The true costs of ammunition
Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 11:11 pm
In CtGW Ammo is used by Artillery and other units to launch ranged attacks on enemy position to weaken the defender and reduce its defensive values. It allows to save ManPower (MP) due to less casualties from following ground attack against the defender and - more important - it allows (by proper planning) to take heavily defended and reinforced positions in one turn which can otherwise not be taken by ground combat, e.g. to break through an enemy front line. Ammo (at least in the first turns) is very limited. Artillery with rare Ammo in the game therefore can be seen as kind of Joker in terms of gameplay (in contradiction to real life where usually every Infantry Division has its own Artillery Brigade for support.)
(Other ways to weaken a strong defender in CtGW are reducing its efficiency by continuous Fighter attacks or by cutting off supplies due to encirclement.)
Factory costs are defined in file "game_ammunition.lua".
One time Production Point (PP) costs for (additional) ammo factories are 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, ... PP for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, ... factory (= diminishing returns). Each factory gives +1 Ammo for the rest of the game starting from the next turn.
The grand campaign runs from 1914 to 1918 for 118 turns. Imagine starting in turn 1 without any ammo production.
Buying the 1st factory for 8 PP in turn 1 results in +1 Ammo per turn for the remaining 117 turns, that is 117 Ammo for 8 PP or 1 Ammo for ca. 0,07 PP.
Buying the first 5 factories for 8 + 16 + 24 + 32 + 40 = 120 PP results in +5 Ammo per turn for the remaining 117 turns, that is 585 Ammo for 120 PP or 1 Ammo for ca. 0,20 PP. This allows an Artillery strike (10 Ammo) every second turn which costs 10 x 0,2 PP = 2 PP.
Buying the first 10 factories for 8 + 16 + ... + 80 = 440 PP results in +10 Ammo per turn for the remaining 117 turns, that is 1170 Ammo for 440 PP or 1 Ammo for ca. 0,37 PP. This allows an Artillery strike (10 Ammo) every turn which costs 10 x 0,37 PP = ca 4 PP.
Imagine now starting in turn 1 with already +9 ammo production.
Buying the 10th factory in turn 1 for 80 PP gives additional 117 Ammo for 80 PP or 1 additional ammo per turn for 0,68 PP. The 10th factory at turn 1 allows 11 additional Artillery strikes during a game which each cost about 7 PP.
80 PP is equal to 4 Infantry Units, so maybe the purchase of the 10th factory is delayed. Purchasing a factory later in the game reduces the number of turns in which we can benefit from the factory, e.g. buying the 10th factory in turn 60 gives only 58 instead of 117 Ammo but costs the same 80 PP, that is additional 58 Ammo for 80 PP or 1 additional ammo for 1,38 PP. The 10th factory then would allow only 5-6 additional Artillery strikes which each costs about 14 PP.
Buying the 20th factory in turn 58 for 160 PP gives 60 Ammo or +1 additional ammo per turn for 2,67 PP each. It allows 6 additional Artillery strikes which each cost about 27 PP (which is more than a new Infantry unit if you neglect the upkeep). (-> diminishing returns)
(Other ways to weaken a strong defender in CtGW are reducing its efficiency by continuous Fighter attacks or by cutting off supplies due to encirclement.)
Factory costs are defined in file "game_ammunition.lua".
Code: Select all
function GetAmmunitionFactoryCost(faction)
local cost = 8 * (faction.luaData.factories + 1)
return cost
endThe grand campaign runs from 1914 to 1918 for 118 turns. Imagine starting in turn 1 without any ammo production.
Buying the 1st factory for 8 PP in turn 1 results in +1 Ammo per turn for the remaining 117 turns, that is 117 Ammo for 8 PP or 1 Ammo for ca. 0,07 PP.
Buying the first 5 factories for 8 + 16 + 24 + 32 + 40 = 120 PP results in +5 Ammo per turn for the remaining 117 turns, that is 585 Ammo for 120 PP or 1 Ammo for ca. 0,20 PP. This allows an Artillery strike (10 Ammo) every second turn which costs 10 x 0,2 PP = 2 PP.
Buying the first 10 factories for 8 + 16 + ... + 80 = 440 PP results in +10 Ammo per turn for the remaining 117 turns, that is 1170 Ammo for 440 PP or 1 Ammo for ca. 0,37 PP. This allows an Artillery strike (10 Ammo) every turn which costs 10 x 0,37 PP = ca 4 PP.
Imagine now starting in turn 1 with already +9 ammo production.
Buying the 10th factory in turn 1 for 80 PP gives additional 117 Ammo for 80 PP or 1 additional ammo per turn for 0,68 PP. The 10th factory at turn 1 allows 11 additional Artillery strikes during a game which each cost about 7 PP.
80 PP is equal to 4 Infantry Units, so maybe the purchase of the 10th factory is delayed. Purchasing a factory later in the game reduces the number of turns in which we can benefit from the factory, e.g. buying the 10th factory in turn 60 gives only 58 instead of 117 Ammo but costs the same 80 PP, that is additional 58 Ammo for 80 PP or 1 additional ammo for 1,38 PP. The 10th factory then would allow only 5-6 additional Artillery strikes which each costs about 14 PP.
Buying the 20th factory in turn 58 for 160 PP gives 60 Ammo or +1 additional ammo per turn for 2,67 PP each. It allows 6 additional Artillery strikes which each cost about 27 PP (which is more than a new Infantry unit if you neglect the upkeep). (-> diminishing returns)
