I still object to screwed-up USA entry date

[Redpossum]

I'm sorry, folks, but a year later this is still bugging the hell out of me.

Pearl Harbor was December 7th in Hawaii, and Dec 8th in Japan. Within 48 hours, the USA was at war with both Germany and Japan.

Yet here I am starting the Jan 8th 1942 Allied turn, in a totally box-stock version of the game, and the USA is still not in the war. This is a month after Pearl Harbor. The December 19th turn, 10 days after war was declared historically, has come and gone. Yet the USA is still not in the war.

This is just wrong, Wrong, WRONG. I suppose I can accept that US forces are not available for the Dec 19th turn, but there is no reason on earth why they are still unavailable on January 8th.

There is no justification for this, either in terms of historical accuracy or game mechanics. And it is so simple to fix. I could change it myself with 3 minutes work in the editor. But then I wouldn't be playing a stock game.

Please, please, please, for the love of all gods great and small, issue a CEAW patch and fix this!

Pardon me if I seem excessively strident, but I've been talking about this, (and being staunchly ignored), since the game was new.

[firepowerjohan]

There is a random variation to entry dates in game also, means Russia, Italy and USA do not join on the exact same date every game. Is that too unreasonable

[Redpossum]

There is a random variation to entry dates in game also, means Russia, Italy and USA do not join on the exact same date every game. Is that too unreasonable

Johan, I seeyou said back last September that this was going to be implemented, but it's not working.

I have played many, many games against the AI, (in fact I am just now playing my first PBEM game against a human opponent), and the USA always comes in on the same turn, in January 1942.

I honestly thought you had decided not to implement this feature, because it's emphatically not working in any random fashion, at least not with regard to the USA.

[firepowerjohan]

Ok, was so long time ago I did not recall. I will note this down for future update.

[Redpossum]

Johan, I apologise for being so strident here. I misunderstood.

I saw that the problem was not fixed, and concluded that you had decided to ignore it. I did not realise that you had attempted to implement a fix, and that it was a case of the attempted fix just not working.

Heh. If I wasn't American, I probably wouldn't get so excited over the issue.

[joerock22]

I'm an American too, and I actually like the random variations on the entry dates. There was no guarantee that American would enter the European war in the first place. Japan attacked the U.S., and Germany declared war on the U.S. because it wanted to honor its alliance to Japan. But because Japan attacked first, Germany was not obligated by the alliance to do so. I often wonder what would have happened if Germany had not declared war on the U.S. Would Roosevelt have been able to convince Congress to declare war on Germany? My feeling is that the U.S. and Germany would have ended up fighting each other eventually because of America's close ties to the U.K. and German U-boat attacks, among other political concerns. Still, it's an intriguing question, and that's why I don't favor a definite entry date for the U.S. in CEAW.

[firepowerjohan]

When I play CEAW, Russian entry varies by 1-2 month is it the same for you or is it only USA that has a fixed entry?

[Redpossum]

Joe, yes, OK, but I am saying it doesn't work right now. The USA always joins the war (at least in games against the AI) after the January 8th 1942 Allied game turn.

Johan, no clue. I don't ever let the USSR come into the war on its own; I always attack them first

[joerock22]

Oh, yeah I think you might be right. Come to think of it, I haven't noticed much variation in the date the U.S. enters the war. I guess my main focus was always elsewhere at the time.

Johan, sometimes I let Russian enter the war on its own, but I haven't noticed if there's variation or not. If I go with my gut, I'd have to say no, but I'm not certain.

[Redpossum]

Oh, yeah I think you might be right. Come to think of it, I haven't noticed much variation in the date the U.S. enters the war. I guess my main focus was always elsewhere at the time.

Johan, sometimes I let Russian enter the war on its own, but I haven't noticed if there's variation or not. If I go with my gut, I'd have to say no, but I'm not certain.

Joe, agreed, everybody's focus is elsewhere at the time, that's how this error has managed to go undetected and uncorrected for a year

It takes an nit-picking SOB like me to notice such things

I actually re-ran this test 8 times yesterday, loading up my Nov 1941 save and running the game through to the end of the January Allied turn. The USA entered the war on the same turn every time.