Am I the worst player in the world?

[AmiralLaurent]

ORIGINAL: Freddy Fudpucker

Without reloading the game I can't be 100%, but I'm certain the a/c in question are Kittyhawks/Warhawks(?)/lightnings set on cap of 50 to 70 and layered from about 7000 to 12000 feet. I've found that the only way to stop them changing to sweep is to put them on cap=100.

Ok, what happens to you is perhaps that when you change the CAP ratio from 100% (LRCAP orders) to a lower number (say 80%), the order changes automatically to sweep and you have to change it to escort (or wathever you want) manually.

[Freddy Fudpucker]

Despite what I am about to post, I really do think I'm actually getting better at UV[8D]. But...

A Bad Day in New Guinea

I started a new game of Sc14 and payed closer attention to everything I was doing, especially to reducing operational losses and keeping divisional land units together as I didn't realise the huge importance of this before. I also decided that I might write an aar from the view point of several of the in-game personnel. During the second week of the game I had a very bad day...
Japanese air stikes against PM and GG saw 34 of my fighters shot down for no reply (good pilots too), and exit two of my chosen aar characters in one day. The Jap CV TF even bombarded GG overnight, lost a further 6 a/c on the ground. I had ordered my subs to intercept and one got a shot at the CV...the biggest thing on the seas trapped in port at GG and my sub missed! I put all my a/c onto naval strike....guess what...thunderstorms! Not a single plane sighted the retreating jap cv tf but I lost almost a dozen planes to operational losses that day. Final score...more than 50a/c lost. Can anyone else claim a 50:1 ratio loss for a combat like this???[:(]

[CMDRMCTOAST]

I have lost hundreds of planes before in one action.
have no fear you have to wear down the japanese
and it takes months and thousands of planes so keep
rotating your squadrons in and out of combat for months on
end.
The initial squadrons you have are no match for the IJN even in the
first 2-3 months of the war, these guy's have been fighting for years
and the Allies have not.
keep rotating to and from combat and train them up, watch your fatiuge
and Morale closely and after several months you will see changes.
Also remember that the japanese have the initiative in the initial months
of the war and the allies need to train up and buildup before making any
significant progress.

[yeknod]

Ha! No, I am the worst player.

I dusted off and reinstalled UV to give it another go, determined that I would not be put off by its gold-plated grogness. I read the numerous posts here about how it was important to let the US side train and be stealthy and nibble away at the IJN after fruitless attempts to do anything meaningful with, well, anything.

Then a blinding insight! I'll be early war Japs and throw aircraft and ships at US forces controlled by the AI. That should get results? Chose the Coral Sea scenario, headed off to the Guadalcanal with three CV groups and two BB groups in search of some untrained US fodder. What happened? Yes, you can guess... three CVs sank, BB crippled by the same USN aircraft that couldn't hit an island let alone something metal, moving or floating.

Bah! And Bah! again... I ain't giving up!

Yeknod

[yeknod]

Okay, Newbie help needed, please?

I'm playing Scenario 2, Eastern Solomons as the Japs. The USN CV fleets seems to camp out at Taivu (to support Lunga?). No matter how I approach with IJN CVs or surface groups, US CV planes devastate the carriers and ships.

US planes always seem to get first strike, IJN doesn't seem to have any advantage with experienced pilots (playing on Historical setting).

Any tips?

Yeknod

[82nd Airborne]

You could stagger your forces, leaving a small contingent of ships out in front as bait, with your CVs close behind. Have your LRCAP cover this bait and hopefully devastate or at least attrit the US planes over a few turns.

Could also be worth trying to find them for a surface engagement too with this advance 'bait' force. I would do that after the attrition though.

[yeknod]

Thanks for the response 82nd Airborne

Tried to be sneaky last night and attacked the USN CV group with 4x subs... got a destroyer, yeh! Baited them with a CA and a couple of DDs just within US CV aircraft range covered by LRCAP... but they weren't having any of it! I'll try a TF or two of DDs and heavy CAs and may be a BB all with good AA... that should catch their interest.

Surprising, but I'd expect the IJN CVs to come off better in a carrier duel (better trained pilots) so I'm wondering why this isn't so when I play this scenario? USN seem to get constantly better results when the AI plays. Am I missing something obvious?

Alex

[82nd Airborne]

ORIGINAL: yeknod

Thanks for the response 82nd Airborne

Tried to be sneaky last night and attacked the USN CV group with 4x subs... got a destroyer, yeh! Baited them with a CA and a couple of DDs just within US CV aircraft range covered by LRCAP... but they weren't having any of it! I'll try a TF or two of DDs and heavy CAs and may be a BB all with good AA... that should catch their interest.

Surprising, but I'd expect the IJN CVs to come off better in a carrier duel (better trained pilots) so I'm wondering why this isn't so when I play this scenario? USN seem to get constantly better results when the AI plays. Am I missing something obvious?

Alex

While I believe the experience is one of the most decisive factors, there are a couple of other considerations to weigh.
-weather (this is just luck for one side or the other)
-fatigue of the airgroups
-morale (you can have high exp but very low morale, so you need to rest units that have bad fatigue and morale)
-naval search(higher % search seems to get planes out on strike better)
-escort % (higher % seems to get better strikes out too, not to mention the obvious benefit when the LRCAP is met).
-altitudes of divebombers and fighters can affect their effectiveness
-ship captain's ratings affect the 'punch' you get out of attacks too iirc

Your 'bait' may need more time, you may have caught the US at a time when it was resting planes to recover fatigue and morale. I would resist offering up BB's, and CA's yet, and for heaven's sake, make sure your LRCAP has high morale, and low fatigue or you'll just sacrifice those bait ships.

My gut tells me that fatigue/morale is the main culprit in what is causing your variance in results.

cheers

[yeknod]

Okay, thanks for this... mucking around with a group of DDs and CLs as bait with CVs standing off and offering LRCAP... finally, finally got the LRCAP to work and some IJN aircraft to take off and meet incoming USN strike aircraft... but still got smacked, but not as much. At least the carriers are surviving.

So, what is good bait? How can I maximise destruction of enemy CV aircraft?

[82nd Airborne]

I think DD's and CL's are good bait. You don't need many. If that is all there is available, and the enemy planes are set for naval attack, they'll come calling. [:)]

Having enemy CV air come attack your bases with abundant AA & CAP will be the best way to destroy them.

What you are doing is good so far. You can simply continue for a while or try to catch them in surface action and/or try to guage when you've got his fighters tired enough to move your CV's within strike range.

Not sure how many carriers you have, but when I have 3, I sometimes put 2 forward, loaded with only 1 fighter squadron, the rest SBD/TBDs. The rear carrier loaded with fighters. The two forward are all set to strike/escort, while the rear provides a canopy of CAP for the 2 CVs.

[spence]

A CARRIER BATTLE CATASTROPHY

BACKGROUND: The Nipponese are come to Port Moresby. Two Divisions land while the Death Star (7CVs, 3CVLs) launches 200+ bombers every day for a week against the place. There are a few losses to flak but nothing serious. Meanwhile the US carriers are resting down Noumea way making no effort to intervene in the annihilation of the valiant Aussies in PM. Meanwhile a shuttle of FTs moves engineers, a defense battalion and some Marine Paras to Irau and they begin building an airfield. Port Moresby falls as a large Transport force arrives at Irau with considerable reinforcement and supply. The airfield reaches level one. The Death Star withdraws from the Coral Sea and refuels. Two days later it launches a series of strikes on the transports at Irau doing serious damage to a number of ships and suffering a few losses to CAP and flak. The US CVs put to sea moving slowly North and then NE to the area East of Irau just as the Death Star withdraws again to the NW (fueling again maybe). Another transport TF (as bait) approaches Irau with more supply. The US CVAGs which have been resting to this point have moved to a position about 150 miles ESE of Irau apparently undetected. The Irau field reaches level 2.

THE BATTLE OF IRAU AND THE DEMISE OF THE USN.
(This PBEM game has 2 day turns)

The US carriers are divided into 3 TFs of 2 CVs and 13 escorts each.
Their airgroups are all at 0 fatigue and 99 morale as the 3 TFs move to a position 60 miles SW or Irau. It is the morning of 26 July 1942 when a Japanese scout plane sights the American carriers.
The IJN Death Star reacts to a position approx 120 miles WNW of the Americans. That afternoon the 6 US CVs launch..............

12 F4Fs and 33 SBDs...16 of the SBDs get lost and fail to find their targets. The remainder are slaughtered by the 100 CAP of the IJN.

The IJN Death Star launches approx 235 Vals and Kates escorted by up to 75 Zeros which vaporize the Lexington and Yorktown.
Next morning Admiral Spruance advances toward the IJN with Wasp and Enterprise and launches a series of 1 squadron (plus small escort) attacks on the Death Star. Saratoga and Hornet under Admiral Kinkaid hang back and spend the day under a thunderstorm. The American raids are pretty much ineffective suffering heavy losses. A ragtag group of refugees from Yorktown and Lexington operating out of Irau score a few bomb hits on several of the IJN carriers damaging 2 heavily but not fatally. The Death Star replies with another knock out punch of over 200 Vals and Kates and vaporizes Enterprise and Wasp. Fortunately night covers the withdrawal of what is left of the USN.

Though both sides retire, the IJN promises to return.

[Tuli Vapaa]

For some obscure reason, USN pilots hate minelayers. I attacked Lunga with 4 carriers, (normal starting package: Lex, Yorktown, Big-E and Hornet), and caught Tojo in good terms, with two CV's and one light in The Slot. There was transport task force, about six ships, in Tulagi and single ML few hundrad miles to north. Now, first attack went to right address, good fighter escort, but only 34 SBD's and one 8 plane Sqdr of Avangers. Got one bomb in Shokaku and four to Shoho, but next one was a heart attack material: 84 SBD's attacked against single ML!. Needless to say, counterattack from IJN carriers tore my taskforce to pieces and forced me to abandon landings to Guadalcanal.

What this game needs is a option to execute flight operations officers. Option button that would bring out a small animation with wall, blindfold and firing squad would rise gaming enjoyment to whole new level.

[yeknod]

Thanks again 82nd Airborne

Still practising with bait and LRCAP. Found that I could target a friendly 3x BB TF with LRCAP... seems the USN are reluctant to launch against it so the BB TF moves within USN AC strike range with impunity and engages the CV TF in surface combat!!! Got one or two hits on CVs before USN scarpers off home. Tried this multiple times with similar effects... now if, only I can get the strike planes to launch against USN CVs without getting slaughtered... hmmmm

[CMDRMCTOAST]

Bump

[1275psi]

ORIGINAL: Freddy Fudpucker

I've had UV for quite some time now. I uninstalled it soon after I first had it because I started to get really peed off with certain things about the game, namely trying to win any kind of combat. The most vivid one I recall is a fleet surface combat where I ha over a dozen ships versus just two japanese capital ships. I lost 5 ships and the Japanese sailed away victoriuos despite the fact that I hit both ships continously including one of them 28 (thats twenty eight!!) times.

I've recently reinstalled and tried again but i'm still geting the same stupid combat results. Today saw my bombers launch six attacks in clear wheather versus a Jap transport and two destroyers. I lost several planes and didn't drop a single bomb in the process. The Japs launch a bombing raid on my airfield, 14 unescorted bombers against my CAP of 19 fighters. The Jap bombers shot down 3 fighters for no loss and continued on to bomb my airfield.....how is that even possible?

Does nayone else have similar problems?

I just finished reading the interrogation by US forces ( hyper war history page) of the gunnery officer of the kirishima the night she got sunk
he states she got hit even more often than that!, and but for steering being disabled the ship was still in a state to allow fighting

Also same with the Hiei
BBs really could take it if required when it comes to lighter shells