Base building

[CapAndGown]

1) How to build a base
Bases can only be built where you see red or green dots. If the place you want to build a base is not controlled by you (i.e. the dot is red and you are playing the US) then you need to first capture the "dot." This will require that you have a force with infantry squads that can "attack" the dot.
Once you have place secure where you wish to build a base you will need engineers to commence construction. By examining the base screen you can see the progress of your construction of airfields, port facilities, and fortifications. The number in parentheses tells how big and airfield or port can be built without the expenditure of large amounts of supplies and considerable extra effort on the part of you engineers. Any base can be built to three levels beyond the number in the parenthesis. Thus, a base with a max airfield size of (0) can be built up to size 3.
Each level increase in the size of a port, fortification, or airfield takes an increasing amount of time. So you can have a level one airfield built very rapidly, but as the size of the field grows the rate of construction will slow down. Port build slower than airfields and fortifications build the slowest of all.

2) Prioritizing your building
If you have your engineers building airfields, port facilities and fortifications all at once, then 33% of their effort will be devoted to each effort. By only building two items, 50% of your effort will be given to building these two items. And by focusing on just one item you will devote 100% of your engineers' effort to building that item. Therefore, if you want to get an airfield built rapidly, as an example, then stop building fortifications and port facilities until you have your airfield built to the size you want.
Also remember that expanding facilities absorbs supplies. So if you are having a difficult time supplying a base you might want to stop construction after you have achieved the airfield and port sizes you need as a minimum.

3) What should build priorities be
In building a base, airfields and port facilities are the main item that need to be built. Fortifications are very useful for increasing your defensive strength and for giving you time to bring in reenforcements. But additional troops can be just as, if not more effective for this than fortifications. There are no substitutes, however, for port facilities and airfields.
Every port should be built up to size three so that ships unloading supplies are not vulnerable to submarine attack. An advanced port facility of size three can also be useful as an emergency stop over for ships that have received floatation damage.
All airfields should be built up to at least size 2. A size 1 airfield can only support a very limited number of missions whereas a size 2 airfield can host most types of planes and missions except for level bombers. Thus, if you wish to base SBD's or Val's at an airfield to fend off an invasion, it will need to be size 2 so that these planes can operate in an Naval attack role. If you plan to use the base for level bombers, then it should be built to at least size 4. Also remember, the bigger the airfield the few operational loses your squadrons will suffer when operating from that base.

NEW

5) An important note for the japanese player: When initially building a base, the malarial effects are extreme. The larger a base grows, the less malaria will effect the units located there. Therefore, if you capture a base hex where there is no base currently, for example, Woodlark Island, then the engineers that are initially sent there will degrade rapidly. If you send a base force there to help in building the base, your base force will degrade along with the rest of the units. Because you have limited aviation support points, however, this will mean that you are adding to your woes as far as keeping your airforce supported. Therefore, a good strategy for the japanese player will be to send in non-base force engineers to prepare the base before sending in a base force unit. A good rule would be to wait until the airfield and port ar both size 2 before sending in a base force. Once a base has an airfield of size 3 the malaria effects seem to bottom out. So I would recommend building your airfields up to size three. But you don't need your non-base force engineers to do this additional building. Once you have a size 3 port and a size 2 airfield, move the engineers to another location where you want to build a base and put them to work there. Meanwhile, the engineers associated with your base forces can continue to expand the airfield and build fortifications.


Finally, keep in mind that the more engineers you have the faster your bases will grow.

[milesjb]

Hi C & G,

Please keep these coming. They are great.

Miles

[pasternakski]

Again, top quality stuff.

I would merely add that engineers with engineer vehicles (like Allied EAB and CB units) build the fastest. Japanese base construction efforts take considerably longer due to their lack of motorized construction equipment.

Also, fortification levels are extremely significant in base capture. As the manual says:

The higher the fortification level, the harder it is to capture a base. The adjusted combat odds must exceed or equal the fortification level for the base plus two for the base to fall...

Fortification levels are reduced by the combat odds and by combat engineers (my experience has been that combat engineers reduce the fortification level by one per engineer unit involved in the attack).

This makes fortifications very powerful when they get above the 4 or 5 level. For example (and I am ignoring the effect of artillery here for simplicity's sake. Suffice it to say, as we all know intuitively, artillery helps - on either side of a battle). A base defended by a unit with a modified combat value of 60 (let's say its raw value is 100, but it has been bombarded and is short on supply, a frequent situation for base defenders in UV). The base has a fortification level of 6. The attacker brings two regiments with a combat engineer, total combat value of 210. The odds are 3-1, which reduces the fortification level to 3. The combat engineer reduces the fortification level to 2, but, because of the above-stated rule, the attack fails to capture the base.

So fortification building can be an important consideration, particularly when you think the bad guys may be coming to get you ...

[CapAndGown]

Bump

Added a new paragraph (5) on japanese strategy for building bases.