• Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 379

Topic: Solo guidelines

Been trying to develop some WWI solo play guidelines to test scenarios before presenting them to the local group of guys.  Naval rules are rough, but I think I got a basic framework.  Maybe folks here could review?

Should note that for our tabletop/hexless games, we play with the time-scale halved.  Each Turn is now several minutes.  Gun ranges remain unchanged (each nm is 4"), but ships only move 1000 yards (2") for evey MP listed on their profile.  We figure RoF values for guns remain unchanged since they're all relative anyway:

Before the shooting starts.

It shouldn't be assumed that just because one side has spotted the oppostion, that the same applies for the other side, as well.  Visual spotting was iffy, and there should be some allowance for surprise.  If there's room on the table, start ships outside of the maximum visual range listed in Grand Fleets and have each side chug ahead on its current course until it sees something that would allow it to react.

The base chance of spotting another ship at the listed maximum Grand Fleets Distance is 80% during the first Command Phase the two sides are within range.  Roll percentile dice for both sides before movement orders are written down.  Starting on the 2nd turn the two sides are withing spotting distance the odds increase to 90%.  After that it's automatic.

You can include weather.  This is borrowed from FGDN.

Light Precip: Visual distance is multiplied by .75
Heavy Precip: Visual distance is halved.

So say it's raining a bit in your scenario.  The AI has a line of battlecruisers and so do you.  Under the normal rules, you would start to see each other at 22nm.  But due to weather, that's reduced to 16.5 nm. Once the two lines have moved within that distance to each other, both sides get to roll to see if they see each other.  If the AI sees you and you don't see it, too bad.  It can now issue movement orders to react while you have to chug in a straight line.  During the 2nd turn you chances of seeing it are almost guaranteed.  And if you come under fire, you ARE going to spot 'em.

Tactical Movement

The "AI" fleet has its movement orders written per the standard rules (the odds are 50-50 if these are written before or after the player's orders are jotted down, toss a coin or something).  Be fair and issue orders that make sense.  But there should be a  wrinkle to keep the AI from constantly stumbling into your cunning traps.  During the current Movement Phase, move the player fleet.  Then roll a D10.  On a "1" or "10,"  the AI's movement orders are scrapped and a completely new set of orders are drafted that allow it to respond to your positioning on the board.  The AI just re-wound the clock and issued orders that anticipated what you were about to do.


Gunfire
Just issue orders that make sense.  The AI loses nothing (there are no ammo considerations in GF) by blazing away. 


Torpedoes
If an AI ship carrying torpedoes ends up within 2nm of one of your hulls, and is lugging torpedoes, then it's assumed that fish were launched the previous turn.  The target is the largest, biggest enemy hull.  No, you don't get a chance to take Evasive Action.

To see if the AI guessed the right arc.  Roll D10, and the target number is 6+ modified by the following:
-2 if the AI's expended MPs this turn exceeded yours by 3 or more
-1 if the AI's expended MPs this turn exceeded yours by 1 or more
The rationale here is that the AI ship had an MP/speed advantage in maneuvering you into  the proper arc for this turn.
+2 if your expended MPs exceeded the AI's by 3 or more.
+1 if your expended MPs exceeded the AI's by 1 or more.
Just the same logic, reversed.
-1 if the AI ship has ended up targeting you through your belt armor.
+1 if the AI ship has ended up targeting you through your end armor.

So if a destroyer that expended 6 MP ends up within 2 nm of a stricken cruiser that expended 3 MP, targeting it through its side/belt armor, the odds that it picked the right arc are almost a given (3+ rolling a D10 using the modifiers listed above).  But say the AI has a damaged cruiser that's making a desperate attempt to damage one of your ships that's healthy (it spent 3 MPs while you expended 6), then even if targeting your through your belt armor, its odds aren't all that hot (7+ on a D10).

This just figures if the proper arc was guessed, BTW.  You still have to roll to-hit.

  • Registered: 2007-09-13
  • Posts: 99

Re: Solo guidelines

Interesting. . . I like the idea of solo play rules.  I have some guys that I play with, but this would allow me to play out some really big battles over the course of a few days just a turn or two at a time.

I think the AI rules should have some more development to really add an opponent to the game.  Maybe a simple chart that you roll on for each squadron or ship after you have written your movement orders.

Just an example, some real thought would have to go into this:

1-3 Turn 1 hex side towards nearest ship/squadron of equal or greater class and close the distance.  If none, close with nearest enemy.

4-6  Turn 2 hex sides. . . etc

7-9  Turn 1 hex side away, go evasive 1 hex etc.

10 Attempt to disengage

Maybe have a separate table for destroyers, cruisers and dreadnoughts, since their reactions to different types of targets might tend to vary?

For "closing the distance" some rule would have to be developed for what range the AI would attempt to achieve before turning parallell again.  That can be based on its penetration values for its guns, maybe like blackjack. . . always try to close the range to attempt to get to a penetration vs armor value difference of 6 or less - stop closing and turn parallell as soon as you get it.  If its not possible to get that low, close to the furthest edge of short range? 

Maybe a different rule for ships with torpedoes as primary weapons, like destroyer flotillas.

Shooting orders would simply follow which enemy ship/squadron was the object of their movement orders with squadrons targeting their opposite numbers and doubling up when necessary and with secondaries being fired at targets of opportunity.  I like you torpedo rules.

I'm not sure I understand the halving of the time scale.  Does that mean hexes are 1000 yards each?  If you cut the hexes to 1000 yards, shouldn't gun ranges be doubled since otherwise they will have unrealistically short ranges?

  • Registered: 2007-09-13
  • Posts: 99

Re: Solo guidelines

. . . oh BTW. . .

I'd love to see the scenarios you come up with!

  • Registered: 2022-11-15
  • Posts: 1,424

Re: Solo guidelines

IMNSHO, You'd have to modify the 'AI Reaction Charts' according to type AND the amount of damage the AI-driven ship had taken...

  • Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 379

Re: Solo guidelines

We play without hexes, using a tape measure and firing arc and turning templates I've described to Kevin.  If you halve the time in a turn, then the distance the ship moves a turn is reduced, but not gun range.  If you say "this turn covers 7-8 minutes instead of 15," it doesn't mean the guns lose any range.  A nautical mile is still 4".  It simply means the ships only move 1,000 yards (2") instead of a nautical mile per MP.  It's an advantage of playing on 6x6' or larger table covered with a blue sheet.  The templates let us do that and it's been a hit with the local gamers.

If you play using hexes, then yeah, I guess you'd have to say each hex is 1,000 yards to keep things consistent.  It's just the difference beetween playing on a table versus a hex map.

Running down the scenarios:
Otranto Straits

Rome Chooses Sides (dreadnought hypothetical with Italy joining the central powers and clashing with the British)

Spee against Jerram (Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Nurnberg and Liepzig going against Jerram's China squadron -- Newcastle, Hampshire, Minotaur and Yarmouth).

Spee against the NZ Troop Convoy (same Germans against Minotaur, Ibuki, Melbourne and Sydney).  Historically those four ships HAD to escort a NZ convoy or the NZ government wasn't going to let it out of port due to fear of Spee showing up.  This is just a "what if he had turned west instead of east?"

Otranto Straits II -- if Horthy hadn't lost a Tegetthoff class BB to a MAS torpedo boat, he wanted to send his four dreadnought battleships and three Erzherzog Karl pre-dreads out to ambush any enemy response to another raid on the Otranto Barrage.  This was in 1918.  But he lost that Tegetthoff and turned back.  Paul Halpern writes that the other side would have likely known something was up....this is a "what if?"

Milne and Troubridge against Haus:  Haus sortied out of Pola with the Austrian fleet to support Souchon in 1914 in the event he ran for the Adriatic after leaving Sicily.  The Brits actually paused their pursuit of the Goeben and joined Milne's battlecruisers and Troubridge's ACs because of misleading reports that war had been declared on Austria (it hadn't).  Haus didn't come out of the Adriatic in the end because he was worried about the location of the French Med Fleet -- which was a long ways off.  But if he had shown up the Brits would have been caught between him and the Goeben and Breslau.

You can see I got a thing about the A-H fleet and the Med.  I got all the ships I need (French, Italian, Brit, German, A-H, even some Turks) to fight historic and hypothetical actions in that theater.  I also have Spee's squadron and ships to fight Coronel, the Falkands and some "could have been" battles.  I'll put them somewhere as they're finished -- right now 3 are finalized and have been played at the local shop.

Matt

  • Registered: 2007-09-13
  • Posts: 99

Re: Solo guidelines

thedugan wrote:

IMNSHO, You'd have to modify the 'AI Reaction Charts' according to type AND the amount of damage the AI-driven ship had taken...

That actually wouldn't be too tough.  Hull damage is split into 4 sections.  You could just add some sort of modifier to the roll based on which of the four sections the ship was currently on, then structure your table accordingly to group the "more damaged" actions at one end, and the "less damaged" actions at the other.