Strategic Bombing Raid?

as far as i’m concerned, a dedicated strategic bombing campaign by either side is a waste of money insofar as building bombers and then replacing any that happen to get hit. the only time i generally use bombers is when i can’t use them to support any other attacks i might be using. it is worthwhile if you can get in some free shots, e.g if an IC has no AA to protect it, but I don’t generally like to use my bombers like that.

See, this just proves the love in our community, even an over-the-hill geezer like Jefe can still have fun. :D I am going to have to put the drinking game to use, as soon as I teach my roommate how to play.

New to this web site but not to the game.

My brothers and I play often (online) and have noticed that during SBR’s we hit for 5 IPC’s about 80% of the time. 1,3 and 6 combined, show up about 5% and 2’s account for 5% and 4’s about 10%. We have also noted that when an AA gun is not on an IC we hit for 4 IPC’s about 80% of the time with all other numbers showing up w/ the same frequency for the ramaining 20%. When SBR-ing with 2 Bombers the numbers seem to be totally random, however if you split the bombers up (example; UK has 2 Bombers ad SBR’s Berlin with one and South Europe with the other) for the raid we get a 5 with one every time and a 4 with the 2nd bomber maybe 50% of the time but that second bomber is also likely to hit for 1,2 or 3 or 5, never seen a 6.

I’m not sure if this all makes sense but you get the idea.

Could this be a bug? I can’t tell you how many games we play into the 18 - 24 round and no one loses any bombers (and we do a lot of bombing withouit worrying about getting shot down). We have actually had to set a limit on bombers being built to compensate for the bug (if indeed it is a bug).

Anyone else have this problem???

BB,

i am kind of right and wrong. Just as you stated the “steady state”, i mentioned the process of getting there.

My odds calculator tells me that there is about a 25% chance of the bomber winning, 25% chance of the BB winning and 50% chance they both die. This assumes one-hit BB and no heavy bombers

Considering that while the BB costs more IPCs than the bomber, keep in mind it can do potentially much less attack damage (one time potential hit only on amphibious assaults) and on defense is essentially equal to only two transports (my odds calculators says 45% BB, 45% transports, 5% both die) I wouldn’t worry about it. Let them bomb away and your opponent will likely lose their bomber.

However, if you really don’t want to lose the BB, just make sure you keep a transport or two with it for “fodder”.

Its usually not a good idea to split up your navy anyway, I always make sure to keep some transport or submarine fodder next to the powerful and expensive ships whenever possible. As for land operations, you should always keep cheap (infantry or transports) weapons alongside expensive items (BB or bombers) so if they are attacked, the cheap items can be eliminated first.

Cystic Crypt is exactly right on his observation. For this reason alone, to this day I will never buy bombers – Axis or Allies. With bombers, you are risking too much. I, being a strict pessimist when playing A&A, will always believe that everything that can possibly go wrong will. As chessmaster Savielly Grigorievitch commented on the game’s opening position, “The mistakes are all waiting to be made.”

Now say I buy bombers and on subsequent raids, I roll consecutive 6’s. Guess I’m the hero, the greatest since Air Marshall Brig. Gen. Ira Eaker, commander of the Eight Bomber Command. But what happens if the AA guns roll 1’s? What if this happens? Now, I have to kick myself in the back as I poured 15 IPCs down the drain. And since it takes at least 3 runs (even if I rolled 6’s) before I can make good on my investment, those are three turns in which AA guns are free to score hits. In addition to being a pessimist, I am also a control freak. On SBR’s I have no real control on the outcome of the battle. With inf and ARM, I can at least dictate when and where to hit, as well as when to retreat. The sheer suspense in SBR is already enough to kill me many times over.

I would much rather do more with less, which is the prevailing thought of the NASA space program. This means I buy 5 infantry instead of 1 bomber. So incase something goes wrong, which it usually does for me, I don’t crack all of my eggs in one basket.

“Only the spirit of attack, born in a brave heart, will bring success to any fighter aircraft, no matter how highly developed it may be.” - Aldolf Galland
“The create? The create matters not. It is the man who pilots the create that truely counts” -

[ This Message was edited by: TG Moses VI on 2002-05-17 21:19 ]

[ This Message was edited by: TG Moses VI on 2002-05-17 21:20 ]

Hey SUD, why not make a name on this sight, your IP address says you have one but don’t post under it.

Fighters definitely cannot defend in a SBR. But, I think SBRs are overrated and should be avoided vs. any IC that is defended by AA guns. Think about it: your bomber will average 3 IPCs per turn, so after 5 rounds you have done 15 IPCs damage. By then, the odds are that you will lose at least one bomber - worth 15 IPCs. At best, it’s a saw-off. Plus, you run the risk of losing 2 or more bombers with bad luck.

I have found it much more effective to use the bombers to strengthen a regular attack, when they are well protected behind the fodder of cheap INF and ARM.