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ORIGINAL: Capt Hornblower

I haven't played all that much WITP, but I have played a lot of Uncommon Valor and read and reread the manuals of both games. I believe the target selection routines for naval air combat are unchanged from Uncommon Valor, and your experience doesn't surprise me in the least. The uncertainty in target selection is deliberate-- it's meant to re-create the sometimes bizarre events that occurred in history and to let the gamer feel the frustration the real commanders felt as their best laid plans went wildly awry.
(Certainly no one with any sense could say that what happened at Midway was in the least bit likely.)

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ORIGINAL: brian800000

3 American carriers attacked a TF with the Fuso, and scored 9 bomb hits on the Fuso. Two of my carriers were basically out of ammo, so I pulled them out, leaving the Yorktown between the Fuso to the east and some AKLs to the west. The next day's airstrikes were supposed to finish off the Fuso, but unfortunately the aircraft launched to attack the AKLs. I'm fairly certain the Fuso didn't sink, because over the night it engaged a surface task force (and gave them a beating). There was also a CA with the Fuso that I never hit which should have been a better target for my carriers than AKLs.

Is this odd? The TF was spotted by my carriers the next day and was only 4 hexes away. It doesn't seem to be moving very fast (3 hexes in the day after the dive bombers did their damage), so I'm thinking of looping my carrier around to the east of the Fuso and out of range of the AKLs.

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ORIGINAL: Schanilec

Just read that the other day in S E Morrison's Volume IV. On 6 May Takagi and Fletcher passed within seventy miles of the other. And nothing. AAF/IJAAF sightings were slow in getting to thier navy counterparts or not all in the case of the IJN. Naval air searches either just missed the enemy task forces or were in that sector at all. And misidentification in the case of the Neosho and Sims. And Crace's task group. And the attention given the Shoho on the 7th.

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ORIGINAL: Sardaukar

Yes, it is most likely about detection levels. If TF is not properly spotted, it can be passed when targets are picked. Mistakes happen, like in Coral Sea, where it went other way.

You can increase number of planes on naval search, but this in turn reduces your striking power.

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ORIGINAL: brian800000

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ORIGINAL: Sardaukar

Yes, it is most likely about detection levels. If TF is not properly spotted, it can be passed when targets are picked. Mistakes happen, like in Coral Sea, where it went other way.

You can increase number of planes on naval search, but this in turn reduces your striking power.

But the task force was detected: during the search phase by multiple carrier search planes. They seem to only have spotted the DDs though. I'm going to loop around to the east tomorrow so that my carrier only has the option to attack the group with the BB and CA. But it seems a little dangerous dallying while enemy carriers could show up (some are in the area), or manuevering around enemy fleets considering my carrier is only protected by 3 DDs.

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ORIGINAL: Sardaukar

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ORIGINAL: brian800000

quote:

ORIGINAL: Sardaukar

Yes, it is most likely about detection levels. If TF is not properly spotted, it can be passed when targets are picked. Mistakes happen, like in Coral Sea, where it went other way.

You can increase number of planes on naval search, but this in turn reduces your striking power.

But the task force was detected: during the search phase by multiple carrier search planes. They seem to only have spotted the DDs though. I'm going to loop around to the east tomorrow so that my carrier only has the option to attack the group with the BB and CA. But it seems a little dangerous dallying while enemy carriers could show up (some are in the area), or manuevering around enemy fleets considering my carrier is only protected by 3 DDs.

That is the problem. TF can be already detected, but if DL is not high enough and capital ships not detected, TF can be passed for other "higher level TF" in target selection.