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Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 8:46:32 PM   
sfbaytf

 

Posts: 1122
Joined: 4/13/2005
Status: offline 		I'm playing against the computer and have it on historical difficulty. I see in the manual that it reccomends you crank it up to hard. How is it on hard or very hard? Does it make that much of a difference? I'm getting up to speed again and waiting for 1.5 before I try to find a PBEM opponent-don't think the AI will ever be as much fun or challenging as a real opponent.

On another note I just started the Rising Sun scenario and my B-17's managed to hit the CVL Ryujo with 500lb bombs from 10,000 feet. That is if the reports are accurate as I'm playing with the fog of war option on. I decided to go an change the attack altitude of my B-17's and Hudsons to 5000 and see if they would be more effective, but so far the results has been no hits and more damage suffered by the bombers. The homely Swordfish have been my most effective bomber so far. They scored 3 hits on Japanese battleships-if I can rely on the combat reports.

I have a questions about laying mines. Do you just send minelayers to a destination and they lay a minefield when they get there? Do you minefileds show up on the map so you know where they are or do you have to keep track of them. How effective are they?

When I played the Guadalcanal as Japan I used most of my subs to lay mines, as I figured since they were too easy for the Allied to find and kill I would try to find another use for them.
Post #: 1
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 9:14:00 PM   
freeboy

 

Posts: 9088
Joined: 5/16/2004
From: Colorado
Status: offline 		if you continue to move your subs around, and never use them in shallows they will be great, if you have non hystorical use inabled... I remember sinking alot of aks againstthe ia, back in the play against ia days around SF...

(in reply to sfbaytf)
Post #: 2
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 9:38:18 PM   
wild_Willie2


Posts: 2934
Joined: 10/8/2004
From: Arnhem (holland) yes a bridge to far...
Status: offline 		On hard/very hard the Ai just gets more units and combat bonusses, the game does not get more difficult, just "slower" because instead of 1 LCU you have to kill 3 or 4 LCU's

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Post #: 3
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 9:39:20 PM   
ckk

 

Posts: 1268
Joined: 10/18/2000
From: Pensacola Beach FL
Status: offline 		Sometime ago it was determined that level bombers could only bomb from 6,000 feet or higher. This was the lowest the absracted bombsight would be effective

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Post #: 4
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 9:47:21 PM   
ckk

 

Posts: 1268
Joined: 10/18/2000
From: Pensacola Beach FL
Status: offline 		send minelayers to a destination with retirement allowed and it will lay the mines and a dot will show in the hex.

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RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 9:47:31 PM   
PeteG662


Posts: 1263
Joined: 6/7/2004
Status: offline 		Altitudes below 6000 will result in more ops losses. There was discussion about bombing accuracy but I do not remember what the consensus was regarding the level bombers and what appeared to be the minimum altitude setting.

Regarding laying mines, set a mine layer TF to a destination with retirement on and it will lay mines in the destination. There will be a little asterisk on the map usually in the upper left corner of the hex showing your friendly minefield. Mines have a chance to attack both enemy and to a lesser extent your own forces passing through the hex.


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RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 9:55:48 PM   
sfbaytf

 

Posts: 1122
Joined: 4/13/2005
Status: offline 		thanks all for the info. I'll have to adjust the altitude to at least 6000. Does the altitude restriction also apply to B-25's and A-20's. By 1943 the allieds were using them in wave top skip bombing against ships with great effect.

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RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 9:57:42 PM   
BraveHome


Posts: 523
Joined: 11/9/2004
From: Tulsa, OK
Status: offline 		I find the discussion of 6,000 versus 5,000 interesting, because the manual (section 7.2.2.10, Altitude Selection) states

"Level bombers attacking at below 5,000 feet will have their accuracy and effectiveness
reduced."

The same section also states

"Level bomber groups that have more damaged aircraft than ready aircraft near the end of the Resolution Phase and are ordered to attack at an altitude of below 6,000 feet will
have the possibility of having a 30 point Morale loss."

So I have always used 6,000 feet as 'minimum' for my LBs to be safe, though the game engine seems to target 5,000 for nondamaged LB minimum altitude/maximum effectiveness.

(in reply to PeteG662)
Post #: 8
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 9:58:54 PM   
ckk

 

Posts: 1268
Joined: 10/18/2000
From: Pensacola Beach FL
Status: offline 		No set altitude for 100 ft. and more experience bombers IIRC 60 experience will skip bomb

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Post #: 9
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 10:03:48 PM   
PeteG662


Posts: 1263
Joined: 6/7/2004
Status: offline 		I always use at least 6000 feet because of the morale and potential ops losses. If you want to skip bomb with B-25s et al, you will take face higher fatigue and ops losses. Fighter bombers (P39s) make good strafing runs against barges.

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Post #: 10
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 10:03:54 PM   
sfbaytf

 

Posts: 1122
Joined: 4/13/2005
Status: offline 		Hey thanks for the reference to the 7.2.2.10, Altitude Selection section. It pretty much answered my question on skip bombing, although it does bring up some other questions. Could you use B-17's to skip bomb if their experience level was high enough? Does dropping B-17s to 100 feet allo them to strafe enemy ships with their 50 cals? Could you imagine if they did that in real life? The high altitude bomber barons would have a heart attack.

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Post #: 11
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 10:06:10 PM   
PeteG662


Posts: 1263
Joined: 6/7/2004
Status: offline 		The 50 cals will shoot as well at 100 feet.

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RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 10:36:42 PM   
rtrapasso


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Joined: 9/3/2002
Status: offline
quote:

Could you imagine if they did that in real life?


They did!

The skip bombing was originally developed in B-17s. Later the medium bombers picked it up, and the B-17s went back to bombing at 6000 feet.

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Post #: 13
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 10:40:30 PM   
PeteG662


Posts: 1263
Joined: 6/7/2004
Status: offline 		Anyone remember the movie the Dam Busters where the Brit Lancasters skip bombed the Ruhr dams? I am searching for it on DVD now.

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Post #: 14
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 10:57:56 PM   
sfbaytf

 

Posts: 1122
Joined: 4/13/2005
Status: offline 		If you're talking about the one that was black and white then yes I do remember it. On a related note I bought "The Century of Warfare" on DVD and during the opening credits it shows the actual footage of the testing of the dam buster bombs. Pretty interesting...

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RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 10:58:35 PM   
sfbaytf

 

Posts: 1122
Joined: 4/13/2005
Status: offline 		have you tried Amazon or Ebay?

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RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 11:26:27 PM   
Nikademus


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From: Alien spacecraft
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: wild_Willie2

On hard/very hard the Ai just gets more units and combat bonusses, the game does not get more difficult, just "slower" because instead of 1 LCU you have to kill 3 or 4 LCU's


The AI only gets combat bonuses on the Very Hard setting. Hard setting gives the AI logistical bonuses and allows it to "peek" at your dispositions.

< Message edited by Nikademus -- 4/15/2005 11:27:16 PM >

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RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/15/2005 11:37:54 PM   
rtrapasso


Posts: 22653
Joined: 9/3/2002
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Tallyman662

Anyone remember the movie the Dam Busters where the Brit Lancasters skip bombed the Ruhr dams? I am searching for it on DVD now.


Deep Discount DVD
http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com
has it for $11.99. (Just did search). The also have another more recent thing about dambusters for $6.00.

_____________________________


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Post #: 18
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/16/2005 3:37:13 AM   
BraveHome


Posts: 523
Joined: 11/9/2004
From: Tulsa, OK
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: sfbaytf

Hey thanks for the reference to the 7.2.2.10, Altitude Selection section. It pretty much answered my question on skip bombing, although it does bring up some other questions. Could you use B-17's to skip bomb if their experience level was high enough? Does dropping B-17s to 100 feet allo them to strafe enemy ships with their 50 cals? Could you imagine if they did that in real life? The high altitude bomber barons would have a heart attack.

NP! As mentioned in other posts since, yes you could. But I think the morale effect would still be there (i.e., be sure the target's AA is not significant or you're willing to sit your 17s for a while).

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Post #: 19
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/16/2005 4:43:11 AM   
SpitfireIX


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

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

quote:

Could you imagine if they did that in real life?


They did!

The skip bombing was originally developed in B-17s. Later the medium bombers picked it up, and the B-17s went back to bombing at 6000 feet.


Uh-oh--is it the dreaded Four-Engine Skip-Bombing Argument thread clawing its way out of the ground? Just when you thought you'd driven the stake through its heart...

In any case, as I've mentioned in the UV thread a while back, my great uncle was a B-17 bombardier in the Pacific in 1942. I was quite surprised when he first told me that B-17s had been used for skip bombing; at the time (when I was in about 8th grade) I had read and re-read a book about the Battle of the Bismarck Sea; the book gave the me the impression that skip-bombing had been pioneered in B-25s and A-20s near the beginning of 1943. One notable fact; B-17 skip-bombing attacks were generally carried out at night, and against poorly defended targets; however, the big bombers still suffered lots of small-caliber AA hits.





_____________________________

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

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RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/16/2005 10:54:39 AM   
BigB

 

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Joined: 2/18/2005
Status: offline
quote:


Uh-oh--is it the dreaded Four-Engine Skip-Bombing Argument thread clawing its way out of the ground? Just when you thought you'd driven the stake through its heart...




Thats just stupid

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Post #: 21
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/16/2005 5:41:38 PM   
SpitfireIX


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

ORIGINAL: BigB

quote:


Uh-oh--is it the dreaded Four-Engine Skip-Bombing Argument thread clawing its way out of the ground? Just when you thought you'd driven the stake through its heart...




Thats just stupid


Hardly. There have been major arguments about this issue in the past (especially in the UV forum). What it boils down to is that some people claim that low-level attacks by heavy bombers are ahistorical and unrealistic; others claim that the Allies should be able to make them at will. I tend to taka a middle-of-the-road view; I think such attacks should be allowed, but they should be infrequent (as they were historically).

This gets into a problem with historical simulation games in general; because it is impossible to model every factor that would have affected commanders' decisions IRL, some tactics will work better than they did historically, and those tactics will tend to be employed more often than they otherwise would be. There's no perfect solution; if this fact bothers someone, the best answer is to find opponents who have similar views, and who can be trusted to play fairly historically.

_____________________________

"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

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RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/16/2005 6:05:40 PM   
Mr.Frag


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quote:

others claim that the Allies should be able to make them at will. I tend to taka a middle-of-the-road view; I think such attacks should be allowed, but they should be infrequent (as they were historically).


The missing component in the discussion was that the bombs required special fusing. We don't track ordinance so putting limits on this can not be done throught existing game mechanics.

Without the fuse change, you can not skip bomb (the bomb would explode on impact with the water and take the plane with it). With there is obviously a pilot skill issue (flying low to the water in a lumbering monster is inherently dangerous), the real issue is the technology employed.


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RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/17/2005 1:13:07 AM   
Grotius


Posts: 5798
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From: The Imperial Palace.
Status: offline 		So has anyone developed a workable house rule for skip bombing? Or is it just "anything goes"?

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RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/17/2005 2:44:21 AM   
mark24

 

Posts: 171
Joined: 8/4/2002
Status: offline 		If "hard" vs. AI gives them more LCU, does that mean I can expect to net more XP when I capture an island by virtue of eliminating more squads?

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RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/17/2005 2:45:11 AM   
Mr.Frag


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quote:

ORIGINAL: mark24

If "hard" vs. AI gives them more LCU, does that mean I can expect to net more XP when I capture an island by virtue of eliminating more squads?



NOTHING gives more units. Don't know where that wives tale came from.

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Post #: 26
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/17/2005 2:45:28 AM   
mark24

 

Posts: 171
Joined: 8/4/2002
Status: offline 		& how much more LCU can I expect them to get?

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RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/17/2005 5:29:53 AM   
von Murrin


Posts: 1760
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From: That from which there is no escape.
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quote:

ORIGINAL: BigB

quote:


Uh-oh--is it the dreaded Four-Engine Skip-Bombing Argument thread clawing its way out of the ground? Just when you thought you'd driven the stake through its heart...




Thats just stupid


Are you ever going to contribute something worthwhile or are you just here to be a stupid troll?

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RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/17/2005 4:51:58 PM   
cyberwop36

 

Posts: 306
Joined: 7/5/2004
From: Valparaiso, Indiana
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: BraveHome

I find the discussion of 6,000 versus 5,000 interesting, because the manual (section 7.2.2.10, Altitude Selection) states

"Level bombers attacking at below 5,000 feet will have their accuracy and effectiveness
reduced."


The same section also states

"Level bomber groups that have more damaged aircraft than ready aircraft near the end of the Resolution Phase and are ordered to attack at an altitude of below 6,000 feet will
have the possibility of having a 30 point Morale loss."

So I have always used 6,000 feet as 'minimum' for my LBs to be safe, though the game engine seems to target 5,000 for nondamaged LB minimum altitude/maximum effectiveness.
quote:

attack altitude of my B-17's and Hudsons to 5000 and see if they would be more effective, but so far the results has been no



I always set all my naval attack medium bombers to 1000 ft. They are very, very effective. When their moral gets low I just rotate or rest them. The only exception are the ones who's primary weapons are torpedos. I set them at 4000 ft. to limit flak exposure and limit there range so they will only carry torpedos.

A good squadron will average about 50% hits at 1000 ft. And it seems a bunch of hits and lots of success really helps moral. I'll trade level bombers for ships any day.

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Post #: 29
RE: Difficulty against the computer - 4/18/2005 3:02:41 AM   
mark24

 

Posts: 171
Joined: 8/4/2002
Status: offline 		Mr Frag,

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mr.Frag


quote:

ORIGINAL: mark24

If "hard" vs. AI gives them more LCU, does that mean I can expect to net more XP when I capture an island by virtue of eliminating more squads?



NOTHING gives more units. Don't know where that wives tale came from.


Poorly worded question on my part. Allow me to rephrase, IF more squads are available to LCU's in the Hard setting, does that mean more VP when I finally take the island (wherever) in question? I understand that the AI gets no combat bonuses unless I select Very Hard.

Thanks, Mark

(in reply to Mr.Frag)
Post #: 30
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