Slitherine

quote:

ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

To add to my previous post... I wish to find a map that will be "for keeps" as well as investigate the AI updates I have heard about. In other words, I wish to take this game beyond its out of the box condition and tweak/mod it to my satisfaction as I have done with other games over the years, such as Silent Hunter 3, another favourite of mine, once I remedied the stock version into something playable and enjoyable once the bugs and ugliness were eliminated, reduced, enhanced. And then there the other tools available which I have not even touched yet, such as trackers; don't know what they do or how to use them or even if I have the ability and inclination to make it worthwhile using them. It's already challenging enough just learning the game itself.

One last question or two: is there a key you use to pull up where all of your shipyards are? Can you pull up a list of the initial and SPS of all the bases and dots in the game, aside from compiling all this data manually? At its core this game is a compilation of databases so perhaps there is an easier way to access this information without visiting every hex in the game?

quote:

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Look at the industry screen for shipyards.

Try the 7 December start but move Force Z to Batavia. It really was not attacked on 7 December since Admiral Philips was in Manila trying to coordinate actions with the US Asiatic Fleet.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

I am going to open a new line of inquiry. I thought of starting a new thread, but since the people who respond most to my questions are following this thread I ask it here, with apologies if it is an etiquette breach...

When my LCUs under South Pacific HQ took Lunga, Tulagi, etc. when the U.S. flag [Hip hooray x 3, love that sound effect] went up with the base under new management it showed as a base under SoPac HQ. On the other hand, when my LCUs on New Guinea took Buna and Salamaua, an Australian flag went up on each base and they were designated as Australia Command. This meant I had LCUs of SW Pac [Doug] in bases under AusComm. I cannot understand whey the conquests were handled differently, and secondly, what is the importance of the HQ assignment of a base?

quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

quote:

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Look at the industry screen for shipyards.

Try the 7 December start but move Force Z to Batavia. It really was not attacked on 7 December since Admiral Philips was in Manila trying to coordinate actions with the US Asiatic Fleet.

Or that's what he said he went there for. There were other things to do in Manila, even back then ...

quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

quote:

ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

I am going to open a new line of inquiry. I thought of starting a new thread, but since the people who respond most to my questions are following this thread I ask it here, with apologies if it is an etiquette breach...

When my LCUs under South Pacific HQ took Lunga, Tulagi, etc. when the U.S. flag [Hip hooray x 3, love that sound effect] went up with the base under new management it showed as a base under SoPac HQ. On the other hand, when my LCUs on New Guinea took Buna and Salamaua, an Australian flag went up on each base and they were designated as Australia Command. This meant I had LCUs of SW Pac [Doug] in bases under AusComm. I cannot understand whey the conquests were handled differently, and secondly, what is the importance of the HQ assignment of a base?

Opening a new subject should be a new thread for the sole reason that anyone in the future looking for that sort of info using thread titles will only be able to find it if it is in a new thread (5 X 2-letter words in a row! Never saw that before - call Guiness!),

The ownership of the base has no effect on the LCUs therein. It does matter for air units.
The HQ of the first LCU in a conquering stack determines which HQ will control a base.

quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

I think you may have some Aussie units that were bought out to 1st Aus. Corps which is unrestricted, but reports to Aus. Command (unless you also buy it out). In this way you would have paid 25% of the PP to make the LCUs unrestricted under 1 Aus. Corps, and then moved them to serve in SWPAC area of operations. The Aussie units would still technically belong to Aus. Command, not SWPAC.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

I think you may have some Aussie units that were bought out to 1st Aus. Corps which is unrestricted, but reports to Aus. Command (unless you also buy it out). In this way you would have paid 25% of the PP to make the LCUs unrestricted under 1 Aus. Corps, and then moved them to serve in SWPAC area of operations. The Aussie units would still technically belong to Aus. Command, not SWPAC.

That's it right there. I did not during my game buy out any units to go into 1st Aus. Corps; I simply had the Corps HQ in or next to the engaged units. What I did post-scenario is open a saved turn in which I had plenty of PPs accumulated by the end of the game {about 1800} and played around with buying out units to an HQ within higher command and did notice it was much cheaper to buy them out that way.

I do have a query, and I think the answer is "yes" as I flipped through the manual again in bed last night {until 2AM!}. If I buy out the restricted Australia Command and turn it into an unrestricted command, all of its subordinate units would also become unrestricted. This sounds like a one-click-fixes-all solution but without even opening a saved turn, which I will do after posting] I will wager it is very expensive.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

I'm still getting my head around the whole political points thing, having a hard time imagining Doug saying to his staff, "A few more days and we'll have the points, boys.”

quote:

ORIGINAL: jdsrae

quote:

ORIGINAL: Randy Stead

I'm still getting my head around the whole political points thing, having a hard time imagining Doug saying to his staff, "A few more days and we'll have the points, boys.”

I just finished reading this paper on Aussie Generals early war.
If you want a break from reading the manual give it a go!
Australia ends up having an excess of LGENs in game and this paper helps explain why.

Old mate Doug gets a few mentions, including a number of times when his requests for more troops were declined by “Field Marshal” Marshall.
Think of that as Marshall saying, “sorry I don’t have enough PP for you”.
The in game PP system is a pretty good abstraction to force the player to weigh up which theatre gets the reinforcements.

https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/114818/2/b1177454x.pdf

quote:

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Try the 7 December start but move Force Z to Batavia. It really was not attacked on 7 December since Admiral Philips was in Manila trying to coordinate actions with the US Asiatic Fleet.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Kull

quote:

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Try the 7 December start but move Force Z to Batavia. It really was not attacked on 7 December since Admiral Philips was in Manila trying to coordinate actions with the US Asiatic Fleet.

In game turns, Force Z departed Singapore on "Day 1":

1) 8 AM in Honolulu on 12/7 (roughly the time at which the attacks began) is 2 AM in Singapore on 12/8. So that's our baseline.

2) Task Force "Z" departed Singapore harbor at 1710 on 12/8. That's exactly 15 hours and ten minutes after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

3) Add 15 hours and ten minutes to 8 AM Honolulu time and it becomes 11:10 PM (or 2310), which is still 12/7/1941, and thus it's still "Day 1" in Singapore.

In real life time zones matter, but they don't in-game. It's exactly the same time of day at every pixel on the map, which is patently absurd in the real world, but from a game perspective it works fine. The exception is Turn 1, where extrapolations had to be made.

Obviously players can perform in any way they choose, but Force Z was in motion on day 1. That is a fact. Choosing not to use it as a response to the landings in northern Malaya is patently non-historical, and in real life a non-sailing Tom Phllips would have been cashiered the next day. The Allied Player is certainly free to "save" Force Z, but they should expend every single political point they have, right then and there, because nothing could be more unlikely than the British leadership (former First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill in particular) silently accepting cowardice on the part of the Royal Navy.

quote:

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

quote:

ORIGINAL: Kull

quote:

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Try the 7 December start but move Force Z to Batavia. It really was not attacked on 7 December since Admiral Philips was in Manila trying to coordinate actions with the US Asiatic Fleet.

In game turns, Force Z departed Singapore on "Day 1":

1) 8 AM in Honolulu on 12/7 (roughly the time at which the attacks began) is 2 AM in Singapore on 12/8. So that's our baseline.

2) Task Force "Z" departed Singapore harbor at 1710 on 12/8. That's exactly 15 hours and ten minutes after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

3) Add 15 hours and ten minutes to 8 AM Honolulu time and it becomes 11:10 PM (or 2310), which is still 12/7/1941, and thus it's still "Day 1" in Singapore.

In real life time zones matter, but they don't in-game. It's exactly the same time of day at every pixel on the map, which is patently absurd in the real world, but from a game perspective it works fine. The exception is Turn 1, where extrapolations had to be made.

Obviously players can perform in any way they choose, but Force Z was in motion on day 1. That is a fact. Choosing not to use it as a response to the landings in northern Malaya is patently non-historical, and in real life a non-sailing Tom Phllips would have been cashiered the next day. The Allied Player is certainly free to "save" Force Z, but they should expend every single political point they have, right then and there, because nothing could be more unlikely than the British leadership (former First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill in particular) silently accepting cowardice on the part of the Royal Navy.

I disagree with that. Remember that the POW did fall back from the battle with the Bismarck and the Eugen.

He would have been falling back to regroup with the US Asiatic Fleet which was at Tarakan and Balikpappen. The AD Black Hawk was to be left at Batavia and at least the four 4 pipers were to join with Force Z. Think if the fleet would have started moving even just a few days prior with the Asiatic Fleet and support ships on a "Fleet Exercise" that were scheduled to return but actually heading to the DEI after some maneuvers for the spies. Consolidating the forces available is a tactic that the British High Command should have understood by that time during the war.

Remember, Force Z had lost their carrier which had run aground so prudence would have been the better course. Even the few fighters on a British carrier could have ruined the day of many of the torpedo bombers. Especially if they had called on the Aussie Buffaloes for help.

Think of Force Z with four extra four pipers, backed up by the Houston, Boise, and the Marblehead plus the other four pipers? Then the Dutch cruisers and destroyers? That would have been a formidable force, even if it was not used where the enemy had air superiority but as a threat to be used which could have slowed the Japanese down.

That would make an interesting mod if the Japanese player did not know about it!

quote:

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Then at least give it the air cover that Force Z thought that they were going to get.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Kull

quote:

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Then at least give it the air cover that Force Z thought that they were going to get.

Interestingly, it does. I've run a lot of tests which involve run-throughs of the December 7th start, and Force Z gets air support in roughly half of them. Sometimes a few Buffaloes, sometimes a lot, but it does happen.