An evaluation and a couple of questions

[Graf Leinsdorf]

I've recently downloaded Pacific War, and I must say that playing it four times (until now) has been one of the most challenging and satisfying experiences in my not short wargaming "career".

First and foremost, for me, playing always solely against the AI, it was particularly stimulating to be repeatedly beaten as human Allied player against the Japanese AI. That may be consequence of me being rather a newbie to the game and not having still completely mastered the not easy rules bundle. But I appeciated nonetheless the behavior of the AI, especially having memory of easy wins already at the first or second game in various recently purchased (includind Matrix) highly reputed computer wargames.

It has been a further source of enjoyment, that I could only agree with the evaluation of the game by Major Kerry MacIntyre, in his monograph "Analysis in the Utility of Commercial Wargaming Simulation Software for Army Organizational Leadership Development" (which can be downloaded from the web), where he concludes that Pacific War meet all the four criteria used by the author to evaluate the ability of commercial simulations to develop organizational leadership, namely: teach to process information, identify the problem to be resolved, understand the interrelationships of systems, identify the solution.

After the evaluation, now a couple of questions, arising perhaps from me not yet entirely mastering the rulebook.

Carriers behavior. During one of my 1941 scenarios, I had the Hornet and Lexington heavy damaged. I put one of them in Sydney to be repaired. When it had been full repaired, it disappeared from the game completely and I was no more able to find it through the "find ship" command. The other one I put in S.Francisco, equally to undergo repairs. When repairs were finished and albeit the HQ having control on S.Francisco was under "full uman control", the carrier was put, without any decision by me, in a new TF directed quite far away, to Colombo (a port in Ceylon under the SEAC HQ, which I had left under computer control).
I was not able to explain neither carrier behaviors.

LCU airlift. According to what I've read in the rules, it seem there is no way of airlifting LCUs, only moving them by sea or land, if relevant paths exist. If that it's true, it seems to be a serious game limitation, as, according to my knowledge, some land units were actually airborne and airlifted during Pacific War, first and foremost the famous Orde Wingate's Chindits in the Burma theatre.

[Capt. Harlock]

ORIGINAL: Graf Leinsdorf


Carriers behavior. During one of my 1941 scenarios, I had the Hornet and Lexington heavy damaged. I put one of them in Sydney to be repaired. When it had been full repaired, it disappeared from the game completely and I was no more able to find it through the "find ship" command. The other one I put in S.Francisco, equally to undergo repairs. When repairs were finished and albeit the HQ having control on S.Francisco was under "full uman control", the carrier was put, without any decision by me, in a new TF directed quite far away, to Colombo (a port in Ceylon under the SEAC HQ, which I had left under computer control).
I was not able to explain neither carrier behaviors.

The disappearance of the Sydney carrier is a bug. Unfortunately, sometimes it happens that a unit will be listed as destroyed when in fact nothing should have happened to it. (I've had an entire British division treated the same way.) The San Fransisco CV is probably a result of SEAC activating the "Reinforce HQ" command. This command causes so many strange and even impossible things to happen that it is generally agreed that neither player should use it during a human vs. human game.

LCU airlift. According to what I've read in the rules, it seem there is no way of airlifting LCUs, only moving them by sea or land, if relevant paths exist. If that it's true, it seems to be a serious game limitation, as, according to my knowledge, some land units were actually airborne and airlifted during Pacific War, first and foremost the famous Orde Wingate's Chindits in the Burma theatre.

That is indeed one of the major game limitations. It is doubly odd because Gary Grigsby implemented air transport and even paratroop attacks in his games "Bomb Alley" and "North Atlantic '86", which were coded in Applesoft BASIC!

[Graf Leinsdorf]

Thank you very much indeed for the prompt reply!

I wonder whether there is any chance that this fine game may have any update (and bugs fixing...) in the near (or at least not so far ahead) future.

[bradk]

ORIGINAL: Graf Leinsdorf

I wonder whether there is any chance that this fine game may have any update (and bugs fixing...) in the near (or at least not so far ahead) future.

This is the fixed version. Ya shoulda seen it before!

[Graf Leinsdorf]

Bugs I mentioned have been reported playing the 3.2 Matrix version of Pacific War. As far as I know it is the latest released.

[Capt. Harlock]

Yes, it's the latest version. IMHO, every version since 2.3 has introduced as many problems as it has solved.