Blockade Runner Idea

[LoneRunner]

Here's an idea for mitigating the effect of the Union blockade of the CSA coast.

Currently the Union can shut down a port to blockade runners by occupying the port or using DE 508 (Fort Hatteras) and DE 520 (Fort Pulaski). Shutting down a port eliminates the blockade runner MPPs generated by that port. But logically and historically blockade runners would shift their operations to other open ports.

What if 50% of the MPP output for a shut down blockade runner route shifted to another open blockade runner route. That way the South could concentrate her forces on keeping open two or three blockade runner routes in order to maintain the majority of her blockade runner income.

[Beriand]

What if 50% of the MPP output for a shut down blockade runner route shifted to another open blockade runner route.

That sounds extremely difficult to achieve with scripts (that is, 20 cases), though maybe I am not so proficient. And Union can still swarm gunboats. If only blockade is considered, full marines squad is not that much cheaper than mass gunboats.

Maybe one could consider, say, 30% value from shut down convoy to appear magically as +MPPs, and not being tied to any other port (but gunboats point still stands).

[Platoonist]

Personally, I like the idea. It seems logical. However, with less Confederate ports to cover it also seems the concentrated Union navy would intercept more MPPs.

[LoneRunner]

Excellent points Beriand and Platoonist. You are right, the Union can respond with raiders and pretty well shut down the concentrated blockade runner routes.

However, the key is to make the Union expend effort throughout the game to shut down blockade routes. For example, if the CSA were able to maintain 3 blockade runner routes and 80 MPPs each were concentrated in those ports. The Union would need to gather 5 to 8 gunboats on each route in order to shut them down. That's 15 to 24 gunboats. That takes time and MPPs to collect those gunboats. And those gunboats could be causing havoc elsewhere if they weren't tied down raiding blockade runners.

In addition the Union has to protect those gunboats because the South will build some monitors. And so on.

The situation where the North continues chasing blockade runners through 1864 is realistic because historically the North expended a lot of resources throughout the war attempting to contain blockade runners. That's contrary to the current situation in ACW where the North shuts down all the blockade runner routes in the first two years of the war and problem solved for the rest of the war.