DaBigBabes Beta errata

[LargeSlowTarget]

Yes, typo. Was at work and had to be quick... 

It's also "Los Negros" not "Los Neros"

[JWE]

Found some little things on CD guns (both sides) that might be worth slicking up, if for no other reason than to keep me and jeremy from getting irritated [:D].

There is one thing, however: some CD guns have armor values (presumably the barbette versions). But the CD defense LCUs also have intrinsic fort values, and many are in Bases with fort levels of their own. So there's 3 different nested levels of protection that tend to make ALL CD guns of > than a certain size practically invulnerable. Makes for a bit of imbalance.

[vettim89]

ORIGINAL: JWE

Found some little things on CD guns (both sides) that might be worth slicking up, if for no other reason than to keep me and jeremy from getting irritated [:D].

There is one thing, however: some CD guns have armor values (presumably the barbette versions). But the CD defense LCUs also have intrinsic fort values, and many are in Bases with fort levels of their own. So there's 3 different nested levels of protection that tend to make ALL CD guns of > than a certain size practically invulnerable. Makes for a bit of imbalance.

Which explains why the Saipain Naval fortress is so hard to deal with in game?

[JWE]

ORIGINAL: vettim89
Which explains why the Saipain Naval fortress is so hard to deal with in game?

I don't know, really; perhaps that is so. Gotta look really hard at a poopload of code. Darn good point vettim.

But on the other hand you get Ft Drum. Now, Ft Drum's fort level can't get cut unless somebody hits the hex with Engs, so it should be ok with nothin but net (forts). But it depends on the hex where it's located. If bataan, Ft Drum loses fort points as the Bataan garrisson looses them. My personal opinion (this being a game and all) is to let Ft Drum live or die with Bataan's fort level and screw the CD armor stuff. That will help supression of the Saipain Naval fortress and frankly, even help keep Singapore from being this uber BOLO. Don't much care what Mike Scholl says, the mere existance of CD guns did not obviate ops in that area. They could be (and were) supressed and it's about damn time we let let them. Think this is worth looking at.

[ed] that was a joke btw Mike. You are, after all, Bwana CD [;)]
Ciao. J

[JWE]

Ok, time for a face-lift/update for DaBigBabes. Tweaked CD guns and also tweaked (unified) bombardment values for naval guns on both sides so they are similar. New stuff is in Device file only, so it updates to ongoing games seamlessly (he said shamelessly). Few other error corrections here and there, but nothing much to write home about.

Also added a couple sub-folders to the zip that incorporate some of the map/base/location tweaks done for the DEI scenario and some of the recent econ thinking. Turns out there’s 3 versions that can be implemented, with very minimal adjustments; just substitution of one or two particular files depending on which version one wants to play.

BigBabes-A – Standard map art, standard pwhexe, standard BigBabes everything.
BigBabes-B – Modified map art (PI and Malaya), modified pwhexe, extra Bases, modified start locations for some units.
BigBabes-C (TheKillerBabies) – All of BigBabes-B plus reduced cargo capacities and elimination of Refinery Sup Out.

All the differences are modular and one can mix and match to one’s hearts content. BB-B just requires the modified map art and pwhexe, and the rename and substitution of the wpl028B.dat file.

BB-C, (including BB-B) just needs the modified map art and pwhexe, and the rename and substitution of the wpl028B.dat file and rename and substitution of the wpc028C.dat and wpd028C.dat files. BB-C (without BB-B) just needs the rename and substitution of the wpc028C.dat and wpd028C.dat files.

So one gets the base scenarios (28 and 29), an alternate locations file for each, an alternate class/device file for each, and of course the new map stuff.

[treespider]

Will these be uploaded here, or can will they be placed elsewhere?

[JWE]

ORIGINAL: treespider
Will these be uploaded here, or can will they be placed elsewhere?

Yes, I'll update all the stuff and the instructions, here.

I wouldn't mind if it was also placed elsewhere. Hesitated for a long time because I didn't want to hassle a webmaster with updates and version numbers, and all that stuff, but think DaBigBabes is quite stable now and won't be seeing anything new for a long time.

So I'll be quite uppity, and forward, and say if you are offering to host it, I would be most pleased.

Ciao. J

[LargeSlowTarget]

Dobadura SPS air = 1

Buna SPS air = 6

Shouldn't that be the other way round?

[JWE]

ORIGINAL: LargeSlowTarget
Dobadura SPS air = 1

Buna SPS air = 6

Shouldn't that be the other way round?

Beats the heck out of me. I didn't mess with Buna so it's same as it ever was. Have no idea what the numbers for Dobadura should be. It's nasty terrain so AB says low SPS. I know it had squat early on and a fighter strip and a transport strip in '43, beyond that, I'm clueless.

[herwin]

I'd be happy to set up a website for it like I ran for RHS.

[LargeSlowTarget]

ORIGINAL: JWE

ORIGINAL: LargeSlowTarget
Dobadura SPS air = 1

Buna SPS air = 6

Shouldn't that be the other way round?

Beats the heck out of me. I didn't mess with Buna so it's same as it ever was. Have no idea what the numbers for Dobadura should be. It's nasty terrain so AB says low SPS. I know it had squat early on and a fighter strip and a transport strip in '43, beyond that, I'm clueless.

Uh, it's actually Dobodura...

But it had a bit more than "a fighter strip and a transport strip in '43" [;)]:

Dobodura Airfield Oro Province PNG

Location
Located to the west of Dobodura, fifteen miles south of Buna. The US Army developed a total of fifteen (or more) runways and airfields in the Dobodura area. Many wartime references simply refer to these locations as "Dobodura" and coded APO 503 in reports.

Raways Airstrip (No. 1) Single runway east of Dobodura
(No. 2) North-east of Horanda 4
(No. 3) Details unknown
Horanda 4 (No. 4, East 4, West 4, 4Y) Main airfield at Dobodura complex
(No. 5) Details unknown
(No. 6) Details unknown
Dobodura No. 7 (Kenney, Girua) American built, in use today
(No. 8) Details unknown
(No. 9) Details unknown
(No. 10) Borio Airfield runway?
Borio Airfield (No. 11) South of Borio village
North Embi Airfield (No. 12) East of Dobodura
(No. 13) Borio Airfield runway?
(No. 14) Borio Airfield runway?
North Borioa Airstrip (No. 15) North of Borio Airfield

Construction
The Allies acknowledged the need for an airfield in the Buna area, if Lae and Salamaua were attacked. As of July 1942, Theater plan "Tulsa" called for an airfield to be established for military aircraft at Buna Airfield. On July 9, a reconnaissance was planned. The next two days, a Port Moresby based RAAF Catalina was used to over fly the area. On board were six officers including Lt. Col. Bernard L. Robinson, (ranking U.S. engineer officer at Port Moresby), Lt. Col. Boyd D. Wagner (USAAF 8th Fighter Group, C. O.), Colonel Yoder and three Australian officers. Examining the terrain of the entire area, they determined that kunai plains area at Dobodura be developed as a airfield instead of Buna. Airfield construction began during early December 1943 by the US Army. > "December 1943" is a typo, should read "1942"

Wartime History
Put into operation at the height of the Battle of Buna and Gona. Cargo flown into this airfield were immediately put into battle, including artillery spotting planes, a 105mm artillery gun and and five Bren Gun Carriers used in a failed assault against Cape Endaiadere.

After the battle, it was developed into a major airbase, with storage and repair facilities, and interconnecting taxiways to adjacent airfields.

American Units based at Dobodura
3rd BG, 8th BS (A-20s) from Port Moresby April 10, 1943 - ?
3rd BG, 89th BS (A-20s) from Port Moresby May 9, 1943 - ?
3rd BG, HQ from Port Moresby May 20, 1943 - ?
3rd BG, 90th BS (B-25s) from Port Moresby May 21, 1943 - ?
3rd BG, 13th BS (B-25s) from Port Moresby May 23, 1943 - ?
22nd BG 19th BS (B-26s, B-25s) from Woodstock July 11, 1943 - ?
22nd BG, 2nd BS (B-26, B-25) Ried River Oct 9 - Dec 19, 43 Nadzab
22nd BG HQ, 33rd BS (B-25) from Australia October 15, 1943 - ?
22nd BG 408th BS (B-25) from Australia October 15, 1943 - ?
43rd BG, 63rd BS (B-24s) from Port Moresby October 29, 1943 - ?
49th FG, 7th FS, (P-40s) Port Moresby April 15 - Nov 16, 1943 to Gusap
49th FG, 8th FS (P-40s) Port Moresby April 15 - Aug 30, 1943 Tsili-Tsili
49th FG, HQ from Port Moresby March 6 - Nov 20, 1943 to Gusap
49th FG, 9th FS (P-47s) from Port Moresby - Dec 16, 1943 to Gusap
17th TRG, 17th TRS (B-25s, P-39s) from Milne Bay Nov 22, 1943 - ?
17th TRG, 82nd TRS (B-25s, P-39s) from Milne Bay Nov 22, 1943 - ?
5th FC, 418th NFS from Milne Bay Nov 22, 1943 - ?
90th BG, 319th, 320th BS (B-24s) Port Moresby Dec 1, 1943 - ?
90th BG, 321st, 400th BS (B-24s) Port Moresby Dec 1, 1943 - ?
43rd BG HQ, 64th BS (B-24s) from Port Moresby Dec 10, 1943 - ?
43rd BG HQ, 65th BS (B-24s) from Port Moresby Dec 11, 1943 - ?
8th FG, 80th FS (P-38s) from Port Moresby Dec 11, 1943 - ?
43rd BG HQ, 403rd BS (B-24s) from Port Moresby Dec 13, 1943 - ?
375th TCG HQ Port Morsby Aug 19, 1943 - Dec 19, 1943 Port Moresby
345th BG, 501st BS from Port Moresby Dec 23, 1943 - ?
58th FG HQ, 310th FS, 311th FS (P-47s) from Brisbane Dec 28, 1943 - ?
58th FG HQ, 69th FS (P-47s) from Brisbane Dec 28, 1943 - ?
345th BG, 500st BS (B-25s) from Port Moresby Jan 1, 1944 - ?
American Units based at Dobodura
6 Squadron (Beaufort) Vivigani 1944(?) - Kingaroy 1945

Japanese Missions Against Dobodura
December 12, 1942 - October 9, 1943 (partial list)

Post War Scapping
At one point after the war, there were over a thousand wrecks at this strip. Most were destroyed in the early scrap drives, and it has not been used as an airfield since the war.

Today
Some of the airfiled area is bing replanted with oil palm since the mid-1990's. OPIC (Oil Palm Industries Corporation) is lending money to individual developers to plant oil palm in the area. The land is mostly kunai, and there are no official land claims so some portions of the base have been replanted at various times. No plam grows on the old airstrips, as the highly compacted earth and bitumen is still present from the war, making any planting difficult, even today.

John Douglas reports:
"The main Dobodura complex had eleven strips, most interconnected for taxiing purposes. One of these, Girua Airport, is still in use today as the Provincial Airstrip. Another [ Horanda 4E ] is sealed but overgrown while the rest have reverted to kunai. There are a lot of revetments in this area and scraps of airplanes, concrete, etc."

Contribute Information
Do you have photos or additional information to add?

Last Updated
January 5, 2011

Source: http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfields/ ... index.html

[JWE]

Maybe we got a bit too excited about adding DobOdura as a base. The satellite shows the old strips pretty well in the valley along the stream, but from the airport, it's all of 11.2 statute miles to bee-yoo-tee-ful downtown Buna. Since it's only 1/4 of a hex away, maybe it should just be part of the Buna complex. Oh well, heigh ho.

[ed] Just for fun, here's the game map and a Google rotated to fit. PM, kokoda and Buna are white spots on the Google, Airport at Dobodura is the red spot. Most everything is between the red spot and Buna.

[LargeSlowTarget]

I know Dobodura is rather close to Buna and that the map location does not accurately represents the location, but for the sake of "operational possibilities" I would simply assume that Buna is in the lower part of its hex and the Dobodura complex sprawled the upper part of its hex.

There was no "Buna complex", just a small fighter strip and a dummy strip in Japanese hands, while there were numerous Allied airstrips around Buna (not just at Dobodura) which played an important logistical role during the Buna campaign. I think for this reason it is justified to seperate Buna and Dobodura, even if that means to compromise regarding map art and distances.

I think the bigger problem is not the location on the map, but player hindsight. The Japanese did not discover the suitability of the Dobodura plains for airfield construction - the Japanese AE player will know it and go for it...

[Buck Beach]

ORIGINAL: LargeSlowTarget

I know Dobodura is rather close to Buna and that the map location does not accurately represents the location, but for the sake of "operational possibilities" I would simply assume that Buna is in the lower part of its hex and the Dobodura complex sprawled the upper part of its hex.

There was no "Buna complex", just a small fighter strip and a dummy strip in Japanese hands, while there were numerous Allied airstrips around Buna (not just at Dobodura) which played an important logistical role during the Buna campaign. I think for this reason it is justified to seperate Buna and Dobodura, even if that means to compromise regarding map art and distances.

I think the bigger problem is not the location on the map, but player hindsight. The Japanese did not discover the suitability of the Dobodura plains for airfield construction - the Japanese AE player will know it and go for it...

I do the same treatment/reasoning when I add a Ketchikan,Alaska Coast Guard port/base in separating it from Annette Island location.

Buck

[Buck Beach]

The new Subic Bay base's (file wpl 28B) units should have their Future Objectives reset to Subic Bay 99. Any other new units (?) should have their's also checked and reset accordingly.

Buck

[Buck Beach]

Scenario 28

I can see no difference in the stats between Device 1572 Mk9 Gun and the Device 1573 Mk7 Gun. Should there be?

[JWE]

I suppose. Mk 9 was 430 pounds heavier and was the waterproof version for sub use. It did have a teensy bit more twist to the rifling than the Mk 7, but the basic gun was the basic gun.

[JWE]

Apropos of nothing at all; was talking to Dawn Gerrells, mom's health care coordinator, and it turns out her dad was chief engineer for Litton/Ingalls updates back in the late 60s and 70s. Every single hull tweak, every single new installation, and every single moved bulkhead for a modified compartment. And he's got all his blueprints and can remember every ship mod, by name. WOOF !!!

He's a real-live honest to gosh naval architect and SNAME member. Think it's time to get some more porterhouse steaks and have this fellow over to spin some yarns.

[Buck Beach]

Agronne ID 2453 class xAPs.  These were Design 1024 Hog Island troopships I think they should be APs accordingly.  They are armed like as APs, whereas xAPs were armed much lighter if at all on 12/07/1941 (I think).

[dwg]

ORIGINAL: Buck Beach
Agronne ID 2453 class xAPs.  These were Design 1024 Hog Island troopships I think they should be APs accordingly. 

For anyone trying to google it, that should be Argonne, rather than Agronne.