AE Player tips - Allied

[treespider]

Just thought I'd start a thread for some generalized player tips - this is for potential Allied players....

1. In the beginning - If you form a TRANSPORT TF on the US West Coast, DO NOT direct them to any ports other than Pearl, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Auckland. Use AMPHIB TF to transport Base Forces and units with Naval Support to the lesser ports first. The AMPHIB TF is not nearly as efficient as the TRANSPORT TF in terms of amount carried but the unload time at smaller ports is significantly higher.

More to follow later....

[John Lansford]

Treespider,

Using your example, is the difference between a Transport TF and an Amphib TF that one unloads at the port's piers/docks/whatever and the other unloads using both those and any available beach property?

I suppose if that's accurate that you could unload an Amphib TF at a large port but then you wouldn't get a very efficient loading in the ships.

[treespider]

ORIGINAL: John Lansford

Treespider,

Using your example, is the difference between a Transport TF and an Amphib TF that one unloads at the port's piers/docks/whatever and the other unloads using both those and any available beach property?

Essentially yes...I made the mistake a few times of trying to unload a largish Combat Unit in a Transport TF at a place like Noumea using Civilian Transports (xAKs and xAPs). Unfortunatelly IIRC Noumea starts with a Port Size of 2. This leads to very long unload times especially for a unit with a lot of large devices.

To speed matters you will want to bring in Base Forces with Naval Support first...Because some of the Base forces have large equipment I recommend using an Amphib TF to bring them into the small ports.

The Amphib TF devotes 80% of its available lift capacity to the unit the remainder is automagically devoted to supplies...whereas the Transport TF does not allocate space for supplies. So you can use fewer ships to ship the same unit using a Transport TF however you are limited to pier to pier loading and unloading. If you do not have sufficient piers the unload suffers.

[TheOx]

Ok, lets break it down for us semantically challenged/logically inclined folks:

Small Port || Large Unit Size == Amphib TF
Large Port || Small Unit Size == Transport TF

This look about right?

Trasport TF can carry more with less ships and vice versa for Amphib?

[jwilkerson]

I've just spent about 10 hours working on an Allied first turn - how have I been spending my time?

01 - Form convoys - mostly merchant ship convoys. Sending forward area merchant ships back to primary supply source ports - to be in position to move supply forward. Longer range xAK are heading to Capetown, where much of the supply on the "Brit Side" of the map will enter. Tankers are heading to Abadan. Many xAK and xAP in Australian/NZ are headed to America, though long range (13K+) xAK will head to Capetown. Forward ships will try to load up with fuel or supply in many areas to pull in farther back. More supply is needed in the PI and Malaya, so a few ships will start to bring supply to these areas. A lot of small convoy's will load up on the West Coast bring supply and fuel forward to the Islands between Pearl Harbor and Australia. Also the 41st ID will prepare to move to Noumea. To supply this move some additional xAP are head to the Tacoma/Seattle ports.

02 - Groom the Land Units. I want about 90% of my land units to go into "rest" mode. This will enable them to recover their morale in 1-2 months. One item high on my list for patch one is a global button to enable setting ALL LCU to rest mode. At least with my playing style, have this capability once at the start of the game, would save a lot of time. But for now, I have to turn them off by stack of from the LCU master list. Also nine cities in China and India are undergarrisoned, so I need to react to those. A few critical engineering projects need to be started and combat units repositioned for anticipated activities in China, Burma and India.

03 - Ships - Colorado and Warspite need to enter the ship yards at Seattle to remove damage. Damaged ships at Pearl also need to compete for shipyard space there. Removing minor floatation damage (pumping them out) takes precedence - and the space is limited - so priorities need to be set.

04 - Turning off the repair of various resource, light industry, etc. centers mostly in China to prevent evaporation of supply.

05 - Adjustment of LCU in the PI to prepare the defenses.

I'm probably 1-2 hours away from being done with the Allied first turn - so I would guess 12 hours total. I think as I get more used to it I can do it faster. A global ability to put LCU in rest mode might save 1 hour - so I'll be advocating for that!

[Flying Tiger]

i have spent more than 12 hours on a first turn in WitP!! So either this is not much worse, or else i'm REAL slow and may never finish turn 1!

[Sardaukar]

What do you guys do with Soviets? In WitP I just put them to enlarge all viable bases and stand down all Soviet aircrafts, to prevent ops losses from training.

How about West Coast air units? I think most might go to "Training" with replacements off, to help combat units getting filled first.

[Przemcio231]

Question is there a seperate button for turning off auto air and separate for ground replacements... i usualy turn off all Air Groups replacements off but i like to keep on the ones for ground units[:)]

[SuluSea]

Great idea ! Thanks for taking the time to help us get off to a flying start. [:)]

[ny59giants]

A global ability to put LCU in rest mode might save 1 hour - so I'll be advocating for that!

If you could do it per individual Commands vs all of the Allies, that would help (West Coast, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and India).

[TheOx]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

A global ability to put LCU in rest mode might save 1 hour - so I'll be advocating for that!

If you could do it per individual Commands vs all of the Allies, that would help (West Coast, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and India).

THIS^^

[John Lansford]

What is Warspite doing in Seattle?
 
The first and only time I had an Allied First Turn, I left so many merchant ships laying around various ports that it took me several more turns to realize I'd left them behind.  By then it was nearly too late and I had to leave many useful LCU's behind as the Japanese juggernaut swept forward.

[Nikademus]

ORIGINAL: Sardaukar

What do you guys do with Soviets? In WitP I just put them to enlarge all viable bases and stand down all Soviet aircrafts, to prevent ops losses from training.

How about West Coast air units? I think most might go to "Training" with replacements off, to help combat units getting filled first.

With West Coast you will be busy organizing the expanded units located there. There's alot of them that will require withdraw or disbandment. Also you'll have to move a bunch of forces from East Coast to West Coast.

[Sardaukar]

ORIGINAL: John Lansford

What is Warspite doing in Seattle?

Refit.

On the 26th June Warspite left Alexandria and passed through the Suez Canal calling at Colombo, Singapore, Manila, Honolulu and Esquimalt before arriving at the USN repair yard at Bremerton Seattle on the 11th Of August 1941, wherever she went immense interest was shown in her and great kindness was shown to the crew by their new American friends. Warspite refit needed great co-ordination , most of her 15” guns needed replacing due to barrel wear so these great guns weighing 100 tons each had to specially crated and shipped singly to the USA – the risk of loosing them was too great to ship them together. Once in the USA they were carried by rail to Seattle. The opportunity was taken to give Warspite as thorough a refit as possible and also to rest her crew 600 of whom were sent home from Seattle, thus she did not return to service until January 1942.

http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/guides/Warspite

[jwilkerson]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

A global ability to put LCU in rest mode might save 1 hour - so I'll be advocating for that!

If you could do it per individual Commands vs all of the Allies, that would help (West Coast, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and India).

Well it should probably work off the "master" LCU list and hence the command would be applicaable to whatever units you had up on the list - same as the "replacements off" works now. So you could do it by Nationality or by Unit Type, etc.

[DivePac88]

ORIGINAL: John Lansford

What is Warspite doing in Seattle?

Warspite was in Seattle in real life, getting the damage she received in the Battle of Crete repaired. She sailed via Australia to Colombo in March 1942, and was present for the Japanese Carrier raid in April of that year.

[Andy Mac]

As the allies my first priority is shipping to the right ports as per above Capetown and Aden (for the early troop reinforcements) West Coast etc.
 
My second priority is to turn off replacements for every unit on map.
 
Key devices especially CW ones are in short supply. You need to pick where you reinforce with great care.
 
 

[Andy Mac]

Also need to be aware of different squad upgrades.
 
The Indian 1941 Rifle Section is poor - it represents the lack of latoon level weapons e.g. 2" morters, boyes, LMG's in forward deployed forces.
 
Because the squads upgrade preserving the Indian 1942 Rifle Sections to allow th eothers to upgrade is vital.
 
A 41 section has about 60% of the firepower of a 42 section and the 42 sections are pretty anemic as well.
 
Andy 

[Andy Mac]

Decide where you are going to stand have a plan and be flexible.
 
You get exactly 5 Battle ready formations as early reinforcements where you send them is critical
 
7th Aus Div
6th Aus Div
18th Brit Div
7th Hussars Group
2nd RTR Group
 
You must not commit until you know where the Japanese are going.
 
 

[Jim D Burns]

ORIGINAL: jwilkerson
A global ability to put LCU in rest mode might save 1 hour - so I'll be advocating for that!

I'd ask for the ability to have it done by individual commands as well. This would help in later stages of the game when commands are about to go into active service after prolonged periods of rest. SEAC, India command and ANZAC command (if OZ invaded) come to mind.

Jim

Edit: Whoops, should have read the entire thread before posting, I see it's already been asked for. D'oh!