Matrix Games Forums

I have run into some problems in my games (finally bought a PC and installed UV after having the game sit on my shelf for a year). This game is entirely patched up to 2.30.

1) None of my ground units seem to get any replacements, this is particularly painful for base forces which should expand (New Guinea is a real pain if you only have one base force for Port Moresby (and a skeleton left of another at Gili Gili, just enough to maintain a small fighter CAP), the only way I can keep the island in supply is by airlifting by C47 and B25). This problem has existed in all my games so far, even after some 2 months game time (current date 7/28/42 in a campaign starting in early june iirc).

2) None of my air units have yet upgraded to newer models (I have 18 B24 waiting to equip a bomber squadron, but so far they are just catching the dust, likewise for Avengers and Wildcats (though those are not yet at 133% of squadron maximum, which I only read about tonight). I'm not sure this feature is broken, maybe I just need to be more patient, but I had been delaying my Guadalcanal invasion in the hopes of having USS Saratoga upgrade it's airwings.

I'll go back and play some more now, guess Guadalcanal will work even with a slightly weaker airforce and I will eventually have to look into relieveing New Guinea once I have completed the first stage of operations in the Solomons.

Marc aka Caran...

Base forces will not grow- the never have. The original maual is incorrect here. If you need more support at a base, ship in another base force. Except for the radar units, thay can be transported by air.

B24 squadrons arrive as reinforcements, starting the end of 1942. Look at your arrival listing. Replacements will start appearring somewhat earlier, so by the time your first squadrons arrive you have some replacements for them to use. Replacements don't create new squadrons, which is what it appears you are waiting for.

F4F-3 and Devastators will upgrade, but you do need the 133% in the rplacement pool first.

bilbow wrote:Base forces will not grow- the never have. The original maual is incorrect here. If you need more support at a base, ship in another base force. Except for the radar units, thay can be transported by air.

B24 squadrons arrive as reinforcements, starting the end of 1942. Look at your arrival listing. Replacements will start appearring somewhat earlier, so by the time your first squadrons arrive you have some replacements for them to use. Replacements don't create new squadrons, which is what it appears you are waiting for.

F4F-3 and Devastators will upgrade, but you do need the 133% in the rplacement pool first.

Thanks for the ino billbow. I've been lookin harder at the game the past few days while playing a pbem and noticed some base units and such dropping and takingsupport with them too. Hate to see my units on bases with red in teh support category and wondered about the upgrdes myself. You'reright the maunal seems to say (if i read it right) that lands units will upgrade tho I thought it also said something about not until they get to a certain state of attrition--I'll ,.ook at that more closely tonigh when I get home--slaving away tonight as usual.

Do you know exactly what the penalty is for bases without as much support as they need?

do units gets "sick" or what?

Hi, I think the baseforces will grow. For the AI. But not human players.

Caranorn you are still very early in your game. still a few weeks ahead of actual landing on Lunga. ) You have to be patient. Study your reimforcement schedule (ship/ground/air unit) and lay your plans according to them. . Be on the lookout for Japanese operations headed your way before you get time and material to launch one yourself.

Peter Weir wrote:Thanks for the ino billbow. I've been lookin harder at the game the past few days while playing a pbem and noticed some base units and such dropping and takingsupport with them too. Hate to see my units on bases with red in teh support category and wondered about the upgrdes myself. You'reright the maunal seems to say (if i read it right) that lands units will upgrade tho I thought it also said something about not until they get to a certain state of attrition--I'll ,.ook at that more closely tonigh when I get home--slaving away tonight as usual.

Do you know exactly what the penalty is for bases without as much support as they need?

do units gets "sick" or what?

First, there are two types of support- air unit and general. Base forces provide air unit support- essentially the mechanics. If you don't have enough air unit support (the number is red) then planes won't get fixed. The other support is general, and represents the logistics tail of all modern armires. Most individual land units don't have enopugh organic support points. That's where HQ units come in. You are OK if the overall support for the hex (not individual units) is OK. Without enough support units will degrade over time, faster in malaria locations.

A unit that has degraded (some points in parentheses; they are "disabled") can be brough back if transported to a malaria free base (Noumea, Brisbane, Townsville, or Truk for the Japs). Eventually disabled points if left unattended can become killed, meaning gone from the unit completely. When enough points are killed, at some point the program may (not always) provide a replacement unit, which will appear as a reinforcement.

Thx billbow. Time to get some support headed for Moresby I guess.

Okay, I had been wondering why the manual was never upgraded with all the patches, so I wasn't taking any information in there too literally, but as there was no mention of changes to land replacement I assumed in this area at least the manual was correct. Guess I will have to spend the two fresh base forces at Brisbane on Port Moresby and Gili Gili and forget building up the forward airfield (east of Buna) anytime soon. I won't be able to even do this much shipping before the Lunga operation is settled one way or another.

As to airunits, I was talking about upgrades, I assume the B17 eventually gets replaced by B24's, though I guess I will check the upgrade tabels once again, maybe I'm wrong. Still, I have now seen a first aircraft ubgrade with the single A24 squadron moving to A20.

As to my Lunga Point invasion (also Tulagi), as I have beaten back the Japanese offensive on New Guinea (opposed their landing at Gili Gili from the start and finally won back the base and after some more weeks fighting eliminated the Japanese bridgehead) and causing massive attritional losses I decided I might do well to advance on Guadalcanal as soon as I can. This opinion has been reinforced by the recent strong Japanese activity in that area and in general the expansion of their airfield and their clearing away all my mines. I fear if I wait much longer I will run into another attritional battle and won't be able to stabilise New Guinea at the same time. Though I might start this whole game over again as I have learned quite a bit more since I started this scenario, my next game I certainly won't risk the single spare base force in a landing at Gili Gili without aircover;-) I will also have to revise my CAP tactics somewhat as the kill ratio is not good enough for attrition I expect (3-1 fighters, 2-1 I expect would work, but 3-1 leaves me with extremely depleted fighter and fighter bomber squadrons and the Japanese still fare well even against seasoned Australian or USN squadrons).

Marc aka Caran...