Transport Feature

[SeaMonkey]

This may be pretty obvious to some of the continuous SC players but for us intermittent players, these things sometimes go unnoticed.

The manual says that you cannot load a transport from a port that is less than 50% efficiency, that is all well and fine, but how about the unload?

I've noticed that you cannot unload at a port of less than 50% efficiency on the turn you move into it also.

But if you let that unit sit there through your opponents turn and during that turn you holler out to those longshoremen, "If you don't get your lazy asses in gear and unload this vital military cargo, I'm going to come up there and bitch-slap your unshaven faces", they have a tendency to get it done the next turn and you can unload, even at less than 50% effectiveness.

Ok...maybe you don't have to be so ungracious, and maybe you don't have to be so unsympathetic, after all those hard working longshoremen are probably missing their ration of Beer, Whiskey, Rum, Vodka, Schnapps, wine....etc, not to mention their equipment, remember they are operating at less than 50%.

Anyway, I thought it was a nice feature, the port facilities will get the job done, just not on the turn you get there.

[Liam]

Yeah SeaMonkey, it's a way to prevent people from abusing transports and a way to force the use of Ports and bombardments-aerial bombardments..

Assuming the port is too much of a wreck to load and unload units, The cranes are hanging half in the water from being blown to bits, the port facilities are under water, the port officials are afraid to come back to work and despite SS round ups they have run to hide in the woods!

[TaoJah]

I find this a minor inconvenience in Africa. Often the port is hit under 50% by the Malta-script, so that I can not unload usual Africa group there in one turn.

This undocumented feature often slows me down 4 turns, making it impossible for me to DOW Russia in the autumn of 1940 as I'd like to do.

It's kinda silly that bad luck slows the entire game down for 4 crucial turns and consequently an extra 4 winter/mud turns, but not much I can do about it :-(

I said it before and I say it again : bad luck should not have such a big impact on the game.

[Liam]

Tao, wait a minute now, it is quite rare that you cannot figure "some" way to get those units active in North Africa in time! You have perfect weather throughout Winter and Spring to smash the British. You just have to polish of the French quick enough. Like My Hidden Pun

If you must take Down Tunisia then use the intermediary city in Libya instead of the port cities, that one is generally not hit by the Malta effect... This costs you a few turns, sure... But not really that bad. And anyways, I notice most players overstock Libya, it needs more air and less units... Air and Italian Fleet is good enough... that with some good Italian Amphibs well planned out pretty much spells the end of Egypt with an all out defense within 5-6 turns, MAYBE 9-10 turns...

And on the flipside, so what about Barbarossa... Why don't you try to delay it a month or two and place your troops in Iraq, then go through Iran and attack the Caucasus, the flip side of that manuever instead of operating back to Europe is that Russians will have to defend and you will get Iraq and Iran MPPs in your pocket. By the Summer of '42 the MPPs you've earned and saved would be well worth it!

Also you can take Malta! Just bombard the Port and the Fort till the Unit there can nolonger reinforce. Eventually your airstrikes will kill it. At a High Cost! Then There is no Malta Effect. Similarly annex Spain 1 way or the other...if that happens Gibraltar effect is a lot worse than Malta Effect...

There are options, indeed my first few games I was baffled but I learned

and by the way the AI is not worth your time. I could beat it with 1 eye and no fingers, and on 50 beers

[Capt Andrew]

When the port is below str 5, just park the transport in the damaged port - you can't unload it immediately, but you can the next turn (right click, unload). Of course, if your opponent has naval units nearby, there is the risk your transport will be damaged during his turn.