Matrix Games Forums

Got the game when it first came out but have struggled with the air war side from the begining and have tried to get to grips with it numerous times and failed. Not sure if it me or how the game is designed that I don't get.

Trying again using the online strategic bombing guide for dummies but it doesn't show you how to do stuff step by step just what the aim of it is. Is there such a thing?

Taken me four days to get to post 6 were it tells me to create two ADs, first I eventually worked out all the setting using the manual and other guides, the second using the Stirlings, no can do after 12hrs of trying.

My problem is I have no active air groups and I don't know why? They have not flown any mission other than to transfer (other than closer to the coast as the guide said do).

best solution is to turn on the reason for 'no fly', that will tell you why those planes aren't available.

more generally, be cautious with older guides, sometimes a critical aspect has changed. This can be particularly the case if the original was focussed on optimising a result (so much more likely to be rules specific) rather than generally how it works

if you are still learning how to do this. my advice would be to use the AI to generate the ADs and then amend what it produces. And study how it creates them for you. Get that nailed down and then doing your own becomes second nature.

No Fly helped, too high. Thanks

Got another question that should be easy to answer but I can't find it.

The guide is saying use a load out with no incendaries. I know how to do this but I can't decide on which one as some use extra fuel tanks. So how can I tell what the range is from staging base to target so I can decide which loadout to use?

ORIGINAL: loki100

best solution is to turn on the reason for 'no fly', that will tell you why those planes aren't available.

How do you do that?

Thanks, Gerry

Ticky box, bottom left when you go to manual group selection.

ORIGINAL: Chris21wen

Got another question that should be easy to answer but I can't find it.

The guide is saying use a load out with no incendaries. I know how to do this but I can't decide on which one as some use extra fuel tanks. So how can I tell what the range is from staging base to target so I can decide which loadout to use?

this is where the guides are sometimes less than valuable, they do tend to be written with a close eye on what that individual saw as a winning strategy at the time. They could have been wrong then, they could well be wrong now [;)]

I presume you are talking re Bomber Command. The classic Halifax/Lancaster payload with incendiaries is the business for night bombing when you are going for a mix of HI/fuel & population. Unless you really are aiming at a different target I wouldn't mess with this, its a fit to what you can achieve and sustained (ie hit the Ruhr again and again) can generate the sort of VP socre by late 1943 that forms the basis of a solid draw/marginal victory.

So what else with BC? Well using them vs the U-Boats is good, gives 8 AAF a week off and you may avoid night fighters. Here you want big bombs, fewer but bigger, those 'tallboys' are great, 1000lb at the least.

I did a test of the effectiveness of more bombs vs bombs and fuel tanks. its buried somewhere deep in the forum but what I found was:

a) bomb and fuel actually sees more bombs over the week (the extra air miles allowed more missions); if,
b) you bombed for more than 3 days a week; but
c) if you do this, you will pick up additional operational losses as air groups gain fatigue (if you stoppped at 4 it wasn't too bad)

so in general, keep the fuel tanks. The exception is the B-26s, they have a really different bomb load with/without tanks, soI tend to keep them within their basic operational range

To Loki's point, if you're bombing by Day with BC against industrial targets, the last Lancaster loadout with 14x1000lb bombs is the best choice.

Cary