Matrix Games Forums

Hi guys

I was wondering if anyone could help me with two questions, with regards to this great game:

1) Recon: Does anyone have good ideas as to how to fly recon missions? I play with no Air AI, and got of to a good start in turn 1 as Germany, thanks to the great guide I found here on the forum. 3.700 VVS planes vs 148 of my own. But, in later turns I keep loosing a lot of planes. At the start of turn 7, I have now lost 1,736 planes. 238 of these are recon planes. Playing with Fog of War, I feel I need to some recon, especially in front of my Panzer Groups. But I feel I keep loosing planes at at rate that is not bearable.

2) Rail: After a few tries, I now feel that I have some grip on the logistics. But, there is one thing I do not understand. Railyard levels. If I understand this correctly, there are several railyard levels. But, again if I understand this correctly, the railyard levels are given in parhentesis when you look at the depot information. For instance I have a priority 4 depot in Minsk, and it says "Depot: Railyard (1), trucks 3097, freight 0". Does this mean I have a level 1 Railyard? And if so; how can I increase it?

Best regards
Joey

jaakvik wrote: Thu Mar 03, 2022 7:47 pm 2) Rail: After a few tries, I now feel that I have some grip on the logistics. But, there is one thing I do not understand. Railyard levels. If I understand this correctly, there are several railyard levels. But, again if I understand this correctly, the railyard levels are given in parhentesis when you look at the depot information. For instance I have a priority 4 depot in Minsk, and it says "Depot: Railyard (1), trucks 3097, freight 0". Does this mean I have a level 1 Railyard? And if so; how can I increase it?

Best regards
Joey

It means that you have 1 in Railyard in Minsk, which depending on its current damage status represent the capacity of Minsk's railway system to handle freight transfers and strategic movements. The higher than number, the bigger freight capacity it can handle for that depot. As per 4.3.11 :

Railyards: These are a very important aspect to WiTE2. As above, the size of the railyard in a hex will have a direct impact on the size of the depot in that hex. They also contribute to the overall rail stock that each side has. Finally railyards make it easier to load or unload units onto trains for strategic movement.

Depot priority instructs the logistics system that this depot lies at the end of the line. It will seek freight from depots set at lesser priorities, in descending order. If a level-3 depot further down the line cannot provide the freight the level-4 depot requests it will seek additional freight from other depots, which can overwhelm that railway line if it can't cope with the load and significantly increase the use of trucks to provide it.

Actually that Railyard (1) when viewing the depot indicates that the depot is a "type 1" or "Railyard depot". There are Railyard, Import Port, Export Port, and National Supply Source types of depots (1-4). I can see how this can be confusing you re the actual number of railyards in a city. The actual number of railyards in the hex can be viewed by looking at the city detail screen (click on the name of the city at the top of the screen after you have clicked on the hex). Minsk is a big rail hub, with 6 railyards. These rail hubs make great places for depots. Even 2 railyards in a city is much better than 1 or 0. If you set up a depot in a hex with no railyards, 1 will be constructed, but level 1 railyards don't provide more railyard points for moving freight, they just make it possible to unload things at the depot. Using the larger railyards for depots is most efficient as that's where the trains can best operate from/to. There's a lot more than what I'm explaining here, but I wanted to answer your question re the depot type and railyards. Hopefully others can point you toward other resources for improving your logistics.

jaakvik wrote: Thu Mar 03, 2022 7:47 pm 1) Recon: Does anyone have good ideas as to how to fly recon missions? I play with no Air AI, and got of to a good start in turn 1 as Germany, thanks to the great guide I found here on the forum. 3.700 VVS planes vs 148 of my own. But, in later turns I keep loosing a lot of planes. At the start of turn 7, I have now lost 1,736 planes. 238 of these are recon planes. Playing with Fog of War, I feel I need to some recon, especially in front of my Panzer Groups. But I feel I keep loosing planes at at rate that is not bearable.

I suggest you finetune the recon settings and observe the results vs losses to decide on the optimum settings that you feel comfortable. Some sharing of my setting (I am quite risk aversive) for reference -

a) intensity - usually I use low; higher intensity of course means higher losses but better result.
b) schedule - usually I use 2 days; more days - more losses, better recon results.
c) altitude - usually I use 22000; lower altitude - higher losses, better recon results.
d) Min AC(Esc) - currently I use 6(0), which means each strike will have min of 6 recon planes and no escorts flying. No mission will fly if the min aircrafts is unavailable; more planes - higher losses, better recon results.
e) Req AC(Esc) - currently I use 6(Auto), which means I ask for 6 recon planes per strike and the computer will decide on the number of escorts flying (less plane will still fly if requested number of aircrafts unavailable); more planes - higher losses, better recon results.
Actually I fly unescorted recon. I do not assign fighters to recon air directive. The small number of recon planes has small chance of attracting interception.
Lastly, avoid flying to limits of recon aircrafts' range will help to contain operational losses.

jaakvik wrote: Thu Mar 03, 2022 7:47 pm Does this mean I have a level 1 Railyard? And if so; how can I increase it?

You cannot increase it beyond level 1! Therefore, it is necessary to explore the map and pay special attention to connecting existing railway stations of level 2 and above to the railway, otherwise your railway will be underused due to a lack of trains.

Thanks to all for great input. Very helpful!