Suggestion: Add Unit Veterancy

    I am now in my second game of Supremacy 1914. I really enjoyed my first one and so far this second game has been tense but very fun. I have noticed that on some maps/gamemodes the game goes a little slow and I feel like there sometimes isn't enough depth to units. So this proposal is about adding depth to unit combat/mechanics by adding a mechanic I call unit veterancy.


    How it works:

    So the just of it is the more your brigade, corps, army, etc. fights the more experience they gain in combat. Every time they win a battle individually they earn experience. If they get enough Experience then they level up in veterancy. Maybe this would give them a boost in regaining morale or a higher defense/attack value. It could also increase speed of your units. Whatever the developers decide veterancy does it should improves upon the base abilities of units in some way.


    Example:

    You're playing a country like Norway. Cleary you don't start off as a major power and you have to build yourself there. You plan on taking Denmark then Sweden and if you can Finland too. Pretty much you're going for Scandinavia. This could be difficult to do but with veterancy it would make it so even smaller armies can take down ones much larger than them. If you are playing Norway and you have defeated Sweden and Denmark the armies that survived those battles gain Experience. Then Germany moves into denmark and they are using a much less experienced army. Germany probably has a much larger army than you at this point but because of your veterancy you can take him down.


    Extra Details:

    ‣Veterancy would have a limit to balance the game

    ‣Veterancy would be different for every unit type. Ex(Fighter planes get faster where tanks just gain more defense)

    ‣Veterancy levels go down everytime you add non experienced units to an experienced unit group

    ‣Veterancy would be very easy to see and anyone within the view range can see the veterancy level

    ‣Veterancy would be gained only from battles


    The Display:

    (What Veterancy could look like on your unit groups)

    ‣Yellow Crosses: Current Veteran Level

    ‣Golden/Black Line: Experience towards next Veteran Level

    ‣Everything Else: Already in game


    My bad for the quick sketch I just wanted to show everyone a basic concept of what it could look like.


    Overall: In my few weeks of playing the game I have had lots of fun. I have been thinking of concepts that would add to the game. This has been my favourite so far so I decided to put it here. Obviously this is just an outline on what could be done. Veterancy could be taken so many different ways and it's really up to the developers if they decide to implement this. Anyways good luck to all of those in the trenches!

    It would definitely be a challenge for the devs, however, it is an idea that I like as well and have thought about it myself, along with being able to name those units that have developed some experience.

    I think this is a good idea and the gradual loss of experience if inactive would also be a good idea (but I think experience loss should be capped so that you can't entirely lose your experience.

    I definitely like the idea.

    Since my first game, it was clear to me that this was a missing poing that most of the games I know have.

    It would be a very interesting and fun dynamic, adding empathy for your most experienced units and depth to all strategies.

    It would alsso add a lot of realism, since in the real battles, few trained veteran units may have a big impact on the field.

    Please do it.

    I don't hate the idea, but I think it adds an unnecessary level of complexity that would also take away some of the realism of the game.


    Imagine a unit of 1000 infantry at 90% morale. They fight in a few battles, they survive, they drop to 60% from combat, then they rest for a few days in a high morale province, now they're back up to 90%. You stack them with another newer unit at 98%, now both are at 94%. This perspective makes veteran status relevant, that you have 1000 infantry who have survived combat.


    My perspective: an infantry unit at 90% morale is 900 infantry, not 1000. The province that produced them wasn't able to field the entire quota, so they deployed without the full complement of soldiers. They go into combat, 300 die, now they're at 60%. They go to a high morale province _where the lost men are replaced by new conscripts and recruits_ until they number 900 again. Now you add them to 980 new recruits, where the two units merge into two 940-man units, with veteran and green infantry evenly distributed throughout.


    My perspective doesn't need veterancy to be a factor, and I want it not to be, because in the real course of the game, that infantry unit is going to be one of thousands sacrificed in combat. I don't care about their back story, I just need them to die instead of the artillery.


    Veterancy should apply to named units. Maybe. And it should be a temporary morale boost for the units that are in the stack with named units.

    In this same boat, unit upgrades could happen with high enough veterancy. So like a unit could become like a calvery after so many successufl battles or likea medic so they heal themselves or something

    Quote from DevilMayCry991

    So like a unit could become like a cavalry after so many successufl battles or like a medic so they heal themselves or something

    Ignoring the complexity and frustration of managing your own units through combat, veterancy, and spontaneous transformation from one unit type to another, imagine managing a battle against an enemy who's doing the same thing.


    Your 10 green infantry defending a fortress against an approaching 10 infantry that suddenly becomes 3 cavalry and 3 armored cars halfway to the fortress, because they survived the bomber you were hoping would weaken them... It's too much.

    Changing unit type on the run is not veterancy, it's magic, and it would be a different game, I suppose.
    Veterancy is something that always happens in real life, and including it in a game makes perfectly sense.

    A 900 soldiers unit is reintegrated with 100 new people, learning from the veterans, why should 900 remain 900?