Bay 12 Games Forum

So, I was going to suggest handing over our balloons to the army/navy, so I'm glad to see people have already thought of it. How do we format these conversations?

This format is fine! I'll take two votes as the threshold to pass a proposal along to the Army/Navy, and voting against is also allowed. Nothing will be formalised until the end of this whole turn, where there'll be another yes/no vote on whether to accept the finalised proposals.

You might also want to get to voting on the designs, so this turn won't drag on too much.

Game starts at Turn 0 (called 'Pre-1910'). During this turn, players are allowed to:
A) Set up diplomatic ties with other Players; Research/Trade Treaties and Alliances.
B) Place Provincial Improvements. Each Military HQ spawns 1 Troop in the Province, each Port spawns 1 Navy docked at the Province.
C) Deploy Troops in their Provinces and Navies in Seas adjacent to them.

After all Players finish pre-game diplomacy and army deployment, game starts proper with Turn 1 (Year 1910.1).

But..it says here that HQs and Ports placed on Turn 0 spawn troops and navies.

Are you asking about HQs made in Pre-1910 Turn or during the first Turn? ;v

Pre-1910!

Just to clarify the council event, you can talk to them back-and-forth multiple times within this phase and argue over whatever proposals you want to make. So it's not a one-time message sort of thing.

Kingdom of Sudetenavik
Build Port at #1.
Build Factories at #1, #3, #5, #6.
Build Military HQs at #2, #3, #8.
Build Airfield at #2, #8.
Deploy Troops to #2, #3, #7

Diplomacy: Research Treaties with Allied States of Aurelia, Pinkerton Principate and CNAI. Trade Treaty of 1 Coal from Sudetnavik for 1 Grain from CNAI.

Request Research Treaties with Allied States of Aurelia and Conglomeration of National Automobile Industries

The Sudetenavik Times

King Nidaros III announced a massive expansion of industry across the nation today, hoping to make Sudetenavik into a research giant by the exploitation of rare elements, of which the Kingdom controls a quarter of global supply at present. One palace advisor was quoted as boasting that "Our nation will produce 27 RP a month!", although he declined to explain what exactly an RP was. A large complex of processed food factories was also opened in the capital, among them a canning factory speculated to be for military supply.

In other military news, the army created several regional commands to north and south, with associated airfields to make use of the recent invention of military aircraft. Not to be outdone, the navy has developed a new port on Crow's Isle, pledging to protect Sudetenavik's seas.

Finally, on the diplomatic front, functionaries have been dispatched to negotiate research treaties with both the Allied States and CNAI, research leaders in the field of aircraft and armored vehicles respectively. Some diplomats were also reportedly disturbed by the new military alliance of the Democratic Union with the small states across the mountains, strategically important to Sudetenavik as they control the critical passes into the interior.

Design Phase, Early Summer 1916
 
Squadron 1 and 2 of Equilibrium Fighter Monoplanes and Observer 2 of Hykib balloons have reached Regular experience level. Squadron 6 of Feathers and Observer 3 and 4 of Hykib balloons have reached Rookie experience level.

In the north, the generals are getting more frustrated with the lack of support from the KPAF. While the EFM is a great fighter and outmatches the Verusan Rhinos, that isn’t any use if the Verusans have artillery spotting balloons, and the army doesn’t. As little as a single squadron of Hykibs would have helped even out the situation. With the way the battle here is progressing, the generals warn that the Verusans might make slight advances here in the upcoming months, even accounting for the air superiority that the KPAF enjoys here.

On the central plains, the army is happy that Estwice has been captured, but less so at the news of Dreidansk falling and a new Sky Crusader fighter appearing, albeit in limited numbers. For now, the generals are planning to recapture Dreidansk, although the threat of Verusan bombers weighs heavily on every commander’s minds. However, the army is still confident of recapturing Dreidansk, assuming that the new Swallow fighter does not appear in greater numbers next month.

To the south, the marines continue the slow push toward Basselton. Their commander requests that you order the Equilibrium squadron here to take on a more offensive role, speeding the advance by actively hunting and shooting down Verusan Sky Eyes.

High command has increased your budget by 3 PP, as the country devotes more factories to war. In addition, your budget is increased by 2 PP from the licensed sale of designs to the Ottomans, and by 1 PP from the ticket sales of the Crimson Knights airshows.

---

Side note: I live on Venus, where days are 243 times longer
Battle Report, Late Spring 1915

The highlight of this turn is the Sky Crusaders debuting a single squadron of their new aircraft – the Verusan F1 Lesser European Swallow. The Swallow is Verusa’s first dedicated fighter, a monoplane like the Kolechian Equilibrium. It’s fitted with the Barnett 1915 V12 engine turning a four-blade airscrew, making it even faster than the Equilibrium due to a low-drag design that incorporates features such as a smooth metal engine cowling. Following the success of ‘double-gunned’ Rhinos, the Swallow also goes in for more firepower, and it’s armed with two Bolt Machine Guns on the centreline, operating off independent sets of Crossguard gears without too much trouble. Most notably, the Swallow features a metal-frame construction: it’s made out of canvas over a hollow steel-tube frame.

On the other side of things, the KPAF has instead gone for more minor items. First and foremost is the Hawkeye Reflector Sight. Confusingly named the same as the Verusan camera, the Hawkeye is a simple reflector sight that projects an image of the target reticule to the user’s eye, shifting to correct for the eye position of the user. The Type 11 LMGs on Kolechian planes have also been outfitted with incendiary ammunition. These rounds are very similar to tracer rounds in principle, but with a larger phosphorous charge to ignite enemy aircraft. However, they’re ineffective beyond a range of 300m, as the incendiary charge burns out quickly. Finally, through what can only be described as bureaucratic shenanigans, they’ve somehow managed to get the Tactical Escape Parachutes issued to all airmen as part of their standard uniform.

The Northern Mountains

Spring has arrived here, and the pace of combat picks up again. In the mountains proper, some Verusan soldiers take advantage of the relaxed attitudes of Kolechian defenders, capturing some ground around Maidese Peak.

In the highlands, the Sky Crusaders have got one squadron of the double-gunned Rhino-Fs doing defensive patrols, and another squadron of Sky Eyes performing the usual artillery spotting. On the other side, the KPAF has one squadron of Equilibrium fighters, outfitted with the new Hawkeye reflector sight.

While it may seem like the KPAF should have a decisive advantage here, what with the disparity in aircraft quality, the situation again isn’t so simple. Firstly, the KPAF pilots have been ordered to stick to their side of the lines and perform defensive patrols, much like the Verusan pilots. They do some sorties to shoot down those Sky Eyes which prove particularly useful to the Verusan army, and take on the occasional Rhino-F which gets too close, but most of this month is spent patrolling clear skies, as there aren’t any Verusan incursions. Like last month, the KPAF is also conspicuously lacking any squadrons to actually support the advance of ground troops. The few air battles which occur here heavily favour the Kolechians, but there remains no change in the lines. Fighting on this front has again stalled out into trench warfare, with the Verusans having built a good defensive line on the road to Demisonne.


The Central Plains

In keeping with the rapid exchange of territory here, both sides have sent a majority of their air forces to this theatre, so it’s worth going through carefully how they are deployed. The KPAF has their aircraft in two main groups: one attempting to take Estwice from the south, where the army is advancing on the roads from Zydinah and Pevomir, and another group to both defend Dreidansk and cut off the Estwice salient to the east. At Dreidansk, the KPAF has two squadrons of EFMs on air superiority duty, one squadron of Feathers with Oracle Cameras on photoreconnaissance duty, and one squadron of Hykib balloons on artillery spotting duty. Slightly to the south outside Estwice, they have one squadron of EFMs and two of Feathers on air superiority, with one squadron of Feathers doing photoreconnaissance and a squadron of Hykibs for spotting. It’s worth noting that all Equilibriums have been equipped with the new Hawkeye reflector sight, an improvement over the regular iron sights on the Type 11 LMG.

Against this large force, the Sky Crusaders have followed the lead of their army and condensed all their forces to support an offensive aimed at retaking Dreidansk, leaving the defenders of Estwice to fend for themselves as best as they can. Here, the Verusans have deployed their bomber force: one squadron of Emus and another of Great Emus. These bombers benefit from the intelligence gained by two squadrons of Rhino-P biplanes, which perform the rather dangerous task of overflying Kolechian positions and taking aerial photographs to be later analysed. The Verusans also have two squadrons of Sky Eyes to call in accurate fire. All these aircraft are safeguarded by three squadrons doing air superiority: these three squadrons are a microcosm of the Sky Crusaders’ technological progress, with one of double-gunned Rhino-Fs, one of regular Emus, and one of the new Lesser European Swallow.

At Dreidansk, the Verusans have the initial advantage, by dint of numbers. There is only one squadron of Swallows, named ‘Lancer 1’, but nevertheless they are an outsized shock to Kolechian Equilibrium pilots, who are accustomed to being the fastest planes in the sky. Alderic, the Verusan Ace, has been assigned to this new squadron, and despite initial unfamiliarity with flying a monoplane soon takes to the Swallow like a fish to water. The Swallow is faster even than the Equilibrium, and with its double guns, brings enough firepower to the table to compete with them. Its shortcoming is in manoeuvrability: while metal frame construction might in theory allow airframes to withstand greater stresses than wooden ones, in practice the Swallow’s design doesn’t achieve this, and the steel only serves to give it greater mass and inertia, making it slower to turn and climb than the EFM.

However, it turns out that operating in conjunction with the slower but more versatile Emus, the Swallow’s shortcomings in this area aren’t quite so pronounced. Against a mix of enemies flying slow and fast, the Equilibrium pilots can’t focus on the Swallow alone but must remain alert to make sure they’re not being led into the wide firing arcs of one or more Emus. Such group tactics come less naturally to the Verusan pilots as they do to the Kolechians, but with the aid of an extra squadron of Rhino-Fs, the Sky Crusaders pull it off adequately (although some Rhino pilots complain that they’re serving as little more than bait). The Swallow is far from invincible, with the Kolechian Ace Piotr managing to bag a couple of them, but it’s much more difficult to shoot down than an Emu.

The Kolechians have some tricks up their sleeve too. With the introduction of the Hawkeye sight building on their previous rollout of tracer rounds, KPAF pilots are now significantly more accurate in their firing as compared to equally skilled Verusan pilots. The new incendiary rounds, while only moderately effective against planes if they don’t hit a fuel tank, are quite effective when employed against Sky Eye balloons. These rounds hit and ignite the fabric envelope of the balloon, setting it aflame and bringing it down faster than the old method of shooting the envelope repeatedly with regular rounds over several passes. For the Sky Eye observer corps, it’s almost like a return to the bad old days of the dripping burner fuel, and the opportunity to wear a golden monocle, previously coveted, is now shunned by the airmen.

With the air superiority situation slightly favouring them, the Verusan bombers are free to wreak havoc across the front. The Great Emu continues to prove its worth as a bomber, carrying a good bombload at a reasonable speed. Both squadrons are no longer neophytes, having amassed some experience from the Sky Crusader’s bombing tradition. The bombers, when they can get through in sufficient numbers like they do this month, are now a significant advantage for the Verusans, and one that the Kolechians have no equal to so far. It’s enough to make up for the heavier losses suffered by the Sky Eyes, and the Verusan army retakes Dreidansk. This comes as a great relief to Alderic, who was getting tired of the constant sniggering at his title in the officer’s mess.

To the south at Estwice, the outcome is far more one sided. The defenders have no aircraft at all, while the KPAF has squadrons both of photoreconnaissance planes and spotter balloons (the squadrons on air superiority, predictably, see no opposition). Estwice falls quickly, due both to the logistics disruption and the efforts of the KPAF.

Their task done, the squadrons of the Estwice force relocate slightly northward, joining the KPAF squadrons which have withdrawn from Dreidansk. Combined, the KPAF has a total of three EFM squadrons and two Feather squadrons dedicated to gaining air superiority, decisively tilting the numbers back in their favour and putting a dent in the Verusan bombing efforts. The frontline is again pushed back into the city of Dreidansk. By the end of the month, the Kolechian army has captured large parts of the city’s western half, with the eastern half still in Verusan hands.


The Southern Islands

Both sides aren’t focusing on this front much like the battles in the north, but with one crucial difference. The KPAF has seen fit to send one squadron of Hykib balloons here for spotting. Other than the extra balloons, the balance of forces here is much the same as the north.

The Kolechian Navy continues raids on the coastline between Basselton and Nadeka, with their navalised Hykib balloons helping them to shell accurately even without the aid of land-based friendly forces to spot for them. However, the advance of Kolechian troops is slightly hampered by the conservative attitudes of the air marshals, who again order the Equilibriums to adopt a defensive posture. While the aid of the balloons is enough for Kolechia to retake the crucial junction at the end of the Kodemo Trail and cut off Basselton again, they are still far from conquering Basselton, and large numbers of Verusan troops manage to retreat in good order.

To the far south, the Verusans advance a little overland, but remain carefully out of range of the Kolechian defensive line around Mizogorod.


Behind the Frontlines

This turn, the attendances at the Crimson Eagles airshows finally reach a number high enough for the KPAF to earn actual income from ticketing. The KPAF brass are ecstatic over this development, while the accountants that point out the losses the Crimson Eagles have made to this point are brushed off.

In Verusa, a Kolechian intelligence agent tracks down the location of Squire 2’s public relations tour. This isn’t too difficult, as their schedule is publicly available, and Agent Paper Pusher travels to the Northern Verusan city of Galliaroi, their next destination. Unfortunately, the Sky Crusaders have stopped their public relations tour and sent Squire 2, along with Alderic, back to the front. Agent Paper Pusher arrives to find an empty fairground, and whatever his nefarious goals were at the tour, they’re not going to happen this month.

Not to be deterred, Agent Paper Pusher opens his backup orders to find a mission to infiltrate the Sky Crusaders’ Experimental Aerodrome, taking the opportunity presented by the recruitment drive for test pilots. There isn’t enough time for convincing fake documents to be sent to him, so he spends most of the train ride over faking them on his own (a task he isn’t too good at, despite his codename).

The documents are passable, and he makes it past the security post and into the aerodrome without incident. Unfortunately, by a stroke of bad luck, he has made a mistake with his assumed identity. “Sir, it says here that you used to work as a woodcarver? Could you step out of the queue for a minute?” His nerve breaks and he bolts out of the interview’s waiting room, running right into the Verusan Department of Security Agent. Agent Bird Watcher reacts quickly, drawing his pistol and giving chase, but when he pulls the trigger there’s only a *click* as a pen pops out of the barrel. Looks like he’s forgotten to swap his pistol-pen for a real pistol after the recent investigation. Agent Paper Pusher doesn’t accomplish his mission, but he escapes uninjured.

The Outside World

British pilot Richard Bell-Davis receives the Victoria Cross for performing the world’s first combat rescue mission by an aircraft, saving another pilot Gilbert Smylie after the latter is shot down by ground fire. The Senussi begin engaging the British in a guerrilla campaign on the Libyan-Egyptian border, encouraged by the Ottoman Empire. At the Second Chantilly Conference, the Allied Powers agree on a strategy of co-ordinated attacks on Eastern and Western Fronts, to render the Central Powers unable to shift reserves between them. In America, the one-millionth Ford car is produced at the River Rouge Plant in Detroit. The collapse and withdrawal of Allied forces in Serbia allows the rail line from Berlin to Constantinople to be opened. In Germany, the first practical all-metal airplane, the Junkers J 1, makes its maiden flight, achieving an altitude of almost 3m.

Event – Foreign Purchase: Both sides have decided to sell their basic plane designs to the Midako Kokudaitai. One squadron each of Rhino and Feather biplanes have entered service with the Kokudaitai, and there are rumours of a balloon design being worked on. For now, both sides will have 1 extra PP to spend this turn.



Both sides have put out some advertisements to lure foolhardy pilots into prototype planes. While several men (and women) sign up for the Sky Crusaders and their promise of flight training, the Kolechians have appealed to both the Crimson Eagles fans and touted their new Tactical Escape Parachute. More people sign up for the KPAF’s test pilot programme, and Kolechia receives a reduction in development costs, for this turn’s design phase and the next.

Event – Armed Forces Council: With the war having dragged on for an entire year, the council of generals are calling a series of meetings to discuss the war effort. Within these meetings, there may be an opportunity for deals to be made with the army and navy – or possibly even a chance to lobby for a raise in the command status of the air force. During this whole turn, you may address messages to the army, navy or both, asking for and promising certain things in return for bonuses in the coming year.

It is now the Design Phase, Early Summer 1916.

So having realized that we've moved to double advancement....why on earth aren't we hyper-focused on Tereshkova? We could get that wonderful Ore back by next turn. Hindsight says the 2 wasn't going to let us do anything AWESOME, but we should've been trying to win that regardless.

I brought it up. Before the design, even. The Jungle Ore only makes the VVF and Sea Lift cheaper (the VVF goes from VE to E), but you can (and should) double-check that. While more fighters would be nice, preventing them from landing on our mainland again would be much nicer.

Of course, if we don't continue our advance in the jungle, the Cannalans get it all next turn. Then we'll have to decide whether it's more important to deny them the ore or carry on with missile sub to land on the Plains island.

Regarding deck guns, I'm against them for difficulty reasons (cramming too much into a revision). I'm not sure whether we'll be able to target their shipping anyway, the GM doesn't seem to take that into account.