New Thread full o' questions!!!

[estaban]

Tired of the same old threads about "Super Betties" and "uber CV TFs"??

Then answer my various questions!!!!!!!!

1. The 20mm auto-cannons in the Japanese AA MG companies. I have not seen an anti-aircraft rating for these. They do have an anti-armor rating. Do these not work as AA guns??

2. While we are discussing "exotic" Japanese AA guns, what are the AA ratings for the one battery of 105mm AA guns the Japanese get? I saw a rating for the US 105 AA guns, but not for the Japanese ones.

3. Does anyone know if Japanese commitment levels "spike" some after the summer of 42? It is mid-September and I just got a new bunch of ships sent to me (Nothing horribly useful unfortunately). However, I have not taken any meaningful ship casualties for a month or more, and those casualties I have taken were back in the June/July period. I also have not received any ships since July/early August, and commitment has been "low" since then. Does Japanese commitment bump upwards sometimes in the Fall months, or did I just get smiled on by the commitment Gods??

4. Is there are rhyme or reason as to why fortifications at some bases are easy to build, but incredibly hard to build at others? For example, as Japan, I have about 80 engineers digging trenches at PM, but they are going from level 2 to level 3 at about 3% per day. Meanwhile, over at Gili, I have about 100 engineers there, and they are going from level 3 to level 4 now, at about 6% per day. In my experience, fortifications also build slowly at Lae. What gives?

[Hornblower]

I'll field #4.... It has to do with the terrain. For instance, Lunga was a plain (or as close as one would get in the south pacific) and easier to build an airfield on, then say Tuligi. Also if your using Eng units with Vehicals it makes the work go faster. (Front loaders, graters, and the like) I find the EAB units make the airfield building go much faster..

[estaban]

I was wondering about creating fortifications, not airfields or ports. Building those seems pretty straightforward, but it seems to me at least that there are some places where it takes a lot more engineers to build the same amount of fortifications than at other places.

Also, question number 5!!!:

5. I have placed several of my fighter squadrons on CAP and long range CAP. I have noticed that the experience on those squadrons that have a lot of recent replacement pilots has gone up significantly over time from doing this, however, after awhile the squadrons stop advancing because of this, and their experience rating stays flat until you can get them into successful (meaning few or no losses) air-to-air combat. Does anyone know what the cap experience for pilots who just fly CAP without getting involved in combat is? Is it 60-61, which is what the cap seems to be for using the "training" mission?

[DJAndrews]

I think the type of engineer makes a difference when building fortifications. For the Japanese, the 10 and 15th Ind Eng units and the Eng units attached to each of the divisions seem to be faster at buiding forts than either pioneers or BFs.

I expect that you are already aware that bases that start at P=0/A=0 are virtually impossible to build up above level 1. I have managed a level 2 airfield on one such base but it took most of a game (using only part of a BF).

I've played several different scenarios as the Japanese and I usually got a CVE and about 4 DDs in about September and October. Enjoy them. I have never gotten another ship until well into the Spring of 43, even when carriers, several BBs, a half dozen CAs and CLs and escorts were sitting in Tokyo.

[Drex]

I think the type of engineer makes a difference when building fortifications. For the Japanese, the 10 and 15th Ind Eng units and the Eng units attached to each of the divisions seem to be faster at buiding forts than either pioneers or BFs.

I expect that you are already aware that bases that start at P=0/A=0 are virtually impossible to build up above level 1. I have managed a level 2 airfield on one such base but it took most of a game (using only part of a BF).

I've played several different scenarios as the Japanese and I usually got a CVE and about 4 DDs in about September and October. Enjoy them. I have never gotten another ship until well into the Spring of 43, even when carriers, several BBs, a half dozen CAs and CLs and escorts were sitting in Tokyo.

I think the only way to get the commitment level up is to send back unnecessary ships. Since combat ships have higher ratings, even if a ship is undamaged, if it is sitting in Tokyo then send it back.

[estaban]

I know that usually you get new ships by sending old ones back, or by having a lot of your current ships sunk. I just don't recall getting a new set of ships a couple months after the commitment level hit "low" before, at least not without losing a bunch of ships or sending a bunch back.

As for the indie engineer units, they are actually among the engineers that are having a hard time fortifying PM for me right now, so that isn't it.

[tabpub]

One of the main things that affects speed of digging fortifications is the total size of the base involved. The same # of engineers will have a 1/1 base up to fort 9 far, far faster than a 8/8 base. So, it behooves one to fortify a base before expanding it, if possible. Then the fortifications are already done and the extra time is saved. One would think that the base would "outgrow" its fortification level, but they didn't seem to set it up that way. One can almost see the trenches and wire expanding as the base expands, like the skin on a man that gets fatter and fatter!

[estaban]

Hmmm, sounds interesting, but that does not really work in this case either. In the example I used, where Gili is digging in a lot faster than PM, the base at Gili is actually larger than the base at PM right now.

There are more troops at PM than at Gili though.

[DJAndrews]

Estaban, are your engineers at the two bases comparable in terms of the their active or inactive (bracketted) status? I've sometimes failed to notice that all of the engineers have become inactive, even when the base still lists 30 or so in place.

If the units are OK, then consider the level of fortification you're trying to get to. In the Strategy and Tactics FAQ it says that it takes 6.7 days for a baseforce to take a port or airfield from level 0 to level 1, while it takes 33.3 days for the same unit to go from level 8 to 9. I expect the fortification rates folllow some sort of similar exponential increase in time required. That would explain the different rates you're seeing.

[Mr.Frag]

Fortification build speeds are based on the maximum base size. It doesn't matter if the base has not been built up yet.

You get one of the large bases, even though it is currently only at size 1 port + size 0 airfield, the fortification looks at it and sees it could be a size 6 port + size 9 airfield and builds accordingly.

Keep in mind another aspect, the quicker you get the sizes port+air built up, the less the malaria effects hurt your engineers so it benefits you to ignore the fortification completely until you have gotten some size. Japan in reality is not going to be doing any major base building with their tiny engineering groups.

Remember your engineers have jobs that they do in order:

1) Repair port damage
2) Repair airfield damage
3) labour allocated to build

[Philwd]

Esteban,
on fort building speed. Check your supplies. I have noticed dramatic increases in speed when I got >5X required supplies on the base. Also I didn't see anyone ask if you had your eng doing more than one task. That really slows down the IJN especially with their lack of equipment. BTW I always build air up couple levels before forts lvls to help with the malaria.

Also IJN ship commit level drops like a rock in late July. I can't remember exact date.

#5 I have noticed my pilots tend to top out at 59 EXP even with flying 150 missions. I don't know what it takes to get past that point. Even victories doesn't seem to help. Very few of my new pilots have made it past 59. My game is in mid Dec '42. One exception to that is the recon sqdns. They are all in the 90's now.

Quark

[estaban]

Esteban,
on fort building speed. Check your supplies. I have noticed dramatic increases in speed when I got >5X required supplies on the base. Also I didn't see anyone ask if you had your eng doing more than one task. That really slows down the IJN especially with their lack of equipment. BTW I always build air up couple levels before forts lvls to help with the malaria.

Also IJN ship commit level drops like a rock in late July. I can't remember exact date.

#5 I have noticed my pilots tend to top out at 59 EXP even with flying 150 missions. I don't know what it takes to get past that point. Even victories doesn't seem to help. Very few of my new pilots have made it past 59. My game is in mid Dec '42. One exception to that is the recon sqdns. They are all in the 90's now.

Quark

Thanks, my PM supplies are not that high (relying on overland supply from Buna). Maybe that is it.

Also, if you want to get your betties and other bombers to up their experience past 59, for new pilots, set them to a recon mission, finding a suitable place you want to know more about of course, and then set 80-90% of the squadron to naval search after assigning the recon mission. Works pretty well.

Thanks for the info on fighter training, I kind of suspected that was the way it was. I find that pilots do go up if they are involved in successful aerial combat, but the survival rate for pilots around 59 experience is not that great, even against early game allied planes. The vast, vast majority of them get killed off before they get to 70 experience and become what you could consider to be "good" pilots.

[worr]

Hmmm, sounds interesting, but that does not really work in this case either. In the example I used, where Gili is digging in a lot faster than PM, the base at Gili is actually larger than the base at PM right now.

There are more troops at PM than at Gili though.

How fresh where they?

Fresh engineers really go fast....but when they tire they slow down.

Worr, out

[AmiralLaurent]

ORIGINAL: estaban

Tired of the same old threads about "Super Betties" and "uber CV TFs"??
[/quote]

Yes...

3. Does anyone know if Japanese commitment levels "spike" some after the summer of 42? It is mid-September and I just got a new bunch of ships sent to me (Nothing horribly useful unfortunately). However, I have not taken any meaningful ship casualties for a month or more, and those casualties I have taken were back in the June/July period. I also have not received any ships since July/early August, and commitment has been "low" since then. Does Japanese commitment bump upwards sometimes in the Fall months, or did I just get smiled on by the commitment Gods??

IJN commitment falls on 1st January 1943 while USN rises at the same time.
Even with low commitment, you may still receives ships from time to time, especially those with small point value.
I don't think the commitment level is reduced in fall 1942, but at this time probably enough ships are in theater so the IJN won't receive nothing.

4. Is there are rhyme or reason as to why fortifications at some bases are easy to build, but incredibly hard to build at others? For example, as Japan, I have about 80 engineers digging trenches at PM, but they are going from level 2 to level 3 at about 3% per day. Meanwhile, over at Gili, I have about 100 engineers there, and they are going from level 3 to level 4 now, at about 6% per day. In my experience, fortifications also build slowly at Lae. What gives?

Here I have a sure answer: building forts depend of the potential maximum size of the base (port & airfield). The bigger the base (not its real size, but its maximum size), the longer it will take to expand forts around it. As you can see, PM is bigger than Gili Gili.
The 'reason' for it is that forts are built outside the base, so covering a greater perimeter takes more time.

Question 5: there is no limit to exp gained while flying CAP. But it is slower than real combat (if you survive).
The reason you see the limit at 60-61 may be that when you ground an unit (training orders, 0% flying), all pilots with exp < 60 will gain exp. Maybe not every turn, but if you wait sufficiently all will arrive at 59 exp without flying. So if you ground your unit one day on two, pilots with exp < 59 gain exp every day while those over this limit gain only 50% of the time (if they fly).

If I can afford it, I train my fighter units until every man is at 59 exp and then fly CAP 50% over a rear base until all are at 65 (took some weeks) before sending them to the frontline.

[Drex]

I'm in April'43 as Japanese and my commitment level has remained "high" . I try to keep it on high by sending back all ships above 10 sys damage and ships I don't use.. But capital ships will not be released without escorts, so check the number of DDs available. You'll need at least 5, maybe more to get A big ship released. Sometimes I have to send DDs back because the 19 or 11 day turnaround is still sooner than the commitment date.