Question about Air Operations

[Delaware]

Hello!
I am watching the excellent Twitch stream on Youtube and I am only 10 minutes in but I am so taken by the air directives I had a quick question: Is it possible to play ONLY the air campaign and leave the ground direction to the AI? I see it's possible to set the Air Directives to AI assist. I just wondered if the opposite was possible.
I say this because I saw an interview with GG where he said its like making two separate games.
The idea of concentrating only on the air at first anyway is tremendously appealing.

[Joel Billings]

No, there's no way to have the AI play the ground forces so you can just play the air. However, we are planning on working on some air only campaigns in future expansions. Also for the expansion we are looking at the idea of allowing 2 commanders per side (1 air commander that plays the air planning phase, and 1 that plays the ground phase). That way you could play a Multiplayer Server game with someone that's interested in controlling the ground forces. Having the AI play the ground forces would involve another layer of communication between you and the AI about what it was planning on doing on the ground, so we see that as a much more difficult feature to add.

I should say there is an air tutorial scenario in WitW that allows you to just play the air units.

[Delaware]

Thank you! Please put me down as an interested customer for Air Campaigns as add ons later.

[Numdydar]

I was just thinking with the impressive air routines you have coded, I could easily foresee a new version of The Bombing of the Reich within the WitW structure. If anything close to that comes about, then count me in as well. Although the question becomes would the turns still be weekly or could they be recoded to be daily like the original game? And would the specialist industries be added to the map, Ball Bearings, etc?

[Helpless]

If anything close to that comes about, then count me in as well. Although the question becomes would the turns still be weekly or could they be recoded to be daily like the original game? And would the specialist industries be added to the map, Ball Bearings, etc?

Differently from the ground war weekly turns, air execution is already done in daily increments. So possibility is there and it is in discussion.

[Numdydar]

In discussion? It should have already been released as a separate game or a DLC already [:D]. Don't you want our money [&:]

[obvert]

How is recon modeled in the game?

[Erik Rutins]

There is both air recon, which is gained through air missions and calculated on a per hex basis and ground recon, which is gained through the proximity of your own ground units to those of the enemy.

Regards,

- Erik

[RedLancer]

You have specific recon air directives allowing you to target areas and also specify what you want to look for.  Recon Aircraft have two types of camera so you need to make sure they fly at the optimum level for their loadout.  Better recon means better attacking results.
 
For ground units the closer you are the more you find out. 

[Helpless]

+ start recon to get more accurate damage info.

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Red Lancer

You have specific recon air directives allowing you to target areas and also specify what you want to look for.  Recon Aircraft have two types of camera so you need to make sure they fly at the optimum level for their loadout.  Better recon means better attacking results.

For ground units the closer you are the more you find out. 

Two cameras. Hmm. Modeling high level down facing and low level recon oblique camera mounts? Interesting.

I like being able to choose what to look for. That's getting grainy in a good way. [:)]

[sfbaytf]

I'm reading one of the AARs and it mentions switching to bombing sub pens. Given the limited naval scope of the game whats the payoff? If you neglect to bomb sub pens would you possibly suffer more attrition/losses to a amphib task force attempting invasions in 44?

Can the German player tweak production to try and get jets in late 43/early 44 and make it a contest in the air in 44/45?

[Joel Billings]

The allies lose VPs if they don't keep the U-boat factories damaged in 1943 as that was a big political target. It has no other impact. Player's cannot tweak production.