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How do you/does X do Y...(will be a growing list) - 1/24/2006 7:51:57 PM

Afrika Korps

Posts: 204
Joined: 7/2/2002
From: Rhode Island
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1. Subordinate a unit to another? Example: I have my Infantry Companies, but I want to attach AA units, a platoon of engineers, more MGs etc.. Spreading out a Company of AT guns does not work very well when they have to rally and their original CO is 500 yards away.

2. If an AA unit has 2 guns, and 50 ammo, does that mean that every time it shoots, the ammo is reduced by 2, or by 1? I keep forgetting to check.

3. Does the AI in generated campaigns or battles use smoke on the attack, ever? Does the AI ever use artillery more than just a smidgen? I am getting very lopsided victories in the last few days kicking the crap outta the AI...I would think things would go better if the AI used more Arty.

more as I come up with more questions...I will just add them here to keep from starting a billion threads.

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RE: How do you/does X do Y...(will be a growing list) - 1/24/2006 8:23:28 PM

robot

Posts: 1438
Joined: 5/9/2000
From: Covington Ky USA
Status: offline

I dont know about your ai but mine always seem to have more then enough artty supply. Right now in my battle brits against germans at Bir hacheim i am geting my butt kicked by them. The bombardments last for some time 7 minutes real time i dont have fast artty on. they are hitting me with 81 mortars and 50 mortars and 105 plus rockets like crazy. And they have sent a **** pot full of tanks at me that my 2 pd guns cant even dent. My infantry is getting shot to pieces by these tanks and my line is starting to fold and collapse. i have lost at least 4 tanks and at least 4 of those 2pd portees already. Lucky if i get a draw this time im thinking. I always play battles times 2 and ai is set at 75 percent makes a big difference in what you get throwed at you.

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RE: How do you/does X do Y...(will be a growing list) - 1/24/2006 8:51:31 PM

Poopyhead

Posts: 612
Joined: 3/17/2004
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1. You cannot add a new platoon to an existing company. You can delete a platoon and then add one though. You can also just assign the AA/AT guns directly to one of the platoon leaders, but this is tricky. A �0� unit of higher rank will take over command of a unit, so your SS 2nd Lt may come under the command of a truck driving 1st Lt. Another thing to keep in mind is that units get a chance for a �leader skill check� which can help in combat. The �0� unit�s leader skill is highest for that unit�s type, i.e., armor, infantry or artillery. Thus, if you assign guns to guns, grunts to grunts and tanks to tanks, you will get the best chance for making that leader check.

2. You�re kidding, right?

3. No. However, you can always lay a smoke screen for the AI.

Some countries use artillery more than others. The OOB�s that the AI use have been redone to spice this up. Against the AI Russians, it was usually a dozen infantry companies with a hundred tanks and six batteries of off board 76 mm. The AI Japanese really pound you with those 15 cm mortars.

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RE: How do you/does X do Y...(will be a growing list) - 1/24/2006 9:51:59 PM

Afrika Korps

Posts: 204
Joined: 7/2/2002
From: Rhode Island
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1. Ok, I will keep them in their own command structure

2. Hehe, just checking...Japanese Ammo levels are always so low...I am used to blasting away all game, but as the Japanese, I run out of ammo almost every battle. Need more ammo trucks or mules in the future...

3. I ask about the arty, because I am playing a long campaign as the Japanese (big surprise), and started in East Asia in 1939. Three battles at Nomonhan (two defend, one delay so far) and all DVs in my favor. If the Japanese had done this well in Real Life, they would have invaded Russia in 41 instead of attacking Pearl Harbor. All games ended by turn 6 with me having less than ten losses and Soviet losses of between 600-800 men, 30+ AFVs. My 15cm mortars on board and 15cm offboard batteries reduce the troops, and my heavy use of kill zones with 37mm, 75mm, and 25mm AA in crossfires eat his armor alive 500 yards from my frontlines. His arty has be spotty at best, and no smokescreen to cover his armor advances across open ground. I wonder how many more battles of this level of slaughter the AI is gonna keep forcing me to play in Nomonhan. Things will change when they get those T34s down the line a bit... /shudder

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RE: How do you/does X do Y...(will be a growing list) - 1/24/2006 10:32:12 PM

Afrika Korps

Posts: 204
Joined: 7/2/2002
From: Rhode Island
Status: offline

4. Where or how can I learn how closely a unit can get to one of mine before being spotted? I realize this involves many factors (unit size, weather, etc.), but it is clearly one of the most important to learn in SPWAW. Say that I have a platoon of infantry dug in, and a probe of enemy infantry coming towards them. My usual tactic is to wait until they get really close before shooting...less than 8 hexes is what I have been doing versus the AI...4 if I can stand it, then I blast with everything I have. Usually does the trick. I notice that when I am on the attack, I often do not see the enemy until I am right on top of him and lose units to a spray of MG fire.

I suppose recon units are key, but again, what are the numbers on the unit screen I need to examine to make educated guesses as to when a potential foe will see a particular unit?

I know, this one is really complex...

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RE: How do you/does X do Y...(will be a growing list) - 1/25/2006 12:00:19 AM

Goblin

Posts: 5547
Joined: 3/29/2002
From: Erie,Pa. USA
Status: offline

You are correct in assuming several factors weigh in here heavily.

*Terrain. More cover, shorter distance.

*Experience of both sides. Higher the better, for both spotting and sneaking.

*'Recon' class troops spot better. Foot troops spot better than vehicles, and vehicles that are not 'buttoned' or worse by enemy fire spot better than vehicles that are buttoned or worse.

*Suppression. Suppressed troops do not spot as well as unsuppressed troops.

*Speed. Speed kills, literally. Not only will you be spotted easier, but if you move more than one hex, MG's have a good chance of causing severe casualties (they are assumed to have caught your men standing and hustling quickly, instead of moving from cover to cover slowly and carefully).

*Size. The bigger, the easier to spot. Snipers and size 0 recon units are harder to spot than a size 1 infantry unit.

I usually set my MG's to open up at 5 or 6 hexes. Rifle fire at around 4, maybe 5. Remember, if you are on the defense, and your unit is spotted and fired upon, it will most likely be missed by troops that are moving. You will then be allowed to fire back (your preset range for op-fire will change to the attacker's distance from you). You lose nothing by waiting a bit longer before cutting loose. You may not be spotted (thus really lighting them up from close range), and if you are, you get to open up anyways, now that you know you are spotted.

If you are defending, set your arty pre-plots 1 or two hexes farther away than your intended firing range. Then if your units are spotted by the enemy before they fire, you can land arty right on the enemy to help out. If they are not spotted, you can simply plot and shift the fire to their ambush range on the round they do fire at the enemy.

Move slow, use small recon units, and stay in cover!

Goblin

< Message edited by Goblin -- 1/25/2006 12:05:20 AM >

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RE: How do you/does X do Y...(will be a growing list) - 1/25/2006 6:24:35 AM

FlashfyreSP

Posts: 1193
Joined: 7/6/2002
From: Combat Information Center
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Addressing #3 in your orignial post: Yes, the AI does use smoke when it attacks. But usually only during the pre-game bombardment, and sometimes when it is Assaulting.

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RE: How do you/does X do Y...(will be a growing list) - 1/27/2006 7:15:40 PM

Afrika Korps

Posts: 204
Joined: 7/2/2002
From: Rhode Island
Status: offline

5. Long Campaign Questions:

A. I am playing a Japanese Long Campaign. Started in East Asia fighting at Nomonhan/Khalkhin Gol. I have fought three battles there, and *crushed* the Soviets in all three, now I get to assault them, in December 1939. Since this didn't really happen, what is going to happen with this campaign if I keep fighting in East Asia? Do you just keep fighting at Nomonhan forever? I thought the battles might shift south into China or Burma or something after a bit, but now I am starting to wonder. Do the battles that you fight in the Long Campaign more or less follow the historical areas/opponents based on Front or does history take a turn if you keep having DVs. (So far they have lost over 1600 men and 208 AFVs to my 8 men and 1 AFV.)

B. My repair points keep piling up for a change, I am used to not having enough. How do you use the change button? Is this used to upgrade a particular unit or can you redesign your core force with it? Do you "sell off" a unit then buy another or do you just pay the difference in points?

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RE: How do you/does X do Y...(will be a growing list) - 1/27/2006 7:30:08 PM

robot

Posts: 1438
Joined: 5/9/2000
From: Covington Ky USA
Status: offline

A You will go to china after the three with russia for sure.
b all you have to do is click exchange for the unit you want to change takes you to another screen where you can change the unit. The way i do it is to wait for upgrades then if a unit is damaged in a battle I dont fix i just upgrade to better unit. You dont have to fix to upgrade or change. hope i explained this right. Dont change units to another class you lose there basic skills like say a infantry unit to a tank or vice versa. Change a tank to a better tanks and an artty unit to a better artty unit and so forth.

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RE: How do you/does X do Y...(will be a growing list) - 1/27/2006 7:44:53 PM

FlashfyreSP

Posts: 1193
Joined: 7/6/2002
From: Combat Information Center
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Afrika Korps

5. Long Campaign Questions:

A. I am playing a Japanese Long Campaign. Started in East Asia fighting at Nomonhan/Khalkhin Gol. I have fought three battles there, and *crushed* the Soviets in all three, now I get to assault them, in December 1939. Since this didn't really happen, what is going to happen with this campaign if I keep fighting in East Asia? Do you just keep fighting at Nomonhan forever? I thought the battles might shift south into China or Burma or something after a bit, but now I am starting to wonder. Do the battles that you fight in the Long Campaign more or less follow the historical areas/opponents based on Front or does history take a turn if you keep having DVs. (So far they have lost over 1600 men and 208 AFVs to my 8 men and 1 AFV.)

B. My repair points keep piling up for a change, I am used to not having enough. How do you use the change button? Is this used to upgrade a particular unit or can you redesign your core force with it? Do you "sell off" a unit then buy another or do you just pay the difference in points?

Answer to A: Eventually, you will change opponents. The Long Campaign is historically-based, and battles/opponents are date-reliant; you won't fight the USMC until at least 1942, and only if you change Theaters from East Asia to Pacific. Otherwise, you will eventually see Chinese battles, or British, in that Theater. But it all depends on the Date of the battle. The campaign cares not one whit what the types of victory you get; you can have a DV in 1945 against the US, and still Japan will lose the war.

Answer to B: To Change a unit to a different type, select the unit from the core list and click on Change (if you have Repaired all your units, selecting one will automatically begin the change procedure). You will now see a screen that lists all the units in your OOB that you can get for that time period. Using the More Units and Previous Units, cycle through until you find the unit you want to replace your selected unit with. For example: I select my JA Inf B Squad and start the Change procedure. I look through the list until I find the JA Inf A Squad; clicking on it will upgrade my original B Squad into an A Squad at a cost. The cost per unit can be seen by hovering the cursor over the unit. One caution when changing units: since the unit retains its Skill ratings (with a minor reduction due to being upgraded), changing the Class of a unit is not recommended, as it will be less effective in its new role. For example: A Sniper is an Infantry-classed unit, with a Primary Skill of Inf Command. Its Art Command and Arm Command Skills are Secondary, and noticeably lower. If you change this into an FO (an Artillery-classed unit), it retains its old ratings. So now your FO could be worse at calling for artillery than one of your Squad Leaders. It is always best to keep within the same Class when upgrading: change AFVs to AFVs, Infantry to Infantry, and Artillery to Artillery. Otherwise, the Skill ratings will suffer.

Also, be aware that any upgrade will drop the unit's Experience and Morale ratings some as well. This is to represent the trauma of changing a unit's mission/equipment, and the time necessary to learn its new role.

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RE: How do you/does X do Y...(will be a growing list) - 1/27/2006 7:50:14 PM

FlashfyreSP

Posts: 1193
Joined: 7/6/2002
From: Combat Information Center
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quote:

ORIGINAL: robot

A You will go to china after the three with russia for sure.
b all you have to do is click exchange for the unit you want to change takes you to another screen where you can change the unit. The way i do it is to wait for upgrades then if a unit is damaged in a battle I dont fix i just upgrade to better unit. You dont have to fix to upgrade or change. hope i explained this right. Dont change units to another class you lose there basic skills like say a infantry unit to a tank or vice versa. Change a tank to a better tanks and an artty unit to a better artty unit and so forth.

There is a problem with not Fixing a destroyed unit before Upgrading it: doing so plays havoc with the Leader structure for that formation, especially if it concerns the x0 formation leader unit. I have checked this with Campaign Watcher, and seen the results. I'll have to dig them up to get the correct data, but IIRC the "new" leader promoted from one of the subordinate units doesn't take over the "upgraded" x0 unit. So, the Formation Leader ends up commanding the x1,2, or 3 unit instead.

I'll get back to everyone on this ASAP.

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RE: How do you/does X do Y...(will be a growing list) - 1/27/2006 7:59:11 PM

Afrika Korps

Posts: 204
Joined: 7/2/2002
From: Rhode Island
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Interesting, thank you for checking on that, and thank you for the tips on unit upgrades, I have yet to do that yet in all the time I have been playing!

Well, I guess I have to assault the Soviets before I get to fight Chinese or the Brits...this is my fourth straight battle at Nomonhan...should be interesting.

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Post #: 12

RE: How do you/does X do Y...(will be a growing list) - 1/27/2006 9:34:11 PM

FlashfyreSP

Posts: 1193
Joined: 7/6/2002
From: Combat Information Center
Status: offline

Ok, I can't find my old data on the Core Force upgrade problem, and I just did a test that seems to show the problem doesn't exist anymore. So, robot's point about not needing to fix a unit before upgrading it is valid; this will save you some Rebuild Points.

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