Posts made by Zero Pilot

@ncscswitch:

…you cannot just start shuffling FIGs around on ACs.

Indeed.

Jen’s turning the discussion into a classic Monty Python skit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMlv3ripSM

I agree CI. With decent players I think “KJF” is somewhat unrealistic and unnecessary. To effectively take Japan out of the game you only need to contain them to their home island. So instead of KJF a more realistic approach is CJF: contain Japan first. Not that it’s completely impossible to take out Japan. But it takes too long to “kill” them to capture Tokyo. And that gives Germany lots of time and opportunity to turn the tide of the game. Once Japan is contained then shift focus to Germany and the other (easier) VCs.

I’ve played CJF successfully many times, but with decent players KJF seems more like an attempt to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. ~ZP

I’m very sorry to hear your announcement Switch but I completely understand your reasons.

Burnout is one thing and hard to avoid, but it’s sad to know that you’ve been driven to this.

I know forum moderating is a thankless job. A sincere thanks for everything Switch. ~ZP

I think the single biggest weakness in the Triplea AI is ineffective use of transports. And when I say ineffective I mean totally hopeless. The US AI seems scripted to offload into Africa (or else the limited “logic” determines this is the only move it ever has.) And you will routinely see the US AI purchase 20-30 transports throughout the course of a game. It might load 5 transports at a time tops. In the bid for Africa sometimes the transports go to sz 19 for no apparent reason.

It’s the same when the AI controls the UK and buys 4-5x the transports it can use. It’s frustrating to see the German AI leave that 1 fighter in WEur then the UK AI loads 3 of it’s 20 transports and just leaves the units sitting there on the transports. Doesn’t unload, doesn’t attack anything. I just don’t get it. What could the “logic” be that drives the transports to be loaded in the first place if it doesn’t follow up on that by unloading them into combat or reinforcing something? Japan AI goes whack on transports too. What’s with all the wild transport purchasing? No rationale to it since a 2-step shuck is obviously out of the question.

And ya gotta love the AI for faithfully leaving the two Russian fighters parked alone in Archangel at the end of R1. But not to worry… the German AI won’t notice this huge gift of fortune until the UK AI lands the bomber there too. The AI also never, ever takes into consideration the possibility of a one-two attack to capture an IC. The odds have to work out for one country to successfully win the attack singlehandedly. With the AI buying transports out the wazoo with precious little useful ground units to show for it, that can take a long damn time too.

So yeah, I have put the AI through it’s paces. It isn’t very fun. I’ll play 1 nation and let the AI play the rest which can indeed be a “challenge”, but not in the good, fun sort of way at all. It’s actually a rather frustrating “reverse” challenge. You face a terribly feeble opponent and have a terrible feeble ally to boot, all of which make dumb moves across the board constantly. So that’s challenge! It’s more of a test of patience really than anything approaching strategic gameplay. So instead of saying to yourself “ooh, that was slick” you’re constantly going “Awwww, come on guys!!!”

So if there were only one improvement to be made to the AI my vote is on transport logic. I can appreciate the difficulty in scripting logic into a game of this complexity, but stacking 20-30 transports when you can only place 8-10 units? What’s up with that? AI transports are currently borked beyond all comprehension. ~ZP

The latest Triplea download can be found here:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/triplea/

You will need a recent version of java to run it. One of the downloads includes a java installer if you need it.

The Triplea forum is:

http://tripleadev.org/

~ZP

@dezrtfish:

…this isn’t near as funny now.

I don’t know about that.  :-D

Most here play by forum using a dice roller and map utility.

If you’re looking for a replacement for the old CD-ROM that offers real-time play try Triplea:

http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=44492&package_id=119711&release_id=593647

You will need a current version of Java to run the game. One of the downloads includes the necessary java installer if you don’t have the latest version. “Unstable” in the file name simply means there are new features in the download which are currently being testing before being released as “stable”.

If you have any difficulty with it post back and I’ll see if I can help you. ~ZP

@ncscswitch:

While many folks disagree with the G1 AC purchase, I have found that it is a solid G1 buy that gains Germany significant TIME before they are forced back into Berlin in a KGF game.

It prevents the UK destruction of the Baltic Fleet on UK1, and makes UK spend cash early on in the defense of London, as well as possibly drawing US forces that otherwise would be bound for Africa to London.

Agreed. I know the G1 AC purchase is hotly contested one way or the other and I can’t say if it’s right or wrong for other peeps. I will say that my gaming group knows exaaaactly how to exploit this one if you don’t. So it’s basically: “pity the fool who doesn’t AC G1… pity the fool!” It won’t last forever, but it buys you that much needed time.

I always go with the UK1 AC and TRN too. Funny to see a couple early game moves I always make posted here. That almost never happens. ~ZP

@Nerazzurri:

It seems natural to me to hold the line wherever it lies after R1, which is what I’ve been doing until now. But that appears to create a gap in bringing up re-inforcements, to hold that line. So should I be falling back a territory westward to consolodate?

Maintaining a supply line is a challenge for both Axis since they are primarily making their advances territory by territory unlike the Allies who retain much flexibility with transports. That flexibility allows the Allies to maintain pressure across a broad front without necessarily having to hold a wide swath of territory to do so. To counter this the Axis need to push a broad front on to Russia as fast as they possibly can to try and wear Russia thin.

So Germany really should not be just holding the line or falling back that early in the game. Particularly while your Baltic fleet is still intact. The first couple rounds is your best opportunity to start to make territory gains towards the east. If you’re able to hit 45+ ipcs as Germany early in the game (including Africa) you stand a good chance of maintaining those gains for a number of rounds. If the Allies are not very well coordinated you might even make it to Moscow with your Panzers.

Mid to late game as the Allies “dog-pile” on Germany it might be time to maintain or pull back. Hopefully by then the territory/income losses you’ve inflicted on Russia gives Japan the time/edge they need to make it to an under defended Moscow for the kill. These are just generalizations and as has been said much depends on what else is going down on the board.

But if you don’t start to grab what you can early on and fill Hitler’s coffers it’s unlikely you will be able to substantially improve Germany’s board situation later in the game. Failure to do so puts the Axis on the defensive much earlier in the game and the Axis really can’t afford to play against the clock or the Allies will almost always come out on top. Hope this helps. ~ZP

I took Switches thoughts as an expansion of Don Rae’s philosophy rather than an solitary end-all methodogy. Don’s many papers focused primarily on the defense aspect of infantry (IPM) since boots are arguably the most cost effective defense unit for the warbuck. But the premise here is very similar: the oft overlooked power of defense. Switch is simply applying it across the board (get it?)

Even in an abstracted wargame such as A&A, one must admit that much of the thrill of the game is found in the attack, the smash! Not as often well developed a skill is knowing when and where to set up dead zones, when to build in place and allow your opponent to stretch their supply lines thin as you smile and say “come to papa”. I still find myself wanting to go for the throat at times instead of playing the probably better, patient defensive game. Why? Cause smash is a lot of fun.

And the damn (hate it but love it) 3/3 tank put a spin on the whole game the likes of a tsunami! Mike Selinker said the 3/3 tank was designed to put more combat fun into the game. Oh, in spades! That and the tank/dude capable transport. Poof! Units revamped for smash play. Completely different game imho actually.

But I digest. So I agree with DM in that I think this was all Switch was really trying to say. Defense is Russia’s primary game but the lessons can be applied elsewhere as well. The caveat with any gaming philosophy is that no one single thing works emphatically well in all situations. If we can generalize and agree on no other single thing it’s that A&A is a game of balances. ~ZP

http://www.gamblerswarehouse.com/

When you click on “Host Networked Game” it comes up with a dialog where you enter a username and port. The default port for Triplea is 3300. It should be just a matter of making sure port 3030 (or whatever port you decide to use to host games) is also open in your firewall/router. ~ZP

@ncscswitch:

Plexi over a laminated map equals a gaming surface safe from even spilled bong water…

Gotta design for real world conditions.  :mrgreen:

FYI: 0.9.4.0 was just released on Saturday.

@Nukchebi0:

Can they improve the AI as well?

As I posted in another thread, the task of creating an AI that rivals a human player is an extremely tall order. Coders who are capable of the task and are willing to do it for free in support of an open source project appear to be invisibly rare. The Triplea development team is well aware of the lack of a robust AI. This is by far the single most requested feature improvement. ~ZP

@axis_roll:

I STILL say I would trade my entire allied navy in this example for the German airforce and no Germans in Africa.

Totally agree. In fact I can’t really think of an example where I wouldn’t make this trade. The Allied navy can be rebuilt if necessary. The German air force on the other hand will never return in equal numbers once decimated unless the Allies are already on the ropes.

Any beer that you get paid to drink is a worthwhile beer.  :-D  ~ZP

@Nukchebi0:

I just used TripleA and set up each of the situations. It follows the rules perfectly, with the exception of flying fighters above a sea zone to land on a new carrier.

Yeah, I noticed that too. When you use the LHTR game XML file the game will put up a dialog box asking if you want to end the movement with the fighter or keep moving. The dialog does inform you if you have a carrier purchase coming so it would appear this feature has been partially but not fully implemented. This may be fixed in the next release which is due out soon. ~ZP

So how many Japanese tanks can we expect to get now?  :-P  ~ZP