Surviving until 1946

[Rysyonok]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

ORIGINAL: Rysyonok

ORIGINAL: HansBolter
After mastering 10 I played 30 and it was a definite step up.

However, about that time I gave DaBabes a try and have been forever hooked.

The Babes mod is being developed by some of the games developers and at least in my mind represents the next generation of the game.

They tweaked quite a few things, but most of all they completely revamped the LCUs such that I can't bring myself to go back to a stock game.

Babes has a scenario titled IronBabes, but it is not an IronMan scenario. It is the Babes version of scenario 2.

I pestered AndyMac until he finally ported his IronMan scenario over to Babes. I think it's called "Quick and Dirty IronMan port to Babes" (now that I think of it this may be scenario 30...can never keep the numbers straight).

I haven't actually started it yet as I am currently playing a new scenario based on Babes called Between the Storms.

It isn't set up for solo play but I'm playing it anyway to have fun with all the new toys added to it and playtest bugfinding for the scenario developer John3rd.

Scenario 60 I haven't tried yet, but hear that AndyMac outdid himself on aggressive scripts for an overpowered AI.

Do you have any AARs I can look at?

I did see Babes' links, but I didn't want to play them just yet. I want to master basic landings before I start getting into details...

I have only ever produced one AAR and that was for another game I was beta testing.

It was a tactical game series with the most incredible AI in any game I have ever encountered.

The designer is Panther Games which used to be linked with Matrix, but they have moved to another publisher.

My AAR is now buried in the discontinued games forum under Command Ops Series.

It was an AAR of a scenario depicting KampGruppe Pieper's drive to the Meuse in the Battle of the Bulge.

Here is a link in case you might be curious:

tm.asp?m=1450882

Best tactical games series I have ever found and don't have time to play anymore....

Thanks

[Rysyonok]

So, two months into the war, it appears that serving on a submarine is a very dangerous posting indeed...

[Rysyonok]

But, of course, nothing can match the thrill of piloting a Buffalo I:

[Rysyonok]

The saviors of Port Blair (note that squads were resized just before the battle):

[Rysyonok]

880th squadron prepares to take off for the mission none of them will come back from unscathed:

[Lowpe]

ORIGINAL: Rysyonok
Just 5? Why, that's so much better than the 13 scripts I thought there were...

There could be 13. I think the point is that you can't count on the AI doing the same thing over and over again.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

ORIGINAL: Rysyonok
Just 5? Why, that's so much better than the 13 scripts I thought there were...

There could be 13. I think the point is that you can't count on the AI doing the same thing over and over again.

The stock release has 13 scripts. The Ironman on Steroids releases could have only five scripts, since the start point is already high on the aggressive side.

[Lowpe]

A cruiser and two CLs! Ouch...Boise...gone. Double ouch.

You have paid a steep price for Port Blair! Some of the British xaps will convert very early into landing ships of some type...get them somewhere safe as they are quite valuable. In fact there are a lot of interesting conversions out there on the western half of the world.

[Lowpe]

Could I see a couple of screen shots of sunk Allied ships...sort by VP total. Thanks!

[Rysyonok]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

A cruiser and two CLs! Ouch...Boise...gone. Double ouch.

You have paid a steep price for Port Blair! Some of the British xaps will convert very early into landing ships of some type...get them somewhere safe as they are quite valuable. In fact there are a lot of interesting conversions out there on the western half of the world.

The battle is not yet over. That transport TF still has 33 ships, and is still at Port Blair. I wonder if I should detach all the combat ships and just leave transports to scramble for themselves.

[Rysyonok]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
The stock release has 13 scripts. The Ironman on Steroids releases could have only five scripts, since the start point is already high on the aggressive side.

Ah that makes sense. Thanks!

[Rysyonok]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Could I see a couple of screen shots of sunk Allied ships...sort by VP total. Thanks!

All in all, 240 lost.

Is it too cynical to ignore the really small ones?

[Lowpe]

Can you go back and check the combat reports on these three sunk ships please?[:)] There is also the Capillo xak sunk about the same time...

I think I always lost a lot more BBs at Pearl in scen 10...in addition to the CAs.

I think you might fix your font problem if you put -altFont in your target line under properties for your launcher button.

[Rysyonok]

3 hours ago I considered all small boats to be unworthy of being mentioned.

30 minutes ago a few of them have delivered the greatest naval victory this war thus far:

Night Time Surface Combat, near Kalidjati at 50,99, Range 2,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
xAK Aobasan Maru, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 4, and is sunk
xAK Asosan Maru, Shell hits 2
APD -107
APD -108, Torpedo hits 3, and is sunk
APD -110, Shell hits 8, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
AK Miya Maru, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 2, on fire, heavy damage

Allied Ships
PT TM-4, Shell hits 1
PT TM-5
PT TM-7
PT TM-8
PT TM-9
PT TM-10
PT TM-12
PT TM-13, Shell hits 1
PT TM-14
PT TM-15, Shell hits 6, and is sunk

Japanese ground losses:
8089 casualties reported
Squads: 53 destroyed, 159 disabled
Non Combat: 205 destroyed, 266 disabled
Engineers: 33 destroyed, 4 disabled
Guns lost 30 (30 destroyed, 0 disabled)

[Rysyonok]

ORIGINAL: Lowpe

Can you go back and check the combat reports on these three sunk ships please?[:)] There is also the Capillo xak sunk about the same time...

I think I always lost a lot more BBs at Pearl in scen 10...in addition to the CAs.

I think you might fix your font problem if you put -altFont in your target line under properties for your launcher button.

That was a German AMC, Orion. I clipped him the next turn using 6 RNN DDs.

As for BBs, this is actually the most I have lost. I did a couple of test runs to see what happens on the first day... My average was 2, and that's including British ones by Singapore. I would usually lose the older ones, too. So in a sense this has been the deadliest December 7th in my games.

Thanks for the font tip. The "-alt" part goes after the "" brackets, right?

[HansBolter]

Sweet.

I'm pretty sure some one on this forum once sunk the Yamato or Musashi with PT boats.

Not sure what you mean by "brackets" above. Command line switches are place immediately after the command executable file with a space before the first "dash" and a space between each switch you add.

[Rysyonok]

2/9/1942:

Northern Java is quickly overrun, and Batavia is now surrounded. Palembang falls; my troops get a negative modifier for preparation - IJA must have had 100s whereas the Dutch were in 20-60 range.

10 more transports sink for the privilege of departing Port Blair, and CL Mauritus is probably a goner too (82 flotation after 2 torpedoes). As an added insult, none of the 4 AA units at Port Blair claim a single kill.

USN CVs return to Midway, pounding Japanese at will. Despite no supplies (the original landing was cut short), their force on the island has been growing from 20+ AV to 60+. They even tried 2 attacks. I dropped off another Marine CD unit there for now.

In South Pacific IJN continues its march towards Tahiti. Baker, Funafuti, Canton all fly the Red Sun banner now.

[Rysyonok]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

Sweet.

I'm pretty sure some one on this forum once sunk the Yamato or Musashi with PT boats.

Not sure what you mean by "brackets" above. Command line switches are place immediately after the command executable file with a space before the first "dash" and a space between each switch you add.

So this is correct?

[Lowpe]

Above looks good, but capitalize the f to F: -altFont

and then for good measure add -skipVideo

and then for even better performance read the readme on switches you can do a lot to enhance the game...

Thanks for the Orion, I thought she launched a fair number of torpedoes...

PT boats are pretty nasty, especially when led by a good Commander. Sounds like the AI is moving right along, good to see....you may want to turn off the Heavy Industry in Oz to avoid a fuel crisis there, or then again, it probably is too late for that.

[BBfanboy]

Personally, I find 9 torpedo hits from 10 PT boats pretty unbelievable. I suspect extreme FOW, backed up by the fact that no 4 Japanese ships can carry 8K+ troops.

Per Hans Bolter's comment, Greyjoy had a PT boat hit Yamato with a single torpedo ... right in the main magazine. Sometimes the dice gods just want to be generous!

Small request - you list the last game date as 2/9/42. Depending on whether you use European or American annotation that can be February 9 or September 2. That makes a big difference in interpreting the stage the game is at - February landings in Java are normal, September would be a disasterous delay for the Japanese. Could you use the abbreviated month name instead of a number to avoid any confusion?