Post by dorn on May 27, 2019 14:13:39 GMT -6
I like quite a lot how core of design of carrier warfare works. Early 20s difficult to hit and usually more as support. During 30s power of aicraft is raising rapidly making torpedo runs and later dive bombing quite potent easily destroying a lot of ships. Than it comes to 40s with much increase AA fire changing situation again as capital ships starts to be behemonts and 2-3 torpedoes just scratch them a little and their AA fire become more dangerous to aircrafts.
But I found that there are some issues with missions as they are practically RTW1 missions included carriers. Right now I am practically at the end of the first playthrough from 1920 as UK. I have fought with France, Germany, USA (2 times), Japan, Soviets and I have never carrier battle in Pacific style no matter where mission was - in North American coast, Channel, French coast, Baltic, Pacific.
There are even some other small issues. I would like to point them out and give some suggestion which could help to make things better
1. Carrier battle Pacific style
I would give more examples from 40s as it amplified the issue to be more visible however issue is in even in different time periods.
Aicraft target:
All my battles have something similar. Both sides has surface fleet ahead of carrier force. After spotting I order usually strike to carrier force however almost all times my strike aircrafts need to flight over my surface fleet and enemy surface fleets and instead attacking carrier force they just attack surface fleet. I would expect it about poor experienced pilots, but about veterans?
Sugestion: I do not know, may be it is OK, may be a little tweaking of aircraft behaivor is needed
Short range:
I have never had battle where after initial scouting both carrier forces where more than 100 miles apart, usually about 60 miles. No matter what weather condition and daytime it was. My planes have scounting range severals hundreds miles and enemy fleet is just 10-20 miles ahead of mine. How they can get hide from scout planes from several carriers is mystery.
Sugestion: As planes starts to play role starting positions should be hundreds of miles, practically it should be apart more than range of any aircrafts. This means longer battles but much more interesting as scouting will be not just about when and where I find enemy fleet but more about when the enemy fleet can be after several hours when my air strike can get there
2. Locations
In RTW there were some locations a little strange as main force will be not so close to ports risking attacks from light force but it was really small issue as everything works quite well. However with airpower everything has changed as in RTW we have nothing like air superiority so ships have no "save zone".
Starting location:
I can se this as big issue as I get quite often in position with some aggresive task (attack land target, attack ships near coast) but in position where enemy airforce dominate and close to target even if I have carriers that can hit several hundreds miles from their location. (some examples: as UK just near Portland where USA has several land basis near by, against Soviets near Hango, against French in Channel or near Brest)
Solution: similar to "Short range" description, starting location would be far from coast not reachable by land aircrafts or enemy fleet at start
Another thing is that I have several times defending mission as UK where my force was around Saint John. Carrier movement in this small area was quite strange always trying to make holes into land. But overall if some defending nation have carrie force, they will not position them just in front of port (USN trying to defend Midway having their carrier force 10 miles from Midway would be "interesting").
Sugestion: adapt mission to carrier battle that carrier force is in range but quite far from port itself
Inadequate force:
I understand quite correctly that Admirals need to fight what they have in hand and make best of it. However they were seldom sucide missions if there were not needed. Giving force of 2 cruisers and some destroyers attacking deep in enemy territory without any air coverage is quite strange, especially if carrier is available in that area. It is in line with RTW where it gives sence such hit and run mission but in RTW2 at times of airplanes it have no sence. In this case this attack mission will be not done or much higher efforts will be done. In game I feel sometimes as Pedestral operation screen just by 2 cruisers. UK will never do something like this if they have some reasonable force available on such important mission.
Sugestion: mission are far away from land or at time where wheater is not favourable to air force
Location out of basis
This I do not know what to think about. May be bug, may be just very unprobable fact.
In my last war with USA as UK, USN fleet were moving between North America East coast, the Caribbean, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean and West Africa. Usually most of the fleet was in one of location that USN had no basis. I get no mission in such area. Quite strange. All mission I get was either in Northeast America coast, Caribbean or some smaller clash in Pacific. This is even linked with strategic movement, I will speak about it some other suggestion.
Sugestion: If enemy force is sailed outside their area (no basis) there is higher chance that enemy fleet will try to intercept and use this into advantage. It is historically very likely, just think about different plans of USN and Japan in 30s.
3. minefields and attacking force
I get sometimes force which cannot attack the target at all. The reason were that I can get to target at night and unable to identied to start fire or is protected by minefield and my force (destroyers/cruisers) are unable to fire at that distance.
Sugestion: change placement of land targets or some check of distance of guns vs. distance from end of minefield to land target.
note to screenshot:
This ship received 12 torpedo hits hour after completely being wreck. Another ship get half and hour after starting sinking 7 torpedo hits from torpedo bombers. I understand that pilot does not know condition of the ship (however such ship fire no AA fire, is without any escort so clearly abandoned) if they target is 50 miles from carrier position they would not attack ship on which fires raging from bow to aft with all squadrons. It seems that minimum 3 squadrons attacked this ship and I do not know how much other ship. So my strikes of about 100 torpedoes and dive bombers with pilots of good and veteran skill was completely pointless as almost all squadrons liked to attack burning wrecks. I would expect that some planes would attack the ship but not several squadrons or may be whole strike.
Because of this behavior it is quite difficult to sink some carriers in carrier force just by air force as they are being again and again distracted but something else and if by some lucky way they get to target they are just so few airplanes that they are completely annihilated by CAP. This behavior is quite usual not matter if the target is carrier force, battleship division or other division.
Quite similar it is if my airplanes need to fly over surface fleet, they get distracted quite often. At least from 40s I would expect that pilots know that if their targets are carriers they would ignore other targets and focus on carriers.
EDIT: added screenshot and explenation