One of the biggest limitations currently found in HCE (as compared to ANW, for example) is the lack of a logistics model.

 

This can effectively mean that you (as the player) or the AI (the computer) can launch strike after strike, or sortie after sortie, as quickly as the turn around of 30 minutes will permit. Moreover, the inventory of weapons and fuel on both sides is essentially limitless.

 

In the past (and occasionally even now), scenario authors would try and get around this by providing instructions or notes to the player (typically contained in the Orders file or a readme.txt) directing the player to do such things as not change his available loadouts for aircraft.

 

You can, however, introduce a measure of further realism (and difficulty!) into a scenario if you self-impose certain limitations.

 

The easiest of these to do is to create an artificial limit on your inventory of weapons.

 

The posts that follow in this thread will hopefully provide some direction on how to do this.

Rough guesstimates of aircraft carrier magazines:

 

Carrier Magazines, circa early 1980's

 

48x AGM-84A Harpoon

48x AGM-45B Shrike

40x AGM-78 Standard ARM

40x AGM-62 Walleye II

100x AIM-54 Phoenix (any model)

100x AIM-7 Sparrow (any model)

200x AIM-9 Sidewinder (any model)

40x Rockeye II cluster bombs

40x Mk 46 lightweight torpedoes (any model)

2,500 x 500 lb Mk 82 iron bombs

800 x 1000 lb Mk 83 iron bombs

500 x 2000 lb Mk 84 iron bombs

60 x GBU-10 Paveway kits (for 2000 lb Mk 84)

100 x GBU-12 Paveway kits (for 500 lb Mk 82)

40 x GBU-16 Paveway kits (for 1000 lb Mk 83)

40 x B-61 nuclear gravity bombs

 

Carrier Magazines, circa late 1990's

 

24x AGM-65F Maverick

48x AGM-84D Harpoon

24x AGM-84E SLAM

24x AGM-84K SLAM-ER

48x AGM-88C HARM

60x AGM-154A JSOW

100x AIM-54C Phoenix

200x AIM-9 Sidewinder (any model)

300x AIM-120 AMRAAM (any model)

40x Rockeye II cluster bombs

80x GBU-10 Paveway kits (for 2000 lb Mk 84 or BLU-109)

100x GBU-12 Paveway kits (for 500 lb Mk 82)

60x GBU-16 Paveway kits (for 1000 lb Mk 83)

40x GBU-24 Paveway kits (for 2000 lb Mk 84 or BLU-109)

240x GBU-31 JDAM kits (for 2000 lb Mk 84 or BLU-109)

40x Mk 46 Mod 5A(SW) lightweight torpedoes

40x Mk 50 Barracuda lightweight torpedoes

2,500 x 500 lb Mk 82 iron bombs

800 x 1000 lb Mk 83 iron bombs

500 x 2000 lb Mk 84 iron bombs

 

You can mix and match other weapon types of the approximate weight and dimensions to suit your own purposes.