Air directives not executing?

[Joch1955]

I know I am doing something wrong but can’t figure out what.

Playing the Pointblank Directive as Allies.

If I let the AI set Air Directives and then modify those, by setting a new target hex and target priority, everything is fine. Target types show up and the AI will attack when I hit F12.

OTOH if I try to create a new Air Directive, for example, select 1 RAF Group, click on * Bomb city, select target hex, when I click on target priorities, all target types are at 0. I can create the Air Directive, but when I execute, zero sorties are flown.

What I want to do is create multiple air directives for each group all at once, so that I can then just activate or un-activate them at the beginning of each turn depending on what target I want to prioritize that turn.

[loki100]

I'm not totally sure what you are doing but one thing occurs to me.

in both GA and strat bombing ADs one target must be priority #4 and it must be present in the AD area. So as an eg, if you set GA-railyard and set it to a group of hexes with no railyard the mission won't execute.

Esp with strat bombing a given mission might hit other things, commonly manpower, and you can have a couple of lower priorities but you must have a valid priority 4 in the mission AD.

So with say BC, my standard strat AD is manpower #4, HI #3 and then maybe fuel #2 (but I may also make trucks #2). If I am going for U-Boats then they are #4 and I'll add say HI at #2 (& then revise the standard Lancaster/Halifax load out to remove the incendiaries).

8 AAF I vary a lot, and tend to give a particular strike just one mission priority.

To me, BC is my basic VP generator, just trash the Ruhr turn after turn generating VP off manpower and HI (& fuel). 8AAF is more a rapier, I use it to take out things I want to be not available to the axis (primarily trucks and medium tanks)

[Joch1955]

interesting, seems counter intuitive, but yes it works if I leave multiple target categories. Thanks.

[cfulbright]

The Air Doctrine settings shouldn't impact manually created AD's at all. If you have SB Air Doctrine set to HI = High, and everything else ignore, but then create an SB AD targetting UBoats in Hamburg, it should work fine.

I think the problem is that you need some unassigned bomber air units available with sufficient range when creating an SB AD, and if you've already assigned all LB groups to other AD's, then you won't see any targets.

See these two screen shots. In the top one I've already assigned all No. 1 Group's LB groups to another AD. In the second one I removed them from that AD and left them unassigned.

Cary

[Joch1955]

Yes, that seems to be the issue. If I let the AI create air directives and then want to create an additional Bomb City directive, I get zero targets as in your 1st screenshot. However, if I remove all air groups from the AI directive and add them to the one I am creating, everything works normally.

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: Joch1955

interesting, seems counter intuitive, but yes it works if I leave multiple target categories. Thanks.

yes, you can't use the target priority to say 'hit this lightly', the way to control the effort is via the rest of the AD system. Basically intensity, priority and the number of missions.

Low intensity means that not much will be done, priority more determines the order of AD execution but low means that planes are used elsewhere first, and if you set strikes=1 then that is all that will happen on a given day (even if the AD could generate 2 raids).

But key is that each AD must have at least one pri 4 targets (& assets etc as Cary notes)

Roger

[IslandInland]

If there was a Victoria Cross equivalent on these forums then loki100 would probably deserve at least 10 for answering all these queries on all the WITx forums over all these years.

And at least several more for writing the excellent WITE 2 manual.

[&o]

[cfulbright]

My head says don't do this, but by heart says I have to.

Do you realize that I was the one who solved the player's problem with the correct answer?

Loki (aka Roger) and I both have been answering questions on this board for 4-5 years.

Cary