Thats what you call a wallopping

[Chris21wen]

Day Time Surface Combat, near Lautem at 72,115, Range 15,000 Yards

Japanese Ships
APD Nokaze, Shell hits 15, and is sunk
APD Fuji, Shell hits 14, and is sunk
APD Hagi, Shell hits 17, and is sunk
xAKL Banshu Maru #56, Shell hits 3, and is sunk
PB Taiko Maru, Shell hits 16, and is sunk
xAK Hawaii Maru, Shell hits 41, and is sunk
xAK Tokyo Maru, Shell hits 15, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Tatukami Maru, Shell hits 8, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Nissan Maru, Shell hits 20, and is sunk
xAK Heito Maru, Shell hits 23, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Imizu Maru, Shell hits 19, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Ryuko Maru, Shell hits 29, and is sunk
xAK Asahisan Maru, Shell hits 27, and is sunk
xAK Kozan Maru, Shell hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Shanghai Maru, Shell hits 16, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Yamagata Maru, Shell hits 6, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Aso Maru, Shell hits 26, and is sunk
xAK Ansyu Maru, Shell hits 24, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Akagane Maru, Shell hits 20, heavy fires, heavy damage
xAK Daiya Maru, Shell hits 13, and is sunk
xAK Hokutai Maru, Shell hits 21, and is sunk
xAK Ikuta Maru, Shell hits 61, and is sunk
xAK Kensin Maru, Shell hits 24, and is sunk
xAK Kamitu Maru, Shell hits 2, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Kasyu Maru, Shell hits 22, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Kenan Maru, Shell hits 54, and is sunk
xAK Nagato Maru, Shell hits 30, and is sunk
xAK Magane Maru, Shell hits 21, and is sunk
xAK Okuyo Maru, Shell hits 12, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Seikai Maru, Shell hits 7, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Seikyo Maru, Shell hits 16, and is sunk
xAK Shinko Maru, Shell hits 1, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Shinkyo Maru, Shell hits 21, and is sunk
xAK Sansei Maru, Shell hits 31, and is sunk
xAK Toyotu Maru, Shell hits 21, and is sunk
xAK Tyuwa Maru, Shell hits 24, and is sunk
xAK Yomei Maru, Shell hits 18, and is sunk
xAK Sinsei Maru, Shell hits 15, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk
xAK Konzan Maru, Shell hits 5, Torpedo hits 2, and is sunk
xAK Zyunyo Maru, Shell hits 20, and is sunk
xAK Tamahoko Maru, Shell hits 25, and is sunk
xAK Kinrei Maru, Shell hits 24, and is sunk
xAK Nishi Maru, Shell hits 3, Torpedo hits 1, and is sunk

Allied Ships
CL Achilles, Shell hits 3
CL Tromp
CL Dragon, Shell hits 1
CL Boise
DD Gridley, Shell hits 1
DD Piet Hein
DD Kortenaer, Shell hits 3, heavy fires
DD Evertsen, Shell hits 1
DD Van Nes, Shell hits 1
DD Van Ghent
DD Tjerk Hiddes, Shell hits 2
DD Scout, Shell hits 1

Japanese ground losses:
1744 casualties reported
Squads: 76 destroyed, 49 disabled
Non Combat: 61 destroyed, 63 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Guns lost 26 (13 destroyed, 13 disabled)

Allied Ships Reported to be Approaching!
Japanese TF suspends unloading operations and begins to get underway
Poor visibility due to Rain
Maximum visibility in Rain: 15,000 yards
Range closes to 20,000 yards...
CONTACT: Allies radar detects Japanese task force at 20,000 yards
Range closes to 15,000 yards...
CONTACT: Japanese lookouts spot Allied task force at 15,000 yards
CONTACT: Allied lookouts spot Japanese task force at 15,000 yards
xAK Shinkyo Maru collides with xAK Kenan Maru at 72 , 115
CL Boise engages PB Taiko Maru at 15,000 yards
CL Boise engages APD Hagi at 15,000 yards
CL Tromp engages APD Nokaze at 15,000 yards
CL Boise engages xAK Yomei Maru at 15,000 yards
CL Tromp engages xAK Tyuwa Maru at 15,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Seikyo Maru at 15,000 yards
Range closes to 9,000 yards
CL Boise engages PB Taiko Maru at 9,000 yards
CL Dragon engages PB Taiko Maru at 9,000 yards
CL Tromp engages APD Fuji at 9,000 yards
CL Achilles engages PB Taiko Maru at 9,000 yards
xAK Nishi Maru sunk by CL Dragon at 9,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Tamahoko Maru at 9,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Yomei Maru at 9,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Tyuwa Maru at 9,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Seikai Maru at 9,000 yards
Range closes to 5,000 yards
CL Boise engages PB Taiko Maru at 5,000 yards
CL Dragon engages PB Taiko Maru at 5,000 yards
CL Tromp engages APD Fuji at 5,000 yards
CL Boise engages APD Nokaze at 5,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Tamahoko Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages PB Taiko Maru at 5,000 yards
PB Taiko Maru sunk by DD Van Nes at 5,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Tyuwa Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Akagane Maru at 5,000 yards
APD Nokaze sunk by CL Boise at 5,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Kinrei Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Zyunyo Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Konzan Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Piet Hein engages xAK Toyotu Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Hokutai Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Hawaii Maru at 5,000 yards
Range increases to 6,000 yards
xAK Nissan Maru collides with xAK Kasyu Maru at 72 , 115
CL Boise engages APD Hagi at 6,000 yards
CL Dragon engages APD Hagi at 6,000 yards
CL Achilles engages APD Hagi at 6,000 yards
DD Scout engages APD Hagi at 6,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Konzan Maru at 6,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Yomei Maru at 6,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Tyuwa Maru at 6,000 yards
APD Hagi sunk by DD Kortenaer at 6,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Shinkyo Maru at 6,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Kenan Maru at 6,000 yards
xAKL Banshu Maru #56 sunk by CL Dragon at 6,000 yards
Range closes to 5,000 yards
CL Boise engages APD Fuji at 5,000 yards
APD Fuji sunk by CL Dragon at 5,000 yards
xAK Konzan Maru sunk by DD Scout at 5,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Kamitu Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Piet Hein engages xAK Toyotu Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Seikyo Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Nissan Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Kinrei Maru at 5,000 yards
CL Dragon engages xAK Nissan Maru at 5,000 yards
CL Achilles engages xAK Nissan Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Nissan Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Nissan Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Nissan Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Nissan Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Shinkyo Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Piet Hein engages xAK Shinko Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Piet Hein engages xAK Nissan Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Seikai Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Magane Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Kasyu Maru at 5,000 yards
xAK Kamitu Maru sunk by DD Tjerk Hiddes at 5,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Hokutai Maru at 5,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Ryuko Maru at 5,000 yards
Range closes to 3,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Tamahoko Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Piet Hein engages xAK Zyunyo Maru at 3,000 yards
CL Achilles engages xAK Nissan Maru at 3,000 yards
xAK Nissan Maru sunk by DD Scout at 3,000 yards
CL Dragon engages xAK Seikyo Maru at 3,000 yards
CL Dragon engages xAK Seikai Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Kensin Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Yamagata Maru at 3,000 yards
Range closes to 2,000 yards
DD Gridley collides with DD Tjerk Hiddes at 72 , 115
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Kinrei Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Tamahoko Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Tatukami Maru sunk by CL Tromp at 2,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Tyuwa Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Toyotu Maru sunk by CL Dragon at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Sansei Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Shinkyo Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Shinko Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Seikyo Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Kasyu Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Magane Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Nagato Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Heito Maru at 2,000 yards
Range increases to 3,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Kinrei Maru at 3,000 yards
CL Dragon engages xAK Tokyo Maru at 3,000 yards
CL Tromp engages xAK Zyunyo Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Sinsei Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Yomei Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Tokyo Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Sansei Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Shinkyo Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Evertsen engages xAK Shinko Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Tokyo Maru at 3,000 yards
xAK Seikai Maru sunk by DD Piet Hein at 3,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Okuyo Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Kenan Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Kensin Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Daiya Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Asahisan Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Heito Maru at 3,000 yards
Range closes to 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Kinrei Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Tamahoko Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Zyunyo Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Sinsei Maru sunk by DD Evertsen at 2,000 yards
xAK Tokyo Maru sunk by DD Scout at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Sansei Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Shinkyo Maru at 2,000 yards
CL Dragon engages xAK Seikyo Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Magane Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Kasyu Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Ikuta Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Yamagata Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Imizu Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Hawaii Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Kinrei Maru sunk by DD Gridley at 2,000 yards
CL Dragon engages xAK Hawaii Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Zyunyo Maru at 2,000 yards
CL Achilles engages xAK Hawaii Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Tyuwa Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Daiya Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Hawaii Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Hawaii Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Evertsen engages xAK Hawaii Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Okuyo Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Magane Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Piet Hein engages xAK Nagato Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Kenan Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Evertsen engages xAK Kozan Maru at 2,000 yards
CL Boise engages xAK Hawaii Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Hawaii Maru sunk by CL Dragon at 2,000 yards
CL Tromp engages xAK Tyuwa Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Sansei Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Shinkyo Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Okuyo Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Nagato Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Piet Hein engages xAK Kenan Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Kensin Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Ikuta Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Evertsen engages xAK Aso Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Yamagata Maru sunk by DD Evertsen at 2,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Kozan Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Ryuko Maru at 2,000 yards
CL Dragon engages xAK Tamahoko Maru at 2,000 yards
CL Tromp engages xAK Asahisan Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Tamahoko Maru sunk by CL Achilles at 2,000 yards
xAK Shinkyo Maru sunk by DD Van Nes at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Magane Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Nagato Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Kenan Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Kasyu Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Piet Hein engages xAK Kensin Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Ikuta Maru at 2,000 yards
CL Boise engages xAK Hokutai Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Evertsen engages xAK Akagane Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Ansyu Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Kozan Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Asahisan Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Ryuko Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Imizu Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Heito Maru at 2,000 yards
CL Boise engages xAK Aso Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Tyuwa Maru sunk by CL Dragon at 2,000 yards
CL Tromp engages xAK Aso Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Okuyo Maru sunk by CL Achilles at 2,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Aso Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Ansyu Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Aso Maru sunk by DD Van Ghent at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Ikuta Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Piet Hein engages xAK Hokutai Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Shanghai Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Asahisan Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Yomei Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Magane Maru at 2,000 yards
CL Achilles engages xAK Daiya Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Kenan Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Kasyu Maru sunk by DD Gridley at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Kensin Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Daiya Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Evertsen engages xAK Ryuko Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Nagato Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Piet Hein engages xAK Akagane Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Sansei Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Evertsen engages xAK Kozan Maru at 2,000 yards
Range increases to 3,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Yomei Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Sansei Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Ikuta Maru at 3,000 yards
xAK Nagato Maru sunk by DD Van Ghent at 3,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Kensin Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Evertsen engages xAK Hokutai Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Akagane Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Piet Hein engages xAK Hokutai Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Shanghai Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Kozan Maru at 3,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Ryuko Maru at 3,000 yards
Range closes to 2,000 yards
xAK Kensin Maru sunk by CL Dragon at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Magane Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Heito Maru sunk by CL Achilles at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Ansyu Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Ikuta Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Kozan Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Scout engages xAK Ansyu Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Shanghai Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Kozan Maru sunk by DD Kortenaer at 2,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Ryuko Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Ikuta Maru sunk by CL Boise at 2,000 yards
CL Dragon engages xAK Akagane Maru at 2,000 yards
CL Tromp engages xAK Akagane Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Kenan Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Akagane Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Akagane Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Shanghai Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Ryuko Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Imizu Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Yomei Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Sansei Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Magane Maru sunk by CL Tromp at 2,000 yards
CL Achilles engages xAK Imizu Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Kenan Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Ansyu Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Kenan Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Evertsen engages xAK Asahisan Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Ryuko Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Piet Hein engages xAK Imizu Maru at 2,000 yards
CL Dragon engages xAK Asahisan Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Shanghai Maru sunk by CL Tromp at 2,000 yards
CL Achilles engages xAK Imizu Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Asahisan Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Akagane Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Van Nes engages xAK Imizu Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Asahisan Maru at 2,000 yards
Boyd, D.W. orders Allied TF to disengage
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Yomei Maru at 2,000 yards
xAK Sansei Maru sunk by CL Dragon at 2,000 yards
xAK Kenan Maru sunk by DD Piet Hein at 2,000 yards
xAK Asahisan Maru sunk by CL Achilles at 2,000 yards
DD Evertsen engages xAK Ansyu Maru at 2,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Ansyu Maru at 2,000 yards
Range increases to 7,000 yards
CL Tromp engages xAK Ansyu Maru at 7,000 yards
CL Achilles engages xAK Imizu Maru at 7,000 yards
Range increases to 11,000 yards
DD Van Ghent engages xAK Ansyu Maru at 11,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Imizu Maru at 11,000 yards
DD Tjerk Hiddes engages xAK Akagane Maru at 11,000 yards
DD Evertsen engages xAK Ansyu Maru at 11,000 yards
DD Kortenaer engages xAK Ansyu Maru at 11,000 yards
Range increases to 14,000 yards
CL Boise engages xAK Imizu Maru at 14,000 yards
CL Dragon engages xAK Ansyu Maru at 14,000 yards
DD Gridley engages xAK Imizu Maru at 14,000 yards
Range increases to 20,000 yards
CL Boise engages xAK Imizu Maru at 20,000 yards
CL Dragon engages xAK Imizu Maru at 20,000 yards
CL Boise engages xAK Imizu Maru at 20,000 yards
Task forces break off...

[linrom]

That's the problem with playing Japan. You don't have enough air-search units to cover all the area that you conquer 24/7.

On the other hand, your opponent with 20/20 hindsight knowledge has enough search units to lay in wait to raid your transports. He was probably waiting for you out of Darwin: the raid occurs at night and by the morning turn, he is GONE. Even if you have CVs in the area, he gets to move 9 hexes, and your units must find him to even have a shot at next days' strike.

You must spot him a day early.

[GreyJoy]

where are your covering SAGs??

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: linrom

That's the problem with playing Japan. You don't have enough air-search units to cover all the area that you conquer 24/7.

On the other hand, your opponent with 20/20 hindsight knowledge has enough search units to lay in wait to raid your transports. He was probably waiting for you out of Darwin: the raid occurs at night and by the morning turn, he is GONE. Even if you have CVs in the area, he gets to move 9 hexes, and your units must find him to even have a shot at next days' strike.

You must spot him a day early.

Actually, I find it is the Allies that suffer from lack of air search in 1942, and virtually no recon at all until 43. Heck what do you expect later in the war...

[Chris21wen]

ORIGINAL: GreyJoy

where are your covering SAGs??

Actually I'm the Allies against the AI. Perhaps I should have let the AI take Lautern.

[Numdydar]

If you are playing against the AI, you need to let Japan take all the important areas without too much interference in order to have a good game. It is hard enough for humans to get going as Japan much less the AI. There is a thread just posted where in a PBEM game, Japan still has not overrun Java by 10/42.

As someone else has noted too, you can just park some CVEs on the West side of Java and sink ships all day long against the AI. So putting up a lot of resistance against the AI in the early game will not make it last very long. Of course if you want to see how bad the Ai can be ....

[msieving1]

The AI has a habit of sending large invasion convoys into harm's way with absolutely no escort.

[joey]

ORIGINAL: msieving1

The AI has a habit of sending large invasion convoys into harm's way with absolutely no escort.

The sad part is that is will do this over and over again. It does not really matter the side. The AI does suicidal missions regardless of the side.

This becomes really apparent when playing as Japan. You can really chew up the Allies. I wonder how much AI has advanced in the last few years.

[Numdydar]

I'm in a game against the Allied AI using the latest upgrades to the game (including the beta's) and I can attest that the answer to your question is , None for the Allies.

Although it is a lot of fun I must admit. Plus I have learned some things I did not expect to that will be useful when playing Japan again against a human.

[Dili]

I wonder what makes AI so poor. It is not like it is impossible to make a rule of a convoy with a certain value of LCU's have a certain value escort.

[wdolson]

It's fairly easy to make say one convoy do a certain behavior. It's a much tougher problem to create an AI that can anticipate anything a human player may do and build in contingencies. Humans are very hard to predict, especially individuals (it's easier to predict "herd" behavior of a bunch of humans).

Every separate factor you have to consider, multiply the levels of difficulty together. By the time you have an AI that needs to manage a map the size of this games, plus all the individual units this game needs to manage, you have a level of complexity that is massive. When doing AE, we did spend a tremendous amount of time on the AI. We had 4 programmers and one spent most of his time working on the AI exclusively. He probably could have built a better AI if he had started from scratch and the entire game engine was restructured, but that was a problem way out of scope.

Some games have fairly good AIs, but the scope of what the AI has to consider is much, much narrower than what this game has to manage. The AI in AE is much better than it was in WitP. Some further improvements could probably be eeked out with some effort, but there are limits to what can be done within this game engine.

The AI gets a lot of criticism from the PBEM crowd, but a survey done by Matrix found that something like 80% of players of the original WitP played predominantly or exclusively against the AI. I suspect the same is true for AE. The forum is heavily PBEM players, probably in part because PBEM players need to look for opponents and AI players don't.

Different people want different things out of their games. Some people want the game to push them to the wall and not let up, others want a more relaxed game where they don't want to worry that any minor mistake could lead to a disaster. If you approach the game with a sort of shooting gallery mindset, playing against the AI can be entertaining. In that type of game, don't expect anything close to historical results after six months, but blasting the KB out of existence is a healthier outlet for the frustrations of daily life than take it out on the poor guy who accidentally cut you off on the freeway. The electrons don't care.

Bill

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: Dili

I wonder what makes AI so poor. It is not like it is impossible to make a rule of a convoy with a certain value of LCU's have a certain value escort.

It isn't poor, its just that its relatively easy to set it up for failure. Kinda like playing a 5 yo. As long as you don't set it up to fail, it actually plays pretty well. The Nasty versions are quite competitive.

The issue in the OP, I'm willing to bet, is that there aren't any escorts available due to previous losses. The Nasty version wouldn't have had this problem, there would have been appropriate escorts with the TF.

As I noted in another thread, the aviation AI is really quite good ... better than most human players. It moves units around a lot and strikes very randomly and hard. Humans get in a rut and tend to forget to move their air units around. The AI moves units every single turn.

[KenchiSulla]

ORIGINAL: wdolson
The electrons don't care.

Bill

You obviously have never watched Battlestar Galactica....

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: wdolson
it's easier to predict "herd" behavior of a bunch of humans).

Bill

Your real name wouldn't happen to be Harry Seldon would it?

Or perhaps Daneel Olivaw?

[wdolson]

ORIGINAL: wdolson
it's easier to predict "herd" behavior of a bunch of humans).

Bill

ORIGINAL: HansBolter
Your real name wouldn't happen to be Harry Seldon would it?

Or perhaps Daneel Olivaw?

Just someone with an amateur interest in Psychology with a mate who is finishing her masters in Psych.

Asimov and to some extent other hard SF writers of the 50 subscribed to the mechanistic model of Psych. They believed everything with humans could be predicted and controlled at some point. Those guys mostly came from the world of hard science where results are predictable. Even in areas like Quantum Mechanics, you can at least nail down either the speed or location of a particle. Engineering is rooted in the fact that you can get pretty precise answers if you know enough information.

With people you can never predict with 100% accuracy anything. The only things you can say are 100% about people are pretty obvious things.

With statistical analysis you can predict some trends, but never to the degree of accuracy claimed in the Foundation series. I never read the I Robot series and I found the Foundation series a bit annoying. I did read many of the other major SF authors. I'd have to ponder a bit about what exactly did annoy me about Asimov.

In any case, I was thinking of things like the stock market prediction programs that are programmed with historical behavior of investors to news, then they watch for key events that will trigger investors to either buy or dump a stock and it does the opposite.

Steve Jobs' biggest genius IMO was his instinct for human behavior. He didn't even win over a majority of the world, but he was able to develop a rabid following who would stand in line overnight for a product that was a minor improvement over what they already had. Apple products are very well designed from an industrial design perspective (they are usually easy to use (though MacOS and iOS give me fits) and they are often more rugged than the competition) and they innovated some new product niches as well as became the first successful product in some niches that people had been trying to get to take off for years (such as tablet computers).

Apple is a very successful company because Jobs understood a customer niche and was able to get them rabidly loyal. He knew how to punch those people's buttons and get them to buy his products.

Anyway, that's what I was talking about. Predicting where the entire world will be in 50 years is somewhat more difficult. You can predict the behaviors of the bulk of the population to some degree, but what happens when a charismatic wild card comes along who takes people in a different direction? I think we've probably had hundreds in my lifetime alone. I know the Foundation series explored what one major wild card can do, but there are too many aggregates of smaller influences from less dramatic wild cards who throw too much noise into any prediction system on a large scale.

I think I'm officially babbling...

Bill