[Seaboy]

Back in the day of Jane's Fleet Command or WWII Fighters I would build evolving careers by first making a list of units available to two sides, such for example in WWII Fighters such as: 40 B17s, 20 P-47s, or 30 FW190s etc., as well as a list of possible future replacements, and then I'd create the first level with part of those assets and play it. THen based on the outcome - assuming I lived - I would then create the next level using the remaining units with new targets based on the outcome of the last level. Thus if I was a German FW190 group leader, and we had neutralized most of the fighters to the north on the map, we might use the second level to attack their airbases or fuel depots.

Anyway in this way the battles would evolve based on the outcomes of the last battles (Unlike most game Campaigns you see - or SH3 for that matter). They also tended to have a real feel to them and were quite unpredicable. In the end one side could actually attain real victory - as in a final battle where they might outnumber their foes 10 to 1.

I've been doing this also with SH3 on a small scale. What it mainly means is that you don't build your next level until you play and get the outcome of the one before it.

Those of you who build levels should give it a try. While it does not include the giving of medals and ranks to your crew, it does have other dynamic qualities beyond that.

[Seaboy]

For example, back when Onkle Bush decided to flaunt the world and before we invaded Iraq, I built a massive series of running levels in Fleet Command to test what would happen - purely as theory - if the US Navy took on the entire world (UN) what ever in a non-nuke shooting war. I used the internet to find the present values of most of the world's sizable fleets and especially that of the USA and followed this scenario: an American general fresh out of Iraq is arrested while visiting NATO sites in Europe and is held for trial by a newly united Europe (seemed more likely back then) for war crimes. Bush sends in a fleet to bring him home - and war starts.

In the levels I had Britain sit out the first months as its government fought with itself as to what it should do. I played the World side - to give them half a chance. On the world side I also gave the Russians and Chinese aircraft carriers they did not have, for example I gave Russia 4 large carriers; and I gave the French one extra carrier (actually I gave France what it had before it decomissioned some of its ships in the late 90s). I beefed up the other navies a bit beyond what they actauly have. I allowed Russia to place its best aircraft at land bases in Europe, North Africa, and China - especially the Backfires. But I gave the US fleets NOTHING extra and gave them almost no bases at all except for a few in the Persian Gulf and the Island bases it holds here and there.

The war lasted 3 months, the US navy never used more than 40% of its real assets, and the US crushed the rest of the combined world: Russia, China, Germany, Italy, France, India, Brazil, Iran, Japan, Australia, Canada, Turkey, Egypt, and finally Britain in three months.

I was in shock. But it became plain why this had happened. The US has a s***-load of aircraft carriers, especially when you include the all its small LHD, LPH, and LHA assault type carriers (which are in many cases as dangerous as Britain's or France's standard carriers). Only Russia and Britain had ships with missile reload rates and ranges equal to the USA. Russia's older ships were in many cases monsters in size and hard to sink. The US big aircraft carriers could just kick off more planes faster and they had better air-to-air and air-to-ship weapons. (One shock was to realize that in real life France's navy is more powerful in conventional terms than is Britain's or Russia's fleets!!! - NOw I see why France stood up to the USA - it had something to prove indeed). [However France's navy is not number two in the world - the USA is number 1, the next strongest navy is about number 15 or 19 in real conventional power (I am not speaking of nuclear mind you)].

But I was still in shock. Of course none of this included the newer Russian made ship to ship and land to ship missiles that have recently been released and sold to other countries. No doubt that would have tipped the scales quite a bit. But the upshot was still plain to see - the USA could have employed not just 40% of its ships, but 100%, and it would never likely have to fight all those nations at once either. In truth the USA could shut down all the merchant and oil shipping routes of the sea next week and all the wolrd could do would be to threaten nuke war or sit around and cry.

And none of this takes into account the newer US ships coming out in 2010 through 2020.