Transport selection

chris h · #1 May 21st, 2019, 09:24 AM

I'm playing a campaign that is based around paras. I've got to the third scenario which requires an air drop but there's also a lot of sea giving you the option for a beeach landing.

I chose the airbourne approach. This is where the problems have occurred. Because there's the sea option the game is automatically giving me landing craft/LVT, specifically for AO, 81 mtrs, HMG and airbourne how. How do I stop this happening?

Mobhack · #2 May 21st, 2019, 09:56 AM

There really is no such thing as a "para based campaign" other than perhaps a user campaign where the designer has set up one.

Why? - because you cannot have the certainty of air support, so transport planes aren't guaranteed. Nor can you have core forces with air transport units. So it has to be a user campaign, where the designer has set you up with air support points on every battle, so you can buy air transports.

A naval assault scenario is meant to be based around going ashore in boats. Hence, assault craft will be provided for your troops to go ashore in and the troops will be loaded into these. If you choose to buy air transports from your air points, then you will have to unload any troops from their boats and load the troops onto the air transports manually.

chris h · #3 May 21st, 2019, 10:21 AM

OK I see. Slightly disapointing though.

Mobhack · #4 May 21st, 2019, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris h

OK I see. Slightly disapointing though.

Not really.

A para-based campaign can only be set up as a user campaign:
1) The designer can then allocate air support for every battle and/or assign transports as fixed support troops.
2) The designer can then make every battle an advance or assault for the player, and put troops and objectives all over the map as opposed to on the defenders half.
3) the player can still buy a ground attack element of tanks etc, no way to stop him doing that as even if the designer still tells the user to not do that in the scenario text, players will still buy them, regardless.

So basically - air assaults are really only meant for a singleton scenario, either as part of a user campaign or as a scenario on the scenarios page. Beach assaults however (like river crossings) can appear in the normal LC.

This game is meant to be one of ground warfare with a ground forces core.

DRG · #5 May 21st, 2019, 03:22 PM

If you have access to air transport / gliders and it is set up as a beach landing giving you LC for your AO, 81 mtrs, HMG ....it doesn't mean you HAVE to use the LC for those units. Just because they are given to you does not mean you are obliged to load them into the LC or simply use the LC's for your support troops and make it a two-pronged attack.

Why should it be "Slightly disappointing" when in fact it could be more interesting than normal ?

chris h · #6 May 29th, 2019, 07:17 AM

That I don't have a choice.

DRG · #7 May 29th, 2019, 08:09 AM

You can choose not to use them and move them to a grey map edge and they will retreat off map

chris h · #8 May 29th, 2019, 08:24 AM

Yeh I realise that but they are units I don't need. This isn't no biggy.

Mobhack · #9 May 29th, 2019, 10:15 AM

Once more, see the answer given in post No. 4 above.

The AI will be setting up to defend the beach, and not to defend against an airborne invasion. The scenario is a beach defence, not a defence against paras (there is no such mission type).

In fact, the only time the AI will ever be properly set up against an air assault is if it is a scenario designed by a human with the AI defenders placed manually. Using an air assault against the computer other than in a pre-designed scenario is outside its limitations - vs a human in a human v human campaign, fine. A human defender has the capability to think of paras being used, the AI does not unless it is guided by a scenario designer's hand.

Same goes for any extra water transports - the setup code knows its a beach assault so it provides the requisite floaty objects. There is no way it can decide to not buy a few just because the human bought (or will buy in future purchases) some transport planes since it buys the transports per bought formation as part of the formation purchase mechanics. It tots up the transport cost for grunts and vehicles and buys using a formula (sometimes using LVT instead of barges for grunts).

Again, if it was a human-designed scenario then the designer could flip a few unused floaty things into say transport planes or whatever. But in a random campaign battle or a battle generator one, you get the code for that sort of battle - which in this case is a beach assault. The premise therefore is that one is arriving by sea, not air.

The AI does not know about para landings. Therefore, paras/gliders really only should be used in human-designed scenarios or against a human opponent who is OK with the idea in PBEM.