So how far along is everyone?

[V22 Osprey]

So you guys really sit for 2 or 3 hours per turn?I'd think the subsequent turns after the first turn would be relatively quick since for example it's going to take a turn or 2 before a unit complete's the order.

Anyone have any big naval battles so far?Anyone lose any carriers yet?Anyone in a PBEM?

[GeorgePatton]

So far I'm battling the US Customs officials to get my game but their AI is pretty good[:D]

Fortunately, our MAGIC intercepts have been recently upgraded so I now know where my game is at least.

It's now somewhere northwest of Midway island...behind a stormfront

[EUBanana]

ORIGINAL: V22 Osprey

So you guys really sit for 2 or 3 hours per turn?

No, takes me about 15-20 minutes, if that, but I am notoriously slapdash. [:D]

Anyone have any big naval battles so far?Anyone lose any carriers yet?Anyone in a PBEM?

I sunk the AI's CVL with a whole mix of things, it got bombed by the Dutch just west of Singkawang, and then while limping home got torpedoed by a Dutch sub.

Holland shoots and scores!

Not had any big surface battles yet but I've had incessant cruiser actions against merchants. I think my cruiser forces must have sunk 20-30 ships by now. I did a carrier strike on Rabaul with my US carriers and that covered a resupply of Port Moresby and an extended cruiser raid by the Aussie navy which bagged half a dozen transports, thats probably the biggest naval encounter I've had yet.

[V22 Osprey]

ORIGINAL: Sonny II

ORIGINAL: Mike Dixon

ORIGINAL: Sonny II




A practiced veteran like you should not be overwhelmed. AE is the same war you fought in WitP - only a little more realistic IMHO.

I'm his Japanese opponent - not sure if it was a freak turn but I got 6 US BB's first turn plus the POW and Repulse. A second turn strike finished off the final two BB's at Pearl, so time to depart for pastures new...lol. Does AE allow the sunk BB's to be refloat?

No refloats.

Those old battle ships at PH aren't any good anyway. He'll get some more & better ones.[:)]

Those big battleships are good for something.Obviously the big guns help for shore bombardment, but they can also pretty much waste any ship in the pacific in a surface battle with no subs or aircraft around.[;)]

Plus, if you can get BBs close enough, you can cream those carriers anyday.[:)]

From my expierence with War Plan Orange, BBs can do alot, of course their's not alot of aircraft in WPO so...

[RevRick]

ORIGINAL: Chad Harrison

Shoot, I have not even started yet [:D]

Still going over the map, units, editor and generally cleaning up drool!

Yep. Been there, done that, still hanging around in the Grand Campaign. But, I have managed to sneak a few turns in one a short one to get the feel of the critter. EGAD, is it intricate? Patrol Zones, percentages of CAP and rest, putting LCUs into different modes to do things. But the first time I saw one of the units zip a couple of hundred miles along a road in strategic mode, I almost wet myself laughing.

[captskillet]

Dec 18th here......Allies vs. Japanese AI..............AE team hit a homer with this baby!!!!

[Mike Solli]

I've been working on Japanese production/merchant shipping since I got it on the day it came out. Haven't run a turn yet. [8|]

[Andy Mac]

Hmmmm using carriers at Rabaul huh ok well we will see about that

[RyanCrierie]

Currently on uh.... February 28, 1942. Right now, things have been heating up. The Enterprise was sunk early on while trying to relieve Wake Island.

[Halsey]

6/43

I've been playing for awhile.[;)][:D]

[Sheytan]

No kidding, im seriously debating yet another, my third...restart, im unlearning WITP and learning AE now. This AI is also very tough, I frankly feel im constantly reacting to events instead of developing my own tempo. I realise of course thats what did happen in the early part of the war.

At any rate its one heck of a game. BTW I havnt even made it to 1/42 yet lol.

ORIGINAL: captskillet

Dec 18th here......Allies vs. Japanese AI..............AE team hit a homer with this baby!!!!

[88l71]

still working on turn 1 orders. Almost done with 'em.

[tigercub]

I just doing game testing to be happy with how the game works 1 and to see if we are happy at how the game performs 2 and see what changes are needed before we take on the Grand campaign in 1 day turns 3.
Way points and the new search is top notch  lovin it so far.

Tiger!

[Mozo]

February 10th, 1942.

Historical for the most part except I've fortified Shortland - so Rabaul is under pressure from my land based planes (they are having trouble getting supplies). No CV v CV action yet (though I'm heading to Midway to stop their incessant attacks).

It helps to be a divorced teacher in the summer - no work, no wife, no worries!

Mozo

[USS Henrico]

December 14. I do have to work during the week, unfortunately, so I didn't actually get December 8 done until yesterday.

AI Japanese protection of AKs/APs appears to be a bit weak IMO-a handful of destroyers out of Manila have used the Japanese transports off northern Luzon for target practice several times, while only losing one destroyer to air attack. And a British CL/DD task force from Singapore just sank a entire 10 ship convoy off Khota Baru.

I did have the Japanese hanging around Pearl Harbor until 12/9, losing a BB and a couple of CAs that I was dumb enough to try send back to the West Coast for repairs too early.

Mostly just learning the system of where you send ships to pick up supplies/fuel/troops to ship to the front, and what size ships to send. And figuring out the new abbreviations.

[John Lansford]

I just sent my ABDA cruiser/destroyer force up from Soerabaya to northern Borneo to disrupt a couple of landings up there.  ABDA was split into three equal portions of usually 2-3 CL's plus 3-4 DD's each, and they tore up the barely escorted transports and then a covering force composed of a CA, 2 CL's and 2 DD's.  Ryujo was also unfortuate enough to stumble into the party as one of my cruiser forces approached a port, and I was surprised to see she only had one DD as an escort!  The CVL got away but not before taking several 6" hits and on fire.

It appears that the big issue revolves around escorts; the AI has so many landings taking place, and so many follow-up TF's behind the landings, that there just aren't enough escorts of any kind for everyone.  I've seen tiny little escort types getting blown out of the water from one 6" shell hit all the way up to fleet DD's escorting these TF's.  I figure that IRL this was a similar problem but it really is noticeable when just one CL or a pair of DD's can totally devastate an entire TF of a dozen ships.

[Andy Mac]

Short of adding 100+ modern small escorts I think this will always be a problem (which would make the scen unplayable in PBEM)

[sfbaytf]

ORIGINAL: John Lansford

I just sent my ABDA cruiser/destroyer force up from Soerabaya to northern Borneo to disrupt a couple of landings up there.  ABDA was split into three equal portions of usually 2-3 CL's plus 3-4 DD's each, and they tore up the barely escorted transports and then a covering force composed of a CA, 2 CL's and 2 DD's.  Ryujo was also unfortuate enough to stumble into the party as one of my cruiser forces approached a port, and I was surprised to see she only had one DD as an escort!  The CVL got away but not before taking several 6" hits and on fire.

It appears that the big issue revolves around escorts; the AI has so many landings taking place, and so many follow-up TF's behind the landings, that there just aren't enough escorts of any kind for everyone.  I've seen tiny little escort types getting blown out of the water from one 6" shell hit all the way up to fleet DD's escorting these TF's.  I figure that IRL this was a similar problem but it really is noticeable when just one CL or a pair of DD's can totally devastate an entire TF of a dozen ships.

This is an interesting point and brings up the need for possible consideration of an optional "surprise rule" that would inhibit the allieds for a while, if that's possible. With the benefit of hindsight its too easy for a shrewd Allied player to react and create unrealistic havoc. In truth the Allieds were confused, had poor command and control and coordinating fleets from different nationalities was problematic at best. Unlike those of us who play this, allied commanders, leadership and the public at large had no clue of what was about to take place.

Japan had complete surprise. The thought of Japan sending armies across the seas to the DEI and Philippines was as unthinkable as airplanes flying into the Twin Towers before 9/11. The vast majority of the Allied military and public had a very low opinion of Japanese military capability. In many respects the allieds in the Pacific were still in a peacetime frame of mind on December 6th. While today its easy to think of a posting to the Philippines a death sentence, back then it was something most Americans would have eagerly sought out before Dec 7th. The country was still suffering from the effects of a great depression and jobs scarce. A steady job with free meals and housing was welcomed as a way out of the economic chaos and hardship. Postings to overseas was very desirable to many. Opportunities back then were very, very limited. For many people you were born, raised, lived, worked and grew old and died in the same small town....

It takes a while to get an army into a wartime frame of mind and IMO the allieds command was in no way capable of knowing, analyzing and throwing together an effective response to the initial Japanese assaults. They as well as the realities of the time were in no way up to the task.

[Rapunzel]

Im at 02.02.42 als Allies. The early sub war is a bit slower now. The ai does not need so many tfs anymore. A week ago Lugenville was invaded by japan. I try to fortify noumea now. The marines from manila are evacuated to darwin and will help defend pm. Quite interesting game till now.

Advice: Do not forget to switch off your "repair yard" repair in manila. I did not notice that it got damaged by the port attacks. Lost 20 k supplys this way. But I am still holding out. Singapur ist lost.

[EUBanana]

ORIGINAL: sfbaytf
This is an interesting point and brings up the need for possible consideration of an optional "surprise rule" that would inhibit the allieds for a while, if that's possible. With the benefit of hindsight its too easy for a shrewd Allied player to react and create unrealistic havoc. In truth the Allieds were confused, had poor command and control and coordinating fleets from different nationalities was problematic at best.

It isn't only the Allied player who benefits from hindsight... Maybe there should be a rule about how Japan shouldn't use convoys until the late war, for example, or how there should be no serious consideration of ASW development until too late.

As to the quality of the command, that kinda depends on who you are playing, no? [;)]