German building capacity sets a harder ceiling on hypothetical Bismarck successors than treaty wording alone. Bismarck and Tirpitz sit near the practical limit of what Germany's yards and infrastructure could produce, even if Berlin ignored treaty restrictions. The game variant therefore keeps twin main-battery turrets as the largest type German industry could plausibly produce, while allowing a heavier six-inch secondary battery. Britain and the United States had the industrial base, maritime infrastructure, and supporting arms industries to build more powerful ships without sacrificing fleet balance. Japan could build Yamato and Musashi, but concentrating resources in those ships harmed the wider Japanese construction program. Treaty rules were one constraint among shipbuilding capacity, infrastructure, and the need for a balanced fleet.
Notable Point · 4:02-7:06
Why treaties were not Germany's only Bismarck constraint
The Bismarck design is presented as a product of German industrial and infrastructure limits, while Britain and the United States had greater room to build larger balanced fleets.