I have to suspend all disbelief ...

[morganbj]

...to accept what the AI can do. ****SPOILER****

In my current game, the Japanese AI loves New Zealand and Suva. It has sent a TF to easter NZ and it just sits there in a NZ port, doing nothing but fighting off a few NZ inadequate naval air attacks.

Meanwhile, there are several AI TFs roaming back and forth between Noumea and Suva, and they've been there for the better part of a month. At one side of their joy cruise, they hammer Noumea, at the other they hammer Suva with their air power (I think it's two CVEs in the TFs). Apparently, they have lots of spare sorties laying around [sic] and unlimited fuel. I'm taking a cautious apporach and have a couple of CAGs in Luganville waiting for them to leave, but they just seem to stay. Sadly, it IS good training for them.

My point is that I appreciate the more challenging game the AI gives, but it seems like it could do so without having to resort to operations that are completely unlikely and ahistorical.

Oh, well, I'll just have to wait for another underescorted invasion TF at Canton and take out my frustration there with my cruiser TFs.

[Andy Mac]

To remove variants that include AI exploitation attacks
 
delete aei00x-007 to aei00x-12 files from scen sub folder.
 
That will guarantee a game where the AI sticks to a historical expansion plan (if not in timing)
 
There are 13 AI files 7 are all variants of a bog standard game 6 have the AI going beyond strategically.
 
Andy
 
p.s. can you send me a save and I will fix the NZ Port TF isuse

[Admiral Scott]

Is there a random factor in the AI's strategy?

Will it pretty much do the same thing game after game, or will every game be different?

[morganbj]

Do you want a save where the TF is on station at the NZ port?

[morganbj]

ORIGINAL: Admiral Scott

Is there a random factor in the AI's strategy?

Will it pretty much do the same thing game after game, or will every game be different?

Well, in my two starts the games are VERY different on the edges. The AI still goes for DEI, PI, Burma, etc., but the probing and nuisance attacks are much, much different. Well, at least that is how it seems to me. Only the AI (i.e., Andy Mac) knows for sure....

[Andy Mac]

The AI picks a random script from the 13 options which give it a different strategic objective in each one.
 
Save would be great.
 
a.mcphie@btinternet.com
 
Is this a patch 1 or launch game?

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: bjmorgan

...to accept what the AI can do. ****SPOILER****

In my current game, the Japanese AI loves New Zealand and Suva. It has sent a TF to easter NZ and it just sits there in a NZ port, doing nothing but fighting off a few NZ inadequate naval air attacks.

Meanwhile, there are several AI TFs roaming back and forth between Noumea and Suva, and they've been there for the better part of a month. At one side of their joy cruise, they hammer Noumea, at the other they hammer Suva with their air power (I think it's two CVEs in the TFs). Apparently, they have lots of spare sorties laying around [sic] and unlimited fuel. I'm taking a cautious apporach and have a couple of CAGs in Luganville waiting for them to leave, but they just seem to stay. Sadly, it IS good training for them.

My point is that I appreciate the more challenging game the AI gives, but it seems like it could do so without having to resort to operations that are completely unlikely and ahistorical.

Oh, well, I'll just have to wait for another underescorted invasion TF at Canton and take out my frustration there with my cruiser TFs.

I haven't seen the NZ thing, but I have seen the CV battlegroups ping-ponging between Noumea and Suva in April 1942. It sucks to have nothing there to hit with.

So . . . I finally stopped "saving" my CVs at Pearl ("One more, and I'll be ready. OK, TWO more, and I'll be ready . . .) I made a TF of Enterprise and Sara, put in New Mexico, two CAs, and a handful of DDs, and headed southwest. You have to fight sometime.

When I got to about 300 miles east of Suva, there was a 3-CV tf of Akagi, Z. and Shok. near Noumea, and a CVL and assorted skimmers near Suva. I went north to block escape and get away from the CVL, used spotters from Noumea, timed the night sprint, and struck the heavies at dawn. Got one torpedo into Akaki (says she sank, but I disbelieve it), lost 40% of both my air groups, Enterprise took 24 floatation damage, Sara took 34, but the heavy CV tf ran for it. Both of my CVs went to Escort tf status and began limping for Sydney.

But . . . that left New Mexico and the CAs and most of the DDs with nothing to play with. I still had the CVL tf nailed, heading due west south of Noumea. I knew its air group was attrited from flak over Suva and Noumea, so I rolled the dice, went to flank, and started an end chase. Caught them the next day in the AM phase. My big guns against Shoho and three modern DDs . . .

It is very satisfying to see an air-launched torpedo strike home in a Japanese birdfarm, but, oh, how much sweeter to see a 16-in shell plow into the magazines and have that "Massive damage from ammunition explosion" message flash up. She went down like a stone, followed by two highly irreplacable, modern DDs. The third ran with engine damage, and I knifed it in the back later that day. Scratch one Japanese tf.

As my XO used to say, "Sailors belong on ships, and ships belong at sea." My lesson--stop "saving" the fleet. Fight. Like that old Doritos slogan: "Lose all you want. We'll make more." (Or something like that.)

[herwin]

Your goal as a theatre commander in WWII was not to passively defend what you had; it was to take the initiative and make the opponent defend what he had.

[Mike Scholl]

ORIGINAL: herwin
Your goal as a theatre commander in WWII was not to passively defend what you had; it was to take the initiative and make the opponent defend what he had.

I'd say it depended on the time and the theatre. MacArthur and Percival must have understood very quickly that their primary role was to tie the attacking Japanese forces down as long as possible to give their respective nations time to mass and re-deploy forces to "hold the line" farther back. Likewise Kurabiashi actively sought to keep his garrison on Iwo Jima from throwing their lives away trying to "take the initiative"..., desiring to make the Allies have to assault each defender in a prepared position.

[Dereck]

ORIGINAL: Andy Mac

To remove variants that include AI exploitation attacks

delete aei00x-007 to aei00x-12 files from scen sub folder.

That will guarantee a game where the AI sticks to a historical expansion plan (if not in timing)

There are 13 AI files 7 are all variants of a bog standard game 6 have the AI going beyond strategically.

Andy

p.s. can you send me a save and I will fix the NZ Port TF isuse

do you mean:

aei007-01.dat
aei007-02.dat
aei007-03.dat
aei007-04.dat
aei007-05.dat
aei007-06.dat
aei007-07.dat
aei007-08.dat
aei007-09.dat
aei007-10.dat
aei007-11.dat
aei007-12.dat

Are those the only ones?

[treespider]

ORIGINAL: dereck

ORIGINAL: Andy Mac

To remove variants that include AI exploitation attacks

delete aei00x-007 to aei00x-12 files from scen sub folder.

That will guarantee a game where the AI sticks to a historical expansion plan (if not in timing)

There are 13 AI files 7 are all variants of a bog standard game 6 have the AI going beyond strategically.

Andy

p.s. can you send me a save and I will fix the NZ Port TF isuse

do you mean:

aei007-01.dat
aei007-02.dat
aei007-03.dat
aei007-04.dat
aei007-05.dat
aei007-06.dat
aei007-07.dat
aei007-08.dat
aei007-09.dat
aei007-10.dat
aei007-11.dat
aei007-12.dat

Are those the only ones?

No he means

aei00#-07.dat
aei00#-08.dat
aei00#-09.dat

through

aei00#-12.dat

Where # is the scenario number in question...

[m10bob]

IMHO even with a "historical-based" game, there has to be some form of AE unpredictability, or there is no variety to how we "get" to where we are going.

I will leave those variables intact, thank you.

[John Lansford]

It's April '42 in my CG (with the patch) as well and the CVL TF's showed up to party around Noumea too.  Except, I've already begun building up Ndeni and Espirito Santo into bases on their own, and Suva and Noumea are bristling with air units, LCU's and strong surface action groups made up of USN CA's and Allied CL's.  They started hunting for the CVL's, found one and sent her to the bottom, although not without loss; HMAS Australia took two Long Lance torpedoes and sank 2 days later.  The other CVL TF ran into a DD TF and lost her two escorts, and decided survival was better than valor and ran for home.
 
I've not seen the "park the TF in Auckland and wait for something to happen" scenario yet, but I have seen a CA TF try and dock at Port Moresby a few game weeks ago.  It came around the Gili-Gili horn and arrived at PM for a short stay, didn't bombard or anything, just sat there.  My bombers wouldn't attack it (commander: "Can't you see those ships?  Yes, THOSE ships; the ones in the harbor out there! Go get them!") so they eventually ran off when my PT boats made an entrance and torpedoed Jintsu.  My CD units never fired, my bombers never bombed; it's almost like they were on a peacetime visitation cruise...

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: John Lansford

It's April '42 in my CG (with the patch) as well and the CVL TF's showed up to party around Noumea too.  Except, I've already begun building up Ndeni and Espirito Santo into bases on their own, and Suva and Noumea are bristling with air units, LCU's and strong surface action groups made up of USN CA's and Allied CL's.  They started hunting for the CVL's, found one and sent her to the bottom, although not without loss; HMAS Australia took two Long Lance torpedoes and sank 2 days later.  The other CVL TF ran into a DD TF and lost her two escorts, and decided survival was better than valor and ran for home.

Hmm, more and more variation. I like it.

My GC definitely had a CVL TF (which I sank wholesale) and a CV tf, not a second CVL. I got a report I had sunk Akagi with one torpedo (suuuure), and that tf ran off to the NW. I put Sara into Suva, Enterprise into Sydney, and the escorts in with her.

THEN, after I posted on my victory, the CV tf came back and started bombing the Suva port. Don't know if it was looking to sink Sara at the pier or just to be obnox. I had one DD at Suva which had escorted Sara in, so I decided to risk her to avoid the %#*!$ FOW and get eyeballs on this "CV tf". Yep, Shokuku and three DDs. My DD put four 5-inch shells into her with no penetration, and got away.

Now, unless it gets bored and leaves, I have to decide if I want to sortie Sara with 34 floatation damage, or risk her by staying put. My Sydney escorts, already in drydock, are at least six days away if I decide to sortie them with damage.

Decisions, decisions. Why anybody would want to go back to WITP's AI "sure moves" is beyond me.

[joey]

I have a home made scenario in slot 26. I do not see aei0026-07.dat???? How does the AI act in a modified scenario? What files does it use?
I ask because the AI is attacking Kormac, Gerladstown, Darwin, and Canton Island on a weekly basis. I sit a SAG at each and have sunk most of his DD fleet. I would like to stop the AI from doing this, so that the game is better. The AI is now attacking with PBs and E boats due to the lost of DDs. I would like the AI to save its fleet.

[Andy Mac]

The AI selects a script at the start of the game you cannot modify it in mid game.
 
Assuming you are playing Scen 1.##
 
How did you set up the modified Scen did you set it up with AI files i.e. did you open scen 1 and save it as scen 26 ?
 
Or did you copy and rename individual files (if you did it this way di you copy over the AI files ?
 

[joey]

Opened scen 1 and renamed as 26 with two or three minor changes. Problem with the scrips is you can lay traps for the AI as it keeps repeating attacks until it is successful. So its losses are much higher than they should be, as I can lay in wait for them. Was hoping to stop this needless slaghter.

[John Lansford]

I had a surface TF with a CL and Nagato escorted by 3 DD's raid the area around Pearl Harbor (???!!!).  They sank several of my transport TF's and their escorts with the loss of a DD, but never made it to PH so I didn't get to see if my formidable CD units would take them on.  I sortied a 3 CV TF to chase them down and Nagato was hit by 12 1000 lb bombs, but no torpedoes before she got away.

Meanwhile, I spotted Akagi headed down towards Suva, along with a CVL in a separate TF.  My cruiser TF's intercepted the CVL and shot her up pretty badly, but could only get some DD's to intercept Akagi and their 5" guns didn't damage her that much.  I had Saratoga and Wasp at Pago Pago and they raced west to try and catch her too, but she retreated towards Rabaul without an intercept.

Those kind of raids really cause me to become paranoid about my transport TF's in both areas.  I had 5 different bomber and patrol squadrons running naval search around Pearl, and Nagato still got within just a few hexes before I spotted her.  Down near Suva my LBA was totally ineffective in their attacks, even though I've got 2 DB squadrons at Luganville that were in range for some time (with escorts).  I can't escort everything to stop a BB and I can't provide air cover for everything in the SoPac!

[sstevens06]

ORIGINAL: Andy Mac

To remove variants that include AI exploitation attacks

delete aei00x-007 to aei00x-12 files from scen sub folder.

That will guarantee a game where the AI sticks to a historical expansion plan (if not in timing)

There are 13 AI files 7 are all variants of a bog standard game 6 have the AI going beyond strategically.

Andy

p.s. can you send me a save and I will fix the NZ Port TF isuse

Does this still work the same way post-patch & hotfix? If yes, I assume you need to start a new game for this modification to be effective, correct?

Happy Holidays!

[bradfordkay]

I have no problems with the AI scripts taking it to some places that were never invaded IRL.

I will say that I am less than enamored with the AI teleporting TFs. I am coming to grips with the unlimited sorties (as I recall my CHS game where the AI kept sailing the KB through the DEI but only launching attacks with 5-6 a/c - presumably because it was low on sorties and couldn't rearm), but when the computer player gets to violate the laws of physics I tend to get bent out of shape. Luckily SantaChez came through and my PBEM first turn just arrived this morning!