SodaBit

Just tested this one out, not as big an issue as first impressions would implicate. Clicking on the hull multiple times will give you a new hull weight for every click, but the weight doesn't always go down, it can in fact, increase by a significant amount as well. Reason being is that every time you are given a new hull, the base armor values are randomized. This can lead to some pretty significant differences in initial weight and longitudinal offset b/c the values have a tendency to be all over the place, with what seems to be a preference toward a distributed armor scheme, rather than a more conventional all or nothing system.

Started a new campaign, 1940's Germany Proceed to construct the usual suspects, H-39 BB's, Bismarck BC's, O Classes, etc. Can't build Bismarck BC's anymore, 381mm Mk.4 guns no longer fit on any of the superstructures Okay then, I'll use 14" guns and up the caliber to 378.9mm I guess. Only 1B starting funds, can't afford much Have to restart and rebuild everything twice due to crashes Finally get into a working campaign, can only afford 4 ships, 2 H-39's 2 O's. Kaiser decides in his infinite wisdom to ally the Italians, because that goes so well every time anyone tries it I've got no say in this, sucks, but oh well Get dragged into war against France, started over a bowl of spaghetti or something, idk First fight is 2 O's against a BB, CA, CL. Win decisively, enemy only scored 9 hits with all ships sunk. French pull 5,400 victory points out from behind their sofa Kaiser is furious that I got my ass handed to me Can't wait for the next battle to be a 50 minute long stern chase

I absolutely second this. Seems like half my BB builds have secondaries that range out past some of the lower BB calibers in 1.05. If this isn't changed, we might go back into a secondary spam meta where capital ships get burned to death at 25km by hundreds of secondary hits. Also, I'd be fine with a reduction in pen values as well, given that the upper limit of armor penetration capabilities has gone from ~2,800mm at 1km and 1,500mm at 30km to 4,000mm at 1km and 2,400mm at 30km.

Got some feedback that I don't really know how to classify here. Zombie ships appear to be a thing once again, but unlike last time, these aren't full HP ships with no crew, but rather 0 HP ships that are somehow still going. This BB has taken a horrific amount of damage, probably enough to sink her 2 times over, but will probably continue to fire back until she floods out. This is a significant problem for the cruisers I have in the area, as this ship is armed with 15" guns that are perfectly capable of damaging them. This is the exact reason this BB was targeted in the first place, to allow the cruisers to move forward and mop up enemy light forces, which they can't do now, because the BB that was supposed to be dead isn't f***ing dead for some reason, despite most of the inner workings of the ship being reduced to scattered debris, along with a good chunk of the crew.

Yeah, we could probably tone down the penetration values on the new guns. Just tried out an H-44 build with 530/75's. Two tapped an enemy BB with HE, the shells went clean though the turret face. An HE shell. Went through the frontal turret armor on a BB. I like it, but holy shit that's the least balanced thing I've seen in a while.

While we can be pretty sure this is down to the new Citadel system and the new guns, I don't think this is working as intended. Case in point: IJN Amagi coming down with a horrific case of British Battlecruiser syndrome. 2 minutes in and she's been destroyed, with a single shell somehow beating the 781mm of effective deck armor. The problem with this is the fact that the shell was only 317mm in caliber, and shouldn't have been able to pull of this kind of shot. That's not me making shit up either based on the caliber of the gun, the game agrees with that assessment. At this range, the 317mm gun can penetrate up to 665mm of armor, over 100mm less than what it just penetrated. What Just Happened SHOULDN'T BE POSSIBLE According To The Game Itself. I've got a theory here. Note the location of the impact, right behind Z turret. That area is outside the citadel, but still within the same hull section on the ship, and only has 25mm of armor. This same sort of thing is present on one of my BB's, which has also had impossible ammo dets. The shells that detonated the mags on this ship landed just in front of A turret, outside of the citadel, but in the same hull section as it, an area that only has 25mm of armor. On one occasion with this ship, its mag was detonated by a 10" shell landing in that exact area, which couldn't break through the main protection of the ship, but could easily go through 25mm of armor. My theory is a hit on a hull section that is only partially covered by the main belt and deck armor can score citadel hits by getting though any part of the armor on that hull section, rather than beating the primary armor.

Anyone one else getting unexplainable ammo dets? I've had one of my BB's blow up in my face from shots that should not have beaten the armor twice now, and I'm not sure what's causing it. Once by a 15" at about 15km, and another time by a 10" at 12km. 15" hit the main deck, which was itself, 15 inches thick. 10" hit the main belt which was 2 feet thick. I'm 95% sure those shells couldn't have gotten through, but they got all the way down into the main mag and detonated it. Is there something I'm missing here? I'm using the additional layer of armor that came with the update, but I'm pretty sure this is a bug

I've got some more Auto-designer feedback here. It would seem as though the AI's tendency to overload their ships with as many weapon systems as possible might have something of a drawback due to the target signature mechanic. I managed to achieve 100% Main Gun Accuracy at over 16 kilometers away. Yamato's gunners were pretty good historically, but this level of accuracy is pretty insane. 6" guns opened up at 15.9km, and had 72% accuracy for the first salvo. I'm 95% sure this is down to the target signature mechanic, as the target I was shooting at looked something like this: While the ship is rather large at ~85,000 tons, the issue comes from the fact that it's signature is being massively inflated by the hilarious amount of secondaries it carries. All of the smallest turrets are triple 4" guns, with larger guns up to 7" in caliber also present. There's also 4 torpedo launchers on the deck, adding even more to the signature, in addition to the massive superstructure, and 3 19" twins, one of which has a barbette exclusively to fire over even more secondary guns. The excessive target signature stat was enough of a hinderance to the ship that the majority of her secondaries didn't even get the chance to fire before being sunk. This was a 2v1, so I had another target to engage for comparison, and this problem did not occur. Whilst accuracy was still good, ~50% at 12km, it wasn't completely over the top, like with the first target, as this ship had a more rational amount of secondaries. There's other issues with this ship, namely the poor main battery firepower for her weight, and the amount of different calibers for her secondaries, but iirc those issues have already been brought up in this thread, so I won't go into them here. Quick update/edit because apparently, not only did this issue make it into 1.06, It's Somehow Gotten Worse.

1930's Germany out here fielding 40,000 ton BB's with less firepower than the Scharnhorst, smh

Got some more Auto-designer/Campaign feedback here (Seems like I'm posting something here every day, lemme know if it gets annoying for y'all) Started up a new campaign, France, 1940, Legendary w/ historic AI, and this is the BB the Germans are fielding: 6 13" guns. Armor might seem tough with 530mm max, but it really isn't as tough as it looks, only has a 362mm belt, 137mm main deck, 530/200 on the turrets. Top speed is only 27.7 knots. ~42,000 tons, the AI can build bigger, and should be on Legendary difficulty. Iirc, the limit shipyard size limit for Germany is ~82,000 tons, with 2 BB hulls available that can reach this weight, as well as a BC hull that can reach 49,000 tons. With those options available, they should be fielding at least something akin to the H-39 design for BB's, and the BC can almost reach the capabilities of Bismarck, with that design being ~51,000 tons. I've not seen the BC that was supposed to be in this engagement, pretty sure it arrived damaged and has been retreating for almost an hour now, but if this BB's design is anything to go by, it's probably not great news for the Kriegsmarine. I'll go into detail about what I would build in the AI's situation if asked, but I think I've contributed a bit much to this thread, so I'll leave it to your imagination what the AI could be capable of building for this campaign. TL:DR This BB design is hardly cut out for an Easy difficulty mode, let alone Legendary. Edit: Update on this design This design is so bad that it's started messing with campaign matchmaking. I've fought the same bloody BB 5 F***ing Times and never killed it, because the matchmaker always puts it up against cruiser formations. There's 4, soon to be 6 capital ships operating in the same area that can easily grind this thing into dust, but I'm not allowed to use my BB's/BC's because the matchmaker doesn't think it'd be a fair fight. The AI Has Created A Battleship That's So Bad That It Refuses To Put It Up Against Other Battleships. This is the first time I've ever seen this happen. I'm really hoping it's the last.

Getting pretty late in the patch cycle for this one, but I've got more battle AI feedback here. First image really speaks for itself, so I'll spare the long-winded explanation this time. But the other part of this battle is worth mentioning. There were supposed to be 6 German CA's partaking in this battle, but they've got a very good reason to be absent from it. Of the 6, 5 are horrifically damaged, and will need several months in drydock. The 6th is escorting them from the combat zone, so they aren't completely helpless should they be ambushed on their way back. The main problem is that I'm not responsible for the state of these cruisers. Aside from a stay shell that hit Scharnhorst, the French did all the damage these cruisers carried into battle. These cruisers showed up to a battle fully maned, with their ships loitering on death's door. They should have been put into long-term repairs immediately after their last battle, not sent out to die in a battle they were never going to survive. As you would imagine, these guys are basically free victory points. Letters to next of kin and empty caskets might be cheaper then the repairs needed to get these cruisers back in action, but the men aboard them are not so easily replaced. It might take a year and a half to replace a sunken heavy cruiser, but it's going to take at least 18 years to replace the men that went down with it.

Alright, I've got some more campaign/battle AI feedback here. I know I've been critical of the AI's performance in the past, especially when it comes to how it positions its units, so this might sound awfully familiar. ~30 minutes into a raid on one of my convoys, and this is the positioning of the raiding forces. As you can see, the lone Battlecruiser assigned to this raid has been sunk, and its screen is now tasked with facing off against 2 BB's, a BC, and a CA. Imo, this is not the way this battle should have gone. The division of labor is all wrong, several cruisers and destroyers were assigned to screen a capital ship against a non-existent destroyer/light cruiser threat, even more cruisers have been assigned to scout the area from which the raiders advanced to contact from, while the remainder loiters somewhere in the middle. I only have 4 ships at my disposal to counter over a dozen enemies. While my battle-line was taking on the enemy's capital ships, the enemy could have dispatched its cruisers to take out my convoy, and destroy my lone cruiser. While the enemy BC might have went down, my convoy would be already on the bottom, and Algerie wouldn't be much longer for this world. The AI could have achieved a much better result in this battle, if not winning it outright. Instead, it shoved victory into the jaws of defeat by assigning its mobile units to useless tasks.

Got some more for this thread. Decided to make myself a snack while waiting for custom battle to finish designing AI ships. Came back, ate my taco, and was greeted with this beauty. And of course, her BB counterpart.

Probably the biggest win I've ever pulled off. Thank god the Brits brought extra torpedos, not sure how I would have managed on my own. Battle of La Havre, April 1940. It'll be a while before I top this one.

I've got some more Campaign/Auto-Designer feedback here. Again, I think the AI's priorities for certain classes needs to be addressed. I'm not going to go into great detail about the role of BB's, but suffice to say that when a fleet's heavy hitters can only manage a light shove, you should return to the drawing board. 1920's campaign, Royal Navy BB is armed with 6 twin 9" gun turrets. 12 guns is pretty decent for this era, but 9" in not going to cut it against modern capital ships. There's also the issue of the penetration capabilities of these 9" guns in particular. 313.5mm of main gun pen on a BB. The majority of my CA designs have 305mm of belt armor, with some of the more specialized models having the max value of 381. That's base values however, with the currently available models of Krupp armor, and citadel style, the armor value can be increased by up to 118%, meaning that this BB can't penetrate some Light Cruisers without getting well into torp range. In fact, those same cruisers might have better penetration capabilities than this BB, as seen on the 6" casemates of my BB. The casemate battery of my BB has better penetration capabilities at 2.5km than the main battery of a RN BB at 1km. Never mind the fact that my BB has 510mm of belt armor, increased by a 118% to an effective value of over 1,100mm. The AI's BB design is going to have a very difficult time actually winning a fight against its opposite number. In my opinion, that design should have never left the drawing board, let alone left harbor. I'll also make passing mention to the fact that this is another "cold shoulder" encounter where the AI tries to run away despite having a lower max speed, I went into some detail about this issue in an earlier post, but it's still pretty frustrating to do this sort of encounter again.

Some quick campaign feedback here, pretty self explanatory. Unless His Majesty has the charisma of a cult leader, I'm not sure he can spin this one as a victory for the British Empire.

Given that the Big Seven were coming online in the early to mid 20's it seems a bit weird that smaller, more widely used guns would be at the same level of maturity (or lower) as the new highest caliber guns? Also, iirc, the 15" guns used at Jutland weren't hilariously inaccurate in comparison to the 11" and 12" guns, the accuracy was actually considered to be better on the Q.E's, but that might just be down to crew training.

Old dispersion is much, MUCH better than what we have now. I've gotten into the habit of looking for "missed" shells, because those are the ones that are actually going to hit. It's a bit ridiculous for a gunnery team to over-lead a target by exactly 800 meters for 35 minutes straight. But, that's what we have currently, the salvos landing in the same area, over and over, until a few shells magically magnetize to the enemy ship and actually score a hit. Footage of a "Veteran" BB crew engaging targets at very close range: I know the previous dispersion models might not have reflected actual gunnery practices, but it's a much better system from a gameplay perspective. It's also significantly harder to dodge shells when you don't know exactly which shells are going to hit, and have to maneuver based on what you deem to be the most likely hits. When the enemy salvo arrives down range as a cluster of shells, it's up to you to determine how best to avoid or mitigate the damage dealt, by angling your armor in a manor that will provide the most protection. When the "salvo" arrives down range as a lone shell that's 100% going to hit your ship, it removes almost any possibility of dodging, as the plot demands that shell hits its mark.

I don't have feedback here per-say, but it is an issue that I'm looking for clarification on. I'm playing as Germany and I've got two separate navies blockading me. What I want to know is how are these blockades being maintained? Against the British blockade, my forces are on par with the Royal Navy, so it seems a bit weird that they can blockade my entire coastline. Against the French blockade, my forces have superiority, so I should be the one blockading them if anything. If the blockading forces are divided, I should be able to break both blockades, but that doesn't seem to be happening. If there is simply one big Allied blockade, and the forces listed for each power are just what they have available to maintain the Allied blockade, then it should be reflected in the UI, with a "Total Enemy Power Projection" rather than two separate powers being listed as having blockades independent of each other.

Got a double feature for the thread today; First, the world's largest PT boat, and second, A "Cruiser Killer" style battlecruiser that is incapable of doing that in most scenarios, given I'm pretty sure everyone has at least 305mm belts on their CA's these days. Both vessels were constructed for the Royal Navy, 1940.

Unless IJN Mogami is one of the escorts, you're going to actually go out and hunt them down. This task can be a pretty massive pain in the a** before radar, and could take several hours of in game time.

Okay, I've got more campaign feed-back here. The amount of funds granted when starting a campaign is a bit too low. There's been a significant decline in how many ships you can get at the start of a campaign to the point where it might be a challenge creating a combat ready taskforce, let alone a competent fleet. Comparison as follows, designs are the same over both patches. 1.05 Beta: Kriegsmarine: 4 H39's 2 BC's (Bismarck doing 35 knts, lmao) 3 CB/PzShf (9x11", 30 knts) 5 Admiral Hipper's 1 CL (8x7", 35 knts) Marine Nationale: 4 BB's (12x17", 30knts) 2 BC's (12x15", 35 knts) 6 CA's (9x9", 35 knts) Royal Navy: 6 Yamato's at 30 knts, 3 Hood's, 8 CA's (8x11", 35 knts) 1.05 Live: Kriegsmarine: 4 H39's 2 BC's imagine having cruisers lmao Marine Nationale: 2 BB's 1 CA 1 CL (12x6", 35 knts) Royal Navy: 6 Yammy's. That's it. I'll admit, 6 Yamato's is a pretty threatening force, but as for France, their force is pretty meager, and Germany is going to have a very tough time getting through the first year. An increase in player funds would not be unwelcome, even on legendary difficulty.

I've got some quick campaign battle feed-back here. This is actually an issue from a previous patch, but low behold, it's back. The dreaded cold shoulder of a lone AI ship. It has taken me over an hour to find this little bugger, but now that I've found him, it is impossible for him to escape without engaging. The only way that this enemy is making it out of this fight alive is if he wins it. I have a 5 knot speed advantage over him, so simply running away like he is now isn't going to work. What the AI needs to do in this situation is close the distance, cripple/destroy my ship, and then run away. The longer it spends giving me the cold shoulder, the more opportunities I have to cripple/destroy his ship, as I have longer range guns, and 60 oxy-torps with his name on them, and he'll have no opportunities to return the favor until I get within range of his guns and torpedos. The latter will happen eventually, but there's every chance that several critical systems might be disabled by that point, leaving the AI at a disadvantage when the actual fight starts. So, from a tactical perspective, this is just a bad move on the AI's part, but that's not the end of it. For the next 20 minutes or so, I'll be clicking on the enemy ship to ensure my own vessel closes the range as fast as possible, with no further input required on my part. Beyond minute course adjustments, I don't have to do anything, no dodging torps, no repositioning in relation to other units, just one ship chasing down a single, stubborn opponent who is only delaying the inevitable. I shouldn't have to tell you that it's boring. Extremely. F***ing. Boring. However, I don't really have any other options, as I'm under a blockade at the moment, and need to take out every enemy I can to lift it. So, I have no choice as to what I'll be doing for the next 20 minutes of gameplay if I want to win the campaign.

First convoy raid proved to be the last for many German raiders. Very relieved that everyone made it through this one, only have 2 BB's atm.

One last piece of auto-designer feedback before I hit the hay, this time featuring a repeat offender. The Chinese CL hull "Compact Light Cruiser" has been the subject of some feedback before, but I swear every time this hull pops up in custom battles, there's always something weird going on with it. I probably don't have to tell you what's wrong with this one, the PT boats in Battle Stations: Pacific have a smoother ride than this. Although, credit where credit is due, at least it's a better diver than the K Class. Not sure that's entirely what the designers were going for though. I'm not sure if this is down to the hull not cooperating well with auto-designer, or some sort of oversight by the AI, but I'll see if I can put together a build that works using this hull. While I've seen this sort of thing on other ships before, it always seems to be completely excessive when this hull is involved, I think it might need some re-balancing.