It seems to be a popular view that Japan is wasting its money if it buys a complex before it has maxed out the first one (i.e. is transporting 8 units/turn to the mainland). However, I am of the opinion that 2 tran 1 IC–this is assuming $1 bid to Japan–is the optimal J1 purchase for getting units to the mainland quickly. There was an old thread (sorry, I couldn’t find the link on my first search and I’m too lazy to look harder) that had some calculations to this effect, but for the short version, consider:
—If you build 3 tran on J1, you can put 8 units in Asia on your second turn. However, with 2 tran 1 IC you can get 9 units there: 6 from your three transports, and three more from your complex. With a 2 IC purchase it’s down to 8 again, one from your transport and 6 from your complexes. (I’m assuming throughout that the UK killed your transport in SZ 59 so that you only have one to start with.) So if you’re trying to get as many units to Asia on J2 as you can, 2 tran 1 IC is the way to go.
—4 tran on J1, using a bid of $2, is also a good way to start fast. However, in this case your capacity outstrips your income; it will be a couple rounds before you can actually get new units fast enough to keep your transports busy. The 2 tran 1 IC buy is better optimized at keeping your production/transport capacity matched up with the number of units you can afford to produce. In particular, a 4 tran J1 purchase enables you to put as many as 10 units into Asia on J2 if you clean out Philippines, East Indies, Okinawa, and Wake, but then you run out of island units and can only make up to 8 new ones in Japan. So you get a lot of inf on J2 but it’s more of an anomaly, where the 2 tran 1 IC buy gives you a smoother and more continuous startup.
—As far as location, I like FIC the best. Kwang is farther from Moscow than either Fic or Man, so if you’re trying to put pressure on the Russians quickly you want either Fic or Man. You can supply plenty of troops to the northern area from Japan itself, so the complex is needed more on the southern end. Plus it enables you to get to Africa, Caucasus, etc better.
—So far I’ve been assuming KGF. In KJF you should certainly be a bit more hesitant about getting factories up quickly. However, I’ve found that a FIC complex, which is always where I build on J1 if I build a factory at all, can be very helpful in KJF. Ideally when defending against an American fleet you want to defend as far out as possible, e.g. with a fleet in the Caroline or even Solomon islands. However, if you’re forced to fall back, FIC is a great fallback point. The key thing about it is that it borders all three of your valuable islands. If you get in trouble you can fall back to SZ 36 and build more ships there to join your retreating fleet. Often this will be enough to prevent the Americans from taking any of those expensive islands right away. If your only factory is in Japan you’re forced to keep your navy farther north to incorporate the new builds, and the Americans have an easier time getting to the southern islands.
Mobiliaztion of Units at ICs
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Creates a more diverse force so far in my experience. “Makes you” throw in a few higher priced pieces instead of only building INF.
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but the limit is only for a conquering country, or did that change in AAR?
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Any IC can only produce the a number of units equal to the value of the territory it is in. So you can only build 8 INF in Moscow a turn even with boatloads of Russian cash.
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but the limit is only for a conquering country, or did that change in AAR?
Yes, the rule changed in Revised and the limit applies the same whether the IC is orginal, built, or conquered.
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That’s great, generally speaking, but doesn’t that handicap Russia in defending the frontier?
I’d be interested in seeing results of that rule in a classic game. Would be interesting, especially when teamed with my other idea of everyone buying their units in order then taking their turns in order.
I believe that would put a whole new twist on the game!
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It does force some new tactics from Classic.
Russia can’t just build massed INF in Caucuses (equating it to Karelia in Classic). So they build some ART and ARM too :-)
Japan has to plan for new IC’s because they hit their build limit VERY quickly.
UK has to keep higher end units in the pipeline (FIGs most often) in order to use their income.
Germany can;t just drop a mass of INF to block an attack on Germany or Southern. They have to plan ahead…
Even the US occasionally runs afoul of the limit. Not often, but can happen. -
I really wish there was a “Dogs of War” or Axis and Allies CD for A&A Revised!
I want to try some things out with it before I jump in player v player!!!
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Well, triple-a has an AI but it’s not very good and that’s about the only option, I think.
This may be of absolutely no use to you, but….
I had a vast reservior of Classic knowledge, much like you judging from the number of your posts, when revised came out. So what I did to prep myself was to find a finished game here and print it out. I then played the game as they did. Before I looked at the coming move, I purchased units and made my own combat moves. Once I resolved the combats on a dice sim and finished the turn, I looked at what really happened in the game. I asked myself “what did I do differently?”, “why?”, “Did the player see something I didn’t or vice versa?”, “Whose move do I prefer most-mine or the players?”. Once I got to the point where consistently our moves were identical or I preferred my move over the players, I knew I was ready. I had learned everything I could from that and the next lesson had to be learned in plastic blood. The whole time I was doing this I was also formulating each countries opening moves.
So now here I am, about 20 posts in and I’m already butting heads with people about German IC’s, attacking Hawaii, and Germany in Africa. Unfortunately, one of those guys is Trihero so I think I’m in for a first class *ss-whipping.
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The biggest challenge my primary opponent faced when we moved to Revised was that everything wasn’t quite where he thought it was. I had to tell him many times for about the first three games, “that doesn’t reach.” He also seemed to have big problems with the fact that there is an “inside” and “outside” sea zone at Japan instead of only one. It threw his logistics off for awhile.
Essentially though it isn’t that different, buy enough infantry and stick to your plan. I don’t have that many games of Classic under my belt but I find the revised game to be much more satisfying.
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Well, triple-a has an AI but it’s not very good and that’s about the only option, I think.
What is that, and where do we get it?
I just need a map with pieces on it I can move around. I taught myself A&A I can teach myself this. (Hell, I have world at war and a few different maps for classic too, so it’s not like I don’t have any experience in new versions.)
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This is the page where you can download it and get installation tips.
http://triplea.sourceforge.net/mywiki/TripleAÂ
This the warclub where you can game and post in the forum.
http://tripleawarclub.org/index.php
I had to copy and modify the executable file and create a separate icon to play against the AI. they have a walkthrough for that. But I have an older version (the one they use in the warclub). They may have integrated it into the newer version. I don’t know. Trust me.The AI is not very competitive. I doubt you’ll learn much. And I’m not sure if they have integrated LHTR into it for the new version (mine doesn’t). So you’ll have to be careful because the little things can trip you up if you also game here. Like landing fighters on newly built carriers have to be landed in the territory the carrier is produced in unlike LHTR where it has to be in the IC’s SZ.
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Kewl. Keep an eye on this board, I might have some questions fer ya.
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No problem. I don’t game there so I don’t have much to offer in that respect, but I am well versed in the program and the warclub ladder following is growing so it’s becoming more tempting to register.
I did neglect to mention that triple-a WAS invaluable to me during my training period. The ability to save games in between battles allowed me to manufacture scenarios (1,2, and 3 attack R1 openings, good/bad battle results, G1 Egypt openings) that I was able to revisit regularly. And the one thing I do know about the new version is that now you can even save between combat rolls, which is helpful.
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Oh yeah. One other thing that I though was kinda funny is that even my version incorporates the LHTR 1.3 changes. I tested it and German subs in a U.K. SZ CAN submerge when attacked by the U.S. bomber even if a newly built U.K. DD occupies the same SZ.
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well, I got it up and running…but I wish I had a printout of the full map and a set of the rules. :(
I can figure it out without those things, but it sure would be easier!
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OOB Rules:
http://www.wizards.com/avalonhill/rules/axis2004.pdfOOB FAQ:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/faqs/axisrevisedMap:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/42540There are other maps out there, that’s just the quickest I found. The Caspian Sub group has a very clear map on their site, but I think you have to join (for free) to access it: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Caspian_Sub/
(Map is in Files-> Miscellaneous -> AArevisedMapV4.gifI think there is a sticky thread with the LHTR, since that is the common ruleset for tournament play.
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Yeah, this revised section does have a sticky for the v1.3 LHTR.
For the map you’re on your own. I just look at my gameboard or Abattlemap.
The bigger question is: Did you get the AI to work or is it already incorporated into the new version?
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yea, I got the AI to work.
Thanks for the links guys
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