Matrix Games

quote:

ORIGINAL: Suhiir

I'm doing the Guadalcanal scenario (as the allies) because it's big/long enough to allow/force some longer-term planning and requires a good mix of Sub/ASW, surface, and air operations.

I'm in late October now and have a few questions about the results I'm seeing.



2) Air-to-air combat is worse then suicidal. Again I've swapped to decent pilots and squadron commanders. But my most recent air battle is the reason for this post. Japan 4 waves of average 30 fighters and 6-10 attack aircraft vs a 106 plane CAP (all 4 carriers with full fighter complement set to 100% CAP).
In any air battle my aircraft suffer 30-50% mechanical failures (out of ammo, low oil pressure, etc.) so never get involved in combat. I see the Japanese have about a 5% mechanical failure rate. Even so my 50ish operational Wildcats fight vs the Japanese Zeros suffering a 2 or 3 to one loss ratio and rarely reach the attack aircraft (who sometime don't even appear on the air battle screen but materialize just in time to attack my ships). They then proceed to hit no less then 20-25% of the time, and do an average of 35 float damage to larger ships and frequently sink smaller outright in one hit. In earlier air vs ship battles vs the Japanese I counted myself lucky to get a 5-10% hit rate and their ships often soaked up 4-6 hits each and sailed happily on.
Now repair ... HA! Send it back to Pearl? The repair times are longer then the scenario so anything significantly damaged is as good as dead (i.e. out of the scenario as a useful unit).

This scenario doesn't give me a year to train pilots so I'm stuck with what I have, and they're apparently inept.
What am I doing wrong here?

quote:

ORIGINAL: Suhiir

witpqs

My subs are in port because they don't justify the supply expenditure to keep them out not because I don't realize a 1-in-50 chance to both hit and explode is better then none. Given the limited supply available in the scenario and the amount used by medium bombers attempting ASW in Australia I just don't have the resources to spare for 1-in-50 chances. The auto-supply does a wonderful job of stockpiling supplies at bases I'm not using while the ones that need it run on a shoestring. I'm hoping that with luck eventually these unused/unoccupied locations in Australia will reach some sort of supply cap and the "excess" will actually get to the bases I use.

At worst, you subs will act as an early warning line, set enough off Truk and Rabaul will either give you good info or force the JFB to waste supply on an ASW Campaign. You might also cause any IJN TF to change his track and burn a few more pounds of fuel. In the latest patch you can set your bases to stockpile and you have always had the ability to store less supply than is currently there.

Empire101

Morale is fine, fatigue there's not much I can do about because if I run less then 80-100% CAP the carrier pilots don't have a place to return to. I move in, have one large air battle, move back out and rest, then repeat. Commanders I've changed out already (and they were a pretty good lot to start with) altitude I've split at 11,000 because it's mostly Bettys and their damn torps killing me but one can't ignore the Vals dive bombing me.

I have never run CAP at more than 60%, I thinkl (subject to an expert confirming) that you are putting all eggs in one basket and might cover 1 raid but subsequent raids get through. Are all CV in the same TF, in this period you would struggle to get 2 CV into a TF and get optimal sorties.

aztez

I know luck/die rolls are a factor in games/war and I've had my share, I still have all my CVs and even one operational CA left in late October!

larryfulkerson

The OZ repair yard has been working overtime keeping enough APs/AKs afloat to maintain my supply movement efforts; but mostly trying to repair one of my BBs that will actually be finished before the scenario is over.

Repairing a BB would be a waste. I think this is a perfect example of trying to run a modern campaign in the SW Pacific in 1942/43.

inqistor

I suspect the experience levels is the big thing affecting me here. I know you can train aircraft pilots (if you have enough supply available) and I am, but the scenario is too short for this to have a major impact, and on the occasions I MUST engage in air-to-air combat they get shot down anyway, I suppose the 3-4 that are lucky enough to survive 20 air battles will be pretty good pilots. Even with disbanding most of my squadrons to provide aircraft to fill out the remaining ones the aircraft replacement rate is such that I lose more in the AM phase of a battle then I get from the factories in a month )OK, slight exaggeration ... both the AM and PM phase).
And how does one train ship crews? Given the rate at witch they're sunk, and the turn-around on repairs if the ship survives a battle, it's obviously not in battle ... and sailing in circles somewhere out of harms way certainly isn't going to cut it.

Maybe lower the operational tempo, after the initial rush for the 'canal you have plenty of time to build/plan for the remaining months.

##########

I guess my questions were poorly phrased.

How does one hold their own against the Japanese in this scenario?
This is my 3rd/4th attempt at the scenario (I'm using it to learn the game before attempt a full campaign game) and I've learned a LOT, but apparently not enough and not something(s) critical.