Korvar
Posts: 813
Joined: 9/3/2014
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: RedTaurus
I had read the first section but missed 18.1.3.
It helps a lot to use the search function on whatever PDF reader you use. Use the Ctrl + f to search for key terms. There's a lot of good info in both the manual and the forums; unfortunately, it's often scattered about, so whatever you can do search-optimization-wise is a good thing. 'Subscribing' to the whole WitPAE subforum will also help with forum searches - you can just click on the "search subscribed forums/threads" option (2nd one down, I believe) instead of highlighting the WitPAE subforum every time (which is waaaaay down the list).
quote:
ORIGINAL: RedTaurus
I've been going Historical on the difficulty setting as I'm still learning the game. On average I've been done somewhat poorly in my ground game. You might laugh at me but it took me a few restarts of a turn to figure out how to load troops on ships.
FYI, the difficulty setting can be adjusted mid-game.
Play one or two days of every in-game week on 'hard' at the very least - the AI isn't the best at stocking island bases with supplies, and giving it periodic "free supplies" will help it give more of a fight. Don't worry, it won't become an unbeatable foe on those settings. Even if it gives you a few more lumps in the process, it "builds character" (as is said) should you decide one day to go against a human foe.
As for the ground game, what really helped me was to pay attention to which command HQ each was assigned to. Use this map to become acquainted with the area of responsibility for each command. Note the 'Central Pacific' region is designated as 'Pacific Ocean Areas' in-game (which was also the IRL name of that command).
Also pay attention to what land units can combine to form larger units - divided land units will have a 'Unit OOB' (meaning 'order of battle') button in the lower leftish corner of their detail screen. This will give you the locations of all the subunits that can combine to form the larger unit. This will primarily apply to infantry units, not as much for base forces and such. Look in particular for what infantry divisions you can form - an infantry division is generally a very powerful, mostly self-sufficient battle unit that is very useful.
Set up a 'hub and spoke' logistics system. Units will generally flow from the Continental US, Aden, South Africa, and India to the various command regions where the fighting is taking place. You'll want large, robust ports at both the point of origin as well as the 'regional hub' you designate.
For example, you might designate San Francisco as the 'point of origin' for the Continental US. That means that whenever land units appear in the US (and they have a Pacific-area command HQ and not a restricted command), move them via 'strategic move' (i.e. they'll load up and move via rail) to San Francisco. Upon arrival, see if the unit strength is under 100. If it is, set the unit to 'rest' mode and wait until it builds up to 100+ (this can take days, weeks, or even months depending upon how depleted it is and the availability of equipment). Make sure San Francisco has enough Support points, otherwise the land units won't rebuild as quickly. Move some more units with support (like HQs) there if you need the points.
Once the unit is at 100+ strength, it is ready to be loaded on a transport to the region of its command HQ. Let's say a unit is assigned to a command which falls under the 'South Pacific' regional command. It technically covers everything east from the Eastern Solomon Islands and south of the Gilbert Islands. The South Pacific and Southwest commands tend to 'blend' in the Solomon Islands and eastern New Guinea, so I usually consider those valid as well.
For a regional land unit hub you might select Sydney or Brisbane Australia. They both start with good ports that can be expanded all the way to size 9 and 7, respectively (9 is the largest size you can build in the game - only a few ports are hard-coded as size 10). They are also close to where you intend to deploy the units, but not so close to the front lines that your transports will be in constant danger. So when you have a few land units under the South Pacific command ready to go in San Francisco, form a task force of transport ships with enough troop/cargo space, load up the troops, and set Sidney/Brisbane as the destination. You'll also want to set waypoints along the way so your transports don't go anywhere near Japanese occupied islands (the task force route will be highlighted in yellow hexes).
The transport ships moving troops between regions tend to be the larger, slower ships (cruise speed of 10-12 knots generally) that have long endurance (~10000+). You'll be using the 'Transport' type task force with units loaded in 'Strategic' mode. That means all their equipment is crated up so it is the most space-efficient during transport. That also means they need developed ports with docks, cranes and such to load/unload the cargo efficiently. You WILL NOT have a good time if you try to dump them on an undeveloped jungle island somewhere. In general, think port sizes of 7+ (with size 8 or 9 being best) as good candidates for regional hubs.
Land units will start to collect at your regional hubs, and before long you'll have a decent selection to choose from. Then you'll form new task groups to transport smaller numbers of units to specific bases along or near the front lines. These bases tend to be less developed, so these transport groups tend to use the 'Amphibious' mission type with the ground units in 'Combat' mode. Each land unit will require more troop and cargo space than they did in 'Strategic' mode, but they will unload more easily on lesser developed bases. You'll also use the AP/AK transport types as opposed to the xAP/xAK transports that tend to be used on the regional routes. AP/AK transports are actual navy transports equipped to unload units on beaches whereas the xAP/xAK are requisitioned civilian transports that don't have the cranes/barges/etc. to do their own loading/unloading very well.
Not only will you learn a lot about in-game logistics, but your ground units will largely 'self-sort' in the process. Instead of one big 'glob' of units that you're wondering what to do with, you'll have a stream of units moving closer to their intended front lines. Then you can look at very specific areas and decide what to do based on what units you have in the region.
As you learn more about the land units and how to use them, you start to learn when/why you might want to deviate from the historical allocation of units to the various commands. But remember that the Command HQs (and what land units are assigned by them) are based on history, and each side had large command staffs that carefully planned what units were going where... so it's a good starting point based on a lot of research.
By using the given command structure for logistics/organization purposes, you can then focus more on learning the ground combat mechanics of the game.
That was a lot longer than I intended, but it's what was helpful to me for learning about the ground units and how to use them.
quote:
ORIGINAL: RedTaurus
This forum is pretty cool and a lot of the formites here are pretty good about helping out. This is twice now that I know of in which you've kind of come after me. Feel free to block me if you have issues.
I understand why you might feel that way - I believe the Gorn quipped something at me as well on one of my first posts. He's a good guy though and is one of the 'vets' here who knows quite a bit about the game.
If it makes you feel better, he's an "equal opportunity discriminator". Or put another way, an otherwise capable diplomat who may let a fart slip in the conference room now and again. 
Some general forum advice - there are a few forum/game veterans around here who might have what you'd call a 'rough' teaching style. Think of them as crusty old NCOs (non-commissioned officers) that you can learn a lot from if you brush off the ego bruising they'll perhaps give you. On one hand you're the FNG (f***ing new guy) to them, but on the other you'll find that they're willing to pass on their hard-earned knowledge if you give 'em the chance. My two-cents.
< Message edited by Korvar -- 12/30/2017 9:22:07 PM >
|
Printable Version
Allied Damage Control Switch On/Off - 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread