popular demand

[mogami]

Hi, First convoys from the SRA arrive Osaka. 35,000 resource 81,000 oil.

[mogami]

Hi, Approx 45 bases remain to be captured in SRA.
IJN is back in Home Islands refitting with the exception of the short endurance (3k) DD. They are operating as escorts in SRA.

Next major operation. Port Moresby and Noumea.
Things that have to happen before operation begins.
Units have to rest and refit and be moved.
Fuel and Supply have to be moved and stockpiled. Fuel is not a problem. (Over 500,000 fuel points are at Truk/Rabaul/Shortland) Supply is a problem. I want 100k+ and current level is under 50k

Of the 6 Div that took part in PI operation 1 is to go to Burma 1 goes to Malaya 2 go to Java and 2 go to South Pacific operation. Also the 65th Bde is going to South Pacific.
After fall of Singapore there will be 4 Div in Malaya. 1 will remain and 1 will go to Burma. 1 Goes to Hanoi and the last moves to South Pacific.
After fall of Batavia there will be 2 Div and 4 Bde in Java. 1 Div and 2 Bde remain. 1 div and 2 Bde move to PI. (PI garrison till then is 6xSNLF)
So final South Pacific force will be 3 Divisions and 1 Bde. plus a number of SNLF units.

If and when Noumea is secured Japanese offensive operations will conclude with the exception of summer (local) operation against Dutch Harbor. and other bases.

[mogami]

Hi, Here is a glimpse inside the Japanese supply status.

Dec 7, 1941
Supply 3,012,728
Fuel 4,444,200

31 Jan 1942
Supply 2,025,685
Fuel 3,640,953

23 Feb 1942
Supply 2,083,520
Fuel 3,599,925

So you can see supply use has turned the corner and levels have begun to rise. Fuel level should also begin to rise. (There were several industry locations that were out of oil and thus not producing fuel. These locations all have TF's of oil enroute)

[ADavidB]

ORIGINAL: Mogami

Hi, Here is a glimpse inside the Japanese supply status.

Dec 7, 1941
Supply 3,012,728
Fuel 4,444,200

31 Jan 1942
Supply 2,025,685
Fuel 3,640,953

23 Feb 1942
Supply 2,083,520
Fuel 3,599,925

So you can see supply use has turned the corner and levels have begun to rise. Fuel level should also begin to rise. (There were several industry locations that were out of oil and thus not producing fuel. These locations all have TF's of oil enroute)

Did you have to create and send those oil TF's manually to those locations that were out of oil, or did they set up and go on their own?

Thanks -

Dave Baranyi

[mogami]

Hi, I sent them myself but you can let the AI do it. (I broke ships off from TF heading to Osaka)
First set the base to Auto Supply ON Then assign ships to auto routine. AI will send ships to pick up. (It will route TF's where possible to drop off at one base and pick up at another so not to run empty.)
I do use the auto system after I have my ASW assets in place and area is secure. There are still enemy ships and airgroups in SRA.

[Mike Scholl]

ORIGINAL: Mogami

Hi, Here is a glimpse inside the Japanese supply status.

Dec 7, 1941
Supply 3,012,728
Fuel 4,444,200

31 Jan 1942
Supply 2,025,685
Fuel 3,640,953

23 Feb 1942
Supply 2,083,520
Fuel 3,599,925

So you can see supply use has turned the corner and levels have begun to rise. Fuel level should also begin to rise. (There were several industry locations that were out of oil and thus not producing fuel. These locations all have TF's of oil enroute)

Historically speaking, that's an increadibly rapid turn-around in the Japanese Economic
Picture. Are you really THAT good..., or is the system perhaps in need of adjustment?

[mogami]

Hi, No I think it is 6+ divisions no longer eating supply every day in fierce combat for Bataan.
(Well that and the early expansion I ordered has been completed and is no longer sucking supply.

No wait it might be that I have added several major supply sources in China.

Hey maybe I am that good. Supply droped over a million in the first 50 days but has rose 60k in the 23 days since. I think most of the supply use went to expanding facilities and getting aircraft production started. The convoys from the SRA have nothing to do with this because I never used up all the stockpile of resource/oil in Home Islands.
So I think use at start is heavier then what will become the norm. I've gotten past the opening spike. The Japanese player does not have to expend as much as I did. (He could also expend more)

[Mike Scholl]

Actually I was thinking primarily in terms of fuel. The Japs had been sucking down
their stockpiles during most of 1941, and use a lot in the opening campaign. You
seem to be achieving a positive balance 3 months into the war---which suggests
that the Dutch failed to destroy any of their production, that you captured it well
ahead of the historical time-frame, and that your pipelines are up and running in
record time. Which also suggests that the system isn't mirroring reality very well.

[mogami]

Hi, No I still have over 200,000 oil in Osaka alone from Prewar stockpile. Only 81,000 oil has arrived back in Home Islands. You did read where I had returned the entire IJN to port except for a few dozen DD? (There is very low fuel use at present)
Fuel use is totally from ship movement. Where I spent a million supply but most was in expansion (not units consuming) The fuel use was entirly from moving. Fuel levels dispite production are still going down. (But I hope this will reverse now that everything is back in port)

supply went up by 60k but fuel went down by 40k

[ADavidB]

Mogami -

You seem to have done quite well so far. What would you have done as the Allies against a player who used your strategy to change the situation? (i.e., did the AI do things that were really bad?)

Also, once you are comfortable with this test phase, it would be very useful to see you play the Allies and see how well you would do in comparison. I realize this won't be an "equal" test, since the AI can't play your strategy, but I'm still curious.

In general, it appears that the game engine is progressing very well and that the game is just about ready to go out for production (particularly if Matrix/2x3 expect to get the game into stores by this summer). Have you noticed any "show stoppers" that will require significant re-coding?

Thanks -

Dave Baranyi

[mogami]

Hi, Japanese capture Rangoon. I can't say what the AI was up to it moved a very powerfull force of surface ships into SRA (including at least 3 CA from Central Pacific (Chicago, Salt Lake City and Northampton) This force could have caused a great many problems but it entered a triangle of Japanese bases each with 54 Betty/Nell (Davao/Palau/Kendari) Also 6 IJN CV and 3 CVL were in the area. As a result this force was largely destroyed for nothing. I have had no contact with USN CV for entire game. I have no idea as to their present where abouts. Prince of Wales and Repulse also have droped out of sight. I did see the AI pay a withdraw penalty of 1300 PP. (meaning it failed to meet a withdraw deadline)

As for playing Allies. My arch rival in UV (who is now a beta tester) Admiral Dadman is going to run the Japanese in PBEM game with me as soon as new build arrives. (New build will void all save games) We'll see how well I do. I don't know what he is going to try but he is not a passive player. Without giving too much away I'll only say I'll try to buy time with the forward units to prepare to meet the Japanese at some point and put an end to their expansion. I'm not a sucidal commander. I'll try to save what I can while at the same time doing what damage I can. This means keeping airgroups in range of Japanese but getting them out before their base falls. Surface ships will operate against unprotected Japanese in Allied airspace. I think China will be a challenge for me because I don't want to lose all the supply centers that I captured as Japan. I'll just have to wait and see what can be done.

I don't want to distress any one but I think WITP is about as ready as it is going to get.
We are waiting mainly for artwork and music and such. There will be issues found once the game is released but the only way to avoid this would be another year of testing.
To test a complete scenario 15 would take at least 6 months if both players were living together doing nothing but play WITP. (I'll do it but someone is going to have to pay for the beer) So I think we will be looking at patches every 3-4 months (several months for issues to be defined and repeatable saves submitted and then several months of fixing and testing each patch) Of course players who are good at finding, and defining bugs and submitting saves will likely have spots on the Med Game testing team. ( I'm guessing, but this is how I became a tester)

[ADavidB]

Thanks for the heads-up. It sounds as if everything is progressing nicely. I can't wait to see a pbem between you and Dadman - that ought to be a great final test for the game.

I've got to admire you folks who are giving so much time to support the development of the game. Sure, you are having fun, but you are also committing a tremendous amount of personal time to assure the rest of us that we get good value for our money.

Thanks again -

Dave Baranyi

[mogami]

Hi, Last turn I change the construction priority of CV Taiho from normal to accelerated.
Time needed dropped from 739 days to 737 (Not sure you get 2 for 1 every day but I'll keep an eye on this. ) I'll change CV Ikoma to acelerate (1203 days) Early on I did a modest expansion of my Naval Shipyards. I built every yard that was below size 10 to size 10 (This added almost 100 to my total. I did same for merchant yards and repair yards) (The largest Naval Shipyard is Maizuru at 308 Largest Merchant yard is Tokyo at 250 and largest repair yard is Tokyo 128 Tokyo began as a size 72 I spent 72,000 supply to increase it to a size 144 it has not yet finished work. I built it because I tend to keep most of the IJN here. Currently I am giving all the ships a refit. (getting them all down to 0 system damage after 2 months of heavy work and battle damage. Current status of IJN damage
2x30+ 4x20+ 1x10+ 39 ships with less then 10 system damage (not listed are transports and submarines)

[mogami]

Hi, OK I left Ikoma on normal to make sure it only advances 1 day. It went from 1203 to 1202 so I changed it to acelerate. Taiho went from 737 to 735.
I'm sending 19 DD to Osaka to be used as Convoy escort. 8xShiratsuyu 4xHatsuharu and 7xMutsuki.
31 DD are moving towards Truk 47 remain in Tokyo

Status of units used in PI operation. They have been resting for over a month.
2nd Div (69/97) (87/100) 25 prep points for Batavia (objective changed to Noumea)
4th Div (59/95) (74/99)83 prep points for Batavia
16th Div (70/104) (85/106) 42 prep points for Port Moresby
21st Div (72/99) (84/101) 71 prep points for Batavia
38th Div (69/99) (86/101) 43 prep points for Rangoon
48th Div (70/104) (98/106) 45 prep points for Noumea
65th Bde (70/104) (82/104) 69 prep points for Port Moresby
4th Tank Rgt (56/56) (86/86) 13 prep points for Port Moresby
7th Tank Rgt (47/47) (77/77) 11 prep points for Noumea
8th Tank Rgt (95/99) (100/100) 11 prep points for Noumea


Dec 7, 1941
Supply 3,012,728
Fuel 4,444,200

31 Jan 1942
Supply 2,025,685
Fuel 3,640,953 during first 59 days Japan used 13,614 fuel points per day more then she produced)

23 Feb 1942
Supply 2,083,520
Fuel 3,599,925 (during this 23 day period Japan used 1814 fuel points more then produced)

28 Feb 1942
supply 2,088,686 (+5,166 last 5 days)
fuel 3,698,241 ( +98,316 last 5 days)

[Mike Scholl]

I don't want to distress any one but I think WITP is about as ready as it is going to get.
We are waiting mainly for artwork and music and such. There will be issues found once the game is released but the only way to avoid this would be another year of testing.
To test a complete scenario 15 would take at least 6 months if both players were living together doing nothing but play WITP. (I'll do it but someone is going to have to pay for the beer) So I think we will be looking at patches every 3-4 months (several months for issues to be defined and repeatable saves submitted and then several months of fixing and testing each patch) Of course players who are good at finding, and defining bugs and submitting saves will likely have spots on the Med Game testing team. ( I'm guessing, but this is how I became a tester)

If you are correct, and WITP is pretty much in "final form" for release, could you tell us
if ANYTHING has been done to bring air search in closer touch with reality? I mean in
terms of requiring a reasonable number of A/C to be committed before you "sight" every
TF in the Pacific. In UV one squadron of Mavis's could "patrol" 1.5 million square miles
and more..., with 9 planes! Have their been any improvements?

[mogami]

Hi I have patrol groups on Marcus and Kwajalean. Palau, Guam, Saipan and yet those USN
CA went undetected all the way to Ambonia before I spotted them. (and this was by scouts from 3 CS 6 CV 3CVL.)

As reported before I have never spotted the USN CV so I don't know where they are. I've never seen POW or Repulse. (I had 6 subs in Malacca Straits and patrol aircraft out)

[Mike Scholl]

ORIGINAL: Mogami

Hi I have patrol groups on Marcus and Kwajalean. Palau, Guam, Saipan and yet those USN
CA went undetected all the way to Ambonia before I spotted them. (and this was by scouts from 3 CS 6 CV 3CVL.)

So you think it HAS been improved? Any notion of how the system is changed? Are
the Number of "search planes" flying and the overall size of the search area covered
modifiers to the percentage chance to spot a TF? Any feeling at all on how the "fix"
was made?

[mogami]

Hi, Sorry I really can't say beyond WITP using 60 mile hexes compared to 30 mile hexes in UV. I'm sure some tweeking was also done but it's not something I dwell on. Most of my early war TF's are spotted. There are a lot of aircraft in the SRA along with what feels like a horde of allied submarines. And of course when I appear in a enemy base hex I get spotted and subjected to air attacks. I can't say what percentage of enemy TF's I'm spotting. I know I'm not seeing many enemy submarines and I have a lot of ASW patrols out. The areas I find Allied TF's are sheldom open sea hexes. They are areas surrounded by Japanese airfields that have patrols out. The AI continued to send TF's to Singapore for many weeks and my groups did not see them. (I know they were there because my submarines reported them moving there)
One enemy surface TF was 60 miles from a Japanese airfield when it engaged a Japanese TF of tankers in an all sea hex. I never saw it again. (and I added at least 50 planes to the search)
But to be honest, I've been able to sneak around in UV without problems and I've been caught by other players. Bosun sailed the entire IJN force provided by scenario 19 right to Rockhampton before I ever saw it. (Rockhampton alone had over 30 aircraft on patrol )

[Damien Thorn]

ORIGINAL: Mogami
I know I'm not seeing many enemy submarines and I have a lot of ASW patrols out.

Are the country and time period modifies for ASW editable with the editor? It has always been a sore point with me since they cut the Japanese ASW to 1/2 of the US (above and beyond the differences in equipement, which I'm fine with).

[mogami]

Hi, Everything is editable. If you want 500 IJN replacement pilots of 90 experiance per month edit.
If you want Japanese tanks to be Pz-V edit
If you want Japan to produce 25,000 aircraft per month edit
If you want midget subs edit
If you want 10 Zuikaku CV in Dec 41 edit.


But the problem is not IJN ASW. I can't sink what I don't see. (USN submarine made mistake of being spotted by the 19 DD I was sending to Osaka.)

Air war stats (not much happening in the air)
A2A 90-12
DOG 672-5
AA 23-196
Ops 144-116
Total 929-329
Sortie 167,213-46,438

4 More DD assinged to convoy escort 2xShiratsuyu and 1xMutsuki and 1xHatsuharu (another 5 Mutsuki will be assigned when they finish their yard period.)(will make 28 DD assigned to escort)
The 12 APD will also be used as escorts.
There are 138 PC/PG
Total non MSW escort 178
10knt MSW will be used for Port protection. 19x20knt MSW assigned as escorts
10xML will be assigned to Escort.
Total ASW ships assigned to escort convoy 198

Standard TF escort will be something like 2-3 DD 3-6 PC/PG 1xMSW 1xML