Area Patrols

[Algy]

I am 12 days into the campaign and have issued 'area patrol' orders to several of my task forces with apparently no resulting action.

According to the manual:

'A task force with Area Patrol orders effectively becomes a small, independent
navy – managing its own missions and maintenance. Individual ships are assigned sailing missions designed to maximize the chance of locating enemy forces sailing within 1000 kilometers from base. The task force will manage all individual ship maintenance and sailing orders. This order is generally given to special purpose task forces composed of “auxiliary cruisers” – ships not generally useful for much besides reconnaissance.'

Has anyone used this command successfully?

Maybe I am just being impatient and the friendly AI will leap into action on day 30 of what is after all a 500 day campaign.?

All comments would be greatfully received.

Regards

Algy

[saddletank]

As the Russians I never use these patrols as I'd rather send the Russian cruisers raiding where I need them. However as the Japanese I have used quite a few of these (older TBs, gunboats, corvettes etc) mainly from the 3 militray ports in the Tsushima Strait.

But like you I have never had a contact with the enemy involving any ship in these patrols and one campaign battle that ended with me running into Mansanpo where there was a patrol set up had no patrol show in the game.

I also think something is not quite right with this patrol option.

[NormKoger]

I have never had a contact with the enemy involving any ship in these patrols...
Every time you run into one of those annoying Japanese auxiliary cruisers, you are encountering a ship belonging to a force operating under area patrol orders. On the campaign map, the individual ships on patrol show "Independent scout on patrol" in the info popup.

[Mobeer]

I've tried assigning other cruisers to perform "area patrol orders", but it seems to me that the only ships that ever do area patrols are auxiliary cruisers. Auxiliary cruisers are visible when the campaign map is showing merchant ships, whereas other cruisers never appear to be at sea.

[WallysWorld]

As the Russians I never use these patrols as I'd rather send the Russian cruisers raiding where I need them.

Yes, me too. I just set some waypoints and let the raiders go. Depending on what they find in juicy merchant ships or large enemy task forces, I then adjust their waypoints as needed.

[Daedalus]

I am 12 days into the campaign and have issued 'area patrol' orders to several of my task forces with apparently no resulting action.

According to the manual:

'A task force with Area Patrol orders effectively becomes a small, independent
navy – managing its own missions and maintenance. Individual ships are assigned sailing missions designed to maximize the chance of locating enemy forces sailing within 1000 kilometers from base. The task force will manage all individual ship maintenance and sailing orders. This order is generally given to special purpose task forces composed of “auxiliary cruisers” – ships not generally useful for much besides reconnaissance.'

Has anyone used this command successfully?

Maybe I am just being impatient and the friendly AI will leap into action on day 30 of what is after all a 500 day campaign.?

All comments would be greatfully received.

Regards

Algy

so far I have been playing the russians, and I set a fleet of CA,s and BB,s and DD,s to patrol at port Authur, they did work and when the Japanese came to attack my port they came out and attacked. They did this when they got into site of the port or they where spotted by a patrol of mine. I have had this happen twice , and I am 54 days into the game.

[saddletank]

OK, it seems to work then.

Norm - yes, in that case I have run into these patrols set up by the AI, but none of the ones I have set up have generated a contact. Maybe the enemy AI wasn't playing ball those days.

[Bullethead]

Norm - yes, in that case I have run into these patrols set up by the AI, but none of the ones I have set up have generated a contact. Maybe the enemy AI wasn't playing ball those days.

I had a battle just outside PA once that involved a force I was sending out on a specific mission and the IJN forces that happened to be paying a visit. When this battle started, I did my now-habitual run through my forces with the . and , keys to make sure I didn't have ships from my other TFs in some sort of trouble (I once lost Novik on an island because I didn't even know she was on the map, and ran the initial closing of the range in the real fight at high compression...).

Anyway, my search turned up a couple of DDs way off in a corner of the minimap. They were so close to the "edge of the world" that I couldn't move the POV completely around them, their 3D models were at a very low LOD setting (just the bare hulls shown), and I couldn't even select them. But I recognized them as 2 of a division of 6 DDs I had on Area Patrol orders out of PA :). However, because I couldn't select and order them, they just continued on their way, just barely cutting across the corner of the map and promptly disengaging after a minute or so.

I'd like to see a refinement of the Area Patrol orders. The 1000km radius is too big IMHO. I'd much prefer to be able to set my own radius, usually much smaller. For instance, I'd like my PA Gunboat Club to stay within about 200km of PA, where they could keep an eye on PA's approaches, Elliot Islands, etc. I don't want them going all the way out to Tsushima and beyond.

[Daedalus]

I had a battle just outside PA once that involved a force I was sending out on a specific mission and the IJN forces that happened to be paying a visit. When this battle started, I did my now-habitual run through my forces with the . and , keys to make sure I didn't have ships from my other TFs in some sort of trouble (I once lost Novik on an island because I didn't even know she was on the map, and ran the initial closing of the range in the real fight at high compression...).

Anyway, my search turned up a couple of DDs way off in a corner of the minimap. They were so close to the "edge of the world" that I couldn't move the POV completely around them, their 3D models were at a very low LOD setting (just the bare hulls shown), and I couldn't even select them. But I recognized them as 2 of a division of 6 DDs I had on Area Patrol orders out of PA :). However, because I couldn't select and order them, they just continued on their way, just barely cutting across the corner of the map and promptly disengaging after a minute or so.

I'd like to see a refinement of the Area Patrol orders. The 1000km radius is too big IMHO. I'd much prefer to be able to set my own radius, usually much smaller. For instance, I'd like my PA Gunboat Club to stay within about 200km of PA, where they could keep an eye on PA's approaches, Elliot Islands, etc. I don't want them going all the way out to Tsushima and beyond.

I'm with you on this one, what I would like is for us to be able to drag a circle out to the distance that we want the patrol to cover. Of course there would need to be a limit how far out we could go, but if I wanted to cover out from the port to 150 k then I could. I do not know if that would be a hard thing for them to program into the game, but it would be nice.

[Rhetor]

I'm with you on this one, what I would like is for us to be able to drag a circle out to the distance that we want the patrol to cover. Of course there would need to be a limit how far out we could go, but if I wanted to cover out from the port to 150 k then I could. I do not know if that would be a hard thing for them to program into the game, but it would be nice.

Could not agree more.