Coastal Guns - limited effects

[mdsmall]

As a companion to the thread below on artillery firing at submarines, I was surprised to learn from some recent play-testing how limited the effectiveness of coastal guns seems to be in combat against ships. While the coastal guns automatically fire at Amphibious Transports when they move into an adjacent hex, they do not automatically fire at naval vessels (including spotted subs) that move adjacent to them. Surely that was the main point of coastal guns in this era?

Also, I was surprised that when naval units engage in combat with coastal guns, only the coastal guns take any losses. This was true even when I significantly increased the guns defence strength against naval units. The only way for a coastal gun to inflict damage on ships is to fire at them during a friendly turn - which requires that the enemy ship is dumb enough to end its previous move next to a costal gun.

I realize that coastal guns are not a feature of any of the standard campaigns in SC WW1, but I wonder if the ability at least to fire at naval units that move next to them could be added to the game engine.

Michael

[Tanaka]

ORIGINAL: mdsmall

As a companion to the thread below on artillery firing at submarines, I was surprised to learn from some recent play-testing how limited the effectiveness of coastal guns seems to be in combat against ships. While the coastal guns automatically fire at Amphibious Transports when they move into an adjacent hex, they do not automatically fire at naval vessels (including spotted subs) that move adjacent to them. Surely that was the main point of coastal guns in this era?

Also, I was surprised that when naval units engage in combat with coastal guns, only the coastal guns take any losses. This was true even when I significantly increased the guns defence strength against naval units. The only way for a coastal gun to inflict damage on ships is to fire at them during a friendly turn - which requires that the enemy ship is dumb enough to end its previous move next to a costal gun.

I realize that coastal guns are not a feature of any of the standard campaigns in SC WW1, but I wonder if the ability at least to fire at naval units that move next to them could be added to the game engine.

Michael

Interesting I could have sworn the coastal guns in WIE and WAW automatically fired at ships? I thought the placement of coastal guns at the Dardanelles in the Balkan Variation Mod was a great idea and very historical...

[OldCrowBalthazor]

Hmmm...I haven't tested this far yet. I know this Turkish coastal gun will have utility against amphib craft, which generally are slow, and have to creep up to a potential landing spot. I wonder if there is at least value in that it can spot at least.

Is it possible to increase its spotting range and arty range out to perhaps 2 or 3 hexes? At least the CP player will know something is off the coast and possibly shoot at a target on his turn. I have sunk many Entente ships, including DN's, with the Goeben and the other Ottoman ships, especially in conjunction with a zeppelin.

Having the coastal gun have a wider spotting range and target range (even 2 hexes out) maybe a nice addition....and make the Entente really need to assault it perhaps. Is this possible to do in the editor though? I seem to remember Stockwellpete was fiddling with gun ranges.

[mdsmall]

Sure, using the Editor you could increase the spotting range and the firing range for a coastal gun to two hexes (or more). But I think that would really exceed the actual range of coastal batteries. I think it would be better for the Ottomans to use an Air Ship or a Recon Bomber to spot the enemy away from their shores.

However, an interesting wrinkle is that while the coastal gun can see the strength attacking naval units (because it has a naval spotting range), attacking ships can't see the strength of the coastal gun (since ships do not have a land spotting range). This means that an attack on coastal gun battery using naval units is blind. It reminds of me of the combat in War in Europe when the Axis try to take out the British AA battery on Malta - the Axis can't see the strength of the AA unit with planes or ships, so they have proceed by sound and feel and hope they have estimated correctly the number of units they need to destroy the enemy before it can reinforce.

[OldCrowBalthazor]

Yeah..I always buy an airship for The Ottomans...always, an as early as possible, but that's another subject entirely [:)]

That's a cool effect you described in the above post. To bad the coastal guns can't get an 'ambush effect' on an offending ship if the coastal gun isn't 'spotted', or, can that be modified in the editor?