Shannon V. OKeets
Posts: 22095
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Honolulu, Hawaii
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ORIGINAL: paladin4me
I've played WiF for a long time (ed's 1, 3, 5 and FE - still have last two). One observation from all the games is that CAP is rarely used and I would agree that this phase can be removed from play. Generally FTRs (fighters) are positioned to cover one or more potential target hexes using intercept mode. Strategic bombing targets tend to have the most FTR cover, particularly when on defensive mode in a zone (eg: CW most of the time and Ge in west Europe when attacking USSR). FTR cover can be overlapping where FTRs have the range. A hex based priority system coupled with use x% of available FTRs (ie those within intercept range) would probably cover the strat (carpet?) bombing, port attack and ground strike missions. Ground support is a little different as it may not be so much the strategic/tactical importance of the hex being attacked, but rather whether the combat odds can be most affected. Conversely the strat/tact importance may also need to be a factor in determining aircraft support priority - I think I just answered my own question - hex based priority and use x% available ACFT (aircraft) would still apply - except for ground support missions the available ground combat factors would need to be variable based on the combat odds and what is need to generate an odds shift. As for the ACFT lineup - sometimes I use the max A2A approach, but more often I use the A2A (air to air) in depth; ie a FTR lineup that doesn't change that much as front FTRs are lost (I also like using FTRs that should be scrapped as the front FTR with all the good more m odern one behind). As for TAC line-up it's generally the ones with the least ground pounder strength at the front modified by what the unit costs to build. A TAC may have less ground factors than another but if it costs 4 BPs and the other costs 2BPs then the expensive unit is behind the other cheap one. Summary! - hex based priority with "use %" available ACFT with some AI smarts to add enough ground combat factors to alter/shift the odds coupled with ability to include a samll modification to perhaps allow for losses; ie plus 1, 2 or 3 TACs to those deemed necessary to shift odds (includes phasing player ground and air ground combat factors). Apologies for the length of this missive, but air combat/missions is a very important part of IGOUGO WiF game as the level of player interaction for the tabletop game is quite high and most probably is one which has the highest interaction level as air combat can occur at many stages/phases of an impulse.
I hadn't looked at this in 6 weeks, but after rereading the sections appplicable to your comments, most of your concerns appear to be fairly well covered. Here are the PBEM sections on standing orders for air units plus the one about HQ providing support (since that is referenced by one of the others).
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Air Units
SO 5 CAP (Combat Air Patrol)
Location PBEM X.1.1 Non-phasing player flies CAP to hex or sea box (Rules 14.2.1)
Choices CAP can be flown to defend against: port attacks, naval air combat, strategic bombing, carpet bombing, ground strikes, air transported land units, paradrops, ground support, air resupply (ATR reorganization of land units).
Default No CAP for any hexes against any enemy air missions.
Interface The player selects a theater of operations for which this SO applies. He can further restrict its application by excluding individual air units.
SO 5 uses the same interface as for SO 6, with just a couple of changes. There is no need to fly escort, nor does the player have to worry about bombers for naval air missions and ground support. Another new factor is whether the target hex is only within range flying CAP or if it can also be reached as an interceptor (using SO 6). The latter is usually preferred since it doesn’t commit the fighter unless the enemy actually flies the air mission against the hex. Sometimes the player wants to fly CAP as a means of rebasing a fighter (1) without using a air mission when he is the phasing player or (2) if the end of turn is imminent and he might not get another chance.
There are some additional factors which could be woven into the decision rules that the AI Assistant uses: impulse number, estimated number of impulses remaining, current weather, and expected weather next turn. However, these are assumed to be part of the player’s knowledge when setting the SO. Therefore, they are not be taken into consideration by the AIA.
SO 6 Defensive air support for land or naval units and factories
Location PBEM X.1.3 Non-phasing player flies air units to hex or sea box (Rules 14.1)
Choices Sending fighters as interceptors to defend against: port attacks, naval air combat, strategic bombing, carpet bombing, ground strikes, air transported land units, paradrops, ground support, air resupply (ATR reorganization of land units), or as fighter escort for bombers (see below).
Sending bombers to participate in naval combat or to provide ground support against land attacks.
Default No units are sent.
Interface The player selects a theater of operations for which this SO applies. He can further restrict its application by excluding individual air units.
For SO 6, the left hand columns are, reading from left to right:
1. Small buttons for changing the map view (POVs)
2. Units under consideration (air units being given SO 6)
3. 10 boxes for each air unit that indicate whether the player has / can set a SO 6 for each of the different enemy air mission types, and
4. a fly out display for each air unit that shows the conditional settings for when the air unit flies / does not fly to defend against a specific enemy air mission type.
Clicking on a fighter brings up a shaded area that indicates its range. For bombers the shaded area for its range is optional, since for a bomber with a range of 10, the whole visible screen is within range. Clicking on the fighter/bomber unit displayed either on the map or in the left hand column (same unit, same unit picture) produces the same results: the hexes within range of the fighter/bomber are shaded.
When the player clicks on a mission type against which to defend, only the viable target hexes are highlighted. The shaded area for its range is removed. What is then displayed are only those hexes for which the SO makes sense. A viable target hex is not only (1) within range of the fighter, it also (2) has target units that the enemy can attack with that mission type (naval units in port for port attacks, naval units in the sea area for naval air missions, etc.), and (3) the enemy has air units that can fly that mission type against those hexes. If no such hex exists, then that mission box would simply not be selectable for the SO. Lastly, the player can set the priority for each hex within the specific mission type. To assist in that decision making, the AIA generates a dynamic description of each hex that appears when the player moves the cursor over the target hex. The dynamic description lists the attackable units/resources in the hex, the enemy air units that can attack it, and other friendly fighters available to defend it.
The few remaining controls the player can set are binary (on or off): (1) don't fly if the odds against surviving are too awful - player specifies the value for too awful, (2) send only 1 plane against 1 plane, (3) send more than 1 plane against more than 1 plane, and (4) don't fly if the enemy mission is too weak to do any damage. These appear in a pop up menu that is displayed once the player has selected a mission type. The AIA determines what “too weak” means. These conditionals on when to fly / not fly, are specific to a selected air unit and a specific mission type. They apply to all the hexes for which the air unit might fly defense against a mission type.
When a player clicks on specific mission type, the conditional settings appear to the right of the mission type boxes attached to the left hand column. This is a 'flyout' display that changes when the player places the cursor overs a mission type for a specific air unit. It disappears when the player moves the cursor off the mission type. There is a control button that makes the settings for all the air units appear for a specified mission type. For example, it can show all the conditional settings for when to fly / not fly for the mission type "ground strike". When the control button is clicked, the AIA displays these settings for every air unit.
Prioritizing which phase the fighter flies in is not possible. The sequence of play dictates this priority. Therefore the 'priority' number displayed in the left hand column is automatically generated by the AIA based on the sequence of play. If a fighter has a SO to defend against a ground strike and another to defend against a port attack, then the port attack box has 1 in it and the ground strike box has a 2. If the enemy does a port attack on a hex the fighter is protecting, then the fighter will fly against that mission. If the port attack doesn't happen, then the fighter remains available to protect against the ground strike.
The bombers are only capable of flying two types of missions based on this SO: ground support and naval interception. The former occurs after land attacks have been announced and the latter occurs before the search rolls for a naval combat. Both of these mission types can include fighter escorts. The player selects air units, mission types, and prioritizes hexes as described above for fighter missions. The major difference between these bomber missions and the fighter interception missions, is that the bombers directly affect the combat odds for the land and naval combats. The intercepting fighters only indirectly affect the odds.
Because of this, the bombers are treated more like the HQs in SO 20, HQ Support. The player sets a range that the likely odds has to fall within for the bomber(s) to provide support. The range setting enables the player to avoid providing support when: (1) it isn’t needed, or (2) it won’t do any good.
The player can assign specific priorities to the bombers’ target hexes or sea areas (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.). In addition, the player can also select a group of hexes or sea areas and prioritize them according the to odds the attacker has achieved. If he does so, the priority has an asterisk as well as the number: 1*, 2*, 3*, ... The only two choices for prioritizing a group of hexes or sea areas by odds are to: (1) support the hex or sea area that needs the most help (highest attack odds), or (2) support the hex or sea area that will make the attacker suffer the most (lowest attack odds). In both cases, the bomber only provides support if the odds fall within the specified range.
Any fighters assigned to fly escort only do so if there is a bomber flying support. The number of fighters sent by the AIA to any one hex or sea area will not exceed the number of bombers that is sent to the same hex or sea area. The fighter escorts will not be sent at all, if there is no possibility of enemy fighters engaging the bombers. Note, if you want additional fighters sent for intercepting enemy bombers, then they should fly as interceptors.
SO 7 Air combat preparation
Location PBEM X.2.2 Non-phasing player arranges fighters and bombers (Rules 14.3.1)
Choices A criteria for sorting air units (fighters and bombers have separate criteria).
Default For fighters, put the one with the highest air-to-air strength in front and the rest in descending order by air-to-air strength. In case of ties, put the cheapest (lowest build point cost in front).
For bombers, put the one with the worst tactical/strategic/naval strengths in front (depending on mission being flown) and the rest in ascending order by the same criterion. In the case of ties for the first criterion, put the cheapest (lowest build point cost) in front.
Interface The player selects a theater of operations (TOO) for which this SO applies. The TOO identifies target hexes, not air units, for which this SO applies. The player can restrict its application by excluding individual target hexes. The focus is on target hexes and not air units because multiple air units are involved in each air combat.
When there is only one fighter or one bomber, there is no decision to make. In most cases the fighters are sorted in descending order by air-to-air factor. Given two or more fighters with the same air-to-air strength, the player might sort this subgroup in ascending order by range (put the fighters with the shorter range at higher risk of taking hits). There are other criteria that the player might want to use (land based versus CVP, tank buster, night, twin engine, fighter-bomber, etc.). The interface shows the player has a list of fighter capabilities and the player decides which criteria to use to sort the list. There can be sorts within sorts to handle ties - up to 5 levels.
The bombers are usually more difficult to sort. The player might want to do a sum of capabilities and sort on the sum. For example, (tactical + strategic + naval strengths) could be a good indicator of how valuable the unit is. He might want to sort in ascending order on that sum (so the least valuable units are at more risk). Other factors are build point cost, time it takes to rebuild, and the owning major power (e.g., kill off the Italian planes first).
In most cases, these decisions are very simple and setting the SOs will be easy. This design handles more difficult cases with some versatility. However, it is not intended to address situations involving 28 aircraft from 5 different major powers, with the same fine tuning that players use when playing over the board.
SO 8 Air combat results
Location PBEM X.2.4 and PBEM X.2.6 Choose planes lost, damaged, and/or cleared through (Rules 14.3.3)
Air combat results are:
DX - Defender (player not rolling the dice) destroys own front fighter or bomber
AX - Attacker (player rolling the dice) destroys enemy’s front fighter or bomber
DA - Defender aborts own front fighter or bomber
AA - Attacker aborts enemy’s front fighter or bomber
DC - Defender clears through any one of his own bombers
AC - Attacker clears through any one of the enemy’s bombers
Choices This is a prioritization task. The player decides which of his own units and the enemy’s he kills, damages, and aborts in priority order. In that sense it is similar to SO 7, Air combat preparation.
Default For DX it is to destroy the cheaper (lowest build point cost) of the two air units.
For AX it is to destroy the more expensive (highest build point cost) of the two air units.
For DA it is to abort the bomber.
For AA it is to abort the bomber.
For DC it is to clear through the bomber with the highest tactical/strategic/naval strength (depending on mission being flown)
For AC it is to clear through the bomber with the lowest tactical/strategic/naval strength (depending on mission being flown)
Interface The player selects a theater of operations (TOO) for which this SO applies. The TOO identifies target hexes, not air units, for which this SO applies. The player can restrict its application by excluding individual target hexes. The focus is on target hexes and not air units because multiple air units are involved in each air combat.
This is a prioritization task. It only comes into play when there is more than 1 unit from which to choose. For example, when you have to choose which of two bombers to clear through. Therefore, to set this SO, the player needs to prioritize the units based on their characteristics. Characteristics of interest are:
∙ unit type (fighter, bomber, ATR),
∙ air-to-air strength,
∙ mission strength (tactical for ground strikes, strategic for strategic bombing, etc.), and
∙ overall unit value (sum of air-to-air, naval, tactical, and strategic strengths multiplied by the time required to build the unit).
For AC results (clearing through an enemy bomber), the obvious choice would be the enemy bomber with the lowest mission strength. This might have a secondary importance to air-to-air strength under some special circumstances. For DC results (clearing through a friendly bomber), the likely choice would be to clear the bomber with the highest mission strength. In both cases the player will have the ability to set which criterion to use first and which to use second if there is a tie.
For AX results (killing enemy air units) the choice is between the front fighter or the front bomber. The player could set this SO to always kill the fighter (or bomber). In order to provide some flexibility, the player can make the choice conditional on: (1) the likely air-to-air combat odds for the next round, (2) whether there will be a next round (e.g., killing the bomber might end the air combat), (3) the cost or time to rebuild the air unit, or (4), the overall unit value. Note that special features of the air units are not part of the conditions (e.g., twin engine, night fighter, tank buster, etc.). The same process is used for DX, AA, and DA results.
SO 9 Abort air combat
Location PBEM X.2.8 Non-phasing player decides whether to continue air combat for another round (Rules 14.3.3)
Choices Yes or No
Default No.
Interface The player selects a theater of operations (TOO) for which this SO applies. The TOO identifies target hexes, not air units, for which this SO applies. The player can restrict its application by excluding individual target hexes. The focus is on target hexes and not air units because multiple air units are involved in each air combat.
There are several factors that influence whether to continue an air combat or not. In the following list the word bomber includes ATRs. Considerations are:
∙ risk of losing a fighter
∙ risk of losing a bomber
∙ opportunity of killing an enemy fighter
∙ opportunity of killing an enemy bomber
∙ opportunity to help our units on the ground or at sea with bomber support
∙ opportunity to help our units on the ground or at sea by preventing the enemy air mission
At different times in the game the importance of any of these can vary from crucial to irrelevant. The player has the ability to combine these risks into a simple Abort / Stay decision.
The risk of loses and opportunity of kills are measured simply by the air-to-air combat odds. The opportunity of helping our land/naval units (or factories) is measured by the whether our bomber(s) or the enemy bombers getting through will make a difference. What constitutes “making a difference” depends on the enemy air mission.
∙ Paradrops, air resupply, and air transport always make a difference.
∙ Air-to-sea attacks, including port attacks, make a difference if the number of Xs and Ds are going to change. Some allowance is given for anti-aircraft fire when the AIA determines the number of air-to-sea factors that get through.
∙ Ground strikes make a difference if the probability of a land unit being disrupted increases by 25% or more.
∙ Strategic bombardment makes a difference if the probability of losing a production or oil point, or a factory, increases by 25% or more.
∙ Ground support makes a difference if the attack odds are likely to change by a column.
The process for combining the air-to-air combat odds and the “make a difference” measures into an Abort / Stay decision are pretty simple. The player sets how bad the odds have to be for him to abort when “make a difference” is true and when it is false. That is two settings, each of which range from -9 through -2, -1, 0, +1 up to +8. Basically, the player sets his comfort level for the risk/reward of killing planes: first, when the overall air mission means something, and a second time for when it doesn’t.
SO 10 Return air units to base
Location PBEM X.5.2 Non-phasing player returns planes to base (Rules 14.3.2)
Choices A controlled hex within range that doesn’t exceed stacking
Default Return to the hex from which it just came.
Interface The player selects a theater of operations for which this SO applies. He can further restrict its application by excluding individual air units.
Once the air units for which the SO pertains is decided, the player selects one of the mutually exclusive sections 1 to 6 below. Within that section he selects a subsection and in some cases, a sub-subsection. Note that only section 1 gives the player direct control over where the unit returns to base. In all other cases, the AI Assistant makes assessments to determine where the unit returns to base. For section 7, the player sets a priority for each subsection as either: 1 (crucial), 2 (somewhat important), or 3 (not important).
1. Move unit to a specific hex, or a prioritized list of hexes. 1.1 Back to the hex it came from
1.2 To the hex it protected (the target hex)
1.3 Any specific hex the player chooses.
2. Move unit in a general direction, or a prioritized list of directions.
2.1 North, south, east, west, NE, NW, SE, SW
2.2 Towards capital
2.3 Towards nearest city (friendly or in home country)
3. Move unit so it can be transported or retired.
3.1 To a port (specific, nearest, farthest, any)
3.2 To a home city (specific, nearest, farthest, any)
4. Move unit so it can be reorganized during the turn.
4.1 To where an HQ can reorganize it (specific, nearest, farthest, any)
4.2 To where a TRS can reorganize it (specific, nearest, farthest, any)
4.3 To where an AMPH can reorganize it (specific, nearest, farthest, any)
4.4 To where an ATR can reorganize it (specific, nearest, farthest, any)
5. Move unit so it can be reorganized at the end of the turn.
5.1 Towards an oil source (specific, nearest, farthest, any)
6. Move unit for a purpose
6.1 To attack next turn (in front line, near front line)
6.2 To defend next turn (just in range of our frontline, in range of as many hexes of our frontline as possible while being 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 hexes from frontline)
6.3 As part of a general retreat (far from the frontline or enemy land units)
7. Other concerns to be taken into consideration for hex selection.
7.1 Keep the unit in supply
7.2 Avoid stacking where stacking is only possible due to current situation (e.g., HQ present, leader present, lake/swamp frozen)
7.3 Good defensive terrain against ground strikes
7.4 With a land unit (or avoid stacking with land units)
7.5 In a friendly ZOC (to be safe from partisans)
The player needs to make one big decision: whether to use sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Once he has decided that, the subsections are displayed for selection. Section 7 is available at all times and can be set for individual air units. However, the settings last used are always the default for section 7, so they really only need to be set once.
Each of the sections can be important in certain game situations. Here are a couple of “not so obvious” examples. 1.2 is useful for repositioning air units (avoiding the limitations on air missions that the phasing player has to deal with). 2.1 is a good way of returning bombers from naval air missions. 3.1 can help get the German air force out of North Africa when things look bad. 7.4 is best (i.e., the choice is to not stack with land units) when it avoids presenting the enemy with a juicy target for a ground strike the next turn.
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SO 20 HQ support
Location PBEM 11.7.5 Defender HQ Support (Rules 11.16.3) Option 13
Choices Each HQ either provides support or not.
Default No.
Interface All the HQ units that might provide support against land attacks are displayed in the left hand column. To qualify, the HQ must be face up, and either in or adjacent to a hex that contains friendly land unit(s) that are vulnerable to land attack. The last will include even very unlikely units that might be vulnerable due to successful overruns, paradrops, or sea invasions.
The player can then give each HQ a SO to provide support to vulnerable hexes in priority order. Or, HQs can be given no SO for providing support.
The support for each hex can be conditional upon the likely attack odds. Note that the odds can only be estimated because the phasing player hasn’t announced his HQ support, nor have ground support missions been announced or flown. The AIA will be able to determine precisely the level of the ground support it is going to send, using SO 5 (Defensive air support for land units ...) settings. It can also calculate the maximum ground support the enemy could send. Working with this information as data, the AIA can make an educated judgment of likely attack odds. The player sets a range that the likely odds has to fall within for the HQ to provide support. The range enables the player to avoid providing support when: (1) it isn’t needed, or (2) it won’t do any good.
All standing orders remain in effect until changed by the player. The obvious exceptions to this are if the player has moved the unit for which the SO is given, or the units in the 'target' hex have all left. So, a SO to protect against port attacks remain in effect as long as the fighter didn't move and there is at least one naval unit in the port. SOs for HQs might need revision more often since they tend to move around, and if not the HQ, then the hexes in the frontline that it might support are somewhat dynamic. Since a player usually only has 2 or 3 HQs this is not that big a deal. To make things easier, the AIA remembers what the last minimum and maximum were for the range of acceptable attacks to support, and uses them as the starting values every time a new SO 20 is entered.
For prioritizing hexes to receive support, MWIF draws a U-shaped box (no top bar) that surrounds the units in the hex being supported. Basically, the units are given an outline frame, without the top because the number of units in the hex is displayed there. This U-shape has a small box to its top right that gives the priority. In MWIF, the number of units in a hex is shown by having a small box in the top center of the unit stack. The hex priority box is the same size but off to the right.
If the player has prioritized the hexes, the priority boxes will contain a 1, 2, 3, ... The player can also select a group of hexes and prioritize them according the to odds the attacker has achieved. In that case, the priority has an asterisk as well as the number: 1*, 2*, 3*, ... The only two choices for prioritizing by odds are to: (1) support the hex that needs the most help (highest attack odds), or (2) support the hex that will make the attacker suffer the most (lowest attack odds). In both cases, the HQ only provides support if the odds fall within the specified range.
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If you (or anyone else) send me an email (Steve@PatternDiscovery.us) I will send you the two PDF files for PBEM System Design and Standing Orders.
Default settings are simply place holders in case the player has never bothered to enter any instructions for the standing order. Once a standing order has been entered, then it remains in effect until changed (the default is no longer used).
In direct response to your comments:
(1) CAP is rarely used, but there is no need to eliminate it from the PBEM game completely.
(2) Rather than have the player state a percentage of fighters to use, SO 6 provides a lot more control. In particular, the AI Assistant will know all of the same mission type that the enemy is flying. For example, all the strategic bombing missions, all the ground support missions, which lets it make better decisions within each mission type. Given the choice between a simple percentage of fighters and the increased amount of detailed control, I have opted for the more detailed control. These might be tedious to set up the first time when the entire concept is new and the battlefield unexamined. Once the player gets the hang of it, they should be pretty easy to put in place. Since the standing orders from the previous turn remain in effect, situations that are unchanged (like protecting against strategic bombing) can be left as is. The SO's will need to be reviewed when things change (losses, units move, reinforcements, priorities) but that is how it should be.
(3) The standing order for arranging units is close to what you requested. Maintaining a uniform air-to-air strength throughout all the combat rounds is probably not doable though. The number of conditional statements would be very long (# of our fighters involved, # of enemy fighters involved, difference in air-to-air rating of using the best versus using the uniform air-to-air, etc.). Remember, when playing over the board, you probably only use the uniform air-to-air criteria 1 time in 20 - when a lot of fighters (and bombers) are involved in the combat and you expect a lot of rounds of air combat to occur. There are going to be trade-offs between PBEM versus internet play. The convenience of not having to log in at the same time as the opponent(s) will cost you in not having the same interactive control over decisions.
When it comes to long missives, I still hold a dominant position as the most long-winded in this forum. I read everything that is posted and give them all serious consideration. Thanks for the comments/suggestions.
_____________________________
Steve
Perfection is an elusive goal.
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