WITP AE AAR Feb 09 Cathartes-JRCAR (Jap)

[Yamato hugger]

BTW, there is a reason some of the island names are in yellow (like Johnston and French Frigate Shoals) and some are in white (like the rest of the Hawaiian islands). The yellow ones denote atolls where the attacker must shock attack upon landing. The white ones you dont.

ORIGINAL: jrcar

Here is Hawaii, juicy pickings here... maybe!

[Grotius]

That's what I figure, Barb. But why only a max DL of 2 for Tokyo?

One more question: there are many more "dots" and fewer "bases" in SoPac now -- Lunga, Gili Gili, Munda, Buka, Woodlark Island all start as dot ("beach") hexes, though they can still be expanded. In general this makes sense to me as a historical matter, but I'm curious whether Japan in particular will realistically be able to transform those places into actual bases. Have the mechanics/rate of base construction changed for either side?

[Yamato hugger]

ORIGINAL: Grotius

Thanks for this AAR! A couple quick questions of my own:

1. I see "Detection Level" is now on the mouseover; I think I saw Tokyo 2/2 and Nandi 1/1. What do these numbers mean?

2. I also noticed a reference to Hitachi (early). I gather there is more than one type of Hitachi engine now?

I believe these are playtest aides that will be taken out of the final.

[Yamato hugger]

ORIGINAL: Grotius

That's what I figure, Barb. But why only a max DL of 2 for Tokyo?

Have the mechanics/rate of base construction changed for either side?

Yes. For one thing, in order to build past level 6 forts, you must have 25,000 supply on hand (I believe this applies to airbase and ports as well).

[Grotius]

Cool -- thanks, Yamato hugger.

[Kull]

Like many others, I too get the "salivation effect" when looking at these gorgeous screen shots. And the feeling is familiar - though distant - but I couldn't pin it down until just now. It's EXACTLY the way I felt when opening a new Avalon Hill type wargame, and getting my first look at the counter sheets. The seductive, tactile sensation of breaking out the unit counters and examining each one. Yum. That's what AE feels like. [:)]

[IndyShark]

You are right. That's how it feels, except I don't need to get out my xacto knife to trim the corners on all of my counters....

[Blackhorse]

ORIGINAL: Grotius
Have the mechanics/rate of base construction changed for either side?

Yes - a lot. It is *much* slower to expand ports and airfields in AE, and port size is much more important.

Based on playtesting so far, you may well find yourself forming Amphibious Task Forces to land an initial wave of "naval support" from a base force on friendly dot bases to make it possible to unload engineer vehicles and other large devices from subsequent transport TFs. Until you get a port up to at least size 2, its a real pain-in-the-butt to load/unload LCUs -- as it should be.

A historical example: Before WWII, the USN did not finish dredging a channel through the reef and into the lagoon at Wake Island. AKs delivering supplies sat off-shore in the surf and took, on average, three days to unload. AE captures that 'feel.'

[jwilkerson]

ORIGINAL: IndyShark

You are right. That's how it feels, except I don't need to get out my xacto knife to trim the corners on all of my counters....

Try some large nail clippers - speeds up the process!
[:D]

[bilbow]

I wore out a lot of nail clippers doing that. I guess we're dating ourselves. no?

[Yamato hugger]

ORIGINAL: jwilkerson

ORIGINAL: IndyShark

You are right. That's how it feels, except I don't need to get out my xacto knife to trim the corners on all of my counters....

Try some large nail clippers - speeds up the process!
[:D]

Thats exactly what I used to do.

[helldiver]

Thanks to Andy Mac for the stacking info. Clearer now, and this "copy and paste" is going into the AE prep file. Without having played a lick yet, I still get the sense that this feels right... same goes for the enhanced unloading difficulties at small/undeveloped ports and islands...

Regards,
Helldiver

[Cathartes]

Present.

JRCAR is doing a great job introducing the lay of the land and setting the tone. I'll let him continue with the lead here for now.

Seeing as we're waiting for the next full build, I'm going to hold off just a bit longer before diving into the Allied side of the story. A smidgen of the art has been revised, and some of the icons you've already seen here have changed, along with some other mechanical tweaks.  We'll be up and running soon.

About me:

• negligible strategic sense.
• no direct military experience.
• educator, staff manager, and graphic designer.
• BA in US History from many years ago.
• love stuff that flies--aircraft and birds.
• experience tinkering with wargames, i.e. Close Combat/GJS mod, and long list of board games going back to my formative years.

[IndyShark]

I'm too picky! I trim all the edges. My counters are in perfect condition! I even bought two sets of counters for Tobruck and trimmed them all! Now there's a cool game!

[Richrd]

Hah! I trimmed every corner of every counter in the entire europa series. Once I figured it at about a quarter million clips.

[IndyShark]

You may have me there. I trimmed all of the Squad Leader counters plus all of the expansions. I have no idea how many that was...

[ny59giants]

I still have my large bamboo tweezers (about 6" high) that I got "years" ago that allowed me to pick up those large stacks without knocking over the stacks next to it. Got them from a medical supplies company.  

[jrcar]

Quick post before I go to work, as requested here is Burma, it has change a lot, probably the theatre with the most change. Lots of new bases, and captures the feel of the real life campaign much better than stock.

I usually build Chiang Mai up to me my main support base for this area as far as aircraft goes.

[Nomad]

ORIGINAL: jwilkerson

ORIGINAL: IndyShark

You are right. That's how it feels, except I don't need to get out my xacto knife to trim the corners on all of my counters....

Try some large nail clippers - speeds up the process!
[:D]

Those big toe nail clippers are perfect for that. [8D]

[GI Jive]

#*%@! I just drooled on my keyboard. The map looks phenominal. Looks like ground movement & combat will be less predictable.