Matrix Games Forums

Is there a plan to implement ZOC for ships on transports in the same way the naval batteries automatically stop the landing craft?

I think the ability to move troop transports by battleships without them stopped or taking damage is a bit too much.

Thoughts?

Nor should you be able to air attack a ship when in between what was historically screening escorts (DDs, CLs). They should provide some ZoC against air attack.

Or perhaps for transports, if a unit has an AA upgrade on land, the transport should automatically have that value too (you can upgrade a transports AA value in port).

Strange-you can mod ship ZoC for the non-moving side, but not the moving (affected) one. Is that hardcoded I wonder?

Elessar2 wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 11:48 pm Strange-you can mod ship ZoC for the non-moving side, but not the moving (affected) one. Is that hardcoded I wonder?

I'm not sure I follow, can you explain where the ZoC exerted by the moving side would be of relevance in game?

BillRunacre wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 12:55 pm

Elessar2 wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 11:48 pm Strange-you can mod ship ZoC for the non-moving side, but not the moving (affected) one. Is that hardcoded I wonder?

I'm not sure I follow, can you explain where the ZoC exerted by the moving side would be of relevance in game?

Hi,

So a German transport can move past 4 or 5 British Battleships (after they are spotted) and the battleships don't stop the transport. I think the transports should be stopped or at least should lose movement points so you can't move past so many ships.

In my modded game, all naval units (except transports, and both amphibious units) get a +6 naval ZoC. So any other enemy naval units passing through these ZoC will use up 6 additional action points (“operational points” in my mod).

Unless of course a naval unit falls below 5 strength, and according to the game engine, will not exert a ZoC…

archmache wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 5:53 pm

BillRunacre wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 12:55 pm

Elessar2 wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 11:48 pm Strange-you can mod ship ZoC for the non-moving side, but not the moving (affected) one. Is that hardcoded I wonder?

I'm not sure I follow, can you explain where the ZoC exerted by the moving side would be of relevance in game?

Hi,

So a German transport can move past 4 or 5 British Battleships (after they are spotted) and the battleships don't stop the transport. I think the transports should be stopped or at least should lose movement points so you can't move past so many ships.

Actually you can even move THROUGH the BB (with 50% chance for 1 damage).

I agree; a defending naval unit being hidden should add some surprise value to the damage taken by the transport, or perhaps reduce the transport's chance of taking damage, but it should not render the transport invulnerable to enemy navies. In real life, just posting a destroyer near a pair of enemy cruisers would never have stopped the cruisers from sinking troop transports.

Agree OP - naval ZoC could use ungrade as it's unrealistic and gamey currently.

I think the original reasoning here was that taking the area encompassing an open ocean SC hex allows for "two ships to pass in the night".

Remember the Bismarck's saga with the entire Admiralty on the hunt, she almost got away!

Having a single capital ship escape from multiple pursuers is one thing; transporting several armies' worth of infantry right past an intact enemy navy is another. For one thing, the armies need supplies that will have to keep on sailing past the by-now-alerted navy if the armies are to be combat-effective. For another, loaded troop transports and especially cargo freighters are going to be sailing quite a bit slower than a battlecruiser.