This CAP is much more manageable. If they keep heading North, I'll get things ready. I may not pull the trigger, but it certainly seems like a good time to try.

Moderators: wdolson, MOD_War-in-the-Pacific-Admirals-Edition
ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58
Re the Gunzan attack.
You didn't include the LCU list, but late-war Allied units are very truck-heavy, so if any of the LCUs were IDs it's a good bet a lot of those losses are trucks. I wish the CR split out AFVs from other motorized, but it doesn't. It seems unlikely that most of those numbers were actual tanks. The late-war models are pretty robust.
DD Thompson is reported to have been sunk near Nagasaki/Sasebo on May 15, 1945
Previous report of sinking of CVE Kadashan Bay incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service
Previous report of sinking of CA Tuscaloosa incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service
Previous report of sinking of SS Growler incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service
ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock
DD Thompson is reported to have been sunk near Nagasaki/Sasebo on May 15, 1945
Previous report of sinking of CVE Kadashan Bay incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service
Previous report of sinking of CA Tuscaloosa incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service
Previous report of sinking of SS Growler incorrect. Intelligence reports ship is still in service
For once the resurrections far outweigh the reported deaths. [;)]
ORIGINAL: ny59giants
I wonder in other PBEMs that the Allies don't go for NF factories early on to allow the B-29s more freedom in going after the modern fighters afterwards.
ORIGINAL: obvert
ORIGINAL: ny59giants
I wonder in other PBEMs that the Allies don't go for NF factories early on to allow the B-29s more freedom in going after the modern fighters afterwards.
He tried earlier a bit, but wasn't as successful from longer range and without the B-29B. That bomb load seems to be the key, because once he had that he is able to hit anything in one turn, regardless of defenses. The way the code works favors bombers with a bigger load to get a hit, regardless of how many there are, or at least it sure seems that way. He's sent 200-300 B-24 with no results at similar targets, but he can have 50 B-29B and wipe an aircraft factory completely, with NF up, bad weather, low moon and flak.
ORIGINAL: Wargmr
ORIGINAL: obvert
ORIGINAL: ny59giants
I wonder in other PBEMs that the Allies don't go for NF factories early on to allow the B-29s more freedom in going after the modern fighters afterwards.
He tried earlier a bit, but wasn't as successful from longer range and without the B-29B. That bomb load seems to be the key, because once he had that he is able to hit anything in one turn, regardless of defenses. The way the code works favors bombers with a bigger load to get a hit, regardless of how many there are, or at least it sure seems that way. He's sent 200-300 B-24 with no results at similar targets, but he can have 50 B-29B and wipe an aircraft factory completely, with NF up, bad weather, low moon and flak.
B17's have a load of 6000, Liberators 8000, B29's 20,000 bomb load. So almost 4 times the amount of bomb load a B-17 can carry. I am willing to bet that the delivery systems (accuracy) are better too.
ORIGINAL: witpqs
I think most of what you said is right, but I have a lot of trouble accepting that 200-300 of any other 4E is lucky to get one hit, even with an equal amount of bombs. Are you basing that on sand-boxing, or on the game with Joc?
You'll have to ask him to know more about his pilots. When this one is done I'll be doing a lot of testing to understand better things I've observed in game. Not quite time for that now, but a list is developing.Because - while I have no idea what Joc has done - it makes sense to move the best bomber pilots to the B-29s as they arrive. And that might greatly skew what you see in-game. Especially if you did not have enough 'trained' bomber pilots to refill those other 4EB squadrons. In fact, in the middle of 1945 (I am not there yet) I imagine it's pretty easy to run low on trained pilots for 4EB. Remember that even though pilot experience is very high for new USA pilots at that point, the additional skills were not programmed until AE, and there are none reflected in the pilots database. The skill assignments come from some formula in the game code that is driven by the experience rating. A newly arriving USA pilot, even late game with "high" experience is not going to arrive with 70+ bombing skill. And any pilots transferred to the B-29 groups have a good chance of being well above that mark.
ORIGINAL: witpqs
I don't mean to imply that the combat algorithms are the same for all targets types, I do assume they have differences. If it is pilots, maybe the industrial targets are harder to hit in the algorithms and so the mix of pilots he has makes a bigger difference than it does on other targets? Speculation.
ORIGINAL: obvert
ORIGINAL: witpqs
I don't mean to imply that the combat algorithms are the same for all targets types, I do assume they have differences. If it is pilots, maybe the industrial targets are harder to hit in the algorithms and so the mix of pilots he has makes a bigger difference than it does on other targets? Speculation.
They could even be the same, exactly, and it's the difference in bomb load for each aircraft that is found through the dice rolls to 'hit' target. So that with aircraft with more bombs there are more hits than there would likely be if the same amount of aircraft with the same factors otherwise (pilots, weather, etc) dropped the same amount of bombs. I don't know, but I'd like to find out at some point.
ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58
ORIGINAL: obvert
ORIGINAL: witpqs
I don't mean to imply that the combat algorithms are the same for all targets types, I do assume they have differences. If it is pilots, maybe the industrial targets are harder to hit in the algorithms and so the mix of pilots he has makes a bigger difference than it does on other targets? Speculation.
They could even be the same, exactly, and it's the difference in bomb load for each aircraft that is found through the dice rolls to 'hit' target. So that with aircraft with more bombs there are more hits than there would likely be if the same amount of aircraft with the same factors otherwise (pilots, weather, etc) dropped the same amount of bombs. I don't know, but I'd like to find out at some point.
I don't have a problem with this. One plane dropping a 4x larger bomb load has those bombs in a tighter pattern than four independent planes dropping the same total. It's the "stick" concept. Hit or miss, the larger stick does its job together. On misses you also have 4x the misses as the whole stick is a munitions unit. I believe Nemo did a lot of sand-box work on this long ago.
I have seen all the way back in 1942 strat bombing that a larger installation on the ground, in point terms, takes more percentage damage than a thin installation, with the same planes, pilots, and bomb load. Hitting 100 HI it's easier to get ten points of damage than hitting a 20 point HI. Again, that makes sense to me.
Was the B-29's radar bomb sight better than the Norden bomb sight, and is that in the EXE somewhere? No idea. But I have to think the radar was better else the B-29 would have had the Norden. No idea if that's in the game.