Do enemy planes have to rearm and repair?

[TMaynard7]

I have a convoy that is constantly being bombarded by the same flight. They literally are hit every 10 game minutes. I know its the same flight because every time I shoot a plane down, its not there next time. But every damaged plane immediately is repaired, and there isn't any time for them to get back to the airfield, rearm, and find my convoy again. Does the game not keep track of ai planes or is it just glitched? I'm a little new to the game so maybe theres just something I don't understand going on?

[Kraznova]

I can assure you, its not the same flight. Its just that the game will send every available asset after you once it detects you. If you are playing the stock game, you might be experiencing multiple waves from the same carrier. Try to stay out of detection range during daytime hours, and bombard airfields to decrease their levels.

[TMaynard7]

Originally posted by Kraznova:

I can assure you, its not the same flight. Its just that the game will send every available asset after you once it detects you. If you are playing the stock game, you might be experiencing multiple waves from the same carrier. Try to stay out of detection range during daytime hours, and bombard airfields to decrease their levels.

It literally is. Theres only one airfield in range, its only a level 2, they're only sending out the same exact aircraft, same loadout, it will be the same four attacking multiple times until I eventually shoot them all down. If I shoot two down, only 2 will show up next. The issue is that there is virtually no gap in time. I can get hit by dive bombers, then zeros will show up within 2 minutes, and then those same dive bombers will be fully loaded and attack again. Often they won't even be outside the operational range. Trust me when I say, there is no aircraft carrier. It would be one thing if they were returning to the airfield, but they are not. Again, I've noticed some few coding issues with the game, so I'm not sure if its just not skripted correctly or if its a balancing thing.

[Teslaman90]

Originally posted by TMaynard7:

It literally is. Theres only one airfield in range, its only a level 2, they're only sending out the same exact aircraft, same loadout, it will be the same four attacking multiple times until I eventually shoot them all down. If I shoot two down, only 2 will show up next. The issue is that there is virtually no gap in time. I can get hit by dive bombers, then zeros will show up within 2 minutes, and then those same dive bombers will be fully loaded and attack again. Often they won't even be outside the operational range. Trust me when I say, there is no aircraft carrier. It would be one thing if they were returning to the airfield, but they are not. Again, I've noticed some few coding issues with the game, so I'm not sure if its just not skripted correctly or if its a balancing thing.

You just said there are multiple flights by stating the presence of zeros and dive bombers (Vals I presume) so I’m not sure what you’re getting at here.
Because of the low numbers of aircraft the refresh time for when they can launch an additional strike is very low. AI airbases do have a very high replenishment too which likely exacerbates your situation significantly.
Aircraft must land in order to reload their payload, so if they have a new payload every time it means that they’re just cycling between the few aircraft available to constantly harass you. If they don’t have a new payload then it means they’re from a group that’s already attacked you. Note some aircraft like fighters may not carry bombs.

[TMaynard7]

Originally posted by Teslaman90:

Originally posted by TMaynard7:

It literally is. Theres only one airfield in range, its only a level 2, they're only sending out the same exact aircraft, same loadout, it will be the same four attacking multiple times until I eventually shoot them all down. If I shoot two down, only 2 will show up next. The issue is that there is virtually no gap in time. I can get hit by dive bombers, then zeros will show up within 2 minutes, and then those same dive bombers will be fully loaded and attack again. Often they won't even be outside the operational range. Trust me when I say, there is no aircraft carrier. It would be one thing if they were returning to the airfield, but they are not. Again, I've noticed some few coding issues with the game, so I'm not sure if its just not skripted correctly or if its a balancing thing.

You just said there are multiple flights by stating the presence of zeros and dive bombers (Vals I presume) so I’m not sure what you’re getting at here.
Because of the low numbers of aircraft the refresh time for when they can launch an additional strike is very low. AI airbases do have a very high replenishment too which likely exacerbates your situation significantly.
Aircraft must land in order to reload their payload, so if they have a new payload every time it means that they’re just cycling between the few aircraft available to constantly harass you. If they don’t have a new payload then it means they’re from a group that’s already attacked you. Note some aircraft like fighters may not carry bombs.

um...how are you confused? The same flight strikes multiple times and is reloaded in air. That doesn't mean there aren't other flights in the area. I'm not confusing fighters and dive bombers, but its the same dive bombers every time, and there is basically no refresh time and certainly not enough time to get back to the airfield. A convoy will get struck by dive bombers, I will shoot down one of them, then two minutes later fighters will strafe the convoy in a separate action, those now 3 dive bombers will also partake in that attack, with no time for them to return to the airfield to replenish their bombs. I will shoot another one down. then another 3rd action will happen minutes later with 2 dive bombers. My point is that the player aircraft must land but the ai aircraft is clearly not. If you're correct, then its a glitch.

[Teslaman90]

Originally posted by TMaynard7:

um...how are you confused? The same flight strikes multiple times and is reloaded in air. That doesn't mean there aren't other flights in the area. I'm not confusing fighters and dive bombers, but its the same dive bombers every time, and there is basically no refresh time and certainly not enough time to get back to the airfield. A convoy will get struck by dive bombers, I will shoot down one of them, then two minutes later fighters will strafe the convoy in a separate action, those now 3 dive bombers will also partake in that attack, with no time for them to return to the airfield to replenish their bombs. I will shoot another one down. then another 3rd action will happen minutes later with 2 dive bombers. My point is that the player aircraft must land but the ai aircraft is clearly not. If you're correct, then its a glitch.

I’m not confused, I’m just going off the information you provided.
This message above was a lot clearer for what you’re trying to say. Though additional info like the range from the base(s), and/or game speed would help.

From what I can gather there are 1 of 3 things happening.
1. The aircraft are behaving normally but due to engagement range proximity the new aircraft are being drawn in almost as soon as they’re launched. Furthermore 2 minutes in game could be up to or over an hour depending on game speed so that may allow plenty of time to reload a couple planes.
2. There are aircraft being sent from sources you aren’t aware of - depends on how far you are from other land bases or common CV patrol locations.
3. There is a glitch in the aircraft’s payload state.

[TMaynard7]

Originally posted by Teslaman90:

Originally posted by TMaynard7:

um...how are you confused? The same flight strikes multiple times and is reloaded in air. That doesn't mean there aren't other flights in the area. I'm not confusing fighters and dive bombers, but its the same dive bombers every time, and there is basically no refresh time and certainly not enough time to get back to the airfield. A convoy will get struck by dive bombers, I will shoot down one of them, then two minutes later fighters will strafe the convoy in a separate action, those now 3 dive bombers will also partake in that attack, with no time for them to return to the airfield to replenish their bombs. I will shoot another one down. then another 3rd action will happen minutes later with 2 dive bombers. My point is that the player aircraft must land but the ai aircraft is clearly not. If you're correct, then its a glitch.

I’m not confused, I’m just going off the information you provided.
This message above was a lot clearer for what you’re trying to say. Though additional info like the range from the base(s), and/or game speed would help.

From what I can gather there are 1 of 3 things happening.
1. The aircraft are behaving normally but due to engagement range proximity the new aircraft are being drawn in almost as soon as they’re launched. Furthermore 2 minutes in game could be up to or over an hour depending on game speed so that may allow plenty of time to reload a couple planes.
2. There are aircraft being sent from sources you aren’t aware of - depends on how far you are from other land bases or common CV patrol locations.
3. There is a glitch in the aircraft’s payload state.

The information that ai flights are clearly being reloaded in air or reset because of other air attacks. I'm saying the same flight is attacking multiple times in one run without returning to the airfield, which doesn't exclude the possibility of other flights. I'm just focusing on one as an example and signifying that it is very clearly the same aircraft attacking multiple times. I don't know the distance, but say the island of Guadalcanal from tip to tip. only one airfield in range and it is a level 2.

1: I understand that they will be there if they are within proximity. I am saying they are rearmed without going back to an airfield. No see, you're confused again. I'm saying ingame minutes, not real life minutes. The speed is irrelevant because I'm not referencing real time, I'm referencing game time. Another way to put it is if it was at 1x speed it would be 2 real life minutes.
2: No, they have no carriers and one airfield within range. It is clearly the same 4 dive bombers. If I shoot down 2, only 2 will show again. If I shoot down 4 it will take at least a full day before they can strike again.
3: Right, so if they're supposed to do rearm and its not a balancing feature, then its a scripting issue. That's what I was asking.

[Killerfish Games]

Do you have a vanilla save game with enemy aircraft near player ships that illustrates the issue?

[greggh1961]

In reply to TMaynard7; In my experience with the game (I obtained it in Nov.21, Vanilla version) I vividly recall having encounters with a IJN fleet carrier (Zuikaku) in a previous version of the game. It attacked my Task Force as follows; a squadron (12x planes) of Vals which bombed my ships. The next encounter was a squadron of Zeros which strafed my ships. The next encounter was the remaining Vals (some had been shot down) strafed my ships. After that, the remaining Zeros did a strafing run. After that, my next encounter was the Kates, who did a torpedo attack. After that, I had a new squadron of Vals with their attack, then another new squadron of Zeros, who did another strafing run. After that, the remaining Vals did a strafing attack and then the remaining Zeros did a strafing attack. The final attack was another squadron of Kates. The enemy AI (for IJN) used the full number of aircraft available to it i.e. 72x planes against my Task Force. Only the Kates did not perform a strafing run. As the player, it was definitely a busy time for me. What the enemy AI did is certainly able to be produced by the human player. I hope this helps.

[TMaynard7]

Originally posted by Killerfish Games:

Do you have a vanilla save game with enemy aircraft near player ships that illustrates the issue?

I have the save game but I haven't seen a single enemy aircraft (besides spotter planes) since taking Guadalcanal, which further lends to my belief that it was the exact same flight attacking multiple times, but also means I haven't seen it replicated since my initial inquiry. I also have 3 islands that haven't stopped the "burning" animation representing battle so it might just be a weird save? I've also seen avengers be launched with rockets, go into a battle with torpedoes, and then when I went to send them back to base they were listed as being armed with depth charges. Just fyi, very much enjoying the game.

I can try sending it if you think it could help?

[TMaynard7]

Originally posted by greggh1961:

In reply to TMaynard7; In my experience with the game (I obtained it in Nov.21, Vanilla version) I vividly recall having encounters with a IJN fleet carrier (Zuikaku) in a previous version of the game. It attacked my Task Force as follows; a squadron (12x planes) of Vals which bombed my ships. The next encounter was a squadron of Zeros which strafed my ships. The next encounter was the remaining Vals (some had been shot down) strafed my ships. After that, the remaining Zeros did a strafing run. After that, my next encounter was the Kates, who did a torpedo attack. After that, I had a new squadron of Vals with their attack, then another new squadron of Zeros, who did another strafing run. After that, the remaining Vals did a strafing attack and then the remaining Zeros did a strafing attack. The final attack was another squadron of Kates. The enemy AI (for IJN) used the full number of aircraft available to it i.e. 72x planes against my Task Force. Only the Kates did not perform a strafing run. As the player, it was definitely a busy time for me. What the enemy AI did is certainly able to be produced by the human player. I hope this helps.

Yeah, I use two carrier groups and they decimate pretty much anything that is sent my way. But unfortunately it was very clearly the same 4 dive bombers and 4 zeros from Guadalcanal. I actually enjoy seeing the AI attack aggressively. and if it was flights of 72 (or really what seems to be the max of 24 at a time) then it wouldn't be an issue. I was more so just curious if it was a weird bug or a thing to help the AI be competitive.

[MizuYuuki]

Originally posted by TMaynard7:

Yeah, I use two carrier groups and they decimate pretty much anything that is sent my way. But unfortunately it was very clearly the same 4 dive bombers and 4 zeros from Guadalcanal. I actually enjoy seeing the AI attack aggressively. and if it was flights of 72 (or really what seems to be the max of 24 at a time) then it wouldn't be an issue. I was more so just curious if it was a weird bug or a thing to help the AI be competitive.

It would be a bug, and possibly occur only with regard to a specific location or maybe contested airbases. As far as i'm aware in over a year playing the game, I've never had AI planes rearm and attack in less time than it would take to go back to base and return.

Playing USN in my present campaign, I just sent a task force to a position 90 nm southwest of Baku (a level 2 IJN airbase), and it was attacked a number of times by Vals from Baku, Bettys from Raubal and Vals from Rabaul from 11:49 AM until 15:45 PM at which point the task force was completely destroyed since I gave the AI 9 Zeros and 9 Vals at the level 2 airbase, and Rabaul of course has 12 of each aircraft type. The transit time from Baku for a Val over a distance of 90 nm is 30 minutes. Return attacks from Baku by the depleted Vals never occurred in less than slightly more than 1 hr; the time it would take to go back to Baku, rearm and return. The same was true for return attacks from Rabaul. They never came in less time than it would take to go back to the airbase and return. At one point, Bettys which were returning to Rabaul after attacking with torpedoes were caught in a tactical encounter triggered by Vals. The Bettys overflew my task force as though they were conducting a bombing run, but dropped no bombs as I could see their bombay, which has no bombay doors, was empty.

[TMaynard7]

Originally posted by Killerfish Games:

Do you have a vanilla save game with enemy aircraft near player ships that illustrates the issue?

Just so you know, it happened again. I have a save game if you want me to send it to you, but its very clearly something with the dive bombers not having to reload and them being reloaded as long as there are other flights that initiate the combat.