You can go too far improving the DD AI in SH4 in the Pacific compared to what you saw in the Atlantic. One major problem the Imperial forces had was bad intel on US sub performance. One major point is despite the US subs not diving as deep as German subs, the Japanese DDs set their max DC depth even shallower believing the US subs didn't go as deep as they really could. The US subs used welded boats sooner than the Germans and could take a pounding. Although the US fleat boats were slower than hoped, they were faster and generally larger, longer-ranged than German boats. Because of this it was possible to evade escorts on the surface at night using speed and low profile. The patrol area was much larger, but the US boats could cross the distance a little faster, and patrol farther.
One difficult feature in DD AI is the logic behind DD tactics. Some convoys would only have one escort. More valuable convoys would have several, but the AI needs to decide how much attention to give the sub (keeping it submerged until the remaining convoy gets away) and when to abandon the sub and run at full speed to get back to the convoy. As much as we all like a good knife fight, if the programmers get it right, there will be times when a more persistant and skillful DD will pound you relentlessly, and times when they will completely ignore you once they have you slow and low so they can stay with the running convoy. Also, if you've played Destroyer Command (I assume most here have) you also realize on the DD side you can't sit there and drop your entire DC load on one target (esp if it appears to be particularly elusive) because you have to save something for the next fight or your value as an escort for the remaining route is null.
A hunter-killer group is expected to persue until all possibility of regaining contact is lost or ammo expended. Escorts however will favor keeping the convoy ships in view even if it means abandoning a contact. Sub hunter-killers were rare for Japan in the Pacific because they had a shortage of escort ships over an area much larger than the Atlantic theater. Convoys were generally smaller than we saw with the Brittish and US in SHIII, but a valuable convoy with large target ships will be heavily and aggressively escorted. The Japanese gunnery on smaller ships was considered above average making surface actions in less than ideal conditions (in favor of the sub) risky.
"Know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, know when to run."
I realize we are all just shooting the brease here for our own amusement. The programmers will do what interests them with the time and budget they have appropriated. I guess asking the community to maintain realistic expectations is a waste of bandwidth. Since the SHIII dev team demonstrated above-average attention to detail, provided an affordable experience, and patched the most game-stopping issues promptly, I expect any forthcomming product to meet the same standards, so I'll buy it if the sub gammer sites review it possitively, especially since this is the sub battle theater I enjoy the most.
Special ops were very important aspects of the Pacific Island hopping campaign. Gathering port intel, picking up and dropping off special forces near islands and picking up downed flyers near the major sea battles would be important features to me to give the sim a period and location feel.
-Pv-
|