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RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 1:59 pm
by Lowpe
I thought the first IJN night fighter was size 9 Jake unit? I guess you resized it to size 20 on a CS?
Doesn't a portion of the Endo Detachement get recalled and then resized? Can't remember...
It is a nasty trick that the Irving NF comes first, but you need to accelerate the Nick to get decent coverage since there are far more squadrons that can upgrade to the d Nick.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 2:05 pm
by Spidery
ORIGINAL: Lowpe
I thought the first IJN night fighter was size 9 Jake unit? I guess you resized it to size 20 on a CS?
Correct
Doesn't a portion of the Endo Detachement get recalled and then resized? Can't remember...
Thrown away I think, but they lost both aircraft...
It is a nasty trick that the Irving NF comes first, but you need to accelerate the Nick to get decent coverage since there are far more squadrons that can upgrade to the d Nick.
And the Nick has done really badly on the R&D front. One factory stuck at 2 to go for months on end but got fixed at the beginning of the month and the other still has 20 to go[:(]. So November if I am lucky but more likely December or January.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 2:22 pm
by Spidery
Miller, obvert, PaxMondo,
I think the performance of different planes depends a lot upon circumstances. Also, when terms like "mid-war" are thrown about I'm not sure what you mean as the balance between aircraft changes endlessly.
The N1K1-J is out fighting anything except for the P-47 and even there, if not swamped, it can inflict an okay loss ratio. Apart from against the P-47, it isn't damaged much so the SR 3 isn't critical. At the moment I only have enough N1K1-J groups to protect about 3 bases: Magwe, Manus and somewhere on Java.
No IJA plane is having any sort of decent showing against the P-47 or P-38.
Apart from over bases around Rabaul, I have not seen a daytime bomber raid for ages, except for massively escorted carrier strikes. So the Ki-43-IV may be theoretically effective against allied 4E in the daytime but I hardly ever see those.
The only air action I see are:
1. Defensive CAP where I am often slaughtered but the goal is to deter from daytime strikes.
2. Offensive sweeps but these have been abandoned as they were too expensive now they run into 2 or 3 hundred aircraft. If he can't put up a huge defense then he doesn't fly any.
3. CAP against night-strikes where I take the losses in order to increase enemy Ops losses and interfere with bomber accuracy.
4. CAP shooting down enemy recon or search aircraft.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 2:25 pm
by Spidery
August 7th 1943
Cruisers bombard Cheribon, for some reason one of the groups remains in hex but, luckily, no air strikes. The damage may have been enough to help hold the base but rather a lot of disablements suffered:
Attacking force 34329 troops, 735 guns, 358 vehicles, Assault Value = 1133
Defending force 26093 troops, 162 guns, 527 vehicles, Assault Value = 932
Allied adjusted assault: 168
Japanese adjusted defense: 948
Allied assault odds: 1 to 5 (fort level 2)
Combat modifiers
Defender: leaders(+), preparation(-)
Attacker:
Japanese ground losses:
978 casualties reported
Squads: 7 destroyed, 142 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 15 disabled
Engineers: 2 destroyed, 15 disabled
Vehicles lost 6 (2 destroyed, 4 disabled)
Allied ground losses:
536 casualties reported
Squads: 6 destroyed, 46 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 7 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Guns lost 35 (15 destroyed, 20 disabled)
Vehicles lost 7 (1 destroyed, 6 disabled)
Assaulting units:
641st Towed Tank Destroyer Battalion
43rd Infantry Division
32nd Infantry Division
25th Infantry Division
632nd Tank Destroyer Battalion
134th Field Artillery Battalion
168th Field Artillery Battalion
147th Field Artillery Battalion
30th Field Artillery Regiment
225th Field Artillery Battalion
Defending units:
17th Division
1st Tank Division
1st INA Subhas Regiment
85th Naval Guard Unit
3rd Indpt SNLF Coy
15th Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion
131st Naval Construction Battalion
2nd Area Army
8th Tank Rgt /1
RO-65 puts a torpedo into the CV Lexington [:)]but is herself lost[:(].
I-176 is badly damaged after two failed attacks.
CVE Kaiyo arrives, she will get a group of Judies and provide some floating ASW action.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 3:12 pm
by Lowpe
ORIGINAL: Spidery
251 Ku S-1 I may be able to upgrade at a PP cost, not sure how that works, it is planned to change to NF with the J1N1-Sa.
I was just investigating switching this unit over, and I think to unlock the Irving NF you must first upgrade it to the Denko.
The Endo Det and its parent unit get withdrawn on Sept 1, 1943. So no joy there either.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 9:10 am
by Spidery
8th August 1943
I-3 is sunk off the Australian West coast.
Hiei bombards the Allies at Cheribon, who seem to be pulling back. For some reason she stays around during the day and takes a torpedo. Not too serious but it is another BB that will need yard time. I've been having problems with bombardments on the Java North Coast. I have a CA task force 7 hexes away, set to full speed, home base somewhere like Billiton but the force bombards during the night but is still there in the day - latest one didn't even bombard.
Thunderbolts continue to sweep the N1K1-J at Batavia and do far too well against the defense.
P1Y2 to 5/44.
Allies have expanded Tjilatjap to 9 and flown bombers in, now 450 F and 250 B present. Also 200 Auxiliary which makes me suspect will be doing a paradrop somewhere.
E Wakamiya and SC CHa-34 arrive as reinforcements.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 9:13 am
by Spidery
9th August 1943
Allies bombard Kavieng.
I-9 and I-15 are damaged by Allied ASW and I-164 by Allied aircraft.
Ki-84r to 44/10.
A new 8150 capacity TK, the only merchant yard build left is a CVE. All others are stopped/halted.
Some AM or AMc may be built if needed but only take 10 days to complete and there are some LST in 1944. Merchant yard builds are a bit of a mess because I am trying to stop them but keep producing barges that I will never use. I have piles of these in reserve and they are so fuel inefficient I can't see how to use them. The cost of building barges doesn't show up on the industry screen so merchant yard points keep falling unexpectedly.
SC Ch 47 arrives.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 9:14 am
by Spidery
August 10th
Light cruiser forces clash at Kavieng. Allies lose 3 Fletcher class DD, I lose CL Oyodo and CL Natori. The loss of the Oyodo makes this a poor trade. Yamashiro bombards the Allies for little damage and allied 4E bomb the troops but no Allied assault.
I-8 gets the Saratoga in its sights but misses with all torpedoes [:@]. I-8 is badly damaged.
I ground my CAP and there is no fighting in the air over Java.
SS RO-36, RO-37, RO-110 are all delivered as is DD Hayanami and SC CHa-37.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 9:25 am
by Lowpe
ORIGINAL: Spidery
I've been having problems with bombardments on the Java North Coast. I have a CA task force 7 hexes away, set to full speed, home base somewhere like Billiton but the force bombards during the night but is still there in the day - latest one didn't even bombard.
I have had many problems here too. I think the captains' look at risk reward, enemy plane strength, anticipated fuel usage and current reserves, their threat tolerance, aggressiveness, and probably a host of other things too.
It is frustrating...but should happen just as much for the other side.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 6:52 am
by Spidery
August 11th
Allies strike Balikpapan oil at night. 75 oil lost but 8 B-24D1 shot down, mostly to flak, a few Franks on CAP do little damage.
Allies sweep Soerabaja in force, the Franks on defense do badly against the Thunderbolts, not surprising, but do even worse against the Hellcats that come later.
Allied forces have retreated from Cheribon apart from 3 divisions and seem to be pulling out of Benkoelen.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 6:55 am
by Spidery
ORIGINAL: Lowpe
ORIGINAL: Spidery
I've been having problems with bombardments on the Java North Coast. I have a CA task force 7 hexes away, set to full speed, home base somewhere like Billiton but the force bombards during the night but is still there in the day - latest one didn't even bombard.
I have had many problems here too. I think the captains' look at risk reward, enemy plane strength, anticipated fuel usage and current reserves, their threat tolerance, aggressiveness, and probably a host of other things too.
It is frustrating...but should happen just as much for the other side.
Very frustrating since it means I can't, in practice, protect the clear terrain on the North side of Java which means I will lose Java far earlier than I should.
Don't think it effects the Allies as much because offensive bombardments don't seem to have problems. It is defensive ones where the problem seems to occur. I suspect there is an issue with the threat assessment not really taking into account that there is an island between my forces and his. However, it is just another issue to work around.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 2:11 pm
by DanSez
[bombardment orders]
It isn't something simple like not having "Retirement" toggled?
or are you saying they move a certain distance then halt, not closing to the bombardment hex.
There probably is a different in bombarding a hex/base controlled by the enemy vs adding shells to a base defense you own. IIRC part of the checks about the task force's ability to scoot in - blow up stuff - and run away is that it is an enemy base and the threat of air attack.
-- good luck with the rascally Mr. Kane, I have been a silent lurker for some time.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 3:08 pm
by JocMeister
Not sure what the problem with bombardments is. But I had to stop doing them within range of enemy bombers. More often then not (later half of the game) my TF would end up somewhere they were not supposed to be.
Only thing I can think of is that the "threat calculation" gets stuck in a loop or something.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 4:23 pm
by ny59giants
Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but by using Full Speed the TF ends up arriving and staying in hex during the day and bombards after being subject to possible air attacks.
As Allies, I have Rangoon and have 2 BB (bombardment) TFs going in for regular attacks at Tavoy (8 hexes away). Each TF is made of CLs with DDs and CAs with DDs. As long as system damage is not too great, they can move, bombard, and be back at Rangoon for lunch. They will move Full Speed to accomplish mission. Please note I'm not sure how movement works when you have the TF moving for more than one day.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 4:42 pm
by Lowpe
I have used full speed and done normal bombardments at night (I usually choose that when at 8-9 hex range). They have also refused to go in many times too.
Remain on Station, normal speed, will sometimes get me day bombardments. Not always.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 7:52 pm
by Mike McCreery
I am a control freak and dont want any of my ships going where their mindless commanders *think* they should. So, I set nearly every convoy to direct route, absolute threat tolerance.
The times when I have had problems with bombardment convoys is when the enemy had superior air cover. I think Mr. Kane's lvl 9 airfield and air control is affecting your bombardments.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 8:11 am
by Spidery
They have all been retirement allowed, direct, absolute, sent to a destination rather than a patrol zone. The problem (with one exception) hasn't been that the bombardments fail to occur but rather the ships remain in the target hex - the exact opposite with what would be expected given a level 9 airbase 75-150 km away[:D]
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 9:40 am
by Mike McCreery
ORIGINAL: Spidery
They have all been retirement allowed, direct, absolute, sent to a destination rather than a patrol zone. The problem (with one exception) hasn't been that the bombardments fail to occur but rather the ships remain in the target hex - the exact opposite with what would be expected given a level 9 airbase 75-150 km away[:D]
Hm... Anything to burn up their ops points? Sub attacks, surface combats etc? That is my only other guess.
Otherwise it is just broken
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:53 am
by Spidery
August 12th
No night strikes.
Allied sweeps are met only by N1K1-J and trade 48 N1K1-J lost for 30 F6F-3 and 12 P-38G. 13 pilots lost but that includes 3 Aces[:(]
I-182 is damaged attacking a transport force heading for Java area.
A BB force heading for Cocos is attacked by Nells but an oversight means there wasn't supply available for torpedoes and they all miss with bombs.
Have evacuated the North coast of Java next to Tjilatjap, so Java is cut in half. Assume he will now attack either North or South to secure more bases. If I could use my cruisers I think I could hold him in the mountains or along the coast but as it is... Djokjakarta is at risk because of the danger of bombardments but at least the forts there are strong.
More enemy forces heading around the North West Cape - possibly for Mataram or that area.
RE: Castles in the Sand - Spidery(J) vs MrKane(A) no MrKane please
Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:56 am
by Spidery
ORIGINAL: Wargmr
ORIGINAL: Spidery
They have all been retirement allowed, direct, absolute, sent to a destination rather than a patrol zone. The problem (with one exception) hasn't been that the bombardments fail to occur but rather the ships remain in the target hex - the exact opposite with what would be expected given a level 9 airbase 75-150 km away[:D]
Hm... Anything to burn up their ops points? Sub attacks, surface combats etc? That is my only other guess.
Otherwise it is just broken
No subs (he doesn't send subs into shallow water), no surface forces or mines on the North coast.
My guess is that they didn't use up another ammo, decided they could stay around, then noticed that there were a 1000 aircraft close by so decided not to bombard but forgot to move. It may be better to not come in close so only main gun ammo is used.