Over The Reich JPetroski vs. Prof. Garfield

[JPetroski]

I need to run downstairs and can't get you a casualties update but Ophoven AFB is cleared of defenders, multiple aircraft shot down in Holland by Mustangs in advance of a major bomber formation.

 

[Prof. Garfield]

1 Tempest, 6 P47D40 downed.

1 FW190D9, 1 Ta152 lost.

I think this is the beginning of the end. 36 turns seems like a lot to hold out for.

 

[JPetroski]

3x industry, 3x refinery, 1x aircraft factory destroyed. Various ground units attacked/weakened.

I think this is the beginning of the end. 36 turns seems like a lot to hold out for.

I think it'll come down to how long you can hold off the Russians for... I'm at 1210 points now and still need to capture several cities including one in Germany. Not sure that 35 turns is enough to get a total victory. If I manage it, it'll be close. Fighter bombers can rearm well enough from close bases as you can stack a ton of them in one base, but the strategic bombers can't do that. They'll need to return to England so there's the very real potential that the Russian Front isn't unlocked any time soon, and I don't know that I can pull this off without those ground units.

 

[Prof. Garfield]

1 Tempest, 1 Beaufighter, 2 P47D40, 4 P51B, 4 Stirlings, 7 B17F, 5 Damaged B17F.

2 FW190D9, 2 Ta152, 1 ME410.

 

[JPetroski]

1x Me109G6, 1x Me109K4, 1x Fw190A8, 1xFw190D9, 2x Ta152, 2x Me410, 2x Industry, 1x Battle Group (withdraws), 1x Refinery

 

[Prof. Garfield]

15th AF bomber didn't react to an He219. Might want to double check that reaction.

14 P51 B, 4 Stirling, 5 B17F, 6 15th AF Bombers, 1 Damaged B17F.

2 Ta152, 1 He219 lost.

 

[JPetroski]

The 352nd Fighter Group arrives in Italy, and takes the fight to the Luftwaffe over Bavaria. The 15th Air Force is no longer "free lunch" as 3x Me410s and 2x Ju88G are shot down. Meanwhile, Antwerp is liberated, a battle group is destroyed in western France (though it regroups) and 1x Aircraft factory is destroyed.

 

[Prof. Garfield]

Stirlings (and probably other night aircraft) don't react to Do335.

1 Beaufighter, 2 P47D40, 7 P51B, 3 Stirlings, 7 B17F, 2 15th AF bombers, 6 Damaged B17F.

Lost 1 Ta152.

 

[JPetroski]

Brussels captured. Regensburg hit hard by the 15th AF. 3x Ta152, 1xMe410, 2x industry, 2x fuel refinery, 1x depleted battle group destroyed.

 

[Prof. Garfield]

2 Tempests, 2 P47D40, 2 P38J, 1 P51B, 1 B17F, 2 332nd FG, 1 15th AF, 1 Damaged B17.

1 ME109K4, 2 Ta152.

Regarding the Allied tech rate that we've not been entirely sure about, perhaps the solution is to give out some technologies around turn 70. This wouldn't alter the early game, but would ensure that the Allies (and maybe Germans) do enter the end game with most of their 'core' technologies. So, before turn 70, research is directed either towards 'priorities', or towards an 'optional' tech path.

 

[JPetroski]

Its unclear if I'll be able to play tonight.. I would argue that the capture of a German city should give the Germans the jet tech, if they don't have it. Maybe if they do have it, they get 5x He162 and 2x Me163? Something to make the final push difficult and to give the German player a bit of a morale boost if it gets to that point.

 

[Prof. Garfield]

Its unclear if I'll be able to play tonight.. I would argue that the capture of a German city should give the Germans the jet tech, if they don't have it. Maybe if they do have it, they get 5x He162 and 2x Me163? Something to make the final push difficult and to give the German player a bit of a morale boost if it gets to that point.

I'm not sure. If the German player thinks he can hold out until turn 125, then presumably his morale is pretty high. If not, then by turn 80 or 90, I'm not sure it's much of a problem if he surrenders. Unless the point is to give the Allied player a few turns of air supremacy over Germany and persuade the German player to go along for a few turns.

The path to jets is already quite long. I think there are at least 10 techs on that path, and the only ones that give any benefit at all are Political Support IV and Experimental Design, and the benefits of those are kind of small. I can't see anyone making a 30 turn investment in researching Jets if they're going to get it for free maybe 10 or 15 turns later anyway.

Here's a thought. For a handful of units (like jets), some prototypes can be made to enter service. When a player builds the flak battery (which we'll rename) in an airfield, the building is immediately taken away, and the player is presented a menu of available prototypes to put into service, and, based on the choice, they get 1 or more of those prototype units. There could be a limit to the amount of prototypes that can be fielded. So, perhaps every tech (or every other tech) along the way to Jet Fighters allows the Germans to build 1 prototype jet, so there is at least some incremental reward.

 

[JPetroski]

As an FYI, the damaged allied bomber groups now can't move to low level for some reason.

Heavy fighting over Bavaria. 1x 190D9, 5x Ta152, 1x He219 fall to the guns of the Red Tails.

Woensdrecht AF is captured/destroyed. 1x Battlegroup is destroyed. 1x Ju188 caught by Tempests as they use goto to get home and stop, noticing something peculiar.

2x Sdkfz, 1x Radar, 3x Gun batteries destroyed when a lucky Tempest bomb knocks out 6x units.

 

[Prof. Garfield]

As an FYI, the damaged allied bomber groups now can't move to low level for some reason.

I've replicated the bug, but can't find the source. The damaged B17s can climb to high altitude, but not descend. In both cases, the console tells me their nativeTransport value is 1. EDIT to add: Other units can climb and descend.

 

[JPetroski]

It only just happened so its probably in the p47 code?

 

[Prof. Garfield]

@JPetroski

The problem is in the latest update to the rules.txt. I swapped in an older version of the rules, and damaged b17s can climb and descend. (This was after copying my OTR directory and trying older versions of the events). The Panzer Division is unit 104, and the Damaged B17F is unit 105, so I'm guessing you made a change in the wrong line. Since you know more about how the rules work than I do, I'll let you make the fix.

 

[JPetroski]

Thanks for catching that - here's the updated rules file.

 

[Prof. Garfield]

Disclosure: I played part of this turn with an obsolete rules.txt (that I had used to double check that I was correct about the rules) before noticing the difference. I don't think it impacted anything noteworthy.

2 Urban targets destroyed at hull. The remaining target there seems to have 2 stacked there for some reason.

1 Beaufighter, 6 P47s, 4 332nd FG, Urban Target I, Urban Target III.

Changed the occupation score thresholds for getting trains; all battle groups have same weight
French start game with 9 battle groups (mostly depleted) in France, and 8 outside, with 1 reinforcement on the first turn


specialNumbers.armyGroupOccupationValue = 1 -- value in the german occupation score of having an army unit in france
specialNumbers.batteredArmyGroupOccupationValue = 1 -- value in germano occupation score of having a battered army group in france

specialNumbers.armyGroupOccupationPenalty = 2 -- reduction of occupation score for allied battle group in Franceo
specialNumbers.batteredArmyGroupOccupationPenalty = 0 -- reduction of occupation score for allied depleted battle groups in france
specialNumbers.occupationScoreTrain1Threshold = 2 -- minimum occupation score for first train
specialNumbers.occupationScoreTrain2Threshold = 5
specialNumbers.occupationScoreTrain3Threshold = 7
specialNumbers.occupationScoreTrain4Threshold = 9
specialNumbers.occupationScoreTrain5Threshold = 12
specialNumbers.occupationScoreTrain6Threshold = 14
-- exclude possibility of 7 trains at the moment
specialNumbers.occupationScoreTrain7Threshold = 30 -- 6 trains max for now; minimum occupation score for seventh train


Combat last turn brought to my attention that there is a unit killed event that replaces battle groups that are defeated by munitions. (There was a stack kill last turn, but the battle group was still there.)

I set the replacement's home city to the defeated battle group's home city (which was overlooked before), and prevented the log mechanism from logging the 'kill'.

Battle groups can still be lost to stack kills from other battle groups (and, I suppose, task forces).

 

[Prof. Garfield]

@JPetroski

Your rules fix didn't work. Maybe you selected the wrong file by mistake? (I think I've done that a couple times...)

In the file you provided me, I replaced line 1155 with the following, which I got from an older version of the rules:

00000000, 00001100,-1, 0000000000000000,0000000000000000,0000000000000010, 10010000  ;Damaged B-17F

And the B17 now teleports as expected.
However, I tested the Panzer Division, and it is teleporting as well under the rules you provided. EDIT: panzers teleporting might be the result of code to enable native transport, so I'll have to check the events if changing the rules doesn't fix it.

 

[JPetroski]

I think in my haste I edited who can build it rather than native transport...