The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[Canoerebel]

We'll see if the maskarovka works, but this effort hasn't involved misdirection, time-consuming feinting, or delay. Death Star Sr. and Herd Sr. are taking, and have been taking all along, the most direct route at maximum speed. The misinformation has been via reconnaissance and placement. John may not be misdirected in the least, but I've sacrificed nothing in the effort.

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Meaning this: the map details are right; that is Death Star and the Herd; I did stand down my reconnaissance aircraft; they resumed flying today, continuing to feel out all those bases; and those bases are weakly held or vacant.

All those things are the truth. They also suggest (imply?) something, leading the reader to make certain conclusions. But those conclusions may not be correct.

All this hocus-pocus stuff will become much clearer when John makes his next post.

[:)]

You talk like King Begonia.
"Those who have nothing shall have less, and that which they have shall be taken from them."
[:D]

[Canoerebel]

John's had a series of disruptions and commitments yesterday and today that will delay his running the turn. A balky computer delayed his receipt of the turn by three hours; he was sick overnight and slept in late; and he's involved in a civic project today. So I'm standing down for a while. We'll have to wait for the stars to properly align to get the turn run and see what happens, where.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Mini-thread hijack - What amount of PPs would you like to see? If 50 may not be enough and Dan things 100 is too much.

Having no experience with the aircraft purchase system, I don't really know. I don't think 100 is an awful starting point. It might be just right, or it might be just a little too high. If I tested it and felt it were too high, I'd probably drop to 80. I definitely wouldn't go lower than 70, I think.

Well the question is why change it? I am fairly convinced that as it is any decent Allied player should be able to win the campaign game vs a matched opponent most of all of the time. (as it should be) If that is the case then why should the PP allotment change for the Allies? I know Japanese players get a lot more freedom and think that makes the game more competitive but in the end the Allies just get overwhelming strength. I just don't see the need to make the Allies stronger. Dan is a good example here. He is about to attempt and probably will pull off a logistically magnificent invasion that in reality should be all but impossible to pull together in early 1944. I don't see that he has the need for more PPs at this stage.

[Canoerebel]

Ross, in some of these new mods, John and his crew have installed a new feature (I think somebody named "Juan" came up with it): Allied players can use PP to buy aircraft for their pools. So they are bumping the PPs to facilitate this feature.

In these enhanced mods, the Allies are fine in '44 and '45, as you point out. I have gracious plenty power in mine. But in '42 the Allied player can be so hamstrung as to make the game less enjoyable or challenging. The Japanese player can almost ignore basic defensive preparation, knowing that the Allied air force probably can't survive. Thus there is less reason for the Japanese player to pay due diligence to defense. I think enhancing the fighter pools a bit to make the Allies a bit more capable of striking in '42 is a good move, just like bolstering Japan later in the war is also good for competitive balance.

The question is how many additional PP would be ideal. I agree with you that 50 per day is right in stock. I don't know how much more will be needed to make the aircraft purchases work right. But I would definitely err on the side of being somewhat conservative. If the Allies end up with too many PPs it'll be that much easier to go crazy in '43 and beyond.

It's fun being pushed and challenged!

[Canoerebel]

One other note: my game is an aberration. I wouldn't be pulling off this op, and I wouldn't have tried Big Tent, if John hadn't lost a one-sided carrier battle in the autumn of '43. That was a game changer.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

One other note: my game is an aberration. I wouldn't be pulling off this op, and I wouldn't have tried Big Tent, if John hadn't lost a one-sided carrier battle in the autumn of '43. That was a game changer.

Ah, I did not know about the chance to buy extra planes. In that case I would think 200 per day would be sufficient....

[Canoerebel]

With the game slowed for various reasons, here's more Truth and Nothing but the Truth (I'm still reserving the Whole Truth until later).

I thought you might be interested in the anatomy of an important Rock. Paper. Scissors decision to open Fun House. I'm very interested in seeing if set this up correctly, evaluated things accurately, and how it works out.

Eventually this turn will get played.

[Bif1961]

I am sticking with my north Luzon and Formosa location as the goal.

[Bearcat2]

Excellent AAR, the suspense is killing me; where or where in the world is DS heading?


Thanks

[Ol_Dog]

the world wonders

[Canoerebel]

4/2/44

Fun House: Eight days ahead of the original timetable, Fun House opened today. Things are off to a satisfying, smooth start. See map for details.

It's too early to make definitive judgments, but early indications are that I may have been right. Enemy defenses in the Fun House AOO look weak. Airfields haven't been built where airfields should have been built. Big nests of islands are vacant or lightly defended. I'll know more tomorrow, as the second and third amphibious assaults take place if the TFs can make 5 and 6 hexes, respectively.

Celebes: John's army hasn't arrived at Palapo yet. I don't know what he has there or if he's deployed part of his army elsewhere. But my suspicion is that he made a mistake committing 19th Div. and 2nd Tank Div. to Celebes, because he left some big holes in more important areas. We'll all know soon.

Burma: Most sides are jockeying for position while Allied air hammers Prome. John may be pulling back his MLR a bit.

[Canoerebel]

The turn is off with orders entered as set for it the preceding post.

Things could get very messy or confused if John commits KB or major combat TFs. He might (Japan would have, but John's not as willing to Banzai!, I think) but I don't think he will. If he doesn't, the following turn Death Star and the Herd will be far enough from Davao (and from Manila) that LBA won't be a major concern. If I can work things where John pretty much has to rely on KB, he'll be in a tough position. In two days, I should have PBYs operational (from Dinagat and/or Surigao).

But let's see if John is planning to throw a monkey wrench into the works.

[Lokasenna]

LBA seems to strike pretty reliably out to 8 or 10 hexes. With torpedoes. Be wary.

[Bif1961]

The Greatest Show on Earth closed Saturday so i guess you have no competition.

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: Lokasenna
LBA seems to strike pretty reliably out to 8 or 10 hexes. With torpedoes. Be wary.

Yeah, I know. What I'm trying to convey - what all of us AE vets know - is that it's a different proposition to set up 6 or 8 hexes from a big airfield as compared to being two to four hexes from three big airfields.

Davao and/or Manila are threats, but manageable, I think, since John hasn't built Roxas, Iloilo, Legaspi, Cebu or any other the other bases. KB combined with two or three nearby bases would be that much more daunting.

[crsutton]

Yep, even with some messy stuff, you are bound to get a lot of troops and supply ashore. Question is, how far into the PI will you delve? [;)] Manila is a plum. The shipyard there is vital for future Allied operations. I assume that is the ultimate goal even if it is not quite part of this operation.

[Canoerebel]

There are several other enemy airfields - mostly notably, Cagayan is level 7. And there are several level three fields.

But I think Death Star can handle LBA pretty well. The combination of LBA and KB is the biggest concern.

As you readers know, this plan was conceived five months ago. Most of my troops are 100% prepped. There are a number of targets that have big airfield potential. If I get these up and running, the combination of Allied LBA and Death Star will make it hard for John to get supply to his bases. I think John's got to pounce early. In fact, I believe he will.

And that's the highest priority of Fun House: to draw Kaigun and KB into action in less than ideal conditions for the Japanese.

There is a long-term plan, both for the Fun House area and for the next big op (Peep Show), but I won't go into those yet.

[CaptBeefheart]

The world wonders where Herds Two and Three are heading. As John sends the KB to the Visayas, will they land in the frozen, lightly defended wastes of Hokkaido, thereby disturbing the peace and tranquility of the native Ainu people?

Great entertainment. Thanks again for the show.

Cheers,
CC

[Canoerebel]

Hey, thanks for reading, guys. I love writing, but it wouldn't be much fun without you folks reading.

Death Star Jr. is no longer in Shangri-Law. It has reach Nirvana.

Death Star III, Death Star IV, and Death Star V (plus their Herds) are presently in the shades.