InfiniteMonkey
Posts: 355
Joined: 9/16/2016 Status: offline
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My responses are from the perspective of Scenario 1, so if there are variations in scenario 2, then ... quote:
ORIGINAL: obvert Army Air: (40) Oscar : 2x30 building, no research The Oscar becomes my primary escort fighter as soon as I get the Ki-43-IIb, so I build more as ablative armor for my bombers. quote:
ORIGINAL: obvert Tony : 1x30 building, 6 x30 research ? more With or without skipping, I do not build the Tony at all. quote:
ORIGINAL: obvert Frank : 10x30 research Limited ROI after 5 or 6 factories does not move the needle that much. If you want 300 per month, then that's okay. However, I only research with 5-7. quote:
ORIGINAL: obvert Nick: 2x30 building, no research I build more of these. With PDU on, every IJN light bomber can be switched to this. Aside from the range of the Ki-48 and the load/range of the Ki-21, this plane is superior IMO to all other IJN early war bombers. I stop production of all Ki-30/32/36/48/51 and convert them all/most of the air groups to Ki-45 KAIa when it becomes available. The Nick's 340 mph, 7 range, 1200 load, ARMOR, 36 Dur, a CL 20mm cannon and 2 x CL 12.7mm are superior to all of them. With the right pilots, they can fly CAP early in the war. Late war, they compare reasonably to the Ki-115. Their payload is a bit less, and the 2 engines are an extra VP, but the armor, durability, and maneuver means they are harder to bring down. quote:
ORIGINAL: PresterJohn Shinden : 5 x 30 research (late war) I do not research this plane at all. No range is a big negative for me. If I'm going for something that late war, I'm going for the Ki-83 or one of the jets. quote:
ORIGINAL: PresterJohn You've left out Ki-83 which is a game changer late war. I'd swap out the Ki-94 and research the slightly earlier Ki-83. The range and speed allow some unexpected offensive opportunities late. Totally agree. The Ki-83 is my late war r&d aircraft. quote:
ORIGINAL: PresterJohn You're building too many A6M overall. Also totally agree. You should have 1 factory producing the A6M. If you do not plan to skip or house rules do not allow it, then just switch the factories to the next model as one gets researched. Let your Production factories switch. quote:
ORIGINAL: PresterJohn Think about what is the least that will get you through to the Sam. You won't need them much for land based groups, and for escorts just use the previous models with longer range once you get to the A6M5c and A6M8. Those two are the only ones that can hang at all mid-war. You need Sam by 44, which is tough, but that will really improve your late results and any use of KB you still have left. Put way more into the Sam. I'm not as much of a Sam fan, simply because I do not expect it to have carriers to fly off of and there are better land based planes (George). quote:
ORIGINAL: PresterJohn I am an Oscar fan. It's an incredibly versatile plane. Fragile yes, but you can get a decent long range plane with good guns by mid-44 with the last model. Plus, in a low CAP defence model it's the best at making sweepers miss and letting your Franks and Georges dive in. I've been seeing on th eAllied side how good they are early in an escort role as well making fighters spend ammo and ops while dog-fighting, usually missing them as they turn, and ending up getting bombers through. Also totally agree. I think the Ki-43IIb is a better escort fighter than the A6M line and only gets better as you get the Ki-43IIIa and Ki-43-IV. quote:
ORIGINAL: PresterJohn I like building the George and the Jack. The service 2 models are indispensable in the mid-war. The J2M5 is an excellent interceptor late. I prefer the idea of picking one of the two and going with only one of them. With PDU on, you want to focus down to a handful of models. Simplifies logistics, engine production, etc. quote:
ORIGINAL: PresterJohn Not a big Toka fan. I'd build more Judys by researching up the line to the 800kg bomb model and use your training groups for training. The range of the Toka and other late war kami planes is restrictive. I'd rather have Judy/Jill/Grace plus the 2E Peggy-T and Frances flying my kami missions. Also agree. quote:
ORIGINAL: PresterJohn If you plan to do anything late 42 yo'll need more Tojos. The sooner they come the better. The IIc works well into late 44, then is a rear CAP plane. The climb helps in numbers though. I do not disagree that the Tojo is a vital gap aircraft, but I think over-committing to it can be a mistake. If you do not plan to accelerate it, then use only 1 factory and build it BIG. 1x90, not 3x30. 3x30 diversifies your risk in a bombing campaign, but I want 1x90 Tojo and 2 x 30 late war fighter. You should plan to relegate the Tojo to rear area CAP/training/etc. late game anyway. I'd rather they destroy my Tojo plant than a more capable aircraft. quote:
ORIGINAL: PresterJohn WHERE IS THE GRACE!!!???? This is my favourite strike plane in game. It carries a torpedo and can fly off your CVs, has 10/13 range and carries 2 x 250kg bombs, so when they get through you have double the shot to hit something. YOU NEED THIS PLANE!!! Take some off of the Jill, the P1Y2-S, the Toka and add 4 x B7A2 Grace. I try to focus my attention on only a few late war aircraft. Fully utilizing your research factories costs you A LOT of supply and engines. I prefer to accelerate more selectively. IMO get rid of the Ki-115a completely and replace with the Grace if you want. The Ki-115a's only virtue is 800kg bombs. Aside from 2 engines and payload, the Ki-45 KAIa is similar or superior in every other respect, including range. quote:
ORIGINAL: PresterJohn Yes you'll want the Frances as well. Did you forget the Helen for your IJAAF 2E groups or am I missing something? You have to make this plane. IMO, you should be making choices to focus your production, not just get some models faster and ignoring mid-war aircraft in favor of late war makes the late war come much sooner. I research the Helen before the Peggy. Some general notes: There are severely diminishing returns from large numbers of research facilities of size 30. One thing you learn plugging numbers into that spreadsheet is that the incremental improvement of research factories after 5 or 6 is very limited for the supply and HI investments. You get more chances for lucky rolls and more chances to recover from unlucky rolls, but the cost is extreme for the benefit.
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