Resources
Command
"Command" or Command Points are used similarly to Metal in OTA. For S:44 the dynamic is a little different, however. Rather than building extractors or miners on metal deposits, Flags are placed on metal spots which can be captured. Capturing is simple; simply move some infantry into the radius of the flag (white circle) and they will capture it. If the enemy has already captured it, you will first have to "uncap" the flag. The length of this process depends on the number of units you have in the flag radius. Two of three infantry will do it very slowly, while 10-20 will do it very quickly. Tanks and other units can capture flags but at a very, very slow rate -- almost unnoticable for most units. Soviet Union is a bit different in this regard - their Commissars capture flags very fast, while regular infantry do so very slowly. Other than that, Command is used as a "standard" resource. All units have a Command cost to build, deploy or request. However, Command cost is not unique for every unit; rather, the Command drain of building a unit is dependant on the factory building the unit. Infantry platoons generally drain -15 command while building; vehicles, -25; tanks, -50, -75 or -100 depending on the type of tank. The main balancing factor becomes, therefore, availability; production time largely determines how available a unit is. A Panzer III and a Tiger will always drain -50 Command when being built; the Tiger will simply take much longer, and cost more Command in the long run.
Below: Flags as they appear in extended view. Captured flag icons will appear in the teamcolour of the owning player. Neutral/uncaptured flags appear white.
Logistics
Logistics has no counterpart in any TA convention.
Almost all units equipped with a weapon larger than a machinegun, from 20mm automatic cannons to 150mm artillery shells, use Ammunition. The amount of ammunition a unit holds varies, but generally, they all have a limited supply which will go down as they fire that weapon. The amount of ammunition a unit has is represented by small icons above the vehicle, which will show 3, 2, or 1 bullet, or three bullet casings with a red circle indicating it is completely empty.
To rearm a vehicle, you will need to move it into the Supply radius of a Supply-giving structure. HQ buildings, Barracks, and all Yards (Gun, Vehicle, Tank) are able to rearm units within a certain range -- mouseover the structure and a yellow circle will appear, showing that radius. Of course, rearming at these structures means having to send your tanks way back to your base -- which is why there are several other structures specializing in resupplying.
Two of these can only be made by other units deploying into them. These units are Trucks and Supply Trucks. All Trucks can deploy into a small supply stockpile, which has a small radius. The specialized Supply Truck deploys into a large-radius supply point. The third structure is built, by Construction Vehicles -- they are Supply Depots, and have an enormous radius, and serve as a major hub for resupplying your forces on the battlefield.
Logistics doesn't stop just there, however. You can't simply resupply everything for an unlimited time. Every shell a unit gains by being resupplied takes away from your Logistics amount, so you can actually run out of ammunition for ALL of your forces, making it impossible to resupply anything. There is no way to increase the amount of Logistics you generate; your forces will receive a steady supply of Logistics, arriving in "waves" every 5 minutes, which will fill up your entire Logistics storage. Naturally, increasing that storage will increase the amount of Logistics you get every 5 minutes; if you only have 1000 storage, you'll only get 1000 Logistics; if you have 10000 storage, you'll get 10000 Logistics.
Other factors play into Logistics as well. Any unit that is in the resupply radius of a Supply source -- whether or not that unit actually has a weapon that uses ammo -- will receive a rate-of-fire boost, as their proximity to supplies allows them to "waste" more ammo. This is especially important for infantry, as although the rate of fire boost is small, it quickly multiplies when you've got 50 or so infantry with a rate of fire boost which almost acts like you've got an additional 15 infantryman firing.
Units that are not in a Supply radius will not only fire slower (well, fire normally), but they'll also use a very small amount of Logistics with each shot. Though small-caliber weapons like Rifles, submachineguns and such do not have ammo, they will still drain a bit of Logistics (approximately 1 per shot) when firing outside of a Supply radius. This seems small, but can quickly add up over an extended period with a lot of infantryman. These units do NOT use up Logistics when they fire from inside a Supply radius.
Hence it is important to ensure your frontline forces have ample Supplies not only so that tanks and other vehicles can re-arm their weapons but also so that your frontline infantry have readily available supplies. This generates a sort of "supply line" mechanic, a you move supplies up to keep pace with your advancements.
Below: The crossed-out ammo icon shows that this tank is out of ammo. Move it into the radius of the Supply Stockpile so it can re-arm.
© Spring:1944 Team 2007 | Valid XHTML 1.1 | Valid CSS
