Welcome to the second post on my DW Historicals (DWH) project! Last time, I was simply discussing my motives and laying out some first principles. This time around, I’m going to start delving into some “nuts and bolts” discussion on development.

A Fundamental Question

For me, one of the defining characteristics of a historical game is that it has well-defined time and distance scales. Specifically, how much time is represented by each game turn? What does one inch of distance on the table equate to? With DW, these values are not specified,  since the game is more fanciful in nature and model stats are driven more by what I call a top-down focus on gameplay feel than trying to emulate a specific vessel from the past. Of course, it is possible to “retrofit” distance and time scales into DW, as I discussed in detail a few months back on this very blog, though that is admittedly a process of compromise. So, it seems only right that the question of time and distance scales is the first thing I look at for DWH.

DW: The Starting Point

Per my previous posts, I favor a time scale of 6 minutes per turn and a table scale of 1” equaling 500 yards for DW. These are not hard and fast numbers, and are based somewhat on my assumptions and also on the limits imposed by the already existing model profiles. The fact that I will be creating the model profiles for DWH gives me a little more flexibility this time around, since I will be more free to set things like gunnery ranges and movement values. However, I still have to deal with some very real physical constraints, such as the average gaming table size (6’x4’) and the size of the models I plan on using (1/1800 in this case). In addition, per my principle of changing as little as possible from DW, I see some value in trying to keep movement distances for ship types  (battleships, cruisers, destroyers, etc) broadly similar to their DW counterparts.

Table Scale Considerations

The single biggest consideration for table scale is, in my opinion, gunnery ranges. Ideally, I would like to emphasize maneuver in DWH by permitting fleets to maneuver for a turn before coming under  heavy fire. That would drive us towards keeping the 32” maximum shooting range from DW, which works well with the long table edge deployment that game uses. The question then becomes, what were the historical gunnery ranges for WWII era ships? The longest ranged guns were of course to be found on the battleships, with the biggest guns having maximum ranges on the order of 42,000 yards(!). However, those were maximum ballistic ranges; the maximum range at which a ship could physically throw a shell. Such ranges outpaced the fire control systems available at the time, meaning that hitting a target at such distances was nearly impossible. In fact, the longest gunnery hits ever recorded during battle conditions were on the order of 26,000 yards. As such, 26,000 yards is a good candidate as a working number for the max range in DWH. Simple arithmetic tells us representing 26,000 yards in 32” results in a scale of roughly 1”=800yards.

One question that naturally comes to mind, however, is if that extreme range matches the typical battle ranges during WWII gunnery engagements. The answer to that is complicated; in general, the doctrine among the major naval powers seems to be that the max range for opening fire was around 30000 to 35000 yards. For example, the HMS Hood and HMS Prince Of Whales initiated their ill-fated engagement with the Bismark and Prinz Eugen at about this range during the battle of Denmark Strait. However, getting hits was highly unlikely; post-war studies done by the US Navy suggest that the hit rates at those ranges would be around 3%. From that study and from looking at a few of the more prominent historical engagements, it seems that the maximum effective range for battleship gunnery during WWII was around 20,000 yards. Interestingly, this number also matches the standard max gunnery range used for Axis & Allies War at Sea. Going with this 20,000 yd range, 32” translates into 1”=600 yards, which is a reasonable number but would necessitate some sort of Extended Range MAR to allow certain ships to shoot far enough to better represent their historical performance (something that War At Sea has to do as well). The table below summarizes the ranges that each DW range band would equate to for a series of assumed table scales:

Speed Considerations

Table scale cannot be considered based on gunnery ranges only, however. Also important to consider is the desired distance we would want our models to move each turn, and this also brings in time scales. Determining what is the “right” distance for a model to move depends on a few factors. First of all, I think there is an argument to be made for having a model to be able to move a distance roughly equal to its own length, in order to give the game a dynamic feel. At 1/1800, ships top out around 6 or 7” for the largest battleships and carriers. That nicely lines up with the Mv values for large ships in DW, meaning that I might be able to use similar movement values in DWH and keep a similar feel. The time scale also factors into this in a major way, since of course distance moved is the product of speed and time. The following charts summarize these two variables:

To my thinking, it would be best to have a Mv value of 6″ rougly equal 20 knots. This was the top speed of older battleships during WWII, so going with this relationship should keep things fluid on the tabletop. It also means that the same top range of 12-13″ of movement can be maintained, since that is where most ships of the era topped out.

Conclusion

Where does all this lead? Well, considering all the factors above, I’m setting the DWH table scale at 600yd/1″ and the time scale at 6″. This has the advantage of allowing me to use many of the norms established for unit stats in DW, sets up a game where both sides can still maneuver before shooting opens, though it will require I come up with some kind of extended range mechanic for battleships.

Until next time!