sp15, on Aug 19 2015 - 02:58, said:
What really makes me mad about the scrapping of the Swiss tree is that there was potential there, it reminds me of how the swedish tree looked when i started researching it, and it improved tremendusly with the help of Ren and we know that there are plenty of Swiss paper projects. I just think it was way to early to do something like this, to waste such potential on one or two premium tanks. It makes me sick.
While I don't disagree that there is some potential there, the sheer number of paper projects needed to make a Swiss tech tree viable makes an Italian tech tree look easy to put together. From what I've gathered, the Swiss don't talk about their military projects either, so there's no guarantee anybody would be able to get access to MOWAG's archives, Saurer is owned by a conglomerate at this point, so there's no guarantee any of those records exist anymore, and who knows if Hispano-Suiza still has archives or would be willing to share them. As it stands, using the German tech tree to have Switzerland top off the Hungarian branches isn't a bad idea at all, nor is using the Panzer 58 in and of itself, given the only difference between it and the Panzer 61 is the Panzer 61 had the 105mm L7, and a tier 9 Panzer 61 needs stock modules anyway.
I decided to map out what a potential German/Hungarian/Swiss tech tree might look like and the result isn't half-bad, even if the Gepard and Taifun really don't belong that high. One potential solution would be to split the Taifun into two vehicles, since the Taifun was actually the Taifun II, IIRC. This way the Taifun II at tier 10 could get a little creative license, like a 120mm rifled cannon or a longer 105mm L7 variant. But in any case, here's what it looks like:
The Austrian SK-105 could be used as TDs to top off the Swiss light line, with say a prototype at tier 9 and a production version at tier 10, which would fit given both the company of Saurer originally being Swiss, as well as the fact the Austrians considered them TDs while everyone else considered them light tanks, so it would be a fitting way to introduce the SK-105 Kürassier to the game. Plus, IIRC, there was a project discovered in the Swedish archives involving the Leichter Panzer 51 that could work as a tier 8 TD, so if necessary, the casemated line could be scrapped, the German Kanonenjagdpanzer 4-5 can still be made a premium (something I've been objecting to), and that Leichter Panzer 51 project slotted in as a tier 8 TD so that the TD line remains consistent. For that matter, the Leichter Panzer 51 itself could be slotted in at tier 7 and lead to that project too, so you could transition back to the TD line from the light line if you wanted.
Going even further, I decided to see what a combined Italian and Spanish tech tree looked like, and the end result was also pretty decent:
Leaving aside the M47 variant at tier 8 (which is only a no-go with Wargaming since they way overbuffed the M26 and M46 and don't want to fix their mistakes. Yet they see no problem with the M48 being a tier 10 medium and yet also having two premium tier 8 medium tanks with the same M48 turret as on the tier 10), this gives the tree a full light line as well as a second medium tier 9 and 10, of which there are numerous AMX 30 variants that could be chosen from to top off the light line. Plus, the 60mm gun on the M41/60 is the Italian one, so there is more than one connection between the two nations as well. All in all, it's a pretty decent way to get Italy in the game historically without using fictional, and semi-fictional vehicles outside of the damn tier 8 Italian medium.
While we're on the subject though, the only two nations I can't figure out what to do with are Romania and Bulgaria. Romania could potentially be put in the Czech tech tree, which wouldn't be a bad idea all things considered, with the autoloaded version of the Czech T-34/100 being a tier 8 medium branching off the tier 7 version in the first line, the T-54/55 being a tier 9 medium, and then the TR-580 being a tier 10 medium. Plus the Romanian TD line up to tier 4 or 5. Bulgaria is a little trickier, but only has the Pz.Kpfw. IV with the SU-76's gun grafted onto the turret, so it's not a big deal, Norway's NM-116 can be added as a premium to Sweden, as can the Finnish BT-42, the Comet with the 20-pdr, and the T-34/85 with the 7.5cm StuK 40 L/48 (tank number Ps. 245-4). Belgium can have it's two or three designs added to the French or British tech tree as premiums, and Poland can get a mini branch in the Soviet tech tree, which while insensitive politically, has already been done with the Rudy, so there is precedent.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that combining nations into other tech trees isn't the end of the world provided it's done right. So we'll have to see if Wargaming actually bothers to put the effort into it that such combinations requires, rather than just picking and choosing premiums.
8
