They (Devs) Killed the Battle of the Atlantic

[SophieX]

It is pretty clear.
How would a battleship repeatedly kill less than two convoys? Based on what OP described and how frequently the UI bug has been brought up recently, it is safe to assume the bug.

Not "clear".

I agree, that the probability is high to assume the bug is the reason.

But to definitely exclude all other possibility, we need more information from OP.

 

[Secret Master]

It is pretty clear.

You have more confidence in the clarity of posts made around here than I do.

And, just because I can:

 

[FindFloppies]

I've noticed this bug, too, but it's obviously only cosmetic. I was killing 1 Spanish convoy in the med, 20 times? If it was only 20 convoys, why were they almost out of them? And, yeah, the ships sunk list told a much different story.

Cosmetic bug. <Yawn>.

So, yes, I've seen this one. The one I haven't seen is the 'minors not watching borders'. I've taken some minors, and had to fight to across the border on each one...

 

[bitmode]

Not "clear".

I agree, that the probability is high to assume the bug is the reason.

"Pretty" is a modifier meaning "moderately large", so if a situation has a highly probable explanation it can (in my opinion) be said to be "pretty clear".

But to definitely exclude all other possibility, we need more information from OP.

Definitely excluding all other possibilities is an unreasonable standard for offering constructive advice. With a highly likely explanation, there is no need for additional information at this point unless OP comes back with a follow-up.

 

[SophieX]

Definitely excluding all other possibilities is an unreasonable standard for offering constructive advice. With a highly likely explanation, there is no need for additional information at this point unless OP comes back with a follow-up.

I can agree for a case like this, where you are to answer questions about computer-games.
(For me it's not always easy to "drop" a 30years old way of thinking, where improper advices might endanger the life of other people )

 

[seattle]

I can wipe out the British merchant marine in 12 months or less against the AI when I play Germany. It's not that hard.

Where are you tech wise/doctrine wise when the war starts?

Yup, vanilla ironman game.
What I used: starting navy, patrol subs, minelayer subs, attack subs, naval bombers.
Dirt cheap navy and enough to sink the entire Allied navies.

Apparently I sunk 5356 enemy convoys in 1942 alone?? Sounds extremly weird.

 

[Secret Master]

Yup, vanilla ironman game.
What I used: starting navy, patrol subs, minelayer subs, attack subs, naval bombers.
Dirt cheap navy and enough to sink the entire Allied navies.

Apparently I sunk 5356 enemy convoys in 1942 alone?? Sounds extremly weird.

View attachment 594866

My guess is that you are bagging all US, UK, and Dominion convoys. And the AI is spamming convoys with its NIC.

Still seems high, though. Hmmmm

 

[Harin]

Yup, vanilla ironman game.
What I used: starting navy, patrol subs, minelayer subs, attack subs, naval bombers.
Dirt cheap navy and enough to sink the entire Allied navies.

Apparently I sunk 5356 enemy convoys in 1942 alone?? Sounds extremly weird.

View attachment 594866

Good grief, @seattle! With that much steel sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic, no one can build tanks.

 

[FindFloppies]

Good grief, @seattle! With that much steel sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic, no one can build tanks.

So, instead of Ironbottom Sound, it's Ironbottom Ocean?

 

[ecpgieicg]

Yup, vanilla ironman game.
What I used: starting navy, patrol subs, minelayer subs, attack subs, naval bombers.
Dirt cheap navy and enough to sink the entire Allied navies.

Apparently I sunk 5356 enemy convoys in 1942 alone?? Sounds extremly weird.

View attachment 594866

I've used the UI from time to time and have not seem errors in them. FYI

Still, that convoy count is abnormally high. I do think each major needs ~1.5k convoy eventually (to supply troops) and with the right mod, AI will proactively build enough convoy to meet its needs in the near future. But 1.5k for UK and 1.5k for US plus say 0.5k for Canada is only 3.5k. And I am really stretching the numbers here. 4.1k seems pretty abnormal.

Congrats on sending so much IC to the bottom of Atlantic nonetheless.

 

[Mousetick]

Apparently I sunk 5356 enemy convoys in 1942 alone?? Sounds extremly weird.

Yeah the year-to-date and the older totals are crazy, except the first count out of the 3 counts given for sunk convoys, which I think is accurate.

It's easier to see when filtering by a specific country. In the following example, Italy is selected and only convoys have been sunk so it's obvious to see:

Then in this example, Germany is selected, and 153 (total ships sunk) - 5 - 7 - 2 - 2 = 137 (convoys sunk) for the current year:

The monthly reports (current month and previous months) appear to track the number of sunk convoys correctly. Furthermore they don't show the spurious 2nd and 3rd counts.

 

[seattle]

I've used the UI from time to time and have not seem errors in them. FYI

Still, that convoy count is abnormally high. I do think each major needs ~1.5k convoy eventually (to supply troops) and with the right mod, AI will proactively build enough convoy to meet its needs in the near future. But 1.5k for UK and 1.5k for US plus say 0.5k for Canada is only 3.5k. And I am really stretching the numbers here. 4.1k seems pretty abnormal.

Congrats on sending so much IC to the bottom of Atlantic nonetheless.

I think the Allies have a masterplan: paving a highway from America to Europe by sinking thousands of their own ships. Soon they'll be able to drive their tanks over here.

The funny thing is that I didn't even try as you can tell by the pre-1942 numbers.
Basically I wanted to get rid of the "naval factories" icon in the top bar by just building any ship.

It's definitely a mighty strategy to focus on subs alone: cruiser subs (2 minelaying slots) to mine all waters and attack subs.
They only need naval bomber support and then you can completely ignore the navy and focus on land warfare.

A naval region with 100% mines, 200 naval bombers, some fighters, scout planes and subs is a killing zone for the a.i.
The Western Mediterranean is a perfect zone for that, as is Bay of Biscay (West of France).

 

[Emden1]

Great information everyone. I was just looking at the UI, now that I know there is a bug on that display, I will check the totals and the convoy route affects. Thanks all, cheers.

 

[sekelsenmat]

I can wipe out the British merchant marine in 12 months or less against the AI when I play Germany. It's not that hard.

Where are you tech wise/doctrine wise when the war starts?

How do you do it? Even with subs 40+radar 1 and no doctrines I get trashed, because the main UK battle fleet joins convoy battles with doomstacks. Also planes kill subs, so I'd have to operate them only with air cover?

 

[Harin]

How do you do it? Even with subs 40+radar 1 and no doctrines I get trashed, because the main UK battle fleet joins convoy battles with doomstacks. Also planes kill subs, so I'd have to operate them only with air cover?

Submarine doctrines are very powerful and worth pursuing if your goal is win the Atlantic fight. Also, submarines may need to be moved around from time to time. Staying away from shallow seas next to UK and France is smart as the NAVs will see you and the UK Home Fleet is active there.

Move out into the deep water Atlantic and be prepared to move your subs as soon as you take some losses. There will be weak areas to exploit.

*EDIT
Above I said stay away from shallow seas in UK and France, I meant mainly UK. I am currently playing a UK BICE game and my convoys got hit hard in the Bay of Biscay and I had it on my mind.

 

[seattle]

Submarine doctrines are very powerful and worth pursuing if your goal is win the Atlantic fight. Also, submarines may need to be moved around from time to time. Staying away from shallow seas next to UK and France is smart as the NAVs will see you and the UK Home Fleet is active there.

Move out into the deep water Atlantic and be prepared to move your subs as soon as you take some losses. There will be weak areas to exploit.

Why are you assuming that the enemy rules the skies?

I always let my subs raid Bay of Biscay because I can support them with naval bombers there.
In the Atlantic without air cover they are prone to get sunk.

 

[Secret Master]

I always let my subs raid Bay of Biscay because I can support them with naval bombers there.
In the Atlantic without air cover they are prone to get sunk.

The AI really shouldn't be letting convoys sail there, but since it does, yeah. Use air power to back the subs up.

Since we're talking about air power backing subs, this is the time where I mention that controlling Lisbon has real benefits, as well as the Azores. You can turn those sea zones into death traps from whence no convoys can escape.

 

[seattle]

The AI really shouldn't be letting convoys sail there, but since it does, yeah. Use air power to back the subs up.

Since we're talking about air power backing subs, this is the time where I mention that controlling Lisbon has real benefits, as well as the Azores. You can turn those sea zones into death traps from whence no convoys can escape.

When is the best time to conquer Portugal though? Since MEFO it hurts to do the old "annex Denmark and build lvl 10 naval base in Iceland" routine.

I imagine that Portugal is best annexed before WW2 breaks out?

 

[Secret Master]

I imagine that Portugal is best annexed before WW2 breaks out?

I won't speak for the current DLC, as I haven't done it in vanilla since LaR came out. But I have some older strategies I'll share.

1) The ol' "Invade Portugal immediately after occupying Spain" trick. Occupy France. Don't form Vichy. Then DOW on Spain (regardless of who's in power). Then hit Portugal. Should take less than three months.

2) Flip Portugal Fascist before the war. Then add them to the Axis upon France falling. (Earlier can cause weird problems with supply German troops and planes there, and you really need to defend Portugal.) For this to work, you need military access from Spain. Not just for moving troops, but because you want to be able to move supply over land to Lisbon.

3) The "Abuse Vichy to naval invade Portugal because the Allies aren't paying attention" strategy. It doesn't work in LaR, because Vichy isn't immediately an Axis power upon formation. But in older patches, Vichy was an Axis power. And it controlled Morocco. So, what I did one MP game was put German and Italian troops in Morocco. Then I moved the German surface fleet down to Casablanca along with a bunch of submarines. Got the required naval superiority and hit Portugal by sea. The British player didn't realize what was happening until too late. This also requires military access from Spain. Again, not for moving troops, but because once you seize Portugal, you need to be able to supply it over land.

None of these strategies are pre-WW2, though.

 

[seattle]

So I guess the brute force approach works best.
Picturing X-Men Last Stand: "I'm the Juggernaut, b***!"

Damn it, now I want to try that. 24 mountain divs marching straight from Alsace to Lisbon.

Unfortunately there's a Strategic Command:WW1 game left to finish before that.