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shamrock
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Los Angeles, CA
Jul 1999 time: 05:14
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I would highly recommend the inclusion of the sub/cruise missile weapon system.
In any tactical scenario (war scenario, not civ scenario), the U.S. is going to make extensive use of cruise missiles. In reality these would be the air-launched variety (ALCM) or the sea-launched variety (TLAM). Within the civ paradigm, you're really limited to just having submarines launching these puppies (or units w/ the sub flag).
I would definitely consolidate these aircraft types as much as possible. In my scenario "Allied Force," I gave the U.S. a bunch of aircraft (the concept was to win with airpower only), and I tried to deliniate the roles as much as possible, but in the end, I think the plane types were too similar. My concept was something like this:
A-10, nil, 1, 12.,6, 12a,5d, 1h,3f, 28,0, 0, AFl
AH-64, nil, 1, 8.,8, 12a,4d, 1h,4f, 24,0, 0, CA
F-15, nil, 1, 32.,2, 14a,8d, 1h,4f, 40,0, 0, AFl
F-16, nil, 1, 23.,2, 13a,7d, 1h,4f, 32,0, 3, AFl
F-117, nil, 1, 26.,2, 14a,12d, 1h,4f, 46,0, 3, Sth
B-2, nil, 1, 32.,3, 18a,14d, 1h,5f, 62,0, 0, Sth
B-52, nil, 1, 42.,3, 16a,8d, 2h,5f, 54,0, 0, AFl
F-18, nil, 1, 25.,2, 12a,7d, 1h,4f, 32,0, 3, AFl
Cruise Missile, nil, 1, 36.,1, 24a,5d, 1h,4f, 10,0, 0, Roc
For instance, let's take Case's comments about bombers. Of the three primary bombers in service (the B-1, the B-2, and the B-52), the B-1 is dedicated to the nuclear deterrence role (in other words, it drops tactical nukes). Of the remaining two, they are so different, it's tough to consolidate them - from the stats above, you can see I tried to represent the toughness (more hit points) and greater range of the B-52 over the B-2. In game terms, however, it may work better to simply have one generic "American Bomber.'
The same principle applies to the other units as well. I had fighters remaining aloft for 2 turns (it was a large map), and bombers remaining aloft for 3 turns. And the A-10 and the AH-64 could remain aloft for significantly longer. But in the end, I think that the difference between a couple of these units was just too subtle and it impacted the playability of the game.
Just something to keep in mind. 
Some of the graphics in this scenario may be of interest to you.
ALLIED FORCE SCENARIO
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