Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: crsutton

If I recall, tankers were a little short in the early days.

They are. Almost all the non-US TKs are short range, also. Intercontinental range AKs start coming online mid-42 and make good stop gaps to keep the early offensives going.

ORIGINAL: crsutton

Also, don't send all of your old BBs and carriers to the South Pacific in 1942. It is tempting to do so but they suck up gas.

I did and they do!

ORIGINAL: Alfred

ORIGINAL: Colonel Mustard

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Shut down heavy industry in Australia (Syndey has it, for instance).  That will allow you to accumulate a little bit of fuel in Oz that can be used for shipping.

How do you "shut down" industry? I can't find any buttons to do it.

You can do it via two screens.

1. On the Base Screen, the bottom row of buttons list the industry located at that base. Either click on the All Industry button (first on the left) or hover over the individual type of industry button you want to close down and click that. If the ON under Production is in yellow you can click on it to toggle it to OFF.

2. Short cut key "j" brings up all your industry facilities. Navigate to the desired industry and again click on the yellow ON production button to toggle off.

Note which Allied industrial facility you can toggle on or off is dependent on which exe version you have. Current official and beta patch does not allow for Light Industry to be toggled off.

And yes, notwithstanding what some "experienced" players would have you believe, it is possible to experience adverse results from indiscriminate shutting down of Allied industry.

Alfred

Thanks, Alfred. I was not able to locate the function on the Base Screen (see screenshot), but I did find it on the "j" command.

Now I have to figure out if its worth shutting down. I'll probably play around with it, since I'm supposed to be learning the game....

Especially through '42, I use the Allies xAKs that have a 'liquid' capacity to carry fuel. You should have enough xAKs to move supplies and then you will get the massive number of Liberty Class xAKs to help out there. I got MichaelM to fix them not fully loading a few beta patches ago.

I group my TKs and xAKs as TKs in three groups. The 16 & 17 knot go together, the 13 & 14 knot, and then the 12 knot. Next, you will need to do some micro-management. Once they load up somewhere in USA, select "Do Not Refuel" so they don't go to the next base, unload, and refuel from the stockpile you are trying to build up. Bases like Pearl, Christmas Island (Line Islands), and in the Society Island group (Tahiti and/or Bora Bora) are great for a waypoint to top of fuel. If your TK/xAKs arrive at a base like Aukland and are unloaded, then you need them to get back to USA with less than 10% fuel. You now select "Minimal Refuel" option AFTER you select a base like Christmas (refuels just enough plus 10%). This will have you get just enough fuel from Aukland when you do click on "Refuel from Port." You will do the same thing once you get to Christmas and select a USA base. Most of my transports arrive back to USA with fuel less than 10%. If more, then they didn't need to refuel.

One other thing you will need to do is micro-manage your bases across the big Pacific. If you try to go from USA to Aukland with three waypoints in between, then your low endurance escorts (APDs, PC, AM, SC, etc.) will be refueling every few turns and slow down your progress. You will need to go to someplace in the Line Islands as you destination. Once there select another about half way to NZ. Finally, the base in NZ.

ORIGINAL: Colonel Mustard

ORIGINAL: Alfred

ORIGINAL: Colonel Mustard



How do you "shut down" industry? I can't find any buttons to do it.

You can do it via two screens.

1. On the Base Screen, the bottom row of buttons list the industry located at that base. Either click on the All Industry button (first on the left) or hover over the individual type of industry button you want to close down and click that. If the ON under Production is in yellow you can click on it to toggle it to OFF.

2. Short cut key "j" brings up all your industry facilities. Navigate to the desired industry and again click on the yellow ON production button to toggle off.

Note which Allied industrial facility you can toggle on or off is dependent on which exe version you have. Current official and beta patch does not allow for Light Industry to be toggled off.

And yes, notwithstanding what some "experienced" players would have you believe, it is possible to experience adverse results from indiscriminate shutting down of Allied industry.

Alfred

Thanks, Alfred. I was not able to locate the function on the Base Screen (see screenshot), but I did find it on the "j" command.

Now I have to figure out if its worth shutting down. I'll probably play around with it, since I'm supposed to be learning the game....

Sorry, I left it a bit ambiguous.

When you click on a hex which contains a base, usually for the purpose of accessing the base screen, you will get on the bottom of your screen a display of several rows of data. These rows remain on your screen even after you exist the "base screen", provided you remain in that hex.

What you are looking for is shown on the screen shot found on page 225 of the manual.

Alfred

As ny59giants already said, you don't have enough tankers, but you have far more xAKs as you need. For the japanese players, using AKs isn't recommend due its bad "real" fuel gain, but as allies, you won't run out of fuel and xAKs.

In '42 and only against the AI(!), i always have 6 fuel convoys running to australia:

1 from Colombo (filled with fuel from Abadan) to Perth using fast tankers and 2 AMCs and 2 DDs as escorts (plotted close to map border)
1 from West Coast or Pearl to Sydney with Tankers/AOs, 1 CA or modern CL and 4 DDs as escourts (plotted far below Suva)
3 from West Coast or Pearl to Sidney with xAKs, 1 old CL and 2 DM/DMS as ecorts (plotted below Suva)
1 from Cape Town to Perth using xAKs with additional liquid storage (dutch ones i think?) with DDs or AMs as escorts (Cape Town is refueled from East Coast using CS-Convoys).

Use of West Coast or Pearl depends on use of Pearl, fuel status etc. I often decide again from convoy to convoy.

ORIGINAL: Alfred



Sorry, I left it a bit ambiguous.

When you click on a hex which contains a base, usually for the purpose of accessing the base screen, you will get on the bottom of your screen a display of several rows of data. These rows remain on your screen even after you exist the "base screen", provided you remain in that hex.

What you are looking for is shown on the screen shot found on page 225 of the manual.

Alfred

Bingo! Found it. Thanks again, Alfred.

So I'm trying to use my AO's in replenishment TF but, they are taking forever to load fuel at Pearl! I have over 120k fuel at Pearl with a port size of 7, plenty nav support as well. What am I doing wrong? I have regular tanker TF setup running fuel to Pearl & OZ and they load fuel in about 2-4 days and unload fuel in the same number of days regardless of the base. (SF, LA, Pearl, Sydney, with a TF of 5-10 tankers, 30k plus fuel capacity) My AO's are in a 6 ship Replenishment TF, 2 AO's, 4 DD's. They're docked & have been loading fuel now at Pearl for 8 days straight & still have about 5000 left to load out of about 23k total capacity for the two AO's combined. Any advice would be great!!!

Thanks

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

Don't use auto convoy, I hate that. It's mindless.

Couldn't agree more, Geoff. The AI should be recognized for what it truly is..., (A)nimated (I)gnorance. Even with all of Andy's scripting, what the AI delivers is the illusion of meaningful activity..., not a challenge (or in this case) an aid.

I know if my AO's take forever to load or if there is a large backlog awaiting loading or unloading I disband my replenishment TF and load the AO's in port. I know you can do this with the beta patch. But with the larger AO's it's still going to take 2-3 days for them to top off. I try to always keep my AO's and AE's loaded in port so when I need a Replenishment TF it's good to go when formed and won't need to spend several days loading before being deployed.

I also never use auto convoy just the CS setting for cargo TF's and it works fine.

Lack of fuel can be a big prob for the early-war Allies - but IMO the best solution is to accept that fact, & plan fuel-shipments to aid mid-/late-war capabilities.

Don't use your limited early-war TK/AO assets in support of ineffectual operations - use them to build large fuel-stocks at Cape Town. Aden, & Pearl.

Don't expose your TK/AO shipping to enemy action - use them mostly for 'off-map' shipping. Augment this shipping w/ xAK convoys.

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

  Christmas Island and Tahiti are good candidates, but there are lots of others.

Both these need building up however. At any refuelling base park a 1 or 2 AOs, shuttling others to them so as not to run out. Once built up to 3+ run TK but keep at least on small, slow AO.

Only 120k fuel at Pearl would make me shiver, how much fuel is PH asking for (needed)? You may be very low on "free" fuel.

Build some fuel convoys at San Fransisco using only xAKs (and some escorts!) and bring PH up to at least 500k+ ASAP. You won't run out of fuel at the east coast, and you have shitloads of xAKs so use them.

Haven't read every word so sorry if I missed this...

AO's seem to load faster when the TF is docked than they do when in TF and undocked. Being docked already (I think) gives them priority over other, undocked, TFs trying to load and unload.