Matrix Games Forums

 Forums  Register  Login  Photo Gallery  Member List  Search  Calendars  FAQ 

My Profile  Inbox  Address Book  My Subscription  My Forums  Log Out

Coastwatcher Unreliability?

 
View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest
Users viewing this topic: none
  Printable Version
All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> Coastwatcher Unreliability? Page: [1]
Login
Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>
Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/7/2019 2:50:12 PM   
Canoerebel


Posts: 21100
Joined: 12/14/2002
From: Northwestern Georgia, USA
Status: offline 		The game generates a lot of useful information. Some is intentional (SigInt, the sound of a ship striking a mine, the sound of a ship sinking vs. the sound of a sub breaking up) and unintentional (at the beginning of each turn, the screen may show enemy TF deployments around the Home Islands that you otherwise wouldn't see nor should you see as you have no detection or reason to see it/them). We also have mouseover info, Recon, recon by bombers (that won't accept a mission vs. a non-base hex if there's no enemy unit there, thus revealing that there's no enemy unit there), etc.

There's all kinds of useful info and non-info built into the game, intentionally and not.

It's a bit surprising that I've come to treat Coastwatcher reports as utterly unreliable. I don't think I ever got one that was accurate. CA Atago at Rabaul? It's not there. CVL Hosho at Tulagi? It's not there.

Subconsciously, I began disregarding the reports at least two games back, doing other things during that phase of the movie. Am I wrong? Have I fallen into a bad habit? Do other players get enough reliable report to use the information?

The only useful thing about the reports I can think of is to prompt me to consider, "What might my opponent be up to if CV Zuikaku really was at Darwin?"
Post #: 1
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/7/2019 3:10:07 PM   
HansBolter


Posts: 7704
Joined: 7/6/2006
From: United States
Status: offline 		The biggest problem with coast watcher reports are that they occur BEFORE two naval movement phases are executed.

Every ship supposedly spotted has two opportunities to be somewhere else before your bombing mission arrives.

There is no way whatsoever to confirm if they were accurate at the time they occurred.

I stopped reacting to them long ago.

< Message edited by HansBolter -- 6/7/2019 3:41:33 PM >

_____________________________

Hans


(in reply to Canoerebel)
Post #: 2
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/7/2019 3:31:05 PM   
Canoerebel


Posts: 21100
Joined: 12/14/2002
From: Northwestern Georgia, USA
Status: offline 		I also received reports that I knew were untrue. IE, that Shoho was "at Rabaul" when she was actually engaged in action that day near Ceylon, etc.

(in reply to HansBolter)
Post #: 3
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/7/2019 3:36:06 PM   
BillBrown


Posts: 2335
Joined: 6/15/2002
Status: offline 		I quit reading them when I got reports that the same ship was at 3 different ports on the same turn. I don't bother to read them any more.

(in reply to Canoerebel)
Post #: 4
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/7/2019 3:41:41 PM   
witpqs


Posts: 26087
Joined: 10/4/2004
From: Argleton
Status: offline 		Time you could be reading the coastwatcher reports is better spent reading The Coastwatchers (forget the author's name), written fairly shortly after the war. A pretty good read.

_____________________________

Intel Monkey: https://sites.google.com/view/staffmonkeys/home

(in reply to BillBrown)
Post #: 5
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/7/2019 3:53:33 PM   
BBfanboy


Posts: 18046
Joined: 8/4/2010
From: Winnipeg, MB
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: BillBrown

I quit reading them when I got reports that the same ship was at 3 different ports on the same turn. I don't bother to read them any more.

Generally the reports are utterly false, or semi-accurate at best. Accuracy is very rare. I saw it when I started playing this game and played both sides so I could get a sense of the FOW in the various reports. One thing that did seem apparent is that the more detail in the coastwatcher report, the more likely it is to be accurate. So if it says X# of ships at port Y, fuggedabautit! If it IDs ship type or class, there is a slight chance it is right. If it names a ship, there could be FOW around the name, but a ship of that class could be there.
This is anecdotal - I kept no stats, and I was playing the 1124 patch at the time so I can't speak for the 1126a or 1126b versions.

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

(in reply to BillBrown)
Post #: 6
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/7/2019 4:25:24 PM   
Lowpe


Posts: 22133
Joined: 2/25/2013
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

If it names a ship, there could be FOW around the name, but a ship of that class could be there.


That is not my experience, but if it does name a ship, then there is at least one ship present at the time of the report. You can net some hits on disbanded ships without previous recon by flying & bombing low. Especially good at ferreting out hiding ships...B17 and B29 will of course sink everything.

< Message edited by Lowpe -- 6/7/2019 4:26:42 PM >

(in reply to BBfanboy)
Post #: 7
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/7/2019 5:37:35 PM   
Macclan5


Posts: 1065
Joined: 3/24/2016
From: Toronto Canada
Status: offline 		1) Too inexperienced to realize I "should have" watched Coasterwatcher reports and learned to dismiss them as Inaccurate

2) Was disappointed they did not provide me 'air raid' sightings back to Guadalcanal aka real life. Rabul to my fledgling base. At least I have not experienced this yet...or missed it.

3) should not have used / landed a useful Sep INF Regiment on all those dot bases in order to eliminate coast watchers all around New Guinea when they are evidently useless.... OCD issues on my part.

4) Now treats as a vague 'immersion' factor much like Tokyo Rose / Axis Sally clone voice. She of course is far more amusing having sunk 2 Carriers, a Battleship, numerous Cruisers and Destroyers out of that PT Boat I squad-vectored in for a little Naval recon / lucky strike chance.

< Message edited by Macclan5 -- 6/7/2019 5:38:14 PM >

_____________________________

A People that values its privileges above it's principles will soon loose both. Dwight D Eisenhower.

(in reply to Lowpe)
Post #: 8
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/7/2019 6:04:55 PM   
HansBolter


Posts: 7704
Joined: 7/6/2006
From: United States
Status: offline 		One thing I have noticed as I moved into Japan proper with my operations is the plethora of locations the Japanese get coastwatcher reports for.

During that phase the display is jumping all over the map with the binocular icon popping up all over and no reports given back to me.

I take those to be Japanese coastwatchers reporting back to the AI. Many of them occur in liberated Chinese coastal bases.

_____________________________

Hans


(in reply to Macclan5)
Post #: 9
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/7/2019 6:05:31 PM   
GetAssista

 

Posts: 2732
Joined: 9/19/2009
Status: offline 		If you spend some turns playing AI with FOW switched off you will understand that coastwatchers are generally seeing things you people would not believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion... ... ahem

I mean they usually see ships where there aren't any ships at all for hexes and hexes around them.

(in reply to Macclan5)
Post #: 10
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/7/2019 6:15:14 PM   
HansBolter


Posts: 7704
Joined: 7/6/2006
From: United States
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

fire off the shoulder of Orion... ... ahem





They call that the Horsehead nebula.........no wait a minute, the Horsehead is technically in Orion's armpit.

The Flame nebula is closer to off his shoulder.

_____________________________

Hans


(in reply to GetAssista)
Post #: 11
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/9/2019 7:06:29 AM   
inqistor


Posts: 1813
Joined: 5/12/2010
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: GetAssista

If you spend some turns playing AI with FOW switched off you will understand that coastwatchers are generally seeing things you people would not believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion... ... ahem


Rutger personally wrote this poem!

(in reply to GetAssista)
Post #: 12
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/9/2019 6:12:59 PM   
geofflambert


Posts: 14863
Joined: 12/23/2010
From: St. Louis
Status: offline 		All you need know about coastwatchers is explained in the documentary "Father Goose".




Attachment (1)

(in reply to inqistor)
Post #: 13
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/9/2019 6:26:42 PM   
Moltrey


Posts: 297
Joined: 4/11/2010
From: Virginia
Status: offline 		Cary is about to say: "Lady... you're making a powerful enemy!"

An interesting aside; Cary told an interviewer once that Walter Eckland was about as close to playing his real persona as it got. I still think it is one of his best performances, hilarious.
I always get a kick out of the gull who squawks at him repeatedly thru his early troubles. (Oh, buzz off!!)

_____________________________

"Chew, if only you could see what I've seen with your eyes." - Roy Batty

(in reply to geofflambert)
Post #: 14
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/9/2019 6:34:53 PM   
geofflambert


Posts: 14863
Joined: 12/23/2010
From: St. Louis
Status: offline 		I had a significant case of the hots for Ms. Caron, too. The accent maybe.

(in reply to Moltrey)
Post #: 15
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/9/2019 8:45:05 PM   
Moltrey


Posts: 297
Joined: 4/11/2010
From: Virginia
Status: offline 		My personal sixties crush was Marlo Thomas of "That Girl" fame. Whew, gets me all ruffled just thinkin' about it.

So... how about those old unreliable coastwatchers, eh? I write it off to flavour (note the King's English spelling)!

(in reply to geofflambert)
Post #: 16
RE: Coastwatcher Unreliability? - 6/9/2019 8:51:21 PM   
mind_messing

 

Posts: 3393
Joined: 10/28/2013
Status: offline 		DL increase in DL increase. It is a marginal boost, but it is absolutely no substitute for a proper intelligence gathering effort.

(in reply to Canoerebel)
Post #: 17
Page:   [1]
All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> Coastwatcher Unreliability? Page: [1]
Jump to:





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
 Reply to Message
 Post New Poll
 Submit Vote
 Delete My Own Post
 Delete My Own Thread
 Rate Posts


Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.4.5 ANSI

1.078