Naval combat

[Puzz3D]

Anyone remember an old Microprose title called Task Force: 1942? It is my favorite surface naval sim ever. This game has a great campaign that allows you to control DE to BB as USN or IJN as you try to influence the outcome ashore on Guadalcanal.

I went with the Great Naval Battles series. It had its problems in the surface combat model and poor tactical AI. Even so, I found GNB II Guadalcanal quite interesting mostly for the carrier ops, and played it a lot.

There’s nothing quite so satisfying as observing shot fall until you straddle your target and see the hits.

That's the main attraction of Fighting Steel. The FSP has brought the realism of the combat model to a high level, and the AI is good. However, there is no land, aircraft or submarines in the tactical game. The Thunder at Sea wrapper provides those aspects at the strategic level. Damage to ships and other stats such as remaining ammo are passed between the strategic and tactical games. In a recent Bismark breakout scenario I played, the Bismark was hit by a torpedo during an attack by swordfish planes on the strategic map which slowed it to 10 knots (a very lucky hit). Later a British task force of 2 BB's, 10 DD's and 1 CA intercepted the two German ships, and Fighting Steel was invoked to play out the battle. The Bismark didn't stand a chance against such a force, and the 10 knot max speed prevented it from disengaging. At the end of the scenario, the Bismark was heavily damaged and dead in the water. The DD's which were left to finish her off failed because they needed one more torpedo hit than they got. However, the Bismark wasn't going to escape back on the strategic map because she was dead in the water. The British Task Force re-engaged, and when Fighting Steel was invoked again, the BB's quickly sank the Bismark.