Tweaking the partisans

[Il Duce]

For SR2020...

I would hope to see partisans used much more effectively - for instance, there should be about a 20% probability that when a partisan group does form, it should destroy bridges, sections of road, and possibly ports and airstrips, if they can get there. This would make them effective tools of an AI regions' tactical toolbox - they would be more than just a nuisance but would have a real effect on supply and logistics, the customary venue for resistance groups. The players' response would be more than just firefighting - it takes a long time to fix a bridge. Perhaps a note from the ops minister indicating that a units' arrival was delayed because partisans changed all the road signage... Note - as a raging paranoid, I rarely see partisans as I typically leave a good skeleton suppression force behind me as I go. This is the typical deployment for all those obsolete or one-off units that I inherit at the start of a game.

Along the same lines, it might be nice to have MP's and/or police infantry [more than just garrisons, and partially mechanized], to help us nasty despots terrorize and suppress the captured populace. These should be used primarily as counter-insurgency units to patrol bridges, roads, towns... and don't get me started on secret police units. After all how can you claim to be a Stalinist without the KGB et al? Western regions could get DEA advisors and big grants. The point being that it costs money, personnel and time to control captured territories, and having units to represent that function would force those allocations.


One other odd thought - if you are going to add religion as a factor, is there any thought about adding embedded media to forces? This would be a way to introduce public opinion factors into civrelate - and you could also have wonderful video interludes using stock footage. Just kidding, I think.

[red]

I would hope to see partisans used much more effectively - for instance, there should be about a 20% probability that when a partisan group does form, it should destroy bridges, sections of road, and possibly ports and airstrips, if they can get there. This would make them effective tools of an AI regions' tactical toolbox - they would be more than just a nuisance but would have a real effect on supply and logistics, the customary venue for resistance groups. The players' response would be more than just firefighting - it takes a long time to fix a bridge.

I would mostly agree so long as the AI knew how to repair infrastructure. If it doesn't, it wouldn't be all that appropriate. But, OK, it does--then, I can see bridges being destroyed, but there's no way that a motorway can be destroyed with the firepower available to a partisan unit, nor a sufficienctly long stretch of rail (7km+) to justify destroying it on map. But I would think a supply penalty appropriate.

Along the same lines, it might be nice to have MP's and/or police infantry [more than just garrisons, and partially mechanized], to help us nasty despots terrorize and suppress the captured populace.

I dig, but if and only if there are meaningful ties between character here and character in other government functions and government type. Otherwise you'd see liberal democracies brutally supressing captured populations without suffering negative effects, and that just doesn't happen in real life. (OK, you can allow it if you factor in news media and population awareness ratings.)

[Il Duce]

yep - for partisans scale is a problem, but they can and do present significant effects in real life - like ticks. So in this respect, I wouldn;t mind if they could not out one hex of road. This would make up for them not being able to disrupt telephone lines and other things that would normally be in their scope.

And yes, I am explicitly assuming [hint hint] that the 2020 AI will know how to build and repair infrastructure. Along those lines, for a human player who for reasons of interest and challenge selects a region very prone to significant losses, it would be nice if they [the human player], who has lost say 30% or more territory, were magically and infrequently able to commission and direct partisans behind enemy lines - or at least were able to allocate some funds to the partisan part of the engine to encourage partisan development in their lost territory [if not actually able to direct them].

I suppose the right term for this would be assymetric warfare [although I prefer 'dirty tricks'], and it is certainly a reality today and can be safely predicted to continue. I know this conjures up visions of militant jihadis, but I would note that the Isaelis and former Soviets [for instance] also used a similar type of doctrine. It would definitely add some dimension to the game. There could be a scenario dedicated to this kind of doctine called 'The Mouse That Roared.'