swang
Junior Member
Posts: 97
|
Post by swang on Jun 27, 2016 17:05:24 GMT -6
Yes or get lucky and pick an early fight with Russia. If Russia collapses, both Finland and Baltic States are 10 points and so vulnerable to being seized which gives you a base to operate from. It's actually not that hard to pick a couple of countries to target as your next war. Unless some surprises happen, of course. For my third war, I was actually targeting IT, but FR and RU shot up in tension due to spy events. By the time war with RU happened, FR was at 8 or 9, and IT was only at 6. I wouldn't say I was unprepared for war, but I definitely could have prepositioned better. On the other hand, both JA and GE were deliberate wars (although GE surrendering so early was a surprise.) I was trying to control the Pacific.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2016 17:24:26 GMT -6
as super global power i always thought USA would be easiest. but it turned out a micro managing nightmare(!!) for me due to huge budget size and tons of ships to keep on foreign station. by 1930 i have 1.8 something Billion budget and 40 something capital ships and each turn is a click-fest. <-- perhaps i'm just extremely averse to clickfests myself.... but despite all that, lots of $$ means many options and things to play with. I got all kinds of BB/BC/CA/CL/DD designs built each with its own strengths. i.e. built 9 x 18 mini-yamatos. A mini-montana with 12 x 16. A fast super BC with 8 x 18. A G3/Rodney style 9x18 BC but without rearward firepower. a fast 8x6 CL. a fleet 12x6 CL with good protection but slower. A 6x5 8TT guns DD and a 4x4 12TT torp DD.... so many things to explore.
umm.... so in any event is a fun nation and bid you good luck and fair winds!
|
|
swang
Junior Member
Posts: 97
|
Post by swang on Jun 27, 2016 18:43:04 GMT -6
After the RU war ended, UK was the largest Tension, at 6 already. My ideal next battle is either GE, IT or FR, none of whom are all that high. I'm going to focus on a viable way to beat UK, but it'll be hard... First things first, I scrapped the old CLs and DDs. I'm going to change the way I do strategic estimates. Instead of regions, separate out by theaters: 1) Pacific Theater: (NA West Coast, NE Asia, SE Asia, Pacific, SA West Coast) I currently have a foreign station requirement of 23k for NE Asia and 14k for SE Asia UK has: 2BC, 18B, 10CA, 18CL, 49DD (317 total ship points) I have: 1BB, 5B, 3CA in theater (67 ship points) 2) Southern Theater: (Indian Ocean, W Africa, SA East Coast) I have no possessions there, and don't plan on contesting this theater. UK has: 1 CA 3) North Atlantic Theater: (Mediterranean, Caribbean, N Europe, NA East Coast) This is where the decisive operation happens. If I can win in N Europe, I'll be able to draw off units from the other two theaters, meaning that they'll be able to hold on. UK has: 1BB, 9B, 7CA, 10CL, 11DD (160 ship points.) They also have, 10BC, 1CA, 1CL, and 2DD building (113 ship points) I have: 7BC, 8B, 1CA, 12DD (151 ship points) I am constructing: 5 more BBs (4 targeted to NA East Coast, 1 to NA West Coast) 8 BCs (2 each SE Asia, NE Asia, Caribbean, 1 each NA West and NA East) 1 Actual BB: 12 next gen DD: If I can get the money, I'll get more DD, move the old DD to the Pacific Theater, and then get as many BB as I can. I'll start retiring the CAs and Bs as soon as I can, so that I can free up money for more construction.
|
|
swang
Junior Member
Posts: 97
|
Post by swang on Jun 28, 2016 0:22:44 GMT -6
Jan 1909 Docks completed and started (38k) UK tension at 9, FR at 8. Hopefully I can get war with FR...
Jul 1909 North Korea is in chaos, we successfully send a task force and bring it under control. The problem? UK Tension at 10, GE Tension at 9, and FR at 8
Jan 1910 Docks completed and started (42k) UK Tension at 11, GE/JA at 9, FR at 8
July 1910 War with UK! First battle doesn't go very well. Battle in N Europe 1 BC sunk, 1 BC damaged (medium) vs 1 BC sunk, 2 BC Damaged (light), 1 CA Sunk, 4 DD sunk, 3 DD damaged (light)
August 1910 Second battle went better. Battle in Caribbean. 2 BC damaged (light) vs 1 B sunk, 1 CL sunk, 4 DD sunk, 1 DD damaged (heavy) I was surprised that my army invaded both Weihaiwei and Hong Kong. What's going on? Then I see in NA East Coast: 1BB 8BC 23B 12CA 15CL 44DD (425 pts) !!!! OMG, I am so screwed...
|
|
swang
Junior Member
Posts: 97
|
Post by swang on Jun 28, 2016 19:45:45 GMT -6
Sept 1910 BCs tear through CAs and CLs, but do poorly against BBs. Who knew? (not I, said the blind man.) Battle in N Europe. 1 BC sunk, 2 BCs damaged (heavy) vs 1 BC sunk, 1 BC damaged (light), 3 CA sunk, 1 CA Damaged (medium), 2 CL sunk, 2 CLs sunk (light), 2 DDs sunk, 4 DDs damaged (light), 5 TRs sunk. Seriously, I faced off against 2 BBs, did they not get penetrated? (apparently not, 12 in guns at -1 doesn't do all that well against 10.5 in belts and 2.5 decks) Oct 1910 Essex class minimal BC nails a CL in a cruiser action in the Caribbean Weihaiwei falls, that was fast Despite winning a battle in the Caribbean, I lose a VP for getting dominated around there. (Note to Frederick, 1 VP is nothing, when a TR is 5...) UK lifts off the blockade of NA East Coast, upon searching, they're in SA East Coast (125 ship points) and the Carribean (160 ship points.) looks like another hundred or so went back to N. Europe. Nov 1910 Fleet battle in N Europe. 4 BCs see 1 BB and 3 BCs and I choose to turn tail and run. 3 BCs damaged (light) vs 1 BC damaged (medium), 1 CL sunk, and 1 DD sunk (I was still able to savage their screen before I ran.) The SA East Coast freight train continues to SA West Coast. Looks like they're going after NA West Coast. Which I don't care because that means I can sortie East Coast ships to N Europe. Dec 1910 Fleet Battle in N Europe. My first South Carolina BB action. 1 BB damaged (light), 1 BC damaged (light), 2 DD sunk vs 2 BC sunk, B sunk, 2 CL sunk, 3 DD sunk, 6 TR sunk Jan 1911 Docks built and started (45k) Essex class BC kills CA raider. Guantanamo bay invaded. Hong Kong falls. Next gen Sub researched, started 4 of them Feb 1911 The problem with night actions is that you start so close. one of my BCs eat 2 torps to the face. ends up heavily damaged. 1 enemy CL sunk, 1 CL heavily damaged, 4 DDs sunk, 6 TRs sunk. Mar 1911 Thank God for my South Carolina BBs. Once again, my BCs get outclassed (and outnumbered) by UK BCs, but the BB arrives in time to cover their retreat, after, again, savaging the poor Bs that the UK navy is still throwing at me. 2 BC damaged (heavy), 2 DD damaged (heavy) vs 1 BC damaged (medium), 4 B sunk, 1 CA sunk, 3 CL damaged (light) New Brunswick invaded Apr 1911 3BCs vs 2BCs resulted in 3 BCs damaged (medium) vs 2 BCs sunk, 5 DDs sunk. Sticking 24 3in and as many 6in guns as I can on my BCs seems to do the trick even without DDs. May 1911 The Dominance of BBs over Bs is even worse than BCs over Bs. 2 BBs damaged (light), 2 BCs damaged (light) vs 3 B sunk, CA sunk, CL sunk, 1 DD sunk, 7 TR sunk. June 1911 New Brunswick attack fails. Poor chaps! They brought an AMC to a cruiser fight. 1 AMC sunk, 2 DDs sunk, no losses for the Good Guys. July 1911 Guantanamo Bay attack fails. August 1911 Singapore attack succeeds. Convoy attack sinks B, CL, DD and 6TR for no loss Sept 1911 BC catches and kills CL Oct 1911 2xBC convoy attacks, and sinks CA, CL, 3DD, 6TR Dec 1911 BC catches and sinks CL Bermuda invaded Jan 1912 Docks completed and started (49k) I'm waiting for AoN for my next generation BBs. I've upped Armor to High, and dropped Ship Design and Light Forces to Medium. Meanwhile, 1100 ton DDs researched. double Torp mounts were researched last year. new DD: Also, started a bunch of MSs last year as foreign station filler:
|
|
swang
Junior Member
Posts: 97
|
Post by swang on Jun 29, 2016 0:47:00 GMT -6
Jan 1912 (continued) Yet another convoy attack (I'm pretty much declining all small engagements in the hopes of getting convoy attacks, cruiser actions, or fleet battles.) 2 BCs damaged (light) vs 2 B sunk, CA sunk Feb 1912 Another night fight, another spread of torps in the face. 3 BCs damaged (2 heavy, 1 light) vs 2 Bs sunk, CA sunk, CL sunk April 1912 Britain's government falls. 10 pts (Malta, Burma, Falkland Islands, Fiji) Jan 1913 Docks completed (actually, at 52k due to private expansion already, so we end up at 54k.) AoN and Director FC researched over the past year, but I don't have the budget to build my super dreadnaughts... Nothing happens for the next 3 years, I did design a max dreadnaught: Also, updated the minimum BC: Nothing happens for 2 years... Ireland apparently revolted sometime during this time, but I didn't notice... Mar 1915 Wow, the South Carolinas are nasty. War with Germany starts, in the first battle, a coastal raid in N Europe: 3 BB damaged (light to heavy), vs 1 BB damaged (heavy), 2 BC sunk, 4 B sunk, CA sunk, CL sunk, 3 CL damaged (light), 3 DD sunk, 8 DD damaged (light - heavy), 1 TR sunk, 1 battery destroyed Apr 1915 The South Carolina dominance continues. All those DDs though, each of my BBs took at least 1 torp, most 2. Fleet battle, 6 BB damaged (light to heavy) vs 1 BB sunk, BC sunk, B sunk, 2 CL sunk, 3 CL damaged (light), 10 DD sunk, 6 DD damaged (light to heavy), 1 battery destroyed June 1915 Germany surrenders in just 4 months. Cameroon and Tangynika taken (6 pts)
|
|
swang
Junior Member
Posts: 97
|
Post by swang on Jun 29, 2016 16:09:18 GMT -6
Feb 1917 Aided by failed warlords in SW Africa and Venezuela, we get into a war with France (note that I don't seem to have lost prestige from those events?) First battle, the premiere battle for the Oklahomas, and they perform very well. 1 BB damaged (light) to 1 BB sunk, 3 BC sunk, CA sunk, CL sunk, 2 CL damaged (Medium), 7 DD sunk. a clean sweep. Mar 1917 another convoy battle as the blockade of N Europe continues. 2 CLs sunk and 5 DDs sunk. Apr 1917 Madagascar invaded Quadruple turrets researched, which leads me to start one of the following design: One of these design can probably dominate a smaller nation like JA or IT. 2 of them can take on FR or GE. 3 should be adequate to take on the grand fleet. May 1917 Invasions all over the place. Cochin China and Senegal. Madagascar still going. I'm going to have to prolong this war as long as possible. Decided to support the army for once. see if that makes a difference to invasions. June 1917 apparently it does. Cochin China falls in 1 month. July 1917 And Senegal falls, Madagascar still going. November 1917 Looks like the army offensive is done. Madagascar still going 2 BBs chase down a BC and sink it. This, along with various small engagements that killed only DDs and a couple of sub sinkings, gets the French navy down to 16 surface warships December 1917 Or not. Madagascar falls. January 1918 Corsica invaded Mar 1918 Middle Congo invaded Apr 1918 Middle Congo conquered, France out of West Africa. Corsica still going. May 1918 Polynesia invaded, Corsica still going. Jun 1918 Corsica Falls, Polynesia still going. BB destroyed in "small engagement" July 1918 Polynesia Falls August 1918 I suggest that the "navy can fight on if we have to" and FR surrenders for 4 points (Djibouti and Antilles, FR out of Indian ocean and Caribbean) Mar 1920 War with Russia! Fleet Battle 4 BBs damaged (light to medium) vs BB sunk, 4 BC sunk, 1 BC damaged (medium), 2 CA sunk, 1 CL sunk 2 CL damaged (light to heavy), 8 DD sunk During the initial battle for the Franklin class, it was found that the design board specified sloped armor, and NOBODY thought to ask them whether or not that was a good idea! Sigh. The Franklin class is cut off at 4 ships, 2 ships > 15 months til completion were scrapped. With the war budget, 4 of the following were added (Basically, Franklins with AoN armor): We also got 1500 ton DDs. Should have waited a month for quad torpedoes, but the triples are nasty enough: After these two fiascos, the Naval Board has been sacked en mass and sent to the front lines as army grunts.
|
|
swang
Junior Member
Posts: 97
|
Post by swang on Jun 29, 2016 23:39:09 GMT -6
April 1920 Battle in N Europe, I had to turn away from a massed DD attack, then couldn't catch up. So only killed 1 BB and 1 DD. for a BB damaged (light) May 1920 And this Convoy battle shows why. Only 5 DDs on the attack, got 3 BBs heavily damaged, however, they didn't have enough mass to press the attack home and we turned the battle into a victory. 1 BB sunk, 2 BC sunk, 1 CL sunk, 4 DD sunk in return for the damaged BBs. June 1920 reinforcing Oklahoma class BBs took out the Russians last 2 remaining capital ships in the West (they still have a BC in the east) 2 BCs sunk, DD sunk, MS sunk, 3 TR sunk for 2 BBs damaged (light) Yeah, the Oklahomas did better than the Franklins. They have AoN, you see. August 1920 2 Lexington class minimal BCs meet a "real" BC in a night action and take it down, for the loss of 1 Lexington and the other one battered into a wreck. (heavy damage). But hey, at least they sunk the "real" BC. And yes, they have AoN as well. (do you get the sense that I'm bitter about the Franklins?) October 1920 Minelaying subs researched. 10 of them started. Wartime budget gives me the capability to upgrade my DDs: December 1920 16 inch gun researched. Next iteration of the maxi-naught: I've decided that the minimal BBs sitting in NA East and West coast was not particularly worthwhile. Much better just to use previous generation BBs. so I scrapped them. March 1921 Started a gradual renewal program for my Foreign Station leaders and Foreign Station fillers. no changes and no machinery replacements, just a simple refit.
|
|
chz
Junior Member
Posts: 83
|
Post by chz on Jun 30, 2016 5:33:15 GMT -6
You're having better luck than I would with those BBs. A 9" secondary with only 6" of armour is begging to be blown sky-high!
|
|
swang
Junior Member
Posts: 97
|
Post by swang on Jun 30, 2016 14:42:28 GMT -6
hmm, probably true. I've been going with longer ranged units as time goes on, so depend on deck/Turret top armor more. when I do get stuck in, I do get a lot of secondary disables, but rarely any blown up. I don't really blow my enemies up either. They sink either due to torps or take forever to get pounded down with guns.
|
|
swang
Junior Member
Posts: 97
|
Post by swang on Jul 1, 2016 3:09:43 GMT -6
Grr, lost my reply cuz I accidentally hit reload. October 1922 After a bunch of small engagements where BCs and BBs pick on DDs, and a bunch of all-avoids by RU, we end the war with RU (6 pts, used 5 to pic Kamchatka) I spent close to two years blockading RU and having > 4x in NE Asia without invading either Kamchatka or Baltic states. I didn't want to wait as I wanted one last battle with the UK before the game ends. November 1923 War! The second War with UK starts! First battle, a convoy battle in N Europe sees 1 BB heavily damaged and 2 BBs lightly damaged in return for 2 BCs sunk, 4 DDs sunk, and 6 TRs sunk. December 1923 Night Convoy battles are much better with advanced Torpedo defences 3 BBs damaged (light) vs 3 BCs sunk, 1 CL sunk, 4 DD sunk, 6 TR sunk Researched 17 in guns, so the next generation gets created: Unless I research 18 in guns, I think this will be the last ship for this game. This ship is significantly faster than its predecessors, due to triple mounts instead of quads. I probably should have went from 16*15 to 12*16 for the Californias and sped them up. But the extra gun per mount was too much to resist. These Minnesotas should be able to compete with the real life South Carolinas, and with some more tech, can be upgraded to compete with the real life Iowas. Jan 1924 Yet another night convoy attack 3 BBs damaged (med to heavy) vs 5 BC sunk, 2 CL sunk, 6 DD sunk, 1 DD damaged (heavy), 6 TR sunk Feb 1924 52k ton BBs make mincemeat out of 34k ton ships 3 BBs damaged (light to heavy) vs 1 BC sunk, 1 BB sunk, 11 DD sunk Mar 1924 Grand Bahamas Invaded April 1924 New Brunswick invaded Fleet battle in US East Coast, 5 BB damaged (medium-heavy) vs 5 BB sunk, DD sunk June 1924 I give some budget to the Army July 1924 New Brunswick falls August 1924 Nova Scotia invaded October 1924 Nova Scotia falls Convoy battle in NA East Coast nets no losses vs 1 BC sunk, 1 CL sunk, 2 DD sunk November 1924 Grand Bahamas invasion fails December 1924 Despite saying I can fight longer, the government signs a peace treaty anyways, 6 points (Egypt and Cyprus) The rest of the game (1925) has no events of significance, tension never goes above 6 for anyone, and we reach the end of the game.
|
|
swang
Junior Member
Posts: 97
|
Post by swang on Jul 1, 2016 18:53:53 GMT -6
Things I learned in this play through: 1) The Minimal BBs didn't do all that much. It's not really worth 3 million and ~150k/ month maintenance to run them. 2) I get the feeling that ASW technology is not tied to the ships, in which case, a minimal DD would work. Which means that the latest DDs only really need 1 flight of 12. 3) Extending wars is good, as long as you can keep on invading. It's much more time efficient than multiple wars. 4) Switch to Triple turrets around 16" guns, think about switching to double turrets for 18" guns. Otherwise, they get too heavy and your BBs will be too slow (no need to be > 30knots, but too slow is bad as well.) 5) If you have the advantage in tonnage and throw weight, strap on your man pants and dive straight in. You can take more hits, and if your line stays intact while his doesn't, you have a massive advantage. 6) being dominated around a region isn't that bad, but don't let it dip down into 4x your ship points. 7) if you close the ship design screen, all drop downs and multi select boxes reset. Meaning that AoN is NOT the default when you reopen it. be careful! 8) Especially with DDs, you don't have to have a new design everytime you get a new tech, make sure you have designs that make sense.
|
|
|
Post by rimbecano on Jul 2, 2016 1:29:47 GMT -6
You're having better luck than I would with those BBs. A 9" secondary with only 6" of armour is begging to be blown sky-high! I'm more concerned about the weight. I generally go for about 20 5 or 6 inch secondaries with two inches of armor, or a single inch in the early game (modeled off the real world Iowas). Those heavily armored 9"s have got to be adding a lot of weight that could otherwise be going to propulsion and armor. Same with main gun count beyond 8 or 9. My typical design in the late game has a 4 or 5 inch deck and even thicker turret tops, and pushes 28+ knots.
|
|
|
Post by rimbecano on Jul 2, 2016 2:00:06 GMT -6
4) Switch to Triple turrets around 16" guns, think about switching to double turrets for 18" guns. Otherwise, they get too heavy and your BBs will be too slow (no need to be > 30knots, but too slow is bad as well.) Actually, it's better to go to more guns per turret and reduce the number of turrets. 16 guns will slow you down at 16 or 18 inch calibre, but if you're reducing to 12 guns, it's better to have 3 quad turrets than 4 triples. For eight, it's better to have two quad than four double. Moreover, you use more main guns than I would: eight (two quads) or nine (three triples) is plenty. And you get significant weight savings by using an all-guns-forward design (a la real life Richelieu). All-forward is also nice for giving chase. Some might say it's a problem if you have to run, but I say that running is the enemy's job, not the USN's. You have a tradition to build! So my late game capital ship looks something like 8x17" or 18" in two quads (A and B), 20x5" or 6" with 2" armor, speed at least 27 knots, 5" deck.
|
|
chz
Junior Member
Posts: 83
|
Post by chz on Jul 2, 2016 5:31:47 GMT -6
Quads have a RoF penalty until very late in the game, usually. They also break down more often. I'm not saying it isn't worth the tradeoff to make the weight savings, but it isn't all beer and pie with quad turrets.
|
|