Operation Shiny Chevy

[larryfulkerson]

So um....Hey you guys I'm also playing against the Jap AI in a game of WITP-AE and I've
just ran into a unit that is eligable to upgrade to the P-40E but this squadron of the AVG
is flying what the Chinese call the H81-A3 and I'm comparing the two planes capabilities and I've
put a yellow box around the better performing trait of the two planes and it looks to me like they ought
to stick with the plane they are currently flying. Anybody have any heartburn?

[golden delicious]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

So um....Hey you guys I'm also playing against the Jap AI in a game of WITP-AE and I've
just ran into a unit that is eligable to upgrade to the P-40E but this squadron of the AVG
is flying what the Chinese call the H81-A3 and I'm comparing the two planes capabilities and I've
put a yellow box around the better performing trait of the two planes and it looks to me like they ought
to stick with the plane they are currently flying. Anybody have any heartburn?

Looks like the P-40 actually has the better armament (all .50 cal rather than a mix of .30 and .50, and although the cruise speed is slower, in a dogfight it'll be the top speed that matters. I'm hardly an expert, but I'd suggest the H81 would be more likely to get the other guy in its sights (due to the climb rate and manoeuvrability), but the P-40 more likely to kill it when it gets there.

The H81 is apparently just an export version of the P-40C so I'm not sure why the stats are so different. Supposedly early models of the P-40E had problems when turning which might account for a reduce manoeuvre rating but that would be about it.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's the front lines in T67. I have a lot of stragglers still.

[larryfulkerson]

I'm not sure how this happened or how to fix it either. Anybody got any good ideas?

[golden delicious]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

I'm not sure how this happened or how to fix it either. Anybody got any good ideas?

This is I believe the default location of a unit when created in the editor. Normally this setting would mean the unit will never appear in the scenario but the deployment status of tac reserve implies that it's on the board (this column should show arrival turn or event if the unit hadn't appeared yet).

I'm sure it can't be fixed during the game. Judging from the name of the unit it isn't supposed to appear until 1943 so you should be OK for now anyway

[larryfulkerson]

It's now T76 and I now have 21.59K HRS's assigned and only 183 on hand. The OOB reports that I now have 803 units on the game board. And a LOT of that is stuff like CD guns and garrison units in Germany. They have a yellow border on the bottom so I can't disband them to get a more accurate number for the LCU's on the map. I'm guessing about 450 units that I can move and shoot with. My shock is 100% and the Soviet shock is 100% and it's now mid-March '41 and the weather is terrible. The Finns are still defending Leningrad and the Romanians captured Odessa.

[larryfulkerson]

This is as close as the Soviets have come so far. They were taking their sweet time getting here.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's how the Finns are getting along. They get attacked every turn, at least a bombardment and they are losing a handfull of equipment with every attack. There are some Finn units in the conglomerate of units behind my main front lines and I'm debating disbanding them so that the Finns near Leningrad would have more equipment on hand to replace their losses each turn. Anybody have an opinion?

[larryfulkerson]

Here finally in T79 the Soviets are approching my MLR and I think I'm about as ready for them as I ever will be. The units have had lots of turns to fatten up and rest and gather their supply and morale is good and I have no supply problems ( that I know of ) and the Soviets are tired having just marched a long distance and their supply levels are probably poor and remember the weather is terrible and it's as cold as Mitch McConnell's heart out there. About 10 turns ago an advanced Soviet recon unit made up of mostly infantry showed up adjacent to my lines in this area and I railed in all the arty in the German army to the spots where they could all shoot and it took just two combat rounds to evaporate him. I think the Axis is ready.

[larryfulkerson]

Here's a T80 view of the Soviet supply levels near my lines. It explains why they weren't moving very fast. Most of his units are overextended. Well ain't that a crying shame.

[golden delicious]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

Here's a T80 view of the Soviet supply levels near my lines. It explains why they weren't moving very fast. Most of his units are overextended. Well ain't that a crying shame.

Interesting to see under the hood of the PO's behaviour. It looks like he is being very cautious and most of his units are in good supply condition despite the lack of forward supply. Still these supply issues won't last forever and this prolonged period of quiet is going to have produced a very, very powerful Soviet force as everyone will be filling out with replacements and not taking any losses. If I'm not mistaken the Soviets get a short offensive phase from turn 90, we'll see how that looks.

[larryfulkerson]

So um..........hey you guys: The Soviets aren't advancing and they aren't fixing their rails. This game is rapidly going nowhere and I'm going to do a restart sometime today after lunch.

This image of Leningrad is proof that the game is going nowhere. It's been in this configuration for about 20+ turns now.

[golden delicious]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

So um..........hey you guys: The Soviets aren't advancing and they aren't fixing their rails. This game is rapidly going nowhere and I'm going to do a restart sometime today after lunch.

I expect the PO is coded in the event engine to move to a defensive posture at the end of its Spring offensive in 1942 so this would explain why they're not attacking. Not fixing the rails is another matter, it's possible that the Soviets have no rail repair until later in the scenario, if so that's very disappointing- it would be fairly straightforward to open the editor and check.

Overall I think it's common for these large, long scenarios not to have been really thoroughly tested past the opening stages. It might work OK if everyone follows the script, but I doubt it's built to cope with dramatic shifts- such as here where you've fallen back to a more defensible line.

I need to look at my own match, as I've fallen back from my furthest advance in front of Moscow, and see if the Soviets have fixed up the line as they followed up.

[larryfulkerson]

ORIGINAL: golden delicious

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

So um..........hey you guys: The Soviets aren't advancing and they aren't fixing their rails. This game is rapidly going nowhere and I'm going to do a restart sometime today after lunch.

I expect the PO is coded in the event engine to move to a defensive posture at the end of its Spring offensive in 1942 so this would explain why they're not attacking. Not fixing the rails is another matter, it's possible that the Soviets have no rail repair until later in the scenario, if so that's very disappointing- it would be fairly straightforward to open the editor and check.

Overall I think it's common for these large, long scenarios not to have been really thoroughly tested past the opening stages. It might work OK if everyone follows the script, but I doubt it's built to cope with dramatic shifts- such as here where you've fallen back to a more defensible line.

I need to look at my own match, as I've fallen back from my furthest advance in front of Moscow, and see if the Soviets have fixed up the line as they followed up.

Actually I did check that possibility. I stopped the Soviet turn and looked at the Inventory and there were 420 RR engineer squads assigned. I started looking through each and every unit looking for them and no joy. I finally fired up the editor and did a dump of the game ( XML ) and searched through the text and found out that the "Sapper Bn's" have RR engineer squads as organic equipment, so yes they are in the game. I have yet to watch Elmer attempt to repair the rails. The unit itself moves and I suppose Elmer would attack with it but no rail repair is happening.

[golden delicious]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson


Actually I did check that possibility. I stopped the Soviet turn and looked at the Inventory and there were 420 RR engineer squads assigned. I started looking through each and every unit looking for them and no joy. I finally fired up the editor and did a dump of the game ( XML ) and searched through the text and found out that the "Sapper Bn's" have RR engineer squads as organic equipment, so yes they are in the game. I have yet to watch Elmer attempt to repair the rails. The unit itself moves and I suppose Elmer would attack with it but no rail repair is happening.

Thanks- this is good to know. It's frustrating that the whole scenario can basically be wrecked by small oversights like this. I'm not sure why the RR unit won't fix the rails but the AI should ideally be provided with an auto-repair allowance, too. Did you check for this in the event list? If 420 RR squads is all the PO has then that's pretty pathetic for a scenario of this size.

[larryfulkerson]

The auto-repair chance for the Soviets is "3" and the chance of destruction upon entering an empty enemy hex is 100%. And as for the events affecting the auto-repair chance um...lemmee take a look and get back to you.

[golden delicious]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

The auto-repair chance for the Soviets is "3" and the chance of destruction upon entering an empty enemy hex is 100%. And as for the events affecting the auto-repair chance um...lemmee take a look and get back to you.

Wow, I would guess the Soviets would need to fix at least 3,000 rail hexes over the course of the scenario, at that rate they would be closing on Berlin in about 1950...

[larryfulkerson]

Here's what I found in the Events. It looks like the number of rail hexes that gets fixed each turn is turned up in later turns. That will help a lot but still I'd like to see the RR engineers do their jobs.

[golden delicious]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

Here's what I found in the Events. It looks like the number of rail hexes that gets fixed each turn is turned up in later turns. That will help a lot but still I'd like to see the RR engineers do their jobs.

This is what I was afraid of. It actually makes your strategy here- to pull back and let the Soviets come to you- sort of a killer move, as when the Soviets move forward they will have almost no supply and you would then be able to actively engage with and destroy them as they come forward. Given the actual course of the war, I'd rather see a higher baseline railroad repair for the Soviets here. I doubt these figures are based on any research, but rather on just allowing for the historical outcome.

I think this means my current match is OK, though, as I haven't pulled back that much and don't expect to for the foreseeable future. It does suggest the Axis has a lot to gain by pushing ahead and cutting up the rail as much as possible to make it more difficult for the Soviets to supply their frontlines if things swing back.

Thanks again for digging this out- really helpful.

[larryfulkerson]

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the development team has produced a new version and it needs to be tested before being released into the wild. I'm the one to test that bad boy so this AAR will come to an abrupt end. I'm posting about my test on the development board with the hope that they will eventually move it to the public board.