Ecconmic questions - No Nomad please

[heenanc]

A few question about my economy. Started as Japan without trying AI and I'm about a month into the game but need check to make sure I don't do anything silly. I should note 4 is the same a 2 not 3...

[n01487477]

More specific information needed, but just as a note.

1. Naval - Have you stopped building the "white elephant" CV Shinano ?
Merch - Accelerate CVE's and added AR's to your build list.

I'm pretty sure you need to pay the piper and "converting" is a misnomer, you still need 1000/point.

2. I just emailed another guy about this - (he was starting Dec 7)
Essentially, have you got your reinforcements to all units on / off ? I'd be thinking about strategic reinforcement.

LCU's use points from Manpower/Armament/Vehicle production. If you are playing the AI, you can almost leave LCU production alone playing scenario 16 for the first few months. But seeing as you asked me I'll tell you right off what I think you need to do. Your starting forces on the map are down on Manpower(541k)/Arm(260K)/Veh(2K). Reinforcements are drawn from this pool of points as well as your new units, so there is a ballet you need to play between reinforcing these and allowing your new units to appear at 100%.

I've loaded up Scenario 16 and had a look in Tracker, seems like you get 20000 Armament points and 100000 Manpower points, now this is obviously not enough to reinforce your existing Lcu's, and .

1. Turn off all reinforcement to your LCU's. In the ground unit tab up the top you will find the button. We don't want to waste all these points on reinforcing things we don;t need.
2. Look around the map at units that are below strength & which you want to reinforce, but manage these every few weeks.
3. Initially you have 510 Arm Factories building and 90 Veh. This means that to reinforce what you have on map (just Arm) 260000/510 = 509 days of accumulated points.
4. So you will need to expand these sometime, only by analysing what you need and by when, can this decision be made. Do this slowly and overtime, as you will need to worry in your first few months of sending supplies out to help you get the SRA (Southern Resource Region). Remember you need 10K+ supplies at a base to expand/repair your factories.

I know it seems a little complicated, but think about it just as filling the gas tank for the journey ahead. Don't worry too much about the reinforcements to the units on the map, just make sure that you have enough points to cover the units as they arrive. (And they arrive 1 day before they say they are due). I sometimes turn off all reinforcements on that turn and this ensures that the only points being drawn are those to the arriving units.

and second email

I usually expand the smallest factories first, but be aware that because you will be changing engines, airframes and repairyards as well as going on the offensive, you should do this very slowly and deliberately as you don;t want to get into a position where your supplies drop too significantly and you hit Jan/Feb/Mar Economic stagnation.

So there is no really correct answer here as it really depends on what else you are doing economically. But I will say Arm and Veh production is lowest for expansion on my priority list in 41~mid42. You will have enough points available already (with the existing factories)to bring in your forces at strength, as long as you don't squander all those points on reinforcing your existing units.

tm.asp?m=961071 Have a look at this thread and anything in the Must Read Threads.

For Armament (1 year projection)~if you want to try to reinforce your existing army.
260K+42K = 302K needed
302/365 = 827 points per turn, you are currently prod 501, so you will need to expand factories by about 150-300 over the course of the first year). This equals 300K(max) supplies too, a hefty cost. AND will cost 1800 HI extra/turn.

Lastly to maintain 10K+ at each base you are expanding you may need to move supplies manually via transport, keep transport or other airgroups at the base as well as lcus. This will draw supplies to this base.

Joe, don't sweat it too much, strategically use the reinforcement on/off to units, slowly build up during-after the initial months of the war, keep an eye on your use and make sure you have enough points each turn when delayed units arrive & plan for it. Lcu production is not an exact science, unlike ship/air. Make your expansions at the smallest first and have a hands off policy until you are sure you can safely get over the Home Is supply slump in Jan/Feb.

Lastly, my disclaimer is that LCU production is still a Tracker work in progress and is not 100% accurate, but it is a good guide.