Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

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John 3rd
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Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by John 3rd »

There has been all sorts of misunderstandings, misinformation, and outright lack of knowledge regarding Reluctant Admiral. I am opening this thread in an effort to clarify these issues and handle any questions regarding the new variant of 6.0. This is being done due to the high profile match that Dan and I have had going for the last few months.

To begin with Dan and I are playing RA 5.7 which is considerably different from the new 6.0.

Let us begin with FACTS regarding the Mod overall:
1. There are no major additions or changes to the Japanese Army whatsoever. Anything IJA, land or air, is pretty much vanilla to Scen 1.

2. The Japanese expansion area concern the Kaigun and industry associated with it. Several shipyards are add and/or expanded. Vehicles and armaments is expanded. There is an expansion of Japanese air research and development underway as well. Every addition is OFFSET by a subtraction to the starting totals of Fuel and Supply. At last count this reduction to starting (Scen 1) counts is on the par of about a 1,000,000 or so. The Japanese player starts the war in a near crisis mode to gaining immediate access to the DEI.

3. The Kaigun is retooled starting with the 4th Circle Plan.
a. In 5.7 there is no Taiho or Shinanao and instead a trio of Shokaku CVs replace them and the planned 3rd/4th Yamato BBs. The Unryus stil come in so the player gains a net +1 to CV strength. Arguably this is really a +2 since Shinano was useless in its CV form. A pair of CB (Kawachi-Class) are added, 2 new Tone-Class, and 8 Improved Agano-Class CLs. Yugumo DDs are massively reduced and replaced by Akizuki AA DDs. SS are streamlined into just one form of SS after the Circle Three SS are finished.

b. The new 6.0 replaces ALL Japanese CV construction with a total of six Sho's built during the war. No Taiho, Shinano , or Unryus. Three CLs are taken out of the original eight and converted into Aso-Class CVLs. Everything else remains the same as in 5.7.

4. The IJN Air Arm begins with the addition of the 9th Air Fleet consisting of the HQ itself, 3 Air Flotillas, and 3 large BF. All start in Kyushu at cadre strength (25-35% strength). They must be filed out. The aircraft of the 9th Air Fleet consist of 3 Claude, 2 Nell, 1 Kate, and 1 Val Daitai. They also have three 12 plane FP Chutai for Air Search. All planes are older models with just 8-12 available in each unit and the pilots start at anywhere between 50-60% or so experience. They have to be trained before effective deployment.

The 2nd Generation Naval Attack Planes come in earlier due to greater research devoted there. Zeros are divided into a CV-Variant and a Land-Based Interceptor Variant. No Jack in this Mod.

Starting Forces (as opposed to Scenario 1) on December 7th have the following addition to the standard OOB:
1. CVL Zuiho is complete.
2. 4 Akizuki DDs are complete
3. In 5.7 the first of the improved Agano-CL are deployed. In 6.0 they begin to come in at the start of 1942.

I throw this out there because I am excited to see 6.0 be released and deal with misunderstandings that are, evidently, occurring in Dan's AAR. Will Post more when I can...
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John 3rd
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by John 3rd »

This is the new Scenario Description for 6.0:


The Reluctant Admiral is a Japanese 'what if' scenario based upon a greater contribution by Adm. Yamamoto Isoroku to the development of the Kaigun in 1939-1941. The premise of the Mod is that Yamamoto exerted a much greater influence first on the Japan Naval Aircraft Industry, then as Deputy Navy Minister, and finally as Navy Minister itself. Yamamoto chooses, at great risk to his life, to forego command of the Combined Fleet and dedicate himself to preparing Japan for a war he didn't want.

He adds two new slipways for Fleet construction to facilitate a different, final pre-war expansion of the Kaigun. New and expanded Naval Yards, Heavy Industry, and Armaments are added at tremendous cost for the Japanese economy as the Admiral attempts to prepare Japan for a possibly long war.

In so choosing to do this Yamamoto then changes the 4th Circle Building plan replacing the 3rd and 4th Yamato-Class Battleships with three improved Shokaku-Class CVs and a pair of Kawachi-Class fast Battlecruisers, two Tone-Class CAs, an accelerated Light Cruiser deployment, and additional destroyers. Quick, reasonably cheap carrier conversions are moved forward seeing all of the pre-war CVs/CVLs deploy by December 7th or at slightly earlier dates in 1942. Though only a few of these new ships are ready on December 7th, these additions shall make the Kaigun a force to be reckoned with well into 1944.

The Japan Naval Air Arm is changed so that everything is staked to the Zero Airframe with a specialization of the Zero into a Land-Based Interceptor as well as CV-Based Fighters. Research and production expansion is achieved by streamlining the air industry (cutting several models) while bringing forward second generation aircraft: Judy, Jill, etc… By great effort the IJNAF deploys nearly all new aircraft on December 7th.

On the ground Yamamoto reorganizes the SNLF units into a Brigade-Sized offensive force and—knowing it will be a war of attrition—converts many Naval Guard into enhanced units with Coastal Defense artillery for a stronger defensive unit. Additional small units are added to the IJN’s Troops and support units better reflecting Yamamoto's foresight into base building, defense, and expansion needs.

The foresight of the Admiral pays off during late-1942 and 1943 as new ships, aircraft, and ground units enter into the Japanese Order-of-Battle, however, the cost is steep. Though expanded and using modern aircraft many Japanese Naval Air units start with their experience lowered to reflect the dilution of the experienced pilots into new units that start in Japan or arrive during 1942-1943.

Supply and fuel reserves start at a much reduced state. The Japanese MUST take the DEI as fast as possible!

Once war begins RA postulates Yamamoto’s influence upon the wartime Kaigun. First class destroyers are accelerated and emphasis is shifted to the AA Akizuki-Class at the expense of the more balanced Yugumo’s. Manpower is at a premium within the Fleet so Submarines, Escorts, and ASW forces all see a major retooling reflecting the Japanese quality over quantity belief. Yamamoto chooses the immediately useful projects, large APs converting to CVEs, better 2nd-class destroyers, CL conversions into CVLs, fast transports and coastal defense fleet.

It should be noted that not all the changes are for the Japanese. RA 6.0 brings major additions and more choice for the Allied Player. The Allies see continued major changes in their starting locations, new air units, the addition of Training Squadrons on mainland USA to allow for an American pilot training program, several ground units, a French Squadron at Noumea, the use of CLV Charlotte (a Flightdeck Cruiser), a CLAA conversion for the Omaha-CL, an additional pair of CVLs, and optional conversion of the Kittyhawk Class AKV, Tangier Class AV, and Cimarron Class AOs into CVEs. The added warships reflect a ‘stopgap’ counter to the increased Japanese strength found at war’s start.

How well can YOU do to use these new tools OR how well can you stop the Japanese Navy in its tracks as the Allies?

Designer's notes:
1. RA is fully compatible with Da Babe’s Modifications and may be used on the Extended Map with any other Babes feature.
2. This Mod uses the reduced cargo capacity of DBB.
3. Garrison requirements have been raised throughout the CBI Theatre to slow the creation and movement of immense stacks of troops that is considered a-historical.
4. Production is 'on' for this scenario
5. A special pwhexe.dat file is strongly recommended to help slow land movement throughout the map.

Scenario Designers: Stanislav Bartoshevitch (FatR), Michael Benoit (NY59Giants), John R. Cochran, III (John 3rd), Juan Gomez (JuanG), Ben Kloosterman (BK), John (JWE), EJ (SuluSea) and John Young (Red Lancer)

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oldman45
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by oldman45 »

Thanks John, looking forward to 6.0. Hope all is well where you live, Colorado is making the news here in FL with all the rain.
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John 3rd
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by John 3rd »

It is SCARY! The river is normally 1/2 a mile from us and right now it is fully 800 Yards wide and about 100 Yards from us. No real danger as we sit on the bluff but life...is...interesting...

Plan to Post all sorts of info on the Mod when things settle down some. I truly believe with what we've added to the Allied Side that 6.0 will be a LITERAL BLAST for both sides to play!
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by Cpt Sherwood »

Removed
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by Lokasenna »

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

It is SCARY! The river is normally 1/2 a mile from us and right now it is fully 800 Yards wide and about 100 Yards from us. No real danger as we sit on the bluff but life...is...interesting...

Plan to Post all sorts of info on the Mod when things settle down some. I truly believe with what we've added to the Allied Side that 6.0 will be a LITERAL BLAST for both sides to play!

Welcome to Midwest life ;). On one level, that amount of water is simply awe-inspiring. On another, it sucks. Really sucks.
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by JocMeister »

I have to throw in a word of caution here after seeing you were planning to increase P38 production from 20 to 60. Thats a massive increase. The last model arriving (the "L" version) arrives at only 80 per months. So you are basically giving the allied player 44-46 replacement rates in 42.

Used correctly the P38 is by a fair margin the best plane in 42. Used correctly it can blow everything the Japanese has out of the sky at a tremendous rate. They are only hampered by the high SR which isn't a big problem in India for example.

If you want to give the allied player a bit more I would suggest adding some P40s instead. They are not as superior as the P38 and can only be used in a defensive role.

That being said you game vs. CR is not a good mesaurestick on allied plane pools. They are very thin indeed but CR has played with complete disregard for them. Most allied player knows this weakness and plays accordingly. I would strongly advise against tampering with them too much. If you do I would suggest doing so in very small numbers (10-20) and on defensive fighters as the P40 and P39s.

40 extra P38s per months throughout the war...I would rather get that then a full allied Army. Or 4 CVs. Its that big.

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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by Walloc »

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

It is SCARY! The river is normally 1/2 a mile from us and right now it is fully 800 Yards wide and about 100 Yards from us. No real danger as we sit on the bluff but life...is...interesting...

Plan to Post all sorts of info on the Mod when things settle down some. I truly believe with what we've added to the Allied Side that 6.0 will be a LITERAL BLAST for both sides to play!

Slight OT, but well it was brought up.

Looks bad, and here in dk reports of 4 fatalities

Rasmus


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LoBaron
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by LoBaron »

John, I tend to agree with JocMeister.

Such an increase in early model P-38s will result in a significant increase of Allied offensive capability in ´42, and IMHO unbalance the early-mid air war.

In case you feel it is required to boost allied air - which I cannot comment on as I have not played your mod - you could focus on an equal production increase of P40E/K types. The K is very competitive but lacks the range and offensive capability of the Lightning.

This would enable the Allied player to cope with attrition but does not provide him with the ability to unbalance a whole region by basing a couple of P-38 units in a critical area to project power with the capability to absorb and replace significant losses.
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by PaxMondo »

ORIGINAL: LoBaron

John, I tend to agree with JocMeister.

Such an increase in early model P-38s will result in a significant increase of Allied offensive capability in ´42, and IMHO unbalance the early-mid air war.

In case you feel it is required to boost allied air - which I cannot comment on as I have not played your mod - you could focus on an equal production increase of P40E/K types. The K is very competitive but lacks the range and offensive capability of the Lightning.

This would enable the Allied player to cope with attrition but does not provide him with the ability to unbalance a whole region by basing a couple of P-38 units in a critical area to project power with the capability to absorb and replace significant losses.
Increased produciton of the P38 in '42 is a tough nut to sell, there were a lot of issues with the plane in 42 that limited its availability (engine shortage, charger shortage, etc.). P40/P39, you can make stronger cases for the production ... diversion, another shift got added earlier, .... P40 was simply assembly limited. Parts were ample which is one reason why it was so widely used. US logisitics required a big pool of replacement parts ...
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by ny59giants »

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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by SuluSea »

I don't play anything other than stock so please consider the source but I don't believe the allies should get any bump in LBA.

I think Greyjoy hit it squarely in another thread when he stated something to the effect that it's a big map and Japan can't protect everywhere. If the allied player is patient he'll have his day.


Again consider the source and not trying ro step on any toes but I believe the beauty of RA is it's based on Yamamoto's vision or what the designers thought it should be.

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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by Terminus »

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Gentlemen, this is a MOD, not a historical scenario. Lots of things going on here are different. I was the one that asked for and got the slight increase in P-38 production. I like the P-38s, but getting just over 1 more per day is going to make the Allied a super power in late 42 and early 43.

Really?!? [X(]

I don't think the point is whether or not it's historically correct, but what it'll do to scenario balance.

And I'm sorry, but a 300% increase in production isn't slight.
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by JocMeister »

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Gentlemen, this is a MOD, not a historical scenario. Lots of things going on here are different. I was the one that asked for and got the slight increase in P-38 production. I like the P-38s, but getting just over 1 more per day is going to make the Allied a super power in late 42 and early 43.

Really?!? [X(]

Slight increase? [:D] Thats what? 700 more P38s in 42 and 43? Thats almost a year's production worth. In 45!

I know its a MOD but that is too powerful. I would rather have that then 4 extra CVs. Without hesitation. You are going to get the P47 effect in 42.

EDIT: That being said I havn´t played the mod. But I think giving the allied player 60 P38s per month is going to make it extremely hard on the Jap side. I think you might end up with a situation where the mod might become too hard for the Japanese side. Just a word of caution from a Allied perspective.
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by Cpt Sherwood »

I think you should quit trying to explain the mod John. Half are saying that Japan is overpowered and the other half are saying that the Allies are overpowered. Must be about right now.
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by JocMeister »

ORIGINAL: Cpt Sherwood

I think you should quit trying to explain the mod John. Half are saying that Japan is overpowered and the other half are saying that the Allies are overpowered. Must be about right now.

Haha, You might be right! [:D]
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Terminus
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by Terminus »

Well, that's how we knew we'd made something good when we released AE. Both groups of fanbois said the game was broken.
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by MrBlizzard »

I've played the RA mod but I'm not part of the Team that created it so I'm not sentimentally involved with it.[:D]
Recently I've studied Stock scenary 002 hakko ichiu for my next match. NOW I can say that RA is FAR more difficult for Japan that scen 002, RA is a very good mod that doesn't make any magic for Japan,
It just gives a different and better allocation of resources to Japan. Scen 002 is the real "Japan wet dream" (what a horrible expression!) not RA!
RA gives some better chances to Japan in mainly in 1943 when the new Cv arrive and some stronger defence with CD units.
I believe those who attacked the mod just intended to give some relief to CR, he is a very good and correct player and did not deserve to be accused to gamey behaviour (for his merchant TF).
So said I also believe that his move was very brilliant for RL but too bold for the game, not only for RA but also for stock 001 scen in '42
ALL the sceneries allow Japan to build and feed an abnormal number of planes compared to reality.
In RL Japan had never enough bauxite to build all these planes and always experienced shortage in avio fuel. Never could have put a counteroffensive like yours with hundreds of planes.
Here you can build planes with HI that are used for everything (from BB to planes) and planes fly with supplies!! Very easy for Japan!
But this is a game (the best game of ever[&o] but always a game), it's just a light model of reality, particularly for the production issues.
An experienced player like CR should know it.
I'm too favorable in better balance 1942, I love moves like CR did in Sumatra (and I hate sir robin strategy, it's so boring), I love both RA mod and WITPAE.
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by AdmNelson »

ORIGINAL: JocMeister

I have to throw in a word of caution here after seeing you were planning to increase P38 production from 20 to 60. Thats a massive increase. The last model arriving (the "L" version) arrives at only 80 per months. So you are basically giving the allied player 44-46 replacement rates in 42.

Used correctly the P38 is by a fair margin the best plane in 42. Used correctly it can blow everything the Japanese has out of the sky at a tremendous rate. They are only hampered by the high SR which isn't a big problem in India for example.

If you want to give the allied player a bit more I would suggest adding some P40s instead. They are not as superior as the P38 and can only be used in a defensive role.

That being said you game vs. CR is not a good mesaurestick on allied plane pools. They are very thin indeed but CR has played with complete disregard for them. Most allied player knows this weakness and plays accordingly. I would strongly advise against tampering with them too much. If you do I would suggest doing so in very small numbers (10-20) and on defensive fighters as the P40 and P39s.

40 extra P38s per months throughout the war...I would rather get that then a full allied Army. Or 4 CVs. Its that big.



I agree with not raising the P-38. To me a bump would be 5. Allied air attrition should be occurring in mid 43 not 42. This is speaking from a overly aggressive Allied player.
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RE: Reluctant Admiral FACT vs. Fiction

Post by GaryChildress »

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Well, that's how we knew we'd made something good when we released AE. Both groups of fanbois said the game was broken.

LOL! You know you've done something right when everyone complains! [:D]
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