How Did You Learn?

[geofflambert]

I would stay away from playing the Japanese while you're learning. Playing them is at least twice as complicated as playing the Allies. Plus you'll win a lot [8D]

[Thayne]

I built my inexperience into the game itself. I started with a grand campaign, allies against the AI. I knew I would make mistakes. But, then, the allies made mistakes. I would learn over time and improve.

The way it is now, it's as if the Allies were all ready with everybody at the starting line ready to launch the perfect plan the instant the first bomb dropped.

However, the allies stumbled for the first few months. It took until February until they started to change from reacting to acting. It took until May until pilots stationed in Hawaii actually began to spend some of their time training.

Learning is just another facet of the game.

[pontiouspilot]

I would dive in but until you have mastered the bare basics ignore those on here who worry about the strength of a Zero air-frame vs. an Oscar or whether upgrading a 4 piper DD to 1 of 4 variants is important. In other words don't sweat the trivial details until you master the big ones. I'm not convinced that many of the details you hear learned ones discuss herein make any difference to play and enjoyability.

[Mike Solli]

I started way back in Uncommon Valor, which I dabbled with while waiting for WitP. I got WitP when it came out. I was at mob station getting ready to deploy when I downloaded it. For the next year, I had no access to the Matrix website (gaming sites on government computers don't mix well), so I learned the Japanese side against the AI, with lots and lots of spreadsheets. I started with just a few facets of the game (GC) and restarted over and over until I added in everything. I restarted at least a dozen times and only made it to 1 Jan 42 once. When I came home, I looked around for a novice American, met tc464 and started a PBEM with him. We got into mid-42 when the Guard dragged me away again, once again with no access at all for the most part. When I came home, we restarted with patch 2 (a pretty major patch). We got to mid-43 when AE came out and restarted yet again. I deployed again, with internet access this time, and continued with the game. When I came home, this Spring, I took some time off, but we're at it again. This is a lifelong learning event.

By the way guys, I just sent Ted my turn, so I'll start updating my PBEM soon.

[nashvillen]

The old dos PacWar, skipped over Uncommon Valor, then at the 2006 Origins (I believe it was that year as it is when I joined this BBS) a kind gentlemen known here as Mogami showed me WitP. I immediately saw that it came from PacWar and bought it. Once AE came out, I didn't hesitate. Jumped right into the campaign and immediately got lost. But, I just concentrated on one thing at a time, learned it against the AI and moved on to the next. Didn't get into PBEM until my friend rjopel suggested it at Origins one year. We had a couple of miss fires and had to start over, but we have made it to Novemeber of 1945 in our current campaign. We will start another soon after this one is done, but in the mean time I have won one other PBEM by surrender in June of 42 by the Allies as the Japanese, and am currently in a 3x2 game in August of 42 and about to start a RA 7.0 2x2 with rjopel as my partner.

[geofflambert]

ORIGINAL: pontiouspilot

I would dive in but until you have mastered the bare basics ignore those on here who worry about the strength of a Zero air-frame vs. an Oscar or whether upgrading a 4 piper DD to 1 of 4 variants is important. In other words don't sweat the trivial details until you master the big ones. I'm not convinced that many of the details you hear learned ones discuss herein make any difference to play and enjoyability.

I fully enjoy losing whether it is because I don't know all the details of this game or because I'm just one big dumb-ass.

[pontiouspilot]

Oh, and make sure your mother approves reading and viewing "soft Gorn"...mercifully there is evidently no hard Gorn!

[wegman58]

Do they still have Origins? Is it still in Baltimore? If I remember correctly it was the Avalon Hill 'convention' and they have gone the way of the dodo. Or is my memory faulty?

[Banzan]

I owned the game for quite some time and re-installed it every xyz months, just to give up after some hours again. Then i stumbled into sardaukars(spelling?) newbie thread playing the first month as an allied players against the "AI". Replayed it serveral times with more and more changes and moved on from there.

[HansBolter]

The biggest challenge in a monster game like this is developing a turn by turn regimen.

I play Allies so I have never had to introduce regimens for monitoring the economy or R&D.

I start each turn by reviewing the Ops report:


Identify all bases that upgrade that turn and see which ones need altering.
Look over and be familiar with what LCUs upgraded devices last turn.
Go to each newly arriving unit and assign it orders.

Exit the Ops report.

Go to map, start in Alaska and work my way clockwise around the map addressing naval, air and land unit orders being sure to check all off map bases for arrivals that need new orders.

Compartmentalize each theater and it isn't as overwhelming as it seems. At least after the first turn.

The first turn can be grueling. 4-6 hours into issuing first turn orders I'm still in the DEI and thinking I still have India, Burma and China to go and start feeling like I will never finish.

Perseverance is what is required to get past the first turn. After that, unless you are mounting a huge complex op the turns go much faster.

Each person develops their own play style in a game as huge as this, but basics that need to be addressed are the same for everyone.

[Mundy]

I go back to the UV days. The basic mechanics aren't a whole lot different.

When WITP first came out. I always chickened out of the grand campaign. I always played the "UV" scenario. That's one I wish we had here.

I actually started the grand campaign in War Plan Orange. It was far more manageable and let me get used to the East Pacific geography. After a few rounds of that, WITP wasn't that bad. In the end, it just comes down to wading in, and realizing that the game is a bunch of separate UV scenarios running at once. Each area gets into its own niche.

Ed-

[Sardaukar]

Since I had played WitP for years before, I just checked some new mechanics and went straight to GC... Good thing that vs. AI, you don't have to be embarrassed by own mistakes...

So, only way to learn to play this game is to play it. I am still not familiar playing Japanese side and one learns new things regularly, no matter how long play-history one has.

[rustysi]

By the way guys, I just sent Ted my turn, so I'll start updating my PBEM soon.

Cool, thanks Mike. I just finished reading your AAR before heading out for a 2-1/2 week road trip for work. Had internet but little time. Looking foward to picking it back up. Learned soooo much!!!!

[Encircled]

Reading AARs make a massive difference

You can pick up a lot of really useful tips that way

[geofflambert]

Or usless braggadocio, see my AARs.[:'(]

[MuguNiner]

I had the original WITP and played the short games, gave up on the grand campaign. Left for a long while, but the game kept calling to me. Got AE and gave up after about three months of game play. Finally, I grit my teeth and said, "i'm going to do this!" and to my surprise I have! my current game is 4/43 and was started 4/2012... The first six months of game play can be brutal. I keep picking up tips by reading the forums and aars.

[wneumann]

+1 Hans

It's very helpful establishing a routine sequence of actions to follow while playing each game turn. For the most part it matters less what step(s) are done first, the important thing is not skipping anything that needs to be done. Following a routine each game turn ensures you will at least look at everything whether or not there is something that has to be done with it in that particular turn.

[Treetop64]

My experience is that, by far, the biggest help is simply asking in this forum. The people here are all too happy to help, and are extremely knowledgeable.

It took me more than a year of playing the grand campaign (a few times, lol...) in the first version (non-AE) of WitP to begin getting a comfortable grip on things. As other have already stated, you just have to dive in and find your own style of play, learn from the many mistakes that you will inevitably make, and learn the fundamentals at the same time. It just takes time and a lot of patience.

[rockmedic109]

You learn more from your mistakes than your successes.

[topeverest]

Way back in the stone age, when I had hair and was young, I jumped right into PBEM with a gracious opponent who explained concepts I didn't understand. Oh, and I hard copied the rules and repeatedly read them for months on end. You will gain critical mass one step at a time.