DEFCON Level Benefits as well as the Type of Goverment...

Post by **BattleGoat** » Nov 15 2002

One of the aspects of the modern military that we are incorporating into the game is its alert or ever popular "DEFCON" (Defense Condition) Level. Anyone that has seen "Wargames"

knows that DEFCON 5 is Peace, and DEFCON 1 is All-out War, with 4, 3, and 2 being the steps in between.

Here's the rules, cause and effect that we are associating with DEFCONs for our game.

DEFCON 5 - At Peace. Military is on a relaxed footing, and there is no additional "Preparedness" cost to military maintenance and such.

DEFCON 4 - No Active War State. However tensions are there so your military is on a slightly heightened state of alert. There is an additional "Preparedness" cost based on the number of military personnel and units you have. The heightened Alert Level is reflected with a + 5% to Unit Efficiency.
Note - You can still technically be at War and at Defcon 4 if you have a Ceasefire in effect.

DEFCON 3 - You can actually be at war with another Region (but not Nuclear). Whenever you go to war with a Region your Defcon will automatically move to 3. Your units are on an even higher level of alert (reflected by an additional + 5% to Unit Efficiency). Correspondingly there is an even higher Preparedness cost.

DEFCON 2 - The war is heating up and considered significant... At Defcon 2 you would get not only a + 15% to Unit Efficiency but also a + 10% to New Unit Production Speed. Obviously it is offset by a markedly higher Preparedness Cost.

Finally...

DEFCON 1 - All-out, no holds barred, WAR!!! This is VERY Expensive to maintain in unit preparedness costs. However it adds a + 20% to unit efficiency and + 20% to new unit production speed. You MUST be at Defcon 1 to order use of NBC Weaponry.

Other DEFCON Modifiers - The Type of Government...

Our latest draft of the DEFCON rules also takes into account the Type of Government of your region and how that would affect the above benefits...

Western Democracy - No change to above rules. Costs grow exponentially with the Defcon Level. (Level 4 = $y / Level 3 = 2 x $y / Level 2 = 4 x $y / Level 1 = 8 x $y)

Military Dictatorship - Less expensive (haven't worked out exactly how much less yet) but get a Lower Benefit to Production (half) at DEFCONs 2 and 1.

Monarch - Less expensive (again still figuring out how much) but gets a lower benefit (half) to Efficiency at all Defcons.

Communism - Much Less Expensive but takes a hit on both the Efficiency and Production Speed Benefits (half on each).

I think that takes into account all the rules we currently have... Let us know what you think!

tkobo · Post by **tkobo** » Nov 16 2002

Looks very interesting.

Hellfish6 · Post by **Hellfish6** » Nov 16 2002

What defines efficiency? Industrial output? Military supply conservation?

Post by **BattleGoat** » Nov 16 2002

Military Efficiency relates to Initiative to firing first, reloading time, and resupply speed. Hope that helps.

tkobo · Post by **tkobo** » Nov 17 2002

Curious about the defcons levels and diplomacy.Will they have an immediate effect on the treaties in place and available to be put in place ?

Will you actually have to "declare" war on another player to be at defcon 3 or can you just both be in a "state" of war with no actual combat ?

Will others automatically know your defcon status,or will they need to use espionage to know it ?

Post by **BattleGoat** » Nov 18 2002

You can be at DEFCON 1 without actually being at war (at the moment). So if you have the money, at the beginning of a scenario, you can immediately go to DEFCON 1 to get the production and efficiency benefits.

This brings up a question, should you ONLY be able to go to DEFCON 1 if you have declared war on another region or one has declared war on you. I think that will be added to the DEFCON rules...

As for other players knowing your DEFCON, I'm not sure yet. I think so. I'd be interested in some opinions on this, but I think it will be likely. (Based on Real World US vs Russia --- The associated alert status and military posturing is likely to give the DEFCON level away.)

Hellfish6 · Post by **Hellfish6** » Nov 18 2002

Maybe instead of outright telling you that an enemy is at DEFCON 1, maybe you should get messages like "XXX's military is at a very high alert level" or "There has been a huge increase in XXX's military readiness." Maybe details and accuracy of these messages could be determined by the efficiency of your intelligence services?

Post by **BattleGoat** » Nov 18 2002

Yeah... I like that idea.

tkobo · Post by **tkobo** » Nov 19 2002

I agree also.Adds more tension to the game that way and makee espionage even more useful/needed.

Juergen · Post by **Juergen** » Nov 22 2002

I dont know why a player should only be able to go to defcon 1 if a war is already in progress.Maybe he only wants a quick nuclear exchange instead of a long conventional war.
Why limiting the players options?
If he wants to spend extra resources on being on maximum alert at all times...it should be his choice if its worth it.
Never interrupt the enemy while he is making a mistake!

Post by **Balthagor** » Nov 24 2002

The first reason we where going to limit the players Defcon is for the same reason that we give a faster production line. It is assumed that during war time everyone is at a heightened state and that is enabling the player to get better production from his (or herâ€¦) population. If we allow the player to move to â€œwarâ€ without being at war, I donâ€™t think they should get the benefit of the faster build. Also, I have been questioning if build time is, historically speaking, what regions have benefited from during war times. I was reading a book on tanks today and it mentioned that during WWII the Germans had numerous tank designs that they never had a time to field because they couldnâ€™t build enough tanks to go around. Is it more the construction or design of military equipment that should be accelerated during wartime? Or should both?

Back to the first question, if we allow Defcon 1 but donâ€™t allow the benefits, people will be confused. If we donâ€™t allow the benefits but have the penalties, we wonâ€™t allow the Defcon till war.

Post by **BattleGoat** » Nov 26 2002

To further comment... There is a sense of "Urgency" that is better perceived by your population when you are actually at war.

If you raised the DEFCON just to get a production benefit, that same feeling is gone and your population would just become weary of your Warmongering.

Post by **Balthagor** » Nov 27 2002

... which is a nice seguway into the comment that maybe maintaining a DEFCON of 1 over a long period of time should slowly chip away at your domestic approval. Maybe start to see decrease after 6 months of war?...