New to the game - Basic Questions

[IBender]

Thank you both that helped a great deal and it works fine for me. Appreciate it.

Now there is another topic I am struggling with, perhaps you have advice on.

I am playing global war with all options on. Fun game. Its 1943. Germany and Japan have expanded and captured terriroty. However, I have found that I have lost touch with my production planning. Especially as Japan. The front lines have moved back and forth in China and USA has messed with my convoys. See, the screen shot for Japan. I look at it now and find I am unsure what is happening or I should do. For example, I see that a non oil res. in china is sitting idle. Does that indicate to me I need to put another convoy at sea so that resource moves to japan for production? I see the non oil resource in the phillipines is idle as well. Is this telling me to put another convoy also for this to move? Also, do you have a suggestion for how I can better see / understand and ensure I am getting the most from my resources as..most of the time I feel fairly lost in this.

I have gotten better at this, but I tend to focus on the battles and troop movements, and I dont know how much time I need to spend paying attention to the resources info + I am seldom sure I understand what I am reading and seeing.

Hope that makes sense. Any advice would be appreciated. I feel this is a super important part of the game that I am playing poorly.

[Orm]

To me it looks like your convoy lines needs reinforcing so that you get those resources to factories in Japan.

For a better analysis a save game would help. Maybe you could zip a save and attach it to a post.

The short answer on how to learn to maximize production and convoy routes is to use paper and pen. Then put down the numbers on paper. Resources, factories, sea zones and so on.

Later on I can give you an example of what I mean. Now I am going to put my focus on my own military campaigns that urgently needs attention.

[IBender]

Thank you. Your answer actually helped. I think if you can give me an example like you mentioned that would be great. As for loading the file lol, how about I wait till I have another game that isnt as embarrassing as the current one lol

[paulderynck]

Production is critical. Especially Japan should be keeping an eye on things and have a convoy reserve. This means building 1 or 2 convoys a turn so you can survive a big hit. Worst case scenario is having your convoys swept from the China Sea and then the turn ends before you can react.

A useful tool is to bring up the Global Map and choose the convoy display for the country of interest. That helps spot sea zones where your resource transport capacity is lacking.

Any resources on the Asia mainland over and above the red factories Japan controls there must get to Japan if at all possible. An extra convoy can help when Chinese partisans appear FREX the overland route of the resource that normally would go to Shanghai might get cut. But if possible avoid more than 10 convoy points in a sea zone because of the search bonus your opponents will get. Putting convoys in the Sea of Japan can help you avoid having more than 10 in the China Sea. Sending the Hainan resource to Canton and having an overland path for southern Chinese resources to get to the China Sea (or even the Sea of Japan) saves a convoy point. Also when things are bad, you can store NEI oil in Canton and reserve precious convoy space for resources.

In an Oil game Japan often must under-build so her navy and air force can keep operating.

[IBender]

Thank you..this helped as well.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Another trick for Japan (and others from time to time), is to not transport the NEI oil if you are going to use it for reorganization.

[IBender]

Oh thats clever Shannon.

Another random question. I notice that when ships are in the same sea zone, it prompts you to "pick a ship for the search" and it menions I believe "disorganzing it" or some words similar to that, that I dont have a clue what its talking about. I pick always a middle ship of middle quality just because.

1. Can someone explain this? Whats this about / how does it work?

2. Can someone point me to the rules for this?

3. What type / quality of ship should I use for this activity? Usually as japan I have a mid sized fleet couple carriers, BB and CA etc

4. And is this ship really disorganzied? Does this really mean that no matter the outcome of the battle this ship I select will be disorganzied?

Thanks

[Orm]

1) If you want to have combat in a sea area you need a unit to activate the combat and searches in that sea area. Edit: If you have no such unit then you can not initiate sea combat in that sea area. For example: If you have only one sub in a sea area then you can only search in that sea area once. Unless additional resources are sent to the sea area.

2) RAC (Rules as Coded): 11.5.2 Initiating a combat

3) A ships, or air unit, that you do not need for another activity. Like shore bombardment, or CV missions, or debarking a unit from. This since a the unit becomes disorganized and hence not available for other missions later in the turn. Note that disorganized ships can not voluntary leave the sea area with a naval move later on. Although it can abort as a result of combat or a voluntary abort after combat.

I usually use my worst ship first.

4) Yes.


Cut from RAC:

11.5.2 Initiating a combat
To initiate a combat, pick a sea area where you have an organized (non-convoy) unit at war with another
major power, and announce that you will initiate combat there. If you have no organized units in the area (except
convoys), you can’t initiate a combat there. If you chose an air action, the unit chosen must be an air unit.

[Examples cut out]

The unit you choose is the combat initiation unit and it becomes disorganized. You only need to designate
a unit to initiate the combat, not to fight each round in the combat.
You can’t choose a cargo unit on a ship, but you can choose a ship carrying cargo. And if you choose the
latter, its cargo becomes disorganized as well. You can designate a SUB as the combat initiation unit, even if you
don’t intend to commit SUBs to the combat.
CVPiF/SiF option 56: You may not designate a carrier plane as the combat initiation unit. If you designate a
CV, then its carrier plane becomes disorganized as well.
You don’t need to have moved a unit into the sea area in the impulse to initiate combat. And you can initiate
combat in a sea area even if you fought an interception combat there.

[IBender]

Thank you so much. I need to read this several times then go find those rules.

[Courtenay]

For a while there was a bug that the searching unit that should have been disorganized was not, in fact disorganized.

[IBender]

Help me understand food in flames. In help info it states "Food In Flames [RAW option 29 section 13.6.1]

This optional rule reflects the benefit Great Britain derived from the rest of the Commonwealth providing food
for the British Isles. If supply lines to the far-flung member nations of the Commonwealth are maintained to the
United Kingdom, then the Commonwealth's total production is increased.

For each of (1) Australia, (2) India, and (3) South Africa where at least 1 resource is transported to a
factory in the United Kingdom during a turn, the number of production points for the Commonwealth is
increased by 1. Note that these are production points and do not required processing by a factory."

Now viewing the attached screen shot. I see that commonwealth is getting "food inflames 1" I assume 1 build point. 17 + 1 = 18

My question specifically is that should this data indicate to me that the common wealth player is missing out on build points? Ideally he would be getting 3 instead of 1 if he was transporting fully? If so I need to go fix that. Am I reading this correctly that the cw player is shorting himself in this current game and doesnt even realize it?

Thanks

[Courtenay]

ORIGINAL: Azorn01

Help me understand food in flames. In help info it states "Food In Flames [RAW option 29 section 13.6.1]

This optional rule reflects the benefit Great Britain derived from the rest of the Commonwealth providing food
for the British Isles. If supply lines to the far-flung member nations of the Commonwealth are maintained to the
United Kingdom, then the Commonwealth's total production is increased.

For each of (1) Australia, (2) India, and (3) South Africa where at least 1 resource is transported to a
factory in the United Kingdom during a turn, the number of production points for the Commonwealth is
increased by 1. Note that these are production points and do not required processing by a factory."

Now viewing the attached screen shot. I see that commonwealth is getting "food inflames 1" I assume 1 build point. 17 + 1 = 18

My question specifically is that should this data indicate to me that the common wealth player is missing out on build points? Ideally he would be getting 3 instead of 1 if he was transporting fully? If so I need to go fix that. Am I reading this correctly that the cw player is shorting himself in this current game and doesnt even realize it?

Thanks

The benefit is one production point per country, not one build point. Production points are multiplied by the build multiplier, which is 0.5 at the start of the game, and will increase as the game continues, so can be more than one.

Yes, if the CW were transporting fully, the CW would get three production (not build) points. For that matter, in any game, whether you are using this option or not, some of the Indian resources should be shipped to the CW.

[IBender]

New question. In a new global game, all rules turned on. Germany attacked poland. While he was busy attacking poland I moved a mixed fleet of english ships into the baltic to attack his 3 convoys. Somewhere before I moved my fleet or right after, I forget which, germany also captured Denmark. My english fleet was successful, quickly sank german convoys in baltic. Germany next took naval and moved all his ships from Kiel to Baltic Sea to fight me. I thought I as being clever, I chose to abort and thought I would be able to retreat back to an English port. Unfortunately, I could only move to the polish corridor port of Gdynia. We are both confused as to why this was the case. Next the german moved a land unit into Gdynia and forced my ships to relocate, but as there was not place for them to go I basically lost them all. Question is...why couldnt they abort to England.

Thanks

[Orm]

The answer why the CW fleet could not abort to England is because of the rule cut in below.

And you guessed right that Denmark had some relevance. After Germany occupied Copenhagen they controlled two out of the three cities needed to block naval movement between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea..



Cut from RAC: 11.4.4 Naval movement restrictions
• You can’t move naval units between Kiel and the North Sea if an enemy major power controls any
of the hexes adjacent to the Kiel Canal.
• You can’t move naval units between the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea, or between Suez and the
Eastern Mediterranean, if a major power you are at war with controls any of the hexes adjacent to the Suez
Canal.
• You can’t move naval units between the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea (even via Panderma)
unless Istanbul is friendly controlled.
• You can’t move naval units between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea (even via Fredrikshavn or
Kristiansand) if major powers you are at war with control at least 2 of Oslo, Copenhagen and Kiel.
• You can’t move surface naval units (SUBs aren’t restricted) between the Western Mediterranean and Cape
St. Vincent (even via Tangier) if a major power you are at war with controls Gibraltar.
• You can’t move naval units between the North Sea and the Bay of Biscay (even via Brest or Plymouth) if a
major power you are at war with controls London.
• After the US has closed the Panama canal (see 13.3.2, entry option 33), you can only move naval units
between the Gulf of Panama and the Caribbean Sea if:
• its controlling major power of the 3 Panama Canal hexes is at war with the USA and lets you; or,
• there is no controlling major power of those hexes and the US player lets you.
The “even via” clauses apply only when attempting to move between sea zones through the port in a single
naval move. A unit can move into the port from a sea zone in one step and then move out to sea in the other sea zone
in a later step.

[paulderynck]

Sometimes a French sub or some French cruisers will go raiding in the Baltic but it's usually a suicide mission.

[Courtenay]

In a situation like this, where neither knew a rule, I would suggest you use an Allied autosave and go back to the start of the Allied naval move; it sounds like a substantial part of the CW navy has just been destroyed in a way that should not have happened.

[IBender]

Thats a good thought. I need to give it some consideration.

[IBender]

I am confused about America..when you select occupy greenland / iceland from the entry options. I cant seem to move ships to either place. What am I missing? do I need to do something other than make the us entry option selection?

Thanks

[rkr1958]

In determining the number of ships present for a naval combat, when if ever, do CPs count? I assume if they ever count they count as 1/2 of a ship?

[paulderynck]

ORIGINAL: Azorn01

I am confused about America..when you select occupy greenland / iceland from the entry options. I cant seem to move ships to either place. What am I missing? do I need to do something other than make the us entry option selection?

Thanks

You may have to wait for the next Declaration of War step for the Allies. The option states: "You can declare control of Greenland and Iceland during any future Allied declaration of war step."