Introducing TASK FORCE ADMIRAL Vol.1: American Carrier Battles

Started by The_Admiral, October 11, 2019, 12:17:06 PM

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Gusington

I see The Admiral has the books Soldiers of the Sun and Kaigun...an admiral of taste and sophistication!

I also like the idea of multiple AIs, like Ultimate General - Gettysburg.


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We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

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Toonces

I was actually wondering about surface combat as well.  Expanding this system to cover surface warfare would be a brilliant move.
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

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Strela

Quote from: Toonces on February 14, 2020, 04:02:54 PM
I was actually wondering about surface combat as well.  Expanding this system to cover surface warfare would be a brilliant move.

From the interview;

We are already on our way to simulating carrier combat at a scale and with an amount of detail never before seen, and surface combat to a standard at the very least equal to that of Fighting Steel.


Just looking at the ballistics demo video in the interview shows that surface combat is a definite inclusion as is some of the ships being included such as the Anzac cruisers that were only in surface combat.

I for one am in awe with what this team is trying to achieve, this will be the first ever simulation where you could be (at maximum realism) desperate to know whose planes are above you combined with a few minutes of absolute terror.

Great article!

David

The_Admiral

Thank you boys for the kind words, as usual  :notworthy:

Quote from: Gusington on February 14, 2020, 01:54:07 PM
I see The Admiral has the books Soldiers of the Sun and Kaigun...an admiral of taste and sophistication!
There's hardly any brighter beacon of gentlemanliness in these lands than you Gus, so much appreciated  :arr:

Quote from: hellfish6 on February 14, 2020, 12:20:33 PM
The interview made me anticipate the game even more. I really like the design decisions you guys are making - especially re: morale. It might be of greater import to land battles, but on a ship where you effectively either fight or die, it's not so much a thing. Demoralized ships didn't surrender to the enemy (at least none that I can think of...). I have a design document I've tinkered with for years about a WWII naval game (effectively a newer Destroyer Command) which had morale as a factor, but that only affected things peripherally - like how long before exhaustion became an issue, or the time it takes to get to battlestations, etc.) and never a thing that would decide the course of a naval battle on its own.

I agree that it would be a the same probably in surface action, and the same way our literature had many examples of selfless sacrifice from the crews, the same stands for what is depicted in Neptune's Inferno. It's kill or get killed all the way. It's not the age of sail, there's no surrendering, there's no melee, Neptune's Inferno shows that well enough. When survival is all that matters, you can only try your best to sell your soul in the most expensive way. There again, like in carrier action, if there is some sort of "weak link" in the equation anywhere, it's the Flag Officers themselves, whose mental dispositions will have a disproportionate impact on how the battle is set-up and proceeds.

I our case I would say that it is very characteristic of the esprit de corps in the naval aviation at that time, in that one theater - in a certain way, it is more of a sublimation of the airman's hubris than anything. There just wasn't room nor eligible conditions for a Yossarian, and it is not surprising that it would happen on both sides in the same era, considering the similarities between the US and the Japanese naval aviation early on (namely the idea that they were the cream of the crop of their service branch). A carrier and its complement are basically here just so that the flyboys can take off and take the fight to the enemy. One single man had the ability to take an enemy ship out of the battle, or even out of the war and tilt the balance of power in the whole theater. And that worked both way: let an enemy torpedo bomber slip through and you might be the guy who doomed your homeplate. I think these guys just couldn't bear the idea of personal failure, which is the single most important morale-booster one could wish for.

Quote
Some questions that occurred to me while reading the interview:

To what extent will the battles around Guadalcanal that did not involve carriers be covered? Will we have the knife-fight night battles in the Slot?
Well, as Strela points out it will be in there :) just at a basic level, not as detailed as carrier ops are. This will be refined further in vol.2 and then hopefully on a specific module for surface combat. Doesn't mean that the basics won't be there - as highlighted, expect combat reminiscent of Fighting Steel, which is still better than nothing.



QuoteHow would you account for specific leadership failings, like the reluctance of Adm Callaghan to take advantage of radar, or even prepare a battle plan? Related, though not part of your initial game, how would you hypothetically simulate in your game world the Battle off Samar, and VAdm Kurita's decision to withdraw on the cusp of victory?

Well I am afraid that we won't go so deep in the surface combat simulation if you're not already in command for now - and if you are, well, you'll be your own Admiral Callaghan, so it makes the point a bit moot  :))
Still, these are related to what we mentioned regarding a tactical and strategic AI for the enemy AI. These will coexist but not necessarily coordinate. Tactical AI will naturally refer itself to the local power ratio, while the strategic AI will take into account the overall level of readiness and its ability to complete its objectives. So yes, you will come across that sort of SNAFU decisions, and I'd like to make it apparent in the narration at least in the replay module (Admiral X takes the decision to retire, etc...) so that we will always be transparent in the aftermath and clearly let you see it wasn't so much a bug, but more of a feature.  :coolsmiley:

Quote
Any thought to someday addressing amphibious operations? I've never played a game that allowed players to make realistic amphibious landings (in WWII or any other era). By 1944, the US had a pretty incredible capability to do landings on contested shores, with a myriad of specialized landing and support craft, synchronization and coordination demands, and deconfliction of gun and aerial support. I always thought it would be fascinating to orchestrate an amphibious landing in a 3D game - and your engine might be the only chance to do this. Let the player take the role of the amphibious staff, give 'em an island and let them pick beaches, schedule recon, send in UDTs to measure the tides and currents, sync the naval gunfire support, air support, amphibious load plans, and order of landing. Or hell, do it in Korea or the Cold War era, or from the Japanese, Soviet or British perspective.
Oh well, we will have to do with ersatz for now. Landing ops (Lae, Guadalcanal, Gili Gili, or even Midway) will be there but they will kinda be phony (you see barges shuttling around, and the event engine simulates progress, but it's not REALLY happening). This will have to do for now. Volume 2 will extend the timeline to include Galvanic, and we will certainly go deeper at that point  \m/

Cheers and thanks for the support!  :dreamer:

Gusington

Even 'just a little' basic surface combat will be like having just a little basic pizza.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

The_Admiral

A little heads-up regarding this week's Flare Path - to which I tried to contribute a bit with all the bros  :coolsmiley:

As you will see, the naval genre is doing better as of late.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2020/02/21/the-flare-path-a2z-16

Happy reading!

MC

Quote from: The_Admiral on February 21, 2020, 10:14:10 AM
A little heads-up regarding this week's Flare Path - to which I tried to contribute a bit with all the bros  :coolsmiley:

As you will see, the naval genre is doing better as of late.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2020/02/21/the-flare-path-a2z-16

Happy reading!

Good read! Thanks for the heads-up.

Gusington



слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

The_Admiral

#203
Yes!
Raaah. I tell you, if we weren't doing what we are doing, I'd be doing a XCOM clone on the Chinese resistance against the Japanese. So much potential for drama...  :dreamer:

Anyway.
It's press season it seems. Here's another piece about us, this time by Shamrock at the great blog that is Stormbirds. You might not learn much if you're here often, but there are some fresh screenshots to check out at the very least least  :arr:
https://stormbirds.blog/2020/02/25/command-the-seas-and-the-skies-with-drydock-dreams-games-task-force-admiral/






Cheers

Gusington

I hope one day you get the chance to do a game on Chinese resistance to the Japanese, that sounds epic.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

The_Admiral


Gusington



слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

bobarossa

Looks like all the aircraft slid off that carrier into the drink! ;D

The_Admiral