The AI DOES Buy Aircraft!

[KG Erwin]

I don't see them too often, but in the second battle of a USMC long campaign, I'm in a defend mission, and on the fifth turn, here come two Ki-27 Nates. My men are so startled, there is absolutely NO op fire at them. I have a couple of MGs, a 37mm ATG and a couple of rifle squads guarding an east-west dirt road. The planes come straight along the road. Within seconds a platoon HQ, the ATG and both MGs are wiped out. Holy sh*t!!! Thankfully, these are rare occurrences, but a bombing run can have devastating consequences if you're caught flat-footed, as I was. [:o]

Hopefully I can return the favor in a later battle.

[Major_Mess]

I'm in the Long Campaign with the Germans, starting in 1939 with a 1400 point force - (I've given the enemy 1800 pts. This is practice for my PBEM's, for when they start up again - I'm gonna be ready!).
Last battle the Soviets hammered me with a couple of sorties, and like KG I had NOTHING to counter them with. The battle I'm in now I am again seeing Soviet airpower, and I'm gonna be hooped real quick if they keep dropping bombs on me.

Time to trade in some trucks for AA I guess.

So ................................... long story short ........................ 8.2 AI does buy aircraft.

Major Mess

[Buggsy]

The AI brits just airquaked my ***. [:(]

[Danny Boy]

Guys,

I'm frankly surprised at all the surprise![&:]

I have been playing vs the AI for years and I KNOW that he picks air units...and LOTS of them sometimes. It's got to the point now whereby I will turn off Air Support for the AI rather than rely on XXX setting. At the moment if I am playing rather than 'building' I will be playing either US or GER after June '44. BIG MISTAKE to play as Ger unless you turn off air units for AI. I recently had what I thought was a nice tight combat unit comprising 4 Tiger 1's, 6 Panther G's dug in with about 400 support troops (SS & Spec Ops). They were awaiting a US Assault by a far superior points force (ratio was about 5:1). The idea was to see if I could lure the opposition to steam into the VH's unopposed...not know what to do next and then unleash hell!.....

...Well... that's not exactly what happened...even though I knew the AI would buy planes I had eight Flak quads spread out with mg cover that I thought would at least put a dent in anything that came hunting for my ambush...

Opening round about 16 planes come in and strafe the VH's which then allowed some of them to pick out my positions. I was then subjected to wave after wave of air attack while the lead elements came in and took the VH's. By the time anything of note turned up...engineers, halftracks, M4A4's whatever....I had virtually nothing left.

That was the last time I played with XXX set! It was unfortunate because you usually have to wait a long time and play a lot of games vs the AI before you get a decent sneaky move from the AI...and here we were, the AI piling in, and I was completely unprepared. It also appeared that they knew they had to sacrifice some planes in order to knock out the AA cover first! I may have dreamed that but that's what I seem to remember.

The unfortunate thing is that the AI won't behave sneakily often enough to give you a decent game.

Ho Hum

Cheers!

[Marten]

I was playing soviets vs german AI. I was crossing the river quite unopposed, no aircrafts in the air, 6 t34 on the bridge, all is quiet.
then suddenly out of nowhere two me 110 droped their bombs at each end of the bridge. two t34 sunk instantly, rest of them stucked in the middle of water. thats what I call a surprise.

[Danny Boy]

Marten,

ORIGINAL: Marten

then suddenly out of nowhere two me 100 droped their bombs at each end of the bridge. two t34 sunk instantly, rest of them stucked in the middle of water. thats what I call a surprise.

No....that's what I call hilarious[:D]......admit it, I bet you had a smile!

Cheers!

[KG Erwin]

ORIGINAL: Danny Boy

I'm frankly surprised at all the surprise![&:]

Danny Boy, it all depends on the nation you are playing against. The Americans in 1944-45 should be expected to have control of the air, and if you're the Germans, then Gott Hilfe!

By contrast, the Japanese vs the USMC from 1942-44 are something else. The AI isn't crafty at all, it's just random, depending on mission/weather. This is where I always get in trouble, because I never know when their planes will show up in clear/hazy weather. This is the "pucker" factor. There is no point in buying extra AA coverage--your core force should already have it. This is why I love those 75mm GMCs with their 50 cal AAMGs, as well as the coverage from my tank company. Nevertheless, there's the uncertainty which adds at least a little bit of drama to what could be a dreadfully boring "beat up the bad guys, upgrade your force--repeat" series of battles.

The USMC-Japanese campaign does have unique features--the desperate jungle fights of the first five-seven battles suddenly turn into replaying D-Day almost every time after that, with some exceptions. It is close-quarters, infantry-dominated and almost obscenely vicious, and I'm fascinated by it, even while I study the true history and marvel at the incredible courage displayed by both sides in what was probably the most concentrated battlefield violence (in relatively small areas) of the entire 20th Century. I recommend that every player try at least one of the Pacific scenarios or campaigns.

[Danny Boy]

KG,

You've hit upon something that I have given some thought to over the last few weeks.

When I boot up the PC and have in mind a session of SPWaW what do I actually want to do? Play a scen, random battle, continue with a campaign or do some designing of my own?

If I decide to play...what do I perceive to be the enjoyment I will get from any battle. Is it long range stand-offs between tanks or close quarter battles beetween infantry or a whole mish-mash. Well lately, I have to admit, I have been getting more fun out of close quarters battles between infantry units with little or no support from armour. However, one thing I haven't done is shift the play from Europe to the Pacific...I can't remember the last time I played vs the Japs.

Maybe I'll give it a whirl this weekend.

BTW, I realise the implications of date and country when talking about airpower, but what surprised me in the scenario I outlined was that the opening gambit of the AI was an air sortie, which I only remember experiencing as and when the AI knew where to find some of my troops (apart from a designed scen).

Cheers!