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Is it just me or are subs to easy to find? As Germany I never had been successful at having a sub survive at sea for even one turn, even if I send 3-4 subs to an area. Are they always spotted?

yes they are always spotted. this is a design balance mechanism, subs that stay at sea shouldnt last long.

Thanks.

Why does the German AI constantly move its Subs to sea and leave them there. This is particular evident in their first turn moves (which seem pretty standard every game). Once Sub goes to the North Sea, one to the Norwegian Sea, and 2 in the West Med. All 4 are usually damaged or dead by the next turn. They arent even hitting Transports in those regions.

My guess is that they are 'screening' the Naval units that are north of Denmark for the invasion of Norway. Similarly, the ones in the Med are intended to screen the Italian fleet in the Central Med. But in practice they just lose their whole U-Boat fleet for little gain.

Am I missing something in the AI's deployments? I myself have never employed my U-boats that way and they survive a lot longer and kill a lot more Transports with seemingly no down-side.

Another question.

If subs are always spotted why is surface combat not always mandatory?

In the WWII time frame, subs were really only "partially submerible" - they transited on the surface for the most part and submerged to engage, or avoid combat at their choosing.

In game terms i think they have it about right - you basically know (to the region of the ocean) where the Uboats are, but the ubot enjoys "tactical control" over when it engages or doesn't enage in combat. (ASW being the exception and why its so important to get good ASW capability early on.)

ORIGINAL: Uncle_Joe

Why does the German AI constantly move its Subs to sea and leave them there. This is particular evident in their first turn moves (which seem pretty standard every game). Once Sub goes to the North Sea, one to the Norwegian Sea, and 2 in the West Med. All 4 are usually damaged or dead by the next turn. They arent even hitting Transports in those regions.

My guess is that they are 'screening' the Naval units that are north of Denmark for the invasion of Norway. Similarly, the ones in the Med are intended to screen the Italian fleet in the Central Med. But in practice they just lose their whole U-Boat fleet for little gain.

Am I missing something in the AI's deployments? I myself have never employed my U-boats that way and they survive a lot longer and kill a lot more Transports with seemingly no down-side.

This is a good question, i wonder this myself. Considering that they can move out then move back(into port) when attacking with fleets. Another weird thing is the way they never try to take England(unless its a human opponet playing Germany) or expand in Africa. The Africa situation i can somewhat understand, but i beleive the Axis(Germany especially) could use some improvment in the AI.So far it does the same exact thing almost everytime you play a game. Can't there be some kind of text. or hard code implemented to make Germany switch off from its plans of attack(Russia, England) jus for some variety in the game?

I always use my German subs for hit and run - in my current game I have managed to subdue the British Isles and have successfully executed an airborne invasion of Iceland from Scotland. Its about Spring 44 so I am at war with Russia and I have only managed to push them back to Leningrad-Moscow-Stalingrad line. But I have managed to maintain a fleet of about 12-14 subs at torpedo level 4, and I am using them very effectively to hit the lend lease route to Russia and keep them from resupplying North Africa (WA AI completely overran it with troops from India). Increasingly I am keeping the Eastern Atlantic completely clear of transports and other naval vessels, and I think its taking its toll; you can see Japan making serious strides - India is half theirs, Austrailia is completely Japanese (China is still back and forth) and they are knocking heavily on Pearl Harbor's door. I have found that as long as you retreat the subs to a port after battle, there is no stopping the Wolfpack.