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We did not save the game in the middle of the Air 2 Air phase.
It doesn't happen all the time from what we have seen.
But the program seems to forget how to round up fractions.

New game, using the Backup Fighters [RAW option 55 section 14.3.2] We did not use this option in previous game.


This optional rule diminishes the value of fighters that act in a support role during air-to-air combat.
Generally, every fighter other than the lead fighter helps increase the effective air-to-air rating of the lead
fighter by a fixed amount (either 1 or 1/2). In reality, a fighter's contribution depended on its own air-to-air
combat capability.

A back-up fighter increases the lead fighter's air-to-air strength by 1/10 of its own air-to-air strength.
Thus, if the lead fighter has an air-to-air factor of 6, and a backup fighter has an air-to-air factor of 4, the
effective air-to-air strength of the group would be 6.4. This applies to both land and carrier based air units.

Note that if the optional rule Carrier Planes is not being used, a temporary carrier air unit that participates in
an air-to-air combat has an air-to-air rating equal to its carrier's class.

That is exactly right. A point 5 always rounds up in WiF. + 1.5 = + 2. -1.5 rounds UP to -1.

RAW7 2.6 Fractions

Rounding a negative number up moves you closer to zero. For example, if the fraction is -1.5, it rounds to -1.

I think is not right, german fighters 6 + 0.5 +0.5 = 7, CW fighters 5+ 0.5 +0.5 = 6 and so odds +1/-1 there is no round up at all! I think is a bug. I am playing with this rule too I´ll pay attention from now ahead to confirm this!

There are three German fighters and only two CW fighters. Germans are 6+0.5+0.5 = 7; CW are 5 + 0.5 = 5.5.

This is a very subtle rule.

The fraction rule reads:

Rounding a negative number up moves you closer to zero. For example, if the fraction is – 1.5, it rounds up to – 1.
Round off a number immediately before:

Calculating an odds ratio; or

Looking the number up in a table; or

Comparing it to a dice roll or to a fixed value; or

Spending oil (see 13.5.1) or build points.

We are not computing an odds ratio here. We are subtracting two numbers, which is not a ratio. Thus, we subtract the two strengths from each other, to get +1.5 and -1.5. At this point, we look those numbers up in a table. The 1.5 rounds to 2, and the -1.5 rounds to -1.

I just realized that I had been playing this wrong all these years, as I had been thinking that this is a combat, so it is an odds ratio, and had been doing the rounding before subtracting the two numbers, as one does for land combat. However, the rule is clear, once one realizes that air-to-air combat is not a ratio. Clear, but not obvious. At this point, I wished that there were an example demonstrating this. Then I realized that the air-to-air combat example given in the rules has precisely this situation:

They calculate their combat values. Jeremy has an air-to-air strength of 6.5 (½ for the carrier plane) while Maria has an air-to-air strength of 4. Therefore, Jeremy has a combat value of “+3” (6.5-4, rounding to 3) and Maria has “-2” (4-6.5, rounding to – 2). There are no shifts to apply due to surprise (see 11.5.6) and they are not playing with any optional rules.

As is all too usual, my signature applies. Actually, it is even worse. I thought I had read the rules....

(Alternatively, there is the hypothesis that my gaming group came up with: The WiF rules are written on quantum paper. The words change after you read them. Each time you read them, they might say something different. The truth of this hypothesis would explain a great many incidents in our games. [:)])

No one questions the math expert in the group when he states 6 +.5 +.5 =7 vs 5 +.5 =6 Air to Air +1 vs -1.

The problem is not questioning if he read the example in the rules. [X(] Went to the rules to read this same passage.

Obviously we have been handicapping some air to air combats to help each other. [:'(]

One thing we played wrong for years was applying surprise to A2A. Say it's +1/-1 (in your favor) before surprise and you apply two to increase the column.

The correct way is it becomes a +2/-1.

What we did wrong for many years was make it a +2/-2. You actually need 4 surprise if you want to do that.

Another thing when playing with tenths (like with CVPs), you do not round your own totals and then take the difference. You keep all fractions, take the difference, and then round. Like Courtenay, we did that wrong for years too. However, over the board, in a long drawn out combat with lots of LBAs and CVPs, it is actually quite a PITA to do it the "right" way.

I'm sure I've played with -1.5 becoming a -2 far more times than making it a -1, deliberately, knowing what the rules say explicitly on that subject. just never ever liked that rule at all.

Mea Culpa! I saw many spitfires flying in the air, like in Iron Maiden´s song called "Aces High". Courtenay, you´re right and I am afraid we did not use to play this rule in WIF to simplify calculations but in MWIF We´ll use it and in the end even with your explanations we´ll do it right![;)]

This means MWiF is superior to WiF in this situation.
Won't have to get out the calculator for air to air combats and just trust the program.