Targets of opportunity (too many)

[SteamWake]

Im currently in a campaign near the end of the war. We stop at the Marshells often for a gas n go on our way to our patrol area.

While making way to the patrol area we encounter many "easy pickins". To many. If we take the time to prosicute them all we would be out of munitions before we reached the patrol area.

Sometimes we make contact within 50 miles of Marshells !

In fact one time we encountered a large task force and could not resist. After 6 hours (game time) and tearing that TF to shreds we ran completly out of torps. We returned to Marshells and then headed back to the original patrol area.

There is no sense of "urgency" to reach patrol areas. So may as well rack up tonnage on the way out.

Anyone know of a good mod to thin out the traffic that is NOT a part of a super mod ?

[AVGWarhawk]

Talk to Tater

[tater]

I have thinned out traffic, tis true.

I can pack up my layers for anyone to mess with, though I now think I might alter them some. The current version is really a learning experience for a plan to totally redo the campaign. I'm kind of waiting on 1.3 to get started in earnest since the way the escorts behave is somewhat critical to how you set the AI skill levels.

My campaign layers are not RFB friendly, however.

I'll make a version that doesn't require the US planes mod and post it for you, though to be fair I haven't given the late war much attention yet, I started at the beginning, and slowed down by the end of '43. My current set does have zig-zags set for all the shipping (and TFs), which is pretty cool.

It will be frustrating, though!

tater

[SteamWake]

Originally Posted by tater

I have thinned out traffic, tis true.

I can pack up my layers for anyone to mess with, though I now think I might alter them some. The current version is really a learning experience for a plan to totally redo the campaign. I'm kind of waiting on 1.3 to get started in earnest since the way the escorts behave is somewhat critical to how you set the AI skill levels.

My campaign layers are not RFB friendly, however.

I'll make a version that doesn't require the US planes mod and post it for you, though to be fair I haven't given the late war much attention yet, I started at the beginning, and slowed down by the end of '43. My current set does have zig-zags set for all the shipping (and TFs), which is pretty cool.

It will be frustrating, though!

tater

You are the man !

Dont do it just for me though. Im sure some folks feel the same way though.

Yea I know I could just ignore them but its like being on a diet.. temptation around every island :p

[jhelix70]

That sounds great, Tater, looking forward to trying them.

In vanilla, the overly large amount of traffic (particularly TFs with large warships) just makes it too easy for one to rack up unrealistic tonnage numbers.

[mookiemookie]

tater, you have solved one of the biggest problems in the game for me. super awesome!

[ReallyDedPoet]

Thanks tater

RDP

[AVGWarhawk]

You found the TATER!!!!!!!!!!

[daft]

Sounds very promising. I'd like fewer single contacts and smaller convoys instead of the large ones typically encountered in the stock game. A typical convoy should be around two or three freighters (early to mid war) with a varying number of escorts (not as many DD's as in the stock version and perhaps more PC's and other minor escorts instead).

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by daft

Sounds very promising. I'd like fewer single contacts and smaller convoys instead of the large ones typically encountered in the stock game. A typical convoy should be around two or three freighters (early to mid war) with a varying number of escorts (not as many DD's as in the stock version and perhaps more PC's and other minor escorts instead).

Exactly! I would like to add.....some of the smaller convoys hugging the coast like they did so be protected by shallow water!!!!!!

[tater]

I went back the other day and started doing stuff I had meant to do, but didn't. I started in my own layers by changing the TF ships around a little, dumped the GENERIC from many to avoid Yamato being around too much, etc. I also radically changed the CV TFs, reducing them, and increasing the spacing between ships (as much as the game allows for AI units).

I just went back and looked at the 41 layer (which is really dec 41 through the end of Feb 42). It is seriously fubar in stock. All told in "41" i deleted more than half the groups I think. There were convoys leaving places that the japanese didn't even own, etc. The other groups I reduced a fair bit convoy wise. Ditto merchant traffic. No more jap merchants coming and going from Port Moresby, etc.

All the timings are greatly increased for "special" stuff like TFs, troop convoys (huge liners), etc. In stock there were so many troop convoys you could sit in one spot and have a several pass within 20 miles every day sometimes. I also reduced the chances of anythign generating contact reports. Before I release this, I will go back and pick a few that pass under areas where they would be more likely to be spotted and increase the % a bit. Contacts are a huge problem, frankly. You can only pick the chance per group. Better would be to have a marker with a radius on the map (with start/end dates). Anythign inside that circle would take the detection chance in the circle, too bad they didn't do it that way.

I will try and get something out tonight if possible. It's really usable as it is, but for a wide release I want to clean it up a hair.

Note that my campaign also changes the Roster and the cfg files for 2 IJN ships, the minelayer, and the subchaser. In my campaign they are switched to "corvettes" so that the "patrol craft" are only the coastal riverboats. I need to make sure they are not at sea (I might have missed a few). I also might need to mess more with the harbor traffic layers to make sure there are some subchasers in the mix.

Note that there are serious gaps still, this was mostly a change to stock layers, the Slot is still pretty barren, etc, I haven't gotten around to that.

[SteamWake]

Originally Posted by tater

I will try and get something out tonight if possible. It's really usable as it is, but for a wide release I want to clean it up a hair.

you are awsome !

I assume I had better be in port before applying such a mod or is a new carrier in order ?

[kikn79]

Sounds like great work, Tater. Thank you for all your hard work and effort!!!


Chuck

[tater]

Put in at the very least. It will CTD for sure otherwise.

As for coastal stuff, I have an experimental layer in there to do just that along the mainland. It's a lot of work for those inshore guys. Wish we had some sea trucks and coasters.

Another note. With all the traffic utilizing zig-zags (15-35 degrees every 15 to 120+ minutes, switching up offset and even speed every few hundred nm), the contact reports need to be taken with an extreme grain of salt. Such reports are perfectly accurate at the moment they are made, but the headings and speed can vary quite a bit from the base course. From any distance, you'll likely have to guess for a choke point they might pass through.

[AVGWarhawk]

I told you to talk to TATER!!!! Great job Tater

Tater, when you are happy with your work, release on the MODs forum. Let everyone have a go at it and give you some feedback!