Editing Production, LCU OOB's

[HerzKaraya]

Hi there,
I got a couple of questions regarding a small scenario I made, version 1.6 with production set to ON. I have several aircraft factories on map for both sides, I thought that once an aircraft upgrade was available, let's say from Bf109E to Bf109F, the factories automatically converted to produce the new type, but that is not the case. You have to manually change their production and some production capacity is lost, does anybody now what factors determine the ratio of remaining factories?
In relation to LCU OOB's, I have several units starting with a type of gun or AFV and want them to upgrade to newer types as soon as they are available, do I have to set their TOE to the final gun or AFV or the starting one? I know that weapon types have to match on the same device slots, but my units don't seem to upgrade thei equipment as intended. Also not all equipment is shown on the ground unit info during the game even though it seems accounted for for assault and load cost purposes.
As always thanks for your input!

[Arkady]

no, they switch to new model automatically for free and without damaging factory, but it is not immediate, it take some time..few days at least
I believe that it is tied to old model's planes in pool and number of units currently using now obsolete model


If you changing production manualy...lost of factory output is determined by difference between two models (main factor is durability I think)...check game manual

for upgrading LCU OOB you are out of control...only thing you can do is allow replacment and provide sufficient output to armamament, vehicles and manpower pool. Computer decide what is made from those points, put it into equipment pool and units within command range and sufficient supply will receive those equipment (again..check manual for more details)

[el cid again]

for upgrading LCU OOB you are out of control...only thing you can do is allow replacment and provide sufficient output to armamament, vehicles and manpower pool.

Actually, you CAN do something: you can point at a "formation" and outfit the formation differently than the unit. Over time the unit will "upgrade" to the formation suite.

[HerzKaraya]

Thanks for your help,
checked the manual thoroughly and found out that Japanese aircraft factories don´t automatically switch production till January 1942, as my scenario starts June 22nd 1941, that explains why my Ju-87B don´t convert to Ju-87D on November 1941.
About the damage taken by the factories because of manually altering the production just a hint that it depends on difference of durability, no hard formula there, in my example to get from a 30 to a 35 durability airplane, factory goes down from 90 to 61 (all damaged) output.
For the LCU´s OOB, I have formations start with a high allotment of equipment and their OOB list their target value with less (Germany´s fleshing out Divisions during the war), haven´t tried to point starting Pz-II to future Panthers, thought that telling the devices to go from Pz-II to Pz-V was enough, will try setting the OOB to Panthers too, see what happens. I know that the Japanese (German) production system will produce what ever it wants and cans anyway.
Still have to check if in the new 1.8 version LCUs are finally able to display all 20 devices assigned to them or less.
One more thing, have observed that availability dates for aircraft are moved forward one month for some 250 "research points" spent on them instead of the 100 listed in the manual, any other ideas on that?
I know you think I´m nuts trying something "German" on WitP, just got a lot of time of in Hotels around the world!!![:D]

[el cid again]

that explains why my Ju-87B

One wonders WHY one would want a Ju-87 - when a BETTER version of it is already in production in Japan? We call it the Val...

[HerzKaraya]

Well, you think Hans-Ulrich Rudel would have destroyed more tanks, trucks and Battleships with a Val? And then the Ju-87 become Henschels with a 75mm cannon or even better, a Fw190F!!!

[el cid again]

Well, you think Hans-Ulrich Rudel would have destroyed more tanks, trucks and Battleships with a Val?

Well - no other aircraft in all of history of any nation beats the Val's record for destroying ships. Granted the Val had the advantage of the best trained air force on the planet - no one ever approached the training regime of IJN (which probably stressed quality too much) - operating from the most powerful tactical air force (First Air Fleet) which had MOBILE air bases. But, yes, in principle the Val should have done better in German hands than its very famous pregenitor. In Pentagonese, it was more cost efficient: if they were any good they should have done better with it. It also was more range efficient. I have no clue why you would prefer a heavier, shorter legged, lower performance version, when you can have the better one?

[el cid again]

And then the Ju-87 become Henschels with a 75mm cannon or even better, a Fw190F!!!

This is even less logical. Ju-87s do not become Henschels with 75mm cannon. There was a successful 75mm aircraft cannon - I witnessed its use in Viet Nam - and it was in WWII - on AMERICAN planes (not in WITP - but it WILL be shortly - in RHS). What that has to do with a Stuka I have no clue. As to the FW - Japan had the option to build Me-109s (and actually had some in Japan to play with) and FW-109F - also the He-100 - and bought production rights - but elected to build the Ki-44 instead. It was a better plane - and Francillon says "they had no reason to regret the decision." I agree. Until the introduction of the B-29, the Ki-44 was a fine interceptor - one against which Me's and FW's would also have had little success. Only the introduction of air-air rockets might have made them competative - something Japan ALSO developed late in the war.

[HerzKaraya]

I started this threat asking for help with the editor and have gotten some good answers as usual - but I didn´t start it to argue if this or that aircraft is better or not. As I said, I´ve made a mod resembling the East Front conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union, not many ships there for a Val to sink, in my scenario at least none at all. In history Hans-Ulrich Rudel sank 1BB, 1CA, 1DD and 70 landing crafts, add that to 9 downed a/c, 519 tanks and more than 800 trucks in his lousy Ju-87 single-handed! As well as Japan didn´t adopt German planes, I guess Hitler´s Germany wouldn´t have adopted "superior" Japanese designs either, even if just for national pride.
In my scenario again, some Schlachtgeschwader convert from Ju-87 to Hs129, check models B-2/R4 and B-3, they both had 75mm underfuselage cannons and were used on the Eastern Front with some success. Other SG convert to FW-190F, which is an armoured ground-attack version of the FW190, no interceptor nor fighter, so I don´t get your comparison to the Ki-44? Perhaps you were saying the Ki-44 is better than the Ta-152H or the FW-190D-9, but, this is my personal opinion, those two planes were far superior to anything else during WW2 on any front or side.
And you´re right the Japanese also developed air-to-air rockets at the end of the war, because Germany already had them in form of the R4M rocket and was using them against the B-17 pulks. There even was the first radioguided antiship missile that sunk the Italian BB Roma, the German X-9.
Anyway, the Japanese being such a highly skilled airforce having such superior aircraft, I am astonished how Germany´s pilots got all those kills against far more enemies...[;)]

[el cid again]

As I said, I´ve made a mod resembling the East Front conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union

This is a mod? What do you do for a map?

[el cid again]

As well as Japan didn´t adopt German planes, I guess Hitler´s Germany wouldn´t have adopted "superior" Japanese designs either, even if just for national pride.

There was rather more cooperation between Germany and Japan re aircraft than is widely understood. Heinkel lived in Japan for years, resident at Hitachi (a place as well as a company). Some German planes nearly made it into Japanese service (the FW-200 was modified for naval warfare for JAPAN - but events prevented delivery - and it ended up being the "scourge of the Atlantic" in German service)! A rather unusual recon plane almost made production. A number of planes were copied - and the Ki-76 is actually just an up engined Feissler Storch - with better flaps - so it is even more maneuverable (which says a lot). One German in line engine became important in a number of Japanese projects - the Ki-61 being one most have heard of. Most of the reason the countries didn't use the same planes are different requirements. And some of the planes that were used are too minor to include in the game - they served in Manchuria in civil roles. Japanese aviation was almost entirely based on foreign technology - albiet with considerable innovation and modification towards often unique requirements. Japan never refused a design because of foreign origins - and it appears it actually stole one US design (to become the heart of the best flying boat of the war - it is an up engined China Clipper - see the book of that name). Many Japanese planes thought to be "illegal" copies were, in fact, proper licenced copies of American or German planes.