Newbie Questions (Full Version)

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krb3 -> Newbie Questions (2/16/2016 8:36:16 PM)

I really just started learning this game and it is really seems overwhelming at times. I have a few questions that I didn't really find any posts in the forum regarding them.
1. Can the allie's engineers make roads or construct rail lines? If so which ones?
2. What is the significance of "time to target" other than the obvious. Meaning if it takes only 7 minutes to reach the target the planes must be taking off from bases that are close.
3. Is there a specific reason for your fighters might not engage enemy planes. I had a ship approaching Rangoon with troops aboard which were within the fighters range. There were 22 fighters I believe with 50% on LRCAP and 50% set on CAP. The task force was well within the fighters range. The Japanese planes flew within one hex of Rangoon and totally destroyed all ships in task force. Why wouldn't the fighters attack them?
4. I believe it's an experience thing but my bombers when attacking naval targets couldn't hit a broadside of a barn where as the Japanese bombers can literally wipe out and entire task force. Is it basically experience levels?
5. I'm playing the entire campaign and should I devote anytime to the Chinese setting up attacks and trying to cutoff rail lines or should I use a strictly defensive position for all forces.
6. Sames question for the forces in India and Burma. Defense only?
7. Since you are close to Japanese bombers and fighters should all transport task forces be escorted by CL and DD?

Thanks in advance.



zuluhour -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/16/2016 8:41:48 PM)

1. no
2. ability to intercept, mount CAP
3. more info needed
4. could very well be as well weather, COs, training, more info needed
5. secret [:D]
6. not so secret, ebb and flo or determined by Japanese aggression
7. Not sure what you mean



krb3 -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/16/2016 9:02:44 PM)

Thanks for your reply Zulu. In regards to your answers see below.
2 and 3. I have two squadrons with one having 100% LRCAP (22 fighters) and the other (23 fighters) at 100% CAP. When you say mount CAP are you referring to increasing it? If so, they are already at 100%.
4. These are bombers that actually got through JN fighters and were trying to bomb ships. Seems like a waste of time trying to hit them (JN ships) because they always seem to miss. The risk reward factor does not seem to be worth it because their accuracy is always off. Experience?
7. Since you are close to front lines, the JN planes can wipe out a task force of 4-5 ships pretty easily. Should I have escorts of Destroyers and Cruisers accompany them to help protect?

Another question in regards to land movement. Is the only way to move land troops by walking (marching) or by rail? Don't they have any trucks to move troops?



BBfanboy -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/16/2016 9:38:23 PM)

I can add some additional info and guesses to zuluhour's reply:

1. not in the stock game, but at least one of the more exotic scenarios developed by users has an option to add something like 1/2 hex (centre to edge or vice versa) per week (or month, can't recall for sure). This helps link some very close roads or railroads.

2. Time to target reflects detection but does not tell you how close the enemy raid source base is. Mounting CAP means scrambling your fighters that are on the ground on standby, if you have any.

3. IMO the reason your planes did not try to intercept the Japanese strike is that you had ALL of them assigned to CAP. That means when they have been up for a while and are running short on fuel they will ALL go to base to refuel. Whether setting CAP or LRCAP you need to keep a % 'unassigned' so that you can send them up to replace patrolling CAP or scramble to meet a raid.

4. In addition to what Zuluhour said, if enemy fighters got through your escort and were attacking the bombers during their bomb run their chances of getting a hit while evading attack are very poor.

5. Chinese units are too poorly equipped, too inexperienced, too poorly led and have dismal morale at game start. They cannot face Japanese troops, artillery and tanks (and bombers) in open terrain. They are also less mobile so they should not stray far from defensive terrain unless you are willing to sacrifice them to cut a rail line for a while.

6. Indian and Burmese units have the same shortcomings as the Chinese at game start but after six months of taking squads and equipment to complete their TOE they gain morale and AV and get some anti-tank ability. The ones with good leaders and 50% or better experience can face the IJA in good defensive terrain. Things get much better when you get some British or Australian or US units with tanks, artillery, AA and anti-tank ability.

7. You do not have enough CLs and DDs to escort all your TFs. Significant troop convoys (moving divisions) should have CV cover if they are not on other missions, but definitely a CL and DDs would help with the AA. But in the early game, you should NOT bring any troop landing to a base within easy reach of enemy LBA unless you have your own CAP covering it from the moment it is in range. Best to land them far away and move them in by rail if on a major land mass.

8. Only British Units (not commonwealth) and US units (except Marines) are deemed to have enough trucks to strat move on roads, AND the only roads that allow strat move are the gray ones (hard surface). You must have a continuous route between bases free of enemy interdiction to make a strategic move. You can strat move INTO a base that you control, but if there is enemy at that hex your troops cannot leave via strat move.



tiemanjw -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/16/2016 10:29:58 PM)

quote:

3. IMO the reason your planes did not try to intercept the Japanese strike is that you had ALL of them assigned to CAP. That means when they have been up for a while and are running short on fuel they will ALL go to base to refuel. Whether setting CAP or LRCAP you need to keep a % 'unassigned' so that you can send them up to replace patrolling CAP or scramble to meet a raid.


I use 100% CAP on a regular basis, and never had this problem. I think the going wisdom is that 1/3 are in the air, 1/3 on standby, and 1/3 on light maintenance (such as refueling / rearming). Once an inbound raid is detected, any unit with a CAP % will try to get everything it can into the fight (ie, anything not assigned to other "missions" or states such as escorting bombers, rest, or even CAP someplace else).

A few points with respect to why you didn't get any fighters:
what was the range setting, and how far was the TF you tried to cover? CAP won't go more than 2 hexes (assuming the range is set to 2+) - LRCAP will go up to the "normal" range (not extended range).
what was the fatigue level of these units. Having 100% set and a range anything other than 0 will quickly fatigue your units (which over time will bring down moral as well). Could be that if you had these settings for a while, or these units are busy / beat-up they were too tired or demoralized to get a successful "roll" and come support your ships
what does the air group leader look like? A good leader will help with the rolls.
was the airfield damaged, did you have AV support squads? Not an absolute requirement for a single day of work, but it helps with the rolls, and are a requirement if you expect to do any continuous ops.
EDIT: - altitude settings. Try to get your altitude as close as you can to the incoming bombers. The bigger the delta, the longer it takes your fighters to get to this altitude, which means reduced interception time (and possibly a totally missed interception).

a few pointers to help get that needed air cover:
keep your planes and crews rested until they are needed
once a TF is entering the range where your A/C can provide cover, set LRCAP (you can go all the way to 100% if your exposure time is 1 turn - longer than that though you will need to conserve your crews)
set the "target" to the inbound (or outbound) TF. Press the target button, then select the TF. It may say target is out of range, but they will cover him if he is inbound and will be in range the next turn. This will prevent them from flying LRCAP elsewhere.
note that the manual says that providing LRCAP to TFs occurs at a reduced efficiency (50% I think - simulate the difficulty of finding ships at sea), so you may need more A/C than you would to cover land based targets. Also means that if you can make sure your TF ends up in a base hex at the end of the turn, you can get more bang for you buck by LRCAPing the base (or just moving the fighters there if possible).


A few other quickies to elaborate further on the responses above:
2) is the time from when the defender detects the incoming strike until it is over the target. Better devices (read: radar) help increase this time. The bigger this time is, the more fighters you will be able to get into the fight, and the more time they will have to bring down bombers.
4) don't confuse "experience" with "skill". Chances are your pilots have lousy navB skill (or lowN if you are at low altitude, or torp skill if you are using fish). You can increase this with training. Most players here would say your pilots should be trained to a primary mission skill of about 70 before you send them into combat. There are may threads here that detail pilot training. A word of caution on them though, no 2 forumites seem to agree on how best to set up a training program.
5) there is a "quiet china" scenario in which the AI won't make any aggressive moves in China. Otherwise, what BBfanboy says is all true.
7) CLs and DDs won't add much to the AA - and early war for the allies you don't have anything to spare. If surface interdiction is a threat include CLs (or bigger). Anything with a depth charge rack will help with ASW (they won't hit anything, but at least he will stay submerged). Nothing (in the early war at least) can stop A/C except for fighters and range.



Alfred -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/17/2016 1:58:42 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

... 1. not in the stock game, but at least one of the more exotic scenarios developed by users has an option to add something like 1/2 hex (centre to edge or vice versa) per week (or month, can't recall for sure). This helps link some very close roads or railroads...



Care to identify the mod which has this miracle.

In terms of hex characteristics the map is static, not dynamic. The info in the pwhex is static. To build a road or railway one has to replace the existing pwhex with a new pwhex which has the new road/railway characteristics.

Until this miracle can be verified, I'll proceed that you have misunderstood what the "mod" does.

Alfred



Alfred -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/17/2016 2:01:11 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

...8. Only British Units (not commonwealth) and US units (except Marines) are deemed to have enough trucks to strat move on roads,


I've posted often enough the correct answer. This ain't it.

Alfred



Alfred -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/17/2016 2:24:04 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: krb3

I really just started learning this game and it is really seems overwhelming at times. I have a few questions that I didn't really find any posts in the forum regarding them.

The answers are in the manual. Many forum threads deal with these questions. If unable to find a suitable keyword for your search, search on author.


1. Can the allie's engineers make roads or construct rail lines? If so which ones?

No.

2. What is the significance of "time to target" other than the obvious. Meaning if it takes only 7 minutes to reach the target the planes must be taking off from bases that are close.

You have a 7 minute warning time (estimated) to get your CAP into position. Don't impose your own suppositions on how the game plays.

3. Is there a specific reason for your fighters might not engage enemy planes. I had a ship approaching Rangoon with troops aboard which were within the fighters range. There were 22 fighters I believe with 50% on LRCAP and 50% set on CAP. The task force was well within the fighters range. The Japanese planes flew within one hex of Rangoon and totally destroyed all ships in task force. Why wouldn't the fighters attack them?

CAP operates over the location which houses the air unit. With a range set to >0, there can be some bleeding over into nearby hexes but you have no control over that. LRCAP picks its own hex to operate unless you specify the target. Let me guess, your LRCAP was not directed to operate over the task force. Without clear directions from you, how did you expect the air leader to know you wanted him over the task force.

4. I believe it's an experience thing but my bombers when attacking naval targets couldn't hit a broadside of a barn where as the Japanese bombers can literally wipe out and entire task force. Is it basically experience levels?

Look up any of my many posts on the subject. You are using your air force inappropriately. It is not just a question of having appropriate pilots, it is also tasking your air units to appropriate tasks.

5. I'm playing the entire campaign and should I devote anytime to the Chinese setting up attacks and trying to cutoff rail lines or should I use a strictly defensive position for all forces.

Again look for my posts on the subject. Mainly found in AARs, Cribtop's last as an Allied player being quite prominent.

6. Sames question for the forces in India and Burma. Defense only?


Sticking to a predetermined plan with no regard to what the enemy is doing is usually a guarantee for failure.

7. Since you are close to Japanese bombers and fighters should all transport task forces be escorted by CL and DD?

And why would they be of use against enemy bombers. Look up their anti-aircraft weapons, they are probably not that much better than those on the merchantmen. Hostile air environments are not conducive to any ship enjoying a long life. Friendly aircraft sanitise hostile air environments.

Thanks in advance.


Alfred



Lowpe -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/17/2016 3:07:13 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Alfred


quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

... 1. not in the stock game, but at least one of the more exotic scenarios developed by users has an option to add something like 1/2 hex (centre to edge or vice versa) per week (or month, can't recall for sure). This helps link some very close roads or railroads...



Care to identify the mod which has this miracle.

In terms of hex characteristics the map is static, not dynamic. The info in the pwhex is static. To build a road or railway one has to replace the existing pwhex with a new pwhex which has the new road/railway characteristics.

Until this miracle can be verified, I'll proceed that you have misunderstood what the "mod" does.

Alfred



Actually, somebody did do this. It was AARed. The "mod" was made monthly.

I can't remember who, but what they did was alter the files once a month adding a new railroad hex for each side, or road hex. I forget how they HR it, but the two players really enjoyed being able to "build" roads and rails.

Perhaps somebody with a better memory than mine can find it. Tomorrow, I will peruse the AAR list and perhaps the name will come to me.



Alfred -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/17/2016 5:35:12 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Lowpe


quote:

ORIGINAL: Alfred


quote:

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

... 1. not in the stock game, but at least one of the more exotic scenarios developed by users has an option to add something like 1/2 hex (centre to edge or vice versa) per week (or month, can't recall for sure). This helps link some very close roads or railroads...



Care to identify the mod which has this miracle.

In terms of hex characteristics the map is static, not dynamic. The info in the pwhex is static. To build a road or railway one has to replace the existing pwhex with a new pwhex which has the new road/railway characteristics.

Until this miracle can be verified, I'll proceed that you have misunderstood what the "mod" does.

Alfred



Actually, somebody did do this. It was AARed. The "mod" was made monthly.

I can't remember who, but what they did was alter the files once a month adding a new railroad hex for each side, or road hex. I forget how they HR it, but the two players really enjoyed being able to "build" roads and rails.

Perhaps somebody with a better memory than mine can find it. Tomorrow, I will peruse the AAR list and perhaps the name will come to me.


I am aware of that. It is the process I mentioned in my post of having to replace the old pwhex with the new pwhex with the new road/railways. There isn't much of AE that I miss seeing and understanding correct what the ramifications are.

This process of replacing the pwhex is not what the OP was asking. Anyone providing that as an answer to the OP is doing a disservice to the OP who would be encouraged to think that their engineers can accomplish this. Hence my own succinct answer in post #8 of "No".

I'll let you into a "secret". You want to simulate the effect of Krakatoa erupting in 1942 rather than 1883 (IIRC), it can be done by changing the pwhex. That will impact the Sunda Strait. Want to introduce the Alcan highway into 1943? Complete the Thai-Burma railway in 1944? All possible without the need of a single engineer within 4000 miles of the location. Just replace the pwhex with new pwhex.

Better still, feel the A-Bomb effect in AE is too anaemic. Easily solved by changing the game files. Don't like the outcome of a particular combat. Get the hacks to change the data.

Meanwhile the rest of us will play the game as designed and provide accurate answers to how the game runs without the need to substitute every 10-30 turns our own hacks for what the scenario and game designers produced.

Alfred



Yaab -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/17/2016 5:32:10 PM)


Lowpe, RHS mod uses modified quarterly pwhexe files to follow the RL development of different roads and railroads during the War in Pacific.

Heres is the link to latest RHS build using the stock map:
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3075207&mpage=24�



BBfanboy -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/17/2016 6:27:37 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Yaab


Lowpe, RHS mod uses modified quarterly pwhexe files to follow the RL development of different roads and railroads during the War in Pacific.

Heres is the link to latest RHS build using the stock map:
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3075207&mpage=24?

I think that is the one I was referring to Yaab, thanks. IIRC there was some hex editing software they used to add the new rail or road sections. I was hoping to find the specific reference where they describe the process and tools they used.



krb3 -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/19/2016 1:55:40 PM)

Takes everyone for your good explanantions and advice.



US87891 -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/19/2016 2:20:14 PM)

David Bradley, do not know his forum name, made a map hex editor for AE in 2011. He posted it and it is open source. It has complete instructions. I use another editor, but I think I have his in the archives. If I don’t, then JWE does. If you can’t find it in the postings, I can put it up in a likely spot.

As Alfred and Lowpe say you have to create and update the game to a new pwhexe file every time. It is not hard, but if you are playing a human opponent, I recommend a third party umpire doing the modding for both players or teams at the same time. It keeps things honest.

You can do exciting things. You can drop the major bridges across the major rivers, or rebuild/replace them. You can build new, or extend old, roads and railroads. You can destroy tracks or rebuild destroyed track sections. You can have roads turn into impassable rivers of mud during the monsoon season and then dry out for the campaign season. You can break the dikes and turn square miles of rice paddies into a swamp. Limited only by your imagination, what the umpire thinks is a reasonable time frame for a reasonable op, and the availability of appropriate engineering troops.

Matt



BillBrown -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/19/2016 2:36:36 PM)

The editor is here: http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2632394&mpage=1&key=PWHEX�



rustysi -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/19/2016 9:13:19 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: US87891

David Bradley, do not know his forum name, made a map hex editor for AE in 2011. He posted it and it is open source. It has complete instructions. I use another editor, but I think I have his in the archives. If I don’t, then JWE does. If you can’t find it in the postings, I can put it up in a likely spot.

As Alfred and Lowpe say you have to create and update the game to a new pwhexe file every time. It is not hard, but if you are playing a human opponent, I recommend a third party umpire doing the modding for both players or teams at the same time. It keeps things honest.

You can do exciting things. You can drop the major bridges across the major rivers, or rebuild/replace them. You can build new, or extend old, roads and railroads. You can destroy tracks or rebuild destroyed track sections. You can have roads turn into impassable rivers of mud during the monsoon season and then dry out for the campaign season. You can break the dikes and turn square miles of rice paddies into a swamp. Limited only by your imagination, what the umpire thinks is a reasonable time frame for a reasonable op, and the availability of appropriate engineering troops.

Matt


I don't know if I would use such a tool, but at least some of it sounds pretty cool. Could open up a Pandora's box, but if handled well should be very interesting.

Hey, when the Chinese opened up the dikes it did mess with the Japanese transport in the area for a time. Unfortunately it killed a bunch of Chinese as well.



KMCCARTHY -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/20/2016 1:43:11 AM)

I've played on and off against the AI and one PBEM game that went 18 months game time and 4 years in real life--we both had stressful jobs with a lot of travel.

Every week I learn something on the forum. By the time I master this I will be dead.

Have fun and rationalize your own mistakes. Each side made stupid moves in reality.



rustysi -> RE: Newbie Questions (2/22/2016 10:04:40 PM)

quote:

By the time I master this I will be dead.


True, except the part about mastering this beast. I'm just hoping for competent.[;)]



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