Re-Thinking PBs when Land come in

[Arbour]

Been doing some thinking about how port battles can be improved.  With land being added, there are several ways that ports can be re-conceptualized.  I made a quick image in paint to help as a visual aid. I'm not a graphic designer so excuse the poor quality.  It appear this forum limits picture sizes too  I've added a dropbox link the original image to make it easier to view.  

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zuiw3xid1o7v2z9/Port%20Battle%20Concept%20v2.jpg?dl=0

 

Key for the image:

Green = The coastline and can vary greatly from port to port.

Light Blue = The shallow water line.  Only 6th rates and below can sail between the light blue and the coast.  This can also vary from port to port.

Dark Blue = Medium depth line.  5th rates can sail in these waters up to the light blue line.  Beyond the dark blue is deep water, where SoLs can sail.

Red Squares = Coastal Batteries

Orange Squares = Secondary destroy-able buildings in the port

Brown Rectangle = The pier, where "troops" are landed.

 

How is Victory Achieved?

Primary objective is to land troops at the pier, treating it like a boarding action.  If the pier is taken, the port is captured.

Secondary objectives are to destroy the coastal batteries and secondary buildings.  Doing this can either be a prerequisite for landing or make landing easier.  

 

How is the Port Defended?

Besides having ships come to support the defense of the port, ports can be upgraded to make them stronger.  The governors or lord-protectors can spend money and resources to increase the defensive capabilities of a port.  Increased defenses also mean increased maintenance costs for those improvements.  

 

Coastal batteries - There can be multiple tiers for each fixed position. (Those position can vary from port to port but are fixed positions)  The cannons and defensive strength of those batteries can both be upgradable.  Tier 1 defenses= cannons with simple earthworks.  Tier 2 = simple stone cannon emplacements, similar to the towers in-game now.  Tier 3 = large forts.  The governor can choose which fixed positions he wants to upgrade and with what cannons to equip them.  The larger the cannons and the defenses, the more it costs to maintain.  If maintenance is not paid then they downgrade themselves.  Coastal batteries can be controlled by players or AI.  

 

Militia -  These will act as the defenders of the boarding action at the pier.  The size and quality of the militia will cost more to train and maintain.  These will be controlled by AI.

 

Harbor boats - The governor can hire and maintain shallow water ships that stay at the port to aid in the defense.  The types, number, and quality of harbor boats will determine the maintenance costs.  These harbor boats can be controlled by players or AI.  

 

Secondary Buildings - These can be barracks to aid the militia, taverns to improve harbor ships, or magazines to aid the batteries.  This are build-able, like production buildings, and have a maintenance cost as well.  

 

When a port changes hands, the new governor will have to rebuild defensive structures.  This makes holding a newly captured port difficult, as it should be.  

 

Scouting

Enemies can get scouting reports of different ports.  These can be gained as random drops or by sailing up to the enemy port and getting a "scout" option that makes the scouting ship hold position for a few minutes to receive.  The report will give the attackers a simple drawing of the placement and size of batteries and buildings, and the relative strength of the group forces.  Scouting reports can also show the water lines that limit the movement of certain types of ships.

 

How will this change PB overall?

This style of port battle will require more planning and will make attacking fleets really consider their fleet composition carefully.  A combination of small, medium, and large will be required to take a port, as well as, ships specifically geared for boarding action to act as "troop transports." This will allow captains of all levels to play a role in the battle, not just the biggest.  BR will not be considered at all in the victory conditions.  

 

Post your thoughts below.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mirror452]

Your system seems to force the attacker to use different kinds of ships, while the defender has no need to use lighter ships. Thus the defender will bring a full SOL setup, making any port uncapturable.

[Arbour]

Your system seems to force the attacker to use different kinds of ships, while the defender has no need to use lighter ships. Thus the defender will bring a full SOL setup, making any port uncapturable.

 

That is a good point, but I'm sure that there is a way to counter that.  Can't think of one at the moment. 

 

Added: Maybe the total number of defending ships can be dropped to 20 instead of 25, and add caps to how many SoLs can be deployed in the defense. 

Edited March 17, 2016 by Arbour

[maturin]

The main use of shallow water in port battles is that smaller vessels can lie safely under the guns of shore batteries, while SoLs must remain exposed to their fire.

[admin]

land in battles will depend on actual coast line from the open world.

some harbors will become very hard to capture or hard to defend

[Arbour]

land in battles will depend on actual coast line from the open world.

some harbors will become very hard to capture or hard to defend

 

Is the plan for victory conditions still going to be BR and destroying towers?  or are other mechanics going to come into play?