Frustrated with minelayers&fast transport

Zakhal · Post by **Zakhal** » Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:23 pm

I sented a minewarfare TF from Truk to shortland, refueled, setted homebase Shortland, sented them with retirement allowed to "mine" lunga. Now after few turns, they have just stopped 4-5 hexes from lunga, why?:mad:

Same with APD + MSW retirement allowed TF from Rabaul to lunga to transport troops. They have stopped 4-5 hexes from lunga.

What am i doing wrong?

zed · Post by **zed** » Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:47 pm

not enough fuel, most likely

TheProfessional · Post by **TheProfessional** » Thu Jul 11, 2002 8:53 pm

Have you tried attaching some AOs with Fuel loaded? They go slow since they have to refuel often but they do make it.

Good luck.

jhdeerslayer · Post by **jhdeerslayer** » Thu Jul 11, 2002 9:03 pm

Happened to me also. Fuel. The fuel indicator in top left turns red and says you're in trouble getting there.

Ron Saueracker · Post by **Ron Saueracker** » Thu Jul 11, 2002 9:12 pm

Nothing like risking AOs to drop off some SPAM and bags of mail!!!:D I think it's got something to do with the need to be at the minimum distance from the target for the final run in. Irau, if the originating base for a bombardment TF etc vs Lunga has the ships move SE before running in. A flaw.

Zakhal · Post by **Zakhal** » Thu Jul 11, 2002 9:25 pm

Originally posted by zed
not enough fuel, most likely

The fuel indigators were in green(?) And the four minelayers should have fueled in shortland. Surely they can atleast travel to lunga from there with max fuel.

dgaad · Post by **dgaad** » Thu Jul 11, 2002 9:38 pm

Originally posted by Zakhal

The fuel indigators were in green(?) And the four minelayers should have fueled in shortland. Surely they can atleast travel to lunga from there with max fuel.

Should have is not did. The minelayers have very small fuel capacity. They must have enough fuel to get to the target hex and back to their home base or they will stop in in the hex that begins their mine run and sit there.

dgaad · Post by **dgaad** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 12:41 am

I further note that any TF with a mission that required sprinting speed : minelaying, fast transport, and bombardment, will not automatically refuel in a port.

Kingfish · Post by **Kingfish** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 12:58 am

But shouldn't the fuel value show red prior to launching the mission, rather than discovering your tanks are running dry several days into your cruise?

I would think that it was within the capabilities of TF commanders even in '42 to accurately calculate fuel requirments for a given mission prior to leaving port. If they couldn't make it in one hop they would have arranged for fuel along the way, be it from a tanker at sea or a nearby port.

How many instances have we read about ships running out of fuel midway thru a cruise? None that I know of.

dgaad · Post by **dgaad** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 1:04 am

Its a bit of an interface problem. AFAIK that number will be GREEN if the TF has enough fuel to get to its destination hex. It does NOT calibrate for enough fuel to get to destination and return to port, just the destination hex.

An interface enhancement should make the number green if it has enough fuel to get to destination and return to the designated basing hex, yellow if it has enough fuel to get to destination but cannot get back to port, and red if it can't even make it to destination.

mogami · Post by **mogami** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 1:56 am

Hi, Also pay attention to the fast transport section in the rules.
25 hexes and speed of 25 knots.
APD's which most people think of as fast transports do not meet the speed requirment. Fast transport TF's should be DD and CL (for Japan) in order to work. Load them at bases within 25 hexes of the target and they work as the rules say.

Burch · Post by **Burch** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 3:38 am

Form up the TF in Truck, set home base to Shortland and click on return to Shortland. Once they get to Shortland refuel them then set their mining destination. They will mine just fine (works every time for me as US or Japan). I am not sure if a similar tactic for fast transports will work or not as they tend to unload when they reach a destination. Setting the home base to Shortland after forming them up and sending them directly to the objective might work as well if they have the fuel capacity.
Burch

NorthStar · Post by **NorthStar** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 8:34 pm

Originally posted by Zakhal

The fuel indigators were in green(?) And the four minelayers should have fueled in shortland. Surely they can atleast travel to lunga from there with max fuel.

Also, if I am not mistaken, the fuel indicator is for Cruise Speed consumption. If a ship has to sprint at maximum speed, it uses considerably more fuel, and I don't think the fuel indicator accounts for that.

dpstafford · Post by **dpstafford** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 9:03 pm

Originally posted by NorthStar

Also, if I am not mistaken, the fuel indicator is for Cruise Speed consumption. If a ship has to sprint at maximum speed, it uses considerably more fuel, and I don't think the fuel indicator accounts for that.

Sounds right. I have found the "fuel indicator" to be pretty useless. Sort of like Tom Ridge's terrorist warning scheme.

panda124c · Post by **panda124c** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 9:35 pm

Have a TF with one ship in it FOLLOW your mine layers. The mine layers will be faster than the TK, AK, AO, or TK so they go as far as possible then wait for the TF, refuel then finish their mission.

Also watch out the mine layers may have been to the target already. I found the mine layers sitting with no fuel and half of their mines gone.

One other thing, you know how it is impossible to get PT boats to move any distance, make a TF with a large capacity ship in it and have the PT boat TF follow this TF they will refuel from the larger ship when they run low on fuel.

1089 · Post by **1089** » Sat Jul 13, 2002 1:09 am

Originally posted by dgaad
Its a bit of an interface problem. AFAIK that number will be GREEN if the TF has enough fuel to get to its destination hex. It does NOT calibrate for enough fuel to get to destination and return to port, just the destination hex.

An interface enhancement should make the number green if it has enough fuel to get to destination and return to the designated basing hex, yellow if it has enough fuel to get to destination but cannot get back to port, and red if it can't even make it to destination.

No, the indicator will be green if it can get there *and back* at cruising speed. The problem is that minelayers and fast transports use max speed in their last leg which will use 7 times the amount of fuel per hex, and the game calculates that they do not have enough to get back with that restriction, so it stops them--see para. 2 pg. 57. Since the game knows that it won't have enough fuel when it gets to the jumpoff hex, it should be able to calculate that and show the value in red before it gets there. But it is only a minute annoyance if it is understood why it happens, since there are easy enough workarounds.

kp

dgaad · Post by **dgaad** » Sat Jul 13, 2002 1:21 am

Originally posted by 1089

No, the indicator will be green if it can get there *and back* at cruising speed. The problem is that minelayers and fast transports use max speed in their last leg which will use 7 times the amount of fuel per hex, and the game calculates that they do not have enough to get back with that restriction, so it stops them--see para. 2 pg. 57. Since the game knows that it won't have enough fuel when it gets to the jumpoff hex, it should be able to calculate that and show the value in red before it gets there. But it is only a minute annoyance if it is understood why it happens, since there are easy enough workarounds.

kp

Agree with your last sentence. Thanks for clarifying the rest.

Frustrated with minelayers&fast transport

Frustrated with minelayers&fast transport

Try sending them with AOs

APD and fast transport

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