JWE
Posts: 6580
Joined: 7/19/2005
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I'll definitely holler! The help you have given so far is invaluable, especially your Downfall stuff. You have some really nice tricks in there and I am shamelessly stealing all I can get  Really like how you set up the R&R for the Marines. Gonna do the same thing for 1st MarDiv.
Fun part with smaller scenarios is one can do quite a bit of assembly work before an assault or active defense without worrying about having enuf slots. Can force the AI to assemble 'Guchi/Ichiki/Sendai first rather than dribble them into a meatgrinder. Can also make, and move, hi-value amphib TFs to get them where and when needed and keep them from harm in the meantime, as well as park some fun units in fun places that will give the Allies some heartburn. This is getting fun! Woof !!
I'm a little bogged down on the 'goings-on' for the first 30 days. As everybody knows, the whole 1st MarDiv was on the island, while the Japanese dribbled in battalions. Since everybody knows this, the obvious day-2 move is to take Tassafaronga, start building forts, extinguish Ichiki when he pops in, build some more forts, extinguish Kawaguchi when he pops in, and then thumb your nose at sequential assaults by understrength units of Sendai and 38th, when they eventually come around to play the 'whacked in detail' game. There's simply no way to limit 1st MarDiv's operations to the Lunga area, as was actually the case.
So, in the interests of making this a "playable" scenario, while keeping it as historical as possible, I've developed a couple of "cheats".
The initial assault won't be the entire 1st MarDiv. In the first place, it really wasn't; it was just the grunts and some arty, about 1/3 of it (equipment and supply) came in on later lift. But game can't handle dividing units up in terms of 'assault elements' and 'support elements', so am making some arbitrary TF distinctions back in the rear (in NZ !!!) so one has to spend TIME playing fetch and carry. Yes, the Marines now stage out of NZ. Some of the TFs (with assault elements) get a magic move to Guad, while others (with support elements) have to plod along.
There's enough Green Marines to take Lunga, Tulagi, and yes, even Tassafaronga, but spreads out the available units pretty thinly, so a coordinated attack on any one of them, just might work. There's also a bit of prep point tweaking, so there will be some disruption, etc.. after landing. Just little things that maybe will make someone think twice about biting off more than they can chew.
Then, too, I 'cheated' a bit on the availability dates of some of the Japanese first arrivals. Just enough to make things exciting, but absolutely nothing outrageous. Spent days poring over the historical records of 17th Army communications, IJGHQ responses, yadda, yadda, yadda, and believe the emphasis shift is "plausible", given the overall operational situation in the SE Pacific at this time period. I admit that I am playing with fire, but do believe the adjustments are rational and quite justifyable, given the operational imperitives existing just before the Midway debacle.
So, some things will proceed according to what I think would be a likely scenario. Not quite historical, but plausible. Can defend my choices, but there's others that will work just as well, so I don't think I have to, so I won't. This is my scenario, after all.
The "cheats" are de minimis, and only for the first 30 days. I will make an errata doc for PBEM players so they can edit the scen to strict historicity and play it out like it was intended (includes hints as to how to handle August) 
Ciao. John
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