Production Model Overview
Industry, resources and their output will play a pivotal role to ensuring the front line can be defended and the eventual offensive can be taken in capturing Berlin.
All players will utilize the new production model, however, the AI will need to receive some assistance in the form of bonuses to overcome the fact it is not aware of the production model developed to run concurrently with the game production system.
Here is a diagrammatic example showing the strategic production model for the USSR player.
Here is a break down of how the model works:
Raw Resources
These are the existing resources used by the game you would find on the map. In the scenario, these are referred to as raw resources as they alone are not sufficient for manufacturing equipment.
The raw resources in the scenario are
Iron Ore (used for Steel),
Bauxite (used for Aluminum),
Coal (used for powering buildings) and
Oil (used for Fuel). There are also secondary resources in the form of
Wheat and
Horses which boost food production and the building of cavalry units respectively.
Holding on to raw resources is critical in that the loss of, and insufficient quantities of, raw resources will eventually grind down your production to a stand still.
Utility & Support Buildings
Raw resources are converted into useful manufacturing resources that enable factories to produce the necessary equipment for building new units and resupplying existing units.
Power Plants - Use coal and convert it into
Power (energy) which is measured in GWh. Without power, factories will suffer blackouts and production lines will be halted reducing the output of equipment.
Steel Mills - Convert iron ore and coal into
Steel which enables the production of all equipment types.
Aluminum Smelters - Convert bauxite, with the assistance of coal (to power smelters) into
Aluminum which is extensively used in aircraft manufacturing.
Oil Refineries - Convert oil into
Fuel which enables the mobility of units in the game. No oil means no fuel, which in turn means your mechanized army comes to a grinding halt.
Synthetic Fuel Plants (Germany only) - Converts coal into
Fuel. This special building allows Germany to overcome its fuel handicap.
Food Buildings - These buildings produce
Food sources that feed your workers. Building types include farms, grain silos, harbors and water supplies. At this stage food is only consumed by your workforce and not actual units in game.
Manufacturing Buildings
The manufacturing resources output by your utility buildings are in turn consumed by your equipment factories which produce various equipment types. Unique structures exist for all the nations that reflect the production model utilized by each nation during the war.
In the diagram, the USSR utilised a standardized approach to manufacturing where a Zavod (or factory) was dedicated to a specific production line throughout the war. These zavods are limited to producing a specific type of equipment and enable the city that contains them to produce specific units (i.e. a city with a heavy tank zavod will be able to produce KV-1 units)
Germany on the other hand, has a very corporate driven model where various equipment types were scattered across companies. In game, most of the major German weapon companies are represented in their historic (or closest neighboring) city. As with the USSR factories, these companies are limited to producing specific equipment types and enabling a city to produce certain types of units (i.e. Henschel in Kassel can produce Tiger tanks).
This model (whilst hard to code) has certain advantages in that it can limit production of rarer unit types and also force a player to produce a balance of unit types. Furthermore, factories are limited in quantity and possible locations through existing light, medium and heavy 'works' or infrastructure. These works represent a cities capacity to actual (or historically) support certain production lines.
Equipment
Equipment output is the end result of the production model. Equipment is stored as counters (i.e. similar to normal resources) and is used to enable the building of actual units. Want to build a Tank Brigade, then you will need to make sure you have enough of the specific equipment types used by the unit.
Each unit in the game is allocated up to 6 structure entries that includes personnel and up to 5 equipment types. This structure is allocated across the hit point structure which means an infantry division will have more personnel assigned to its total HP then field guns and vehicles.
As units fight, they lose equipment and personnel which is then replenished through resupply (similar to the WW2 R.E.D. mod system). Run the risk of having units cut off and they will not be able to get resupplied or refueled. Within a few turns, you will start losing a powerful force if not defended and position appropriately.
Are you crazy, is this possible?
Yes and yes. As you can see from the Live Tuner sample posted in the first post, the counters are live and working. The equipment counters are being finalized as well as the unit allocation system.
Most of the system I have described above is implemented and working (more testing is required of course) and runs parallel to the normal game production system.
New database tables and huge quantities of code assist in managing a large quantity of counters that ensure building, resource and unit levels remain productive. Of course the 'input' numbers will need to be balanced when the game reaches alpha stage, but for now things seem to work fine.
That's all for now, more updates as things progress...
Thanks for staying tuned!
...especially given the appetite for WW2 scenarios on this board!
