Absolute rookie needs help

[leadhitter]

I'm actually still waiting for my copy to arrive. I have limited experience in strategic games (Panzers and Rising Sun) and they are nothing like this.....but I'm pretty geeked up about jumping into this one with both feet. I've ben all over the forums trying to pick up info while I wait for the game. Any suggestions or hints to help me learn quickly?

[Don Bowen]

Welcome aboard

You should post in the top level forum, not the support thread.

The support thread is for technical problems and is followed by the programmers. The top level is where the experienced players lurk - and they are always willing to help.

I'll move this thread for you.

[niceguy2005]

ORIGINAL: leadhitter

I'm actually still waiting for my copy to arrive. I have limited experience in strategic games (Panzers and Rising Sun) and they are nothing like this.....but I'm pretty geeked up about jumping into this one with both feet. I've ben all over the forums trying to pick up info while I wait for the game. Any suggestions or hints to help me learn quickly?

Welcome,

As you say the game is pretty complex, so it's hard to give general advise. When I first picked up the game, I went through the tutorial in the back of the manual. That helped a lot. Then I played the AI on a couple of small scenarious and finally on a grand campaign. When I whooped the AI doing that, I knew I was ready to try a PBEM; that's when the real fun begins. [:)]

I do have to say, the game is a little unforgiving from a mechanics standpoint. You will have to get used to micromanaging the war. Really, it makes it just all that much more fun, but in the beginning it is a little overwhelming.

One common problem new players run into is that they try to use the some of the automated tools to help them while playing the big campaigns. Unfortunately the computer control doesn't work very well. A special warning about allowing the computer to control certain zones of the game like China. There is a bug that causes a lot of mysterious things to happen to units in other theaters. It is best to keep everything on human control and just play the smaller scenarios unitl you feel you are getting the hang of things.

Have fun! [8D]

[m10bob]

ORIGINAL: leadhitter

I'm actually still waiting for my copy to arrive. I have limited experience in strategic games (Panzers and Rising Sun) and they are nothing like this.....but I'm pretty geeked up about jumping into this one with both feet. I've ben all over the forums trying to pick up info while I wait for the game. Any suggestions or hints to help me learn quickly?

You will have a lot of fun learning all the aspects of this wonderful game, and these forums are loaded with a bunch of really good people who will be very glad to help you.
Many are very smart students of the war and a few were actually members of "the original cast".
Do not expect to learn all the rules /nuances in one sitting.
You will start and re-start several times in your orientation to the game, kind of like moving to a large city and learning the streets with a fuzzy road map.........[:)]

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

And when you are ready to go PBEM, take some time and read through this:
tm.asp?m=1274014

It will flatten out the learning curve.

Bless you VSWG!
[&o]

[FeurerKrieg]

Best way to get up to speed -

Play tutorial against AI.
Play Coral sea or another short scenario against AI.
Play short scenario against human in PBEM.

Then dive into a full war PBEM game, and if you really like a challenge, play as Japan!

[RevRick]

ORIGINAL: leadhitter

I'm actually still waiting for my copy to arrive. I have limited experience in strategic games (Panzers and Rising Sun) and they are nothing like this.....but I'm pretty geeked up about jumping into this one with both feet. I've ben all over the forums trying to pick up info while I wait for the game. Any suggestions or hints to help me learn quickly?

Not knowing the other games, I cannot discern what your understanding of game scale is - but I can tell you that this game far surpasses any other game in scope (West Coast USA to West Coast India/Mid Asia) and depth (individual PT boats and commanders, individual aircraft squadrons, etc.) than anything I have played, and I have been playing for 43 years.
So, for one: don't get impatient.
two: don't begin with the grand campaign - it will overwhelm you in detail and complexity.
three: do play one of the tutorials, and then one of the small campaigns to get a feel for timing, and the need for logistical planning in the game. (Of course, I did not do this. I had been playing Uncommon Valor for two years, so I just jumped in with both feet - bloody near drowned.)
four: The AI is good to play against to get started, or to game out some modifications you might happen to make for your own benefit (be careful with the editor, it can be a friend, it can also ruin your day.)

Look out for topics on the board here. This bunch is very informative (almost beyond comprehension to some of us!) and very willing to help. Some even may be willing to start a PBEM game in a short scenario. PBEM is unbelievably different, and more fun, than playing the AI. Human beings with functional brain cells don't behave nearly as predictably as the AI will.

Just for starters...
Shalom

[Mike Solli]

ORIGINAL: RevRick

two: don't begin with the grand campaign - it will overwhelm you in detail and complexity.

Now you tell me, Rev. You should have told me 2 years ago. [;)][:D]

[Titanwarrior89]

One other thing apply your patches. You can pick this up in the members area. Welcome aboard and good luck.[;)]

[Terminus]

And kiss your free time goodbyyyyeee... [:D]

[leadhitter]

Thanks for all the info. I'm fascinated by playing the Japanese and avoiding the colossus errors that compounded their loss. To me the Japanese were like a talented but thin football team prone to giving up the big play (Midway, Bismark Sea, Turkey Shoot....etc) I'd like to stay somewhat historical but change some of the strategic and logistical approaches they took. Having said that....is playing the Japanese side an inevitable loss? Unless one can take and hold Hawaii, then somehow hit the Panama Canal. That may not be possible in even in the game. I don't know.

My other question is does the game I'm getting contain all the latest patches or do I need to immediately upgrade?

Thanks for the help...

Parker in Baton Rouge

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

You will need to update. As to your other Q's, the others can answer better than I.

[Rob Brennan UK]

Install and run your game to se what version you have been sent, I have no idea if matrix updated the original version , but i would imagine they did as some of the patches are HUGE. Definately get the patches you need as they have improved the game immensely over the years.

RE the grand campaign .. It is very overwhelming even to vets of uncommon valour (this games pre-decessor). don;t give up , you will get the hang of it eventually. quite a lot of us here have been playing since day 1 and we are still learning new thing every week. so don't expect to completely understand all the mechanics in the game ( no-one understands the ground system 100%).

It is a fantastic game though, persevere and you will get 100's of hours of fun, which on a $/hour rate makes this a darn cheap game overall [:D]

and welcome to the community too. We are mostly a friendly bunch and will help you if you get stuck or confused [:D], which you will [;)]

above all have fun ! .. and kiss bye bye to free time/wife/work/social life , some of us admitted to giving up bathing [;)], i'll not mention who that was . hehe

[TheElf]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

And kiss your free time goodbyyyyeee... [:D]

And start stocking up on brownie points with you significant other.

-Flowers
-chocolates
-chores
-etc.

[scout1]

Yes, Emotional deposits into the "relationship" account are in order. As many as possible. With WitP, you WILL be making withdraws ....

[niceguy2005]

ORIGINAL: leadhitter
My other question is does the game I'm getting contain all the latest patches or do I need to immediately upgrade?

I believe the latest official version is up to 1.804. If that is not the version you have you WILL want to upgrade.

[BlackVoid]

Play Guadalcanal scenario against the AI first (either side).

[ctangus]

ORIGINAL: Rob Brennan UK

some of us admitted to giving up bathing [;)], i'll not mention who that was . hehe

Rob!!! Quiet now... [;)]

leadhitter -

I slightly disagree with some of the above advice. Certainly play the tutorial a time or 3 before you jump into anything else. Personally, after playing the tutorial twice I jumped into the grand campaign (scenario 15). The AI kicked my a$$ for a while but I had a lot of fun & it was challenging. If I had more experience at that point I think I would have kicked the AI's a$$.

By late '42 the AI was no longer a challenge & I jumped into PBEM. (This is the first game I've ever been tempted to PBEM in.) Even by that time, the AI gave me a great value dollar/hour.

So my recommendation is play the tutorial a bit and then jump into the grand campaign. You'll make mistakes, certainly. but in the long run that will make a a game vs. the AI more challenging.

Whatever you do, enjoy!

[siRkid]

Some more advice, the AI can handle a "normal" game pretty well, but if you make highly unusual moves it will not know how to react. For example, if you capture a base deep behind enemy lines and bring everything you have to support it, the AI will not concentrate its forces to counter this move and your game will get weird.

[swainscheps]

I'm not a complete rookie, I've worked through the Coral Sea scenario about 25 times trying to learn 1 thing each time and still feel very lost. The biggest problem you will run into - or at least the most frustrating - is with the manual. The manual tells you HOW to do things, but doesn't tell you a damn thing about WHY you should do them, or under what circumstances. Some stuff is easy to figure out, but a gigantic proportion of it is shrouded in mystery. And while the forums are helpful, they're crowded with Fleet Admirals who largely speak with a vocabulary I can't yet follow. You'll be able to divine some helpful hints here and there, but what would be really useful is an Ensigns' forum, where people like us congregate and talk about basic stuff that would bore the experts. Maybe it's out there and I just haven't found it....of course, having said that, almost everyone is happy to help with even the most basic questions, so don't be shy about asking.
 
One thing that has me baffled right now is the whole extended map thing and the mod community in general. Do most experienced players play with the basic game (1.804) or is it pretty common for 'everyone' to use an 'unofficial' extended map? 
 
(And there seems to be some modded artwork floating around too for units....but I'll save that for another day.)