SDN World 3 Commentary Thread I

[Siege]

I have departed from the previous game in that I'm no longer the RULER of the nation.

Welcome to the club .

And if I understand correctly the Soviet Union is ruled by a cabal of party officials rather than any single man.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I have departed from the previous game in that I'm no longer the RULER of the nation.

Welcome to the club .

And if I understand correctly the Soviet Union is ruled by a cabal of party officials rather than any single man.

It appears so.

Though that will be unusual given that there's normally a general secretary, unless I am mistaken.

[Ryan Thunder]

IIRC the idea is that Colombia built it with the assistance of a number of other nations' contributions, giving them seats on the Canal Board for operating the Panama Canal, though it is recognized as sovereign Colombian territory.

That is correct.

We'd be doing a significant chunk of it ourselves, too. I didn't aim for a 5 in industry for nothing.

[Norade]

Seems to be a trend, Portugal is ruled by a council of five who hand down orders to lesser officials and aides.

[Lascaris]

Heh heh heh, good opinion Siege.

Yeah, I think I'm going to say support troops don't count against those totals.

Not to be the spoilsport but please show me which 3 million man army was fielding 200 divisions in real life. Because if you conveniently forget these bothersome support types that's what you are getting for the very simple reason you conveniently forgot the 10,000 odd men behind each division. And if the totals don't count them then oops you just drew 50% more people off your mobilization pool. Which is finite.

Take the sime example of someone with standing army 5 and army focus 5. If we forget the support types and say they are just somewhere there in the background what he immediately brings to the colours at mobilization is oh between 93.75 and 104% of his mobilization pool. Shall we say there is something problematic in this figure?

To be even more of a spoilsport artillery brigades as described are corps and above level formations. Throwing them around willy nilly just creates absurdities like my Argentine neighbour's infantry divisions carrying around 108 artillery pieces each (in comparison to 48 for a German and 60 for a French division in 1939)

[K. A. Pital]

There is a "general secretary" and the head of the Supreme Soviet as well, but since there's more than 1 party in the Soviets (there are Bolsheviks, Left and Right Eser and a few minor other parties, due to no Civil War)... there's a cabal.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

There is a "general secretary" and the head of the Supreme Soviet as well, but since there's more than 1 party in the Soviets (there are Bolsheviks, Left and Right Eser and a few minor other parties, due to no Civil War)... there's a cabal.

So which head should any foreign minister or any head of state talk to?

[K. A. Pital]

Shall we say there is something problematic in this figure?

He drew into females. Possible in a dire situation.

So which head should any foreign minister or any head of state talk to?

Supreme Soviet. Nickolai Bukharin.

[Norseman]

So are we running as ourselves zapped into new bodies? Or is it optional? And/or will anyone do so?

Incidentally I am treating the standing army as the combat troops, but counting 25 000 for each division of the reserves. That way I won't have to rejiggle my entire Army OoB *again*.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I will work on my army OOB when i feel like it. The last time I worked on it, it was one hell of a run around because it took me a while to figure what I needed.

Rest assured, the combat engineers formation will be quite large, along with a large artillery corps and some bits of combined arms divisions.

I expect that combined arms doctrine is well enshrined in Byzantine military texts.

[K. A. Pital]

So are we running as ourselves zapped into new bodies?

I didn't get zapped, Maxim Isaev is my alter ego but it's a fully capable person with a backstory and a false memory. Anything my inner persona knows from other worlds is separate from his personality. I just can control the motivation of this character

[Thanas]

Trying to screw with my merchant shipping, I see.

Think that is a smart idea?

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Before we go indulging in gunboat diplomacy, could we trying to learn to talk first? The last thing I want is to have a nice war via the Suez canal. Do note that I won't look kindly on my business being disturbed.

[Norseman]

Remember your ship was stopped by both Shepistani and Old Dominion vessels, so it's not just one side that causes trouble.

Also... it seems that Shepistan and the Old Dominion are both interfering with the freedom of the sea as well as the free transit of shipping through the Bab-el-Mandeb, which can't be good at all for your business or anyone elses.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Remember your ship was stopped by both Shepistani and Old Dominion vessels, so it's not just one side that causes trouble.

Also... it seems that Shepistan and the Old Dominion are both interfering with the freedom of the sea as well as the free transit of shipping through the Bab-el-Mandeb, which can't be good at all for your business or anyone elses.

Well yes of course, which is why I'm asking for people to talk rather than to start shooting at each other.

Which seems to the course of action Thanas has taken by mobilizing over 30 capital ships and escorts.

[Thanas]

That would really be up to Shep and Lonestar at this point.

[Lonestar]

That would really be up to Shep and Lonestar at this point.

The ship was stopped with both Shepistani and Dominion assets.

Remember, Shepistan is a NF(5) and the Grand Dominion is a Naval Force 4.

In other words:

I'm not afraid of a fleet that would have to sail down, through the Suez Canal, and seek a secure base from which to conduct operations, and I suspect Shep isn't either.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

That would really be up to Shep and Lonestar at this point.

The ship was stopped with both Shepistani and Dominion assets.

Remember, Shepistan is a NF(5) and the Grand Dominion is a Naval Force 4.

In other words:

I'm not afraid of a fleet that would have to sail down, through the Suez Canal, and seek a secure base from which to conduct operations, and I suspect Shep isn't either.

Yeah and that was what I was thinking when I knew there was one hell of a juggernaut next door. So let's try some rationality first, albeit there wasn't much at first? Do note that the Suez Canal isn't too obligated to let battlefleets go down the canal without some negotiation with both Byzantine and Egyptian governments.

[K. A. Pital]

I'm not afraid of a fleet that would have to sail down, through the Suez Canal, and seek a secure base from which to conduct operations, and I suspect Shep isn't either.

You do realize there'll be a protracted naval conflict between you and Germany, even if Byzantium closes the Suez down? They'll send ships to raid your communications. And the system of escorts isn't working all that well right now, in fact there's none.

Want to try luck against German raiders?

And really, why should an act of wanton disregard for the general law of the sea go unnoticed? At least there should be some ire.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I might issue a statement, but I would like to know first about the time. How many months to a game year again? Technically, there ought to be a rather long time lag with regard to many effects. This isn't the late 20th century you know.

[Steve]

I believe we're going with 2 RL months per game year. So roughly a month and a half per RL week.

That said, this is still the era of telegraph and early radio, so worldwide communication can be fairly quick. There's a reason why some international stories today are reported as coming "off the wire". Telegraph wire, IOW. It's people and materials who move slow, not information, as everything has to go by ship or by rail.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I believe we're going with 2 RL months per game year. So roughly a month and a half per RL week.

That said, this is still the era of telegraph and early radio, so worldwide communication can be fairly quick. There's a reason why some international stories today are reported as coming "off the wire". Telegraph wire, IOW. It's people and materials who move slow, not information, as everything has to go by ship or by rail.

It's going to take a week or two to bring the said photos back to Berlin.

[Lonestar]

You do realize there'll be a protracted naval conflict between you and Germany, even if Byzantium closes the Suez down? They'll send ships to raid your communications. And the system of escorts isn't working all that well right now, in fact there's none.

Want to try luck against German raiders?

And really, why should an act of wanton disregard for the general law of the sea go unnoticed? At least there should be some ire.

No one is talking about about going to war with the Europeans. *puffs pipe* These are outrageous accusations.

[Thanas]

The ship was stopped with both Shepistani and Dominion assets.

Yeah, and we would have pictures of both. Though I do not appreciate you roleplaying my naval attache's, especially if the pictures have not even reached them yet. It will take at least some days gametime to do so.

Remember, Shepistan is a NF(5) and the Grand Dominion is a Naval Force 4.

In other words:

I'm not afraid of a fleet that would have to sail down, through the Suez Canal, and seek a secure base from which to conduct operations, and I suspect Shep isn't either.

So what? I have one Ally with a naval force of 5 (Cascadia), I am a five as well, plus I do have another two allies with Naval forces 4 and 3, respectively. Plus, there is the Egyptian Navy, which will not care much for your efforts either.

And I do have a secure base in the region, which is why I grabbed all that land in indonesia and I do have naval bases in East Africa as well.



I also suspect other merchant nations *cough* the brits *cough* do not care for your highway robbery either.

[Lonestar]

Yeah, and we would have pictures of both. Though I do not appreciate you roleplaying my naval attache's, especially if the pictures have not even reached them yet. It will take at least some days gametime to do so.

Hmm, I had assumed that the Mecklenburg had met a German steamer heading towards the Old Dominion,and passed on the photos immediately. I shall change that.

So what? I have one Ally with a naval force of 5, I am a five as well, plus I do have another two allies with Naval forces 4 and 3, respectively. Plus, there is the Egyptian Navy, which will not care much for your efforts either.

And I do have a secure base in the region, which is why I grabbed all that land in indonesica and I do have naval bases in East Africa as well.

Still far, far away the Northern Arbian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, especially in this (generally) pre-RAS era.