Updated "Readme" files?
Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 9:59 am
It would really help in the needless suffering department if someone with knowledge of the rules changes would provide a comprehensive "readme-update" file showing important rules highlights that are not in the manual, (using the Talonsoft ones as a base) and make it a sticky thread.
A good example of this needless suffering is the ability to drag and drop the mission path waypoints - I had to accidentally stumble on this from a now-buried post. This is a great feature that is not mentioned anywhere in the Matrix manual. ...
One poster provided the cryptic meanings of all the EW stuff for night operations, taken from the old TOH readme. Without that (now buried) post I would never have known any of that very important stuff (luckily I cut and paste this stuff to my own "help file".)
Another poster was kind enough to provide the readme from Talonsoft's BoB, but this post too will be buried in time. Here is some stuff from that file that I think new players should know about. (Please consider my comments as rhetorical; I don't want a "yes" or "no" answer, but I am requesting an updated readme similar to the Talonsoft ones[;)]):
A good example of this needless suffering is the ability to drag and drop the mission path waypoints - I had to accidentally stumble on this from a now-buried post. This is a great feature that is not mentioned anywhere in the Matrix manual. ...
One poster provided the cryptic meanings of all the EW stuff for night operations, taken from the old TOH readme. Without that (now buried) post I would never have known any of that very important stuff (luckily I cut and paste this stuff to my own "help file".)
Another poster was kind enough to provide the readme from Talonsoft's BoB, but this post too will be buried in time. Here is some stuff from that file that I think new players should know about. (Please consider my comments as rhetorical; I don't want a "yes" or "no" answer, but I am requesting an updated readme similar to the Talonsoft ones[;)]):
Aircraft Damage Repair Rates
The rate in which an aircraft is repaired is directly proportionate to how much damage it took.
Service areas are the parts of airfields that fix aircraft, and if service areas are heavily
damaged, it takes longer for that airfield to fix its aircraft. Is this still true?
Anti-Aircraft Ranges - Heavy AA
Heavy AA guns cannot engage a unit 7,500 feet or below. This is only when firing straight up. If Heavy AA is firing at a raid at a lower trajectory, the minimum height may be less. Is this still true?
Attacking British Airfields and its Impact on RAF Morale
Whenever an RAF airfield is attacked (by bombing or strafing), the game goes through a routine of determining if on-ground aircraft are damaged. For each aircraft damaged, the game determines whether or not the unit's morale is affected. It makes the determination as soon as the aircraft is damaged. And also, if those aircraft are in a very high alert state, the pilot of the aircraft may be wounded or killed, and that too may drive down unit morale. In addition, any damage to the service area of an airfield adversely affects unit morale.Is this still true?
British Fuel Consumption
One of the most important resources to Britain is its oil reserves. Oil arrives in Britain at its ports, and then is distributed to oil storage facilities and oil refineries. From there, it is distributed to its industrial complex and to its population. A portion of that oil goes to airfields where it is used to fuel the aircraft of the RAF. There is a "fuel" number assigned to each British airfield. The fuel number represents the fuel on hand at the airfield. One point of fuel is used for each sortie flown by a single engine aircraft from that airfield, and 2 points for each twin-engine sortie. If the airfield runs out of fuel, its aircraft can't fly, and fuel can be destroyed by bombing the airfield. Primary airfields can have up to 400 points; secondary airfields 200.Is this still true? Fuel quantities can also be affected by bombing fuel facilities, such as oil refineries, oil storage, ports, or the rail yards where the oil is carried across the country and distributed. It's important to keep in mind, then, that severe damage to these oil facilities can directly affect the RAF's ability to conduct its defense.
(8) British Interceptor Delay Time and the Game Clock
At around 17:30 in the afternoon, day fighters begin standing down and their alert level begins to decrease to 63 minutes, and nightfighters begin gearing up and their alert levels begin increasing. This does not occur automatically; alert levels ramp up or down gradually as day and night changes. Is this still true?
British Morale
British units suffer additional morale losses during the overnight phase if the airfield's service area has taken damage. The higher the damage, the higher the morale loss. Is this still true?
Cloud Cover Changes/Additions
Cloud cover on the map works in the following way. Clouds are scattered across the map, and during the Reaction Phase, they generally move in a south easterly manner. Only the areas covered by clouds are affected. The cloud cover percentage (as shown on page 35 of the Player's Guide) is now represented by a density percentage number and a cloud base footage. For example, if the cloud cover is "15% at 400 ft.", that means that the clouds on the map are sitting at an altitude of 400 feet, and their density is 1,500 feet (15 x 100), which means that the cloud cover is between 400 and 1,900 feetThe 15% would be average density of cloud cover per the manual, BUT... just what is the thickness of the cloud layer in EDBOTR? Aircraft between a cloud's base and ceiling have their visibility reduced by four.Is this still true? Aircraft flying below the cloud base are not affected. And, it's important for the German player to know that the cloud cover represented during his Raid Planning Phase is basically the cloud cover that he will face at the beginning of the next Reaction Phase. You may toggle on/off clouds appearing on the map, but their affects remain. Raids flying above the clouds have their bombing and siting accuracy decreased dramatically. The level of accuracy is based on how dense the cloud cover is.
German Raid Planning Phase - Plotting New Missions [CLARIFICATION]
When you select "New Mission" to plot another mission, the game keeps you in the same mission type. For example, if you are plotting fighter sweeps, the game remains in the planning sub-tab for fighter sweeps. To begin plotting a different kind of raid, you must exit back to the Raid Planning tab. took me a while to figure this feature out...
General Production Rates for British Ground Defenses
Any British industrial locations which show production of ground defenses (i.e., Woolwich Arsenal), produces AA guns and Barrage Balloons each day. The rate in which they produce these defenses depends upon how damaged they are. Severe damage to factories building AA guns and Barrage Balloons reduce defense production.Is this still true?
German Bomber Units - Assigning them to Raids
Bomber units assigned as "additional bombers" to accompany a lead unit must come from the same FleigerKorps as the lead unit. They must also be of the same type (i.e., level bomber, dive bomber, fighter bomber, etc.). Thus, after selecting a lead unit, the game determines what bomber units are available to assign to the raid and then gives you a list accordingly. If no bomber units meet the criteria above, no units are shown. This caused me a lot of grief trying to figure out what was going on...
German Fighter Units - Assigning them to Raids
Each German fighter unit can be assigned 2 missions per day, but you must allow them the time to return home after the first missions. In order to give you an idea of which units have been assigned to early raids, a "#" appears on the fighter's line when assigning units. This indicates that this unit has already been assigned to an earlier raid and can be assigned for the current raid. Whatever Luftflotte the lead bomber is attached to is where fighter escort comes from. If the conditions mentioned above are not met, then the game does not allow you to assign escort units. This is now color-coded, but it would have been nice to know that I can run multiple raids per day, with the same unit.
New Pilot Replacement Rates
Each nationality has a certain number of pilots it can receive each day. If your losses outstrip your supply of pilots, then you won't be able to fill your units. What you get is based on need. In 1940, Germans can expect to receive 15 new pilots each day; 10 British; 4 Canadian; 2 Polish; 2 Czech; 10 Americans. For 1941 campaigns, the amount is double the amounts for 1940 campaigns. New pilots have a low experience. On average, it will be 40 for Germans, 45 for British/Poles/Canadians/Czech, and 50 for Americans. New Zealand and Australians also get their own replacement pilots. Is this still true?
Radar Ranges
...The red circles indicate the distance (at a minimum altitude of 500 feet) that CHL radar can detect raids; the white circles indicate the distance (at a minimum altitude of 5,000 feet) that CH radar can detect raids. Also, on page 50 of the Player's Guide, the minimum altitude level for CH is listed at 3,000 feet. This is incorrect. The minimum altitude is 5,000 feet, as indicated above. I assume it has been changed back to 3000'? As radar sites take damage and are repaired, these circles appear/disappear to show where radar is currently available.
NOTE: Remember the German player will see radar information based on his latest damage assessments / recon reports. Radar shown as down (i.e., red) may have been repaired, so don't make the mistake of assuming you've successfully knocked out British radar. Run recon to be sure.
Recon Photos
At the beginning of each new campaign, all recon photos for all targets are out of date. You cannot rely on these photos for target information (i.e., number of aircraft, aa guns, balloons, etc.) but they are pretty reliable to the bombers for target location and navigation. In other words, if a target has a photo, even if it's out of date, then your raids should location the target with little problem, but until you update the photo, you won't know what is located there. Is this still true?