Airfield will not expand

[Drongo]

If the idea was you had to have possession of a site before knowing its SPS was intentional, then that is ludicrous.

John,

I'm sorry my quick post has caused you a bit of outrage. It was meant as a possible suggestion only.

To be specific, I had wondered myself why the SPS potential was not known except to the owner (especially when it is fully visible to both sides once a base symbol appears). For that reason, I took note of a thread I saw in my wanderings where players were discussing the issue. One of the players suggested that it was related to fog of war. As he was at least a Trooper (or more) and I was a dumb recruit (and no one disagreed at the time), I thought it could be the case. At no time was I suggesting that Matrix intended it that way. I have never come across an "official" explanation for it. I should have made it clearer, sorry.

Given that, with a bit of effort, players can obtain the potential SPS of any "hex" (I'm betting the serious PBEM'ers have the vital ones noted), I agree that it does seem a bit pointless if it was deliberately hidden.

I'm not sure I agree that military planners always knew the best site for a port or airfield. Obviously, many places were common knowledge to both sides but not every one of them. Henderson Field on Guadalcanal was a good example. I was there (the water not the airfield) doing diving work in '95 when the US vets arrived to commemorate the 50th anniversary of WWII ending. I used to drink at the pub with them at night. They felt (some were retired officers) that the high command had no idea that a large airbase could be built there (whether they looked is another matter) until the Japanese started construction. The Japanese had no idea either until a routine patrol landed on Guadalcanal from nearby Tulagi. They literally stumbled across it and made note of its potential. A survey team was sent and the rest was history. Up to that point, Tulagi was expected to be the major base for air operations in the area (seaplane). At least that was my drunken understanding of the facts.

[Joel Billings]

I don't know if Gary intended that player's not know the SPS of bases that they didn't own, but I agree as the game is now it should be visible. Just be sure to start a game from the other side and take notes before you play a game (or use one of the charts on the fan site). I think at one time Gary thought about randomizing some of the values, but decided against this. If he had, it would have made more sense not to know unless you owned it. By the way, my understanding is that the Japanese had no idea about the potential of an airfield at Dobadura, and that it was a lucky find by an Allied officer looking over the Buna area during the first half of the summer of 42 (before the Japanese took it). Not everything was known about these areas.

[John Lansford]

It's true that the Japanese didn't spend a lot of effort on logistics and construction, but the US certainly did. Submarines regularly sent small parties onto islands to gather data on surf conditions, defenses, and locations for airbases. Aerial photography was flown over any potential invasion site to see if an airbase could be built there. There are many examples during WWII where the US invaded a small atoll or island and built an airbase there, bypassing the heavily defended island the Japanese thought was the only place an airbase could be built.

Knowing the VP total may give some indication as to how big the base could become, but it's a vague and unreliable gauge to risk a division of men on.

[wpurdom]

"Afaik, the extended time to 1000% is only for the build from a SPS(0) airbase to size 1."

I have only one data point on this, but after I built a size 1 airfield at Lea Lea (SPS(0)), the airfield again went over 125% complete without building a level 2 airfield.