Scores for May 2024 FSO: Southern Penetration

[Devil 505]

Some notes:

The frame was much closer than the score would indicate. The Allies had a considerable lead after Hour 1, but the Axis was able to take the lead in the end by downing twice as many bombers in Hour 2 than they did in Hour 1. As an Axis player, I can say that the escorts in Hour 1 were very effective despite not getting many kills credited to themselves.

A player strafed down a radar with his P-38 hoping to disrupt the Axis radar coverage. Thankfully, it mattered little in the frame. But the rules are now amended to account for this bush-league behavior going forward. Any non-target object that is destroyed will be restored at the earliest convenience by a CM.   

[Devil 505]

If it could go wrong for the Allies, if did go wrong. The bombers were caught early and most were killed before the first target. Most of the surviving bombers missed their aim points or did not drop at all for some reason. The escorts were ineffective due to low numbers and poor positioning. Seems like a perfect storm situation for the Allies led to overwhelming victory for the Axis in Frame 2.

I'll make some tweaks for Frame 3.

[Devil 505]

I had a family obligation, so I missed Frame 3. Based on the logs, it seems to me that the Allies suffered from the same issues as Frame 2. I was hopeful that with the reduced dar coverage that they would at least have more success at whichever target the CiC chose to bomb first. Alas, it looks like they got spotted early and only a few guys made successful drops.

Also, based on the logs, the bulk of the points scored by the Axis came in Hour 2. I think that going forward that Hour 2 scoring needs to be weighted less than Hour 1. The Allies deserved to win Frame 1.

[hazmatt]

After not playing FSO for a long time I played last Friday and I must say it has a completely different feel from what I remembered. For one thing it seemed that before we spent a lot of effort trying to located the enemy with scout planes etc but this time not so much. Not sure if it was just this specific FSO or now FSO in general. Thought I'd throw my observations out there in case it may be useful.

Anyway, I had a bunch of fun. I managed to land a 110 something like 4 times, one time missing half a wing and didn't get killed although I came close a few times. That's something I really didn't expect flying a 110!

Thanks for the time and effort you guys put in to these.

[RedBeard]

With the loss of the player base, it's natural that FSO is changing as well.  Each side has about 40 and change players.  If you send out 4 scouts, that's a significant loss of 10% of your force.  CiCs have to balance hunting for the enemy and risk not having enough of a force to deal with them when found vs. concentrating your forces where you know they will be, but have little time to react.