Matrix Games Forums

This is a requested thread.

I was asked to comment on how I am able to make the Japanese economy function and produce "what I want it to produce."

It needs to be understood that there is a context: one never gets all one wants. I once asked Commander, Pacific Air Forces
if he had all the forces he wanted to have? He replied (this in a public forum - we were at The Top of the World in the Anchorage Hilton Hotel at a formal meet and be questioned by the public event) "I don't dare think that way - I can always want more
than is possible to have."

First point: the production capacity of Japan is greater in EOS family scenarios than in strictly historical scenarios. This is because I relocated some production infrastructures from locations of history to locations that get along better with game code and/or the natural intersection of rail lines of communication. Also because I added a few new bits of infrastructure at some locations. These were justified because of the greater planning time for different investment in the EOS family scenarios. The same principles apply to strictly historical and EOS family scenarios - but the total production measured in terms of HI points, total aircraft produced, etc is slightly higher in EOS family.

Second point: moderation is a virtue. Extremeism does not work well in economic matters. Trying to maximize production of everything everhwhere all the time will never work well. Trying to maximize production of everything at a single location only rarely works well - and the exceptions tend to be places where "everything" is not a lot to begin with. The more important a location is as an economic center, the less likely you can maximize production of everything there and get much of any growth. You need to evaluate each location in its own individual context - what is your number one priority here? Number two? Set things so you get what you want most at each location - and be ruthless about feeding those priorities - meaning not feeding other things. Unless a location is able to support every kind of economic enterprise present and grow them all at the same time (some locations can do that but they are rare - and not usually large) - don't consider such things.

Third point - monitor the specific economic situation point by point regularly - if not every day - then every two or three days. Notice where you have the ability to grow more - where you must suspend growth - where you need more oil or resources or supplies - and manage accordingly. You cannot set things to happen and expect AI to manage them well - it isn't up to the job.

Also - monitor total production every day. Get some sense of things like

Do we have 0 armaments points (or vehicle points or HI points - whatever)

or do we have so many we can turn off some of the production at places that make these?

Fourth point: understand that RHS sets up the POSSIBILITY of producing ANYTHING that MIGHT have been produced - and that the sum total of all these things is TOO MUCH. Instead of telling a player "you cannot have this - you get that instead" I give YOU the choice. BUT that means you MUST choose one or the other - and IF you don't do that (by doing nothing at all) you will see the economy bog down - and production of many things will be delayed - or units will appear understrength. I don't know your taste or strategy - what you believe in, want or need - so I let YOU decide. But you NEVER have the choice of "give me every ship in the production pool." Take that - and you will see almost all production bog down - and if you get it - it will be late, understrength, etc.

You can also make things worse - by accelerating production. That might be a smart move - rarely - BUT ONLY if rarely. I do it by "buying" the points I need in the form of suspending other production of equal cost. Nothing is free.

Fifth point: if you want more - expand your industry - expand the oil and resources needed to feed it - farm the oil and resources and move them to Japan (or other production centers) when you can - and eat off them when you cannot (meaning later in the war). You don't need all your industry in many categories - turn it off when that is the case and more HI points will feed what you do need. If you need more mnerchant ship production - you can build that at certain locations. This means the problem will shrink over time. JF Dunnigan pointed out (for the mechanical War in the Pacific) that the smart move for Japan is to build lowly AKs - you can build them and the yards that build them - but it is not a glamorous strategy. Logistics is not very glamorous. It also is not very forgiving: you want something - pay for it. And don't waste time wanting more than you can pay for - it is not in the cards.

Sixth point: learn and memorize the ECONOMIC fundamentals. You need 1000 supply points to grow one thing one level in one day; this ONLY happens when there are MORE THAN 10,000 supply points in that location. So - use that information two ways:

1) Turn off growth to give you more supplies at that location;

2) Insure you have the supplies you need at that location to feed the growth PLUS the units you want to have there.

This is an example - there are several other fundamentals to bear in mind - learn them all- use them all - all the time.

Other correspondence has revealed that there is some doubt the Japanese economy needs to be micromanaged. It shouldn't - but it does.
AI does make heroic attempts to "request" supplies, fuel, and probably resources and oil. And in some areas - connected by rail mainly - it may manage these commodoties relatively well. But it cannot manage shipping at all. The right use for a cargo ship occurs less than one time in twenty. It will do every sort of mismanagement if you let it - and it will at best waste the potential use for a ship - if you don't tell it what to do. Japan has critical needs to ship cargo - and can ill afford not to be using its shipping assets to constructive ends at every opportunity. Beyond that, locations go in and out of the status that makes certain kinds of production (or loading) advisable - and so such things must be ordered - or stopped - as required - on a daily basis. For this reason multiple day turns cannot work - and is more or less a formula for what should be unacceptable inefficiency. Not that AI is any smarter on the Allied side - at least the Allies can afford to be inefficient.