Willy Vereb

The Sun Will Never Set (A Statisticless NRP)(It had a good run)

I can't speak for anyone else, but I offset things I had slightly ahead of time (the PIAT-style weapons, which were on use like three years later) with things I don't have (tanks, armored vehicles, gasoline-based ships). Sure some stuff is OP in comparison, but you also have to take into account weaknesses.

But it is important to remember this is a roleplay, not a strategy game. You cannot "win". The point is to create an evocative story.

@Mihndar

Yup, that's the point.
It just kinda takes away the fun if we have all the nice tools of WW2 from the start.
Like I said many things could've been made perhaps a bit earlier and can be explained by special reasons or such.
But when somebody has almost post-WW2-ish tanks with oversized barrels or start listing vehicles armed with 150mm guns, things get awry on this front.
I can point at names but I refuse.

It might be just me but some of the charm in battles will be as nations face each other with decades old doctrines and gradually realize things changed and they need to adjust things accordingly. If you already have juggernauts of a tank with beefy engines, tons of armor and a big cannon then you may as well participate in a cold war setting with that.

The Sun Will Never Set (A Statisticless NRP)(It had a good run)

<Snipped quote by Willy Vereb>

I agree that some of the weapons tech was really OP, but then again I'm kinda keeping my soldiers somewhat basic.

@thegreenleafe

Hearing you say that almost sound like a sarcasm.
Mechs might be OP if we look at pure technological standpoint but this is fantasy and we take acceptable breaks from reality.
You also avoided naming specifics for your weapons so it isn't an issue, either.
The only problem is a typo. You have the population of 20 million people with the percentage of the military being 500%.
You wrote you have 100,000,000 soldiers. I think you meant a hundred thousand, not 100 million.

The Sun Will Never Set (A Statisticless NRP)(It had a good run)

@Willy Vereb

What, there are just bored nobles rich enough to have air squadrons? And it's not illegal for them to work for the crazy nations across the sea? Well, I suppose elven mercenaries it is!

@Cyclone

Nobles in my nation have the duty to defend their country and have the honor that depending on their status they can maintain a military force of a certain size.
This lead to nobles often creating "elite units" from the best stuff they can afford.
Also regulations on the use of this military force is kinda lax.
So yeah, just like you said. You can find bored nobles who have an entire squadron of planes and are willing to stay in your country for a "reasonable" prize.
The emperor may recall them or even issue punishment for such actions but generally it never happens unless they are preparing for a war of considerable scale.
You'd also have a hard time to convince these elven nobles to attack their own nation but attacking supposed allies or with whom Yllendthyr has friendly relations... everything for the right price.

The Sun Will Never Set (A Statisticless NRP)(It had a good run)

Guy, guys.
I should remind everyone that we are only at 1940.
Many of the famous developments in World War 2 are years away.
If your nation specializes in a certain thing I can understand
But also keep in mind there's no war currently going on which forces nations to upgrade their weapons as much as possible.
Almost any cannon over or near 100mm must be a howitzer or a warship-mounted battery.
Armored vehicles still need better engines so that they could ever begin mounting bigger guns and armor. They are practically APCs by the typical standard.
Assault rifles and the need for intermediate cartridge doesn't even begin to be developed until years later and it enters by the war's end.
Rockets are workable but it takes some years before they scale them down effectively for a bazooka.
Anti-tank explosives were just seen use. Delivery systems are in the works.
Jet engines are somewhat in development but they eat fuel like crazy.
Propeller airplanes were far from reaching their zenith. 250 mph was considered decent while 300+ mph was fairly impressive.
Fighters only equipped machineguns and heavy MGs since escalation didn't require them to carry anything else.

And I could go on.
Basically I think a few technologies we have is actually a wee bit too OP.
Of course it's up to the GM to decide but I mentioned the above examples exactly because some nations did violate them.
As far as things are, nobody should feel the need to up arm themselves this much, neither have the technology to support it.
I admit, I may be also guilty on a few of these but I'll scale down some things if required.
Anyways, I only posted this to raise awareness to the issue.
The rest are in the GM's hands.
@Voltus_Ventus

The Sun Will Never Set (A Statisticless NRP)(It had a good run)

@Willy Vereb

Pfft, anything is better than nothing and the Sultanate doesn't have much capacity to make their own planes. If given enough money I'm sure elves could modify their designs to be more friendly for humans.

But if you insist maybe I could try buying aircraft from Ventium.

@Cyclone

Ventium is closer and while their designs are a bit crazy they are sure kinder for human pilots.
Elves can indeed build you aircrafts but their designs mostly work because of their natural capabilities and the properties of mithril.
Mithril would cost a lot and you'd be basically buying metric tons of them accompanied with their aircraft technology. Some aircrafts are also in such a compact size you'd be hardpressed to instant aviation gear on them.
You can ask the elves to use steel, plywood and other typical design elements for aircraft but the manufacturing of these will be subpar compared to what nations who already have more experience with this would do.
Really, Yllendthyr has only basic knowledge on steel since they kept relying on mithril.

Long story short you can ask them but I'm sure there are tons of better candidates.
You have a better shot at hiring some mercenaries from Yllendthyr and work for your army.
There are always some nobles down in the slums and in need of money. Hiring their private air squadron could be a rather valid solution, even if won't give you a really big force to work with.

The Sun Will Never Set (A Statisticless NRP)(It had a good run)

<Snipped quote by Voltus_Ventus>

Between owning those tropical islands and something like 80% of the world's desert, I think it's safe to say that I have enough oil to drown the both of your infidel nations.

@Willy Vereb

Well in any case, Tin would no doubt be at least interested in buying aircraft and they'd prefer to do it from someone that makes quality products and doesn't hate them. Your elves would fit the bill. Aside from coal and oil, Tin also has a lot of mountains and therefore a healthy mining industry. There's also forestry, fishing, agriculture, ranching...Tin has an over abundance of raw materials and a lack of manufacturing, so they would be looking to supply more industrialized nations in order to import finished goods and tech products.

@Cyclone

Plants and natural oil could be good exports since like I said elves hate the smell of burnt gasoline or petrol-derived diesel.
As for aircrafts...well, you may not wish to fly a vehicle designed for elves.
Elves have natural gyroscopes and can literally tell how fast their aircraft is going without needing devices to tell them. Their lighter aircrafts basically ditch most of the aviation gear you know and need and let the elves pilot it on nothing but their senses and instincts alone. They have a radio, a map and a compass... that's about navigation for elves.
Controlling the biodiesel-electric hybrid push-pull twin propeller engine and the sharp Gs accompanied with their overpowered design is also an issue.
Lastly, you may be frustrated because unlike typical fighters, most elven designs don't like installing surplus weapons to increase rate of fire... they prefer not missing so much.

Really, getting a seasoned human pilot in the cockpit into an elven fighter is a sure recipe for a disaster.

Seriously, just look at it. It's less of a fighter and more of a manned air torpedo armed with a single autocannon.

The Sun Will Never Set (A Statisticless NRP)(It had a good run)

@Willy Vereb

Well, Tin has an abundancd of fossil fuels and is more than willing to buy weaponry and vehicles. Trade would be mutually beneficial. Do you think your nation would be a willing trade partner? Granted the difference in religion would stop us from being too close, but the distance between our borders is such that I doubt either nation would see the other as an imminent threat.

@Cyclone

Yllendthyr is rather open to trade but the oil they get from their homeworld and especially their colonies is sufficient for now. Things may change in times of war, though.
Oil is an easier, cheaper and more abundant source of fuel. Elves of Yllendthyr just prefer the smell of biodiesel. Having heightened senses can suck at times. Many conservative elves hate the current century with all its noise and repugnant smell.

The Sun Will Never Set (A Statisticless NRP)(It had a good run)

<Snipped quote by Willy Vereb>

I personally believe that you shouldn't go bio-desial, it kind of makes me the only one who uses oil since everyone else is electric or going electric. I think that oil dependency would add more to the RP but if you have your heart set on bio-desial go for it.

@Voltus_Ventus

I depend on tons of oil for my plastic and generally my chemical industry.
I also use oil-derived diesel when it's convenient.

Also what do you mean with everyone else is electric? I thought practically everyone uses steam or combustion engine driven vehicles.
I use biodiesel becaue it seems to fit my nation's style more. I still fight for resources and Yllendthyr didn't gave up on its ambitions for conquest, either.
My colonies are actually worth a lot to me, especially that part on the africa-lookalike penisula.

The Sun Will Never Set (A Statisticless NRP)(It had a good run)

Speaking of oil, I plan to have most of my vehicles being diesel-electric hybrids with the main fuel source being biodiesel.
All of these developments are practically available prior to 1940.
It won't be as good as modern hybrid engines of course but I can get a decent one working where on low or cruising speed it uses electric engines while the diesel is active on higher speeds. When peak performance is needed then both engines are turned on. As such I'll save a lot on oil albeit I'd still require a ton for other purposes or when biodiesel is less of an option.

The Sun Will Never Set (A Statisticless NRP)(It had a good run)

Yllendthyr is aware of tank technology and has something kind of like it.
But mithril frames aren't that well suited for heavy cannons, and Yllendthyr's military doctrine focuses more on speed.
Baically they try to rely on alternatives to deal with tanks, including divebombing tactical fighter/bomber craft. WW1 never happened here so nations worldwide were not forced to acknowledge the tactical gains by air superiority. Still, Yllendthyr has a long history on using aerial forces to turn the tide of battle so they try to count on their air forces the same way.

Another interesting thing is that Yllendthyr has no heavy bomber aircraft. They scorn at the idea of making their propellercraft slow. Instead they delegate that role to their airships. Airships would be practically like mobile aerial bases to the elven warmachine. They are sorta like aircraft carriers. Shooting down Yllendthyr's airships can be quite an issue for them. Back to topic, heavy bombings are performed in a rather unique way by Yllendthyr. Their airships usually don't drop bombs but launch V1 like missiles at distant targets.
They use their fast aircraft to scout out the area, relay the coordinates and then launch the missile. It works reasonably well, albeit these "flying bombs" are susceptible to interception so air superiority is advisable.