Game mechanics

Game Mechanics or The Math behind Steel Division.

Recon

In order to kill the enemy, you need to first see the enemy. Recon is crucial in these situations, especially if you see the enemy from far away and gain the first strike. Below are a couple of screenshots comparing the different situations.

• 

  A lone tree in the middle of the field. Long lines of sight make it perfect for recon, less so for infantry or guns.

• 

  A built-up area. Blind spots persist, necessitating additional lookouts.

• 

  A clearing, with good cover on flanks.

• 

  An orchard, good for hiding most units. Removing them can be difficult.

Accuracy - Chance to Hit

The unit information panel, showing a group of German Spahtruppen.

Steel Divisions accuracy system is inspired by its tabletop gaming origins and is based on rolling two 6-sided dice. (In short: 2d6)

In order to determine if a shot hits its intended target you need to follow these simple steps:

• Roll two 6-sided dice
• Add the accuracy stat of the shooting weapon to the result of your dice roll
• Add modifiers (ie stress or veterancy) if applicable - More on this later
• If the total sum is greater than 12 you score a hit, otherwise you miss your target.

Or in short pseudo-code:

if 2d6 + accuracy + modifiers > 12 then
    hit
else
    miss

A simple example: .... TBD

Calculating the Chance to Hit

TBD

Modifiers

Ranging from -6 (shaken morale, firing at max weapon range) to +8 (close range, 3 stars of veterancy, third shot) or anywhere in between they can have a pretty big influence on the success of your shot.

• Distance to Target/Weapon Range:
  The current distance to the target (Dst) divided by the maximum weapon range (Range) is used to determine the first modifier.
  In short: Very long range shots result in an accuracy malus while short range shots give a bonus.

• Successive Shots: Successive shots at the same target grant an increasing accuracy bonus.

• Veterancy: Each star of veterancy grants a +1 bonus.

• Stress/Morale: Stressed units get an accuracy malus.

List of Modifiers
Dst/Range	Modifier	Veterancy	Modifier
0 - 9%	+3	-	0
10% - 24%	+2	★	+1
25% - 33%	+1	★★	+2
34% - 49%	0	★★★	+3
50% - 74%	-1	Morale	Modifier
75% - 100%	-2	Calm	0
Number of Shots	Modifier	Engaged	-1
First shot	0	Worried	-2
Second shot	+1	Stressed	-3
3rd, 4th, 5th... shot	+2	Shaken	-4

Example Calculations

• 

  PaK 38 50mm
• 

  SPW 222
• 

  Panzer 35S(f)

• A vet 1 Pak 38 50mm with 5 acc and 1000m range will have 27.8% CTH at ~900m range.

5 (Accuracy) - 2 (90% of max range) + 1 (Vet 1) = 4
13 - 4 = 9 => 27.8% CTH

• A vet 2 stressed SPW 222 (6acc 800m) has 16% CTH at ~700m.

6 (Accuracy) - 2 (85% of max range) - 3 (Stressed) +2 (Vet 2) = 3
13 - 3 = 10 => 16.7% CTH

• A Panzer 35S(f) (5acc 1000m) has a 58% hit chance at 270m.

5 (acc) + 1 (range) = 6
13 - 6 = 7 => 58.3% CTH  

Armor - Penetration and Bounces

• Weapons are directed against targets and the effect of an attack entirely depends on the target type.
• Soft targets, namely infantry and crew-served weapons like mortars, anti-tank guns, and so on, have a specified Strength (see units for more details). This statistic indicates the number of soldiers in the squad or gun crew, representing its hit points, and eliminating the unit is a matter of bringing that number to zero. These can only be damaged by weapons dealing high explosive damage.
• Hard targets are vehicles and have their own damage system and can be damaged by both high explosive and armor piercing weapons. Armored vehicles, like halftracks, armored cars, and of course tanks, are resistant to high explosive damage. As stated above, a weapon's armor piercing value needs to be higher than the target's armor in order to have a chance to penetrate (for example, a QF 2-pdr will generally bounce off a Panther's frontal armor, since it has 8 AP vs. Armor 12).
• However, while the anti-tank round may bounce off it, it might also stun the crew or injure one of its members. If an anti-tank round pierces through a tank's armour, it might destroy it on the spot or cause a status effect, like damage to the engine (stopping it), transmission (slowing it down to a crawl), or other effects.
  • These include: Ammo explosion, fuel explosion, crew killed, transmission damaged, engine destroyed, weapon damaged, tracks broken, shooter knocked out, driver knocked out. Some effects clear up in time, other are permanent.
• Maneuvering and position is vitally important when facing down armored threats. Tanks are usually thickly armored in the front, with thinner sides and a weak rear. In the Panther's example, that 2-pdr could cause some major damage when hitting it from the flank, as a Panther only has 5 Armor on the side.
• Infantry equipped with grenades can deal major damage to open-topped vehicles if it gets close enough (provided it does not have anti-tank launchers that are extremely effective thanks to their HEAT warheads).

Kills and Critical Hits

Overview

Crit. system as it is after Santa Claws patch December 2017:

We think this is the right data:

When you penetrate a tank you deal a crit roll + 100% of the damage of the AP shell.

Critical System:

Different Crits:

Every hit rolls a 20 side dice. with different possible out comes for penetration or bounce and the side hit (see the outcomes below).

Critical Ammo Explosion = DEATH

Fuel Explosion = DEATH

Crew killed = DEATH

Internal Fragments = 100% ammo loss 2 dmg

Ammo Explosion = 100% ammo loss, 5 sec gun stun

Shooter Wounded = 10 sec gun stun

Driver Wounded = 10 sec movement and rotation stun

Crew Wounded = 10 sec gun, movement rotation stun

Internal Fire = 20 sec gun stun, 2 damage, 75% ammo loss

Turret/guns jammed = Can't shoot, repairable

Transmission Damaged = 50% speed loss, 50% rotation speed loss, repairable

Ammo Storage hit = 50% Ammo loss, 3 sec gun stun

Track/Wheels damaged = 50% speed and rotation loss, repairable

Tracks/Wheels broken = Can't move or rotate, repairable

Bailed out = 100% Gun, Speed, rotation, vision loss, repairable

Engine Destroyed = 100% Speed ad rotation loss, 5 sec gun stun, repairable

Pierce Front Rolls

1 = Critical Ammo Explosion

2 = Internal Fragments

3 = Fuel explosion

4 = Crew killed

5 = Bailed Out

6-7 = Ammo Explosion

8-9 = Shooter Wounded

10-12 = Driver Wounded

13 = Crew Wounded

14 = Internal fire 20 sec gun stun, 2 damage, 75% ammo lost

15 = Turret/guns jammed

16 = Transmission damaged

17 = Ammo Storage Hit

18-19 = Tracks/Wheels damaged

20 = Tracks/wheels broken

Pierce Side Rolls

1-2 = Critical Ammo Explosion

3-5 = Fuel Explosion

6 = Crew killed

7 = Bailed Out

8-9 = Tracks/Wheels damaged

10 = Turret/guns jammed

11 = Ammo storage Hit

12-13 = Tracks/wheels broken

14-15 = Transmission damaged

|16 = Crew Wounded

17 = Internal fire

18-20 = Engine Destroyed

Pierce Rear Rolls

1-3 = Critical ammo explosion

4-7 = Fuel Explosion

8-11 = Crew killed

12-13 = Transmission damaged

14 = Ammo storage Hit

15 = Bailed out

16 = Turret/guns jammed

17 = Internal fire

18-20 = Engine destroyed(bearbeitet)

Bounce Front

1-17 = Bounce

18 = shooter knocked out

19 = Driver knocked out

20 = Crew knocked out

Bounce Side

1-13 = Bounce

14 = Track Wheel damaged

15 = Shooter knocked out

16 = Driver knocked out

17 = Crew knocked out

18 = Ammo storage Hit

19-20 = Engine Stalled

Bounce Rear

1-8 = Bounce

8-12 = Engine Stalled

13 = Tracks/Wheels broken

14-15 = Transmission damaged

16 = Shooter knocked out

17 = Track/Wheel damaged

18 = Crew knocked out

19 = Ammo storage Hit

20 Turret/Guns jammed

HP Point System

if you see a Unit die with out one of the above messages it died through falling on 0 hp

Damage for each gun

1 Damage

All infantry AP; Puppchen Autocannon AP

2 Damage:

Allies: Carrier recce 3AP

Axis: Gerlich

4 damage:

Allies: 6 PDR AP; Pak 38 AP ; 17 PDR ; Wolverine AP ;M5 Gun 76mm AP

Axis: Pak 40 AP; KwK 40(Used by panzer IV H); KwK 42(Used by panthers)

6 Damage:

Allies:

Axis:KwK 36(Used by king tigers); Flak 88 AP ; Pak 43 AP

after seeing these numbers and combining it with what I've experienced

Bounces probably negate all the damage

Hit Points for each Vehicle

4 HP:

Allies: Jeep

Axis:Kubelwagen MG

6 HP:

Allies: Bedford Supply; Blitz MMG carrier ; GMC Bofors; GMC HMG; Bantam

Axis :Opel blitz supply; Opel Blitz (transport)

8HP:

Allies: Hellcat; Wolverine;HT M5A1; Ford GPA OP; Halftrack_M16_AA_US; M7 DD; Stuart Command Canadian; Honey Stuart; M8 Greyhound french

Axis: SDKFZ_7_2 (Flak37mm); Panzer L6; SDKFZ_251_1; Panzerwerfer; Wirbelwind; U304; Marder

12 HP

Allies M4A1 Rhino; M4A1 Sherman; M4A1 DD Sherman US; all Cromwells

Axis Stuh 42; Beute Cromwell; Panzer IV H; Panzer IV G; Panzer IV C; Jagdpanzer IV;King Tiger; Tiger I and all Panthers

(might miss some Vehicles

Suppression

The Morale/Suppression system is defined in the file ../GameData/Gameplay/Gfx/Generated/DamageLevels.ndf. It defines six levels (french palier), but it differentiates between unit types, which make it rather complex!

Table for the Suppression subsystem for dogfighter airplanes
Accumulated suppression	LocalizationToken	Effect	Comment
0	CALM	none
100	ENGAGED	HitRollModifier = -1
200	WORRIED	HitRollModifier = -2
400	STRESSED	HitRollModifier = -3	As the mounted anti-airplane weapons have low base accuracy, it is impossible to score hits in this state without veterancy.
600	SHAKEN	HitRollModifier = -4
800	PANICKED	HitRollModifier = -4	Plane will evac

Experience

Steel Division differentiates 4 levels of experience: normal, veteran, elite and super elite. The effects are defined in the files:

 ../GameData/Gameplay/Gfx/Generated/EffectsPacksList.ndf
 ../GameData/Gameplay/Gfx/Generated/EffetsSurUnite.ndf
 ../GameData/Gameplay/Gfx/Generated/ExperienceLevels.ndf

The effects differentiate for different unit types.

Leader units

Military leader. Allied units within a leader's area of effect receive the following benefits:

• +1 experience level
• incoming suppression damage is halved
• do not surrender
• are not affected by morale penalties even if isolated behind enemy lines.

A leader unit's own experience level effects the range of its aura: 200m/250m/300m

Micromanagement

The way Steel Division is designed and balanced does not force the player do bother with micromanagement. But in certain situations, doing so proves to be highly advantageous.