quick question

[John B.]

Man you really learn something new every day in this game. I've only had an inkling that command HQ and other HQ helped with supply but I did not know that they were so important. Now I know what to do with the command HQs that sit around in Pearl taking up prime hotel space!

I also did not know that developing bases along the way helped with supply push. So, for example, assuming Burma is open to the allies, do the Chinese want to spend supply to build up the airfields along the Lasho-Kunming road to draw more supply into the country? Or, for another example, Ramree Island does not sit on the Chittagong road down to Rangoon but right next to it. Will its development have any effect on supply flowing down the road?

[vj531]

There's more!

Now this could be an even bigger dumb/newb question.

I'm ok with the first column.
But the 'pink' column?
Is that just for training?

[chemkid]

.

[vj531]

ORIGINAL: chemkid

ORIGINAL: sharper

ORIGINAL: chemkid

...not a 'word' list but you could copy from the pdf...

Tried that and for some reason you/I cant search/find in the PDF tables. When I tried to convert to Word using Nitro Pro they to were not searchable!
I keep forgetting ID's of the more exotic transports and auxiliaries.

...in the meantime you could use the hint-box that appears while hovering over the 'more exotic' vessels.



cheers! [:)]

Thanks!

Yaab sent me a great ship list and short cut 4 sheeter!

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: sharper

There's more!

Now this could be an even bigger dumb/newb question.

I'm ok with the first column.
But the 'pink' column?
Is that just for training?

The screen in the picture shows the squadron set with a primary mission of naval attack and a secondary mission of ground attack. This means that in the morning the squadron will be ready to strike any enemy ships found in range by search or other means (contact with one of your own TFs, for example). If there are no ships to attack, the squadron will attack (in the afternoon) enemy troops within range. You can set the target hex you want them to attack or leave it blank and let the squadron commander decide where to attack. Either way, you do NOT get to choose the unit being attacked unless it is the only one in the target hex.

When you shift the mission to training on the left side of the list, you will likely get more options on the right side of the list for the type of training to do. Or you can just let them rest to recover morale and reduce their fatigue.

If you do want to do some kind of training, be sure to set the range to "0" to minimize fatigue during training, and to select an appropriate altitude to maximize training benefits. Hint: low altitude is good as it also trains your pilots much faster in "Defensive" skill, but too low can ruin the training. e.g. 100' will only train strafing skill even if you have another selected. 1000' will train low naval or low ground but not naval bombing or ground bombing. 1000' is good for training escort, sweep, recon, search, ASW, and torpedo attack (NavT) skills.

After deciding on training type, range and altitude, be sure to go down to the buttons below the screenshot portion of the unit interface and set the % training you want to do. In most cases it should be 100%

[BBfanboy]

Deleted: Accidental duplicate

[rustysi]

ORIGINAL: sharper

There's more!

Now this could be an even bigger dumb/newb question.

I'm ok with the first column.
But the 'pink' column?
Is that just for training?

No, the second column (or pink column as you've outlined) is for a secondary mission. This can only be selected if the primary mission is 'Naval attack', and AFAIK its there so your A/C will do something if no naval targets are present/spotted. That is of course if you want your A/C to have a secondary target. If not leave it blank or set it to rest and your A/C will attempt to attack a naval target. If none are found they will rest.

Of course to increase your chances of a naval attack naval searches are a must.

That column under different conditions will indicate what type of training is occurring. If you set the first column to 'stand down' you'll then see a button below for a training %. Set this (usually set to 100%) and then pick which type of training you wish to conduct. Keep in mind training should be specific to the A/C type you're training. IOW you probably don't want bombers training for a sweep (if that's even an option).

Hope this helps. Ciao.

Edit:Drats, beaten to the punch again.[:D]

[rustysi]

Or, for another example, Ramree Island does not sit on the Chittagong road down to Rangoon but right next to it. Will its development have any effect on supply flowing down the road?

I think any base with surplus supply can/will help 'push' supply to a degree. Keep in mind though this base has an SPS of zero for its port, which will be difficult and costly to build up. In addition if its the Allies (really who else) trying to build it up, Japan definitely has the upper hand here, IMHO. The base is under their noses (Prome) and the Japanese can bring a lot of pressure to bear. In addition the base has only one outlet and that's across a river hexside. So with all the limitations I'm not sure the base is worth the effort.

Of course the above is JMHO. YYMV. Ciao

P.S. You know there's a hotkey to show how supply will flow. I forget the number of the key off-hand (I think its 5), but its on the lists if you have one. Just click on the base and press the hotkey, and you'll see a set of numbers radiate out from the base. There is a table which will then show you how many times a week the base will attempt to push supply to that hex based on the number returned.

[vj531]

Thanks @BBfanboy and @rustysi[&o]

I was for once interpreting it correctly[8D]

How long do you need to train before it take effect?
eg I'm returning a CV TF to Noumea for replenishment. Should I set non cap AC to training? (hope that makes sense)

[rustysi]

How long do you need to train before it take effect?

Training can take several months, depending on where you want to train them to (what level), and various other factors.

I'm returning a CV TF to Noumea for replenishment. Should I set non cap AC to training? (hope that makes sense)

I wouldn't. If I'm in an area where I might bump into something I leave them on naval attack. If I'm not expecting any surface action I'll set some groups to AWS, but I don't normally train until I'm back in port.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: rustysi

Or, for another example, Ramree Island does not sit on the Chittagong road down to Rangoon but right next to it. Will its development have any effect on supply flowing down the road?

I think any base with surplus supply can/will help 'push' supply to a degree. Keep in mind though this base has an SPS of zero for its port, which will be difficult and costly to build up. In addition if its the Allies (really who else) trying to build it up, Japan definitely has the upper hand here, IMHO. The base is under their noses (Prome) and the Japanese can bring a lot of pressure to bear. In addition the base has only one outlet and that's across a river hexside. So with all the limitations I'm not sure the base is worth the effort.

Of course the above is JMHO. YYMV. Ciao

P.S. You know there's a hotkey to show how supply will flow. I forget the number of the key off-hand (I think its 5), but its on the lists if you have one. Just click on the base and press the hotkey, and you'll see a set of numbers radiate out from the base. There is a table which will then show you how many times a week the base will attempt to push supply to that hex based on the number returned.

The number is 5, but you need to know that it takes a while for results to show up because the computer has to calculate supply flow for a lot of surrounding hexes. The flow only shows up for the hex you have selected. If you want to see another hex you have to select it and hit 5 - then wait some more ...

[rustysi]

takes a while for results to show up because the computer has to calculate supply flow for a lot of surrounding hexes.

My machine does it PDQ.[:D]

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: rustysi

How long do you need to train before it take effect?

Training can take several months, depending on where you want to train them to (what level), and various other factors.

I'm returning a CV TF to Noumea for replenishment. Should I set non cap AC to training? (hope that makes sense)

I wouldn't. If I'm in an area where I might bump into something I leave them on naval attack. If I'm not expecting any surface action I'll set some groups to AWS, but I don't normally train until I'm back in port.

I noticed something about training you may find useful. If you stand down the whole squadron and set them to training, the most proficient pilots are the first to get training and the new guys that need it most are last to get a shot at training (because there are fewer aircraft than pilots). You can stand down the most proficient pilots to the squadron's reserve (NOT the General Reserve) so that all the less proficient pilots have an aircraft to train on, BUT - I have noticed that proficient pilots with 70+ in the primary skill often get moved out to the General Reserve pool at the end of the turn. Not good.

A better way to ensure the newbies get priority on training is to set the squadron to 30% operations (in the type of skill you want to train), 30% training and 40% rest. The least trained pilots will be the ones getting the training while the ones who don't need it will fly ops and rotate to resting when needed.
I do this with my Catalina groups on Nav Search (primary skill) since they have poor training levels at game start but are needed to do some searching. They can operate indefinitely without stand-down for fatigue or maintenance issues.

I am now doing this with my carrier bombers to get ASW training - during periods when they are returning to base and there are no surface ships likely in the area. The ASW hasn't hit any subs yet but it has attacked a few and driven them under, while skills are climbing nicely in the whole squadron.

[vj531]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: rustysi

How long do you need to train before it take effect?

Training can take several months, depending on where you want to train them to (what level), and various other factors.

I'm returning a CV TF to Noumea for replenishment. Should I set non cap AC to training? (hope that makes sense)

I wouldn't. If I'm in an area where I might bump into something I leave them on naval attack. If I'm not expecting any surface action I'll set some groups to AWS, but I don't normally train until I'm back in port.

I noticed something about training you may find useful. If you stand down the whole squadron and set them to training, the most proficient pilots are the first to get training and the new guys that need it most are last to get a shot at training (because there are fewer aircraft than pilots). You can stand down the most proficient pilots to the squadron's reserve (NOT the General Reserve) so that all the less proficient pilots have an aircraft to train on, BUT - I have noticed that proficient pilots with 70+ in the primary skill often get moved out to the General Reserve pool at the end of the turn. Not good.

A better way to ensure the newbies get priority on training is to set the squadron to 30% operations (in the type of skill you want to train), 30% training and 40% rest. The least trained pilots will be the ones getting the training while the ones who don't need it will fly ops and rotate to resting when needed.
I do this with my Catalina groups on Nav Search (primary skill) since they have poor training levels at game start but are needed to do some searching. They can operate indefinitely without stand-down for fatigue or maintenance issues.

I am now doing this with my carrier bombers to get ASW training - during periods when they are returning to base and there are no surface ships likely in the area. The ASW hasn't hit any subs yet but it has attacked a few and driven them under, while skills are climbing nicely in the whole squadron.

You have touched on a sore point 'Pilots'! I was looking at the screen below in bewilderment, I can see the idea behind this level of detail, but boy it left ever so slightly overwhelmed.

I have made a 'horses arse' of of handling 'Fuel and Oil' in my Guadalcanal scenario thus far, when stumbling on the whole 'pilot/training' my head started to spin and I retired to the Euro 16 football (soccer) on TV.

I need a dummies guide to the screen below. I have read on the forum about trying to get the lesser experienced pilot more training while not not losing the more experienced to a pool (group/reserve/active)......? EDIT*** "squadron's reserve (NOT the General Reserve)" Where is squadron's reserve?
The guys below are sitting on the Saratoga in Noumea, waiting for fuel...[:@]

[Jorge_Stanbury]

In your screen shot, lower right; there is this "To Pool: Group"
if you click it, you will change between "group" or "reserve", then using the buttons to the lower left, you can release pilots to the respective reserves.
You can do the same by clicking (right or left) directly on the pilots.

Group reserve is the squadron specific one, pilots will become "grey" and will only fly under specific circumstances (nobody else available, or highly fatigued, etc). group reserve will move the pilot out of the squadron, into a "general reserve" pool

[BBfanboy]

Don't worry too much about it Sharper - Guadalcanal is a short scenario so there isn't a lot of time to develop pilots. You will have time to learn some of this stuff when you take on longer scenarios.

Jorge's last statement may be confusing, as was my reference to a "Squadron reserve" which is actually called "Group" reserve. And then the General Reserve is called just "Reserve" when you click on the yellow hypertext. There is one more toggle in that text .."Active" restores your resting pilots in the Group reserve to active (on-duty) status.

Now, I am not sure if Jorge meant to say "General Reserve" instead of Group reserve, or if he was referring to the OTHER way you can send pilots to the general reserve - if you click on an individual pilot you can put them in the Group reserve and if you click on the same pilot again you can send him to the General reserve. I forget whether the two clicks are left - then right, or left-left, or right-right, or right - then left. Experiment a bit to see how it works.

If you accidentally send a pilot to the general reserve and want them back, switch back to the Air Unit screen and under the Pilots area (mid left side) click on the button that says "Request Veteran". This will open up the General Reserve list of pilots and you can select the one(s) you want. Make sure they have the right primary skill for the squadron type - transport pilots make poor fighter pilots.
Also note that there can be a lengthy delay in the pilot reaching the squadron. This is random and simulates them coming from other places across the map. When their arrival delays shows as (1) you will be able to move them into the squadron Active pilots pool.

[vj531]

I've noticed some super sexy map graphic on some of threads

Where are they stored!

[geofflambert]

chemkid has some beauties here:

tm.asp?m=3599038

[vj531]

Thanks Geoff

OK people

OIL - what does it do in the game?

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: sharper

Thanks Geoff

OK people

OIL - what does it do in the game?

Oil makes fuel - it is just an input for Refinery industries. Depending on you game version and scenario, 10 oil into a Refinery produces 10 fuel (recent change) or (in stock, not Beta) it produces 9 fuel and 1 supply. The latter simulates fuel like aviation gas in drums (which come out of supply when the squadron is operating) and other petroleum products like grease.

If you have a surplus of oil at one of your bases you can load it on a tanker or even a cargo ship (at 50% capacity for the inefficiency) and take it someplace where you have refineries that don't have enough oil to process. Note that loading/unloading oil on a tanker is a bit slower than fuel. Higher viscosity I guess.

However, if you have both fuel and oil available at a base it is better to haul the ready-to-use fuel where it is needed. Remember, only ships and Heavy Industry use fuel but they need a lot of it.

As the Allied Player, only Australia needs oil inputs for its refineries but if you have fuel to haul there they will be very happy too!
As the Japanese player the Home Islands have excess capacity in refining and Heavy Industry, so they need all the oil or fuel that can be brought to them.
For Japan, this is critical because the HI points produced from fuel are used to make ships, aircraft, vehicles and armaments. That is why Allied players in the Grand Campaign try to destroy oil production and tankers on the Japanese side.

For the Guadalcanal campaign, concentrate on moving fuel and don't worry about oil unless you have empty tankers and can safely haul some to Oz.