Call of War 1.5: Mechanics & New Balancing

One of the things I'm most unhappy about is the 1 hour refueling time for planes, but most times it is 30 minutes. Most but not all times I go to a base for the first time it is 1 hour. When on auto-attack it was 30 minutes. And it doesn't seem to matter what level the base is, but I'm not sure. Does anyone have a clear understanding of this aspect of the game so we can comment properly.

I don't 100% understand it as the numbers are not shown on the info but hopefully this can help a little bit.

So Airstrips (in rural provinces) have at lvl 1 a 30 minute refuel time. I am not sure what lvl 2 and 3 does as the tooltip does not say.

Air factories (in urban provinces) have the 1 hour refuel time, lvl 3 Air factories have a 30 minute refuel time.

Air strips and Air factories are different, air strips are just a simple runway whereas air factories are what you need to build your planes.

Hope this helps.

Also yes, I agree 30 minutes, 60 minutes is WAY too long for refuelling.

@freezy Maybe I don't understand what that 50% refers to, but the condition percentage of the entire stack or multiple units of the same type within a stack can go much lower than 50% before they die. By "army", I assume you mean a particular stack and not your entire army.

In anycase, I like that the condition can drop so low. With SBDE taken into account, 4 units at 25% health are about 20% stronger than a single unit at 100%.

I also noticed that the SBDE for optimal stack size is now 30 + 0.7 * condition. This is good so that low health units aren't so over powered. With the original SBDE equation, the 4 week ones would be 60% stronger than the single healthy one.

Couple things I noticed/requests.

1. If you build level one roads there is no indication of them in the province other than clicking and looking. Please add something to indicate that it exists and perhaps each level.

2. Would like a way to upgrade older units. Perhaps sending them back for a refit, or a special order type where you would set it to upgrade perhaps paying the difference in resources and a fixed amount of time per level to upgrade to new version (the unit would have to not move etc during this time).

3. In the Province Tab it is hard to order and figure out which provinces can produce stuff, since the old system had to have a Factory to produce units ordering on Factory would list all your productive provinces.

4. Was looking at Paratroopers, there doesn't seem to be an airbase requirement to build them. Not sure if this is on purpose.

5. Looking at the Espionage Tab everything seems the same, other than the gold prices are higher. It would be nice if this could be improved I would like to see a spy mission that is dedicated to figuring out where troops are or perhaps in a specific city withing a 24 hour period.

I think this is a great start, best of luck to all.

Akulla3D

Well, I do have my own feedbacks, that I will split between the horrible, the bad, the good, and the best


- The horrible

1. All buildings needing all resources to build
I understand the "realistic" part of it (to an extent), but I do believe it goes against good design.
The 06/11/2019 note said " Second we will make the game more appealing by making changes to the progression and game pace (...)"
This changes makes the exact opposite : it makes the game less clear, it creates a noobie trap and in general more complex for no added advantage.
It also forces the player to do some serious calculation to optimize productions, whereas before you would make easier strategic decision (I am currently gated by oil, where can I increase my oil production, where can i find more oil externally, how can I shift production to need less oil). Here, it is complicated.
Note that the cost in manpower is cool with me (see below the "excellent"), I am more frustrated at Metal + Oil + Supplies + Rare Material + Food for every single units.


2. Unit speed decreasing when below 50% IN COMBINATION with units not dying one-by-one.
It is realistic, certainly, but it does not work because you cannot "detach" low HP units, so if you have 1 nice unit and one slow unit, if you merge them and the average is below 50%, you are stuck with one larger slow units and can't detach the fast unit any more. It is like the blob.
This becomes REAL bad because units now don't die when below 50%. So as time passes you get those stack of say8 units at 20%, which you don't want to merge with healthy units because it will just become at stack of 9 at 24%, that is tapping fully in your resource in maintenance - and now you are actively trying to get the large stack to die. Very unrealistic.
I feel like it should be either units die like in 1.0 CoW, or units don't die like in 1.0 CoW but they don't lose stats below 50% Both => Don't work.




- The bad

1. Units price and time of production changing depending on the level of the unit.
I realize that this is made worse by the lack of information, but currently unit price, maintenance and time of production change by level. The unit progression is power is significantly more than the progression in price, but since in a city you cannot "degrade" the levels of the unit you produce (you have to produce the best available) I am in a situation where I would like to produce MORE, weaker units even weaker but I can't.
This is especially jarring for foot infantry, where the "HP producer by hour" (eg how much HP of units you create in one hour) is better for infantry level 1 than for infantry level 2.


2. Resource almost only produced in cities + units produced in cities
It simplifies the game yes, but this means that only cities became relevant in the game. The rest is just distance to cross.
In addition, it means taking cities = Less production capacity AND way less ressource for your opponent.
I would really do the opposite : cities produce units, but not that much resources (or even not at all), and provinces produce the raw materials. This way, you have a real choice on what to defend, and one to attack

Also, note that taking the supply crates or the wheat city of your opponent early game is quite simply crippling, there is no way to come back from that in a war.

3. Units (esp. infantry) having different HP by level
It makes the game much less accessible because you need to know - or check - the HP of each unit in a stack.
I feel the progression is particularly bad for infantry (35=>60, x5 difference between low level and high level), but I would accept a (smaller than currently) progression for armor.


4. Shorter combat and production time
I know where it comes from, with more players playing on mobile, and it is a change to my advantage (I am VERY active) but I believe it gives too strong advantage to the active player. I also feel it will directly impact your monetisation, as before while could compensate less activity with more gold... but not now.


- The good
1. The new "light armor" category + the general direction of the balancing

The light armor category really gives a space for the heavy armor, and - along with the decrease of efficiency of planes - it will create more diversity in the line-up of units we see. Some further balancing is obviously going to be necessary (light tank totally crippled for instance, motorized infantry being a solution to everything, ...) but still good.


2. removal of province food & supplies upkeep.
I wasn't so sure about this change, but I feel like I am now not afraid to take worthless province, and it was a newbie trap - so good.


3. Each type of units needed a specialized building + units have a level they keep when created
While it complexifies the game, I feel like it also makes the game more strategic, forces more arbitration (should I build more units of an existing team or upgrade my factory to produce better units).


- The excellent
1. Removal of building maintenance.
No more need to activate or desactivate barracks and shipyard every time production is over ? GREAT !


2. Gating by manpower
Previously, manpower was only a problem early game, after that you were gated by other resources (usually food and oil) - something you could easily increase in production or exchange (relatively easily)
I feel like the gating by manpower - the only resources where it is difficult to increase production - would in a leaner way hamper players from snowballing too much and would force more alliance.
When balanced better, I think it will be ++.
Also, I suspect it is going to be good for your monetization


- "Jury still out"
1. The new research tree with only food & manpower.


Some proposals (as a former producer / designer on mobile MMORPG, one of which is in the "really successful" category)

On building production
Buildings would require (in addition to money / manpower) :
Barracks : Supply crates
Artillery factory : Supply crates, Steel
Tank factory : Supply crates, Steel and oil
Airports : Supply crates, oil and rare materials

Upgrading a building stops production in said building (it would emulate what you wanted to make with units taking more time to produce at higher level without the frustration for the player, and also emulate IRL WW2 Germany wanting to shift production to better tanks and better planes, but just not able to afford the output loss in number)

Unit costs (in addition to money / manpower) would mirror what it costs to make the building, so planes would require rare materials (which would represent aluminium or wolfram) and oil, tank would require oil and steel. Or course, Motorized infantry would need oil.

Wondering whether I would not make infantry units "auto-upgrade" so the players would have the choice between building infantry (heavy on MP, but remain relevant) or armor (less heavy on MP, but needs to be upgraded and can be obsolescent).

Capacity to build the "not-optimal" unit (at the lower price, this is what every single MMORPG is doing). Actually, being able to do that could allow to have better units more expensive in time, too.

Raw materials are produced in not-cities, unit production can only be done in cities.

Research would cost manpower, money, but also steel/rare materials/oil for units that require them

I just come from the spanish server (it is almost dead there) to say this is almost the end of CoW.
-The game now is slower.
-Unrealistic units: the heavy tank a defensive unit? Comandos trained by Mr Bean? (the infantry level 4 is stronger in attack), the antiarplane units make the planes useless....
-is less "strategic". Before you needed to think how and where attack, now is enough with make a "megadivision" unit with 20 or more troops well combined and run without matter.
I needed to enter here and say it, I'm an old player and with this 1.5 thing, the inactive players, the "goldenboys"...this become boring. Sorry for the game.
Excuse my mistakes in english.

This change is one of most realistic changes in update: commandos never were supposed attack full infantry regimant on field. They have good Power now, but not enough strength for fight ordonance troop. It is realistic.

research requires only manpower and cash.
food was added prior to the 1.5 excursion, but is not required in 1.5

and manpower in 1.5 is in too high demand

I agree that reducing the effectiveness of aircraft against cities and ground troops is a step in the right direction. Far too many games in 1.0 are dominated by players who simply build massive air armadas and bomb everything to bits. I've not tried commandos in 1.5, but I've never been a big fan of using them anyway.

Hello,

I want connect to 1,5 COW test map.

I am commander of
NO 311 CZECHOSLOVAK SQUADRON RAF


TOP 20 Alliance od COW.
Can somebody contact me here ?


Thank you

The first round of CoW 1.5 test events started last week.
20 days left on that trial period.

Not sure when the next round will open.

@Ales B It is common event, maps were spawned from friday 19-11-08 till monday 19-11-11; you can not access this maps any more. event maps will closed after day 30 automatically. after some reballancing event version 1.5 test number 2 start again.

Hello F118, ok If you start Test 2. You write it here please ?
Second round test map will start on december 2019 ?

And is possible see what happens in test map round 1 ?

IT will be very good new feature for us

@Ales B im not from team, i say only what freezy said, that second try will follow, i don't know when.

CoW 1.5 Manpower (MP)


One thing I would change here is this.... Lower the Cap... but increase the Manpower Generation rate... I don't see the sense of having a 1,190,000 Manpower Cap when I'm generating 1,200 /h (on Day 9)



By lowering the Cap, you would benefit ACTIVE players who Spend their Manpower Frequently, and those who go inactive and come back 4 days later expecting to bank resources then do a bunch of stuff then... they would be hit with a MP cap.

Say for example a cap equal to what you could generate in 48 hours. If you go AI, no more MP is stored. Be active, and grow, fall asleep.. get overrun.

why is convoy stronger than battleships and destroyers. Convoy of 5 infantry in the sea destroyed 3 of my destroyers and 1 battleship thats impossible

Not trying to be nasty, but apparently you haven't tried to find a good answer vs users of the totally outdated Tac-attack-tactic. Many players already apply very effective counter measures and - with a balanced combined arms approach - shred the air force of those still relying on that old tactic .
In reality air force in 1.0 is only still effective vs fast land grabbing units, small (unprepared) ground forces, noobs and AI.

The even further down-grading of air force in Pokemon-CoW is totally unnecessary, but I personally don't mind, because I was not using it much anymore anyways since the update of Aug. 28th, 2018.
I do mind it, as just another example of the many misconceptions in Pokemon-CoW 1.5.

But then again, how can a game, resulting from a compromise between 2 good games (CoW and S1) be good, if it sports none of the attractions of either?

I was wondering about this, I have seen similar things in my games.

Pretty sure Freezy already replied to that issue stating it's on the to do list to patch.

Geeee.... totally forgot my updates on the 1.5 test game I am in.

Day 10 now as Über-fantastic-unbeatable-Greater-than-Great Romania (but could have done the same with any country)

250 points, though didn't really do anything the past 2 days, except mopping up Polish properties, incl. its German conquests, on autopilot.
So, had I been interested enough, I would now also have owned neighbors like France, Italy and Ukraine, taking me to 350 points. also totally forgot to take Albania and rest of Greece.
Alas, I was not really drawn to play by this new game, because it is a bit predictable and monotonous: having to do the same things over and over with almost no variety and no choice.
- Take empty province (do nothing about it as it has nothing much to offer)
- Take resource province + make sure it does not rebel (though none did; maybe not necessary anymore?), but no need to construct anything (as if there is much choice of build; not...) if single resource
- Take industrial province + anti-revolt measures + build weapon factory or barrack or both for improving moral (feeling so wrong when I write that; what on earth do barracks and weapons factories have to do with moral???? Bollocks!! Not that it is very different from choosing to build Infra or Fortress, but it is totally unrealistic and thus unappealing)

The fighting is not interesting either. Have sufficient troops to not have to look. No Think-Tank required.

Honestly, as of day 6 - which is doubtful if it was really interesting but at least had some fights, but which I would anyway win, so maybe I should say as of day 5 - I am rather bored and just farming resources and building the same limited choice of buildings over and over and again.

As opposed to S1 - which sports many of the same mechanics, but offers different challenges - I have strong feeling I would never play a 2nd game of this. Ofc, since there is this big promise of changes in the 2nd test round, I might out of feeling of duty feel I have to. But otherwise? Nope. All way too simple.

Active players down to 6 of which 3 (incl. myself were already known to be active ones)

Oh, the resource issues, but they can be tweaked: boils down to grain as in the good old days of CoW and a added manpower problem. Even when owning the larger part of Europe. Oh well.