Strategus Supply Lines

[Panoply]

Alright, I might be wrong because I'm new to this whole strategus thing, but my understanding is that currently, you can only transfer troops and equipment to people are who right on top of you on the map. I gather that this was changed from the previous system because people were transporting troops and equipment instantaneously across the map using a relay system with multiple characters.

My suggestion is rather than reducing the distance across which you can transfer, simply make it so that each transfer is not instantaneous but takes a set amount of time to process, say an hour (or whatever). In this way, you could still relay supplies faster than one person walking the whole way themselves, but it would not nearly be instantaneous, especially across greater distances.

Possible implications of this suggestion:
1. If you can find a group of people you trust, you can transfer supplies faster by co-operating, than you could alone.
2. Supply lines become a strategic consideration, and maintaining a constant supply line between fiefs would be important.
3. Supply lines can be a target of an attack to disrupt them (what actually happens when to an army when it is defeated?), providing more opportunities for open field battles as opposed to sieges, as well as a role for smaller armies.
4. Longer supply lines would be more vulnerable than smaller ones, sparser ones more vulnerable than more redundant ones.
5. Supply lines or the protection of supply lines could be contracted out, providing a potential role for smaller, fiefless factions.
6. Anyone involved in the supply line has the opportunity to defect, whether by abandoning the supply lines, transferring the supplies to a third party instead, or what have you, creating more possibilities for espionage and under the table dealing.

[Roran Hawkins]

+1 I like the idea of supply lines or trade routes, with independant factions that guard them, and raid them. This gives a use for these pesky caravan guards  (just kidding)

[Bulzur]

Hum.
Why ?
-Realism : If you give equipment gold, it's normal to be in exactly the same spot
-Balance : Hard to track where is wich equipment for bandits, since spotting one person is not enough, they must also watch who comes in the transfer radius.
-We make caravans and protect them. Thus sending one player with troops and items to journey through the world. We don't need thrid party. We only trust ourselves.
-Supply lines shouldn't be something estyablished, but something player controls. You can attack a player you suspect is transporting good. You can't just attack a road or whatever. Such things don't exist too at the moment.
-Pretty much more time to code for not so much benefit. So at the moment : no.

[Spa_geh_tea]

A better suggestion is to put roads on the map, so if characters follow the roads they get a map movement speed bonus. In this way roads will become key asserts to the game, thus patrolled or bandit camped.

[Panoply]

In reverse order...

-Pretty much more time to code for not so much benefit. So at the moment : no.

Not really, since at the heart of it, I'm just suggesting the old system but with a time limit on transfers, the supply line behavior is emergent, I think.

-Supply lines shouldn't be something estyablished, but something player controls. You can attack a player you suspect is transporting good. You can't just attack a road or whatever. Such things don't exist too at the moment.

Supply lines are just a bunch of players connecting their transfer radii from point A to point B. Don't know how this isn't player controlled or what you mean by attacking a road? It'd be nice if it was possible to scout the number of items a person has, so that you're not shooting in the dark. However supply lines could be disrupted without knowing this by just attacking any link in the supply chain.

-We make caravans and protect them. Thus sending one player with troops and items to journey through the world. We don't need thrid party. We only trust ourselves.

Yup and you could still do that with my suggestion, and it might be safer, but not as fast. I imagine that such convoys are more like armies in and of themselves rather than caravans. Third parties might be necessary for long supply lines or for secret ones that are more subtle than a bunch of people from the same faction standing in a line. I can even imagine neutral factions establishing permanent "roads" and transporting goods for anyone, earning a tithe general amnesty due to their usefulness to many factions.

-Balance : Hard to track where is wich equipment for bandits, since spotting one person is not enough, they must also watch who comes in the transfer radius.

Yeah, more scouting info would be nice, but as I said, you can disrupt their supply lines without knowing what particular person has the goods, forcing them to use a conventional methods of transport.

-Realism : If you give equipment gold, it's normal to be in exactly the same spot

Use your imagination. Supply lines could represent player built roads, maintained and patrolled by the players that form the supply line. This could be reinforced by a graphical representation, but that's not necessary. As it stands, "caravans" more resemble travelling armies, and as a result so do "bandits". Supply lines are more vulnerable to small parties, and would likely be patrolled and defended more by smaller parties as well. Individual player armies could be useful for more than just funneling their troops to their commander's army.

A better suggestion is to put roads on the map, so if characters follow the roads they get a map movement speed bonus. In this way roads will become key asserts to the game, thus patrolled or bandit camped.

That's not a bad idea, and I'd support it. My suggestion requires less work and in a way, let's players choose where the "roads" are.

[Bulzur]

S you're quite new to this strategus thingy but you're suggesting we go back to the way it was not only before, but before it was changed too. Then you're not really new.
Got me confused there.

Even with adding a timer, it wouldn't be enough.
Example, A-B-C-D are doing a supply line.
They started it well, and at the moment everyone got 100 troops and D is recruiting, and teammates are sending him troops. So he has 100troops each hour.
B sends 100 troops to A.
C sends 100 troops to B
D sends 100 troops to C.
Next hour : same thing. Next, same, next same. What does it do actually : D sending 100 troops to A. Since B and C (and all other possible inbetweens) don't ever have more than 100 troops.

Nothing is wrong with the current "i need to be very close to transfer troops and equipments". You can even do your beloved supply line, you'll just need 5x as many players.

[Panoply]

No, I am new, but I've talked to people about how strat used to be. Anyway, that shouldn't matter.

The scenario you depicted is accurate. The idea is that it's faster than D running his 100 troops to A. People along the supply line might also be recruiting, but you've got the basic idea.

Yes, there's nothing wrong with the current system. My understanding is that it was changed to stop instant supply line abuse. I'm just proposing that rather than reducing the transfer radius to near nil, just have transfers not be instantaneous. That way, we prevent abuse while keeping supply line behavior and its strategic implications.

These supply lines aren't "beloved" to me, and I resent the tone. I just think this simple change in mechanics would lead to a more interesting game, with more open field battles, more roles for independent and small faction players, and greater strategy. I think the Caravan Guild is especially well placed, given its RP theme, to develop the potential of supply line mechanics.