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Originally Posted by FASTBOAT TOUGH
The "dumb" artillery shell pretty died with the end of WWII.
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My understanding as well, but as you pointed out India didn't really get "smart" artillery till it started making their own in the 60s. While a good many nations buy artillery itself from whoever is selling, a fair number manufacture their own ammunition because it's cheaper then buying. And this the stickler.
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Originally Posted by FASTBOAT TOUGH
2) The artillery cost calculus is flawed ... cost of artillery should progressively be reduced over the decades at least from the point of the mid to late 90's (Or simply 2000.) to present at minimum.
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WinSPMBT unit costs have basically nothing to do with real money costs. It's a measure of relative value vs other units in the game.
Since players have a birds eye view of the playing field they can see smoke/dust from firing/moving units and use indirect fire/aircraft to much better effect then reality normally allows. For this reason certain "game balance" features have been incorporated into the design and most importantly game engine updates.
While they ARE annoying to those of us that "play fair" they're needed to "reign in" that ever present minority that don't let little things like reality influence them, then complain LOUDLY the game is broken.
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Originally Posted by FASTBOAT TOUGH
A more realistic cost approach is to attach organic supply units to all artillery as is done in real life.
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100% correct, but unfortunately the AI has absolutely no clue what to do with ammo resupply units. This is why they're never included in default formations. Players however can buy and use them correctly and to great effect.
And even here some updates to the game code have been needed; once upon a time it was possible for a helo to hover over an ammo resupply unit and have unlimited ammo, these days they need to land to rearm. Again, not something those that "play fair" are really bothered by, but it was another point the minority used to claim the game was broken and unplayable.
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Originally Posted by FASTBOAT TOUGH
This is the core issue also that ties in here with the AI. Where this notion that the AI won't buy this or that because "it costs too much..." is false.
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The AI won't generally buy expensive unit types WHEN THE SCENARIO POINT TOTAL IS SET LOW, say 2500 points.
Since I like to field an entire MEU I set the scenario limit to 50,000 points, thus I see the AI field mostly of "first line" unit types. Or when playing vs infantry centric opponents (PLO, Mujaheddin) hordes of infantry that would make Chinese proud.
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Originally Posted by FASTBOAT TOUGH
It feels like it's getting away from some of its core force make up just a personal observation.
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Unless you're playing a player-made campaign the AI doesn't have a "Core Force", it buys entirely new units at the start of each and every battle.