Quote:
Originally Posted by alexsmith
This is another problem: to accomplish campaing goal for both side is almost too easy - and too boring  This isn't your fault - it's historic condition. Playing for Russian you may only hunt down transports running away from battle - playing for Japanese - destroy Russian cruisers and rest until the end. This is not worth a game  At least - this is not worth a $50 I've payed. DG is a battle simulator - what is interesting in avoiding all battles then? |
This is a matter of individual taste and the play style that results from this taste.
All naval campaigns based on a realistic situation (except perhaps the US in late WW2) share a common factor: decisive battles are really decisive. Prewar fleets can't be replaced and there will be few, if any, major units as reinforcements for the duration. Thus, no matter how long the campaign might last, there's only ever going to be 1 or maybe 2 really large battles. After that, 1 or both fleets are dead and there's not much else to do.
In real life, most admirals knew this and also that nothing is ever certain in war. As a result, there have been very few naval battles compared to land battles, and few of them have really been decisive or involved more than a fraction of the total fleet. The risk of the Dark Gods favoring the other side is large enough to impose caution unless the odds are overwhelmingly in one's favor, because there's no Plan B if the fleet is destroyed.
This is why naval campaigns don't appeal to everybody. Some folks like this aspect and enjoy the stress of knowing things can go terribly wrong whenever they accept battle. They agonize over such decisions and spend a lot of time and effort, using kleinkrieg strategy, trying to achieve conditions where they can force a decisive battle on favorable terms. This is the sort of person naval campaigns are made for. Other folks just want action, so they rush off to battle on day 1, then complain that they've run out of enemies to fight. They therefore tend not to like naval campaigns. This is the sort of person that scenario editors are made for.
The realistic and uncertain battle simulation in DG can be used by both types of person. On the campaign side of things, it's necessary to make battles dangerous and unpredictable, so that the players must confront the true risks of accepting battle. On the tactical side of things, it makes for cool battles.