With the release of Carriers at War looming over the horizon, Armchair General takes five with Gregor Whiley (lead developer at SSG) to discuss the game. Let’s jump right in!

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Armchair General: Please give us an idea of how Carriers at War will play.  Real-time?  Turn-based? Scale? Fleets / squadrons, or individual ships / aircraft?  

Gregor Whiley: Carriers at War is pausable real-time. In single player you have complete control over the speed of the gameclock, and can also stop it at any time. You can also set the conditions, such as a new sighting, under which it will automatically stop.

In multiplayer, you and your opponent agree on a minimum speed. If the minimum is zero, then the clock can be stopped. If the minimum speed is greater than zero then the clock is always running. When the clock is running, both players nominate the game clock speed they want, with a simple mouse click, and the lowest speed is used.  

ACG: Will CAW have any multi-player support?  PBEM or online play?  

GW: CAW has TCP/IP support for online or network play. The game is ideal for multiplayer as there aren’t a huge number of units and battles tend to be short, intense and exciting combats.

ACG: Will editing tools be included with the new CAW? If so, what will the player be able to edit?  Will there be any support for the modding community?  

GW: CAW ships with the full suite of tools that SSG used to create the game. Users will be able edit existing scenarios, maps, units and AI or create new ones. The manual contains detailed sections on the scenario editor and the WarRoom (AI) editor. SSG has always welcomed user created scenarios for all of our games and we support them through our forums at www.ssg.com.au, as do our modding community.

ACG: Reading the AAR, the AI appears to be stronger than your average robo-opponent.  Tell us a little about how this was achieved.  

GW: Ships in CAW are grouped together in Task Groups (TGs). At all times an AI TG is under the control of a WarCard. This lists all the actions or reactions that the TG can make, and the conditions under which it might choose another card. So at all times a TG has appropriate doctrine, such as questions of speed, searching and CAP.  

The card has answers for tactical questions, such as what do about different categories of sightings, where to be at dawn on a particular day, or when to carry out missions such as bombardment or invasions. The WarCard also answers operational questions, such as what to do if major units become ineffective. At the operational level, a WarCard allows a TG to check on the WarCards of other TGs, and therefore coordinate actions. This allows the scenario creator to create comprehensive plans for a scenario.  

Lastly, any action or reaction could cause the TG to choose a new WarCard. When it chooses, there might be two or more different cards available, each with a specified chance of being picked. This random element ensures that AI actions are not predictable. A carrier steaming at 30+ knots can travel a long way overnight, so human players, from day to day and from game to game won’t really know what to expect, which greatly levels the playing field for the AI.

ACG: What scenarios will be included with CAW?  

GW: The scenarios are Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, Coral Sea, Midway, Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz and Philippine Sea. 

ACG: How does the game depict carrier operations?  What options will the player have?  What are typically the actions the player must take for the care and feeding of these important naval assets?  

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