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Post by srndacful on May 25, 2019 11:43:59 GMT -6
First off: congrats to Fredrik and NSW team on making this game - even though I haven't had the time to play it as much as I wish (still only 4 years in (1924) on my 1st playthrough started a full week ago) I already like what I see, and am eagerly waiting for updates. However, there's one point that puzzles me: from all I read in the manual - and know from history - I still can't see any valid reason to add the "Floatplane search priority" toggle into the game - nor a single reason why you'd want it off at all. Historically, Floatplanes were used (in addition to Scouting) for: - Naval Gunfire Spotting - which is currently (as far as I'm aware of) not in the game - Air Rescue & Liaison - which is currently (again, as far as I can tell) unsupported in the game - 'inner' ASW CAP - which is used in 'strategic' phase, but not used in actual tactical battle, and - bombing - for which dedicated bombers are far more useful. Note that I'm not complaining (the game is awesome, after all) - just curious as to why you ever wanted to include it in the first place. Because, even if gunfire spotting is in the works - and scheduled for addition in a future update, I see no reason why I shouldn't use Floatplanes (in my carrier force) for their original purpose and leave bombers to their rightful job. And, as for the fact that Japan used it: the only difference (IMHO) between it and other Navies was the fact that it placed more Floatplanes on it's Cruisers - effectively turning them into a kind of Cruiser-SeaplaneCarrier hybrid - i.e. (again, IMHO) nothing that needs a special exception: just stick more floatplanes onto your Cruisers. (after all, that's what I plan to do ) Cheers! P.S. Have I mentioned lately how awesome this game is? No? OK then: this game is F$%&ing awesome!
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Post by xenxen on May 25, 2019 13:12:43 GMT -6
I use it so that the small carrier don't use all there bombers for scouting
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Post by elouda on May 25, 2019 13:31:02 GMT -6
The reason its there is precisely to control if you want to use the floatplanes first (as Japan did) and other aircraft second, or the other way around (US style, typically one DB squadron was tasked with search, and this is reflected in the squadron designations VS vs VB). Ideally it would be nice to pick between DB and TB first when its off as well, as I'd much rather my DB do search than my TB.
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Post by tortugapower on May 25, 2019 15:44:15 GMT -6
elouda is there a reason why you would want your TBs (or DBs) scouting in the game right now? The reason I can think is if your TB has much longer range and/or speed than your FP. However, if this is not the case, is there any reason I'm missing why you wouldn't want to prioritize FPs?
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Post by elouda on May 25, 2019 15:48:14 GMT -6
elouda is there a reason why you would want your TBs (or DBs) scouting in the game right now? The reason I can think is if your TB has much longer range and/or speed than your FP. However, if this is not the case, is there any reason I'm missing why you wouldn't want to prioritize FPs? Mainly so that I don't have to waste the tonnage on other ships to carry the floatplanes, or so I don't have to build AVs? Especially after 1940 when you often have several 60+ aircraft CVs in a battle, having 4-8 DB/TB do search isn't a massive issue.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on May 25, 2019 16:08:49 GMT -6
I always throw my float-planes on my CLs- there are always a lot of them, and I don't need to care about whether they are slowing down to launch/recover.
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Post by tbr on May 25, 2019 18:34:08 GMT -6
Early on I use AV's because the CL's are still displacement limited (in the sense that guns, torps, armor and engines use up all displacement available). The big problem here is that apparently the automatic tasking of floatplanes for search (as defined in the radial setting) is bugged. Where I would expect all available floatplanes to be tasked until the full sweep is filled (with one plane in the About 15-20° increments of the pattern, two if two-ohase search is used) at most I see one or two CA or CL asking for permission to launch and they launch one or two floatplanes only (even with more than half a dozen CL's and CA's with four floatplanes each in the TF), never an AV.
I suspect two things: 1) The AV's floatplanes are not at all considered/tasked with automatic search (might be connected to the ship class code) 2) The permission dialogue for launch is bugged or even mistakenly WAD'd and interrupts further 3) In floatplane search tagged CL/CA the algorithm does not "reload", i.e. never more floatplanes than the number of catapults (that is at most 2 due to design rules for CL/CA) are launched
All together means that I haven't seen a "full search pattern" with floatplanes in the game yet.
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Post by srndacful on May 25, 2019 21:43:27 GMT -6
elouda is there a reason why you would want your TBs (or DBs) scouting in the game right now? The reason I can think is if your TB has much longer range and/or speed than your FP. However, if this is not the case, is there any reason I'm missing why you wouldn't want to prioritize FPs? Mainly so that I don't have to waste the tonnage on other ships to carry the floatplanes, or so I don't have to build AVs? Especially after 1940 when you often have several 60+ aircraft CVs in a battle, having 4-8 DB/TB do search isn't a massive issue.
Exactly - that was my whole point: If FS aren't here to scout, then they have no other use, and I might as well kick them out of all my ships - in which case there will be no FS anywhere in the force, and the game will launch DB/TB searches automatically, not even caring if the 'Floatplane search priority' button/toggle is turned on or not - i.e. that button/toggle becomes irrelevant. Let me put it another way: what can that button do that removing (i.e. not placing) all the FS from your ships won't do more efficiently (and easily)? Cheers!
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Post by aeson on May 25, 2019 22:07:14 GMT -6
Mainly so that I don't have to waste the tonnage on other ships to carry the floatplanes, or so I don't have to build AVs? Especially after 1940 when you often have several 60+ aircraft CVs in a battle, having 4-8 DB/TB do search isn't a massive issue.
Exactly - that was my whole point: If FS aren't here to scout, then they have no other use, and I might as well kick them out of all my ships - in which case there will be no FS anywhere in the force, and the game will launch DB/TB searches automatically, not even caring if the 'Floatplane search priority' button/toggle is turned on or not - i.e. that button/toggle becomes irrelevant. Let me put it another way: what can that button do that removing (i.e. not placing) all the FS from your ships won't do more efficiently (and easily)? Cheers! Floatplanes should in general be slower and less maneuverable than carrier aircraft. Especially if your reconnaissance aircraft are liable to run into resistance, I can see reasons to use carrier aircraft rather than floatplanes for reconnaissance.
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Post by akosjaccik on May 26, 2019 1:52:13 GMT -6
(...) All together means that I haven't seen a "full search pattern" with floatplanes in the game yet. My experience is similar. Yesterday evening I streamed a good three hours of RtW2, and not once did my AVs initiate a search, with or without catapults, with floatplane search doct. checked. (To add insult to injury, probably due to the latter, neither did my CVLs do reconnaissance.) Frankly, this isn't really a nuisance, because I like to conduct the recon manually and I could do away with the whole automated mess, but setting up a pattern manually is also problematic now that not even the individually selected vectors are shown on the map (which is a lot of "fun" even with 10 FPs), let alone the ability to "draw a fan".
By the way, do recon aircraft and airships report on their way back as well? I am not certain, but the more I play, sometimes the more it feels that they don't. I could be very much wrong on this however.
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Post by elouda on May 26, 2019 3:07:06 GMT -6
Mainly so that I don't have to waste the tonnage on other ships to carry the floatplanes, or so I don't have to build AVs? Especially after 1940 when you often have several 60+ aircraft CVs in a battle, having 4-8 DB/TB do search isn't a massive issue.
Exactly - that was my whole point: If FS aren't here to scout, then they have no other use, and I might as well kick them out of all my ships - in which case there will be no FS anywhere in the force, and the game will launch DB/TB searches automatically, not even caring if the 'Floatplane search priority' button/toggle is turned on or not - i.e. that button/toggle becomes irrelevant. Let me put it another way: what can that button do that removing (i.e. not placing) all the FS from your ships won't do more efficiently (and easily)? Cheers! Having it there still means you can potentially choose to use floatplanes if you have them as ’second wave’ recon manually, while still letting TB do the initial sweep.
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Post by goodman on May 26, 2019 14:03:39 GMT -6
elouda is there a reason why you would want your TBs (or DBs) scouting in the game right now? The reason I can think is if your TB has much longer range and/or speed than your FP. However, if this is not the case, is there any reason I'm missing why you wouldn't want to prioritize FPs? Carrier planes are faster and longer range than Float Planes. You can right click on the number of planes in the squadron to set it to 1, and right click to manual set the mission to recon. When you are searching for enemy carriers, I think it's better to manual search with your carrier planes to likely map locations, while you ready a strike group.
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Post by tortugapower on May 26, 2019 14:43:28 GMT -6
Carrier planes are faster and longer range than Float Planes. You can right click on the number of planes in the squadron to set it to 1, and right click to manual set the mission to recon. When you are searching for enemy carriers, I think it's better to manual search with your carrier planes to likely map locations, while you ready a strike group. Thanks goodman! Is this from the lightning bolt in-game carrier flights management screen? I've never tried separating the squadrons in situ.
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Post by goodman on May 26, 2019 16:15:58 GMT -6
Carrier planes are faster and longer range than Float Planes. You can right click on the number of planes in the squadron to set it to 1, and right click to manual set the mission to recon. When you are searching for enemy carriers, I think it's better to manual search with your carrier planes to likely map locations, while you ready a strike group. Thanks goodman! Is this from the lightning bolt in-game carrier flights management screen? I've never tried separating the squadrons in situ. Yes, this is in the lightning screen.
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