A little help...

[FAHayek]

Greetings to all.

I have been lurking around in the forums reading up on the various offerings from Matrix.

Currently, the game that peaks my interest the most is War in the Pacific: Admirals Edition.

I am a fan of the turn-by-turn hex war games and still play Talonsoft's East Front II, West Front, Rising sun.

So, I understand WitP: AE reaches all facets of managing a total war. It seems a bit intimidating at the moment (especially after reading all the AARs, production planning threads, and what altitude to set level bombers at for the greatest effect). But I've never owned such a game and think it would be enjoyable with all the detail and such.

Please include any worthwhile comments and opinions on my choice. And feel free to recommend what I may have overlooked game wise.

I looked the computer requirements of WitP:AE and mine barely meets the minimum BUT the game does not appear to be graphically intense. Should I be concerned about performance?

Also, I assume it does contain but wasn't exactly sure- 1 person can play vs. the computer correct? I didn't want to purchase if is vs. only human opponents via a linked game.

Best regards.

[Hertston]

Hi, and welcome to the Matrix boards.

I suspect you and WitP:AE might be made for each other! Based on what you said, there certainly aren't any games I would recommend more. Yes, you can play against the AI, as either side. The only multiplayer option is actually PBEM; that's the only one really practical for the game. Turns vary widely in length, but some (at least for me) can run into hours, and games do take a long time to complete. The plus point is that many say if you 'get into' WitP you will never need another game; I never reached that point but I can see where they are coming from.

Hardware, I can't help you with I'm afraid. The original game engine has been around a while now, and certainly presents nothing remarkable graphically, so I wouldn't expect any problems in that regard anyway.

[jomni]

It's a wonderful game.  Depends on how much detail you can handle. As for me, I can't stand playing the grand campaign.  Production considerations are just killing me.  I only play WitP:AE for it's Guadalcanal Scenario (PBEM) and it's very satisfying.  I see it as a beefed up Uncommon Valor. Hehe.

Don't worry the game has AI.

Old PC's can handle this. I guess you'll just experience some slowdown in turn resolution.

[n01487477]

FAHayek,
as Herston has posted AE is most likely the game for you ... as you have read the forum threads you'll see the almost obsession that many wipt'ers have ... It may be daunting at first but take it step at a time, play the smaller scenario's and the other user small scale mods that are being developed and you'll be ok.

There are 3rd party tools to help you like witpTracker / staff and some video tutorials as well as some wiki's (can't find the link right now).

So you can play against the AI, and most noobies do(sorry for the term), do that for some time; replaying turns and scenario's over and over until they grasp the mechanics and scope of the PTO. Most start as the Allies which has very little production implications - and then like me turn to the "dark side" for a more complete and challenging experience... but that's just my view.[;)]

I've had AE working on a machine with minimal specs, turning some of the combat effects off can help, but it will do the turn slower on older machines esp. with less ram. What are your specs ?

[diablo1]

Get Storm over the Pacific. Same basic game idea except must faster and less detailed. (I feel a wail of a storm coming at me now for recommending SotP instead of WitP AE)

[FAHayek]

Thanks gents for all the comments and the warm welcome.
 
Regarding my computer, my processor is 1.73GHz and 1 meg RAM.  Video card is certainly lacking as it is integrated.
 
It appears, from my elementary view, that the learning curvew with WitP:AE is very broad.  It seems that many folks are running scenarios over and over to eliminate variables.  More or less, controlled experiments to see the effects of 'choice'.  As always the dice roll cannot be controlled but finding over all odds seems to be the key to the game?  (Which is every war game right?)  So basically, I'm looking at a 6 month to 1year to "really get the jest of it"?   The detail is overwhelming but at the same time very exciting.  Whenever I feel optimistic about a game vs. the time wondering what the heck is going on; the game usuallly ends up being very rewarding for me.
 
Again my best to all.
 
 

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: FAHayek

Thanks gents for all the comments and the warm welcome.

Regarding my computer, my processor is 1.73GHz and 1 meg RAM.  Video card is certainly lacking as it is integrated ...

Is your computer a laptop/notebook? That could prove to be a disadvantage.

Video/graphics for AE is 128 MB minimum, and I assume you meant to post 1 Gig, not 1 meg of RAM.

[FAHayek]

Joe, you are correct.  It's a laptop and indeed I did mean 1gig not meg.  I know the video card is bad.  I guess I might have to wait on this game... I was holding out some sort of home that since the graphics didn't seem too intense that I could manage by.   Maybe not?

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: FAHayek

Joe, you are correct.  It's a laptop and indeed I did mean 1gig not meg.  I know the video card is bad.  I guess I might have to wait on this game... I was holding out some sort of home that since the graphics didn't seem too intense that I could manage by.   Maybe not?

Most of the graphics for Matrix games are not that intense, but AE graphics are more demanding than its predecessor, WitP.

Why don't you check the specs for your graphics card?
You definately don't want to spend big bucks on AE only to discover you haven't enough computer resources to run it.

[FAHayek]

Joe, this is what I'm working with...

Video Subsystem 
Mobile Intel GL960 Express chipset with integrated 3D graphics,
featuring Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100 with up to 358 MB of Intel Dynamic Video Memory Technology 4.0 (8 MB of dedicated system memory, up to 350 MB of shared system memory), supporting Microsoft DirectX 9 and DirectX
[:(]  I'm not much with computers, do you think it'll make the cut?

[jomni]

I run WITP AE on a laptop with internal graphics without problems.

[madgamer2]

No matter what games you have played or how long you have played them there is no other game experience like AE. AE is like motorcycles some love them but can't ride well, or at all (ME) some love them and ride and ride and ride. I tried to play the old WitP and it took me 4 years of real time with starting over and over and over to finally get to the summer of 42 with just a slight lead on the dumb AI so i fit into the group that love the game but just can't deal with the time, energy and brain power it takes.
This is not even counting the hours and hours of time you will spend, and in rare cases it has become the total life of some poor addicted souls. I watched a friend do a couple of turns and each took over an hour+ which means that playing 1 day turns it will take you longer to fight the game than it did the war, but you sound like you are up to it so good luck and help is always here on this great forum.

from the sidelines
Madgamer

[FAHayek]

I think Madgamer's experience kind of sums up my hopes.  On one hand, sometimes I'm easily discouraged by noobie mistakes in new games.  I'm kind of a introspective perfectionist and it hampers me a bit in gaming and other parts of life.  But over the past year or two when I have purchased a new game, I've forced myself to play a 'complete game' no matter how many mistakes I make.  Because I have noticed, if I keep starting over, I just loose interest in the product and miss out on other parts of the game (i.e. scenarios, missions, new equipment, technological advances, etc...).  I realize that I'm not gonna quite accomplish a complete game anytime soon with AE but it looks like it has various smaller scenarios to complete and that should be most of what I need to get me started on the Pacific War in total.

That being said, it looks as if the game has everything that you could possibly think risk wise, operational wise, strategy wise, etc... so the game should be the last one I purchase for a while.

Hopefully, maybe one other person will chime in with their experience on a laptop with integrated graphics.   Jomni, I'm certainly not doubting you, I think two opinions will help me over the last hurdle to purchase this game.

Thanks again.  (And by the way, everyone in the forums seem pretty awsome.  I've read many posts and no real pi$$ing matches to note yet, so kudos to everyone.  And it makes purchasing the game a lot easier knowing that many valuable opinions and data are accessible at a moments notice.)

[diablo1]

I can't even play games that are touted to be 30 hours of fun an entertainment that long. I've been playing canasta, spades, rummy and hearts lately. I think I've lost it for long playing games. I have a ton of games I bought recently too I haven't even looked at like DragonAge, NWN2, Rise of Flight, Starwars Empire at War, Sins of the Solar Empire, Titan Quest gold, Kings Bounty Legend, Mass Effect, Halflife II gold, XIII Death & Glory, Disciples II Gold, Space Rangers I&II and GTA IV. There were just too many good sales in the mainstream this summer. I'm also still waiting for Elemental:War of Magic too Aug 24th. I need to make a vow like Dredd did not to buy anymore games until I finish the ones I got. That's impossible isn't it Dredd?

[V22 Osprey]

WitP:AE's requirements are a bit too aggressive. Seeing as this game is not even 3D, I doubt 128mb video card is need to play this game. Infact, since there is no 3D, I could run this off a 32mb video card. I honestly don't think there really should be a video requirement, but there should be more emphasis on the CPU and RAM requirements. FAHayek, I would bet alot of money that it will run on that laptop.

I notice you said you still play the Talonsoft version of EFII, WF, and RS. I would definitely also recommend John Tiller's Campaign Series, a re-release of the old games in one package but has numerous improvements including new scenarios, countries, utilities, campaigns, and more.

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: FAHayek

Joe, this is what I'm working with...

Video Subsystem 
Mobile Intel GL960 Express chipset with integrated 3D graphics,
featuring Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100 with up to 358 MB of Intel Dynamic Video Memory Technology 4.0 (8 MB of dedicated system memory, up to 350 MB of shared system memory) ...

I'd feel more confident w/more dedicated memory; once you exceed your 8MB, your system could slow to a crawl.

Why not ask jomni what graphics card and system he's running?

Another possibility is UV, an earlier, smaller version of this game which I have easilly run from a laptop w/similar graphics, CPU and RAM as yours.

ORIGINAL: V22 Osprey
WitP:AE's requirements are a bit too aggressive. Seeing as this game is not even 3D, I doubt 128mb video card is need to play this game. Infact, since there is no 3D, I could run this off a 32mb video card. I honestly don't think there really should be a video requirement, but there should be more emphasis on the CPU and RAM requirements. FAHayek, I would bet alot of money that it will run on that laptop ...

Your betting w/FAHayek's cash.

[Alfred]

Classical WITP should run without any difficulties. He can probably run AE as well, if necessary he can turn off combat animations. The most likely bottleneck is the 1 Gig RAM but that will mainly be shown in the turn processing speed being a bit slower but still much faster than the time he will spend planning his turn.

Alfred

[V22 Osprey]

ORIGINAL: Joe D.

ORIGINAL: FAHayek

Joe, this is what I'm working with...

Video Subsystem 
Mobile Intel GL960 Express chipset with integrated 3D graphics,
featuring Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100 with up to 358 MB of Intel Dynamic Video Memory Technology 4.0 (8 MB of dedicated system memory, up to 350 MB of shared system memory) ...

I'd feel more confident w/more dedicated memory; once you exceed your 8MB, your system could slow to a crawl.

Why not ask jomni what graphics card and system he's running?

Another possibility is UV, an earlier, smaller version of this game which I have easilly run from a laptop w/similar graphics, CPU and RAM as yours.

ORIGINAL: V22 Osprey
WitP:AE's requirements are a bit too aggressive. Seeing as this game is not even 3D, I doubt 128mb video card is need to play this game. Infact, since there is no 3D, I could run this off a 32mb video card. I honestly don't think there really should be a video requirement, but there should be more emphasis on the CPU and RAM requirements. FAHayek, I would bet alot of money that it will run on that laptop ...

Your betting w/FAHayek's cash.

Erik has even previously stated that the video system requirements were too aggressive. The minimum requirements for Company of Heroes is a 128mb video card. Do you honestly think WitP:AE needs a video card that powerful to run? Did I mention the game is not even 3D???

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: V22 Osprey

Erik has even previously stated that the video system requirements were too aggressive. The minimum requirements for Company of Heroes is a 128mb video card. Do you honestly think WitP:AE needs a video card that powerful to run? Did I mention the game is not even 3D???

He has an integrated Intel GMA X3100 with only 8 MB of dedicated system memory and up to 350 MB of shared system memory; shared, as in "slow".

BTW, I have Company of Heroes and still had to dumb-down its graphics to accomodate my Radeon X600 (256 Hypermemory) despite a dualcore Pentium and 2 Gigs of RAM.
CoH sprites don't need high-end graphics, but when you have a lot of them on the screen, things can slow down, i.e., CoH: Opposing Forces.

[FAHayek]

I PM'd jomni, hopefully he can shed some light. As soon as I hear back I can make a decision on AE. Thanks again!