I do not want to hear about "we need X for Karachi". Mostly, this is because I believe that with zero special further investment, just working on our existing priorities, our forces will be more than capable of handling the landing and fortification of Karachi in a couple years.
Lightwhispers, most of the stuff on that list
IS our existing priorities.
Let me take that list and color the Plan goals blue, the deployment projects associated with existing Plan goal development projects light blue. Stuff that isn't a Plan goal but is rated High Priority by one or more branches of the armed forces is green. Stuff that isn't blue or green, but gets consistent in-thread support is yellow.
Advanced ECCM Development (0/40, 1 die)
AECCM Deployment (0/300, 4 dice)
SADN Phase 1+2+3 (0/975, 12 dice)
Zrbite Weapons Development (0/60, 1 die)
Zrbite Weapons Deployment (0/200, 3 dice)
Orca Wingmen Phase 1 (0/275, 4 dice)
Railgun Munitions Phase 1+2 (142/400, 3 dice)
GFZA Set 1 (147/720, 7 dice)
GD-3 Development (0/40, 1 die)
GD-3 Deployment (0/300, 4 dice)
Infernium Refits (0/450, 6 dice)
Seattle Yard (0/300, 4 dice)
Island Deployment (0/180, 2 dice)
With the
possible exception of the laser refits (which even I described as optional) everything on this list is something we are required to do anyway, have been begged to do anyway, or wanted to do anyway.
At most, this is a debate about build order. And build order
is the kind of thing that is logically influenced by an upcoming military operation.
I'd delete SADN and Island Deployment from that list and save 14 dice.
Notably, that does mean 14 more dice of mandatory SADN spending on the back half of the Four Year Plan, because completing up through Phase 4 is a mandatory Plan target. The
Islands, I threw on the list because I don't really think they can be postponed for 5-6 turns without people putting them into a winning plan anyway; I don't disagree with your analysis but like to try to restrict myself to plans I consider realistic given the voterbase's interests.
SADN, because I'm trying to think of which Nod warlord globally might be mentally unhinged enough that GDI forces building up in the Indian Ocean region or doing Karachi operations would be considered an existential crisis to said Warlord that nukes would fly.
I mean, we know the Shah has nukes, but IIRC the only time they've used them was to blow a hole in GDI lines to allow Nod forces to escape the Middle East to the Shah's territory. I'd expect nukes from the Shah to be directed towards Karachi area. Gideon? We know he unlocked his stockpile at the end of the Regency War, but didn't use them. And hasn't used them at any point in the year+ of quiet since then (while being aware that GDI knows he unlocked his stockpile).
Furthermore, Kane chided Bintang over her use of nukes right there in Q1 2061.
Which warlord is mentally unstable enough to not remember or care about Kane's anger over Bintang's use of nukes and the comment about GDI not escalating in kind?
I honestly see little chance of a Nod Warlord panicking over Karachi and firing off nukes at targets that would otherwise be protected by SADN.
A fair point- though again, we do still face a mandatory Plan target, and it is at least worthwhile to
start the project, even if we're not committing to pushing it through Phase 3 in such a short time.
Meanwhile, something like Combat Lasers deployment could help reduce supply needs (replace MGs on vehicles with laser equivs, for instance, so less ammo needed supplied). Adv ECCM and Stealth Disruptors could help make Nod attacks harder to get close/ambush. GD-3 would improve combat capability vs gana by non-ZA forces (particularly support personnel). Zrbite is not required, IMO, for Karachi. I just want it done and in service for ZOCOM and potentially helping solve the issues of Deep Red offensives. Thus the 1D per turn slow roll of its deployment. And there probably ought to be a ZA recon drone deploy in there somewhere too, as that'd be useful for Karachi and Red Zone work.
Honestly, I'm pushing hard for Orca drones pre-Karachi for the simple fact that the carriers were designed for them, and by god I'd rather not have the carriers operating for years without the damn things they were delayed to incorporate. Hammerhead drones can get slow rolled in post-Karachi-start to finish kitting out the escort carriers. Disco balls would be highly useful for missile defense off shore during Karachi, and given the numbers of Governors and Mountains/Summits likely needing refit (at a minimum, beyond the frigates), more time is better to get the full fleet upgraded. Whereas I honestly don't feel potentially getting 18 frigates out 1 turn sooner would have as much an effect overall.
Mammoth III Block IV is mainly because it's basically untouched since TW3 and really could use modernization. Having it modernized in time for Karachi could be highly useful, but not required.
AECCM and the GD-3 are already on my list.
AECCM is notably important not just for the reason you said, but also because it probably makes Nod communications easier to monitor, thus giving us considerably more intelligence on the combat zone we'll be fighting in, and potentially gives us more warning if Nod attacks on some other front. The
Low Orbit Support Satellites are another project that has the same advantage.
Disco balls versus more frigates is indeed a tricky question. I could respect a plan that openly said "no Seattle for now" and put 3-ish dice into the laser refits. The catch is that the Navy's pretty explicit about wanting more hulls more than anything else, and so far our existing crystal beam laser defense seems to hold up against all but the heaviest and most aggressive Nod salvoes. I don't now which is more important, but I do feel like picking one.
Zrbite is on my list, not for Karachi, but because
we will need it by then and must therefore budget dice for it, even if it is not used in the Karachi operation proper.
Combat lasers, I don't think will work out that well, because the deployment project to replace every pintle-mounted machine gun in GDI is going to be
massive. It's a project the Department of Refits will spend years chewing through.
When it comes to ground vehicles, the Mammoth and Guardian II are at the top of my list, and at least developing them sounds great, but actually tooling up the factories for enough production may be prohibitive.
For Services I really don't want the hospital expansions to be left undone again.
Do you mean "we need to push Phase 1," or do you mean "I want a full-bore hard-core attempt to finish Phase 2 in this very turn?"
@Ithillid please remember to incorporate the misgendering of Dr. Taylor Bernard by some planmakers into the story of this quest.
