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The new military module: What does it mean to you?

We don't have all the details yet, and we haven't seen it in action either, but there seem to be a couple of big things in play.

First, to quote the Admins: "all the weapons (riffle, artillery, tank and air unit) have the same level of damage..." That's a big one. They're essentially saying that all weapons are created equal. Does it really matter if you're in the tanks, the artillery, the air or the rifles? It doesn't seem like it. Apparently the only way in which this will have an effect is in terms of personal skill. I'm not sure I agree with this. Why have different branches and different weapons if there isn't going to be an effect from having those skills? The problem with weapons in the flash version of the game was that a tank had a massive advantage over an artillery piece (for example) if both were being used by people of the same skill level. What I'd prefer to see is a small difference reflecting the different qualities of the various weapons. As it stands what we really have now is just the old "weapons" category split in four.

For me the big thing to look at is attributes. They've gone from four attributes (Damage, Attack, Defense, Duration) to two (Firepower = Damage, Duration). However they've also changed the Duration. Instead of 20 customization points equaling 20 uses, 20 customization points now equals 2 uses. This of course means that weapons will be used up more often than before. Companies get 30 customization points for each level of quality, so a Q1 company gets 30 customization points while a Q5 company gets 150 points. Maximum points in either category is 100. Current companies had their attributes allocated on a 2/3 attack, 1/2 duration basis. That means that every existing Q2 Company with 60 points has an attack power of 40 and a duration of 2. This can of course be changed but such a change means loss of existing inventory.

For manufacturers the question becomes "Bang for the Buck" versus "Bangs for the Buck." Do we customize to maximize attack power of number of uses. That's not so much a problem with Q5 companies but for the rest of the manufacturers it is a bit of a balancing act. When business were setting up for the Flash Game we had no idea of what was going to work. As it turned out the military wanted maximum Damage and Attack with Duration and Damage being the least important aspects. The CAF also wanted only Q5 weapons regardless of price. NOW what are they going to want.

Here's how a typical Q2 Artillery Company (mine) would break down in terms of Cost per Damage (Bang) and Cost per Duration (Bangs). The combinations are all Damage/Duration, and this can be applied for other weapons systems:

Price: $10.05
50/10 Bang $0.201/point Bangs $10.05/use
40/20 Bang $0.251/point Bangs $5.025/use
30/30 Bang $0.335/point Bangs $3.35/use
20/40 Bang $0.503/point Bangs $2.513/use
10/50 Bang $1.005/point Bangs $2.01/use

As a second comparison, let's look at cost effectiveness between a Q2 weapon as compared to a Q5 weapon. Both have the 2/3 - 1/3 ratio.

Q2 $10.50 Bang $0.251/point Bangs $5.025/use
Q5 $60.60 Bang $0.606/point Bangs $12.12/use

Finally one thing to be aware of: I suspect that weapons of every type are likely to be in short supply for a while. There are two reasons for this. First, most weapons companies have been shuttered because demand hasn't been there. It will take them some time to get back to fully operational status, and if any want to change their attributes they are going to want to clear inventory. Secondly I suspect that there are at least some companies that won't be coming back, companies that were abandoned on the market by owners who have quit the game. They won't be back.