Japanese Production

[BrucePowers]

I am starting a new thread on Japanese production. We have not seen one in a while and I thought it might be useful for us newbies and you seasoned players can snicker about our questions. Production is one of the main reasons I am a little shy of trying the Japanese side of this game. My questions tend to be basic. How many airframes, which engines and why, what do you expand and why etc.

To start us out I found 3 threads that have useful data and were pleasent to read. Please feel free to post here and let the learning begin. Here are the threads with the member who started the thread.

Bruce

Working Title - Zen and the Art of Japanese Air Production

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by Oznoyng


Japanese Aircraft Production and the Tony

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by Beezle


Japanese Production Ideas for Lemurs 4.0

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by 2nd ACR

[Speedysteve]

Hi Bruce,
 
All of these are useful threads. From memory though Oz's one will be useful ONLY if PDU is off.
 
First and foremost. It's easy for me to say this but Japanese production is not daunting once you get the basics.
 
One thing I would advocate is DON'T perform huge wholesale chanegs straight off. If you want to change a lot do it gradually. At game start you won't be able to start shipping in masses of oil and resource from the SRA (since you don't own it!)
 
As for what level of production is necessary it's a chicken and egg scenario. Some people are very aggressive and incessant. As such these players will sustain higher plane losses and as such production needs to be altered accordingly.
 
My personal production is not hugely altered. I class myself as a attentive/thoughful player but am not overly aggressive or defensive. More methodical in my approach and when I commit to it I go in with everything I have.
 
1. Don't change the Claude or Nell production to anything else since these will auto-upgrade to Zero/Betty in January 1942.
 
2. By May 42 I assume to have conquered the SRA and as such I normally expand:
 
2 x 0 Armaments locations (IIRC one of them is at Osaka). I expand them to 16 or 32 size centres.
H8K Emily production to 16.
Tony/Tojo production to 80-120 a month.
Sally production expanded (from converting Sonia and Lilly factories).
Val/Kate production normally doubled and then turned off if excess numbers in the pool.
Expand a couple of repair yards
 
I'm sure there is a bit more I do but it escapes me at the moment.
 
After a while the whole system becomes almost automated mentally. By that I mean once you have captured the SRa and have ordered the expansions you want there is little else to tinkerwith for the rest of the war (except the odd cessation of production if too much is produced or the odd expansion if losses of something become too heavy).
 
As engines. There are a batch that are NOT used by any planes. As such these should be changed to Naka's or Mitsu's. IIRC Ishikawjima (or something like that) is one of these as is Nissan.
 
Do you have any specific questions Bruce?

[BrucePowers]

I wasn't knowledgeable enough for specific questions.

[Terminus]

This is important enough to re-emphasize:

Don't start expanding your industries intensely from the get-go. This uses supply, and you need that to keep your fielded forces going. Like Speedy said, wait about six months (assuming you own the SRA).

[janushm]

one thing i usually do pretty quickly is to boost helen production with the goal of equipping all my IJA level bomber squads to them... ill keep the sonia's... even if they are short ranged the'll preform good enough guarding island groups and narrow sea lanes

[BrucePowers]

If anybody feels the need to hijack this thread and move it on a tangent please feel free. I put it here for an idea exchange. We can let this flow in whatever direction.

[Mynok]

Agree with everything said so far. Armaments are critical to expand, as are shipyards at your size 9 or better ports.

[scott64]

ORIGINAL: Speedy
1. Don't change the Claude or Nell production to anything else since these will auto-upgrade to Zero/Betty in January 1942.

Now I find this out after all the work. [X(][:'(][8D]

[John 3rd]

I tend to gradually expand my naval shipyards and raise my repair yards.  As the Japanese, you don't get many news ships so you better be able to repair (quickly) the ones you have.
 
I do fool around with aircraft research some.  I shift Frank Research to Tojo/Tony/Jack which generally bring s these fighters in about 1-2 months early.
 
 

[Lemurs!]

The most important thing to remember, and a point i do not think Mogami understood, is that to match historic Japanese ac production you will need to multiply your production 5-6x.
This will burn a huge amount of supplies. Huge with a  capital HU.
Many people think Japan is oversupplied in the game, and in the early years of the war they would probably be correct, but as supply represents essentially everything, if you want to expand your ac factories to match real production you have to save supplies starting at the beginning of the game. Must.

mike

[Arstavidios]

Expansion has to be done gradually.
In the first months I tend to increase shipyard capacity first I want to accelerate my carriers. I halt all other ships until I get some available shipyard capacity again. Getting some extra carriers early can make a lot of difference. Getting the Yamato and Musashi or some subs a few months later won't change much

I shut down many aircraft factories. Obsolete aircraft will be used for training purpose, there are a lot of them in the pool, Nates and Claudes are worthless for combat purposes but they make good training aircraft. This also reduces the need for engines in the first months of the war. I produce zeros, betties, emilys and helens also some Jakes and Dinahs but not a lot. For my transport squadrons I produce some Topsys for the army and some Mavis for the navy.

I also stop the repairs of most R&D factories. I only keep Tojo and Tony.

HI will have to be increased but this is very expensive in terms of supply and will take some time. I prefer to increase HI outside the Home islands.Do not start that before you have conquered the SRA

I watch supply everyday. This is the most critical thing.
It's very easy to burn too much supply. Everything you do burns 1000 supplies a day and there is a lot to do. Your army also uses supply.

So you have to prioritize what you want to do and focus on the most important items.

Armament can be incresed gradually but it's not a top priority. You produce enough a start to cover your needs. Increasing one factory at once is enough to build your capacity over time IMO. You don't recieve a lot of reinforcements before 43 so you have some time.

[SGT Swanson]

Wish I saw this thread a while ago.  Changes my whole perspective on production.
 
New question:  On average, how long does it take to build a plane that is already in production if you 1.) Expand the plant at the beginging of the game? 2.) Don't expand?  3.) Change the plant to a diferent type?
 
And, if you change the plant, then do you Halt production then restart at a later date or let it keep going?
 
On another note, how long does it take to convert the raw Oil/Resources into Supplies/Fuel?

[AmiralLaurent]

ORIGINAL: SGT Swanson

Wish I saw this thread a while ago.  Changes my whole perspective on production.

New question:  On average, how long does it take to build a plane that is already in production if you 1.) Expand the plant at the beginging of the game? 2.) Don't expand?  3.) Change the plant to a diferent type?

And, if you change the plant, then do you Halt production then restart at a later date or let it keep going?

On another note, how long does it take to convert the raw Oil/Resources into Supplies/Fuel?

In WITP, production and conversion are instataneous. Only the number of factories and HI centers will determine the amount of production.

My understanding is that factories repairing after expansion or change will produce with all able points. Ie a factory size 30 that you expand with have 60 points (30 able and 30 damaged) and will produce the first day as a 30 point factory (ie 1 AC per day) and a monthg later (if you have enough supplies) all points will be repaired and it will produce 2 AC per day.

If you stop a factory, and then restart it, it will produce AC from the first day. Same for a new type going into production.

If you convert an AC factory, the size will be reduce by 15-30% (didn't remember exactly) and all centers will be damaged.

As for oil/resources, as I said the conversion is instataneous, but only one point of oil and resources will be used by each HI. Also remeber that resource centers produced supplies and coastal oil centers fuel.
The real delay will be the shipping time between the SRA production centers and the Japanese industry. It is taking weeks, so don't wait to be short in Japan to ship plunder from your conquests. But on the other hand don't send TK to a place in range of Allied LBA, you will always be short of TK so losing some at the start of the war will be a bad move.

[SGT Swanson]

Thanks AL.  The bottom part I knew about, but the AC part I was still having problems understanding.