Rookie reporting in, a few questions.

[macroman247]

Ever since playing PTO-II on the SNES many MANY years ago I have been in love with WW2 Pacific Theater games so here I am!

Just diving in and it is a lot to process. A few questions.

With the AI set to historical, will it follow the same attack strategies for every grand campaign or will it be a completely different game each time? Like if I am the allies, can I expect IJN to hit the same targets each new game in a grand campaign or is there a lot of random factors involved?

Also along the lines of the AI, I will not be doing any PBEM games until I get a grasp of things fully. Is the AI fairly strong? I watched an AI vs. AI game in the thousand mile war scenario and the allies would load up transports, send them to Attu and then pull them back to DH. They repeated this for 3 months and then the scenario ended with Japan winning. Sort of brain dead AI if you ask me. Looking for a very strong AI challenge, have I chosen well?

I have grasped a good amount of game concepts so far but supply and reinforcements still elude me. Been combing these forums...any good threads that can outline how supply/industry/reinforcements work? I see a base saying supplies requested XYZ with say 3500 supply at port...but I'm not quite understanding the math involved. Same with fuel. If they are requesting 1500 supply and 3000 is at port, are they using 1500 each turn or month or what? Where do I find how that 1500 requested number came to be?

I'm sure I will have more questions and I will do my best to run forum searches...just figured I'd say hello and ask a couple questions while I do that. Thanks!

[Commander Stormwolf]

AI will have the basic strategy and they get some bonuses too - so they can be a challenge

sometimes they do something strange (like BB bombardment of pearl harbor [;)])

there are a number of scripts they can choose from so there is some replay value, AI won't always do the same plan each time


if you just want to get a hold of the mechanics, suggest playing a smaller scenario (Guadalcanal is nice), wth a PBEM opponent

trust me.. the main challenge to this game is maintaining a fun atmosphere with the game, resolving gripes with your opponent
and hoping they dont quit after you sink all their carriers [;)]

[Alfred]

For logistics, start of with this thread.

tm.asp?m=2878790&mpage=1&key=Logistics%2C101&#2879232

There are 13 scripted AI scripts. At the start of each campaign the AI chooses one of the scripts and retains that specific script for the rest of the game. There is therefore a reasonable chance that a second game will see a different script chosen.

The AI will give you a good game. If you play very unhistorically you can unhinge it because the situation you present it with may not be adequately covered by the script chosen at the very beginning. Not many will admit it but the real reason why so many players restart a campaign many times is because the AI is handing them a severe defeat.

Alfred

[macroman247]

Well I imagine I will unhinge the script by not knowing exactly what to do just yet. Hoping that the AI just doesn't scratch it's head and get in a stuck routine because it doesn't understand what I'm doing. That doesn't appear to be the case so that is good news.

[macroman247]

That logistics thread was a great read, thanks!

[PeteG662]

Try a small scenario against the AI as Allies to start to get a feel for the mechanics. After you become familiar with scratching the surface in this initial game then you will start to delve deeper into the system. It is very deep and detail oriented but don't get deterred by making mistakes, it is all for fun!

The AI can be a challenge when you are new but you can switch over to PBEM at any time for more challenges or even try the game from the Japanese side with the added complexity of the economy to handle.

[Lomri]

From what I understand the Japanese AI is stronger than the Allied AI. I also find playing the Allies is a great way to learn. You can absorb a lot of bad moves easily and bounce back. While playing a small scenario is really good idea to start, it isn't a bad idea to learn-while-playing as the Allies in the General Campaign.

Kind of things that will unhinge the AI are deep penetration strategies. Don't invade Iwo Jima in early 1943. Don't by-pass too many bases since the AI sometimes sends resupply TFs through your LBA gauntlet without CAP. That kind of thing.

In general the more historical you play the better the AI will react to you. Each AI script will have some flaws and will have some tricks. While I don't know if it is appropriate (or how much of a challenge you want) but playing Ironman is a good game. It gives Japan enough toys that it can try to pull off more tricks and not get crippled when you get the upper-hand on one because the script didn't anticipate you being at the right place at the right time. (I caught a CV raid behind my LOC by luck and sunk a few CVs, but the AI gets tons so it won't cripple it).

No matter what you will see the AI do some weird things. If you play Ironman on Hard you'll get plenty of challenge though. (or Very Hard)

[PeteG662]

I started with GC scenario 1 as my learning tool but then again I played UV and WITP basic before so understood a lot of the game dynamics.

[ilovestrategy]

ORIGINAL: Alfred

For logistics, start of with this thread.

tm.asp?m=2878790&mpage=1&key=Logistics%2C101�

"Mummy, where does supply come from?" Best line out of that post! [:D]

[kbfchicago]

My approach was to dive right into the campaign vs IJ AI as Allies.  Did play a side game of GC & an Attu PBEM but learned much more, more quickly through the campaign (not a previous WITP player - so no bad habits or expectations...).

AI will give you a run, early on.  Stopped my first game in late 42 - if the AI could speak it would say he had me pinned...I say I needed the time to learn...yea, that's the ticket...I was just learn'n.  2nd AI game to mid-44, last to Aug-45 with results the pretty closely paralleled history.  My take is the AI plays best through 43ish, then gets a bit...indecisive and lazy.  Am now in my first PBEM (Sep 42) and recommend a jump to a human opponent once your comfortable you've got the game down.  While the AI is better than any I've played in any strategy game PBEM is where the challenge is...

[Mac Linehan]

ORIGINAL: Alfred

For logistics, start of with this thread.

tm.asp?m=2878790&mpage=1&key=Logistics%2C101?

There are 13 scripted AI scripts. At the start of each campaign the AI chooses one of the scripts and retains that specific script for the rest of the game. There is therefore a reasonable chance that a second game will see a different script chosen.

The AI will give you a good game. If you play very unhistorically you can unhinge it because the situation you present it with may not be adequately covered by the script chosen at the very beginning. Not many will admit it but the real reason why so many players restart a campaign many times is because the AI is handing them a severe defeat.

Alfred

macroman247 -

Aside from being very familiar and knowledgeable in all things AE, Alfred's gift is the ability to articulate the facts clearly and concisely, in a way that leaves no room for guesstimation. His linked thread on supply, and his Repair 101 document are first class posts that help immensely in their respective areas of application. I do not mean to go overboard, nor to embarrass Alfred (OK - just a little...<grin>); but I would highly recommend that you take the time to peruse his comments that are spread throughout the forum.

I have found, that even a one sentence comment will often greatly clarify a particular question or perception.

OK - we are so glad that you have joined the rest of us AEists (kind of making up my own English as I go along..).

The AE manual is very well written, the forums have an incredible amount of information and the forum dwellers are always more than willing to help.

Please be ready for The Reality of AE: Kiss your free time a fond goodby.... <grin>

Mac