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paradigmblue -> RE: Focus Pacific (6/21/2015 5:08:56 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Lowpe
So where do we stand on this mod now?
Active Russia from day 1 I gather? Enhanced Canadians, Better IJ Air versus the Soviets.
Did you tone down Japan's oil,fuel, resources?
Many thanks...
Newest update is now posted. Changes are as you mentioned, plus the addition of the planned Dutch battlecruisers.
To update, simply re-download the scen files from dropbox. You will also need to download two new art files from the art folder - AnShil0846 from the AlliedShip_Transp folder, and AnSide0846 from the AlliedShip_Back folder.
A warning - this mod now plays VERY differently than stock. Day 1 Soviets open up an entirely new front in the war, which means that many LCUs that the Japanese player would normally buy out of Manchuko need to be used to neutralize the Soviets. Vladivostok, with its strategic position on the Sea of Japan, represents a very real threat to Japan as a sub base and as a an airfield for the Soviet's rather nasty TB3 Torpedo bomber. I'd recommend either capturing or neutralizing Soviet holdings along their Eastern coast early on. The Soviets can provide an alternate source of oil for Japan - directly North of Hokkaido the Soviets have two good sources of oil that could be an alternate goal of Japanese expansion. To better simulate a Japan that is ready to engage in an offensive campaign vs the Soviets, modern IJA aircraft groups have been added to the front, along with greatly increased aircraft support on the ground, allowing the Japanese player to field more planes in this theater. Those planes are needed - in play-testing I've found the early Soviet air-frames to be surprisingly potent.
The air game is significantly different as well. The addition of a the Skyrocket - which in this alternate history had it's developmental difficulties overcome - gives the allies a early-game counter to the Zero. Japanese air-frame and pilot losses in theaters where this aircraft is operating will be higher, and Japan will need to be extremely aggressive in increasing their aircraft production to both maintain air superiority in the early game and to keep up as allied aircraft production ramps up through 1942 and 1943. Starting Japanese aircraft pools of some key air-frames like the Zero have been increased to help give the Japanese player a little breathing room before the enlarged factories spool up their production.
Japanese resources, oil and supplies on the home islands are significantly reduced, but are still many times larger than in stock. The purpose of keeping the stocks high is to give the Japanese player the opportunity to embark on the monumental aircraft production program that they will need to stay competitive.
Stronger allied defenses will mean that the Japanese player will need to commit their carriers and battleships more often than in stock to achieve their objectives. Fortunately for Japan, Focus Pacific gives Japan both carriers and battleships to spare. My advice to a Japanese player would be to slow down their early expansion and be methodical about their invasions, ensuring that they have carrier and bombardment support every step of the way. In this mod the allies don't achieve carrier parity until about 6 months later than in stock, which should give Japan some of the time they need to expand more methodically. If the allied player Sir Robins however, that will free up Japanese carrier strength to aggressively raid.
The changes to the allies mean that they can play a much more active defense, especially in the Dutch East Indies. The allied player will have to decide how they want to play the Soviets, whose oil assets make a juicy first target for Japan. In any case, the Aleutians will be a more important theater, because they stand in the way of Japanese access to an even juicier oil source - Alaska's Prudhoe Bay.
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