[REQ] convoy routing and escort implementation

[nattydread]

I'd like to see not only decreased convoy/taskforce location reports(which has been done), decreased large taskforce and superfluous capital ships(which I think has been done...no excuse for people being able to sink 5 Yamatos ) , but i'd like to see a couple of other things.

I'd like to see if convoy routes can be dynamically changed to avoid areas of heavy sub activity and heavy merchant/warship losses. These changes should be temporary and slowly revert back over time. For instance, can can heavy losses in the East China Sea cause ships to take the long coastal route through the Yellow Sea, or cause them to transit farther to the east.

I'd like to see smaller convoys more often. All these big convoys werent so common with in the Empire, full escorts were also rare. I'd like to see more small convoys with light escort(1 or 2 escorts)

I'd like to see more coastal routes, not every ship went right across the ocean, especially after subs began creating heavy casualties along deep water routes. Coastal routes where heavily populated with not only small individual coastal merchants, but also small convoys of small, large and medium sized merchants. These small convoys would often be from 2-4 vessels. Sometimes escorted, sometimes not. This traffic was to and from the many smaller ports occupied by the Empire, not every ship was running to and from a major port in Japan.

A change in escort implementation. Not every large convoy was escorted, large convoys and escorts where not as heavily used by the IJN anyway, if I remember correctly. Escorts where far and few between, every convoy couldnt get its own dedicated escort group. Coastal shipping routes allowed for escorts to use a pony express type method of escorting. A escort group of 1 to maybe up to 6 would be responsible for regional body of water. That escort group would be informed of merchant transit "appointments" telling the escorts when and where they would expect to pick up single or groups of merchants to escort along their portion of coastline. That escort group would "pick them up" and escort them down the coast and then handing them off to another group or leaving that group to defend themselves until they reached another escorted portion of the coast. Escorts where given potentially high risk or hot spot areas to cover, and these escorts were able to become especially knowledgebale about the area they covered. they knew every hiding place, deep pocket, dangerous area along their body of coastline. If one would sit in that area for a day, they'd see that ship make several trips back and forth everyday escorting ships by "appointment" or as needed.