Matrix Games Forums

Convoy Raider question - I've got a bunch of Axis raiders working the computer Allied convoy from USA to USSR. In the Military Activity Summary only two of them show up as being effective. They are all in supply and set to raid and are on or adjacent to the convoy route. On other turns all of them have appeared in the Military Activity Summary. I'm wondering if there is a chance that sometimes some will have no effect, or if maybe the Summary is missing them, or if there is something else ?

From page 55 in the manual:

Once you have clicked on Raider a small blue icon will appear at the bottom left of the ship icon.

sPz - I've been wondering the same thing (post 121), and here I will sound dumb - but were you answering your own question on post 122? I often have units that appear to be active on the enemy supply routes and don't always register taking money away.

Boy I'm glad I'm not England in that screenshot! LOL.

I can imagine! [:)]

Post #122 was supposed to be separate from the situation in post #121 and was only to point out that the manual says 'bottom' instead of 'top'.

Thanks for the update regarding the Manual.

I'm not too sure about the Convoy, as while it can sink no more MPPs than the US is sending to the USSR, I would be surprised if it were only sending 16 a turn.

Perhaps if you can swap sides and take a look at the US's convoy setting to see how many MPPs it is set to send?

(do this in a saved copy of your game, rather than in the one you're actually playing).

I noted that Italian naval ships can't leave the Med via Gibraltar while Italy is neutral.

ORIGINAL: sPzAbt653

From page 55 in the manual:

Once you have clicked on Raider a small blue icon will appear at the bottom left of the ship icon.

I've just checked and the Manual is correct. It may be that it's changed since the last patch, but thanks for pointing it out. [:)]

ORIGINAL: EdwinP

I noted that Italian naval ships can't leave the Med via Gibraltar while Italy is neutral.

That's right, Italy needs to have joined the Axis.

It might be argued that they should be able to slip out before the Italians join the Axis, but I'm not sure that I want Italy entering the war with its fleet already sitting in the English Channel or North Atlantic. I'm just not sure it would feel right.

Perhaps if you can swap sides and take a look at the US's convoy setting to see how many MPPs it is set to send?

I swapped sides and here is what I see:

These shots and situations are from a modified campaign, but I haven't touched anything that has to do with the convoys [as far as I know]. However, if you want I can use the stock campaign and recreate the situation and send you a save file, if you like.

I was also wondering if the raiders were reporting more MPP losses than were being sent in some cases. This shot is from the turn immediately after the above screen shot and it shows more than 16. The turn prior to the above shot had 10 raiders for a total of around 100 reported. Or, does all this mean that the computer is varying the % from 2 to 20 from turn to turn ?

Just for dramatic effect, here is a shot from a couple turns later:

It does suggest that the AI has ramped up the MPPs it is sending, as originally only 16 MPPs were being sunk, and when you've switched sides, only 16 were being sent so literally everything that was being sent was being sunk, i.e. with no capacity for sinking any more.

It looks like the AI must have ramped up the MPPs it is sending in the other turns, which is good as it shows that everything is working there.

My understanding (as Hubert is the expert on this) is that it will reduce the MPPs sent if you are raiding it like crazy.

A strategy diamond is sharpened here...[8D]

Thanks Bill. I had been watching this for several games and couldn't figure it out, but I wasn't playing hotseat so I wasn't aware what was going on on the other side. Now it may be making sense - the Allies are varying the amount of MPP's sent, so the amount that is intercepted will also vary. If he gets whacked, he drops the amount back, then raise it later, but because I have like 10 raiders sitting on the convoy line, he gets whacked again, and then drops back again.

Maybe there should be a line in the manual somewhere that explains 'Convoy Raiders can not cause more MPP loss than what is currently being sent on a Convoy Route. Raiders in excess of the current Convoy MPP amount have no effect and their Supply is not reduced'.

ORIGINAL: Bill Runacre
...
My understanding (as Hubert is the expert on this) is that it will reduce the MPPs sent if you are raiding it like crazy.

That's not AI but HI (human intelligence) [8D][&o][&o][&o]

Is this Romanian HQ unit legally in Supply ? It occupies a clear hex, not a Resource. I attack it every turn and knock it down a few steps, but it reinforces back to 8 each turn [:@]

I'm not sure that is. How low in strength have you been knocking it down to?

I think 3 or 4 once, but 5 or 6 all other times. The turn that I was going to save it, Romania bailed out and the unit disappeared [:(]

End of Game with v1.10b. This game I started as the Axis against the Allied Computer. By January 1945 I had conquered most areas and by taking Stalingrad I think the game would have ended. So at that point I switched sides [first time I have tried this feature]. What a load of fun !

I invaded the Persian Gulf with UK and US forces and had a long fight thru the Mid-East. UK morale is at 15%, so they don't attack so good. US morale at 70%, also a disadvantage against the Wehrmacht at 150%.

The Soviets were pushed into two fairly large pockets, and if it weren't for the second and third fronts opening up in the Balkans and Caucasus, the Soviets would not have been able to hold out.

Everything game-wise seemed to go smoothly, and the Persia Lend-Lease route seemed to react properly to situations. The Axis computer did a good job of shifting forces around to meet the Allied threats.

The Vladivostok Convoy seemed to stop running at some point [it wasn't being reported]. I think that one should go for the whole game, shouldn't it ?