Nitpicking Scenario

[orabera]

Been a way for a bit and now v1128 has been release since the last update to my scenario. Honestly I enjoy researching the history and updating scenarios to a more historically correct status a little more than actually playing the game. This time I'll start with a clean scenario #1 and try to document my changes more completely.

My interest is to only update the allies, I'm a bit of a Goodguys fanboy, never enjoyed playing as what I would consider the bad guys (Japanese, Nasti, Soviet/Russian, French just to name few). I'll post the first version in a day or two and it will only include my changes/corrections to the map and a couple essential OB corrections.

The scenario will only be playable PBEM or solitaire as the allies, changes I make will ruin the allies AI.

There is one major OB error I just recently discovered with the game scenario files, the US 37th Infantry Regiment has its withdraw date in the delay field. It should start the game in Dutch Harbor and withdraw in 1944, but instead appears on 440426.

[Skyros]

I am interested to see what you post.

[Cavalry Corp]

What's the ID number of that unit- could be a good catch, and I will add it to my next patch.

Or is it easy to find? What division is it part of?

Cav

[orabera]

US 37th (Sep) Infantry Regiment, Location ID#5632. It's part of Pacific Fleet stationed in Dutch Harbor Alaska.

Also, I found another error, USS Achelous, Ship ID#19037, arrives 431024 in Linfan, a landlocked city in Northern China. It should arrive in Aden Location ID#815. I also changed it's arrived date to 431104.

[Skyros]

sddefault.jpg (28.75 KiB) Viewed 1159 times

Thats the ship from Close encounters

[orabera]

Scenario #84, none of these changes will affect the AI and I will limit changes to this scenario to just map changes. My scenario Order of battle changes will be under a different scenario number.

This taking longer than I expected, old shoulder injury acting up and limiting the time I can spend at a keyboard daily.

Order of Battle Corrections
Here I am just making changes to what I believe are errors in the Game Scenario #1 setup

• US 37th (Sep) Infantry Regiment. Location ID#5632 – Error in database, withdraw date mixed with delay, unit now appears at game start at Dutch Harbor (171,50).

• USS Achelus. Ship ID#19037 – Scheduled to arrive 24 Oct 1943 in Linfan, a landlocked city in the middle of northern China. Searched Google, it was a converted LST used to repair landing craft, changed arrival to 4 November 1943 at Aden.

• Australian Praed Point Battery Location ID#6187– Milne Bay (101,133) begin location wrong, Praed Point is actually located at Rabaul (106,125). Unit moved.

Map Changes/Corrections/Additions
I’m using the Extended map for my scenario, this is the better map in my opinion if just for adding Subic Bay as its own hex. Map data is Alan Brown’s.

Changes in the United States
These changes don’t really do much, just silencing the voices in my head that keep saying the map data is wrong.

US Base Changes

• Wendover Field, Utah (225,60) I’ve driven past the now closed Wendover AFB several times and never been happy with its location on the game map. Skipping all the long arguments I’ve posted before, Wendover should be located at least one hex northwest and placed in the same hex as the railroad/old State highway. Also, it is 115 miles from Salt Lake City to Wendover, so it should be moved one additional hex further west to hex 223,59. Once you get past the southern end of Salt Lake, it’s a bit of a dreary drive across the salt flats before getting to Wendover. Also removed the short road into hex 225,60 from map data.
  
  Side Note: After looking too long at the map here I realized there was minor, inconsequential who cares error in the railroad line running west from Odgen. This is the Southern Pacific line that actually keeps well north of Wendover and doesn’t come close to the Western Pacific line out of Salt Lake City until about 56 miles west of Wendover. Updated the map data files to represent this.

• Bremerton Naval Yard, Washington (211,52) Added a short major railroad connection to Tacoma. Naval Yard needs railroad.

• Great Falls, Montana (219,44) Added a minor railroad running from the major railroad north of Great Falls through to Butte, Montana south of the city.

• Tonopah, Nevada (22,67) Added a minor railroad that runs north from Bakerfield, California along the major road north until the minor road that connects to Tonopah. This minor railroad then continues north along the minor road until connecting to the major railroad.

• Bremerton/Pearl Harbor Naval Yards – The game appears to represent BB capable drydocks with capacity increments of 50,000 tons for each drydock. During the rise in tensions with Japan both of these Naval yards had undergone expansion. At Pearl Harbor BB Drydock #2 was nearly completed (and approved for emergency used on December 8, 1941) and DD/SS Drydock #3 was half completed. The Contract for BB Drydock #4 had just been issued and construction started with the drydock completed by the end of 1943. The capacity at Pearl Harbor already accounts for BB Drydocks #1 and #2. I’ve increased the drydock capacity at Pearl Harbor from 100,000 tons to 108,000 tons to account for DD/SS Drydock #3. I have not found a way to add drydock capacity to ports once the game is started, so no Drydock #4. Bremerton Naval Yard had five drydocks on December 7, 1941, with two new BB capable drydocks completed in 1940-41. Four of these drydocks were BB capable with the fifth capable of handling US Heavy Cruisers including the wartime Baltimore class. Increased the repair shipyard capacity at Bremerton from 150,000 tons to 215,000 tons.

• Gray’s Harbor (211,54) added with Port of two, Port Build of 4 and Airfield of one, AF Build of four. In the early 1900’s Grey’s Harbor was the busiest lumber port in the world and had dedicated Coastal Defenses up into the 1920's. There were minor coastal defenses build here in December 1941 after Pearl Harbor.

• Reno (220,65) added with Airfield of one and AF Build of seven.

California Channel Islands

• Channel Islands (222,77) renamed to Santa Cruz Island, AF Build reduced to one.

• Catalina Is (224,77) renamed to Santa Catalina Is and AF Build reduced to zero.

• San Clemente Island (225,78) Airfield increased to one and AF build reduced to two.

• San Nicolas Island (224,78) added with Port of one and AF build of four.
  
  Both San Clemente and San Nicolas Islands were used by US Navy for weapons testing before the war and had limited basing abilities with personnel.

US Pacific Islands

• Baker (149,136)/Howland Islands (148,135) - Baker Island starts with a One level airfield, this airfield with three rough landing strips was actually built by American settlers during the mid-30’s on Howland Island. The Howland Island Airstrip was Emelia Earhart’s destination when she went missing in 1937. The USAAF did build a small airfield on Baker Island in 1943. Marines occupied Howland Island in 1943 and Navy seaplanes operated from there for a short while.
  
  American Equatorial Islands Colonization Project (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_ ... on_Project)

Indian Ocean

• Masirah (29,3) Added with RN Det base Force

India
-Cities along the Northwest Frontier

• Quetta (49,2)

• Dera Ismail Khan (55,2)

• Fort Sandeman (53,4)

• Kohat (57,4)

• Peshawar (57,3)

-Cities in the Assam Region, added either to put a city at the end of a railroad or add airfield capacity

• Singhjani (57,36)

• Lilibari (61,36)

• Mohanbari (62,36)

Burma

• Dry Tree Point (54,54) Future OB update will add small Coast Defense battery downriver from Rangoon

• Fort Hertz (66,38) moved from India to Burma (66,39) where it belongs, Airfield increased to one.

• Nicobar Islands
  Trinkat Island (44,64) is one of four closely spaced islands (on the WitP map the one island not shown and the smallest) just north of Great Nicobor. The area between two of the islands (Nancowry and Camorta) formed an excellent deep water anchorage which had been used by pirates for centuries. Increased the port build from zero to six, the port to one and renamed Trinkat to Nancowry.
  
  As tensions increased in 1941 the British implemented a secret plan to build two bases in the Indian Ocean to facilitate refueling of Naval forces headed to Singapore and formed two forces from the Royal Marine Mobile Naval Base Defence Organisation (MNBDO) in Egypt. The two forces (‘Piledriver’ and ‘Shortcut’) would begin construction of defenses at secret port (Port T) on Adu Atoll (plan also included construction of defenses on Diego Garcia) and later Force ‘Shortcut’ would be sent forward to construct and man defenses at the second port (Port W) at Nancowry Island. The Marines arrived on Adu Atoll/Diego Garcia late in September 1941 and plans were for Force ‘Shortcut’ to arrive at Nancowry on December 19, 1941, but this was cancelled on December 14, 1941. Along with the defenses, a large civilian force was at Addu Atoll building port facilities. The first ships refueled at Addu Atoll on January 3, 1942. The Royal Marines manning the guns were replaced by the 1st Heavy Regiment, India Army in early January 1942.

Malaysia Peninsula

• Sungei Pantani (50,74) RAF Butterworth was one of the airfields built in the lead up to war and was not at Georgetown on Peneng Island but on the mainland very close. Since the Georgetown hex is separated from the mainland as an island, the Airfield in Sungei Pantani increased to four, AF build increased to seven, renamed Butterworth. No.21 RAAF and No.27 RAF Squadrons moved from Georgetown to Butterworth. Edited the Japanese air units that attack Georgetown on turn one to attack Butterworth. Butterworth has remained an active RAF/RAAF/RMAF airbase to this day with RAAF Fighter squadrons permanently based there until 1988.

• Georgetown (49,74) Renamed George Town, Airfield reduced to one, AF build reduced to four.

• Batu Pahat (49,82) Added as part of Extended Map

South China Sea

• Paracell Islands (781,67) Port increased to one. Island claimed by France as part of Indochina, Japan occupied in 1940.

Added the following Spratley Islands, each with Port Build zero, AF Build zero. Map data edited to add atolls. These islands were all claimed by China at the time and Japan had occupied in 1938-39.

• Nanshan Island (72,78)

• Mischief Reef (71,79)

• Pag-asa Island (70,78)

• Itu Abu Island (69,79) with Port of one.

• Sin Cowe Island (69,80)

• Spratley Island (67,83)

Philippines

• Subic Bay (78,76) added with Port and Port Build of two and AF Build of 1. Subic Bay Defenses and 4th Marine Regiment moved to Subic Bay.

Australia
Cities to the end of railroad lines.

• Augusta (48,150) with Port and Port Build of one and AF Build of six.

• Buckleboo (73,158) with AF Build of six

• Injune (91,155) with AF Build of six

• Belgrave (83,170) with AF Build of six

Alaska

• Ketchikan (187,41) with Port and Port Build of two. Ketchikan was the US Coast Guard HQ in Alaska. The USAAF airfield at Annette Island was built due to the mountainous terrain around Ketchikan.

Bering Sea - Most of these islands were used yearly during seal hunts and had minimal facilities to support the hunters.

• St Matthew Island (165,38) with Port Build of one.

• St Lawrence Island (166,33) with Port and Port Build of one and AF Build of one.

• St George Island (167,45) with Port and Port Build of one and AF Build of two. Map data added for Tundra.

• St Paul Island (167,44) with Port and Port Build of one and AF Build of two. Map data added for Tundra.

• Nunival Island (169,39) with Port and Port Build of one and AF Build of four

[Cavalry Corp]

Thanks for this and the work on the map - I also plan to use AB map in my next game, but I do not know how to do any further editing of the PWHEX.

OOB

Note the 37th is in my mod already, which has its origins in RA mod. It starts as you suggest- good John must have found that error a long while back but not fixed in stock.

That ship number must be wrong; those slots are way out of the used area. And I cannot find it by name - I also cannot find Linfan on the map, even after scrolling Scn 1 to check. Any ideas?
USS Achelus was LST -10 - I cannot find your ship by name or number in my mod or scn 1?

You cannot add dry docks during the game - I checked your interesting data, and most of this is in my mod. I agree that the dry docks are too small. But in mine, they start as damaged to be repaired at the start.

Screenshot 2026-03-30 175529.png (702.38 KiB) Viewed 1147 times

Cav.

[orabera]

Thanks for this and the work on the map - I also plan to use AB map in my next game, but I do not know how to do any further editing of the PWHEX.

OOB

Note the 37th is in my mod already, which has its origins in RA mod. It starts as you suggest- good John must have found that error a long while back but not fixed in stock.

That ship number must be wrong; those slots are way out of the used area. And I cannot find it by name - I also cannot find Linfan on the map, even after scrolling Scn 1 to check. Any ideas?
USS Achelus was LST -10 - I cannot find your ship by name or number in my mod or scn 1?

You cannot add dry docks during the game - I checked your interesting data, and most of this is in my mod. I agree that the dry docks are too small. But in mine, they start as damaged to be repaired at the start.

Screenshot 2026-03-30 175529.png

Cav.

Which original scenario did you start with and which version of the game did it come from?

Just double-checked, both are there in scenario #1 of the 1128 release. Checked 1127 and they are there also. Double-checked the original release version and neither is there. Pretty sure both are part of the large update with 1127. Right now I only have Original game, 1127 and 1128 installed.

Unfortunately, the error with the 37th Infantry goes all the way back to the original release of the game.

The previous version of my scenario was based on the 1127 release.

The PWHEX editor is pretty handy, but complicated.

[Cavalry Corp]

My scn started with I think RA 8.0 - it seems he fixed the 37th issue a long way back as it was news to me.

Agree with your other points, but I will download and check your mod and see what happens.

I think the LST will still be an LST - if not what class is it as there is not a LST repair ship class in game, but I suppose it could be another maybe AG or something not sure if that repairs LST or not - if this class is a good proposition I could also add them to my mod as I think its fair to say they would be deployed and a lot of LST get damaged.

I don't think data was changed in these updates, but I could be wrong.

cav

[orabera]

My scn started with I think RA 8.0 - it seems he fixed the 37th issue a long way back as it was news to me.

Agree with your other points, but I will download and check your mod and see what happens.

I think the LST will still be an LST - if not what class is it as there is not a LST repair ship class in game, but I suppose it could be another maybe AG or something not sure if that repairs LST or not - if this class is a good proposition I could also add them to my mod as I think its fair to say they would be deployed and a lot of LST get damaged.

I don't think data was changed in these updates, but I could be wrong.

cav

The Achelous was actually the lead ship of the class and there are about 20 or so in the recent game, class named Achelous ARL but in game are just AG.

[Cavalry Corp]

OK, thanks - maybe I'll add a few that could have served in the Pacific - do you have a list of their names ??

Do you know if AG fix LST? Or maybe I will need to find the manual somewhere...

Cav

[Kohler]

Cav, this link;
https://www.navsource.net/archives/10/16/16idx.htm
will take you to a page showing LST's and which were converted to ARL's and their names.

[Skyros]

I just checked Scenario 1 and 3 in my version and the 37th is not a Dutch Harbor.

Dutch Harbor.png (772.24 KiB) Viewed 1102 times

It does show up on April 27th 1944.

My version is 1.8.11.28.4

[Cavalry Corp]

Cav, this link;
https://www.navsource.net/archives/10/16/16idx.htm
will take you to a page showing LST's and which were converted to ARL's and their names.

tks v much

[LargeSlowTarget]

Also, I found another error, USS Achelous, Ship ID#19037, arrives 431024 in Linfan, a landlocked city in Northern China. It should arrive in Aden Location ID#815. I also changed it's arrived date to 431104.

USS Achelous arrived in Calcutta in early December 1943, but spent only one month in the CBI and then went back to the Med. She got reassigned to the PTO in 1945 and transited the Panama Canal on 7 March 1945.
The dates can be modelled with the "delay", "withdraw" and "return delay" fields in the editor, but I think it is not possible to have her appear first at Aden and then to return later at Panama.
Since she spent only a month in the CBI, it might not be worth the hassle. In my mod, she only appears im March 1945.
Her role was the repair and maintenance of landing craft, not larger ships like fellow LSTs. Therefore, the classification as AG (which can only fix small craft) is correct.

[Cavalry Corp]

Good, thanks for the explanation. I added a few of these to my mod as I do have a lot of extra small ships and for some chrome.

[orabera]

Updating the latest game scenario #1 to include all my changes is going well. Just finished Land combat units, next will changes to devices and then I may upload what I have for everyone to see. Without my added Devices it's just a mess right now.

Been running a few AI vs AI of scenario #1 to see what happens to compare to my scenario. Pretty interesting results, the US Navy sends it's aircraft carriers into the Java Sea in Oct-Dec 42 and typically loses 4-5 of them. The survivors are then sent to raid the Japanese islands in the Marshall Islands and whatever remains of the of the six pre-war carriers (Lexington, Saratoga, Lexington, Enterprise, Hornet and Wasp) are lost. The Allied AI also seems to think Battleships are throw away items, always losing multiple BBs everywhere. The Allied AI doesn't like using it's submarines for commerce raiding, pretty much always just sitting in port.

The Japanese AI does a pretty good job of using Submarines for commerce raiding. I remember the original game Pre-AE War in the Pacific game had an option to allow the Japanese AI to conduct commerce raiding or limit submarines to the actual Japanese use of scouting and anti-surface combatant operations. Unfortunately I've lost my serial number for the original game.

Have run my scenario to see what happens, doesn't seem to effect the game much. I did really changed the Australian Order of battle and AI Australia always loses Port Moresby.

[PaxMondo]

Scenario #84, none of these changes will affect the AI and I will limit changes to this scenario to just map changes. My scenario Order of battle changes will be under a different scenario number.

This taking longer than I expected, old shoulder injury acting up and limiting the time I can spend at a keyboard daily.

Order of Battle Corrections
Here I am just making changes to what I believe are errors in the Game Scenario #1 setup

• US 37th (Sep) Infantry Regiment. Location ID#5632 – Error in database, withdraw date mixed with delay, unit now appears at game start at Dutch Harbor (171,50).

• USS Achelus. Ship ID#19037 – Scheduled to arrive 24 Oct 1943 in Linfan, a landlocked city in the middle of northern China. Searched Google, it was a converted LST used to repair landing craft, changed arrival to 4 November 1943 at Aden.

• Australian Praed Point Battery Location ID#6187– Milne Bay (101,133) begin location wrong, Praed Point is actually located at Rabaul (106,125). Unit moved.

I am NOT an OOB expert, but the Henderson team had a couple. If you go back to those discussions, 15 - 20 years ago, what you will find is that a number of units are NOT located where they were actually at on purpose. The reasons were varied, but all centered around "were they where they should be when it mattered?" Almost all of these units were in Permanently Restricted commands, which means due to game rules they would be difficult/impossible to move after game start, particularly from islands.

Hypothetical Example: A unit was actually stationed in Port Moresby, the unit is Australia Command, but shortly after the war started a PRE-WAR planned move to DARWIN was actually done. Australia Command is a Permanently Restricted HQ, so the unit attached to it was also restricted as it was a home guards unit. If the devs had it start in PM, it would never get to Darwin where historically it played a key role in the defense of Darwin. SO, the dev's had the units start in Darwin, not PM.

This isn't an actual example, but I remember a number of these types of changes in the OOB being done for this type of reason.

So, if you change the OOB, then you cannot complain when you are fighting a battle and one of the famous units from that battle isn't there and CANNOT get there because of your OOB change.

Just saying, the devs spent a LOT of time to get things right with BALANCE. And you "finding" errors after +20 years suggests to me that the "errors" were not errors, but intentional changes for either gameplay or historical accuracy. Just want to warn you ....

But in the end, your mod is your mod and you can do whatever you want....

[orabera]

I've updated the scenario to match the changes I made to my previous effort:
https://forums.matrixgames.com/viewtopic.php?t=395216

I have additionally made to following changes.

In the database moved all Soviet and Chinese units to the very end with no empty entries. This frees up a couple hundred consecutive entry spots for changes/additions. I have corrected the Army structure and broken up units to point to the correct base units.

Updated the US Alaska Defense Command and Northern Pacific. Some(not all) of the changes:
37th infantry, 1st bn at Dutch Harbor, 2nd and 3rd at Fairbanks.
807th EAC (Engineer (Aviation) Company) at Yukatat, upgraded to 807th EAB on 420214.
Added small Base Forces to active USAAF airfields.
All Army units now part of the Alaska Defense Command.

USAAF Base Forces
Using Niehorster OB (http://www.niehorster.org/013_usa/_41_u ... f/_aaf.htm) added True Unit Designator to all starting USAAF Base Forces and attempted to recreate the training base structure on the west coast. Added several airfields to start. The USAF History Command has done a great job documenting USAAF unit structure during WWII, but apparently if it didn't fly it wasn't important. Only bits and pieces about wartime USAAF Base Forces.

I have removed Infantry and AAA devices from the CONUS based Base Forces.

USN CPNAB units at Christmas and Canton Island redesignated to USAAF HCC. USAAF was responsible for the airfield construction on these islands. HCC is the Hawaii Construction Company which was the contracted for these projects.

US Coast Defense Gun Regiments. These units were deployed as separate Battalions and outside of Hawaii were never assembled as whole regiments before being redesignated as separate Battalions in 1943. All Coastal Defense Gun Battalions now listed independently as battalions in the database, with regimental designations at the beginning and changing to separate Battalion designations later. For example the 1st/57th Cst Art Bn becomes the 176th Cst Art Bn on 440531.

I changed the British 18th Infantry division Convoy from the previous version. There are still three separate convoys, 18th Div Troops Convoy (now just the 18th Recce Bn, 9th Royal Northumbrian MG Bn, 125th AT Regiment), 54th/55th Brigade convoy and the 53rd Brigade convoy. The first two convoys are routed to Bombay as historical, the 53rd is routed directly to Singapore. The division was intended to reinforce Egypt and this was not changed until 411216 when the entire division was routed to Bombay with Singapore as its final destination. The order to detach the 53rd and send it directly to Singapore was not issued until 411223.

[orabera]

Sorry, found a major error with the scenario, I didn't update the HQ links for US Air Groups. Fixed.