Low fuel warning question

[PantheraTigris]

Hello all. I cannot figure how to tell when a plane is low on fuel. I've looked through the manual, cannot find it. I get the low fuel warning, but can't tell which planes are low.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Each plane has a certain amount of turns it can remain in the air before it will need to refuel - usually 12-15. Next to the strength number of the unit will be a smaller font number saying how many turns it has left.

eg. 10 8 means Strength 10, 8 turns left of fuel.

- BNC

[Myrddraal]

Also, when you have an air unit selected, if a movement hex is red it means that moving there will put you out of range of your airfields/carriers

[PantheraTigris]

Thanks! So in the Pearl Harbor scenario, I probably need 3 or 4 turns at the end to get my planes to the exit points or they'll run out, correct?

[Erik2]

Yes, as long as you have a non-red location hex to move to, you're ok.
You can delay exiting for a turn or two if there is a juicy target in a red hex, but the unit will start to lose strength points the following turns.
So if your unit is already under-strength, it is better to exit early.

[adherbal]

When the low fuel warning comes up, and you click "continue: no" it should automatically select the aircraft it is referring to.

[PantheraTigris]

Thanks for the info.

[PantheraTigris]

This is still an issue for me after weeks of trying to play. My planes fonts do not even show a number with number of turns remaining, and then I reply no to continue to the low fuel message, it does not center on the plane that is low. In the PH scnenario, the bomber is the only plane I have in the air, and in the very turn where it first appears on the east side of the map, it tells me at the of that turn I have a plane that is low on fuel. There are no other planes on the map, and when I select the bomber there is no indication whatsoever in the display as to how many turns of fuel it has left.

[bru888]

I think the fuel situation might just be a quirk of scenario design, although I don't have an answer to why you are missing what you call "planes fonts [that] do not even show a number of turns remaining [in the air.]

This is the trigger that spawns the B-17. Scroll down and look at the Fuel setting:

Screenshot 12.jpg (65.29 KiB) Viewed 2919 times

I thought this might be the problem, but the scenario editor popup says it merely inserts the unit's default fuel level. But still, why would the aircraft start out low on fuel (or seem to) as the red hexes all around and the low fuel warning indicate?

Screenshot 8.jpg (57.78 KiB) Viewed 2919 times

Then it hit me. This bomber, and the Wildcat fighter that shows up later, have no place to land on the map. That's the quirk that I mentioned. If you notice, all of your airfields initially are flying a white flag. You need to "wake up" at least one of these airfields with your medical jeep for the low fuel indicators to disappear. Until then, the game is telling you, as it's programmed to do, that you have planes that are in danger of (eventually) running out of fuel because they have no base to land.

Not that this is necessary; both aircraft units do just fine on "low fuel" for the length of this scenario, which is only 15 turns. If you never "wake up" an airfield, they're still up there, flying around.

What I cannot answer is why you don't see the small green number "15" (i.e., turns left of air time) on the right of the bomber's indicator (circled). If you do not, maybe you should reinstall your game.

Screenshot 8 (150).jpg (11.44 KiB) Viewed 2919 times

[PantheraTigris]

Thank you, I was thinking that the jeep was needed to wake up the airfields. That was the other issue I was struggling with. I am resuming tonight after work. The Green number 15 you mention is what I was talking about when I said the fonts did not display. However I may have been looking for that indicator after highlighting the plane, bringing up the information screen. I have a feeling this will fix my issue!
Thanks again!

[bru888]

My pleasure. It's a bit comical, the way that medical jeep has to fly around the island to "wake up" everybody. I mean, were all telephones and radios sabotaged prior to the attack? Still, that adds to the fun in this scenario. Hint: Start first with waking up the AA gun on the way to Hickam Field.

[PantheraTigris]

Nope. No radios or phones. No phones, no cars, not a single luxury...LOL. And someone cut the string on the paper cups!