British Colony Convoys

Omnius · Post by **Omnius** » Mon Nov 12, 2012 8:09 pm

The one thing I don't like about the British Colonies is that I can't keep the stupid Artificial Ignorance from adding convoys or changing destinations. I have the automatic convoy routing and calculation feature checked off so I can manually route all convoys but the AI keeps making changes. If I want to not run any convoys I don't want the program sending off convoys. Please fix the automatic convoy routing so that when it is turned off it doesn't do anything. Some turns it's better to just not run convoys because of high transport losses. Never is the Artificial Ignorance worth trusting and when it comes to convoys I want manual control to be totally manual control, not some hybrid that allows me to route convoys and then the AI comes in afterwards and changes things.
Omnius

doomtrader · Post by **doomtrader** » Mon Nov 12, 2012 8:18 pm

Convoys sent by British Colonies are hardcoded, so I can state that the automatic convoys rutines are working properly.
This has been done to force British player to keep his Royal Navy in constant search of enemy raiders.

Omnius · Post by **Omnius** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 3:55 pm

ORIGINAL: doomtrader

Convoys sent by British Colonies are hardcoded, so I can state that the automatic convoys rutines are working properly.
This has been done to force British player to keep his Royal Navy in constant search of enemy raiders.

doomtrader,
The hardcoded convoy routine for the British Colonies is screwed up beyond belief. There is no need for the British player to do any guessing whatsoever with those poorly coded convoy routing instructions. Because the stupid program routes all of the British Colony convoys through the Med, even after Italy enters, there is little guesswork whatsoever for either British or German player. The different destinations in Britain make little difference in pathing when there is a limited number of sea areas those convoys have to go through after leaving the Med. I have seen the convoy routing change between versions 1.02 and 1.03, so you did something that has screwed up the BC convoy routing.

As the British player or German or Italian I have no real guesswork figuring out where Raiders are. All I have to do is look at the reports about convoys and look at where those convoys were losing transports last turn. That and even with Fog of War turned on there seems to be little FoW as far as seeing subs goes. With carrier recon it also makes finding sub raiders all too easy. So your dubious rationale of making it tougher for the British player to have to find raiders is totally wrong. All you've done is screw the British while making the sinking of convoys all too easy for the Axis players.

Lose the stinking hardcoded British Colony convoys when the BC is human controlled, please! I should be able to play the British Colonies and decide if I want to run resource convoys or not; make the Axis have to guess some as to whether or not convoys are running and where. Not to mention it would be great if as the BC player I could choose which route to send those resource convoys on.

I'd love to start a 1941 campaign with you. I'll play the Germans and Italians and you play Britain and the British Colonies. I would love to rub your nose in your own hubris as to the convoy system working properly and to ensure that you feel the frustration I feel when playing Britain and the British Colonies. One thing is that by routing BC convoys through the Med is that you minimize the number of sea areas convoys run through, thus making the Axis job way too easy to find the convoy route which has only a limited number of sea areas between Gibraltar and Britain's ports.

Please pay more attention to my complaints about convoys, I've been playing the game as every country and this hardcoded nonsense for the British Colonies makes the game frustrating and annoying. If you want me to buy other Wasteland products then you'd better figure out how to make this game far less annoying, that and SWiE. What good is it to be able to play the British Colonies manually if the program changes my convoy instructions? Make the game fun, not annoying.
Omnius

JLPOWELL · Post by **JLPOWELL** » Sat Jan 19, 2013 4:05 pm

I concur the convoy aspect of the game is very nearly completely broken. Several rather easy fixes would address most of the problems.

Regarding - "This has been done to force British player to keep his Royal Navy in constant search of enemy raiders."

The idea that you have the colonies 'sabotage' the UK ASW (and surface raiders interception) efforts by moving the convoys is actually player hostile. The friendly side KNOWS and should control the convoy locations The ENEMY should have to look for them not the other way around. Doom's justification is completely unsupportable using any rationale. Raiders hunt convoys anti raiders hunt raiders THEY KNOW in advance where convoys are routed, and may even route convoys to draw raiders to destruction. Certainly if they want to escort they would know where the convoys are going to be.

A few quick fix suggestions:
Add an 'avoid Med' control (a bit of work)
NEVER use Bay of Biscay unless convoying to or from ports there. This would be EASY
Route anything sent to Suez port around Africa if from UK US else why send there instead of Port Said again EASY

Fix the naval combat or at least let us know how to modify it (editing the CV airstrike and surface to surface CRT's is likely all it would take) Surface raiders should be getting sunk not sailing around with impunity the Battle of the Atlantic was an ASW effort. If the Germans had committed more surface ships they would have been sunk by the existing Allied forces if not the US would have deployed overwhelming force from the Pacific and wiped them out. Cruisers surviving encounters with CV battle groups is the norm in ToF

Omnius · Post by **Omnius** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 1:58 pm