Submarines given the ability to attack neutral players without triggering a war

    Giving subs the ability to attack neutral players would add an interesting new tactical/espionage aspect to the game, not to mention an additional layer of historical accuracy. In WWI, subs sank neutral cargo/civilian ships frequently; famously, the Lusitania.


    It could be useful in situations where an opposing player is becoming a threat but you don't want to risk an open war with them yet. You can covertly hurt them a little-by-little by having your subs attack their sea-units without them knowing it's you. It adds a new level of risk to sending troops unprotected overseas, and makes players play 'detective' in trying to figure out who is sinking their ships.


    Propositions:

    • Submarines have the ability to attack neutral players' units in the sea, without triggering a war with that player.
    • the subs' nationality will remain hidden during attacks. Their nationality will be revealed if the sub is defeated, or maybe, through a similar chance-roll system spies have at being caught.
    • The feature can function like a new "Fire Control" setting, like "AGGRESSIVE," but exclusively for subs.

    I really like the idea. However, submarines would then quickly be overpowered. There needs to be a disadvantage when attacking neutral units. A kind of vulnerability. Perhaps the submarine loses oil in the process or draws a color line behind it that can be traced back to the attacker. In any case, you have to be given the chance to solve the case. e.g. by driving a cruiser to the place within 2 days and choosing "reconnaissance" or something like that.

    Quote from TMagma

    To counter subs, if that's the case then subs will have to appear for some time before diving again.

    Thats even more realistic. Not sure what real life says, but what if they have to "watch out of the water" every 2 days for like 4hrs or something like that.

    Quote from ISCO

    I really like the idea. However, submarines would then quickly be overpowered. There needs to be a disadvantage when attacking neutral units.

    I think what would prevent subs from becoming overpowered is simply their relative weakness as offensive units. Subs have no problem taking out single units, but even moderately sized stacks of infantry quickly overtake them. To use them effectively in this manner you'd have to avoid large armies, making this new feature quite limited.