A question about the 4.01 update - digging in

[Verdun1916]

First of all I wish to thank the WDS team for the new 4.01 update! Awesome work guys!

Secondly I have a question about one of the new changes regarding digging in.
Does the new changes affect all levels of entrenching or only trenches and bunkers?
The reason I'm asking is that the change log states:

"and further emphasizes the fact that both side's
massive amounts of infantry were not yet widely equipped with entrenching tools or shovels
in this campaign".

However this is not entirely true. Of the Belgian, French, British, Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian infantrymen all, except for the French, were equipped with individual entrenching tools at the outbreak of the war. For the Belgians, Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian it was the short infantry spade/Feldspaten that was the standard issue. For the British and Commonwealth it was the small pick entrenching tool that was the standard.
The French army also had short infantry spades, but I haven't found any clear information if these were individual issue to every infantryman or only to a limited number of men per section at the outbreak of the war.
Prewar infantry regulations also put alot of focus on the practice of digging individual "rifle pits" of various types in most of these armies.

With this in mind, there is no real reason why ordering an infantry unit to create an improved position should be punished by a longer creation time and increased fatigue, with the exception of possibly the French or Serbians (?). Though I'm not sure off what the issue of entrenching tools was in the Serbian army at the outbreak of the war.

For the creation of trenches I do agree with this change as the standard issue entrenching tools were not very well suited for the rapid digging of them. Larger shovels and picks were needed for effective trench digging.

So does this new digging in change affect he creation of improved positions aswell as trenches, or only the latter?

Cheers!

[rahamy]

I'll need David to cover this one as he's the PzC guru...and he's out of town for a few days. Expect a reply mid-week next week.

[Verdun1916]

I'll need David to cover this one as he's the PzC guru...and he's out of town for a few days. Expect a reply mid-week next week.

Thank you, Rich!

[Verdun1916]

I'll need David to cover this one as he's the PzC guru...and he's out of town for a few days. Expect a reply mid-week next week.

Any news, Rich?

Cheers!

[Strela]

Hi all,

Firstly, lets be clear the changelog is pretty explicit on the rationale as laid out by Ed, the series designer/developer.

The parameter is universal, not by nation, so we have to have a one size fits all approach.

The digging in parameter value impacts both improved positions and trenches. Bunkers are built using a completely separate parameter, that in the early PDT files is usually set to 0% chance.

I have not talked to Ed, but I believe the intention is to reflect both equipment AND doctrine. There was little expectation that units would be static for any period of time and the need to dig-in was discounted by all sides.

So in summary, yes this parameter change impacts the early periods of the war (usually summer only) with the fall & winter unimpacted from the previous values.

Hope that helps.

[Verdun1916]

Hi all,

Firstly, lets be clear the changelog is pretty explicit on the rationale as laid out by Ed, the series designer/developer.

The parameter is universal, not by nation, so we have to have a one size fits all approach.

The digging in parameter value impacts both improved positions and trenches. Bunkers are built using a completely separate parameter, that in the early PDT files is usually set to 0% chance.

I have not talked to Ed, but I believe the intention is to reflect both equipment AND doctrine. There was little expectation that units would be static for any period of time and the need to dig-in was discounted by all sides.

So in summary, yes this parameter change impacts the early periods of the war (usually summer only) with the fall & winter unimpacted from the previous values.

Hope that helps.

Thank you for this very clear answer! I greatly appreciate it!

Cheers!

[Steve_R.]

This is a follow-up question. Currently playing Sabac. The parameter file has this line:

Digging-In: 0.33% per turn Bunker Prob: 0% per turn

Initially I was thinking that 0.33% was a mistake, that it should be 33%. But based on this thread, it appears that digging in is close to impossible and building a Bunker can't be done.