Sorry about Word document, will convert to a regular post at some point.

 

The formative ideas came from TonyE, pmaidhof, Brains, CV32, Akula.

HC_Amphibious_and_Land_Warfare_Expansion.doc

Just a code tidbit for the curious folk out there, and something that is related to the discussion.

 

Structure of an HC Unit (in code terms)

 

A unit has certain characteristics... The Unit itself can be a ship/land unit, sub, or installation. So you say, what about planes, missiles, torpedoes, etc.? Well, they fit into slots in the Unit structure.

 

A group of 12 A-6 Intruders all with ASuW loadout is composed of:

• 1 shell unit with a name 'plane'
  
• 1 plane record within the Unit, that says qty 12 A-6 with ASuW loadout
  

Same deal with a group of 4 TLAM launched against one target:

• 1 shell unit with a name 'missile'
  
• 1 missile record within the Unit, that says qty 4 TLAM
  

This structure saves memory, what would have been 12 plane units or 4 TLAM units is expressed as a single unit. The structure also complicates matters since planes and weapons are now special cases that don't work like other units.

 

If you hadn't guessed by now, I think that structure has to change to make any decent amphibious warfare model work. I think 1 missile eventually needs to be one unit, 1 plane needs to be one unit. I think that to eliminate complexity but even more to:

• Increase the level of fidelity of the fight, presenting a more realistic view for air defenses. If you've taken to firing missiles in pairs instead of a large group, you'll see there is a difference in enemy effectiveness shooting them down.
  
• Ease the implementation of Units carrying Units, carrying Units, etc. I don't think the child unit model can reasonably be grafted on to the existing structure.
  
• Allow easier implementation of the formation editor for aircraft groups
  

If you hadn't guessed by now, I think that structure has to change to make any decent amphibious warfare model work. I think 1 missile eventually needs to be one unit, 1 plane needs to be one unit. I think that to eliminate complexity but even more to:

• Increase the level of fidelity of the fight, presenting a more realistic view for air defenses. If you've taken to firing missiles in pairs instead of a large group, you'll see there is a difference in enemy effectiveness shooting them down.
  
• Ease the implementation of Units carrying Units, carrying Units, etc. I don't think the child unit model can reasonably be grafted on to the existing structure.
  

 

You could add Child units as a special kind of planes.... But this would limit it to 1 Level. Unit carries Child but the Child can´t carry another child...

 

Maybee the break/change in the structure would allow the modelling of "layable" mines, too?

 

Regards René

Maybee the break/change in the structure would allow the modelling of "layable" mines, too?

 

Yes, that is one piece towards layable mines.

So we're talking a whole rework of the database tier in order to have parent > Child > Grandchild in order to be able to move Landing unit A from the gator navy and make it a playable unit on the ground?

So we're talking a whole rework of the database tier in order to have parent > Child > Grandchild in order to be able to move Landing unit A from the gator navy and make it a playable unit on the ground?

 

Yes, we're talking a large rework of much of the game to make the gator navy operate. The database structure isn't broken per se, but it is certainly expanded greatly. What does break are scenarios, saves, and tens of thousands of lines of code. It is by no means a small or incremental change, it is a core structural change to the game and many of my evening hours are now spent figuring out how to make such fundamental and far reaching changes without making the existing game and materials useless. Don't get me wrong, I know it is possible, but as it seems Akula just recognized, this is huge. When we go down the path of breaking the scenario format some time after the first patch you'll be testing builds of the game that aren't even playable, probably for weeks and months at a time.

Sorry about Word document, will convert to a regular post at some point.

 

The formative ideas came from TonyE, pmaidhof, Brains, CV32, Akula.

 

Attached some comments from my side.

HC_Amphibious_and_Land_Warfare_Expansion.doc