Off-map movement and the Suez Canal.

[bradfordkay]

What on earth are you talking about? Look at the AE map. It includes the coast of Somalia almost to the Horn of Africa (then known as Italian East Africa) as well as the coast of Pakistan with the port of Karachi. There is absolutely no way for any shipping to travel from Abadan at the head of the Persian Gulf to Cape Town without passing through that section of the map. Period.

[RangerJoe]

I was beginning to doubt my memory of maps, so I took a look at a map of Abadan and the larger portion of the world around it. Sea travel from Abadan to Cape Town involves a long voyage SOUTH, then a short turn to the WEST. At no point do ships moving along that route go anywhere near the Suez Canal, much less the Med. I know that AE took liberties with its map of the Earth ("Erf," in Baltimore), but restricting travel to Cape Town -- from ANY direction was unnecessary. Off-map travel, that is.

Next, I'm going to investigate how Magellan circumcised the Earth with his cutter WITHOUT using the Suez or marching across Abyssinia.

You might want to check your spelling and/or word choice:

Next, I'm going to investigate how Magellan circumcised the Earth with his cutter . . .

I mean, did he "circumcise" the planet itself or just the inhabitants?

[BBfanboy]

I was beginning to doubt my memory of maps, so I took a look at a map of Abadan and the larger portion of the world around it. Sea travel from Abadan to Cape Town involves a long voyage SOUTH, then a short turn to the WEST. At no point do ships moving along that route go anywhere near the Suez Canal, much less the Med. I know that AE took liberties with its map of the Earth ("Erf," in Baltimore), but restricting travel to Cape Town -- from ANY direction was unnecessary. Off-map travel, that is.

Next, I'm going to investigate how Magellan circumcised the Earth with his cutter WITHOUT using the Suez or marching across Abyssinia.

Abadan represents the Persian Gulf area and its oil - Britain controlled almost all of that. It is only one peninsula away from Aden which is near to the entrance to the Red Sea - and thence to Suez. Until the British were able to secure the Mediterranean against Italian and German attacks on their convoys, it was more prudent to go south to Cape Town and thus go around Africa.

Have you not noticed how skewed the map is? Just look at North America if you want to see it. So in the game you travel far west to get to Cape Town which is far south. Also note that most westerners underestimate the size of the Indian Ocean - they think the Bay of Bengal is it. But all the ocean between Australia and Africa also counts as IO. There is also a lot of west to cover to get to CT. Just go with the map as if it is an accurate representation for game purposes!

[Tector920]

My choice of words and my spelling is deliberate. Humor is lost on some folks.

I guess I'm getting schooled on the arrangement of the AE map. For fifteen years I never noticed that the game map had been designed for ease of play. Shame on me. I will endeavor to get my "mind right." Ditto for my understanding of WWII and the PTO. Five decades of study, all for naught. Oh well.

[bradfordkay]

The problem with your complaint is that you are asking for an off-map route that includes on map travel. There are no "off-map" routes in the game that include territory that is on the game map. This is as it should be, IMO. It has nothing to do with re-thinking your understanding of the PTO.

In my game I have sent too much fuel from Cape Town to Australia and have had to resort to tanker convoys from the US East Coast and Abadan to restock Cape Town's fuel reserves. The convoys from Abadan are routed to a point off Socotra Island and thence to home port in Cape Town (reversing that route after delivery).

[Tector920]

Brad,

No, I am simply wondering why an off-map route that is available in the latter half of '43 was not available from the start. It's just a minor part of the game that has always bugged me. I have no problem with the layout of the map; just with that particular movement design choice. Closing the Med made complete sense, but not to include the Indian Ocean with it. Or should I say, a significant part of the IO.

[Dewey169]

Brad,

No, I am simply wondering why an off-map route that is available in the latter half of '43 was not available from the start. It's just a minor part of the game that has always bugged me. I have no problem with the layout of the map; just with that particular movement design choice. Closing the Med made complete sense, but not to include the Indian Ocean with it. Or should I say, a significant part of the IO.

I’m not home n close to the computer, but I thought that the route that opens in 43 was 159 days travel…. Could it be that the route is back through the red sea, through the med, and makes a turn south through the south atlantic to Cape Town???

[Tector920]

Dewey,

That may well be the case. If so, it makes as much sense as sending convoys from Abadan to Colombo or Bombay via the Gibraltar Strait.

[bradfordkay]

The route you are asking about is not available even after the Mediterranean opens up. Try routing a cargo convoy from Great Britain directly to Abadan. It won't be allowed. You have to route the convoy to Aden, and then you can route it to Abadan. The Aden to Abadan off-map route is there because the map does not include the coast of Oman or Yemen, so ships can travel between those two ports without entering the map.

[Dewey169]

Dewey,

That may well be the case. If so, it makes as much sense as sending convoys from Abadan to Colombo or Bombay via the Gibraltar Strait.

Maybe so, but it’s an option …. what do you do if a jfb has taken Ceylon and closed off that part of IO showing on the map..

[Tector920]

In that case, I would either send naval reinforcements to Cape Town from the US and Australia, via the Perth - Cape Town route and attempt to run convoys in the face of resistance, or simply not run convoys in that area until it was safe to do so. Then, I suppose, run Abadan fuel the long way around, via the Med, when the path was opened.

The variety of strategic options is one part of AE that has kept returning me to it for so long. The same goes for all of Grigsby's "War in the..." titles.

[Platoonist]

Thought I'd a post a map so we don't have to work from the sketchy one in our heads.

R.jpg (58.52 KiB) Viewed 519 times

[Tector920]

Platoonist,

Thanks. I think that it helps to illustrate my original point. I keep atlases and Google Earth handy whenever I attempt to play any historical game.

[Macquarrie1999]

Platoonist,

Thanks. I think that it helps to illustrate my original point. I keep atlases and Google Earth handy whenever I attempt to play any historical game.

Socotra and Somalia are on map, so how would these convoys travel off map before the Med opens?

[Dewey169]

Brad,

No, I am simply wondering why an off-map route that is available in the latter half of '43 was not available from the start. It's just a minor part of the game that has always bugged me. I have no problem with the layout of the map; just with that particular movement design choice. Closing the Med made complete sense, but not to include the Indian Ocean with it. Or should I say, a significant part of the IO.

I’m not home n close to the computer, but I thought that the route that opens in 43 was 159 days travel…. Could it be that the route is back through the red sea, through the med, and makes a turn south through the south atlantic to Cape Town???

Well I was just a bit off…. Just getting back from gkids ballgame and looked.. there’s only a off map route from Aden to Cape Town that’s available after 5/43 and distance of 210…. So that’s the one I was thinking of that takes the long way around….

[Leandros]

Next, I'm going to investigate how Magellan circumcised the Earth with his cutter WITHOUT using the Suez or marching across Abyssinia.

Well, you have a great mission there as he didn't. Circumsize the earth, that is.

Apart from that this has been an interesting thread.

Fred
------

[Tector920]

Fred,

There once was a list of hilarious answers written by high school students on history exams. On of the kids wrote that "Magellan circumcised the Earth with his hundred foot clipper." Apparently, my joke sailed over the heads of a few here.

[BBfanboy]

No, we got the joke OK, but just didn't feel it needed a comment or continuation. Now if you want to post something about identifying species of trees, you might get four pages worth of posts - one player did!

[RangerJoe]

No, we got the joke OK, but just didn't feel it needed a comment or continuation. Now if you want to post something about identifying species of trees, you might get four pages worth of posts - one player did!

That was six pages and it drove his opponents nuts, back then it was 30 posts per page as well!