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I am a beginning player just a few days into a campaign as the Allies. The opening strike on Pearl was ... impressive ... with many ships sunk and many others badly damaged, some extremely so. The worst of these is a ship with very high damage levels in all categories, including fire. I have some questions about the situation.

1. Does anyone at the port help to put out the fires, or is it all up to the ship's crew?

2. This ship isn't even in the list of damaged ships being repaired. Is that because of the fires? That is, no repairs until the fires are put out?

3. This ship is in such bad shape, probably it would sink if someone threw a rock at it. Is it better just to scuttle it and concentrate men and resources on the other ships that aren't quite in such terrible condition? What general guidelines would you suggest for when to try repairs as opposed to just letting the ship die peacefully?

Hey Jwolf!

This is a bit heavy to read, but Alfred goes in to great detail on ship repair here:

tm.asp?m=2990845&mpage=1

The short version...Fire fighting is damage control, not damage repair, so is completely handled by the ship.

I'd leave the inferno alone and with a little luck the fires will be put out and it can then be repaired.

Good luck!

Thanks, Malagant, for the link; very neighborly of you especially considering you were responsible for the carnage! [;)]

The fires on the ship (a DM) are in fact getting worse. Flt damage is over 90. It may be time to abandon ship.

On the bright side, the one BB you didn't sink is -- slowly -- getting repaired. [8|]

Don't abandon ship, put it pierside and let the crews do their work. Chances are it'll survive given the size of the port. The only ships I'd ever consider scuttling are large VP valued ships out in the center of the ocean somewhere that are likely to sink. Small ships aren't worth enough VPs to make scuttling worthwhile, and I would never abandon a ship in a large port like Pearl.

Jim

But I can't put it pierside if it's on fire, right?

ORIGINAL: jwolf

But I can't put it pierside if it's on fire, right?

Try it.

Well, I already sent the turn to Malagant. If the ship is still alive next turn, I'll see what happens.

Post 19 in my AAR thread has a shot of a DD on fire, so it looks like no peirside allowed till fires are out. The fire raged for many turns in that game before it was put out, so don't give up.

tm.asp?m=3697828

Jim

ORIGINAL: jwolf

Well, I already sent the turn to Malagant. If the ship is still alive next turn, I'll see what happens.

Since you already sent the turn, the answer is you can't. The Fires have to out before Pierside is allowed. Makes sense, right?

That said, the manual is silent on whether a large port like Pearl helps put out Fires. I know where I'd rather be if the choice is "at sea."

Don't be afraid to experiment.

Pearl did have fire boats I believe. Would be I nice addition to the game to be able to have fire boats in port. Maybe to be able to build them at your whim. Himmmmmm....GP

ORIGINAL: General Patton

Pearl did have fire boats I believe. Would be I nice addition to the game to be able to have fire boats in port. Maybe to be able to build them at your whim. Himmmmmm....GP

I have enough evidence from playing that I believe port size at least, and perhaps naval support squads, do help with Fires. But the manual doesn't say. Like Fleet Tugs I think fire-fighting is abstracted into other game mechanisms already.

ORIGINAL: Bullwinkle58

ORIGINAL: General Patton

Pearl did have fire boats I believe. Would be I nice addition to the game to be able to have fire boats in port. Maybe to be able to build them at your whim. Himmmmmm....GP

I have enough evidence from playing that I believe port size at least, and perhaps naval support squads, do help with Fires. But the manual doesn't say. Like Fleet Tugs I think fire-fighting is abstracted into other game mechanisms already.

Exactly! Although boats like the famous Hoga existed , they were , basically boats. There really isn't a need for every garbage scow and water hoy to be depicted in the game. Let's stay with limiting the units to actual combat units. Or units that influence combat units by their presence (like tenders that can move and be useful elsewhere). [:)]

Port size not only includes shore facilities, but also typical harbor craft, including fire boats. I'm not sure, but I believe naval support helps in fire fighting too.

Bill

Dousing ship fires is indeed abstracted in the game.  It is not covered by the ship repair routines but has its own set of routines.  Relevant considerations for fire fighting are as follows.

1.  A ship on fire in a task force with other undamaged ships will receive some help in dousing the fires from the other undamaged ships in the TF.

2.  High system damage limits the fire fighting ability of the ship's crew.

3.  In a port the normal fire fighting routine is based on:

(a) port size (less port damage).  The bigger the port, the greater the fire fighting assistance
(b) naval support.  Again the more present, the greater the assistance
(c) ship crew experience
(d) the level of ship system damage.  A ship's systems abstracts the presence of fire fighting equipment such as fire hoses
(e) luck, aka die rolls

4.  With the exception of point 6 below, all ship fire fighting occurs outside of shipyards or offline in pierside/tender repair modes.  This means that shipyards/pierside/tenders provide no assistance to combat ship fires and a ship already on fire cannot be placed in those facilities.

5.  A ship's flotation damage also plays a role.  At a certain level (undisclosed), of flotation damage, fire fighting efforts degrade.  This level varies depending on whether the ship on fire is

(a) at sea alone,
(b) in a small or big port

6.  A ship which is already in a shipyard and whilst there a fire starts, as of patch #2, will remain in the shipyard for a single turn.  If the fire is doused completely (together with the additional damage caused directly by the fire) in that single turn, the ship will resume its previous repair work on the following turn.  All that is lost is a single turn's repair work as all attention was directed towards dousing the fire.  However, if the fire is not completely doused (together with the additional direct damage) in that single turn, the ship is automatically moved out of the shipyard and cannot be returned to the shipyard until the fire is extinguished.

It is a very rare occurrence for a fire to start in a ship in drydock.  This will usually only occur if one of the rare catastrophic events occur, or the enemy bombs the port and inflicts port damage.


Don Bowen was the main dev who commented on fire fighting, mainly in 2009 but also in 2011.  I'll edit this post to provide the single most comprehensive thread on the subject.

Alfred

Edit: As promised this is the single best thread but there are several others which include posts from Don Bowen.

tm.asp?m=2270171&mpage=1&key=fire%2Cfighting&#2270238

Epilogue: fire damage increased on the DM Gamble, ultimately reaching 99 on December 12 (aside from the severe damage in other categories, notably Flt also in the 90s). Finally, on December 13 the fires were at last put out -- by the ocean as the ship sank. Hopefully this ship will be the last of the casualties from the opening attack at Pearl Harbor.

Look on the bright side, if it sinks the fire will go out.