Auto Sub Ops

[LeeChard]

If you are playing with auto sub operations in effect, do the subs rebase when you
move the sub tenders or do you have to manually change them?

[ETF]

I think you manually would have to re-set their new home base.

[geofflambert]

Don't play with auto sub operations. Only handle them manually. Once you get the hang of it you'll do much better with them. Don't let them run out of fuel, though, they cannot refuel at sea.

[HansBolter]

+1

Auto sub ops will leave you with no subs in port. The AI will send out every last sub every day.

There is no way you can assemble a reserve of subs to send out as a screen in advance of a major operation.

Auto sub ops is good if you want to reduce micromanagement, but that is a somewhat oxymoronic desire in light of the fact that you chose to play a game that is all about micromanagement.

Eliminating the MM also eliminates your flexibility.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: Ranger5355

If you are playing with auto sub operations in effect, do the subs rebase when you
move the sub tenders or do you have to manually change them?

Auto-sub ops key on the homeport, not tenders or lack of them. The code will base subs at the homeport it wants to. I believe it's coded to never base at a location where a tender will be needed. But I haven't played with auto-sub for six years.

If you're playing AI you can turn auto-sub off. PBEM it used to be you could not. That might have been patched. Read the release notes if it's an issue.

Edit: I assume by auto-sub ops you mean the switch in the set-up menu and not turning individual subs over to Computer Control on the ship detail screen.

[LeeChard]

I have been playing this game since the time it came out but I have never played using auto-sub.
At the moment I'm playing as Allies vs AI July 1944.
I am beating so Japan badly I was thinking of weakening my play while easing up some of
the workload.

[pelthunter]

ORIGINAL: Ranger5355

I have been playing this game since the time it came out but I have never played using auto-sub.
At the moment I'm playing as Allies vs AI July 1944.
I am beating so Japan badly I was thinking of weakening my play while easing up some of
the workload.

Try the Ironman campaign, with Japanese forces much enhanced. Also use the historical torpedo setting.

If that does not help, yank up the difficulty level.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: Ranger5355

I have been playing this game since the time it came out but I have never played using auto-sub.
At the moment I'm playing as Allies vs AI July 1944.
I am beating so Japan badly I was thinking of weakening my play while easing up some of
the workload.

In your case you can turn Auto-sub on. If you don't like it you can turn it off. Prepare for the game to base most subs at Pearl though.

[geofflambert]

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

ORIGINAL: Ranger5355

I have been playing this game since the time it came out but I have never played using auto-sub.
At the moment I'm playing as Allies vs AI July 1944.
I am beating so Japan badly I was thinking of weakening my play while easing up some of
the workload.

In your case you can turn Auto-sub on. If you don't like it you can turn it off. Prepare for the game to base most subs at Pearl though.

+1 That's the closest major base you'll have to Japan for a while, where most of them should patrol anyway.

[AW1Steve]

Actually , you can do as was done in real life. In CENTPAC you place a tender out on one of the islands (Like Midway and later Guam) and send the boat back to PH for refits and major repairs. In Oz you can do Exmouth bay and repairs at Perth. On the other side , Horn Island or Darwin and Sydney for repairs and back up. As long as you have a tender , supplies and fuel , you can "forward deploy" almost anywhere , even a dot base.

[geofflambert]

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

Actually , you can do as was done in real life. In CENTPAC you place a tender out on one of the islands (Like Midway and later Guam) and send the boat back to PH for refits and major repairs. In Oz you can do Exmouth bay and repairs at Perth. On the other side , Horn Island or Darwin and Sydney for repairs and back up. As long as you have a tender , supplies and fuel , you can "forward deploy" almost anywhere , even a dot base.

Completely right but every time one of mine came back it had to go to PH for repairs. Midway is very helpful for refueling before you set off for Japan.

[LeeChard]

Lots of good ideas, thanks guys.

[AW1Steve]

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

Actually , you can do as was done in real life. In CENTPAC you place a tender out on one of the islands (Like Midway and later Guam) and send the boat back to PH for refits and major repairs. In Oz you can do Exmouth bay and repairs at Perth. On the other side , Horn Island or Darwin and Sydney for repairs and back up. As long as you have a tender , supplies and fuel , you can "forward deploy" almost anywhere , even a dot base.

Completely right but every time one of mine came back it had to go to PH for repairs. Midway is very helpful for refueling before you set off for Japan.

A AS should be able to handle minor repairs. If it can't , you could move up a AR. But if your boat is taking more than 10% damage per patrol , you are probably doing something wrong. [X(]

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

A AS should be able to handle minor repairs. If it can't , you could move up a AR. But if your boat is taking more than 10% damage per patrol , you are probably doing something wrong. [X(]

I disagree with this. In the game, given the shallow water rules and how effective Japanese air ASW is (burning rice), if you don't go where he's routing his convoys--shallow water under air ASW--you may not take damage, but you don't sink anything either. A USN fleet boat will survive a bomb hit, but it's a bingo hit. Usually 40-50 float damage and around 30-50 system. Limp home in "cripple" status. Often fix a piece of the damage on the way. Steel Boats, Iron Men!

[geofflambert]

If you're not getting depth charged you're in the wrong places. Be careful about the commanders though, starting out about half of them are duds. It's worth the one or two PPs to change them out. I keep a log of all ship sightings, date, hex spotted in, ship type and number of ships you saw, heading and results of any attacks made. Use those float plane subs (Japanese) and plot markers with the date so you can find the events in your log.

[geofflambert]

You can take clean maps off of Tracker and use them with whatever media program you use. Paint maybe, I use Irfanview, it's real simple. Use zoom out maps for drawing lines of approach that you're estimating. Use zoom in maps of hot spots so you have more room for your notes. I usually have subs patrol in small triangles with two of the corners right in the line. Set 1 day delays so you're not burning through fuel too fast. Even though it saves fuel don't have your subs just sit in one spot, you won't get as many hits and if he has surface ASW out looking for you he's much less likely to find you. I wouldn't note those contacts in your log though. Also even though it's less work for you don't have multi sub TFs when patrolling, it doesn't work any better. You can put four subs together and send them to the general area and split them up when they arrive. I'm pretty good at scrolling through the hex locations and spotting what I'm looking for, so put off doing your maps until you have a decent amount of info to plot.

edit: I wasn't clear, he's much more likely to find you if you sit in one spot.