Bombers cant attack task force ?

[Delb]

Hey just got this game and pached to the latest. Just a quick newbe question ? I have started playing against the AI in the coaral sea senario I stated out by moveing all my land based bomers to port Moresby then sending in extra base crew by air . This worked really well and the bombers all work great Except You can only chose your land target ? [&:] Is this how the game works in multi play ? You can set them for navel attack and the stupid friendly AI will always attack the wort target IE it will send a huge force to hit a wounded destroyer or a transport that's in range but will always ignor the enemy Carrier groups [&:] The enemy AI launching from Rabaul have no problem always attacking my carriers instead of surface ships.Is ther some way to set targeting prefrence ? Ive also just seen this problem with friendly carrier AI IE Carriers that come in range of enemy will waste large air stike's on a single cripled destroyer all by its self and not attack enemy carriers [:@] I find this lack of controll rather frustrating ! There is no way in hell a commander would ignor three enemy carriers one hex away to hit a cripple and Ive seen this happen every time . Sorry for the long winded rant just hope this is not a problem in multi play . [:D]

[wissooner]

Delb, you have no control over naval targetting preferences. It's up to the AI which naval TF is targetted, if at all. This has been a hot topic for discussion on this board in the past.

[CMDRMCTOAST]

Hi Delb
Welcome too the forums.
I bumped a couple old threads on this discussion so as not to have to type it again
so read thru the older threads on the board and maybe some others will help out
also for all you new players just joining.
This game is based on strategy and logistics with the emphasis on supply and planning.
Patience is the key and the war will not be over anytime soon, so try to think in terms of being
the commander over the entire theater and one bad mistake will cost you the war and
this is how you play this game.
Training, logistics, fatigue, fuel, supplies, surprise, weather and coordinated attacks as well as a good
solid plan is all going to have to be accounted for in this game as it is not a peice of cake like
a RTS game.
Every single player that has played this game grew thru the trials and tribulations of losing entire
carrier battle groups in one encounter and the ones that learned from there mistakes and played on increased there respect for the Awesome power of the IJN Death Star so Practice with the AI for
A few weeks to get the basics down and then take on a Solid PBEM player to teach you the ropes.
The AI will get you going but watching a good player stomp you around for the better part of
5 months is the best way too learn this game, as frustrating as that might be if you are a true
strategist at heart then there is no better way to learn the game..

Good gaming and Dig thru the old posts as there is tons of great info there...[:D]

[crsutton]

The big factor is the amount of escort that you have flying and if the carriers are in range of your escort. LB bombers will only attack carriers if they have a lot of escort. They will almost never attack carriers unescorted if the carriers have any cap up. This sort of makes sense. If the carriers are protected the land bombers look for easier more sensible targets.

[Delb]

Hey thank's for all the info .[:D] I am starting to get the hang of the whole bomber thing. I dont mind so much as long as this is a problem for bolth players . I gues my point is this is a little unrealistic though ?[&:] the fact is the U.S. did send bombers after carriers if they felt they had to. The land based thing dosn't bother me as much as the whole carriers bad targeting choice though . IE at Midway the scout's sighted the enemy carriers and the invashion force . What if say the Lexington and the Enterprise attacked the invashion force and left the Yorktown hanging out to dry? It was the combined attacks that eventually wore down the IJN cap . Im sure I would have lost the yorktown anyway (just like at Midway )as the IJN hit them with the fist strike. But my 2 carrier TF's launched a total of five strikes between them . The two strikes that hit the IJN carriers hit all three of them and damaged their CVL Soho(I think it was?)badly. If the other three strikes hadint ben waisted on a single cripple[:@] and some transports . Not to mention the three massive[X(] land based strikes from port moresby (that went out with full P39 P400 escorts ) that hit the transports and not the carriers sitting just two hex's to the north . The Jap's might not have ben able to launch their second stikes that seald the Yorktowns fate and turned the Lexington into a batterd Wreck[:(] The way I see it the AI decision made the difference between trading one carrier for three or losing two for none. Oh well[8|] I do enjoy the game though .[:D] So thank's to you and everybody for the feedback I'll have to play with different orders and see what I can do.

[ltfightr]

LBA will attack carriers and will hit them sometimes.

LBA does not do a good job until the cap gets beaten down some.

Stay for a long period of time in LBA range of a major base with your carriers only at your peril.

Also remember you are in the role of Admiral Nimitz and Dougout Doug. Not the Squadron commander. You can tell your Squadrons what you want them to do but aren't in the cockpit with them.
You don't know if they spot the carriers dump the bombs go home and report "attacked enemy carrier but due to cap and flack stick missed." or if they really pressed home the attack.

[EricGuitarJames]

Delb, only your second post and you managed to use most of the 'smileys', I'm impressed[:D]

As ltfightr says, you're not in control of the tactics, 'only' the strategy. Thus it can be frustrating finding out what your subordinates didn't do[:)]. I have the game and I don't find it involving enough to warrant much play time, but then I prefer games that are more operational in nature. If you do get involved in UV then I'm sure War in the Pacific will be right up your street[:)]

[CMDRMCTOAST]

Remember also, The Lba have to be trained above 70% to really start hitting
ships at regular intervals, flying B25j's with over 70% experience at 100 feet
will tear up convoys with strafing and skip bombing but will also incur heavy
fatiuge so use them wisely or you will lose them quickly.
Your carrier pilots are gonna be less experienced than the IJN and will
be flying inferior aircraft at first so you have to train and allow for upgrades
to give you a better chance.

It is always best to wear down the IJN Squadrons and thin out the ranks
for a while to allow for your shear numbers to gain the upper hand, and then
attack their CV'S with your CV'S to allow for better results.
Hang back with your carriers as long as patience allows you too,
and then send in waves of combinations of LBA and carrier aircraft from forward
bases for several days too wear them down and then attack with your CV'S.
Fly half your dauntless squadrons at 16,000 - 18,000 feet and the other
half staggard below 15,000 - 11,000 feet and stagger your cap at 20,000 , 16,000
and a squadron at 8,000 feet give or take a 1,000 feet on the numbers to escort
your TBF'S in.
The SBD'S at 16,000 feet or above are gonna hit in a massive wave that almost
gaurantees a sinking, or at least some heavy damage on the task force it attacks,
the lower squadrons will come in peicemeal and attack several different task forces.
by staggering squadrons and hitting in force with a large group from higher up tends
to wear out the Cap and almost always something gets thru.