Matrix Games Forums

I'm really trying to learn the game as I play, so I have some more questions

1. What is the best method to order a task force to rearm and restock its ammunition?
- The TF is currently 2 hexes away from port, I want it, during the next resolution phase to move to port and then rearm and restock so during the next orders phase it will already be fully armed and ready to go. Is this possible? (I'm on single day turns)
- Will Task Forces automatically rearm when it reaches a port? Or should I set an order? What order should I this be? "Replenish"? There is a toggle when setting waypoints to refuel a TF, does this order also order it to rearm?


2. I just read also in the manual that a flight group will only send a single plane if ordered to do a recon mission - Is this true only for those which you set a target? How about when target is set to commander's discretion? Does it send multiple planes to different targets?

Thanks guys for any more advice.

1. Give it orders to fully refuel, you can even give such an order for a waypoint as well.

marshalldavout wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2023 12:22 pm
2. I just read also in the manual that a flight group will only send a single plane if ordered to do a recon mission - Is this true only for those which you set a target? How about when target is set to commander's discretion? Does it send multiple planes to different targets?

When the target is set to commander discretion, there can be more planes sent out, depending on how many there are in the air group. Commander skill would affect it too, as it does most anything having to do with the air group performance.

I will typically split the recon air group into 3 to be able to set more recon targets.
You can also set just one and set some of the planes to do Search.
I usually train pure recon planes in NAV Search and Recon skills.

RangerJoe wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2023 4:03 pm 1. Give it orders to fully refuel, you can even give such an order for a waypoint as well.

To add to this: Ports, Oilers, Tankers and Ammunition Ships have limits on how much they can do in a phase (12 hours) and the ships being serviced have their own limits for how much can be loaded in a phase. Operations points - 1000 per phase - are the gauge for how much is done. If either donor or receiver runs out of ops points they cannot do more until next phase.
So if you are arming DDs which have light gun ammo you will likely always be able to replenish them in one phase, but if they need torpedoes you need a port or ammo ship of sufficient size and enough ops points to do the job. It is common for battleships to require multiple days to replenish depending on port/ammo ship size and the number of BBs to be replenished.
Naval Support squads also affect the rate of replenishment and whether large ordnance can even be handled in smaller ports.

Short answer: it's complicated!

+1....what you said.

Short answer: it's complicated!

Refuel/Rearm...

A Task force will automatically refuel and rearm when they reach a friendly port
If they are able to. You can use any of the Refuel settings except “Do Not Refuel”

If you use the “Do Not refuel” setting it will not refuel or rearm you.

If you use another Refuel setting like “Minimal Refuel” it will give you a minimal Refuel
but it will still fully Rearm the Task Force if it is able to.

You need to have enough fuel and the port needs to be able (Large enough) to Rearm
The Task Force. If it can Rearm the Task Force the device numbers will show in a green color.
If you run short of Operation Points it can take more than 1 day to Rearm a TF.


Recon….

Recon is another special mission and there is a lot more to it than a player would suspect.
Much more than I though when I first began to play the game.
The manual does not quite cover it. There is a lot to learn.

A recon mission will only fly 1 or 2 planes per phase depending on the size of the group.
The group will fly morning and afternoon missions if it is able to.

There are posts on the forum that says a Recon group can launch 4 planes but I’ve never
seen that happen in a single phase….I think players are mixing up Morning and Afternoon phases.
True: One group can launch up to 2 planes in the morning and up to 2 in the afternoon.

If you watch the mission numbers on your pilot screen you can see which pilots fly the mission.
If you watch the plane fatigue numbers you can see which planes they are using for the mission.
Many times the pilot or a different pilot will hot seat the same plane for the morning and
afternoon missions.

You need to be very careful with setting commander discretion for missions.
This can fly the mission over heavy capped or heavy AA enemy bases.

Recon planes are very valuable and you don’t want to forget that if you have
commander discretion set you may lose them over targets you don’t need to recon.
(I never use commander discretion, I always set a target)

The above is especially true when you are trying to spot enemy units in the field
(Outside a base). You can set a Recon mission to recon an empty hex outside a base.
If there is an enemy ground unit or units in the Hex the Recon mission will lock to that Hex.
But….if there are not any enemy units in the Hex the group will change targets automatically
to another enemy base…..and this is where it can fly right into a heavy cap or AA.
Altitude can help you out…….Fly as high as you can…...if you need to adjust down do a later mission.
Range can help you out……….Reduce range so the AI can’t reach other enemy bases.

Another Way: Try and Ground Bomb an empty hex.
You can use bombers to quickly recon an apparently empty hex by setting a ground bombing
mission into that apparently hex. If the bomber group accepts the mission there is an enemy unit
located there; If it does not accept the mission then there is not an enemy located there.
Then you can re-task it quickly to other apparently empty hexes nearby.

Just because you are paranoid does not mean they are not trying to sneak up on you.

Another interesting fact….Say you find an enemy unit outside of a base Hex…
If you continue to recon that Hex over a period of time the recon group will track
that unit when it leaves the hex (empty hex) and moves into another Hex.

Additional advice:
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 2#p3805992
Advice on Bombers Flying Recon.
Make sure you read the part on how to use group reserve to get the most skilled
recon pilots to fly critical missions.

And…..It would be good to search the Forum for Recon Planes with Cameras.

In the below post the outlaw sets a confused player straight on some questions about Recon.
(Note: It deals with the old manual….I have not checked the new manual for any changes)
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 8#p3538128

Fighting Recon:
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 9#p3223479

Thanks guys, it was very helpful, and specially to Trugit for another detailed post.

1. Guys, how about Naval Search, can it also detect ships that are anchored in a port, or is only thru recon?


2. Also, Is the estimated number of troops in detected enemy ground units, only front-line troops or does it include also support troops?

I'm just starting a game, and a bit confused with the situation in Kota Bahru, it says in the map that there are about 9700 enemy troops. But in the combat report when I bombard the enemy it will say there only 3300 enemy troops. I think it is a really large difference even if you add the support troops. And the detection level is already 9/10.


3. I wanna learn more about TRACOM too, Trugit you said here that:

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... m#p5072825

Trugrit wrote: Sun Jan 29, 2023 12:25 pm “The second TRACOM benefit:
Graduating pilots come out with experience which is within a range +/- of the national average.
Having pilots in TRACOM will aid reducing the negative spread but will not boost them to
above the national average.”

What is that value, "National Average?" Is it based on all your pilots in the field? And how will we know which pilots benefited from it? Will we get back feedback report?


4. Any tips on searching the forums too? When I do a topic search, it's often difficult to sift thru a lot of irrelevant stuff.


Thanks again guys.

marshalldavout wrote: Sun Apr 23, 2023 2:54 am
What is that value, "National Average?" Is it based on all your pilots in the field? And how will we know which pilots benefited from it? Will we get back feedback report?

It's the maximum experience your pilots can come out of training as. The table displaying national average experience is located in a really out of the way location...the editor manual. The term "National Average" might better be described as "National Maximum".

Platoonist wrote: Sun Apr 23, 2023 3:44 am

marshalldavout wrote: Sun Apr 23, 2023 2:54 am
What is that value, "National Average?" Is it based on all your pilots in the field? And how will we know which pilots benefited from it? Will we get back feedback report?

It's the maximum experience your pilots can come out of training as. The table displaying national average experience is located in a really out of the way location...the editor manual. The term "National Average" might better be described as "National Maximum".

Okay. Thanks for referencing, I haven't read that part.

2. The sum of all troops in the hex, as a bonus some people would divide by 30 for the AV but that only counts if the unit(s) are relatively intact. The better the DL, the better the numbers. As an example of how the number of troops were estimated, the US figured that the Japanese made so a privy for so many men. When more privys were added, they increased the enemy estimate. Privys that were on docks over the water were relatively easy to see.

3. Tracom, best used by the Japanese to store very good pilots (81+ experience) as well as lowering the HI cost of the trainees. Each trainee uses 5 HI per month so if you can get a number of pilots accelerated each month and through training earlier, that saves HI. It does keep the pilots at or near the maximum level coming out so they won't need more training on the map which uses supplies. It does NOT increase the total number of pilots however, it can get them through training sooner. If the experts are then pulled out for use elsewhere, then the acceleration slows down or stops so the number of pilots graduating may be smaller for certain months. Each 10 experts has a chance, not a certainty, of accelerating pilots.

4. Searching, use these threads. Also, if you are searching for information from specific people, use their forum names such as Alfred for logistics.

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 3&t=375640

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 3&t=375436

Question 1:

It is possible that you can pick up anchored enemy ships with naval search.
The key is that the Detection level on the enemy Port/Base needs to be high enough.

If the Detection level is high enough that an enemy anchor symbol appears
on the map you can mouse over the symbol and look for a report.

Any time you see an anchor symbol on the map there are ships anchored there.

But…..Just the appearance of the enemy anchor symbol is not always enough
to get a ships at anchor report…..and it is still under Fog of War.
The higher Detection level is what matters.

And if you are trying to drive up the detection level you will most likely need
Recon or a strike mission to drive it high enough.

Signal intelligence will sometimes raise the detection level enough to show an
enemy anchor symbol at far distant locations. In this case it is always a good
Idea to mouse over the symbol and see if there is an anchored ship report.
(It is possible to find anchored ships of the KB this way)

Note that in the Signal Intel below the detection level is not very high.

+1….Platoonist and Ranger Joe 2 and 3

Question 4…...I can usually find what I need just by using the forum search.
I don’t like Google for several reasons so I don’t ever use it.
Just practice your search skills. I practice mine every day.

I would recommend you set up a separate game install as well so you can practice
Game mechanics….it will save time. Do you need help doing that?