The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

And a totally superfluous post to even things out (as a counter to my Argletonian colleague's betrayal of Dan's quest for superior post count).

+1. Are we allowed to +1 ourselves in your AAR, CR?

[Canoerebel]

You are most gracious, Andre. Please do. We shall bury the pale-imitation-of-a-rugged-man GreyJoy beneath the well-timed posts of a thousand erudite forumites!

[Lecivius]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I don't know exactly how to compare Scenario Two and RA, but I think the air war is identical and it's only the air war that worries me.

And rightly so. Japan starts this mod with less supplies, but ones a good player can make up quickly. This is John's mod, I'm pretty sure that counts towards a 'good player' rating. And something to heavily consider is in this mod his air force is a lot more streamlined than in S2. The air frames in this mod are the ones that 'work' better, he has better focus on quantity at the expense of 15 or so Experience rating. This puts the allied side at a fixed rate of production that coincided with Air Superiority having been gained historically in 1943, against an opponent that can vastly out produce the numbers and quality than was historically accurate. You will not gain a clear air superiority until late 44 early 45 in this mod, if at all, I believe. I am reading this AAR with great interest to see if you experience the same issues I did in my game.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I work harder than you at making posts but get less than half the return. That's a pretty reliable indicator of the comparative quality of the two AARs, don't ya think? [:)]

Well, plus Dan is making us all cupcakes. He told us not to tell you GJ. [;)]

Lots of recon of PB and then I set my heavies to 8,000 feet. You lose a bit more to flak but you can close the base that way as the hits will go up.

[Canoerebel]

Edited to omit, 'cause I didn't write anything worth writing or reading.

[Schlemiel]

We require more erudite explanations of omissions.

[desicat]

Edited to omit, 'cause I didn't write anything worth writing or reading.

Actually I thought your comment was very worthy and needs to be posted in the RA thread in the Modding section if not here. If the design of the game is flawed in some aspect and takes out the fun portions what is the point of playing?

Othewise everyone would find themselves playing games like the Soviet Occupation of the Baltic States (1940), The First Sino-Japanese War, the Whiskey Rebellion, or the Soviet Invasion of Finland - oops, this is a good one to play (The Winter War).

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

You are most gracious, Andre. Please do. We shall bury the pale-imitation-of-a-rugged-man GreyJoy beneath the well-timed posts of a thousand erudite forumites!

Hmmm...that's a tough one. Would you settle for keeping even in the post count by the blatherings of half a dozen spambots?

[princep01]

In about 5 days I think your torps, hence your subs, become more effective.  That could be a big deal in the sub infested waters around western Sumatra.  John may be aiming at acting decisively before that happens.  It's something I'd be aware of if I were the IJ.

[Encircled]

Just spammed GJ thread so in the interest of balance, here's one for you

[MateDow]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I think the 4EB have a tenuous ability to shut down Port Blair. They bomb every day. The score meager hits. John's pulled out most of his aircraft. But, just when I think the field is toast, here come his fighters again. So PB is an irritant of the first order. (Why is it that my bombers are ineffective at closing bases while his pathetic 2EB make one strike, score 22,612 hits, and shut down my fields permanently?)

I probably won't hit PB any time soon, but it's an option I always consider from a due diligence standpoint. John has gotten frisky with the amount of shipping he has in the Andaman Sea. It's only temporary, though, unless he can close down or recapture Sabang.

Didn't you know that 4E bombers are overpowered and must be limited in the game? [;)][:D]

[princep01]

Who died?  Or maybe football is King afterall.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: princep01

Who died?  Or maybe football is King afterall.

I think Dan has a family issue to deal with. John says his dad was in an accident.

[Canoerebel]

This is true, but I sure hope Princep doesn't feel as though he shouldn't have used those words. I understood what he meant.

I didn't want to get into this until there was some clarity, but I ought to now since the news seems to be good.

My dad was in a one-vehicle auto accident ten days ago. By last Tuesday, he was heavily sedated and we were positive it was just a matter of time before he passed away. He's nearly 90 years old and has lived life to the fullest (the rascal), so it really wasn't a sad thing. I was mainly just thankful for all the time we had with him.

Tonight I called my stepmom for an update fully expecting to get further sad news. Lo-and-behold, she said when she arrived at the hospital today he was sitting in a chair, awake, and able to respond to questions by squeezing her hand (he has a breathing tube in, which prevents him from talking). We are pretty sure the University of Miami beating the hated Florida Gators yesterday is responsible for this (he played football at Miami in the 1940s, named his business Hurricane Engineering Company, and has hated the Gators with a passion since the late 1920s).

I'm sorry I didn't mention this earlier, but with him apparently in a condition of terminal decline, I just couldn't see turning an AAR into a "death watch" kind of thing. Does that make sense?

I still don't know if my Dad is out of the woods. And, truly, had he passed away, our main feeling would have been thankfulness. But if that ol' rascally Hurricane rallies for more time with us, I won't object.

P.S. My dad is a World War II vet, having served in the OSS in the ETO. He landed at Normandy at D+5 and was present in a chalet near the Franco-Swiss border when Field Marshall Kesselrin came in to negotiate the surrnder of the German Army in Italy. He was just a corporal at the time, but he did get to see the bigwigs and had to contribute his dogtags to the effort to keep the German officers in disguise as a security measure. Adolph didn't want them surrendering, after all.

[CaptBeefheart]

Glad to hear it about your dad. Sounds like a great guy.

Regarding the fatigue of your CAP at Sabang, I think the zero range is key. I do all of my pilot training at 100% and zero range and there's nary a plane in the shop, while pilot fatigue is acceptable, which is a big difference from the odd squadron of which I inevitably miss setting the range to zero.

Cheers,
CC

[JocMeister]

Sorry to hear about your dad. [:(]

I really hope he pulls through. Sounds like a tough old oak! [:)]

[witpqs]

Good luck to your dad!

[catwhoorg]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel


P.S. My dad is a World War II vet, having served in the OSS in the ETO. He landed at Normandy at D+5 and was present in a chalet near the Franco-Swiss border when Field Marshall Kesselrin came in to negotiate the surrnder of the German Army in Italy. He was just a corporal at the time, but he did get to see the bigwigs and had to contribute his dogtags to the effort to keep the German officers in disguise as a security measure. Adolph didn't want them surrendering, after all.

Thats the sort of story that never seems to make the history books.

Glad he turned a corner in a positive way.

[Canoerebel]

12/27/42

The Arena (as John puts it): No sign of enemy carriers, which surprises me. No sign of massed enemy air attacks, which surprises me. I'm just surprised. I was sure the attack would come on the 25th...or 26th...now. But where is the enemy? I am nearly positive it's coming here, though given the surprising quiessence I am considering other possibilities: (1) Diego: Nah. (2) Ceylon or India or Assam: Nah. (3) Australia: I wish. (4) New Zealand: I wish. (5) Anywhere Else: I wish. So the arena has to be Sumatra; and it has to be soon; so I'll just bid my time. Edited to add: John's 6-DD TF sank nine ships retiring to Ceylon - SC, two TK, a few xAP, and mostly xAK - but missed a supply TF that has arrived at Sabang. I'll take these exchanges - supply in, non-critical ships sunk - for the short term until the Battle of Sabang is resolved.

Sabang: I checked on fatigue for my pilots - everything looks great - ranging from 5 to about 15. One P-40E squadron was elevated due to not having enough pilots, so I fixed that. This is the Rourke's Drift and Guadalcanal, so I hope the defenders are made of stout stuff.

Noumea: John has 6th and 56th Divisions at Noumea unable to evict the hodgepodge gathering of Allied units. If you don't mind me giving my opinion, this is a wonderful misallocation of assets - this and the carriers he has over this way. Fighting at the far end of a supply/fuel LOC for territory and troops that really don't matter? I like them there as opposed to Sumatra.

[Canoerebel]

For the sake of transparency, I want to tell you that my interest level in the game has flagged considerably. In the event (unlikely, but here's hoping) of a massive Allied victory at Sabang, I'm going to approach John with peace talks. In the event of a Japanese victory in which I am outthought by my opponent and my troops are outperformed fairly, I will soldier on as it wouldn't be sporting to rob John of the enjoyment of a major campaign. If, however, this turns out to be a massively onesided contest due to the wackiness of unlimited Japanese fighters vs. very limited Allied fighters, I will likely request a ceasefire. The Allies are in great position no matter what - Japan hasn't taken any significant territory and the Allied fleet is in excellent shape - but I just don't want to get involved in a three-year slogfest. My heart isn't in it at this point.