Matrix Games Forums

I have started work on a mod. This is for my amusement basically, although if other people are interested in it I could pass it along. Actually this whole thread is intended as an idea exchange for my amusement and for anyone else who wants to contribute. I know some of the things I plan to do have been done by others for their own mods....I don't mean to steal anyones ideas, I just want to make this as fun as possible.

My basic idea is to create as many options for the Japanese player as possible, as well as adding a few additional ships to the Allied side that it would be "neat" to include, even if they did not serve in the Pacific in real life.

I will begin with Tanaka's mod, since I like what he did with Japanese aircraft production.

Japanese ideas: make as many ships "buildable" as possible including units from the 1942 programme that was mostly cancelled.
**Make No. 111 constructable as a battleship, named Tosa. Completion date early 1945.
**Include the planned second unit of the Oyodo class. Completion date late 1944.
**Include an additional Mogami-class cruiser, completion date early 1945. This represents the fact that Ibuki was originally planned as a heavy cruiser before conversion to a carrier. This ship will NOT be Ibuki, which will stay in the game as a buildable carrier, but gives the Japanese an option to build a replacement CA for losses they will no doubt suffer in 1942-3. I will call her Tsushima.
**Include several additional buildable destroyer hulls for late 1944, early 1945 completion.
**Include a 14-inch gunned battlecruiser based on a reduced Yamato hull, completion mid 1945.
**Additional buildable escorts for early-mid-late 1945 completion.
**Some way to get an Armed Merchant Cruiser in the game. The Japanese did historically try this on a limited basis in 1942. I'm thinking I will tag it in the database as a CS, capable of surface combat operations.
**A couple of Q-ships, as discussed in previous threads.

Note that it is very unlikely that the Japanese player would be able to actually build all this extra stuff. The resources won't be there, just like in real life. He will have to prioritize....but I want to give the Japanese player the ability to build an additional Mogami, for example, if he wants to....and if he can drag the war out long enough to do so.

For the allies, I want to include a few "cool" ships that won't have a massive game-breaking impact but that will add some flavor of a "what-if" variety.

**I've always been intrigued with the British cruiser-minelayer Adventure. As far as I can tell, she did not serve in the Pacific. However, she's the kind of weird obsolescent ship that could very well have been sent off to India at some point. She could begin the game in Singapore, or in India somewhere, or perhaps show up early in 1942.
**A few extra British submarines.
**Some British AMCs, Q-ships, or a few freighters optimized to defend against air attack.

Other ideas for the allies?

well, if you are giving the Japanese all that, then you must at least give the US the uncompleted Iowas, Kentucky and Illinois. You should also include the 2 Midways, as these were completed early in '46.

The Midways are a definite. I was thinking about Kentucky and Illinois as well....if the US had evidence that additional Yamatos were under construction, perhaps they would have pushed ahead with those ships.

Of course, I doubt the Japanese will be able to build much of this extra stuff. . .

By the way, I'm not really a Japanese fanboy...it is just that the what-ifs are easier to define on their side. I want allied ideas too, although the lack of production control is a big hindrance with what I'm trying to do.

True, I can understand that.

If you are sticking in the Midways, cancel the Shinano and give the Japs 1-2 more Shokaku's.

Or, perhaps, stick a couple of additional Unryus in the construction list, but leave Shinano in there too. If the Japanese player wants them, he'll have to cancel something else.....Shinano, or No. 111/Tosa, or something. The idea is to give the Japanese player the same options that the real Japanese faced...you have all this cool stuff you would love to build, but don't have enough resources to do it. What will help more....more carriers? More destroyers? You make the call.

Instead of Shokaku's, the Japanese did order 2 additional Taiho's in 1942, but these were cancelled before they were laid down in favor of a 5 ship plan. These were never laid down either.

The 2 ordered were hull #801 and 802

The 5 were #5021-5025 IIRC.

An additional 11 Unryu's were planned but never started.

http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/carrier ... tm#unryu-x

How about one additional Taiho in and three more Unryus? I've only got so much time and am rather busy right now....


So far, I've had time to add the following to my mod:

CL Niyodo, Oyodo class, available December 1, 1944. Built to refitted Oyodo specifications.

BB Tosa, Yamato class, available July 1, 1945. Built to last available Yamato refit specifications.

Available dates, of course, provided you actually put resources into these hulls.

I will probably add 1 or 2 ships a day as I'm working on a major real world project right now.

How about just adding the 2 additional Taihos and lay them down in 1942 call it April. That should place them due around Nov 44 or so.

With their heavy durability, the Japanese player will still have to make the tough choices or do some serious expanding of shipyards and HI to finish all the ships.

The Unryo's are smaller durability wise, so the choices are not that hard to swallow.

OK, I'll go with that. Two additional Taihos, one due November 1944 and one due June 1945. . .have to space things out a bit. I'll come up with some names and get them in the mod tomorrow.

New ship added to mod, evening of 12/6/2004

CA Tsushima, 525-Mogami class, available January 20, 1945

The fourth unit of the Katori class, scrapped on the stocks in 1942, has been added

Kashiwara, available 12/15/1942

Not that anyone would actually want her.....

Borrowing an idea from this thread:

http://www.matrixgames.com/default.asp? ... rumid%3D10

I have given Japanese I-subs 3 points of armor in an attempt to increase their survivability. May do the same with the Gato and Balao class US subs, which were quite tough historically.

Added a second unit of the Tsugaru minelayer class, available February 1944. Named Takasago. Note that an additional unit of this class was planned at one point but cancelled due to other priorities.

To make this ship more attractive to the Japanese player, I added a 9/43 refit, reducing the mine suite by half, but adding some depth charges and a slight increase in AA weapons. Note that similar refits were done to other classes of minelayer, so this was certainly possible.

British cruiser-minelayer Adventure added to the game. Begins the game at Trimcomalee. . .boosting British forces just a tad. Never served in the Pacific to my knowledge but an unusual ship I've always been intrigued with.

ORIGINAL: FDRLincoln

British cruiser-minelayer Adventure added to the game. Begins the game at Trimcomalee. . .boosting British forces just a tad. Never served in the Pacific to my knowledge but an unusual ship I've always been intrigued with.

Adventure never served with the British Eastern Fleet but as many as three of the similar Abdiel class were there for brief periods: Abdiel, Ariadne, and Manxman. Abdiel was in Australian waters in 1942.

Thanks for the info. I will add Abdiel to the game. Having Adventure there is not strictly historical of course, but she is a neat ship so I will leave her in.

This mod has two purposes: to increase production options on the Japanese side, and to include a few interesting, unique ships to the Allied side.

Japanese Armed Merchant Cruisers Hakaku Maru and Aikaku Maru added. See this link

http://home.wxs.nl/~jviss000/battle_ondina.html

for details about them.

I will have to test it and see if they work properly but I don't see why they shouldn't. I set them up as minelayers.

After testing, the Japanese armed merchant cruisers have been designated as CS ships so they can be used in surface combat. They do carry 2 seaplanes so this makes some amount of sense.

Adventure shows up in the game properly at Trimcomalee and everything looks OK. I used the Emerald-class cruiser graphic to represent this ship. I really need to figure out how to do my own graphics.