help me get the most out of this (newbie)

[toonces]

hey guys,
i'm a new witp player, and i'm about 2 weeks into my first campaign as the allies. i played about 2 months of one of the shorter campaigns, and a little uv before as well.

this game is simply overwhelming me. i want to play it and enjoy it, but i simply don't have hours to devote daily to it.

what i'd like is some advice as to what settings i can use to play this game (against the ai) so that i can cut out as much of the micromanagement as possible and have a meaningful game. for example, right now, i have the china northern zoc set up on computer control. i'm controlling everything else. i have a fuzzy idea as to my strategy, but really i'm just getting spanked.

i guess, overall, i want to like this game, and like playing it, but right now i feel like there is so much going on that it's almost not fun.

[toonces]

p.s.
how do i move troops by ship in the game? i can't seem to get my troops to load on any of my transports (ak, ap, tk). i'd like to try and halt the devastation happening in the philipines and malaya if at all possible.

[Andy Mac]

OK 1stly welcome and good luck.

Moving troops by ship is tricky at the start.

1. The units you are trying to load must be for a non restricted command.

Typically as the allies ABDA, USAAFFE and Australian/NZ Command Troops cannot be loaded until you have paid PP's to tranfer them to another command.

Basically any Dutch unit in the SRA or US/PI troops in PI or Aus Troops in Australia are stuck there until you pay to release them.

The same with certain units tied to the US West Coast Command.

2. Assuming the unit you are trying to load is not restricted i.e. UK Malaya troops then you create or send a TF to a port hex containg AP's (or AK's but they carry less efficiently) on the TF screen there is a button saying Load Troops or Load only troops that should bring up a screen to allow you to select any legal troops in the base to be loaded.

Load troops will attempt to load supplies as well load only troops will use as much capacity as possible loading just troops.

West Coast/Abda/USAAFE troops will not appear on this list until you pay PP's to transfer them to a non restricted command.

Andy

[Andy Mac]

TK's dont carry troops.

Of the units in the SRA at start only the SEAC units in Malaya are non restricted and free to move

[Rob Brennan UK]

Canada command is also restricted.

And hello and welcome ..

I guess my advise would be just concetrate on one paticular theatre i.e the pacific .. and set the rest to computer AI command. that way you get the allied CV's to play with and dont have to worry about the DEI or malaysia ( you will and should lose both anyway) I believe the AI wil run these theatres histroically enough. so you just concentrate on the american side of the war.

AK= merchant .. good for supply lousy for troops
AP= troops transport .. opposite of above
TK= tanker .. fuel or oil .. as allies only bother hauling oil to australia , some from america .and if you decide to play with the DEI .. get some from there too.
AO= auxillary fleet oiler. replenishment unit carries oil to refuel ships at sea.

Thank about covers the basic merchants .. also planes can only be loaded onto AK's ..

hope that helps

[toonces]

guys,
thanks for the quick replies.
i figured there was some sort of restriction on the troops. i'll have to figure out how to "pay" to be allowed to move them. as you said, i was trying to move some dutch units up to malaya and the philipines. right now, i'm being soundly beaten here- which is historical, but i'd like to at least make a fight of it.

thanks for the rundown on the different transports as well. i know what an ao is, but the rest i'm not so sure on.

[Mark VII]

My first suggestion would to play a smaller map or shorter time scenerios. Start with the Coral Sea to get a flavor of land air and carrier combat. Then go to the Guadalcanal game which is still on the smaller map. Set the AI to a more difficult setting to give it a chance but once you start to understand the systems you should be beating it. Don't play with China and other games involving large amounts of ground units. Don't be afraid to start over during this "training" time if you suffer a bad result. Mastering the whole map of the start is next to impossible with out good "training" games.

Good luck. In spite of some of the shortcomings that you may read on this forum, WitP is a great game. Yes there is room for improvement but push on.....terry

ORIGINAL: toonces

this game is simply overwhelming me. i want to play it and enjoy it, but i simply don't have hours to devote daily to it.


i guess, overall, i want to like this game, and like playing it, but right now i feel like there is so much going on that it's almost not fun.

[MarcA]

ORIGINAL: toonces

hey guys,
i'm a new witp player, and i'm about 2 weeks into my first campaign as the allies. i played about 2 months of one of the shorter campaigns, and a little uv before as well.

this game is simply overwhelming me. i want to play it and enjoy it, but i simply don't have hours to devote daily to it.

what i'd like is some advice as to what settings i can use to play this game (against the ai) so that i can cut out as much of the micromanagement as possible and have a meaningful game. for example, right now, i have the china northern zoc set up on computer control. i'm controlling everything else.

Unfortunately there is not much you can do here, it's the nature of the game. You can use autoconvoy to supply bases towards the rear but everything else is pretty much up to you. As the allies you don't have to worry about production and you can probably get away with ignoring oil and resources without too much detriment, though you will have to deal with supply and fuel. The only other way is to put more areas under computer control but this can have unexpected effects, such as the AI requisitioning your TF en route etc.

You best bet maybe to just play the smaller scenarios on limited maps such as Guadalcanal, or Rising Sun, etc. This will limit what you have to do to a manageable size. The AI also plays much better in these scenarios. If you want to play anything on the full map, especially one of the grand campaigns then you are going to have to do the fiddley stuff as well as the fighting.

[toonces]

a couple more questions:

ok, i understand the restrictions on the troops...does this apply to certain air units too? i'm trying to bring up reinforcements from australia, but the game won't allow me to transfer the air groups. specifically, i'm trying to reinforce port moresby, since i appear to be about to lose rabaul.
also, what does it mean in the transfer screen with the base name has a -r after it, like base name: cairns-r?

any other newbie advice is welcome. for example, should i be playing with combat animations on? i see them in alot of aar's, but i have them off now to save time.

[kokubokan25]

cairns-r this mean that the air group wil be transported by rail, so many distance...

[Mynok]

The -r means if you move the group there, it will be by rail and all planes will arrive damaged.

Planes attached to restricted command will not be able to transfer to a base not also attached to that command.

The Allies do not have much with which to reinforce anywhere early on. That is why you are having troubles getting troops to places. There aren't any free troops.

[MarcA]

ORIGINAL: Mynok
The Allies do not have much with which to reinforce anywhere early on. That is why you are having troubles getting troops to places. There aren't any free troops.

On the bright side you will start to accrue political points fast which should allow you to start freeing things up quickly.

P.s. Many people make the mistake of changing from one restricted command to another, such as DEI to Australia, etc. Something to be careful of.

[Redd]

If you haven't tried playing with the combat animations on you should really give it a try. I wouldn't like this game even half as much if they were not included. I just love the suspense as the torpedoes are lanched. Will they hit? Will they miss? Will I be depth charged into oblivion? The air combats can sometimes become a bit tedious, but you can always hit the done button and move on. In fact, now that I think about it , you will probobly want to fast forward through the bombing animations as well as the bombardment and ground combat ones. The combat summary will give you the necessary info. But there is nothing like watching your well placed strike shred the defending cap, and then drop bombs and torpedoes on the enemy CV's. It makes all of the drudgery of moving units and supplies worthwhile.

[Knavey]

Combat animations are not that important vs. the AI. The AI is not the best out there, and its pretty easy to recover from a mistake against them.

Against a PBEM opponent, they can be critical. During ground combat, the game has valuable information that occurs at the end of animation process, and the only way to retrieve it, is to watch the animation all the way through. This can be time consuming if you are having a major battle, but the actual odds that are displayed during the animation process (and not the ones on the combat report) will tell you exactly how close you are to defeating the enemy.

Air to air is not that important, but air vs. naval is very satisfying to watch as long as you are on the delivering end of the torpedoes and bombs.

Its just one of the "tricks" that are out there. There are plenty of them available. Some you discover on your own, others you surf the board for, and yet others...well, thats censored. After all, this is war, right! [:D]


Another tip...AI is fun for a while to beat up on, but if you do switch to PBEM (and there are players that choose very slow paced games) prepare to change your strategy. PBEM offers a very different set of challenges and to rely on the experiences you had vs. AI is setting yourself up for disappointment and frustration. Try to get a player that is on your skill level (preferably one that has only played the AI) because you learn from your mistakes very quickly, but it is more enjoyable if your opponent is making mistakes too.

Hope this helps.

[rogueusmc]

Boot up the tutorial and follow the tutorial manual and it will teach you basic mechanics.

[toonces]

hey guys,
thanks again for the inputs.
i did actually work through the tutorial, and i played a few months of the guadalcanal campaign.
i've had this game for a while, and i've had a few breaks, so i don't remember all the details. i'm working alot, as well as working on a thesis and learning calculus, so please forgive me for taking the shortcut and throwing simple questions out there.
i know it can be painful to have to answer obvious questions over and over!

see ya,
toonces

[rogueusmc]

We just hope you enjoy it...the more the merrier they say don't ya know!

[whippleofd]

learning calculus

Isn't that like saying..."military intelligence"? Neither pair of words seem to go together! [:D]

Whipple

[rogueusmc]

That would be an oxymoron...he used a double negative...[:D]

[whippleofd]

That would be an oxymoron...he used a double negative...

Them are big words there! You SURE you know what they mean? [:D] [:D]