What kind of manual(s) should we ask for?

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Mziln

ORIGINAL: marcuswatney

I would still like to see the TEC.  Anyone know where it is?

Maybe Steve will post a screenshot.

I did. It is post #232 ff in the thread MWIF Tutorial (on page 3 in the thread list).

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
I did. It is post #232 ff in the thread MWIF Tutorial (on page 3 in the thread list).

Here :
tm.asp?m=1040731&mpage=8&key=

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Okay, I have decdied to turn my attention back to the Player's Manual. While about half of this has been done, there are still large portions where I have yet to write word #1.

My paranoia about the Player's Manual has always been that I would end up with having to write a couple of hundred of pages at the last minute. The reality is that one of the first things that Matrix needs completed before publishing is the Player's Manual since it requires proof reading and physical printing.

So, my goal is to try and complete a section each month for the next few months, which should cut the remaining task in half.

Here is a section I could use your advice about:

3.4 Important Decisions

3.4.2 Action Choice.

The purpose of this section is to give new players advice about how to decide which action to select for each impulse. There are many ways to cut this: by scenario, by major power, by where you are in the game, by where you are in a turn (i.e., which impulse), and so on.

What advice would you give a new player (let's assume he is a friend, not someone you want to pound into the ground during his first game of WIF).[;)]

[Greyshaft]

To get experience with different impulse types:
Start with the Barbarossa scenario and suggest that learners self-impose a 'house rule' that they must have one 'combined' and one 'air' impulse per turn. If they miss having those impulses in one turn then the missed impulse must be the first impulse type of the following turn. This forces them to consider how to get the best value out of impulse types that they might never otherwise use (amphib landing near Leningrad maybe?). 


In General Play:
STRATEGIC: Make sure that you have a definite Naval (eg move new subs to North Atlantic) and definite Land (eg take Cairo) objective for each turn. The objective must be immediately achievable - no good planning on taking Cairo if you haven't yet crossed the Libya/Egypt border and the British have four well-positioned corps in the Cairo neighborhood with oodles of local air and naval support.

TACTICAL: As each impulse passes keep a running mental list of the tasks which absolutely, positively, definitely have to be done by the end of the turn - plug that enemy breakthrough, move those ships from the threatened port, garrison that undefended invasion beach etc. - and concentrate on reducing those exposures. Likewise keep a mental tally of your three or four greatest opportunities - attack that unpatrolled convoy route, break the enemy line here and overrun that stack of flipped enemy air units, strategic bombing on that undefended factory hex - and strike the enemy when and where you can.

Just be aware that although achieving tactical objectives can provide immense personal satisfaction - ahhh! Bet he didn't see that coming! - they will not win you the war since if you do not have any strategic objectives for the turn then you are tacitly giving the initiative to the enemy. Once you have achieved your strategic objectives for the turn then you can give yourself the luxury of completing your remaining tactical objectives.

Each impulse ask yourself what type of action will bring you closer to achieving your strategic goals - "well the loss of two armor corps means that my attack on Cairo has clearly failed so lets see what I can do with the Kreigsmarine for this impulse".

None of this advice is guaranteed to survive first contact with the enemy.

[brian brian]

To select an impulse type it is best to have goals like Greyshaft mentioned...but you also need to work on goals by selecting priorities, which is especially true for large naval powers. Generally with a large navy it is good to do a naval impulse first in the turn, as events on land flow from control of the sea in many theaters. However as the game moves along you may be relying on land-based air to control sea zones and air impulses become more important.

The next thing to influence your decision is the weather for that impulse. In turns aside from Jul/Aug, where you pretty much know the weather everywhere and can sequence out your impulses by a good plan, you should consider the weather in the current impulse and what it is likely to be in the next impulse. If the weather roll has some asterisk results tacked on to it, you might need to get certain ops done before the weather gets worse. Conversely, bad weather can be a good time to get naval and air missions (such as a lot of rebases) out of the way.

I won't play with the normal Intelligence Rules where the USA can just pretty much buy permanent large quantities of the points, but we still play with a House Ruled version that only lets a power buy an Intell Operation if it did not buy one the previous turn, in addition to reducing the amount of free ones. With a lot fewer dice and multiples, there can actually be some big swings in the points from side to side; yet no power may spend more than 3 BP a year on them. Anyway, I bring this up because one of the best uses for Intell that I have found is to know the weather in advance. Then you can make two impulse type decisions at the same time and you can really get combined-arms ops very well planned.

I would also make a point that the most overlooked type of impulse is an air impulse, and the key to that is the re-org cost of airplanes. In my opinion, the #1 way to defeat the French is for the Germans to build the Guderian HQ-A on the first turn, and then during the French campaign use the extra re-org capacity to take an air impulse, launch a lot of ground strikes, and then re-organize the Stukas involved. (And don't forget that extra re-org from an ATR)

[terje439]

I would also consider if this is likely to be the last turn this round. If so, it might be a good idea to look closer as to were your attacks should take place.
a)cut a rail line
b)seize a resource
c)close a pocket
d)take out a CONV line
e)reorganise (move) your units for the next round

Things like these are stuff I would spend some time pondering over if there is a 50% chance of this being the last turn.
a) will this make any enemy units OOS?
b) do I need an extra resource? Do the enemy?
c) out of supply units are easier to take out after all
d) do I have the means to take it out? Will it have any effect, or does the enemy trace supply/resources through another path
e) are my units needed somewere else on the line? Is there somewere were I can put my panzers to better use?

Things like these influences atleast my choice of action.

[Taxman66]

f) Can I afford the losses if I roll 1 (2 in 2d10)?

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Here is the shortest section of the manual. Comments?
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5.0 Restoring a Saved Game

Restoring a saved game is easy to do and can be done either as soon as you start the program or from within a game in progress.

As soon as the program starts, there is a list of the 11 scenarios in the lower left corner of the opening screen. Clicking on one of the radio buttons in that list brings up another panel in the center-bottom of the screen which contains all the saved games for that scenario (which are in the scenario’s Saved Games folder). Clicking on one of those saved games brings up a third panel in the lower right of the screen, which provides specifics about the saved game. For instance, it tells when, where, and who: (1) the date and time that the game was saved, (2) where in the sequence of play the save was made, and who was playing the game. Click on the Restore Game button to initiate restoring the game.

Besides saved games in the Saved Games folders, the Browse button below the list of scenarios gives you access to other saved games that you might want to restore. For instance, there are automatic saves performed at the start of each phase a of game. These are stored in the AutoSave folder within the Saved Games folder (for each scenario). There are 3 places where automatic saved games are placed: the Axis folder, the Allied folder, or directly in the AutoSave folder.

The reason there are 3 separate places is that if a phase is performed once for both sides (e.g., Weather), then it is placed directly into the AutoSave folder. For those phases that are perform by each side (e.g., Select Action) then separate saved games are made after the Axis and Allied sides execute the phase. So, a saved game is automatically created at the start of the Axis Select Action phase and a different saved game is created at the start of the Allied Select Action phase. Hence, the program uses separate folders.

Note that automatic saves have the disadvantage of automatically overwriting the previous saved game for the same phase. That means that you will only have one AutoSave game for a weather phase - the most recent one. This is another reason why the Axis and Allied phases are kept separate. You can rely on the automatic saves to let you recover a game for different phases within the last 2 impulses. However, if you want to go back farther than that, you will have to have made a save of your own, using a unique file name.

When restoring a saved game from within a game in progress, there is a menu item under File in the main menu bar. Clicking on that menu item presents you with the standard file directory for your disk. You need to navigate to the scenario and possibly subfolder where you have saved the game. This is typically how the automatically saved games are accessed. Once you have restored a saved game, the program remembers the location in the directory structure so you do not have to navigate a second time - assuming you are going back to the same place.

There are no restrictions on switching scenarios, mode of play, optional rules, or players when you load a saved game. The program ‘forgets’ everything about the previous saved game. If you want to, you can switch from playing a PBEM Barbarossa game to a Solitaire Global War game directly, with no adverse effects.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Originally, I was going to simply provide RAC (Rules as Coded) and a description of the each form in the game to communicate the sequence of play to the players. However, I have changed my mind. The sequence of play is simply too difficult to understand, even by experienced players, to pass over it lightly in the documentation (player's manual).

Therefore I have added another section to the player's manual, devoted solely to the sequence of play. I was hoping that this would contain just a few sentences on each phase and subphase of the game, but before I even got to the first phase (Lend Lease) I fely I needed to provide a lot of background material. Here is the start of Section 7 Sequence of Play. I expect to write the rest of it over the next 2 or 3 weeks.

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7.0 Sequence of Play
7.1 Phases for Setting Up a New Game

In order to understand the phases of the game associated with setting up units, you need to have an understanding of the various off-map pools that MWIF maintains. Every unit in the game is either on the map or in an off-map pool. Here is a overview of the off-map pools:

• Future Force Pool - Units that are unavailable until future years are placed in the future force pool. For example, at the start of the war, 1939, most units are in the future force pool. Historically, the quality and quantity of units engaged in combat increased over the course of the war. MWIF simulates this by making more (and better) units available to every country at the start of each year. During the January/February turn of each year, units are automatically moved from the future force pool to the force pool.

• Force Pool - The force pool contains all the units that are eligible to be built. During the production phase at the end of each turn, players can spend build points to build units from their force pool. The force pool is divided into over a hundred subsets, with each major power having its own force pool subsets. For example, the USA has separate force pools for armor, infantry, artillery, fighters, bombers, battleships, carriers, and so on. Each of the major powers has a comparable set of force pools. When players decide to build a unit, they designate the type, which sometimes means designating the number of build points (BP) as well. In particular, there are two separate force pools for fighters: those that cost 2 BPs and those that cost 3 BPs. When a major power spends 2 BPs to build a fighter, a unit is randomly selected from those in the major power’s F2 (2 BP fighters) force pool . Once a major power has spent BPs, the randomly selected units are moved from the force pool to the production pool.

• Production Pool - The production pool contains units that have been built, but have not yet arrived as reinforcements. It is subdivided into 6 sections: one for each of the 6 bi-month turns during a year. Some units arrive as reinforcements in the turn immediately following their construction. Others take longer. For instance, 2BP fighters take 2 turns (4 months) and 3BP fighters take 3turns (6 months). A 2BP fighter built in Jan/Feb arrives as a reinforcement at the start of the May/Jun turn (i.e., it is in the May/Jun section of the production pool) . Most naval units take 2 years to build (12 turns). They are build in two stages, typically taking 6 turns (1 year) to complete each stage. Roughly speaking, historically ships were built in two stages, with the hull and superstructure built the first year and the armaments and personnel added in the second year. In game terms, the second year includes the training period/shake out cruise for new ships. Players spend build points for taking naval units through each stage of construction. Naval units that complete their first stage of production go from the production pool to the construction pool. Naval units that complete their second stage of construction arrive as reinforcements.

• Construction Pool - This pool contains only naval units that have completed their first stage of construction. Units can sit in this pool indefinitely. Whenever the player decides to spend the build points for the second stage of construction, he gets to choose which of the units in the construction pool to build. This is one of the rare exceptions where the unit being built is not randomly selected.

• Repair Pool - Naval units damaged during combat go into the repair pool. If a player wants to repair a naval unit, he spends the necessary build points and then gets to select which unit gets repaired. This is another exception where the unit being built is not randomly selected. Repaired naval units go into the production pool.

• Reserve Pool - This pool contains a country’s reserve land units. When a major power goes to war with another major power, its reserves arrive immediately as reinforcements. When a minor country goes to war, its reserves arrive as reinforcements during the reinforcement phase of the next turn. Reserve units that are destroyed in combat go into the force pool and are treated just like any other unit.

• Air Reserve Pool - This pool contains air units that have been built, but not assigned pilots. If you do not choose the optional rule pilots, this pool will always be empty. However, when playing with pilots, air units and pilots are built separately. You could build 3 air units and 2 pilots. At the start of the reinforcement phase, you get to choose which air units receive pilots and are placed on the map. Any air units without pilots go into the air reserve pool and are available to receive pilots during the next reinforcement phase.

• Lend Lease Pool - This pool contains air unit markers. These are not actually units in the sense that they can be built. Instead, lend lease air unit markers are part of a set where only some of the units can be built. At the start of the game, the “source country” has one or more units in a set of units that can be built. All the other countries have merely air unit markers sitting in the lend lease pool. For example, the USA is the source country for Tomahawks and has 2 Tomahawk fighters in its force pool. If the USA decides to built an F2 fighter, one of those units may be randomly drawn. Meanwhile, in the lend lease pool, China has 2 Tomahawk markers, the CW has 1, France has 1, and the USSR has 1. None of the air unit markers in the lend-lease pool may be built. If China requests a Tomahawk to be lend-leased to it from the USA, and the USA grants that request, one of the USA Tomahawks would be moved to the lend lease pool and one of the Chinese Tomahawks would move into the Chinese force pool. Instead of there being 2 USA Tomahawks in the game, there would then be 1 USA Tomahawk and 1 Chinese Tomahawk. Note that though there are 7 Tomahawk markers in the game, only 2 Tomahawk units are ever eligible for being in the game (built or on the map).

• Setup Pool - This pool contains the units currently being placed on the map - being “set up”.

• Broken Down Pool - This pool contains corps/army and division sized land units. When a player breaks a corps/army sized unit into divisions, the corps/army sized unit is placed in the broken down pool. They are not available for production. If the player decides to reform divisions into a corps/army, he is restricted to choosing from among the corps units in the broken down pool. Divisions that are destroyed during combat go into the broken down pool. The player can choose to reform divisions in the broken down pool into corps/army sized units. Should he decide to do so, the corps/army unit goes into the force pool and the divisions are removed from the game.

• Transfer Pool - This pool is only used during the “half-map” scenarios: Fascist Tide and Day of Infamy. It contains naval units that are deployed “on the other side of the world”. For example, Fascist Tide only uses the European ‘half’ of the world, so when you are playing that scenario, the transfer pool contains naval units that are deployed in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Those scenarios permit some movement of units between the map and the transfer pool. Indeed, some movements between the map and the transfer pool are mandatory.

• Conquered Pool - This pool contains units belonging to countries that have been conquered. They are kept separate since the might become available again if their home country is liberated.

• Internment Pool - This pool contains air units that have been interned. This happens very rarely and these units can return to combat under special circumstances.

• Scrapped Pool - This pool contains units of all types that the owner has voluntarily chosen to scrap. Scrapping units is a vital part of the game, since it enables you to remove obsolete (i.e., poor quality) units from your force pool, thereby improving the over quality of your force pool. The better the quality of the units in your force pool, the more likely you are to draw good units. If you do not scrap units, you may find yourself drawing a weak fighter built in 1937 instead of the spectacular new jet fighter from 1945.

• Removed Pool - This pool contains units that are not part of the game. For example, it contains all the divisional size units if you do not select the optional rule Divisions, or all the Light Cruisers if you do not select the optional rule Cruisers in Flames.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Here is the rest of section 7.1.
=======
7.1.1 Lend Lease

The lend lease phase starts each new game, unless you are playing Barbarossa, which only has one country on each side. First the Allied side gets the opportunity to lend lease air units between its major powers. Then the Axis side gets the same opportunity. Japan never participates in lend lease, so the only Axis major powers that lend lease are Germany and Italy. If Italy is out of the war, or if it is early in the war when Italy has no lend lease air units, the Axis has nothing to lend lease and the game proceeds directly from the Allied lend lease phase to setting up the first major power in the scenario.

Lend leasing an air unit from a source major power to a recipient major power causes 2 units to move between the lend lease pool and the force pool. The source major power moves a units from its force pool to the lend lease pool, while the recipient major power moves a unit from the lend lease pool to its force pool. The source major power has 1 less unit in its force pool while the recipient major power has 1 additional unit in its force pool. Together with scrapping units, lend leasing air units enables you to modify the composition of your force pools prior to the random selection of units for placement during setup.

7.1.2 Scrapping Units

Each major power has the opportunity to scrap units prior to the random draw of the units that will be placed on the map. The order in which major powers set up their units is determined by the scenario rules. For example, in Barbarossa the USSR gets to scrap its older units, followed immediately by the random draw of the units it will have available to place on the map. After the USSR has placed all its units on the map, Germany goes through the same sequence: scrap units, random draw, place units on the map. For scenarios that involve multiple major powers, the same 3 step sequence is repeated for each major power in turn.

Players can only scrap older units. They get to choose which ones and may choose to scrap none at all. Note that scrapping units is permanent. After you close the scrap form, any units that you have scrapped will be placed in the scrap pool and no longer part of the game.

For your convenience, there are saved lists of scrapped units for each major power for each scenario, including a default list. Simply clicking on Restore Default List will automatically scrap the units in the default list. Once you have made your decisions about which units to scrap, you might want to save your list to a file for use in future games.

7.1.3 Placing Units on the Map (RAW 24.)

After you have closed the Scrap Units form, the game displays the setup tray for you major power. In each scenario the rules specify which types of units you will have available to place on the map. The rules also define how many of each type and where they may be placed. Often there are special restrictions on setting up units, which can be viewed by clicking on the Setup Rules button in the setup tray.

You can place units on the map in any order that you desire. By clicking on the different Set Up Areas labels, you can see what units you have available in each set up area. There is a list of available air units shown in the top of the set up tray and either land or naval units shown in the bottom list. You can control whether the land or naval units are shown in the bottom list by clicking on the Show Land/Show Naval button.

If you are playing with the optional rule Pilots, you will receive more air units than pilots. Clicking on an air unit in the setup tray assigns it a pilot. Holding down the Ctrl key and left clicking on an air unit deassigns a pilot from an air unit. Once you have assigned all your pilots, the remaining air units without pilots are automatically placed in the air reserve pool.

All land and naval units start with the label ‘Ready’ underneath it. Air units get that label once you assign them a pilot. When you click on a ‘Ready’ unit it will acquire the label “In Stack” under it. All the “In Stack” units are “in your hand” and can be placed ibn the map by left clicking on a destination hex.

Once you have emptied the setup tray of units, the setup tray is removed from view. You can still rearrange the units you have on the map and the setup phase is not completed by a major power until you click on the End of Phase button in the main form.

For your convenience there are saved setup locations for non-random units. By clicking on the Restore Setup button in the setup tray, you can automatically have units in the setup tray placed on the map. This only affects non-random units, such as named units (e.g., battleships Marat for the USSR, Warspite for the CW, and Bismarck for Germany). Autonomous units, like convoys and build points, are also non-random, since they are all identical. This means that the long convoy pipelines can be restored instantaneously without having to place each convoy point individually.

Like saved scrap lists, saved setups are stored separately for each major power for each scenario. And also like the saved scrap lists, there are default saved setups for each major power for each scenario. Once you have made your decisions about where to place your non-random units, you might want to save your setup placements for non-random units to a file for use in future games.

Note that units which are randomly drawn from your force pool are never part of saved setups but instead always appear in the setup tray. These include: all air units, all land units except named HQ units, and a few naval units (e.g., submarines and transports).

7.1.4 Placing Partisans on the Map

Once all the major powers have placed their units on the map, a final setup phase occurs, where major powers get to place partisan units behind enemy lines. Only a few of the later scenarios have partisan units to be placed during setup, so this phase is oftentimes skipped. Even if there are partisan units to be placed, the phase will be skipped if there is no place to legally put them on the map. For example, in the Decline and Fall scenario the German player can easily prevent the USSR partisans from being placed on the map by covering all possible locations behind the German front lines with zones of control. The placement of partisans on the map is followed by the start of the first turn in the scenario.

[terje439]

Looks good to me, but guess someone not familiar with the terms would be a better judge.

Only thing that might be added is under the reserve pool - might add "if the player chooses to activate his reserves"?

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Today's installment of new text for the player's manual.
=======
7.0 Sequence of Play

The primary sequence of play consists of a series of phases, presented below in five groups: 7.1 Phases for Setting Up a New Game, 7.2 Beginning of Turn Phase, 7.3 Phases within an Impulse, 7.4 End of Turn Phases, and 7.5 End of Game Phase.

There are also numerous subphases for some of the more important phases: 7.6 Reinforcement Subphases, 7.7 Declaration of War Subphases, 7.8 Air Mission Subphases, 7.9 Air-to-air Combat Sub-subphases, 7.10 Naval Combat Subphases, 7.11 Land Combat Resolution Subphases, and 7.12 Vichy Declaration Subphases.

Lastly section 7.13 provides a description of the 7 types of digressions that may occur during game play. Altogether there are 63 phases, 72 subphases, 10 sub-subphases, and 7 digressions that constitute the full sequence of play for MWIF.

The current place in the sequence of play can be viewed during a game using the Sequence of Play form. See section 8.7.1.21 for a description of that form and how to display it.
===
...
===

7.2 Beginning of Turn Phases
7.2.1 Reinforcements (RAC 4.)

Every turn, except the first turn, starts with the arrival of reinforcements. All major powers go through the reinforcement phase simultaneously, following the subphase sequence described in section 7.7. In brief, that consists of 6 subphases: placement of annual additions in the force pool, scrapping of older units, swapping some units for replacement units, assignment of pilot to air units without pilots, placing reinforcements on the map, and the removal of on map air units to the air reserve.

Major powers are free to proceed through the 6 subphases at their own speed. Some major powers may be deciding about scrapping units while other major powers are placing units on the map, and yet other major powers have completed the reinforcement phase. Once all major powers have completed the reinforcement phase, the Lending phase begins.

7.2.2 Lending Resources & Build Points (RAC 5.)

All major powers have the ability to lend resources to their allies. Resources, including oil resources, and build points can be lent to any major power on their side, though there are some restrictions on what neutral major powers can lend. The use of the word ‘lend’ is a misnomer, since no quid-pro-quo is necessary. ‘Given’ is more descriptive than ‘lent’ for what actually occurs.

Any commitments to lend resources and build points during the lending phase must be fulfilled if at all possible. However, the resources and build points are not shipped from their point of origination to a destination in the receiving country until the Production phase, which is one of the end of turn phases. A lot can happen between the lending and production phases, but the source major power must fulfill any commitments it made, regardless of what has happened during the turn.

For more information on lending resources, see the description of the form that is used in section 8.7.2.24.

7.2.3 Initiative (RAC 6.)

Which side has the initiative during the turn is determined during this phase. The initiative allows the winning side to dictate which side is the phasing side for the first impulse in the turn. Since the Axis and Allied sides alternate being the phasing side, one will be the phasing side for the 1st, 3rd, 5th, etc. impulses while the other side will be the phasing side for the 2nd, 4th, 6th, etc. impulses.

The rules for which side has the initiative are somewhat complicated and are discussed in detail in RAC Section 6 and also in the sections of this document describing the forms that are used: 8.7.2.21 Initiative and 8.7.2.27 Move First Decision.

The initiative phase is over when one side has won the initiative and decided which side moves first (i.e., is the phasing side for the first impulse).

7.3 Phases within an Impulse

Each turn consists of a series of impulses, the actual number being determined randomly. The important thing to know is that there are 31 phases within each impulse. Indeed, most of the time spent playing MWIF is spent executing the phases that occur during an impulse.

7.3.1 Weather (RAC 8.)

Weather is determined randomly during this phase, but only for odd impulses (e.g., 1st, 3rd, 5th). The weather for an even impulse is the same as the weather for the immediately preceding impulse. This means that the weather phase is completely skipped for even numbered impulses, since nothing new happens.

For some scenarios, the weather for the first two impulses is predefined as part of the scenario setup instructions. For other scenarios, the weather for the first turn is randomly generated by the program. Whenever the weather is randomly generated, the weather from the previous impulse (even if it occurred in the previous turn) may bias the weather towards being more of the same.

Once the weather has been determined, all players are informed and typically the game advances to the Declaration of War phase. However, there is the possibility that the change in weather caused overstacking and/or units to be destroyed. For instance, during snow and blizzard conditions, swamp terrain is treated as if it were forest terrain. That means that an air unit could be placed in a swamp hex during a snow impulse. If the weather changes to rain in the next impulse, then any air unit in a swamp would be destroyed. In game terms this means that a digression from the sequence of play would occur, permitting the owner of the destroyed unit to decide whether or not to scrap it.

If two air units were in a ‘frozen’ swamp hex, with one based there as if the terrain were forest and the second based there using the HQ’s stacking bonus for air units, then only one of the air units would be destroyed if the weather changed to rain. Essentially this would be an overstacking situation, were only one air unit could be in the hex. A digression would take place, permitting the owner to decide which of the air units to destroy. And then another digression would occur for the owner of the destroyed unit to decide whether or not to scrap it.

After all digressions have been completed, the game advances to the Declaration of War phase. For more information on weather, see the description of the form that is used in section 8.7.2.58.

7.3.2 Declaration of War (RAC 9.)

The declaration of war phase consists of a series of subphases. The subphases are performed in strict order with no major power permitted to advance to the next subphase until all the major powers have completed the current subphase. This is markedly different from the reinforcements phase (see section 7.2.1) where at one point in time each major power could conceivably be executing a different subphase.

The decision makers within each subphase change depending upon circumstances, with sometimes multiple players from the same side making decisions simultaneously, while in other subphases a single major power makes all the decisions. Usually, both sides will get to make some decisions during the phase, though the primary decision makers are on the phasing side.

See section 7.7 for details on each of the declaration of war subphases. In brief, that consists of: DOW on Major Powers, DOW on Minor Countries, US Entry Effects, Neutrality Pact Creation & Renewal, Calling Out Reserves, Choosing Major Power for Attacked Minor Countries, Setting Up Attacked Minor Countries, Voluntarily Aligning Minor Countries, and Setting Up Aligned Minor Countries.

7.3.3 Choose Action (RAC 10.)

In the choose action phase each major power on the phasing side chooses which action type he wants to take for the current impulse. This action type remains in effect for the entire impulse, but has no lasting effect once the impulse is over. Nor do the choices made by other major powers impose any restrictions on what a major power chooses.

The action types are: Land, Naval, Air, Combined, and Pass. If a major power possesses an offensive chit, then he may use it at this time. For the benefits of using an offensive chit see sections 9.2.24 and 9.5.7 concerning this optional rule.

Every major power on a side must choose an action. Once they all have done so the game advances to the port attack phase. For more information on choosing an action, see the description of the form that is used in section 8.7.2.1.

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
Every turn, except the first turn, starts with the arrival of reinforcements.

Why "except the first turn" ?
The first turn has a reinforcement step, as all other turns.
It just happen that there are no reinforcing units to put on the map, but the step is still here.
It allows for example to remove on map planes to put them back in the Air Reserve Pool.


Also, maybe the description of the destroyed aircrafts due to weather changing the soil conditions may be too long. Why not avoid it completely ?

In the choose action phase each major power on the phasing side chooses which action type he wants to take for the current impulse. This action type remains in effect for the entire impulse, but has no lasting effect once the impulse is over. Nor do the choices made by other major powers impose any restrictions on what a major power chooses.

Except for China, where the Communist Chinese count on Russian limits. So Russian choices impacts China.

[brian brian]

I like this:

The use of the word ‘lend’ is a misnomer, since no quid-pro-quo is necessary.


but you could add "is necessary in the rules. Players can come to any agreements they like regarding resources and BP loans."

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
7.1.1 Lend Lease

Maybe, to differenciate it better from Lend lease of resources & BP, you should change that header to "Lend Lease of Air Units", or include the "Foreign Aircraft" text in the title ?

7.1.2 Scrapping Units

Maybe add to this section that only dated units can be scraped. Reserve and MIL cannot for example.

All the “In Stack” units are “in your hand” and can be placed ibn the map by left clicking on a destination hex.

Maybe add that stacking limits are functional right now and that you must respect them. This may be the explanation why you can't setup a given set of units that are "in your hand" on the map. Maybe explain the player what to do in such a case (hitting the ESC key ?).

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
Roughly speaking, historically ships were built in two stages, with the hull and superstructure built the first year and the armaments and personnel added in the second year. In game terms, the second year includes the training period/shake out cruise for new ships.

I thought that the WiF Zen for the 2 cycles rather was : 1st cycle : hull. 2nd cycle : superstructure, armaments and personnel. This explains better how BB hulls are converted to Carriers, for the Shinano conversions for example.

• Repair Pool - Naval units damaged during combat go into the repair pool. If a player wants to repair a naval unit, he spends the necessary build points and then gets to select which unit gets repaired. This is another exception where the unit being built is not randomly selected. Repaired naval units go into the production pool.

It may also be said that there are ships that are repaired randomly from the Repair pool, as an exception, these are the CX (if playing with the CoiF kit). The WiF Zen for that is that the German player don't know if he will come up with a powerful or a feeble CX when repairing one, as repairing a CX in reality is just transforming a freighter into a warship with disguisement.

• Air Reserve Pool - This pool contains air units that have been built, but not assigned pilots. If you do not choose the optional rule pilots, this pool will always be empty. However, when playing with pilots, air units and pilots are built separately. You could build 3 air units and 2 pilots. At the start of the reinforcement phase, you get to choose which air units receive pilots and are placed on the map. Any air units without pilots go into the air reserve pool and are available to receive pilots during the next reinforcement phase.

Two things may be added :
1) Rhe "Air Reserve Pool" is nicknamed the "Garage", or the "Hangar" by WiF players.
2) It may be explained that a WiF FE pilot is not only the pilot -- the man -- of the plane, it represents all the flying crews and also all the land personnel that makes the air units able to fly war missions.

• Conquered Pool - This pool contains units belonging to countries that have been conquered. They are kept separate since the might become available again if their home country is liberated.

Half of them only IIRC.
Are the French units removed from the game at Vichyfication also in this pool, or do that have a "Vichy Pool" ?

• Internment Pool - This pool contains air units that have been interned. This happens very rarely and these units can return to combat under special circumstances.

And under a new flag too.

• Scrapped Pool - This pool contains units of all types that the owner has voluntarily chosen to scrap. Scrapping units is a vital part of the game, since it enables you to remove obsolete (i.e., poor quality) units from your force pool, thereby improving the over quality of your force pool. The better the quality of the units in your force pool, the more likely you are to draw good units. If you do not scrap units, you may find yourself drawing a weak fighter built in 1937 instead of the spectacular new jet fighter from 1945.

Two things may be added here :
1) Scraping is irreversible.
2) Only date units can be scrapped.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Froonp

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
7.1.1 Lend Lease

Maybe, to differenciate it better from Lend lease of resources & BP, you should change that header to "Lend Lease of Air Units", or include the "Foreign Aircraft" text in the title ?

7.1.2 Scrapping Units

Maybe add to this section that only dated units can be scraped. Reserve and MIL cannot for example.

All the “In Stack” units are “in your hand” and can be placed ibn the map by left clicking on a destination hex.

Maybe add that stacking limits are functional right now and that you must respect them. This may be the explanation why you can't setup a given set of units that are "in your hand" on the map. Maybe explain the player what to do in such a case (hitting the ESC key ?).

I agree with your first suggestion here.

The other two are a little too detailed for this section. They will be covered in the sections about using the forms.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Froonp

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
Every turn, except the first turn, starts with the arrival of reinforcements.

Why "except the first turn" ?
The first turn has a reinforcement step, as all other turns.
It just happen that there are no reinforcing units to put on the map, but the step is still here.
It allows for example to remove on map planes to put them back in the Air Reserve Pool.


Also, maybe the description of the destroyed aircrafts due to weather changing the soil conditions may be too long. Why not avoid it completely ?

In the choose action phase each major power on the phasing side chooses which action type he wants to take for the current impulse. This action type remains in effect for the entire impulse, but has no lasting effect once the impulse is over. Nor do the choices made by other major powers impose any restrictions on what a major power chooses.

Except for China, where the Communist Chinese count on Russian limits. So Russian choices impacts China.

Of the 6 subphases within the reinforcement phase, only the removal of air units to the air reserve is possible during the first turn. The other subphases concern new units arriving - and there are none.

I intend to have the removal of air units to the reserve be possible by permitting players to place units into the air reserve directly from the set up tray (although I don't think I have implemented that code completely yet).

The result is that the reinfrocement stage can be omitted during the first turn.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Froonp

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
Roughly speaking, historically ships were built in two stages, with the hull and superstructure built the first year and the armaments and personnel added in the second year. In game terms, the second year includes the training period/shake out cruise for new ships.

I thought that the WiF Zen for the 2 cycles rather was : 1st cycle : hull. 2nd cycle : superstructure, armaments and personnel. This explains better how BB hulls are converted to Carriers, for the Shinano conversions for example.

• Repair Pool - Naval units damaged during combat go into the repair pool. If a player wants to repair a naval unit, he spends the necessary build points and then gets to select which unit gets repaired. This is another exception where the unit being built is not randomly selected. Repaired naval units go into the production pool.

It may also be said that there are ships that are repaired randomly from the Repair pool, as an exception, these are the CX (if playing with the CoiF kit). The WiF Zen for that is that the German player don't know if he will come up with a powerful or a feeble CX when repairing one, as repairing a CX in reality is just transforming a freighter into a warship with disguisement.

• Air Reserve Pool - This pool contains air units that have been built, but not assigned pilots. If you do not choose the optional rule pilots, this pool will always be empty. However, when playing with pilots, air units and pilots are built separately. You could build 3 air units and 2 pilots. At the start of the reinforcement phase, you get to choose which air units receive pilots and are placed on the map. Any air units without pilots go into the air reserve pool and are available to receive pilots during the next reinforcement phase.

Two things may be added :
1) Rhe "Air Reserve Pool" is nicknamed the "Garage", or the "Hangar" by WiF players.
2) It may be explained that a WiF FE pilot is not only the pilot -- the man -- of the plane, it represents all the flying crews and also all the land personnel that makes the air units able to fly war missions.

• Conquered Pool - This pool contains units belonging to countries that have been conquered. They are kept separate since the might become available again if their home country is liberated.

Half of them only IIRC.
Are the French units removed from the game at Vichyfication also in this pool, or do that have a "Vichy Pool" ?

• Internment Pool - This pool contains air units that have been interned. This happens very rarely and these units can return to combat under special circumstances.

And under a new flag too.

• Scrapped Pool - This pool contains units of all types that the owner has voluntarily chosen to scrap. Scrapping units is a vital part of the game, since it enables you to remove obsolete (i.e., poor quality) units from your force pool, thereby improving the over quality of your force pool. The better the quality of the units in your force pool, the more likely you are to draw good units. If you do not scrap units, you may find yourself drawing a weak fighter built in 1937 instead of the spectacular new jet fighter from 1945.

Two things may be added here :
1) Scraping is irreversible.
2) Only date units can be scrapped.

I'll fix my mistake about the 1st and 2nd years of construction. Thanks.

The rest of your comments in this post are accurate but more detailed than I want to cover in this section.

My original intent was to just give one or two sentences for each phase. It didn't work out that way.[:(] However, I am not trying to explain all the rules concerning each phase of the game in this section. That would just be a rewriting RAC. Instead, I want to hit the high points and in particular, I want to cover who makes the decisions.

Sometimes the program performs all the actions in a phase (e.g., weather, end of turn check, victory check, annual additions to the force pools, etc.). Sometimes it is the phasing side, sometimes the non-phasing side. At times it will be the team leader for a side (e.g., whether to reroll for initiative - oops, I have to edit that section). I want section 7 to make clear who the decision makers are for every phase, subphase, and digression.

The purpose of section 7 is to describe the game's flow: what happens, in what order, who decides, and what comes next. Sadly, the game is so complex that achieving this rather simple objective is going to take dozens of pages.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Here are the new sections for the players manual for today.
==============
7.3.4 Port Attack (RAC 11.2)

A successful port attack destroys enemy naval units. All major powers on the phasing side can make port attacks, unless they choose a Pass action. All port attacks are voluntary. Port attacks can be made by: (1) land based air units that have air-to-sea factors and (2) carrier based air units that are at sea. If the optional rule Carrier Planes is not being used, then carriers at sea can also fly these missions.

In the latter case, the program creates a “temporary carrier air unit” to fly the mission. After the mission is over, the temporary air unit is removed from the game. Should the temporary air unit be shot down, the carrier that ‘flew’ the mission is damaged.

Provided that there are bombers with air-to-sea factors conducting a port attack on a port, the phasing side may fly fighter escorts to protect the bombers. In the case of carrier air units (temporary or actual carrier air units), the owning major power will need to specify whether the air unit is flying as a bomber or as a fighter (see section 8.7.2.38). Some land based air fighters are also capable of flying as bombers - the default is for them to be fighters unless their role has been specified as bombers.

Bombers may only fly this mission if there is a viable naval target in the port. Here ‘viable’ means an enemy unit. Escorts may only fly the mission if there is a bomber participating in the attack with which the fighter cooperates; that is, the major powers that own the bomber and the fighter must cooperate.

The subphases for flying a port attack mission are described in section 7.8. The performance of the air mission (See section 7.8.10) for a port attack is an air-to-sea naval combat by the bombers on the enemy naval units in the port. See section 8.7.2.30 for more details.

7.3.5 Naval Air (RAC 11.3)

During the naval air phase, all major powers on the phasing side that did not choose a Pass action can move air units into sea areas. These actions do not directly provoke combat but the presence of units in sea areas enable the owning major power to intercept enemy naval movement through the sea area. Also, during the Naval Combat by Non-Phasing Side phase, the non-phasing player can elect to attempt to initiate combat in sea areas where the phasing side moved air units in the Naval Air phase.

The phasing major powers move their air units in the sea areas simultaneously and the phase is done once they have all clicked on the End of Phase button in the main form.

7.3.6 Naval Movement (RAC 11.4)

During the naval movement phase, all major powers on the phasing side, that did not choose a Pass, Air, or Land action, can move naval units: (1) from ports into sea areas and (2) return naval units at sea to port. These actions may be intercepted by enemy units occupying the sea areas the naval units enter.

If the enemy major powers elect to attempt interceptions, then an interception digression takes place. No other naval moves are permitted until the digression is concluded. That may take a while since a successful naval interception can lead to an immediate naval combat. And as in all naval combats, some naval units may be forced to abort to a friendly port. Also, players have the option to voluntarily abort from a naval combat. Both the forced and voluntary “naval abort moves” can be intercepted and a queue is maintained by the program of all the naval moves and naval combats that have to be concluded before players can resume normal their naval moves in this phase.

Stopping the movement of naval units in a sea area, enables both sides to attempt naval combat in the sea area in the next two phases: Naval Combat by Phasing Side and Naval Combat by Non-Phasing Side.

Other than the interruptions due to naval interceptions, the phasing major powers move their naval units into and out of sea areas simultaneously and the phase is done once they have all clicked on the End of Phase button in the main form.

7.3.7 Naval Combat by Phasing Side (RAC 11.5)

During the Naval Combat by Phasing Side phase, all major powers on the phasing side, that did not take a Pass or Land action, can attempt to initiate naval combat in sea areas which contain units from major powers that are at war. Only one attempt can be by the phasing side in each sea area, but there is no restriction on the number of different sea areas in which attempts are made.

An attempt to initiate naval combat is made by the phasing side choosing a single sea area. Each attempt, and any resulting combat, is resolved completely before the next sea area is chosen by the phasing side. The phasing side does not have to attempt to initiate any combats, and can choose to stop whenever they want.

As in all naval combats, some naval units may be forced to abort to a friendly port. Also, players have the option to voluntarily abort from a naval combat. Both the forced and voluntary “naval abort moves” can be intercepted and a queue is maintained by the program of all the naval moves and naval combats that have to be concluded before the phasing side can attempt to initiate another naval combat in this phase.

The phase is done once the players on the phasing side decide to not attempt to initiate any more naval combats.

7.3.8 Naval Combat by Non-Phasing Side (RAC 11.6)

During the Naval Combat by Non-Phasing Side phase, all major powers on the non-phasing side, can attempt to initiate naval combat in sea areas which enemy units had entered (and stopped) in either the Naval Air phase or the Naval Movement phase of this impulse. However, they may not choose a sea area where the phasing side attempted to initiate a naval combat in the immediately preceding Naval Combat by Phasing Side phase.

The process for this phase is the same as for the previous phase, except the non-phasing side chooses the sea areas. The non-phasing side does not have to initiate combat in any sea areas. The phase is done once the players on the non- phasing side decide to not attempt to initiate any more naval combats.

7.3.9 Strategic Bombing (RAC 11.7)

A successful strategic bombing mission destroys enemy factories, oil resources, or build points. All major powers on the phasing side can fly strategic bombing missions, unless they choose a Pass action. All strategic bombing missions are voluntary. Strategic bombing missions can be made by: (1) land based air units that have strategic bombing factors and (2) carrier based air units that are at sea. If the optional rule Carrier Planes is not being used, then carriers at sea can also fly these missions.

In the latter case, the program creates a “temporary carrier air unit” to fly the mission. After the mission is over, the temporary air unit is removed from the game. Should the temporary air unit be shot down, the carrier that ‘flew’ the mission is damaged.

Provided that there are bombers with strategic bombing factors attacking a hex, the phasing side may fly fighter escorts to protect the bombers. In the case of carrier air units (temporary or actual carrier air units), the owning major power will need to specify whether the air unit is flying as a bomber or as a fighter (see section 8.7.2.38). Some land based air fighters are also capable of flying as bombers - the default is for them to be fighters unless their role has been specified as bombers.

Bombers may only fly this mission if there is a viable strategic target in the hex. Here ‘viable’ means an enemy factory, oil resource, synthetic oil plant, saved oil point, or saved build point. Escorts may only fly the mission if there is a bomber participating in the attack with which the fighter cooperates; that is, the major powers that own the bomber and the fighter must cooperate.

The subphases for flying a strategic bombing mission are described in section 7.8. The performance of the air mission (See section 7.8.10) for strategic bombing is a die roll using the strategic bombing table. See section 8.7.2.3 for more details.

7.3.10 Carpet Bombing (RAC 11.8)

A successful carpet bombing mission destroys enemy land or air units. All major powers on the phasing side can fly carpet bombing missions (if that optional rule has been chosen), unless they choose a Pass action. All carpet bombing missions are voluntary. Carpet bombing missions can be made by: (1) land based air units that have strategic bombing factors and (2) carrier based air units that are at sea. If the optional rule Carrier Planes is not being used, then carriers at sea can also fly these missions.

In the latter case, the program creates a “temporary carrier air unit” to fly the mission. After the mission is over, the temporary air unit is removed from the game. Should the temporary air unit be shot down, the carrier that ‘flew’ the mission is damaged.

Provided that there are bombers with strategic bombing factors attacking a hex, the phasing side may fly fighter escorts to protect the bombers. In the case of carrier air units (temporary or actual carrier air units), the owning major power will need to specify whether the air unit is flying as a bomber or as a fighter (see section 8.7.2.38). Some land based air fighters are also capable of flying as bombers - the default is for them to be fighters unless their role has been specified as bombers.

Bombers may only fly this mission if there is an enemy unit in the hex. Escorts may only fly the mission if there is a bomber participating in the attack with which the fighter cooperates; that is, the major powers that own the bomber and the fighter must cooperate.

The subphases for flying a carpet bombing mission are described in section 7.8. The performance of the air mission (See section 7.8.10) for carpet bombing is a die roll using the strategic bombing table. See section 8.7.2.3 for more details.

7.3.11 Ground Strike (RAC 11.9)

A successful ground strike disorganizes enemy land or air units. All major powers on the phasing side can fly ground strike missions, unless they choose a Pass action. All ground strike missions are voluntary. Ground strike missions can be made by: (1) land based air units that have tactical bombing factors and (2) carrier based air units that are at sea. If the optional rule Carrier Planes is not being used, then carriers at sea can also fly these missions.

In the latter case, the program creates a “temporary carrier air unit” to fly the mission. After the mission is over, the temporary air unit is removed from the game. Should the temporary air unit be shot down, the carrier that ‘flew’ the mission is damaged.

Provided that there are bombers with tactical bombing factors attacking a hex, the phasing side may fly fighter escorts to protect the bombers. In the case of carrier air units (temporary or actual carrier air units), the owning major power will need to specify whether the air unit is flying as a bomber or as a fighter (see section 8.7.2.38). Some land based air fighters are also capable of flying as bombers - the default is for them to be fighters unless their role has been specified as bombers.

Bombers may only fly this mission if there is an enemy unit in the hex. Escorts may only fly the mission if there is a bomber participating in the attack with which the fighter cooperates; that is, the major powers that own the bomber and the fighter must cooperate.

The subphases for flying a ground strike mission are described in section 7.8. The performance of the air mission (See section 7.8.10) for a ground strike is a die roll against the bomber’s tactical factors. See section 8.7.2.3 for more details.