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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 26, 2023 10:58:43 GMT -6
The Japanese won the 1904-05 war thanks to their navy. I agree with what the author of the RJW Wikipedia entry writes: "Although the Battle of Mukden was a major defeat for the Russians and was the most decisive land battle ever fought by the Japanese, [in 1905] the final victory still depended on the navy."
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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 26, 2023 3:41:16 GMT -6
It is not clear to me what benefit would be gained from building large expensive heavy cruisers. Just to fight opposing CA counterparts? I don't have much experience with this, but I remember that in a game with my BCs I exterminated a number of enemy big CAs, which only managed to sink some of my raiders.
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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 25, 2023 3:12:01 GMT -6
Why is the torpedo protection only level 2 on such an expensive ship?
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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 25, 2023 3:03:55 GMT -6
Lessons learned and addenda to the campaign editor manual - 3rd part
Aspects still to be clarified
Delayed intervention of a "Force" - Sometimes you may want a "Force" to come into play after the campaign start date. According to my experience with it if you indicate a start date for that "Force" after the campaign start date the AI - apparently - tends to never consider that "Force" in play, invalidating the campaign. To keep it simple, make sure that no "Force" has a start date after the campaign start date. You can allocate a few ships to that "Force", initially, and then strengthen it later. Additional force - It seems that a certain naval "Force" can be used only occasionally, such as the German High Sea Fleet in Baltic Campaign, but the campaign manual does not explain how to do this. PSF Startpoint - the meaning is not known but apparently it does not affect the functioning. Training risk - The meaning is not known. In North Sea etc. campaigns it is = 3. Smaller values seem to permanently result in low training. .cam file - There is no information on how to compile the [LandCam] part of the .cam file and little can be understood from the Russo Japanese War .cam file. The meaning of some instructions present in the .crf files of North Sea etc. campaigns, such as: A1=10, A1=20 etc, is not known. An instruction like: HVU0=50 presumably means "the divisions indicated as High Value Units of side 0 are worth 50" but it is not known what 50 means or why the indication HVU √ disappears when the campaign editor is reopened.
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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 23, 2023 10:25:12 GMT -6
I agree with you on the need to increase the AA fire rate, however in RTW2 the primary, secondary and possibly tertiary armament determines the HAA factor (at altitude), while for AA close defense there are light (12, 7 mm?) and medium (37-40 mm?) anti aircraft guns (with a preference for the latter in the late stages of the game). Furthermore, in your CL Phaeton (perhaps due to a bug in the game) for a 2" caliber secondary armament the double purpose of the guns is not envisaged, while it is possible with a 3" or 4" caliber, as in my CL "Radamanto", with a higher HAA factor. I understand, however, that this thread is not about the RTW game but about naval technique in general.
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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 23, 2023 5:42:17 GMT -6
Since there is still some margin regarding weight, I would change the caliber of the secondary armament from 2" to 3" or even 4"
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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 23, 2023 5:31:17 GMT -6
Lessons learned and addenda to the campaign editor manual - 2nd part
Special instructions of the .crf file
Events - for example, in a given turn, it may be indicated: E=1;1;Revolutionary activity is undermining the morale of the fleet;30; we understand that Player 1 will see the above message but it is NOT clear what the number 30 means. May be: this event appears with 30% probability for each weekly turn? Or: the training level of side 1 is reduced... (slightly/strongly?) Winter event: in the Baltic campaign, all operations, including training, will stop during the winter turns (from 1 January to 1 March), when the sea is frozen. The related instruction appears in the .crf file as: E=2;0;This is the last turn before winter stops operations;0; This warning will appear both to 1 side and 0 side. In the following turn this special intruction must be added: WINTER=1 For the optional addition of a new ship the .crf file must contain the instruction indicated by the following example P=BC Izmail;Do you want to press for rapid finishing of the BC Izmail;380;30000;10 If the Russian player presses the "enter" key, the indicated BC will be built in 380 days at a cost of 30000 victory points (VP) and with a 10% probability that it will be available in the OOB for each week that passes, starting from the expected date Withdrawal (Withdrawal = W) and possible return (Return = R) of ships, for example: W=CA Prince Heinrich Transform ships to an improved version (Upgrade) already defined in the "Designs" or "Custom files" folders, for example U=Bogatyr;Bogatyr16;1 A certain ship, for which withdrawal is foreseen, can remain in the game, at a certain cost of victory points and with a given probability, if in the .crf file it is indicated, for example V=CA Blucher;40000;10 The change of base of a division or flotilla. For example, in RJW the 14th Japanese DD flotilla (side 0) moves automatically from its original base to that of Chinampo in a certain turn. The .crf file indicates: RB=14th Torpedo Boat Division;Chinampo;0
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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 21, 2023 14:39:35 GMT -6
Lessons learned and addenda to the campaign editor manual - 1st part
Turn durations. The duration of each single turn is substantially longer if you choose to play with 4-week time intervals, shortening it of about 10-15% if 2 or 1 week intervals are chosen. Patrols - It is preferable to assign local patrol duties to MSs or TBs (e.g. as happens for the Germans in the North Sea Campaign). In this case, if any ships are sunk, they are automatically replaced without affecting the OOB. Reaction allowed and "Force" objectives - The AI ships of a "Force" (e.g. the Grand Fleet) for which "reaction allowed" is specified (equivalent to the "emergency activation" available for the human player) proceed directly towards the objective set for the "Force" to which they belong, moving from the port in which they are based, NOT form the "Start Point". After having reached the objective by the shortest route, the AI ships proceed towards the waypoint adjacent to the objective and then towards the next waypoints. Start point and campaign objectives - The AI ships move from the "Start point" when the AI pursues one of the "objectives" specified for that campaign, which must be in adequate numbers and of different types (see North Sea campaigns or Russo Japanese War (RJW)). When specifying these objectives, check that the "Force" to which they are assigned is active or - vice versa - postpone the start date of the objective so that this "Force" has the ships necessary to accomplish it. Coastal outlines - To prevent some ships from being trapped in bays or fjords of the coast during the movement operated by the AI, it is advisable to "round" all the coast lines by means of minefields with a value of 0 for both sides. Alternatively (not tested here !) use "mine free" zones. Attraction exerted by friendly bases - When the AI makes some ships pass near a friendly base, these ships are "sucked" into that base as soon as they are within the distance specified for returning to port. For example, in a Mediterranean campaign it is impossible for the ships of the "Italian" or "Triple alliance" side - when managed by the AI - to cross the strait between Sardinia and Corsica, if there is the Italian base of La Maddalena, which tends to "suck in" any friendly ship nearby. .cam, .crf, .msn files - When working on these files using a text editor, always make sure to open and save them in the mode: "all files". Also you should NEVER use "save as" but simply "save". .cam file - The campaign editor does not allow completing the .cam file with that part which is entitled: [LandCamp]. To avoid a fatal ”divide by zero” error you have to add manually this part of the .cam file, copying and modifing it, for example, from RJW campaign. .crf file - The .crf file lists the game turns by their number, the relative date, the operating points (OPs) to be assigned to the sides 0 and 1. In order to write this file, an existing one can be copied and then modified. More details in the 2nd part. .msn file - It includes the names of merchant ships of both sides, to be assigned as desired. These names will be randomly assigned, when single TR sinks. Insights can be drawn from similar files from the North Sea or RJW campaigns. We will return to this in Part 3. Operation Points - From the standard campaign files (e.g. North Sea campaigns) it is possible to calculate - in relation to an OOB of a given composition - the number of OPs to be assigned to each turn and to each side. A too generous OP assignment tends to favor the human player, who can always set sail with all his ships, while the AI is bound by what is specified by the Objectives (e.g.: reach the objective X with 4 BBs).
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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 19, 2023 12:20:14 GMT -6
US AAR - April 1Q23 - A day with ups and downs Knowing the precarious situation of the Japanese fleet, a division of three battleships plus the USS Lexington carries out yet another sweep between Luzon and Formosa, sinking several merchant ships. The American task force then heads towards Aparri, to carry out the usual bombardment of that base, when, in the vicinity of it, the battleship Ise appears with some destroyers and - shortly after - the old battlecruiser Ibuki also appears. A confused action follows, in which Lexington is more of a hindrance than a strength. The Japanese ships retreat into the port of Aparri, while the Americans turn towards their base. [Note: the Lexington training level, for unknown reasons, appeared to be 1,244,320 and this caused continuous repetitions of warnings in the game] After this inconclusive battle, for some months there were no operations worthy of mention, even though the American fleet systematically repeated the missions of the Washington Express and the Japanese attempted to attack - with varying success - the merchant shipping traffic west of Manila. August 1Q23 - The Last Battle During yet another replay of the "Washington Express" mission by six battleships and two armored cruisers, aerial reconnaissance reports enemy warships heading south west of Luzon. The 7th Battle Division is alerted and sails from Subic Bay, led by the USS Pennsylvania and escorted by 6 DDs. Even the old CL Salem goes out to sea to compensate for the absence of scouts. Shortly before dawn, SW of Manila, the USS Arizona comes under fire from an unknown ship, and Japanese DDs appear in good numbers shortly thereafter. The American battleships carefully maneuver to avoid a torpedo ambush, waiting for the sun to rise and keeping between the enemy and its bases. In the excellent visibility of the summer morning, the old BC Ibuki, two light cruisers and a dozen destroyers can be seen. A battle of pursuit ensues, during which, despite the repeated charges of the Japanese DDs, Ibuki fails to outdistance the American battleships which gradually demolish and sink her. The same happens for the two light cruisers, but the tough Japanese destroyers, despite losing one of them, manage to sink the DD Selfridge and almost put Salem out of action. Meanwhile, far to the north, the two American armored cruisers run into two enemy minelayers and sink them. September 1Q23 - The end The news that a terrible earthquake devastated Tokyo and the Kantō region, among other things causing irreparable damage to the battle cruiser Amagi under construction (see attached photo), was followed by another unexpected news. The military government is overthrown, by decision of the Emperor, who interpreted the earthquake as a negative signal coming from Heaven. Soon after, a new Japanese government starts peace talks. The war is over.
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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 17, 2023 11:08:57 GMT -6
US AAR - March 31 1Q23 - A Kantai Kessen in reverse Thanks to the intense work in the repair yards of Subic Bay and Cavite, Admiral Rodman is once again at the head of a fleet of nine battleships and can settle back in the spacious admiral quarters aboard the USS New Mexico. Having received news of a new enemy naval operation, the American fleet puts to sea again to deliver a decisive blow to the enemy supply line which runs from Takao to Aparri and to destroy the installations of the latter base. This time the USS Lexington is still under repairs, so the scouting force is again composed of two old armored cruisers, joined by the two new light cruisers. The aerial reconnaissance from Clark Field, although incomplete, has identified some routes preferentially followed by Japanese transport ships and Admiral Rodman intends to thoroughly explore at least one of them, with the hope of intercepting a troop convoy. The weather is not favorable, with rain interspersed with showers, however from the beginning of the sweep some transport ships are encountered and sunk and shortly after an entire convoy, apparently without an escort, is completely destroyed. As the American battleships head towards Aparri in heavy rain, a rearward destroyer sights some big Japanese ships approaching from the north. Admiral Rodman then reverses course and heads towards the enemy, determined to do everything in order not to let him escape. First two enemy battleships are sighted, identified (it will later be known erroneously) as a battleship of the Ise class and one of the Nagato class, which presumably had to ensure the distant escort of the convoy. In the gun battle at a short distance (about 5000 yards) with low visibility, a third Japanese battleship soon appears (it will be known later that she is the IJS Tosa). The Japanese lead ship blows up shortly after the first salvos, but in the meantime some 16" hits received by New Mexico on the waterline cause extensive flooding, so that Admiral Rodman must hastily abandon ship and move on Tennessee, while his flagship struggles to survive. Unfortunately she fails to do so and sinks, also due to the intervention of the Japanese battlecruiser Kongo, that has just arrived at the scene of the action. Idaho also receives heavy damage and has to be detached, but in the meantime the two Japanese battleships are hammered by a succession of devastating 14" hits. Mutsu manages to get away, together with Kongo, but Tosa is caught up while heading towards Aparri, overwhelmed and finally sunk. All this is the work of the big guns of the battleships, the destroyers of both sides, despite several favorable opportunities, are unable to place even a single torpedo. In the meantime, night has come and despite Admiral Rodman's repeated insistence, there is no news of Idaho, whose radio transmitter seems to have been destroyed in the battle. The captain of this ship, meanwhile, makes an all too frequent mistake, that is, he continues to sail at cruising speed, worsening the flooding that is progressing in his ship. Luckily for the Americans, the flagship manages to get close enough to allow Admiral Rodman to signal with the searchlight: "Damn you, slow down!" After this episode, day is awaited in order to destroy Aparri at a safe distance from the land batteries and then proceed at low speed towards the base. The balance of the operation (2 enemy BBs sunk against 1 BB lost) is actually very favorable to the Americans, who have now acquired a decided numerical superiority, destined to grow as the repairs proceed on the battleships and on the Lexington. A few days later, an attempted Japanese landing in Mindanao, conducted without adequate naval support, fails disastrously.
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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 15, 2023 5:40:52 GMT -6
US AAR - March 2nd 1Q23 - Another battle of attrition Realizing that the enemy fleet should be in worse condition than the American one and with the aim of hindering as much as possible the arrival of Japanese reinforcements into the Philippines, the high command urgently requests a "Washington Express" mission to destroy the facilities of the enemy base of Aparri and also a raid against the Japanese troopships between Takao and Aparri. Admiral Rodman weighs anchor with his five battleships, two light cruisers, a dozen destroyers and an independent scouting force composed of two old armored cruisers. With good visibility, the American battleships arrive off Aparri in the early morning and effectively hit the enemy's depots and batteries. Then heading NNW they intercept and sink some isolated transport ships. Around noon some big Japanese ships coming from the north are sighted by the scouting force. They are the battleships Ise and Hyuga with a few destroyers. The gun battle lasts almost until sunset and soon becomes a pursuit battle, in the course of which the few Japanese DDs attempt some attacks which are unsuccessful. Eventually IJS Ise escapes, although she is badly damaged (it turns out she has received 16 14" hits), but Hyuga is overwhelmed and finally torpedoed, sinking into the night. The American BB's are also damaged: some of them received half a dozen 14" hits and will be under repair for weeks. The following day, only 3 American BB's are able to go out to sea. March 21 1Q23 - The last war feat of a veteran ship With only three battleships available and all the others under repair, Admiral Rodman decides to limit himself to improving the training level of the ships ready to move, but also to give the enemy no respite, by having the "Washington Express" carry out yet another mission. This time the "Express" is reduced to a minimum, being available only the USS Brooklyn, a very old armored cruiser, and USS Charlotte (formerly North Carolina), a slightly less old armored cruiser of the Tennessee class. The two ships depart, with two escort DDs under the command of Vice Admiral Rodgers, who intends to arrive off Aparri in the middle of the night, so as to minimize the chances of being intercepted by the modern Japanese battlecruisers based at Takao. For the same purpose, after destroying as many land targets as possible, he intends to return to base by circumnavigating the island of Luzon at low speed, so as to reduce fuel consumption and make little telltale smoke. The operation succeeds as planned, but in the course of the action, the Japanese land batteries manage to inflict heavy damage on USS Brooklyn. The attached photo shows her in port the day after this operation. The operation could have ended much worse, since at the same time two modern Japanese battlecruisers, with seven light cruisers and many destroyers were carrying out a sweep east of Legazpi, with the (failed) objective of intercepting the last American transports which were evacuating the garrisons located at east of Manila. In the meantime, the American defenses of Manila are holding firm and the attacks of the Japanese army, thanks also to the bombardment of the "Washington Express", have weakened.
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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 11, 2023 1:49:39 GMT -6
The monitors and also the so-called "armed/gun-mounted barges" used large-caliber guns from scrapped battleships or those intended for new battleships that were no longer built. From the first of the two cases it can be deduced that in RTW the construction of monitors (and also of coastal fortifications) should be somewhat facilitated by the decision to scrap one or more battleships
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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 10, 2023 2:47:23 GMT -6
It would also be useful to be able to fix - if desired - some waypoints for patrolling, before entrusting it to the AI. And also resume some features of Thunder at Sea, in particular as regards the detachment of undamaged ships to create (a few) special task forces or to sail to a nearby base to refuel (e.g. DDs)
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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 8, 2023 3:00:37 GMT -6
Call me crazy but could monitors be included in the ships that can be designed and built. The HMS Roberts might be a good example but there were many others for nations that did not have access to the open sea. When I developed a SAI scenario based on the Baltic Project, I also created some monitors as very slow pre-dreadnoughts. Unfortunately the AI still considered them as battleships and tended to make them participate in battles.
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Post by vonfriedman on Jan 8, 2023 2:54:00 GMT -6
1) A dumb question from me: did you press the Turn button at the end of the scenario? It appears in the lower right part of the screen. 2) As far as I know, in SAI there is no possibility to set waipoints. This possibility existed in Thunder at Sea (from which SAI inherits the map) together with some useful functions, among which: setting two waypoints even far apart for patrolling, detaching undamaged ships to create special task forces, detaching DDs to resupply into a base and then set sail again.
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