Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: Beezle

Could we please have an authoritative comment on Allied A/C production rates? See the "Allied Replacement Aircraft Replacement Rate" thread). I can understand that for AI play balance reasons Japanese A/C production could be boosted. That isn't what concerns me. I am concerned that the Allied A/C production rates are way off, by more than an order of magnitude.

For F4F (3s 3as and 4s) I get about 7000+ total production. I am a little uncertain as to how many were lend lease but I don't recall hearing that the majority went to Canada nor British units in the Far East. I am pretty sure 90% of them didn't go to the ETO.  That "7000" could be 7500 or 7700 or so. But that is only a 10% error.

At 53/month (counting the recon models in the total to get to 53) that number can be built in 136 months ie by about August 1954.

For total production I get a ratio of about 7700 F4Fs (not to mention about 12,000 F6Fs) to about 11,000 A6M (_all_ A6M models 2>8). That isn't a ratio of 6:1 in favor of the Japanese economy.

I keep being told the Allied A/C prodcution is carefully researched and spot on. How do the Allies get to 7000+ F4Fs?

The problem with this is that with those allied production rates a war of attrition is a winning strategy for Japan and that doesn't seem all correct.

ORIGINAL: RevRick

A most detailed and cogent explication of the question asked, Brother Forest. I recognize that level of detail can become more time consuming than imagined by virtually any of the amateur historians or occasional researchers, or even the most detail oriented auditor, usually resident here. And your presented evidence only concerns one variety of airframe. Neither have I read all of the threads, or messages in the threads about the determination of the level of production/replacement allocated in the game. I simply do not have that kind of time.

Perhaps my primary concern is that from what scant evidence I have seen from running a computer to computer continuous game to reach beyond the initial stages of the Japanese expansion into the Pacific, it appears that the computer gamer (which I virtually exclusively play, also because of time limitations) can manipulate the production level of the game to reach a virtually unlimited supply of whatever airframe desired. On one such date, when I interrupted the game, the computer showed, on Dec 23, 1073 P-40E airframes present for allocation to the allied side of the equation. The USN ships had full complements of all airframes present on their flight decks. Bomber squadrons were almost completely filled out. The IJN side already had 212 A6M2s in production per month, with 260 some odd already allocated for that month or in the pool. At the beginning of the scenarios, the production value was 56, with some 30 in the pool. The Vals were in good shape, nothing to report extraordinary there. But surprisingly, the Kates, with zero production and zero replacement rates, had already produced some 180 completed aircraft ex nihilo. I won't even mention what the dreaded Betty production had grown to, but with initial production of 26/mo., the IJA had 42 in the pool, and had used 114 in the 16 days from the time of Pearl Harbor until 23Dec41.

My question evolves around whether this is what the AI does in a game with me, or is it just a result of the Computer vs. Computer setting, or is it the result of some modifications I made to production values of aircraft on the Allied side? I never touched the IJA side of production, just changed some dates and production values on the USN/USAAF side. By the way, I never changed production of P-40Es to the point that over 1000 aircraft were produced in basically two weeks. But the AI did something, to produce those beastly numbers.. And I wish I had 1000 P-40Es to play with at that early a date.

ORIGINAL: Dili

Treespider for Torch:

Ranger VF-9,VF-41: 27+27 F4F
Sangamon VGF-26: 12 F4F
Santee VGF-29: 14 F4F
Suwanee VGF-27,VGF-28,VGS-30: 11+12+6 F4F

ORIGINAL: John Lansford

Treespider,

Are you saying that the Japanese AI does not have to worry about "feeding the industrial beast" when you point out the Japanese Player does? 

I'm aware that airframe production was nerfed to give the AI an edge,

but if industry in general is not a concern

I wonder if I need to rethink my defense strategy.

ORIGINAL: RevRick

After all the recent discussions, I really hate to be the one to bring this up, HOWEVER, being full of either bravery, brilliance, or bovine scatology, I noticed that on the update, in only one scenario (#1) did the F4F-4 (ducks, looks around, pokes head back up) monthly production/replacement level increase to 45. The rest of the scenarios in my install still have production of 35. I have tried a reinstall, but the song remains the same. (I'll put on my romex suit now!)

ORIGINAL: langleyCV1

In Scen 6 or 9 why is 488 Squadron still upgradeing to Dutch Hurricanes!

MJT

ORIGINAL: Splinterhead

ORIGINAL: langleyCV1

In Scen 6 or 9 why is 488 Squadron still upgradeing to Dutch Hurricanes!

MJT

Probably because they did. A number of aircraft built for the Dutch were taken over by other allied nations. They remain as Dutch aircraft in the game so that a player who doesn't lose the DEI as quickly has the option to use them to upgrade Dutch units instead. (If PDU is enabled)