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Long list of newbie questions - 8/27/2012 9:40:50 AM

Chernobyl

Posts: 444
Joined: 8/27/2012
Status: offline

Okay so I have spent the better part of the weekend trying to figure out how to play this game. I've made progress, but I am constantly encountering new puzzles.

Disclaimer: If the answer to any of these questions is obvious or in the manual, please forgive me. I am quite exhausted right now and I have checked the manual many times (it answered some of my questions but is maddeningly vague on others).

In no particular order:

1. HQs/Political Points/Kwangtung Army: So after spending quite a while deciding which units to send from Manchuria to China (cleverly keeping the total assault value above 8000) I discovered that you can't reassign units to a different command without spending MASSIVE amounts of political points.
-How many pp do you get per day and what determines the rate?
-What if any is the downside of using a unit under a different command outside of its 'region' (or is it distance in hexes that matters?) I.e. can I use those Kwangtung units in China anyway? Or should I simply move the H.Q. along with them? Can I transport Home Defense units from Japan to China and just ignore the fact that the H.Q. is far away?

2. Strategic Moves/Railways on map
-If I do a lot of strategic railway moves along the same railway, will there be any sort of bottleneck?
-There are some hexes where a railway seems to stop at a river and then there is a railway on the hex opposite the river, but the black rail line is broken. Am I correct in assuming there is no railway bridge?

3. Air unit commands/Altitude
-What exactly is the difference between Naval Attack: Port Attack and simply Port Attack?
-Do I want to set my CAP and Fighter Sweeps to basically always fly at the highest altitude? Or do I want to set them to an altitude of optimum maneuverability and risk getting "jumped"?
-What altitude do I want to use for torpedo bombers? It seems they can still drop their torpedoes from 8000 feet which makes no sense to me. With that in mind if I have a flight of 100% torpedo bombers should I just set them to fly at their maximum altitude?

4. Bases/Engineers/Set to Expand/Training
-Exactly how and how much do engineers/support/aviation/base personnel assist? Do I want aviation support at every single airbase or only the major ones? I'm looking for general rules and ideas here.
-I chose no for 'set all facilities to expand at start' option. I assume it costs industry or resources to expand facilities. Is this true? The manual doesn't mention whether expanding your base has any cost.
-There are oodles of forces all over that are sitting in places that won't see combat any time soon. Do I want to go select every single one of those to training?

5.Industry/Research
-The manual indicates that if you ever change anything in your factories, they will sustain damage. How much damage? Is the damage permanent?
-The manual claims that for every 100 aircraft or engines you 'produce' while researching an engine or plane, the availability time for that item is hastened by one month. So by that logic, if I research 700 planes worth of the 7/43 George fighter (and 900 for the engine), then I can have that aircraft available before the end of 1942(?)
-Is that a realistic goal? I am looking at the industry chart on WITPTracker and it seems that Armaments and Naval Yard are both taking almost ten times as much industry points as I am putting into aircraft and engines combined. I'm getting the idea that I could afford to produce a thousand or so George research craft each month and have it by March or April '42! Does this make sense?
-I can't really tell whether I have enough industry to do that. Is there a way to tell whether my industry is actually going into the research?

6. Misc.
-Is there an efficient/best way to capture all of the small unimportant unoccupied bases once you have gained control of the area? It seems stupid to lose marines to accidents in order to capture all of those bases.

Any answers are appreciated.

Post #: 1

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/27/2012 11:03:06 AM

n01487477

Posts: 4779
Joined: 2/21/2006
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Liebestod

Okay so I have spent the better part of the weekend trying to figure out how to play this game. I've made progress, but I am constantly encountering new puzzles.

Disclaimer: If the answer to any of these questions is obvious or in the manual, please forgive me. I am quite exhausted right now and I have checked the manual many times (it answered some of my questions but is maddeningly vague on others).

Welcome to the game and the community. While most answers are in the manual - we'll forgive you this time around

quote:

In no particular order:

1. HQs/Political Points/Kwangtung Army: So after spending quite a while deciding which units to send from Manchuria to China (cleverly keeping the total assault value above 8000) I discovered that you can't reassign units to a different command without spending MASSIVE amounts of political points.
-How many pp do you get per day and what determines the rate?
-What if any is the downside of using a unit under a different command outside of its 'region' (or is it distance in hexes that matters?) I.e. can I use those Kwangtung units in China anyway? Or should I simply move the H.Q. along with them? Can I transport Home Defense units from Japan to China and just ignore the fact that the H.Q. is far away?

The rate of PP's are determined by the scenario designer and those can be changed via the editor (but you need to restart the scenario to change this).An AI game is different from a PBEM where HR(house rules) mean that you need to change the command of those units. Regarding combat the HQ command structure is not to worry about, whereas with gaining reinforcements iirc it is better to be closer to a HQ within the command structure. I'm too lazy to bother about such things though.

You cannot transport Home Defence units unless you change the HQ as they are Restricted and will not load onto TF's or be moved by air. Actually, something I dislike about the command structure is that in China, you need to change command (Restricted) to air transport troops.

quote:

2. Strategic Moves/Railways on map
-If I do a lot of strategic railway moves along the same railway, will there be any sort of bottleneck?
-There are some hexes where a railway seems to stop at a river and then there is a railway on the hex opposite the river, but the black rail line is broken. Am I correct in assuming there is no railway bridge?

Press the "r" key to bring up the road and rail overlay.

quote:

3. Air unit commands/Altitude
-What exactly is the difference between Naval Attack: Port Attack and simply Port Attack?
-Do I want to set my CAP and Fighter Sweeps to basically always fly at the highest altitude? Or do I want to set them to an altitude of optimum maneuverability and risk getting "jumped"?
-What altitude do I want to use for torpedo bombers? It seems they can still drop their torpedoes from 8000 feet which makes no sense to me. With that in mind if I have a flight of 100% torpedo bombers should I just set them to fly at their maximum altitude?

Naval attack is against TF's, Port attacks against a port and the ships disbanded there.
Set sweeps to the altitude of optimum maneuverability (although you'll get a lot of different opinions here)
TB always drop to low alt to release their torps. Lo Baron can talk more about that ...

quote:

4. Bases/Engineers/Set to Expand/Training
-Exactly how and how much do engineers/support/aviation/base personnel assist? Do I want aviation support at every single airbase or only the major ones? I'm looking for general rules and ideas here.
-I chose no for 'set all facilities to expand at start' option. I assume it costs industry or resources to expand facilities. Is this true? The manual doesn't mention whether expanding your base has any cost.
-There are oodles of forces all over that are sitting in places that won't see combat any time soon. Do I want to go select every single one of those to training?

Not sure what you're asking. 1 engineer = 1 engineer. Aviation support where you need it. HQ's have radius for Naval support etc.
It costs supplies to expand port/airfield. Other industry is more complicated and requires you to determine how much expansion you wish. Usually 1000 supplies/point increase to industry.

quote:

5.Industry/Research
-The manual indicates that if you ever change anything in your factories, they will sustain damage. How much damage? Is the damage permanent?

Changing anything - No. What I mean is if you increase an existing factory without changing what it is producing there will be no damage to the facility. Just an increase in the expansion. If however you change the factory you will get damage to the existing size. (can't remember the exact equation offhand). But, No damage is permanent, min 10K supplies at base and 1000 supplies/point increase to industry.
As a not - I wouldn't change any Arm -> Veh or NSY->MSY etc ... it is a waste!

quote:

-The manual claims that for every 100 aircraft or engines you 'produce' while researching an engine or plane, the availability time for that item is hastened by one month. So by that logic, if I research 700 planes worth of the 7/43 George fighter (and 900 for the engine), then I can have that aircraft available before the end of 1942(?)

Sounds easy but is a little more difficult than all that ... I recommend you read some forum stuff as well as my econ101 doc
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2933397

quote:

-Is that a realistic goal? I am looking at the industry chart on WITPTracker and it seems that Armaments and Naval Yard are both taking almost ten times as much industry points as I am putting into aircraft and engines combined. I'm getting the idea that I could afford to produce a thousand or so George research craft each month and have it by March or April '42! Does this make sense?
-I can't really tell whether I have enough industry to do that. Is there a way to tell whether my industry is actually going into the research?

As I said it isn't as easy as all that ... and you need fully repaired factories before any points accumulate ;-)

quote:

6. Misc.
-Is there an efficient/best way to capture all of the small unimportant unoccupied bases once you have gained control of the area? It seems stupid to lose marines to accidents in order to capture all of those bases.
Any answers are appreciated.

Some unoccupied will just come over ... others you'll just have to mop up if you want later.

Not sure I did a sterling job of answering everything but I hope that others will come along and add some to and correct me as well

_____________________________

-Damian-
EconDoc
TrackerAE
Tutes&Java

(in reply to Chernobyl)

Post #: 2

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/27/2012 12:17:10 PM

JocMeister

Posts: 8262
Joined: 7/29/2009
From: Sweden
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Liebestod

3. Air unit commands/Altitude
-Do I want to set my CAP and Fighter Sweeps to basically always fly at the highest altitude? Or do I want to set them to an altitude of optimum maneuverability and risk getting "jumped"?

In my limited experience the air engine does almost exclusivity take only altitude and speed into account.

That being said having a CAP up at 35k might not always be a good idea. You will build a lot of fatigue and if bombers fly in at 4-6k you might not get to them. But if your opponent it making use of high altitude sweeps the only way to counter this is either to set your CAP on the same altitude or suffer huge losses as his sweep "dives" on your CAP.

That is my experience at least.

(in reply to Chernobyl)

Post #: 3

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/27/2012 12:31:18 PM

StK

Posts: 76
Joined: 8/18/2012
From: Upper Austria
Status: offline

3.1: The difference between Naval Attack->Port Attack and Port Attack is Naval Attack is special in that sense that your bombers will (ofc) only fly and attack something if there actually are Naval Taskforces around and get spotted by you.
So if you set your bombers to Naval Attack you will get the option of giving them a secondary order what to do when there is no enemy Task Forces spotted in their range.
(Port Attack, Airfield Attack, Ground Attack, Recon or Rest)

Something else about Airstrikes:
Try to keep them together at similar altitudes or they will arrive piecemeal at the enemy base. Torpedo bombers (when using torpedos) will always drop down to use them, as already mentioned but dive bombers you have to set to an altitude between 10-15K feet otherwise they wont dive and be a lot less effective.

< Message edited by StK -- 8/27/2012 12:40:21 PM >

_____________________________

Changing ones point of view isn't easy, but it provides one with a different view on the subject.

(in reply to JocMeister)

Post #: 4

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/27/2012 7:37:50 PM

Lokasenna

Posts: 9297
Joined: 3/3/2012
From: Iowan in MD/DC
Status: offline

I heartily recommend Damian's Econ 101 document as well - it helped me a ton when I decided that I'd better get around to setting up Tracker and CS convoys for my IJN game.

For taking the small little island/dot bases that are in the midst of your carefully (or recklessly) acquired bigger bases, I've actually found that a small amphibious TF with a disposable unit (about 10 AV or less, so it unloads in a day and loads in 1-2) that methodically takes the small bases to be handy. Having plenty of extra supply on the transports will ensure that disabled and lost troops from landings are replaced quickly. A human opponent might decide to interfere, but against the AI this is my chosen method for making the map look nice and red all over.

(in reply to StK)

Post #: 5

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/27/2012 11:44:23 PM

erstad

Posts: 1944
Joined: 8/3/2004
From: Midwest USA
Status: offline

quote:

Press the "r" key to bring up the road and rail overlay.

R for road/trail, Y for rail

(in reply to Chernobyl)

Post #: 6

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/27/2012 11:52:16 PM

KPAX

Posts: 735
Joined: 6/3/2004
From: Where the heart is; Home of the Fighting Irish
Status: offline

I was going to responed, but Damian, wow, excellent job!

Liebesto, if you want to play Japan, I would strongly suggest you stop, and as mentioned above, read Dam's Econ 101; it is required reading

. But, before all htat, kinda just grab a short campaign, jump in and have some fun with this incredible game!

_____________________________

"War makes Heros on both sides." Hero (the movie)

Thanks !!

KPAX

(in reply to erstad)

Post #: 7

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/28/2012 12:09:20 AM

Chernobyl

Posts: 444
Joined: 8/27/2012
Status: offline

Thanks for all the answers, I read the economic 101 document and it was helpful.

Very mature and helpful people we have here, I can tell. I was expecting to get flamed.

Regarding expansion of bases, do I want to go wild with port/fort/airbase expansions or limit it somewhat or do I want to be extremely selective due the supply cost? I'm confused why there is a "set all facilities to expand at start" option because this seems economically suicidal to me

< Message edited by Liebestod -- 8/28/2012 12:56:11 AM >

(in reply to KPAX)

Post #: 8

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/28/2012 3:06:31 AM

KPAX

Posts: 735
Joined: 6/3/2004
From: Where the heart is; Home of the Fighting Irish
Status: offline

As Japan, you have to be VERY selective as to which bases you expand (port, AF and Fort).

As Allied it is a bit easier as supplies are not a problem.

_____________________________

"War makes Heros on both sides." Hero (the movie)

Thanks !!

KPAX

(in reply to Chernobyl)

Post #: 9

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/28/2012 4:34:42 AM

Biggus63

Posts: 32
Joined: 8/7/2012
From: Perth, Western Australia
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Liebestod

Thanks for all the answers, I read the economic 101 document and it was helpful.

Very mature and helpful people we have here, I can tell. I was expecting to get flamed.

Regarding expansion of bases, do I want to go wild with port/fort/airbase expansions or limit it somewhat or do I want to be extremely selective due the supply cost? I'm confused why there is a "set all facilities to expand at start" option because this seems economically suicidal to me

All good questions mate, and you have my sympathy as it would seem I'm about 2 or 3 weeks further in than you. I can affirm that the community is very strong and you're unlikely to be flamed, something about it being a humungus hard core game with minimal graphics not appealing to the flamers I guess.

(in reply to Chernobyl)

Post #: 10

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/28/2012 6:21:13 AM

jmalter

Posts: 1673
Joined: 10/12/2010
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Liebestod
2. Strategic Moves/Railways on map
-If I do a lot of strategic railway moves along the same railway, will there be any sort of bottleneck?
-There are some hexes where a railway seems to stop at a river and then there is a railway on the hex opposite the river, but the black rail line is broken. Am I correct in assuming there is no railway bridge?

a) as best i can tell, there's no limit to the amount of 'strat-move' rail-movement.
b) use hotkey 'Y' to toggle the display railroad lines, hotkey 'R' for roads. if no rail or major-road connection crosses the river, you'll have to change from strat-move to move. but you don't have to wait for the unit to change modes before you assign its destination - a unit that's unpacking from strat-move will make progress in normal move during its 1-3 day unpack time.

welcome to the forum! everyone here has learned a lot about the game from these threads, & many are eager to give back when newb questions are posted.

(in reply to Chernobyl)

Post #: 11

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/30/2012 12:38:58 PM

Chernobyl

Posts: 444
Joined: 8/27/2012
Status: offline

Okay so couple more questions. In some other threads people are talking about the political points they have to spend to move troops from manchuria to china. And they are talking about the garrisoning requirements of chinese cities. I don't understand. I thought you only have to spend political points to allow a military unit to travel elsewhere by sea and air. Can't units from Korea and Manchuria just take a train to Suchow? (I already made a list of the best units to take out of Manchuria while keeping assault >= 8000) And what is this garrison requirement and where does it apply?

Other land warfare questions: What exactly is the effect of Leadership, Morale, Land skill, Air skill, Experience, Inspiration, etc? Does air skill help a land unit when it is being bombed? And the game suggests what type of unit a leader is best for (command, rear area, etc.) Are these just suggestions, or is there a penalty/bonus for matching the leader to his type of unit?

About how many troops can you supply on a main road? On a secondary road? Does the road distance matter?

How realistic is invading India in the first half of 1942?

EDIT: Ok I just noticed the garrison requirement on certain cities. Damn 450 assault value in Shanghai? That really ruins my plans :(

< Message edited by Liebestod -- 8/30/2012 12:46:09 PM >

(in reply to jmalter)

Post #: 12

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/30/2012 12:51:06 PM

JocMeister

Posts: 8262
Joined: 7/29/2009
From: Sweden
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Liebestod

Okay so couple more questions. In some other threads people are talking about the political points they have to spend to move troops from manchuria to china. And they are talking about the garrisoning requirements of chinese cities. I don't understand. I thought you only have to spend political points to allow a military unit to travel elsewhere by sea and air. Can't units from Korea and Manchuria just take a train to Suchow? (I already made a list of the best units to take out of Manchuria while keeping assault >= 8000) And what is this garrison requirement and where does it apply?

Many people have "houserules" active in their PBEM games. A common one is to have to "pay" PPs to move units across national borders. This to prevent unbalancing the game.

In some cities in China the player is required to keep a certain amount of AV present or they will lose Victory Points.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Liebestod
Other land warfare questions: What exactly is the effect of Leadership, Morale, Land skill, Air skill, Experience, Inspiration, etc? Does air skill help a land unit when it is being bombed? And the game suggests what type of unit a leader is best for (command, rear area, etc.) Are these just suggestions, or is there a penalty/bonus for matching the leader to his type of unit?

There was an exellent thread about this recently. Here you can find it. Click me

quote:

ORIGINAL: Liebestod

How realistic is invading India in the first half of 1942?

Even for extremely experienced players this is close to impossible. To my knowledge PzB is the only one that has managed to do it in a PBEM. Against the AI I would guess its perfectly doable. But it would probably destroy the rest of the game since I don�t think the AI can handle the loss of India. May be wrong though!

(in reply to Chernobyl)

Post #: 13

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/30/2012 6:54:15 PM

Lokasenna

Posts: 9297
Joined: 3/3/2012
From: Iowan in MD/DC
Status: offline

Why would the loss of India in particular disproportionately hurt the AI, as opposed to Australia or China? Other than just the obvious (high VP value of the bases), I mean?

(in reply to JocMeister)

Post #: 14

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/30/2012 8:11:59 PM

CaptDave

Posts: 659
Joined: 6/21/2002
From: Federal Way, WA
Status: offline

Just for the sake of full disclosure, the Allied player also has some city garrison requirements, so this isn't just picking on the Japanese side. (The Allied requirements are, however, considerably lower as a rule.)

(in reply to Lokasenna)

Post #: 15

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/31/2012 12:07:25 AM

Lcp Purcell

Posts: 78
Joined: 5/11/2009
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Liebestod

About how many troops can you supply on a main road? On a secondary road? Does the road distance matter?

the mystery of Supply flow.

As I under stand it (incompletely) units call for supply and the program check the closes bases first and spirals outward. , if a base has it it will send it to the units first before it meets it's own needs (like repairs and expansions) but the base send it to the closest units in need first. After that a base will send extra supply to other bases requesting more.

The amount of supply which reaches a unit or a base degrades with the distance and terrain. basically the better the roads the more supply which will actually reach it's destination.
If you have a base selected then hit the hot key "5" little white numbers will show up telling how far your supply will flow and how much will spoil on the road.

(in reply to JocMeister)

Post #: 16

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/31/2012 5:41:06 AM

JocMeister

Posts: 8262
Joined: 7/29/2009
From: Sweden
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

Why would the loss of India in particular disproportionately hurt the AI, as opposed to Australia or China? Other than just the obvious (high VP value of the bases), I mean?

Ah, I wasn�t trying to say that loosing India in particular will upset the AI. I think anything out of the ordinary will pretty much mess up the AI for example taking India/OZ/PH/NZ.

(in reply to Lokasenna)

Post #: 17

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/31/2012 12:20:17 PM

Chernobyl

Posts: 444
Joined: 8/27/2012
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Many people have "houserules" active in their PBEM games. A common one is to have to "pay" PPs to move units across national borders. This to prevent unbalancing the game.

Wait all you lose is victory points? That could actually be a useful way to prevent the game from suddenly ending if I am doing too well against the ai :)

(in reply to JocMeister)

Post #: 18

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/31/2012 5:18:02 PM

LoBaron

Posts: 4776
Joined: 1/26/2003
From: Vienna, Austria
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Liebestod

quote:

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

Many people have "houserules" active in their PBEM games. A common one is to have to "pay" PPs to move units across national borders. This to prevent unbalancing the game.

Wait all you lose is victory points? That could actually be a useful way to prevent the game from suddenly ending if I am doing too well against the ai :)

Welcome!

Don�t confuse victory points with political points. Thats two different things.

_____________________________

(in reply to Chernobyl)

Post #: 19

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 8/31/2012 5:21:45 PM

LoBaron

Posts: 4776
Joined: 1/26/2003
From: Vienna, Austria
Status: offline

Short addon with regards to sweeps: Houserule permitting always sweep at max alt, except the opposition has a better max ceiling than
you planes, then it really depends and can be a bloody affair.

Against the AI I would use sweeps very conservatively, as the AI can be worn down with this method, and you want an interesting game.
So I�d suggest you either sweep only in concert with bombing attacks and not exclusively to gain air superiority, or skip it completely.

_____________________________

(in reply to LoBaron)

Post #: 20

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 9/10/2012 11:25:00 PM

Chernobyl

Posts: 444
Joined: 8/27/2012
Status: offline

More newbie questions! I'm still learning about the game. All friendly/constructive answers are appreciated!

-Why do players rush to get the upgrades for the Oscar and the Zero? Honestly it seems like the only fighter worth getting is is the George. Am I missing something? I'm looking at the stats and the George beats the pants off any other fighter the Japanese get before 1945. Moreover, I can't even tell if the upgrades for the Zero make it better or worse than the A6M2, and even the later versions of the Oscar have a pathetic gun value.

-Is it me or is the standard scenario heavily weighed in the Allies' favor? Looking at the reinforcement schedule of all types of ships, I'd be amazed if the Japanese Navy isn't wiped out by the end of 1944. I'm actually a little surprised that no one is playing Ironman in the AAR section. It seems more like a fair fight to me! Right now I'm playing Hakko Ichiu with reliable torpedoes off and allied damage control off.

-I think I have some misunderstandings of how industry works. What is this I am hearing about how you want to save Heavy Industry points? Why would I want to save points and not just immediately put them into production or research? And how do I know how much I want to be producing in armaments and vehicles? Finally, I gather that increasing (always doubles when you click) the production/research of an aircraft/engine causes no damage, but you want to research 30 engines at a time in each slot for some efficiency reason. Is this still true or is that outdated information?

-I read in some other thread about B-24E bombers taking over the game. Some guy sends a large number of George fighters against the bombers, and the bombers win handily. Apparently they are so strong that the joke is you use them to escort your fighters. Is this no longer true due to patch nerfs, or are certain 4 engine bombers still capable of shooting down even the best Japanese fighters regardless of the odds?

-Are airfield strikes even worth doing? The pearl harbor attack never seems to destroy nearly as many planes on the ground as the historical raid did. Even worse for the Clark field raids (historical first turn setting): I only destroy a few fighters and maybe a B-17 or two when historically the base was hit extremely hard and most of the aircraft were destroyed. What gives? Oh and finally it doesn't seem to matter how many "runway strikes" you perform, or at least I don't notice any effect.

-Most land units seem to have a deficiency in support. There are a few exceptions, but I am under the impression that a unit's fighting strength is directly affected by its support to requirement ratio. Is this true? Now it seems like there are some HQ units that provide oodles of excess support, but they're initially placed far behind the front lines. Shouldn't they be up front in the same hexes as the impressive under-supported divisions?

-Is there any downside (besides a possible lack of planes and pilots) to stripping my carriers of dive bombers and using only fighters and torpedo bombers? The Val only gets 1x250kg bomb which is insufficient, so why not use only Kates? Similarly for the Americans, they get carrier-capable fighter planes that can drop bombs. Assuming equal payload, is there any reason to go with a dive bomber over a fighter?

-How important is it to take Wake? If I just left it in Allied hands would I regret it? I'm also considering ignoring Guam and northern New Guinea in favor of other more important early targets. It seems like I can easily leave these for later. Am I wrong?

(in reply to LoBaron)

Post #: 21

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 9/11/2012 12:11:33 AM

SpitfireIX

Posts: 264
Joined: 1/9/2003
From: Fort Wayne IN USA
Status: offline

quote:

-Is it me or is the standard scenario heavily weighed in the Allies' favor? Looking at the reinforcement schedule of all types of ships, I'd be amazed if the Japanese Navy isn't wiped out by the end of 1944. I'm actually a little surprised that no one is playing Ironman in the AAR section. It seems more like a fair fight to me! Right now I'm playing Hakko Ichiu with reliable torpedoes off and allied damage control off.

That's because World War II was heavily weighted in the Allies' favor IRL. And the IJN was effectively wiped out by the end of 1944 IRL. If you're looking for a more balanced scenario you might try one of the campaigns.

quote:

-Are airfield strikes even worth doing? The pearl harbor attack never seems to destroy nearly as many planes on the ground as the historical raid did. Even worse for the Clark field raids (historical first turn setting): I only destroy a few fighters and maybe a B-17 or two when historically the base was hit extremely hard and most of the aircraft were destroyed. What gives? Oh and finally it doesn't seem to matter how many "runway strikes" you perform, or at least I don't notice any effect.

The game engine isn't perfect; combat results are designed for normal situations; even with the December 7 surprise rule in effect, you are unlikely to do as well as the Japanese did historically; planes are assumed to be at least somewhat dispersed, and possibly camouflaged and in revetments. Also bear in mind that, even taking into account surprise, the Japanese were very lucky to achieve the results they did.

As for runway bombing, having been on the receiving end of plenty of Japanese attacks, I can assure you that it does have an effect. However, if the target has plenty of engineering vehicles and supplies, the damage will likely be repaired quickly.

quote:

-Is there any downside (besides a possible lack of planes and pilots) to stripping my carriers of dive bombers and using only fighters and torpedo bombers? The Val only gets 1x250kg bomb which is insufficient, so why not use only Kates? Similarly for the Americans, they get carrier-capable fighter planes that can drop bombs. Assuming equal payload, is there any reason to go with a dive bomber over a fighter?

Other than being ahistorical (but if you want to play that way, that's your choice; it's just a game after all), I think there's a bonus if you attack a task force with both torpedo and dive bombers simultaneously. Also, dive bombers are more accurate in some situations.

quote:

-How important is it to take Wake? If I just left it in Allied hands would I regret it? I'm also considering ignoring Guam and northern New Guinea in favor of other more important early targets. It seems like I can easily leave these for later. Am I wrong?

If you don't take Wake the Americans will most likely use it as a forward submarine base, which will be A Bad Thing for Japan.

_____________________________

"I know Japanese. He is very bad. And tricky. But we Americans too smart. We catch him and give him hell."

--Benny Sablan, crewman, USS Enterprise 12/7/41

(in reply to Chernobyl)

Post #: 22

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 9/11/2012 5:04:07 AM

Lcp Purcell

Posts: 78
Joined: 5/11/2009
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Liebestod

-Why do players rush to get the upgrades for the Oscar and the Zero? Honestly it seems like the only fighter worth getting is is the George. Am I missing something? I'm looking at the stats and the George beats the pants off any other fighter the Japanese get before 1945. Moreover, I can't even tell if the upgrades for the Zero make it better or worse than the A6M2, and even the later versions of the Oscar have a pathetic gun value.

Well first you need to divide your thoughts on IJNAF & IJAAF the army fighter pilots will never get to fly a George. Also the George can not fly from a carrier just the Zero line. while gun value is key the most important factor may be airspeed, that is the factor which gets those guns into play. or gets you away from the enemy guns. upgrades in the zero line are mostly to the airspeed.

For Army Air players expand Oscar production to cover the early days of the war, but in my mind the Tojo is the most important Army fighter. great airspeed, fairly good gun value, It has the best climb rate of any Japaneses fighter which is important for CAP when part of the squadron is on stand by on the ground and they need to climb to the target. Then the Tojo IIc gets a point of armor which helps survivability a lot, and a little better guns.

(in reply to Chernobyl)

Post #: 23

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 9/11/2012 1:30:30 PM

obvert

Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011
From: PDX (and now) London, UK
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lcp Purcell

quote:

ORIGINAL: Liebestod

-Why do players rush to get the upgrades for the Oscar and the Zero? Honestly it seems like the only fighter worth getting is is the George. Am I missing something? I'm looking at the stats and the George beats the pants off any other fighter the Japanese get before 1945. Moreover, I can't even tell if the upgrades for the Zero make it better or worse than the A6M2, and even the later versions of the Oscar have a pathetic gun value.

Well first you need to divide your thoughts on IJNAF & IJAAF the army fighter pilots will never get to fly a George. Also the George can not fly from a carrier just the Zero line. while gun value is key the most important factor may be airspeed, that is the factor which gets those guns into play. or gets you away from the enemy guns. upgrades in the zero line are mostly to the airspeed.

For Army Air players expand Oscar production to cover the early days of the war, but in my mind the Tojo is the most important Army fighter. great airspeed, fairly good gun value, It has the best climb rate of any Japaneses fighter which is important for CAP when part of the squadron is on stand by on the ground and they need to climb to the target. Then the Tojo IIc gets a point of armor which helps survivability a lot, and a little better guns.

While you're waiting 1 1/2 to 2 years for your Georges and Franks you still have to fight with something. Better models of the planes that have versions can also be more easily researched than planes that appear only later in the war. The upgrade paths allow research factories to upgrade without damage to move through the line and get later models much sooner than IRL. Also, although the George is good, it's also fighting much better Allied planes by the time it arrives.

In the early war the A6M2 is mostly dominant and the Ki-43 Ic is at least effective, but only because they're flying against Buffalos, P-40Es and even Chinese biplanes. Each 6 months the available planes for the Allies get much better and the ones for the Japanese get only marginally better. So if you can get a model 'early' you can at least hold your own for a while (at least until the P-47 thud shows up).

_____________________________

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

(in reply to Lcp Purcell)

Post #: 24

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 9/11/2012 1:31:18 PM

obvert

Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011
From: PDX (and now) London, UK
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lcp Purcell

quote:

ORIGINAL: Liebestod

-Why do players rush to get the upgrades for the Oscar and the Zero? Honestly it seems like the only fighter worth getting is is the George. Am I missing something? I'm looking at the stats and the George beats the pants off any other fighter the Japanese get before 1945. Moreover, I can't even tell if the upgrades for the Zero make it better or worse than the A6M2, and even the later versions of the Oscar have a pathetic gun value.

Well first you need to divide your thoughts on IJNAF & IJAAF the army fighter pilots will never get to fly a George. Also the George can not fly from a carrier just the Zero line. while gun value is key the most important factor may be airspeed, that is the factor which gets those guns into play. or gets you away from the enemy guns. upgrades in the zero line are mostly to the airspeed.

For Army Air players expand Oscar production to cover the early days of the war, but in my mind the Tojo is the most important Army fighter. great airspeed, fairly good gun value, It has the best climb rate of any Japaneses fighter which is important for CAP when part of the squadron is on stand by on the ground and they need to climb to the target. Then the Tojo IIc gets a point of armor which helps survivability a lot, and a little better guns.

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

(in reply to Lcp Purcell)

Post #: 25

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 9/11/2012 2:01:02 PM

Shellshock

Posts: 533
Joined: 12/31/2010
From: U.S.
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Liebestod

-Is it me or is the standard scenario heavily weighed in the Allies' favor? Looking at the reinforcement schedule of all types of ships, I'd be amazed if the Japanese Navy isn't wiped out by the end of 1944. I'm actually a little surprised that no one is playing Ironman in the AAR section. It seems more like a fair fight to me! Right now I'm playing Hakko Ichiu with reliable torpedoes off and allied damage control off.

Historically, it was never a fair fight. The United States alone had ten times the industrial capacity of Japan. Even accounting for the effort against Germany there was still plenty left over to squash Japan. The challenge as Japan is seeing how long you can hold out or do better. Winning outright is rare.

(in reply to Chernobyl)

Post #: 26

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 9/11/2012 2:35:08 PM

Mundy

Posts: 2869
Joined: 6/26/2002
From: Neenah
Status: offline

If you ignore Wake and Guam, against another human player, you may find unwanted airial reinforcements making their way east. Planes like the SB2U have a pretty good ferry range.

Ed-

_____________________________

(in reply to Shellshock)

Post #: 27

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 9/18/2012 6:06:10 PM

Chernobyl

Posts: 444
Joined: 8/27/2012
Status: offline

New question:

So carriers have limited torpedoes, but it seems that if the number left is less than the size of the torpedo group, then they won't use the remainder at all. For instance Akagi has 27 torpedo planes and a 45 torpedoes. After it uses 27 of them on the first strike, it doesn't rearm ANY of the planes with torpedoes for a strike the next day! Am I doing something wrong or is this just a 'feature'?

Oh and why does an airgroup that is USING TORPEDOES always have that text in red?

< Message edited by Liebestod -- 9/18/2012 6:10:00 PM >

(in reply to Mundy)

Post #: 28

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 9/18/2012 6:39:46 PM

Puhis

Posts: 1737
Joined: 11/30/2008
From: Finland
Status: offline

Carrier planes can use all torpedoes. If there's less torpedoes than planes, some of the planes are using bombs. Carriers also have limited bombs (called sorties).

(in reply to Chernobyl)

Post #: 29

RE: Long list of newbie questions - 9/18/2012 7:02:09 PM

JocMeister

Posts: 8262
Joined: 7/29/2009
From: Sweden
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Shellshock

Historically, it was never a fair fight. The United States alone had ten times the industrial capacity of Japan. Even accounting for the effort against Germany there was still plenty left over to squash Japan. The challenge as Japan is seeing how long you can hold out or do better. Winning outright is rare.

I don�t know if I remember this correctly but I think I read somewhere that the US had twice the worlds combined industrial output at the start of the war. If its correct it pretty amazing!