Empire V4.0 and Age of steel V1.0c Final edition out now !!!

[Antares367]

I would appreciate that as I am JanSako's Allied opponent. We are starting Scen 44.

[JanSako]

Can't wait to see the 8" gun armed subs going at each other . Yes, Japan has some too!
We are playing one-day turns.

The lack of Japanese R&D is going to be very interesting. Traditionally Japan players try to streamline and rush R&D to get planes that match Hellcats & co, 'Race to Sam & Frank' seems to be the name of the game. If you have a flowchart for the airframe upgrades, please do share!

BTW, not sure what you mean by the Allies not having a lot of airframes early on. The replacement rate is over 600 airframes in December & I would guess it will only go up from there. Yes, some of them are less than great, but there is plenty to be had & the most numerous Japanese fighter is.... the glorious Oscar Ia.

Not complaining, mind you, looking forward to the challenge!

[Cavalry Corp]

Can't wait to see the 8" gun armed subs going at each other . Yes, Japan has some too!
We are playing one-day turns.

The lack of Japanese R&D is going to be very interesting. Traditionally Japan players try to streamline and rush R&D to get planes that match Hellcats & co, 'Race to Sam & Frank' seems to be the name of the game. If you have a flowchart for the airframe upgrades, please do share!

BTW, not sure what you mean by the Allies not having a lot of airframes early on. The replacement rate is over 600 airframes in December & I would guess it will only go up from there. Yes, some of them are less than great, but there is plenty to be had & the most numerous Japanese fighter is.... the glorious Oscar Ia.

Not complaining, mind you, looking forward to the challenge!

Yes, J has some gun subs, but like the others, they are pretty much obsolete, but perhaps a little better than the Allied ones.

Sorry I do not have the tech-savvy to make flow charts was kinda hoping you would It could, I suppose, be done in the editor by adding a symbol to the plane name - but it may start to make things look a bit cluttered.

Not playing the R+D ladder will make you squeeze everything possible out of what can be made, the art of a real commander! I would turn all planes to upgrade off so you can see what is available each month, look it up in the DB and think if you want it( some variants are available close together in terms of time). If it's one of the free ones, you can then pass it over by converting and then converting again. Many planes now come in several variants with small differences, but some are better against bombers, etc.

I think you will see allied replacement rates for the good planes are pretty low, well into 42. And you could destroy c 400+ on the first turn all over the map.

are you version 3.0a?

I am writing an allied tips later

[Cavalry Corp]

Can't wait to see the 8" gun armed subs going at each other . Yes, Japan has some too!
We are playing one-day turns.

The lack of Japanese R&D is going to be very interesting. Traditionally Japan players try to streamline and rush R&D to get planes that match Hellcats & co, 'Race to Sam & Frank' seems to be the name of the game. If you have a flowchart for the airframe upgrades, please do share!

BTW, not sure what you mean by the Allies not having a lot of airframes early on. The replacement rate is over 600 airframes in December & I would guess it will only go up from there. Yes, some of them are less than great, but there is plenty to be had & the most numerous Japanese fighter is.... the glorious Oscar Ia.

Not complaining, mind you, looking forward to the challenge!

Where did you get 600 from? Here are the main ones and many are short production widths.

M

planesScreenshot 2024-07-15 191128.jpg (100.53 KiB) Viewed 860 times

[JanSako]

There is about 5 pages of planes w/replacement when scrolling down. Dunno how you got that sorted like that but e.g. P-40E is 30 units, SBD-3 is 33 per. I know some of them are short runs & get replaced soon, but the overall number will not get any less!

Initial Japanese is ~440 or so.
Again, this is not a complaint, why would anyone expect Japan to outproduce the Allies?

[Cavalry Corp]

There is about 5 pages of planes w/replacement when scrolling down. Dunno how you got that sorted like that but e.g. P-40E is 30 units, SBD-3 is 33 per. I know some of them are short runs & get replaced soon, but the overall number will not get any less!

Initial Japanese is ~440 or so.
Again, this is not a complaint, why would anyone expect Japan to outproduce the Allies?

OK - see how you go I think you will find after a few turns they will end up being very short for a while .

[Cavalry Corp]

OK allied pointers

You have more submarines than historical. A few are very obsolete; use the modern ones, and when detected, move them. So many allied players do not move detected submarines. By 44, you will have a lot more than stock, and they will be deadly. J ASW 41-42 is worse than stock, but by 44, it's better. S boats are much worse than in stock and the UK get some good fleet subs later that will bolster any US losses.

At the start, there are more ships on the map (especially elderly CL). Many are obsolete, but some can be upgraded to more useful types.

You have a few more CVs than historical ones; save and nurture them. The French one needs to get its air groups together. Depending on how depleted elite pilots J gets, you can consider some action for about mid-42. But the 4 main J CV are deadly with very elite crews. UK armoured CVs are much better/ tougher than stock, and I suppose could be risked here and there earlier, they do not fear the Val just the Kates. But they're short-legged than in stock and had the ranges very wrong (they used a range of 11k + at 15kt, which should have been 10). you have slightly accelerated CV arrival 43+, but so do they, but many of their best planes cannot fly from CVL and below. This means the many CVL conversions J can make are of less value long term.

The UK and its allied forces are generally a bit stronger, and you have a few excellent planes that can cause J a lot of trouble. This mod encourages the chance of surface actions early on, and you have some good ships to do that; TF Z, especially, is very strong. You should use bombers early, as J has almost no Army planes that can really stop them until mid-42.

The BBs at PH are even older types. They seem little value (esp. as they are fuel guzzlers), but when bombardments are needed, and fuel is plentiful they will be very useful as J has more capability to dig in and more CD-style guns. Garrisons must be starved out before any risky attacks. there are a lot of planes in PH, hope to save a lot of them. You will be short. should KB stick around for two days without taking out your air they will be in trouble.

You have a few more Aux ships and APA, etc. Do not waste these ships.

In China, bid the time—defend well ( most places already have good fort levels) but wait a while to attack. But you can give them the run around with the partisan units, which can even be split down further. There is one base on the coast you should be able to keep, which will be useful later.

Patrol planes will be in short supply for some while, you also have ASW planes that will be useful.

Remember the German surface raiders in the Indian Ocean? They need to be tracked down and destroyed. Later, you will have to deal with the U-boats, which are better than J subs. Later, they get some type XXI, which are the best subs in the game.

4E bombers are less effective against fighters than in stock, and in our game, the need to fly is more realistic altitudes - 15k + simply because J has more AA units and more AA guns. They also carries a few more bombs and slightly better ranges. Allied attack bombers are better than stock but still seem to die against well-defended positions.

Prepare offensives. J has more land units and is better at digging in. What they cannot do is deliver the supply...

Hope this helps. If you have any specific questions, please post.

[JanSako]

I got some!
There are 3 (?) single ship blockade runners SW of Hawaii heading to Japan, labelled as plane parts & MG's. Is that for Role-playing purposes or they actually have to reach Japan for some benefit? I think they have some supply on board if I am not mistaken.

Also, the German raiders - they are a one-shot weapon or have to avoid the Allies until Japan opens the Malacca Strait or Southern DEI, right? One of them is an AS - is it OK to park it at the Milchkuch base so the German subs do actually have something to resupply them?

[Cavalry Corp]

There is about 5 pages of planes w/replacement when scrolling down. Dunno how you got that sorted like that but e.g. P-40E is 30 units, SBD-3 is 33 per. I know some of them are short runs & get replaced soon, but the overall number will not get any less!

Initial Japanese is ~440 or so.
Again, this is not a complaint, why would anyone expect Japan to outproduce the Allies?

Sorry I used some of the wrong filters you are right but most of these planes are going out in early 42.

[Cavalry Corp]

I got some!
There are 3 (?) single ship blockade runners SW of Hawaii heading to Japan, labelled as plane parts & MG's. Is that for Role-playing purposes or they actually have to reach Japan for some benefit? I think they have some supply on board if I am not mistaken.
Its just chrome - they're taking cannon parts and plane parts to J - sail them there, then do as you wish. there is no mechanism in the game to deliver anything ( or even load ships with supply) . But you will see a version of one J a plane that uses a German Cannon later ( as historical) .And the Germans get two small units of FW200.

Also, the German raiders - they are a one-shot weapon or have to avoid the Allies until Japan opens the Malacca Strait or Southern DEI, right? One of them is an AS - is it OK to park it at the Milchkuch base so the German subs do actually have something to resupply them?

They need to stay at sea until they can reach a base; they have plenty of fuel and an oiler. The Milk base simulates refuelling subs that appear from time to time - not a physical island . Only U boats can go there ( see the rules); the base gets a tiny amount of fuel per day, no need to do anything. Its only for U boats. The Surface Raiders could go after quite a few options, like looking for convoys heading toward Rangoon or Singapore. Or go far south and look for stuff off the coast of N Australia? Note the Allies will be looking for you. In my game, they lasted about 40 days. It's probably best to split them. If they run out of ammo they will have to runs the straights or similar:)

[JanSako]

@Cav
We have finally started a game! (with a different opponent). Wanting to have all the goodies, we opted for Scen 44. A bit of a snag is that I cannot find the pwhexe file that for the 27b map (the super-extended one) with stacking limits. I really really want stacking limits .

If anyone else has it & is willing to share, it would be appreciated. Or an advice how to edit this thing.

[Cavalry Corp]

Jan,

First, if you have not started the game turn, I can send you the WIP patch V3.0b—please advise if you want it or not. A small number of changes/ fixes but worth having. Mainly affect late war, does not cover any big issues.

The stacking limits in my super extended map are from the 27 patch, I think. There are levels, but they are not the same as the 26 patch, my PWHEX files, etc. TBH, I would forget the super extended map if you want the stacking limits at the lower level. I do not think it really adds anything big to the game.

if you can get the one you want please share with me so I will add it my downloads folder.

Cav

[JanSako]

Jan,

First, if you have not started the game turn, I can send you the WIP patch V3.0b—please advise if you want it or not. A small number of changes/ fixes but worth having. Mainly affect late war, does not cover any big issues.

The stacking limits in my super extended map are from the 27 patch, I think. There are levels, but they are not the same as the 26 patch, my PWHEX files, etc. TBH, I would forget the super extended map if you want the stacking limits at the lower level. I do not think it really adds anything big to the game.

if you can get the one you want please share with me so I will add it my downloads folder.

Cav

I just run T1 so if the DB changes are the kind that cannot be implemented mid-stream then I think we are past it. Are you able to confirm?
I think the 27b makes the map so much more realistic & adds an extra dimension in China & Burma at the least. On top of that playing without stacking limits & seeing a half-million strong army breeze through the jungle from India to Burma & onto Thailand in a matter of weeks just makes me cringe.
To each their own though!

I get it that the data file for the 27b map does not exist yet. I will take a stab at it, at least to make the bases at the NW corner accessible which is the main issue with the current iteration of the stacking limit file. I will be sure to upload it when it is done.

[Cavalry Corp]

T1 of 3.0 or 3.0a?

I will then come back. Almost everything is ok for games in progress, and the things that are not can be fixed with a special patch. I will do it...

M

[JanSako]

T1 of 3.0 or 3.0a?

I will then come back. Almost everything is ok for games in progress, and the things that are not can be fixed with a special patch. I will do it...

M

3.0a

[Cavalry Corp]

OK good that had the main fix for the KD7 class SS. I will come back tomorrow.


Cav

[Cavalry Corp]

Jan, How is the game going can you send me or post some results so far?

V3.0B does not change much, and almost all of it will work with games in progress, and the bits that don't are minor.

Still waiting on a bit of feedback from others before putting it up - these are mainly tiny tweaks.
Remember I am now in 3rd game into September 44 there will be a few odd things and other players make a few suggestions.

• V3.0b
• Some spelling mistakes were fixed.
• Revised starting position of CL Achillies.
• Corrected starting position of British 77th AA Regt – Fix.
• Some small adjustments to B7A Grace and D4Y Judy – New research.
• Corrected some late Japanese CVs to remove CVB George on arrival and replace with A6M7 Zero - Fix.
• Tweaked ASM ranges, Allied down a bit, J up a bit.
• Increased J Type 94 mine starting pool.
• Slightly reduced MVR rating on JI Gun Boat J SS, tweaked dive depth up for Type SXXto, one or two other SS Mvr
adjustments. Cohesion.
• Corrected Weapons on Dutch submarines upgrades - Fix.
• Tweaks to Russian SS and TT – New research.
• Tweaks to Thames class SS.
• A few minor French tweaks and French Buffle A/C = Nationality French, not US. Fixed.
• Tweaks and a fix (Tiger)to late-war British BB.


Cav







.

[JanSako]

Hi there,
My opponent is now working on T3.
I have also finished fixing the PWHEXE file for the map with stacking limits. As far as making every base & holding box work correctly. I will share it here once my opponent had a chance to double-check & confirm everything is working.

The first 2 turns were pretty bloody for the Allies, as you would imagine . Good stuff though.
I have an AAR of sorts running on Jochen H's Discord.

I am so feeling the 'we are not ready for this' vibe of Imperial Japan! Then you get those moments like when a flight of B4Y1's puts three torpedoes into a USN BB...

2024-07-29_14-47-18.png (145.13 KiB) Viewed 700 times

[Cavalry Corp]

Well, thanks for working on the data file - so that can be retro fit - nice. There are a number of small Japan bases that need ideally to be considered as well ( in the S China Sea near HK and one near Truk). I could take them out but left them in as they are there.

Can you invite me to the discord? I have had trouble trying to get that to work - as so un tech savvy

Please remember to pass any comments or glitches to me from both sides.

That TT is the oldest and pretty much the only light one - then there is always FOW to consider.

cav

[JanSako]

Well, thanks for working on the data file - so that can be retro fit - nice. There are a number of small Japan bases that need ideally to be considered as well ( in the S China Sea near HK and one near Truk). I could take them out but left them in as they are there.

Can you invite me to the discord? I have had trouble trying to get that to work - as so un tech savvy

Please remember to pass any comments or glitches to me from both sides.

That TT is the oldest and pretty much the only light one - then there is always FOW to consider.

cav

Should just be a 'follow this link': https://discord.gg/TwhEJ8U2
The islands usually have a stacking limit just by the virtue of them being islands (there is a built-in one for each island level).