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neuromancer -> RE: Legal cheating with Decoys. Bug? (7/16/2004 1:29:40 AM)
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But how do you tell a 'decoy' or 'cheat' from doing something legitimate (not to say decoys aren't legit)?
The single ML running off to drop some mines before the enemy arrives seems legit. I've sent single transports (in UV) to deliver small units or supplies in 'secure' areas (and occassionally found out they weren't). Then of course there are the lone cripples limping home after an attack. And it was a legitimate tactic in the real world (although one of questionable success) to break up transport convoys into groups of only one or two freighters (dispersing the convoy) and hoping that some slip through.
Now the reason why this wasn't so successful was because planes, ships, and subs could still find many of these units out of these dispersed convoys and shoot the snot out of them.
Although if unescorted, it was probably better to disperse them over keeping them all in one spot.
But in UV and WitP (apparently) the computer will sometimes hideously over-react to a single ship being spotted.
Aboard the USS Hornet.
"Sir! Recon planes report spotting a single transport 120 miles to the north-east!"
"My God! A single transport? Signal Enterprise and Yorktown! Scramble everything and destroy that ship!"
3 squadrons of fighters, 6 squadrons of dive bombers, and 3 squadrons of torpedo bombers zip off and blast the living crap out of a lone AK.
The game tree really should have a little proportionality programming. If the recon only reports one transport, then perhaps they shouldn't throw everything and the kitchen sink at it. If nothing else it tires crews and wates ammo. One bomber squadron and some escorting fighters should probably be adequate. If the attack reveals more units in the area, then more attack waves can be launched, or a larger force sent in the next phase.
A single large combat vessel sighting (CA, BB, CV), sure, it probably has escorts and should be sunk. After all, that is more or less what the Japanese did to Yorktown at Midway.
But a single DD or transport? You want to sink it sure, but don't need to over kill it.
The bigger sin though is when the recon spots several of these small forces, and instead of reasonably dividing things up among them, just pastes one of them with everything. Or ignores a larger more important target (a large transport group, surface combat group, or carrier group) in favour of hitting the one lone ship off by itself.
"By the way sir. We've also spotted a major Japanese carrier force, and a group of troop transports. It looks like the lone ship was split off due to engone trouble."
"I don't care about that other stuff! I want that transport DEAD!"
I'm not sure if it can be fixed now, but I'm very surprised - and not a little disappointed - that they didn't correct it while re-designing the 'AI' for WitP.
[:-]
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