Unexplained Interphase NW changes for England

[dougbush93]

I am playing a CG as the Entente, using turn-based option, but not Army-by-Army. I noticed some interphase NW moves that didn't make sense the last 2 interphases, so for this one I documented things.

This is the interphase of Nov-Dec 1915 (see first save file, which is saved with all interphase selections done, right before clicking "continue")

Here are how things appear to have played out for each power:

England Start Point

NW 18
Parliament at 0

Political Actions Selected:

Improve Morale
Strengthen Parliament
Restore Order (there is an uprising in African colony)
New Government

Results (from message boxes and the game log):

These are listed in the order they should have occured, based on page 81 of the manual

I) Parliament Test fails (this is the standard Parliament check at start of interphase) / Parliament to Level -1

II) Submarine Warfare result is -20EP, the message doesn't say anything about NW, but this should be -2NW according to the manual, assuming Germany is at unrestricted submarine warfare.

At this point, NW has not changed from the end of the turn, so it should still be at "18".

III) Adjustments to NW

Normal End of Turn: None (losses were 0, no conquests)

Interphase Adjustments:

Civil Production level 6, so +3 NW
Parliament at -1, so -1NW
Strat Warfare result, -2NW

Net: Nets out to +0, so should still be at "18"

IV) Political Actions

Restore Order Fails -1 to NW
Strengthen Parliament Fails -1NW
Improve National Morale Fails +0NW

At end of this phase, NW should be at "16"

V) NW and Length of War

With NW at 16, there should not be any impact, but I got a message (three times) in the log saying "Due to the length of the war England NW is impacted by -2"?

Assuming the log message was accurate, England NW should now be at "14"

VI) Instability Test

I don't get any messages about Strike or Mutiny Test, even though NW should be at "14", which gives a chance for both?

There also should have been a stability test with the NW at 18, but I did not see a message saying what the outcome of the stability test was?

The manual says "new government test" under this section, so I assume this is when the new government political action should take place, although I got the message on it at the same time I got the other three political action messages?

Regardless, the New Government political action succeeds, so England NW goes to 29 (this should be 27 according to the manual, not 29??) Parliament stays at level -1.

VII) Production

Done, no NW impact

VIII) Generals

I did not make any changes

End Result

NW at 26, Parliament at -1

A few things don't look right:

The NW level is wrong, based on the order things should have happened in, by at least 3? By my calculations and the messages I got it should be at 29?

The New Government action also reset the NW to 29, not 27 as it should have, so maybe that is part of the problem with the end result.

England (and all other powers) appear to have taken a -2NW hit for length of war, regardless of their NW level. According to the manual, length of war NW reductions only happen if a nation has NW 35+ (in 1915).

Even though England should have been at a level where a stability test should have happened in phase VI, none appears to have taken place (at least, I didn't get a message)?

As I said earlier, the messages and log entries were not in the sequence shown above, but I am assuming that this was the order they happened in, based on the manual. The sequence is critical, especially when the New Government test takes place, since it reset the NW to 29.

In general, the out of sequence messages and lack of a summary of some kind makes it very hard to understand what is happening in the interphase. Rather than 10-15 separate messages, maybe just one big message showing all the changes to NW and Parliament level? Another summary message showing the Strategic Warfare outcomes (for both sides) would also be very helpful. Right now I have no idea if Germany is at all-out submarine warfare, or what the result of my blockade on Germany was this turn.

I have attached the save file, so Calvinus can try to replicate.

-Doug

[Nial]

As I have pointed out before. Your length of war modifier hits you at least twice, and I have had it hit me thrice before. So that can add an extra -2 to -4 every interphase.

Nial

[calvinus]

It looks extremely complex...

But don't worry, as soon I will finish the Events section of the manual and the Naval AI improvements + bug fixing, I'll work on that!

Thanks,
Calvinus.

[dougbush93]

Well, this is a complex game

I think the key issues are straightforward:

1) Making sure the sequence of checks / events in the interphase matches what the manual says

2) Finding a way to make sure players are notified and informed of all the things that happen in an interphase

3) Providing some way for players to see what is happening in Strategic warfare, on both sides.

Hope that helps. Keep up the good work.

Doug

[calvinus]

Yes, surely it helps. The game is deadly complex...

[Bern]

I would so support the idea of a summary. The information as currently provided can be bewildering and sometimes contradictory. For example if you have, say, three attempts to restore order and one succeeds, you will get two messages of failure and one of success. I am old and easily bewildered .

Bern

[calvinus]

I would so support the idea of a summary. The information as currently provided can be bewildering and sometimes contradictory. For example if you have, say, three attempts to restore order and one succeeds, you will get two messages of failure and one of success. I am old and easily bewildered .

Not contraddictory. You got the messages for each single attempt. So you got two failures and one success.
Remember that with each Restore Order action you eliminate one rebellion/strike, not all ones.

[Bern]

Not contraddictory. You got the messages for each single attempt. So you got two failures and one success.
Remember that with each Restore Order action you eliminate one rebellion/strike, not all ones.

You're right, I phrased my response badly - sorry

Bern