Unit skins for the smaller countries (especially tank skins)
Jul 9, 2023 13:13:44 GMT
Gerd von Rundstedt likes this
Post by Victory799 on Jul 9, 2023 13:13:44 GMT
Hello, I'd like to start a discussion on the unit skins for each of the smaller countries (Hungary, Finland, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Greece, etc.), mostly concerning their tank skins.
One of the great features of GoG3 is the increased attention to historical accuracy, especially in terms of the skins that units from different nations have. I noticed how in GoG3 smaller countries get their own infantry skins, for example Hungary finally gets Hungarian infantry skins rather than German ones. The Hungarians, Romanians, Finnish, Bulgarians, Polish, Indians and most of the small playable countries get their own infantry skins that are all different from one another. This is great as it adds to the realism and immersion of the game, but in a more practical sense, it is also vital for units from different countries to look different as unlike in World Conqueror 3 or WC4, units don't have the country's flag below them in GoG3, so it requires you to recognise the different skins for different countries to determine what country's units are where. Fortunately for infantry skins, smaller countries already have their own distinct and accurate skins.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for their tank skins. Minor Axis countries (Hungary, Finland, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia) all get the same tank skins (which are German tanks), although these are different from Germany's tank skins. Minor Allies countries (Poland, Yugoslavia, Greece, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Norway) and strangely the Spanish all get the same tank skins (which are British/American tanks), although these are different from the UK's/the USA's tank skins. While this approach helps to distinguish between the major Axis/Allies and the minor Axis/Allies, it can make it extremely confusing/impossible to determine which tanks belong to which minor Axis/minor Allies country. To solve this problem, and to add to the historical accuracy and immersion of the game, the tank skins for these countries should be different to each other where possible, just like with their infantry skins.
This is already easily possible for Hungary, as Hungary designed and
produced many of their own tanks during WW2, a rare accomplishment for
small countries during that time. I will begin by showing what Hungarian
tank skins Hungary should have in GoG3 rather than the minor Axis tank
skins (which are skins of German tanks).
produced many of their own tanks during WW2, a rare accomplishment for
small countries during that time. I will begin by showing what Hungarian
tank skins Hungary should have in GoG3 rather than the minor Axis tank
skins (which are skins of German tanks).
Tank skins of the minor Axis countries, and the tank skins Hungary currently has:
Tank skins of Germany:
Tank skins of the minor Allies countries:
Tank skins of the UK:
Hungary
Hungary currently gets the same tank skins as Finland, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia, as shown above. However these tank skins are of German vehicles. Hungary's armoured car is currently the German Sd.Kfz.222, Hungary's tank is currently the German Panzer III, and Hungary's heavy tank is currently the German VK 45.01 (P) (a.k.a. Tiger (P)). These are not the same German tank skins that Germany gets though, as Germany's armoured car is the German Sd.Kfz.231 6-rad, Germany's tank is the German Panzer IV J, and Germany's heavy tank is the German Tiger I. While minor Axis countries like Hungary using obsolete German tanks is somewhat historically accurate as Hungary did use German supplied tanks (both obsolete ones and modern ones too), Hungary also used plenty of their own Hungarian tank designs, and there are easily enough of them to entirely replace Hungary's existing German tank skins with actual Hungarian tank skins! There is no reason not to do this, as it would be more historically accurate, look much better, help distinguish between other minor Axis countries' tanks, while also better representing Hungary and adding more variety to the game. Hungary's armoured car should instead be the Hungarian 39M Csaba, Hungary's tank should instead be the Hungarian 41M Turán II, and Hungary's heavy tank should instead be the Hungarian 44M Tas.
Hungary's armoured car should instead be the Hungarian 39M Csaba:
Hungary's tank should instead be the Hungarian 41M Turán II:
Hungary's heavy tank should instead be the Hungarian 44M Tas:
I know that the 44M Tas is considered by some to be a medium tank, by some to be a heavy tank and by some to be a medium-heavy hybrid. I know that it looks like the German Panther, which was a medium, but what most people don't consider is the heavy tank level armour and firepower of the 44M Tas. While it is not as clearly a heavy tank as the Tiger I, and it didn't reach production and combat in real life due to the prototypes being destroyed when its factory was bombed (and then Hungary was invaded by Germany and later the USSR, stopping further development of the tank), neither of these should stop the 44M Tas becoming Hungary's heavy tank since neither of these stopped the T29 (US heavy tank), P.26/40 (Italian heavy tank), O-I (Japanese heavy tank), VK 45.01 (P) (minor Axis heavy tank), or the Heavy Tank M6 (minor Allies heavy tank) from being added to Glory of Generals 3.
The fact that the 44M Tas wasn't used in combat shouldn't be a problem because the T29 (US heavy tank), O-I (Japanese heavy tank), VK 45.01 (P) (minor Axis heavy tank) and the Heavy Tank M6 (minor Allies heavy tank) also weren't used in combat, yet they are in GoG3 anyway. On top of that GoG3 includes the never-used-in-combat T28, Maus, ARL-44, Chi-Ri and E-100 as well as the fictional KV-6 as special forces.
The fact that the 44M Tas' prototypes weren't completed shouldn't be a problem because the O-I (Japanese heavy tank) prototype doesn't seem to have been completed either, yet it is still in GoG3 anyway. On top of that GoG3 includes the incomplete E-100 and Chi-Ri, as well as the fictional KV-6 as special forces.
The fact that the 44M Tas isn't a clear cut heavy tank shouldn't be a problem either because the P.26/40 (Italian heavy tank) is in GoG3 as a heavy tank despite the fact that in reality it was actually a medium tank. The 44M Tas is larger, heavier (38 tons against 26 tons), more armoured (120 mm against 60 mm at thickest armour plate), and better armed (high velocity and penetration 80 mm gun against low velocity and penetration 75 mm gun) than the Italian P.26/40. The 44M Tas is also heavier (38 tons against 28 tons), more armoured (120 mm against 60 mm at thickest armour plate), and better armed (high velocity and penetration 80 mm gun against low velocity and penetration 75 mm hull howitzer and low velocity and penetration 47 mm turret gun) than the French Char B1. This shows that the 44M Tas qualifies to be a heavy tank much more than the Italian P.26/40, and more than the French Char B1, both of which must have qualified to be appropriate heavy tanks themselves in GoG3 considering they are in GoG3 as heavy tanks. So logically, the 44M Tas should comfortably qualify to be Hungary's heavy tank. Furthermore, if we compare the 44M Tas to other heavy tanks, it beats or is on the level of several of them in terms of armour and firepower (two important metrics that heavy tanks excell in). For example, the 44M Tas had 120 mm of armour at its thickest armour plate, below you can see that most of the other heavy tanks in GoG3 have less armour or the same armour at their thickest points.
Germany's Tiger I: 120 mm of armour at its thickest point
USSR's IS-1: 120 mm of armour at its thickest point
France's Char B1: 60 mm of armour at its thickest point
Italy's P.26/40: 60 mm of armour at its thickest point
Minor Axis countries' (in reality Germany's) VK 45.01 (P): 100 mm of armour at its thickest point
Minor Allies countries' (in reality America's) Heavy Tank M6: 83 mm of armour at its thickest point
Hungary's 44M Tas: 120 mm of armour at its thickest point
When it comes to firepower, the 44M Tas would have had a powerful, high velocity and penetration 80 mm gun. Below, you can see that most of the other heavy tanks in GoG3 have weaker or equivalent guns.
USSR's IS-1: equivalent 85 mm gun
UK's Churchill VII: weaker 75 mm gun
France's Char B1: much weaker 47 mm gun in turret and much weaker 75 mm howitzer in hull
Italy's P.26/40: much weaker 75 mm gun
Minor Allies countries' (in reality America's) Heavy Tank M6: barely weaker 76 mm gun
If all of this wasn't enough to convince you that the 44M Tas qualifies to be a heavy tank in GoG3, I don't know what will.
What would happen to the 44M TAS tank special force?
The only slight problem now with using the 44M Tas as Hungary's heavy tank is that the 44M TAS tank special force would need to be replaced. This is an easy fix though, as Hungary designed (and this time completed) the 43M Turán III medium tank, which would be a perfect fit to replace the 44M TAS Hungarian tank special force. This is because it is more powerful than the standard Hungarian tank (the 41M Turán II) while still not being as powerful as the Hungarian heavy tank (the 44M Tas). It also fits nicely with the other tank special forces (KV-2, ARL-44, Panther and Chi-Ri) as they are either powerful heavy tanks or capable late war medium tanks, the 43M Turán III would fall into the latter. In terms of performance, the 43M Turán III had a gun as good as the Chi-Ri's gun, armour that was a bit better than the Chi-Ri's and similar mobility. This shows that the 43M Turán III would fit nicely into the tank special forces, as it is a similar tank to the Chi-Ri and Panther in terms of type and era, and similar to the Chi-Ri in terms of capabilities. The 44M TAS special force's stats and bonuses can be kept the same, all that would need changing would be the name, image and icon of the special force. An easy fix.
What the Hungarian tank special force looks like now: What the Hungarian tank special force should become:
