinking of Russian front in particular.

Supply is very automated. But players can build supply trucks which increase the effectiveness of a unit. Players can increase the effectiveness of a unit above 100% for 3 turns in a row. Moving, attacking, taking hits that are not defended against might instead cost effectiveness. So a supply truck represents supplies and repairs. So yes you can setup an offensive in 1941 for Barbarossa for example. You also have the option to "garrison" a unit. This means returning some logistics and production to the stockpile. In exchange the attack and movement are reduced. This represents Germany stripping other fronts to prepare for an offensive in the South in 1942 also.

WarPlan should have a certain level of anxiety as you should never have enough and have to have decisions.

Well this is where I am confused. I see oil and manpower. But, what is the variable representing unit's supplies like ammunition, food?

Supply works as such.
Main Supply - home supply source level 9 with unlimited supply source stockpile
Port Supply - port supply source level 9 with a limited supply source stockpile
Source Supply level - the amount of effectiveness bonus is recovered

Supply stockpile moving across undamaged rail keeps the supply level at 9
Supply stockpile moving across land tiles reduces the supply level by the move cost of the terrain

You can have a hex under main supply with a supply level of zero.
A unit in main or port supply level zero OR port supply that has ran out of stockpiles gets maximum supply but only minimal effectiveness recovery

Source Supply Level has a large effect on a unit's effectiveness.

Manpower is for creation and repair of units.
Oil is for movement and attack
Weird I answered this before but it didn't post.

Each country has their own individual production multiple representing mobilization of industry. There is no technology to increase your production. You can take strategic resources and production resources to increase your production.

Germany had by far the least motorized society of any western power during the 1930s and was impossible to create one in the middle of a world war. Does your game simulate the structural impossibility of the German war machine creating mass mechanization of the kind that other strategic level games ahistorically give the player the ability to do? Thanks.

ORIGINAL: GenSlack

Germany had by far the least motorized society of any western power during the 1930s and was impossible to create one in the middle of a world war. Does your game simulate the structural impossibility of the German war machine creating mass mechanization of the kind that other strategic level games ahistorically give the player the ability to do? Thanks.

This is a tough mechanic to make dynamic for all countries. For example the USSR can easily do it in a wargame as they have plenty of oil. In reality they were not motorized. They had to get trucks from the USA just for supplies. All their truck factories turned out tanks instead. The Germans couldn't physically do it due to lack of oil.

So it wouldn't be a fair option to put into play.

The USA does have all units motorized. They have one additional operation point and are slightly stronger in statistics than other nations. But their supply cost is larger. The USA is always overseas it is a fair balance due to how port supply works and that Germany is always in main supply in Europe.

True enough, only USA and UK and Free France units were all motorized (and mostly thank to the USA and UK production).

What of above of the Soviet army is very true. Soviet army lacked trucks - most of the lend lease program they received was not about planes and tanks, but food (yes food! the Red Army was fed by USA imported goods), rails and trains, trucks, etcetera. They also received tanks and planes - but a think is to drive something to ferry stuff, and another is to operate a foreign tank (maybe with foreign language written instructions)

Considering there is OIL as factor for motorized forces, I think it can be simple as hell to add motorized units and regular infantry units. But it depends how complex the game is to be. There are old games such as Third Reich that simply has infantry and armoured units. (And motorized formations are either bundled in the armoured units, as in most cases for germans, or are infantry with extra movement, as in most cases for allied forces).

But in general it is premature to shape judgements before to get a pulse of the game.

ORIGINAL: GenSlack

Germany had by far the least motorized society of any western power during the 1930s and was impossible to create one in the middle of a world war. Does your game simulate the structural impossibility of the German war machine creating mass mechanization of the kind that other strategic level games ahistorically give the player the ability to do? Thanks.

There is a variable that needs to be considered and that is quite always ignored in wargame: horses.