Logistics: Railhead

RAILHEAD, a game of 1800's warfare with logistics

Note that "Artillery/Scout/Infantry" in the previous idea could also translate to Napoleonic warfare (Risk, Little Wars).
Among other things this translates the artillery ranges to a smaller scale (somewhere between direct cannon fire and the explosive shell)
What if we tried focusing purely on an enjoyable "victory-through-logistics" simulation?
Idea: Your armies on the front lines need a certain amount of resupply per day to fight effectively
The actual army combat is either simplified enough to be manageable at the same time as your logistics, or handed off to an AI? Choice of 2 general's hats, or both?
Also AI can run logistics, especially as enemy or in combat training.
The opposition is similarly presented (France vs Prussia, say, or Redosia vs Bluegaria) ..Industrial Heartland vs Motherland...
Turn-based and probably hex
Auto-form between armies and nearest supply depot? No.
Or always onus on player to place (?cheap cache) manually if expecting to hold a position? Yes.
armies only resupply themselves when moved onto a cache/depot/base (/town scavenging/friendly army)
Resources for the player: time, monetary cost (and attention)
Money resource represented by War Chest.

War Chest

fixed for a given scenario? eg training
receives updates * income from government, periodically
or bonus-based eg capturing cities (or scenario ends if x captured)
or could be designed out altogether, if Time is the resource

Army

Perhaps, like Risk or Hex Empire, not actually distinguishable as soldiers or artillery * generic army units, considered as soldiers.
Reinforcements (bringing *soldiers* to the front) was actually key in Hex Empire
Chief role is to fight at front.
Side role to protect logistics ie supply dumps.
Troops have a certain max troop strength & max carrying capacity & max morale.
Bought? Or present in full strength at start and up to you to manage through the scenario?
Approx scale: 1 infantry unit = 1 company (80 infantry? approx 60-200 historically) in 4 platoons
1 unit per hex, normally, unless passing through or melee
Formations are important. What officer assists in keeping formations?
every unit has a flag? insignia carried by ensign? or option for colour party morale booster - one per brigade affects all adjacent countrymen
toy soldier art concepts.

Troop Strength

Troops gain replacements ie automatically 'regenerate' when in supply, proportional to the rate of supply. Also reflects better food/better hospitals at the bigger bases.
Defined max for each unit type, will only regen up to original max
Stackable? see Combat.

Carrying Capacity

Reflects how many supplies are actually carried by the troops when they leave the depot (staging area)
armies only resupply themselves when moved onto a cache/depot/base (/town scavenging?/friendly army)
or between adjacent armies? sharing supplies if sharing hex.
captured enemy caches?
Usage rate:
Resupply rate:
when supplies run out (or on approach to zero), starvation casualties mount

Morale

raised ++ by victory
lowered by casualties
drops slowly when bored/idle (?weather) (except in a town * entertainment)
increases slowly (to max) when >50% CC
decreases slowly (to min) when <50% CC (&++ starvation or scrounging)
automatic surrender rule when attacked, if certain conditions are true (recognize hopeless situation)
such as: supply lines cut, no adjacent friendlies, neighbors have surrendered
Prepare separate Morale table, with all possible modifiers, unique ID 000-999

Unit Types

Infantry: move x, attacks adjacent hex, medium damage, medium defense
Cavalry: move x*2, attacks adjacent hex, light damage/defense (the Scout/Skirmish role), +charge ability (like little-wars) (bonus negated if already in adjacent hex at start of move)
Artillery: move x/3, attacks non-adjacent hex (ranged), heavy damage, low defense, retreat from cavalry charge/melee (abandoning guns)

Combat

heh! Not the key point but it needs to make sense!
For now throw in some borrowed Combat Results Table for attack/defense
Moderated by terrain type, morale, cavalry charges, experience
see free wargame links such as "march towards the sound of guns" or "cannonade". http://www.angelfire.com/games2/warpspawn/Can.html
keeping att/def low and attrition low (except for drastic actions like melee) emphasizes supply bonuses and surrendering making the difference. (Like Little Wars, surrendering or retreating would happen before a total wipeout, even with overwhelming force.)

Simultaneous Turn Resolution

idea: like LSN, there is an "orders" phase then an "execution" phase
units may find themselves caught out by unanticipated enemy movement eg same destination hex: melee
Solium has same concept, PBEM but not simultaneous execution
"orders" is closer to concept of the day.

Limited Orders

Limited number of orders available per turn(not all units can move) like Solium, HexCommand, Memoir44. Reduces micromanagement & raises strategic thinking requirements. Same restriction on enemy obviously.
This may be linked to number of Commander units on the field (Brigadier Generals) or increased somewhat by purchasing them as a unit. Logically commanders could give extra orders to units they are in contact with at start of turn.

Logistic Buildings

able to set up bases? then move (or dismantle & rebuild) bases after advancing? "engineer" corps considered invisible except when actually building.
Unlimited engineer corps * or another resource to manage/limiting factor on how many simultaneous road/base/bridge efforts?
fortification upgrades? or existing? Bunkers (anti-siege), walls (anti-inf), wire/ditch (anti-cav), & new description automatic based on upgrades eg fortress
Single-hex supply dumps might be in the centre of a 6-hex fortress (eg Halifax); might be a port, part of a town, city, etc.
Map scale might be: a city, and outlying villages and farmland, rarely two cities would be close enough to be shown in entirety on same battle map?

Factories

Begin with at least one: main source(s) of supply
What makes new available? Where located: cities only?
Capturable from enemy.
flavor only: munitions, food, clothing (boots, beans, bullets)
Actual production referred to generically as supplies. (supply units)
Flavor: The Old Mill. (on a river of course) Pembrose Nitrates. Acme Bandages.

Supply Dumps

Storage, like energy; supply buffers
Cheaper(?existing buildings) if placed in cities
3 grades

low: supply cache (?supply dump?): cheapest to build, low capacity
(?medium low: supply dump? only if balance point needed)
medium: supply depot: medium
high: supply base (?centre?): high

cost recovered (eg 60%) when dismantling
upgradeable

Logistic Routes

Begin with a certain amount pre-existing between cities. IE historical roads.
Placed (by player) between cities, or arbitrary points, ie building the network not the nodes
must place supply nodes (buildings) as above.
Road building required to upgrade routes, cost varies with length (hex by hex progress, managed by AI engineers)
Upgrade in stages (1->2->3->4) or allow jumps (1->4)?
When upgraded * try an option where all units switch to next type, or enough to give same equivalent capacity, if already in pool, and return to pool. Eg new road, return 4 mules to pool, take 2 carts from pool, (maybe player just clicks OK ?or can tweak default numbers to see new capacity before clicking OK) * Reduces player micromanagement of results of previous decision to upgrade, by doing the logical. They can then add more units themselves.
When all are removed from a route, gray out marker and/or remove highlight from route. (Road is still present, route marker, but no traffic.) Handle mule paths differently?
Smart reconfig if new depot placed on existing route. (new autoassigned marker, etc)

Logistic Units

automoved by AI once placed on a route (click on route marker (RedBallExpress))
automove at end of turn, allowing player override during turn?
can be attacked directly by armies
can be removed from a route and returned to a central 'pool' eg right-click on route marker.
Sidebar "motor pool" display should show with labelled icons (& icon bar or fuel gauge) & numbers how many of each type are in use/total owned eg Mules 7/10, Carts 4/4. "Mule pool" heh. Horseheads with blinders. (+)(Buy) and (-)(Sell) buttons for each row. --what if more than 10? Scaling icons to represent a percentage rather than just 1? What does 20 overlapping small pixelated mule heads look like? Available units in highlight or border, in-use units lowlighted. See "Antarctic Colony" flash eg.
Assume units can place immediately anywhere from pool, ie mules 'move' instantly from one side of the map to the other.

Types

Ranked by capacity (and susceptibility to damage) and terrain requirements; cost

Pack Mule: Requires minimal/footpath (eg even into the mountains, but not straight up cliffs or rivers). (no wheels)
Horse Cart: Requires dirt road, river ford, floating bridge (2 wheels)
Wagon/Truck: Requires paved road, road bridge (4 wheels)
Rail car : Requires rail track, station, railhead, rail bridge (8 wheels)
How to represent >1 mule? >1 train car?

Optional: Waterways, canals, barges,

Resupply rate Formula

Formula: Resupply rate = capacity of carriers * number of carriers * route length (?* fudge) Carriers will attempt to fully load themselves from supply depot/source Direction of flow (source->drain) is always heartland factory -> army in field eg. army1 resupply = 3 pack mules over 7 kilometers

Resultants

when building or extending a railroad, placing cheap caches as you go allows you to reap benefit before reaching intended extent. Railhead
Armies have a better chance of intercepting attacks on their depot if placed away from depot (out of supply?adjacent) & also you need to move out of supply to advance. Balance for player risk/reward.
must game min/max scenarios ie what limits on infinite mules on one route?
if not stackable * then solves this one: all armies stacked on one base. Defeat that! * cut rail line. Hit railcars with artillery. * what if all armies stacked on factory? No rail line.

Loss Conditions

armies wiped out. All armies wiped out. Recognize endgame.
logistics wiped out. Recognize endgame if warchest empty.
engineers wiped out. Recognize endgame if warchest empty.

Win Conditions (Objectives)

eliminate all enemy armies
capture and hold all enemy cities
training/scenario objectives: certain cities, certain factories, build x depots, connect city x by rail
protect special units eg entertainers or VIPs
surrender to revolutionary forces

Strategies & Fun

Keep your armies in supply to keep them alive! Rotate wounded to rear.
Advance armies to capture cities * and bring up supply lines behind them.
Upgrade routes (combat engineers) or dismantle, upgrade depots or dismantle
Repair cut or bombed routes, bridges, chase away enemy! Keep "Red Ball Express" moving!
Take over enemy supply depots (?and blow up to prevent recapture?)
Take over enemy cities and factories to increase production (/gain new units?)
Starve enemy armies by cutting rail lines, encircle and demolish them

Linkys

Napoleon at War http://www.freeverse.com/mac/product/?id=9001 http://www.armchairgeneral.com/the-practical-art-of-moving-armies.htm

Free Rules selection http://freewargamesrules.co.uk/index.php?page=napoleonic

http://www.kamikazewargames.com/index.htm

http://sourceforge.net/projects/wargame/ (Ogre3DJava, non-hex, nice map, compiled for Windows) http://sourceforge.net/projects/sdlwargame/ (Utilities, 0.1, not updated since 2005)

Glossary

glossary to have links into text of design document later.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wagonway
lorry
gurney
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/locomotive
steamer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fusillier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/grenadier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/dragoon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse-drawn_vehicle
(2-wheeled Cart, 4-wheeled Wagon)
Covered Wagon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conestoga_wagon
http://dwarffortresswiki.net/index.php/User:Jellyfishgreen/Railhead

--Jellyfishgreen 11:43, 15 December 2009 (UTC)

User:Jellyfishgreen/Railhead

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