Multiple units on a single Hex - PzC 3 idea

[Tassadar]

Some time ago, I have ben playing a game called Total Tank Generals. A Panzer General style budget clone with some different ideas, nowhere near the level of Panzer Corps or Order of Battle. It had some horrible elements (you could miss attacks entirely based on RNG chance...), but one that I felt has potential to fix many of the issues Panzer General, and by extension Panzer Corps, has been struggling to figure out. That feature was the ability to place up to 3 units on one hex. Total Tank Generals did nothing special with that mechanic, but I feel Panzer Corps could learn for the future, as it could integrate well with the support fire mechanic and some other elements the series or its predecessors had.

In Panzer Corps 2, artillery and AA support is done well, same for counter batter fire. However, AT support felt a bit awkward, as it always felt either too good, or too weak. Having a combination of units on a hex could allow for some slicker moves in relation to this. It would require scaling up the hexes (not at the cost of map size, but who knows, maybe we can have denser maps, not just bigger ones), but we reached a level where graphics is already great and while it can get better of course, it not longer is a key concern.

I can easily imagine a game world in which:

- Range is more of a factor, with not only artillery, but late game tanks and AT units have 2 range, similar to Panzer General 2. Of course you cannot Steamroll from a ranged attack (and you need all 3 units on a hex to have such a trait as well).
- With range being more prominent, this can determine if support fire can be provided for the units that are on the hex the supporting unit is on, or to adjacent units also. Also makes heavy infantry into a somewhat weak artillery support unit with mortar fire.
- Infantry can now be mixed with light AT guns for better firepower, tanks can have recons attached to avoid ambushes, motorized infantry can help tanks in urban combat, the ways this can mix up gameplay are a lot more complex now.
- Command vehicles and recovery vehicles make more sense. Unique heroes and commanders can appear more prominently.
- Heroes can now be just part of a smaller unit, so their placement matters much more in relation to other units on the hex.
- Support units like bridge engineers no longer just randomly take up map space. Pioneers now support the units they are linked with. Transports and bombers can be properly escorted.
- Artillery and strategic bombers can deal splash damage, you can focus-fire on specific part of each formation.
- Terrain and weather matter even more, as they can break up otherwise efficient combinations due to infantry not catching up to tanks in the open, or trucks getting stuck in mud while the panzers have to press on to reach tough objectives.
- Large ships can have 3 parts instead of having 3 ships on one hex. The never realized dream of multiple sections for naval combat tweaks is made possible with weapons, engines and hull possible to get damages separately.

Of course there is always a risk of the maps getting cluttered and unit models too small, so the design part would have to be done really, really well. That said, Panzer Corps 2 made some daring new calls and most of them paid off, so in a far, far future, a calculated risk might be just what the franchise will need again.

[maczathras]

There are some interesting thoughts here. I do have a couple of additions. The first is that it might support the concept of tank-mounted infantry. This is listed in several of the US Army histories of WWII, but I haven't seen it implemented in PzC2.

The second is more of a concern. I often use strategic mode to supplement 3D mode. Any method of supporting multiple units in a hex would also need to be easily readable in a counter-style mode.