Atheory's Project: Operation What if Calais 1944

[Ricky B]

@Rick B

I was under the impression that when a unit reaches a certain level strength as determined in the pdt file, it becomes less effective. It's the main reason scenarios generally don't start with reduced strength units.....meaning, as an example, an artillery battalion would generally start with 8/8 guns if it was historically reduced strength instead of having it at 8/12 which would give the unit strength - 66% strength level. Thus being affected by the pdt file. I am merely removing that aspect to allow for the 8/12 version to exist without impairment. I'd rather not quibble over a dislike of the term "penalty" and instead just focus on the mechanics purpose. If I have assessed its purpose incorrectly, I am happy to learn and adjust from it.  

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Not all of my comments apply to what you said, so please don't worry about that, although as to catering, the entire engine has to be catered to, and the fact it allows adjustment is exactly for catering. But back to penalty, as I noted, I believe you misunderstand the use of the settings, if in fact you are "removing" the values I mentioned. Since you didn't actually address what values you are changing (as noted maybe there is a penalty in play that I am unaware of but then I don't know what PDT values are in play) I will explain what the values I think you are changing actually do, rather than what you noted here.

So for the values I am an referencing, infantry strength and effectiveness, they work this way. The strength is used so that at that strength percentage, the unit fights as if it has the effectiveness percentage of full OOB strength. And then all calcs between 100% and that value are a straightline ratio down to that value's effectiveness, and then below it they converge back to 0.

So from at least one of the games, but I think it is typical of all of them, the strength is set to 70% and the effectiveness to 90%. If a unit is at 70% of full strength, it will actually fight with a firepower of 90% of full strength, or a benefit of 20%. If it is at 85% of full strength, it will fight with an effectiveness of 95%. Then if below 70%, the values start to converge again. If the unit is at 35% of full strength (half of 70%) it will fight at half of 90% or 45%, or a benefit of 10% NOT a penalty. In all cases, the understrength units will benefit, not be penalized, right?

Now if the values were switched around and the strength was 90 and the effectiveness 70, there would be a penalty but the games don't use that. I have no idea if you have been setting your values to 100/100 or 0/0, if you are using these values. If so, it simply means you have removed the benefit to understrength units. If you used anything else where the values don't match, then you would need to apply the above to determine the impact. For example, if you used 100/0, it means the understrength units have no firepower, I believe.

This is all explicitly described in the user manual in this section, and has been in there since the first game: Infantry Fire Effectiveness. Even though I hadn't read it for many years, it stuck with me and I see my example above essentially mirrors what this section states, but with specific numbers rather than the section use of linear interpretation, lol.

Hope this helps.
Rick