There are different types of infrastructure in SAS, all of which have an important effect on gameplay and can be upgraded during a campaign. The following is an overview.
Every RP spent improves the current training level of ship and aircraft crews by 1/500th of a point. The current and proposed levels of training are shown alongside. These levels will be in a range between the lowest possible level of 1.0 and the highest of 10.0. When the current level is 10.0, more expenditure is simply wasted.
Training levels are crucial to the performance of your ships and aircraft in combat. In the case of ship crews, the effects are quite widespread and include not only the effectiveness of gun and torpedo-laying in combat, but also damage control, alertness of crews to visual searches and ability to use any radar installed aboard.
In the case of aircraft, training directly affects the offensive and defensive performance of your aircraft in air to air combat as well as the accuracy of bombs and torpedoes against ship and land targets.
Note that what is shown in this screen is the average training level. When new ships are commissioned, the training levels of crews for that ship are set based on this average level, but with some random variation.
When new aircraft are produced, the crews for them start at the current average training level.
Note that battle experience improves the performance of (surviving!) aircraft and ship crews. See battle experience for more information.
Every RP spent improves the current level of intelligence by 1/500th of a point. The current and proposed levels of intelligence are shown alongside. These levels will be in a range between the lowest possible level of 1.0 and the highest of 10.0. When the current level is 10.0, more expenditure is simply wasted.
The level of your military intelligence affects many things, and its effectiveness is always a function both of the absolute amount of expenditure and the relative intel expenditure compared to the enemy.
Intelligence comes in several forms:
There are 12 key technologies in SAS. Refer to technologies for an overview of these and how they affect game play.
Unlike other infrastructure areas, technology R&D has somewhat unpredictable results. Scientific breakthroughs do not come routinely and rely on inspiration and luck as well as resources; but the greater the R&D expenditure, the more likely it is - other things being equal - that a break through in key technology areas will occur.
The R&D expenditure on key technologies can be increased in 2 ways:
There are four kinds of port infrastructure:
Each has a current and a target value of between 0.0 and 10.0.
These are used against enemy aerial and surface bombardment and amphibious assault and include all manner of typical defensive works such as guns and gun emplacements (for use against enemy ships, aircraft and troops), land minefields (mines at sea must be separately laid as part on minelaying missions), barbed wire, trenches, pillboxes, anti-torpedo harbour nets, blast proofing of key facilities, and so on. The higher the defence level, the greater the damage inflicted on the enemy and the less damage to port facilities will be sustained in return and the more entrenched any garrison troops will be, significantly helping them to resist enemy land attack.
The ability of a port to service shipping - repair, rearm, refuel and construct ships - is directly dependant on this value:
So, degradation of your facilities through enemy attack can have a critical effect of your ability to wage war. Make sure you monitor the current dock levels at your ports!
The rate at which repair and construction work takes place is also directly dependant on the dock facilities level. The higher the level, the faster the work can take place. (For example, a dockyard at level '9' can repair and construct almost twice as fast as a level '5' dock.
The RPs you need to pay for everything in the game are produced by your industry when it is supplied with domestic or export materials.
The higher the industry level at a port, the more value can be extracted from the same amount of materials. An industry value of '0' means that no RPs can be produced.
Unlike most other infrasture costs, which are linear, the development of industry becomes increasingly expensive. It is easy to build very basic industrial plant, but very costly to develop complex indutstry. Countries that start a game with more advanced industrial plant have a sizeable advantage.
Industry can be damaged through enemy attack, so make sure you monitor the condition of your industrial plant.
Because economic wealth is the key to victory in SAS, it is a legitimate strategy in the game to maximise reinvestment in industry. A cautious player may opt to do this, reducing dependance on vulnerable convoys and trying to survive on a relatively small navy and merchant fleet. Whether this is successful of course depends entirely on the execution of the strategy and how much the enemy is able to exploit any weaknesses.
The level of airfield facilities affects the number and type of aircraft that can be operated there:
Note that no aircraft can be operated once the level drops below 2.0. Monitor the condition of your airfields, and make sure that the key airfields are developed to support the aircraft you need there. Airfields are easily damaged but are also quite quick to repair and develop compared to other forms of infrastructure.
Independently of limitations on aircraft type, the airfield level also limits the total number of aircraft that can be suported.
The formula is simple - the maximum number is 2 times the square of the airfield level. For example, a port with an airfields value of 6 can support a total of 72 aircraft (but no heavy bombers) from nearby airfields.