N00b needs help: Support

[badkarma]

The support mechanic has me stumped.

I started looking in the forums to see if I could find any answers and someone mentioned that you’d see troops take losses when they’re in a malarial zone. In turn one of scenario 16, I pop to Port Moresby and find the 14th Aus., it shows a support need of 157 but only 144 support. A turn later, I check the same unit and it shows 143 / 155. Is this because these units are in a malarial zone? (And, if so, is there any indication of which hexes are considered malarial zones?)

Perusing the forums some more, it seems that the attrition I’m seeing is expected and the thing to do is to rotate units into and out of these zones. To experiment, I select the 96th Engr. (requires 21, is getting 15) and rotate it back to Cairns for a rest. Over two weeks or so, there was no change to this unit; it stayed at 21 / 15 the entire time.

Back to the forums I go, where I find another post that says the thing to do is make sure you have enough HQs in the area because they provide a bonus that impacts this. I check back at Port Moresby and notice I have a HQ there. Then I check all of the ground units in the same hex. All of them appear to have a support value that’s entirely equal to the number of “support” troops indicated in the breakdown, so it doesn’t seem like HQs are exerting any bonus over this (at least not in a way I can see). Looking around a little more, I notice that I have a very Port Moresby-like situation in Brisbane too (ground units with insufficient support) and I have three HQs there, including Douglas-Freaking-MacArthur’s camp. So why are my units in Brisbane being reduced?

More than anything, I’d just like to know how to exert some form of control over this. If I have a ground unit with inadequate support, what do I have to do to fix this?

TIA for any assistance...

[tanjman]

badkarma,

I'll give it a try. Most units do not have enough organic support, such as the 14th Aus Bde. Certain types of units have more support than they need (i.e. HQs & Base Forces), these are the ones you can use to provide support to those units that need it. Just look at the base screen, it will list how much support you need at that base and how much you have.

The following pages of the UV Manual go into more detail.

Section 10.1 Description of Ground Units page 65.
Section 18.0 Logistics page 107.
Section 18.4 Supply/Fatigue Effects on Land Units page 109.
Page 110 Malaria Free Zones.

[badkarma]

Thanks for the reply, tanj...

What you mention is what I thought at first, too. However, it doesn’t seem to play out this way in the game. For example, just start scenario 16 and look at Port Moresby; the base summary shows that it has 498 support and requires 456. So, why is the 14th Aus. there but deficient in support with only 144 of 157 required?

Ditto Brisbane; it begins with 1582 support and 1291 support required but still has ground units that show as deficient in support.

To test the HQ / Eng. thing out, I did a head-to-head on 16 so that I could control both sides and make sure combat wasn’t changing anything. I transported the 115th Engr. from Cairns. It gets there (minus the radar) on 13 June. Port Moresby’s support increases to 551 with 470 required. This does not change the 14th at all – that unit shows as 143 support and 154 required.

Then I went to Brisbane and transported two HQs to Port Moresby, SWPAC (with a support value of 150 and requiring 0 support itself) and Northern Command (with a support value of 100 and requiring 0 support itself). When this finishes, Port Moresby has 792 support with only 469 required. This does not change the support situation for the 14th – that unit continues to show around 142 support and 153 required (I ran it for a half dozen turns after to see if anything changed – it remained the same).


On the manual, I agree that the paragraph on HQs (10.1, p.65) seems to describe what you mention, as does the last paragraph of 18.0 on pg. 108 – it just doesn’t seem to work that way in the game.

What I get from pg. 110 of 18.4 is a list of the malaria free zones (thanks) plus an inkling that what’s really going on is that high fatigue is causing the units in question to slowly lose elements and the lost elements are what’s responsible for these units not having sufficient support… But this doesn’t make sense either. At 32, the 14th does have high fatigue (I guess that’s high, at least) but if you select it and look at the detailed breakdown, it shows “(0) x 144” for it’s support units. The way I read it, this would indicate no elements had been disabled as a result of fatigue…?

The situation in Brisbane is more mysterious because Brisbane is listed as a malaria-free zone and, according to pg. 110, that’s where units “…will reduce the most fatigue”. So, if I’m supposed to rotate units out in places like Port Moresby and back to places like Brisbane to recuperate, how is it that units that start in Brisbane with more than adequate supplies and support still show as having deficient support levels individually?

[Drongo]

Posted by badkarma

What you mention is what I thought at first, too. However, it doesn’t seem to play out this way in the game. For example, just start scenario 16 and look at Port Moresby; the base summary shows that it has 498 support and requires 456. So, why is the 14th Aus. there but deficient in support with only 144 of 157 required?

badkarma, ignore the individual support ratings when judging if a unit has full support (unless it is the only one in a hex). The support/support required ratings are only there as a guide to tell you how much extra support (if any) this unit will need to operate at full effectiveness.

When the support needed figure exceeds the support figure, it just means that this unit will need extra support from elsewhere. It does not mean that unit isn't getting the extra support from another unit (ie HQ). Always check the base/location totals. If overall support exceeds overall support required, then all units in that location are fully supported regardless of what it shows on individual unit screens.

Also note, as Tanjman mentioned, that any individual unit that has extra support available (not just HQ's) can help balance those who don't at a base/location.

In my opinion, I did not think that malaria losses and support had anything to do with each other. I thought that fully supported units will still suffer attrition over time if they are in those zones. Bringing them into full support should just mean they will operate at current full efficiency (not restore their attrition losses). Shipping them out of Malarial zones should help restore their attrition losses over time. It will not effect their support levels (except that some support lost through attrition may be restored through resting but only to its starting value at best).