USA/CSA/TEX/CAL - Overlapping/Useless Designers

[Chazem231]

Quick questions HOI4 version: 1.8.1 FORK Kaiserreich version: 0.10.1

Describe the change you would like: Many of the US designers have overlap in what they do. These should be changed to give the player more choice.

TANK DESIGNERS

Caterpillar and Packard-Both are Light Tank designers that reduce production cost by -10% for all LT models. I would recommend changing one of them to effect only perhaps Amphibious Tanks. Both are located in the CSA.

American Locomotive Company and Fisher Tank Arsenal - Both design companies grant the same bonus of 10% soft attack and 10% reliability. These companies start split between the CSA and AUS. I would recommend making one have an increased production cost in exchange for better tanks and the other decrease the cost for a lesser bonus.

Dodge and Pacific Car and Foundry - Both grant a -10% production cost to mediums, as Pacific Car can only spawn in the 4 way ACW I would not change this.

BOAT DESIGNERS

Kaiser Shipyards and New York Shipbuilding - Both designers reduce cruiser cost by -20%, one is located in NYC and the other in San Francisco. Instead have one of the designers reduce surface viability for warships and maybe either soft attack or AA.

Electric Boat and Mare Island Naval Shipyard - Mare Island is just a better version of Electric Boat as 2% researchspeed is negligible. Maybe have the Pacific designer give range instead of surface viability? Electric Boat is in Connecticut and Mare Island Naval Shipyard is located in San Francisco.

PLANE DESIGNERS

Lockheed , Grumman, and North American Aviation - all grant the same exact bonus to fighter aircraft. Even with the overlap I would instead suggest giving the AUS a similar designer as aircombat is dominated by fighter agility and not having such a designer will cost you the air war.

Brewster, Curtis-Wright, Vought, and Northrop Corporation - all grant the same bonus type to "light bomber". Both Brewster and Vought are in NYC with Brewster granting a lesser bonus than Vought. Buff Brewster and move it somewhere else or change what the designer does such as production cost reduction.

Douglas and Glenn L. Martin Company - both grant the exact same bonus to strategic bombers in the same city Los Angeles. Make one of them reduce bomber cost is the best fix I can think of.

Infantry Equipment Designers

Smith and Wesson Savage Arms and Winchester Repeating Arms - have too low bonuses compared to their counterparts such as Remington or Browning. I would recommend making them gimmick designers such as granting having Smith and Wesson giving 15% breakthrough, Savage Arms a 20% soft attack as lots of the designers grant 15%, and Winchester giving a 15% defense and 5% soft attack bonus.

Artillery Manufacture

American Car and Foundry and Watervliet Arsenal - grant the same bonus and are located in Upstate NY and New Jersey. The designers are to close and USA has a non-0 chance of keeping both areas. I would recommend making American Car and Foundry effect Rocket and Motorized Rocket arty in someway.

Mechanized Equipment Manufacture

Buick, Hudson, Mack and Studebaker - all grand the same bonus type and are all in the CSA. Buick and Studebaker both grant -20% production cost while Hudson and Mack give -15%. it gets even more dumb as both Buick and Hudson are located in Michigan. Honestly I would remove a few of these designers but if that is not an option make Buick Hudson Mack and Studebaker different by giving them bonuses relating to specific things such as one focused on Amphtracs or another granting a production cost increase in exchange for armor.

Marmon-Harrington and Willys - Both grant the same bonus and are located in the CSA. would recommend making Willys pure 20% reliability and/or Marmon-Harrington 10% defense 10% hardness.

Explain the reasoning behind this change: The US has a absolute ass ton of designers and with the removal of multiple design companies many of them become useless or there is just a better option waiting at the end of the ACW where you can get all the companies.

Additional context or comments: Somehow the Industrial companies are all good.

[Chazem231]

I forgot about US Steel and Bethlehem Steel where Bethlehem is a strait upgrade to US Steel. Both are in CSA and in Pennsylvania.

[Alpinia]

Bookmarked for future review.