TF stopping in place for no reason

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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> Uncommon Valor - Campaign for the South Pacific >> Tech Support >> TF stopping in place for no reason

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TF stopping in place for no reason - 6/11/2002 8:27:42 AM

Supervisor

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I've seen this before, but was never 100% sure that it actually "happened" or whether I had just made a mistake. Other times, it could have been due to other factors: setting up for the final sprint, low endurance, etc. This time I caught it in an area where none of those apply. Japanese carriers haven't been out during this period for more than 4 hexes south of Shortland, and all reported Japanese subs have been seen south of Rossel Island or are at ports/beaches (Cairns, Rossel Is., Brisbane).

Situation is from a PBEM game I'm currently in and is as follows:

I have the DMS Trevor in Port Moresby. I decide to transfer her to Brisbane to replace a sunk MSW there. I order her to Townsville (to refuel) and set the home port to Brisbane (from Port Moresby). Date is 6/4/42.

One turn out (position: 10,50), the TF stops in place. The endurance continues dropping normally as if it were moving, but the TF remains in place (a 30 knot "current"? :p ). So from 6/5/42 - 6/11/42, the TF remains in 10,50 until it endurance is running out (endurance: 220). The next turn (6/12/42) it has proceeded to hex (10,57), has an endurance of 10 and is now proceeding to Townsville at a rate of 1 hex per turn.

Stats:

DMS Trevor
Retirement Allowed
Endurance: 3250 (at Port Moresby)
Sys/Flt/Fire: 4/0/0
30 knots

Cdr Agnew, 63/61 "Promising & careful"
Crew exp (D/N): 51/30

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- 6/11/2002 5:25:42 PM

ADavidB

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I've seen that happen so often to my TFs that I've put into practice an "sop" for getting TFs from one base to the next - I set both the objective base and the home base to the same location. What I think I am seeing in the case that you mentioned is the TF starting to go up to the objective, then returning to it's starting point, limited by its speed and the overall distance, then trying again and again, wasting fuel and time. With slower TFs I just see them returning home again for no reason.

It's a similar thing with bombarment and air combat TFs - they will ignore and/or change their instructions and return home unless I first set them to some offshore location, then give them an additional target area the next turn, from which I can finally keep them in one spot for a while.

But the "funny" thing about that is that they don't seem to use up any "effort" sitting there in the middle of the Coral Sea until I give them orders again.

It's a strange work-around, but it does work. In many ways the "skipper AI" reminds me a lot of that in Pacwar, in many of the same frustrating ways. We just don't have "preparation points" to "blame" for tactical AI idiocy in UV as far as I can tell.

What I would really, really REALLY like in UV is the same thing I wanted for 10 years with Pacwar - the ability to give an order to a TF or air group and be somewhat "guaranteed" that the order would be carried out, and IF NOT, get a message telling me WHY the order was disobeyed. In the absence of some explanation why a TF won't go where I want it, or an air group won't attack what I want, I can ONLY assume that there is a hard-wired "cheat" in the AI, as was the case in so many aspects of Pacwar.

The only thing like this that "works" in UV is the weather notices. Otherwise, there is no indication of why an AC TF won't attack a location, or why a bombardment or AC TF won't stay where they are ordered and change their condition to "withdraw", etc.

Oh well, I eventually found out coutermeasures to all of Pacwar's many and varied S/W "cheats", I'll do the same with UV - I only wish I didn't have to bother.

Dave Baranyi

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Commanders? - 6/11/2002 6:58:48 PM

Philbill1

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Joined: 2/4/2002
From: UK
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Is this due to the ability of the TF commander?
I think some commanders overide your orders in particular if danger is percieved. Eg an unescorted TF sailing to a spot close to an Air combat TF and patrol/do not retire is on.
Phil

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Re: Commanders? - 6/11/2002 7:36:50 PM

Supervisor

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Philbill1
[B]Is this due to the ability of the TF commander?
I think some commanders overide your orders in particular if danger is percieved. Eg an unescorted TF sailing to a spot close to an Air combat TF and patrol/do not retire is on.
Phil [/B][/QUOTE]
There might be situations where this was the case. In the situation that I described above, I don't think that the commander had anything to do with it. Though, to be thorough, I did include what information that I had on the commander, just in case.

Another thing that comes to mind now, is that the very next turn (which has just arrived) the MSW had reset it's destination for Brisbane (which is it's home port). That brings to mind this: when a TF runs out of fuel and is down to the minimum of 1 hex per turn, shouldn't it head for the nearest base (or at least the nearest safe base)? As it is, if you are 5 hexes out of Cairns with your home port of Noumea (approximately 50 hexes away), the TF will head for Noumea rather than Cairns. Just a thought . . .

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