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Atlantic Fleet

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Atlantic Fleet

#2
First impressions:

 
  • Great graphics
  • Great sound
  • Damage modelling is well done.  Not hit point based, but rather where you hit them determines the damage
  • Torpedo attacks can be difficult to execute.  Even with the tutorial, how to perform the attack is a bit vague. I think they could integrate a better system.
  • Attacking subs is not too difficult but the problem is that you are at a pretty good disadvantage on your attack run.  The subs seem to be very accurate with the way the turn-based attacks go.  Maybe it is something to practice tactics with, but approaching subs directly can be suicide.
I am playing the Kriegsmarine in the campaign.  So far, I am doing well, achieving 3 stars (max) for each  encounter.

Atlantic Fleet

#4
Actually sailed the Hood just a bit ago. :)

 

Finished the British campaign.  The more I play this game, the more I like it.  It is a bit different from other turn-based games, but once you get used to the dynamics of it, you'll see that it works well in the game.

 

Things I find lacking in the game:
  • No player control over damage control.  It's all behind the scenes that gets worked on over turns
  • You start way too close together in engagements, even when choosing the start at long distance option in the game menu.  While good in some situations where you have the initiative (you attack first) and you have DDs that can close rapidly and launch torpedoes, on the flip side if you have a carrier, the enemy will put it under fire easily whether you have the initiative or not (It takes 2 turns to launch aircraft and if the flight deck is on fire, air ops are suspended).
  • Submarines/U-boats are overpowered.  While they can be easily sunk when a DD is on top of them, their reload ability is so rapid that if you are the DD, it's very difficult to get a run on them,  NEVER approach submarines head on.  Even going aside of them can spell doom if you are too close.  By the time it is your turn, the salvos will likely get you before you can turn to avoid them.  You can avoid one salvo, turn for another approach and then another torpedo salvo comes at you.  That's a pretty impressive reload of the tubes for submariners!  The real frustrating part of submarines is that you can be right on them almost ready to drop depth charges and they can disengage and leave battle.  That should not be possible.
  • No save function in battle.  This could spell doom for you in the campaigns where if you lose your ships, you might not have enough Renown points to buy more...thus making you "lose" the campaign and have to start it all over.
  • Star shells - While cool and do light up the enemy, it doesn't appear to gain you any increase in accuracy for your next volleys.  
  • Aerial torpedoes may be a bit over-powered.  Historically, aerial torpedoes had less explosives in the warhead than ship/sub launched torpedoes.  It would follow, that it would take more of them to critically damage or sink a ship.  Then again, in the game, where you hit a ship determines its damage.  So...this may be a case of me hitting them in the right spots.  I've sunk a BC with two aerial torpedoes....I would have thought that their torpedo belts would have limited the impacts.  

Atlantic Fleet

#5
Doing the Battle of the Atlantic mode now.  Started as the British and the u-boats were just simply crushing me.  Switched to the German side and doing a little better but I don't have many vessels.  My surface raiders and u-boats are doing well but my light cruisers and some DDs were lost to British surface ships.  The problem on the German side is that you don't get any Renown points for sinking merchants (which I think is wrong) so it is very hard to build new ships.  The game only gives you renown for sinking warships.  This severely limits your naval build strategy. :(

Atlantic Fleet

#8
Won the battle of the Atlantic before the US even entered the war.  U-boats were wrecking havoc.  Only big loss I had was the Graf Spee which blew up unexpectedly from damage as she was headed back to port for repairs and the Scharnhorst.  The Scharnhorst was fighting the Nelson and I thought I had the upper hand for the first two thirds of the battle but she landed some serious critical hits at the end.  I left the Nelson crippled though and was moving my uboats to surround the area she was in.

 

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Atlantic Fleet

#9
Playing the British in the Battle of the Atlantic is a stark contrast on difficulty.  The u-boats are just so deadly a force.  It is very hard to keep your destroyers alive.  I've eliminated most, if not all of the German surface forces but those u-boats have cost me a lot in the war.

Atlantic Fleet

#10
Completed the Battle of the Atlantic as the British.  Much harder than the German side due to the effectiveness of the u-boats.  Turns out that having carriers didn't help all that much due to how easy they could be taken out by the uboats before you could launch planes.

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