Naval Campaigns 1: Jutland

by Jim "Bismarck" Cobb

Article Type: Review
Article Date: October 24, 2002

Product Info

Product Name: Naval Campaigns 1: Jutland
Category: Naval Strategy
Developer: HPS Sims
Publisher: HPS Sims
Release Date: Released
Sys. Spec: Click Here
Files & Links: Click Here

The Big Picture

All games require a certain amount of abstraction, a balance between detail and playability. High-level grand strategy games, such as Strategic Command and Legion, have a large amount of abstraction so players don’t have to micromanage things like morale, logistics and communications. Players then can focus on “Big Picture” concepts. On the other hand, simulations dealing with aircraft, vehicles and vessels have been paring away abstractions so players get the most “feel” from operating the controls. Naval fleet sims are caught in a penumbra between abstractions and detail. The operating units are individual ships so players want to get detailed information and control for them. Group tactics, though, decide fleet battles; orders given to squadrons decide the issue. Most naval fleet games have tended toward more detail in the last few years, sacrificing some elements in fleet command systems. In Jutland, John Tiller and HPS attempt to correct this imbalance for World War I fleet actions in the North Sea. The first entry in the Naval Campaign Series may need adjustment between abstraction and details but the first entry is promising.

The British battle cruiser squadron at Dogger Bank makes for the enemy. Note the concentric circles in the jump map at lower left.

Abstractions

John Tiller has established himself as a master of balance between abstraction and detail with his ground combat series, East Front/West Front, Battleground, Panzer Campaigns and Squad Battles, among others. His other essay in naval warfare, the original Age of Sail also struck a fine balance, even if it was not fully appreciated by sea dogs who wanted to see masts fall. Having the main map somewhat abstract with either 2D NATO symbols or 3D icons attains this balance. Details appear through the unit lists along the map sides. These lists show vital information about weapon, unit quality and status. This combination has been a winner.

If beauty is required, call up the large picture of a selected dreadnaught,

Jutland is a departure from this formula. The main map is still abstract with small ellipses representing ships of different sizes. Flagship are marked with flags and, when toggled, different colored concentric circles show ranges for visibility, primary armament, secondary armament and torpedoes. Other switches toggle direction, ship name and damage among other factors. The ship list shows beautiful depictions of the ships (even better ones can be toggled on screen) and has speed, heading, mine and smoke capabilities, percent damage and spotted status. The reverse side shows the ship’s organization, armor and armament. Lacking is individual ship quality. This factor is done on a fleet-wide, scenario-specific level in Jutland. The parameter file details hit chances, critical hit chances, how long smoke will remain, aggressiveness and other factors. With this approach, the game jumps to another level of abstraction.

The parameter file for Jutland is crucia

Damage

Damage is equally abstract. Hits reduce a ship’s status from 100 percent. The gunnery falls linearly, i.e., a hit causing 2 percent damage will reduce the fire value variable in the gunnery algorithms to 98 percent down to “cease fire” at 25 percent. Speed and maneuvering damage has “cliffs”; at 75 percent damage, a ship begins to lose speeds in a fashion similar to gunnery loss. At 25 percent damage, the ship is disabled and dead in the water. At this point, the level of abstraction will be questioned on a historical basis. Armament and engine damage was often separate. At Dogger Bank, both of SMS Seydlitz’ aft turrets blew up with no effect on speed or maneuverability. In the same battle, HMS Tiger’s performance was well below average because of a poor crew. Abstract damage and fleet-wide quality parameters clearly lift this game from the ship simulation genre to a squadron simulation.

Zooming Out

In Jutland, the unit of maneuver is the squadron, not individual ships. Yes, maneuver orders can be given on a ship-by-ship level but they then become detached, causing more work for the player and weakening the squadron. Squadron orders are given by selecting the flagship and giving speed and turn orders by toolbar or hotkeys. This procedure allows the stately “turn in succession” and maintaining a coherent line to batter the enemy. Group “turn in line” commands are available to comb torpedoes or to shift quickly. German squadrons have their handy “Battle turn away” when things become hot.

Firing starts automatically with the AI choosing the nearest visible target. Although the AI does a good job, players can pick targets by selecting ships and right clicking on their opponents.

German destroyers make smoke in a zoomed-in shot

The sane as above but zoomed out.

Graphics

Combat is more sound than graphic effects. Great roars announce salvos while minute shells can be seen flying on the slower of ten speeds while no splashes are visible to indicate misses and no flashes indicate hits. Little white dots indicate torpedoes. With fog of war on, only damaged ships are identified. Straddles and hits do not make the target more likely to be hit again—an ahistoric feature.

Many of the irritants caused by abstractions are dissolved by the real-time battle. When the guns begin to roar, the player’s focus rises above concerns for single ships to encompass all squadrons in the thirteen scenarios. Detached light cruisers are sent to the rear when enemy battle cruiser squadrons show up. These “small boys” become a nuisance when they disrupt a heavier squadron rushing to the fore. Destroyers scurry about, laying smoke screens and making suicidal torpedo run. Destroyers can also create an unseen menace by laying minefields on which cruisers can entice larger opponents. Fire combat wreaks slow damage; two or three percentage points worth unless a critical hit wreaks havoc on a target. A badly damaged flagship can be detached and the next ship in line takes over the squadron. The scale and tempo of these battles imitates the confusion and frustration of a fleet commander in orchestrating these bloody ballets. Unlike Beatty and Hipper, the player has an ever-present jump map that mirrors the complete battle area.

In the moment of truth, the battle line of the Grand Fleet crosses the High Seas Fleet’s “T”.

The thirteen scenarios include a tutorial, Heglioland Bight, Dogger Bank, all of Jutland, an alternative Jutland where the battle cruiser squadrons miss each other in passing, and eight different parts of the Jutland battle. The overall command “feel” for these scenarios reflects the confusing nature of these clashes as well as the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Grand Fleet and High Seas Fleet. Even the ability to issue commands while the game is paused doesn’t lessen the tension of play. A full editor used to modify existing scenarios or create completely new ones can only create more nail-biters when playing TCP/IP.

The amount of abstraction will frustrate players used to Fighting Steel graphics and detail. Yet, this detail took away from handling more than a handful of ships. Jutland’s scale is more reminiscent of the fleet and squadron level of play in Task Force 1942. Improvement in Jutland should be practical given today’s computing power. Gun and engine damage should be tracked separately. Wind blowing smoke into the face of gun controllers should be a factor. The graphics on the main map can be improved. However, to place a significantly larger amount of emphasis on individual ships would take away from the game’s primary goal, control of fleets. John Tiller has always improved his games. Certainly, constructive criticism will lead to smoothing the rough edges of what can easily be a superior naval series.

Resources

Articles:

• 2002/10/24: Naval Campaigns 1: Jutland (Review)

Official Sites:

• Official Jutland Site

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