So is that Game in Truly Final Form yet?

[Anthropoid]

I keep trying to zoom in so I can see the little soldiers and stuff [:D]

So I started one using the "Ironman" scenario as US, Very Hard, my reinforcements highly variable, his not, my torpedoes suck, his not, maybe one or two other settings to give the AI a fighting chance. My recollection from WiTP is that the AI simply cannot match my strategic and tactical (and logistical!) brilliance [:D]. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised and he'll prove to be a serious threat for the first year or so.

Course WiTPAE is a lot more than WiTP, so I may well mess myself up by failing to take advantage of this or that extra feature.

My recollection from WiTP is that the first turn is the long haul turn. Getting the whole half-planet of bases and units set like you want. I finished my Dec 8 Luzon retreat to Bataan last night and figure I'll try to get the rest of Philippines done today, then move on to Borneo and Indonesia, micronesia, etc. My basic strategy will be to run away, turtle up, steward fuel and supplies to key locations and get myself reorganized trying as much as possible to avoid losses and reconcentrating all moveable forces to key defensive positions. Pretty much standard allied strategy for first 6 months I suppose.

Also seem to recall that, turning EVERY base to "do not stockpile, do not repair, do not expand, do not do ANYTHING!, and then manually tuning stockpiling, repairing, etc. on only for the bases you want that way. Be curious to hear what ya'll say about that.

I'm seeing that U.S. seems to have industrial production in WiTPAE!? Holy cow, I didn't even know that! Well that is gonna be interesting [:)]

One is always tempted when reencountering such complex information sets to do something insane like, pick up and read the manual . . . hmmmm, maybe but that is just a bit too radical for me.

[rockmedic109]

First turn takes me about 8 hours. I have a lot of practice with restarts[:(].

I like The Babes scenario with the standard map. Playing as Allies against IJAI seems to work. Was shocked to find a 30,000 troop invasion of NE Australia {there are a number of AI gameplans that the AI chooses from at the start of the game}.

I don't do the global changes....worried that I'll screw something up.

I think the allied industrial production is something so that plants can retool for newer planes as the game progresses.....and maybe to give the Japanese something to bomb. I haven't done anything with them and I am not sure anything cane be done with them.

A word of advice....find the ships that withdraw and STOP ANY UPGRADES!!!! You do not want a RN Battlewagon to go into the yard for a long overhaul and refit a week before they are supposed to be withdrawn.

My manual advice would be to read it once, knowing that you're going to forget a lot of it, then keep it in the bathroom. Then, every time nature calls, go through a section or six {depending on what you ate}. You can then change your eating habits based on your knowledge of the game.

[sventhebold]

Poid. You have to know this group of gamers are some of the friendliest you will ever find and only a very few are vile or poisonous. We have a very open community of diehard grognards that are used to being beaten about the feet and ankles by this hopeless addiction we call WITP AE. Misery is our lot in life and we struggle to defeat the foe. Not only do we talk about the game and its shortcomings we also talk about other things of important and unimportant value. And there is no question too dumb that some other poor soul will not try to help you with. I daily look foreward to the reports of others to inflame/excite/confuse and inspire my efforts at this game and life in general. Remember just one more turn is all I ask and you will be hooked for life.[:D]

[wdolson]

ORIGINAL: rockmedic109

First turn takes me about 8 hours. I have a lot of practice with restarts[:(].

I like The Babes scenario with the standard map. Playing as Allies against IJAI seems to work. Was shocked to find a 30,000 troop invasion of NE Australia {there are a number of AI gameplans that the AI chooses from at the start of the game}.

I don't do the global changes....worried that I'll screw something up.

I think the allied industrial production is something so that plants can retool for newer planes as the game progresses.....and maybe to give the Japanese something to bomb. I haven't done anything with them and I am not sure anything cane be done with them.

A word of advice....find the ships that withdraw and STOP ANY UPGRADES!!!! You do not want a RN Battlewagon to go into the yard for a long overhaul and refit a week before they are supposed to be withdrawn.

My manual advice would be to read it once, knowing that you're going to forget a lot of it, then keep it in the bathroom. Then, every time nature calls, go through a section or six {depending on what you ate}. You can then change your eating habits based on your knowledge of the game.

If the ships are upgrading in a port where you can withdraw, you can still withdraw while they are upgrading.

Bill

[Anthropoid]

Cool beans gentlemen.

I think I was in one list or another and told it "no automatic upgrades," so I should be good to go on that. I did play the game for a couple days when it first came out, and at that time I was quite up on all the rules in WiTP, so I suspect it will be a bit like riding a bike.

But I'm already seeing a lot of little things that perplex and which are not easily deciphered by clickety-clicking through the interface, and would generally be a pain to locate in the manual:

I'm told no question is too stupid (even though I have veritably refused to read the manual! [:D]) so here goes, :

1. I recall using AKs to transport troops, albeit with a very inefficient use of space. I've got some old tubs scattered around the Philippines and would like to concentrate pretty much ALL my available troops in the area (as well as any supply, and fuel I can cart off) in Bataan. But so far I haven't found a freighter that can carry troops. Is there an indicator on the unit screen (when there are not troops in the hex to pick up) about whether its cargo capacity includes troops? I'm guessing some AKs can and some cannot carry passengers?

2. The difference between Disband and Withdraw. My recollection is: disband destroys that unit and its identity and you never get it back, though you do get some political points and/or other 'pay back' in the form of resources, manpower or something? Withdraw represents putting the unit into a strategic reserve in which it will come back into use in a period of time.

However, I'm not sure really (a) why one would want to do either of those, nor (b) how it is realistic that I can put a squadron in Luzon into "Withdraw" and *poof* they disappear, and later magically *poof* reappear in San Francisco . . . or if rather (c) it can only come back OUT of withdrawal if the base where it was withdrawn is still allied owned.

3. HQ organizations, wooph, had completely forgotten about that and memory is very fuzzy. Wanted to transfer a couple of B-17 squadrons in USAFFE to Darwin but couldn't, realized it was the HQ thing, so I switched both those B-17 units to Australia Command.

4. If memory serves, the best overall strategy is to switch UNITs (squadrons, battalions, brigades, etc.) and NOT to try to switch bases (at least not too many of them, or at least not until well into the war) because there simply are not enough points to switch lots of bases? I do seem to recall that as you progress, there are a couple of "new" organizations that you can start using (South Pacific and Central Pacific or something like that?) to better coordinate your offensive ops and political points go way up?

5. Do land units use fuel, or is it only air and naval?

6. Strategic movement = rail movement, and I'm guessing you only get so many points worth to use per turn?

Even if you guys vaguely remember where to look in the manual for clarification on those I appreciate it.

I DID read the manual 75% or so back in the day, and I believe the soporifia it caused might have been part of why I shelved the game for 3 years and turned my attention to Minecraft [:'(]

ADDIT: One more question:

7. Honestly I gave up on installing the beta patch for now. I'm a bit burnt out on installing stuff (been learning some C++ and THAT involves tremendous amounts of installing apps) as well as reinstalling all my old games. I may get around to it eventually, but it sounds like the bugs it fixes are fairly minor.

The only major 'bug' (but in this case actually more of an 'imbalance') I knew of back when I first got and played the game was that something was very badly out of whack in China whenever the human played Allies. I forget now if Japan just tended to mow through China like a hot knife through butter or if it was the other way around. Hell I might even be confusing it with some other game like Arsenal of Democracy.

I'm guessing any such major singleplayer game balance issues were long ago discussed ad nauseum and corrected to the satisfaction of the general consensus even without the unofficial beta patch that Micheal so kindly produced?

[rockmedic109]

ORIGINAL: wdolson

ORIGINAL: rockmedic109

First turn takes me about 8 hours. I have a lot of practice with restarts[:(].

I like The Babes scenario with the standard map. Playing as Allies against IJAI seems to work. Was shocked to find a 30,000 troop invasion of NE Australia {there are a number of AI gameplans that the AI chooses from at the start of the game}.

I don't do the global changes....worried that I'll screw something up.

I think the allied industrial production is something so that plants can retool for newer planes as the game progresses.....and maybe to give the Japanese something to bomb. I haven't done anything with them and I am not sure anything cane be done with them.

A word of advice....find the ships that withdraw and STOP ANY UPGRADES!!!! You do not want a RN Battlewagon to go into the yard for a long overhaul and refit a week before they are supposed to be withdrawn.

My manual advice would be to read it once, knowing that you're going to forget a lot of it, then keep it in the bathroom. Then, every time nature calls, go through a section or six {depending on what you ate}. You can then change your eating habits based on your knowledge of the game.

If the ships are upgrading in a port where you can withdraw, you can still withdraw while they are upgrading.

Bill

So <putting on my dunce cap> I lost several hundred political points out of stupidity.

Thanks for the info Bill. I try to learn something new every day and it seems I've not only learned
this but that my head has a hole in it and I am leaking brain cells.[:D]

[rustysi]

Wow poid, lots of questions. for now let me just say RTFM[:D] Seriously though I don't have time now, but I'll be back when I can to try and help.

[Anthropoid]

Ah, I just spotted the pdf version of the manual in my directories, so looks like reading it in full is not necessary, using the marvel of the Ctrl-F technology.

1. AKs as troop transports

Okay, table 6.3.2.3.1 SHIP TYPE CARRYING ABILITY TABLE: says that AK, and xAK (I think the one's I was using are xAK) CAN carry troops, so I guess it was something else. Maybe not enough space.

2. The difference between Disband and Withdraw.

Disbanding means that pilots and aircraft are distributed to another group at the same location
and which is equipped with the same aircraft model. Disbanding is the same as withdrawing
except that the pilots are also merged with the unit that received the aircraft. Once a unit is
disbanded or withdrawn, the computer will attempt to rebuild the unit again. This will be done
60 days after a withdrawal and 120 days after a disbanding. Planes and any needed pilots for
this rebuilding of the unit will come from the replacement pool. When Carriers are sent off map,
their aircraft will be placed in the replacement pool and will be available as replacements. The
pilots will remain with the air groups on the Carriers. When Carriers are recommitted to the
map after they have had their aircraft placed in the replacement pool, they will attempt to refill
their air groups from the replacement pool. Ship-based air groups (apart from fragments) are
not allowed to disband.

3. HQ organizations & 4. HQ reorg strategies

Section 9.5 COMMAND ORGANIZATION OF BASES is just about half a page, so any suggestions on additional reading about organizational strategy is appreciated.

5. Do land units use fuel, or is it only air and naval?

13.2.1.5 SUPPLY PRODUCTION
Supplies - Supplies represent all of the different materials required to maintain fighting units
(ground and air) in the field including food, ammunition, gasoline and aviation fuel.

Ah, okay. So only naval units use fuel. Supplies covers gasoline and avgas.

6. Strategic movement:

Quite a few references to it as a form of off-map movement, but this seems to answer my question:

8.3.1.1 MOVEMENT ALONG RAILWAY LINES
When both a railway and a road connect two adjacent hexes, land units moving between the
two hexes, and that are NOT in Strategic mode, will use the movement rate of the road. Units
MUST be using Strategic movement to use the railway movement rates.

So it is basically rail based movement, which I'd assume is faster than road based in general?

[alimentary]

ORIGINAL: Anthropoid

So it [strategic movement] is basically rail based movement, which I'd assume is faster than road based in general?

Much faster. Units normally take days or even weeks to cross a single hex. With strategic movement on roads you get 2-3 hexes per day. Minor rail is 5 hexes per day with an occasional 6 hex move. Major rail is 10 hexes per day.

There are no railroad capacity limits.

[Quixote]

7. Honestly I gave up on installing the beta patch for now. I'm a bit burnt out on installing stuff (been learning some C++ and THAT involves tremendous amounts of installing apps) as well as reinstalling all my old games. I may get around to it eventually, but it sounds like the bugs it fixes are fairly minor.

Welcome back Anthropoid. Two things regarding your above point.
1. Installing the Beta is ridiculously easy, whether you are computer savvy or not (and it sounds like you are.) It may take you all of three minutes to get the beta up and running.
2. The fixes are beyond minor. It's absolutely worth playing with vs the AI, and also worth playing with to get prepared for a PBEM game, as probably 80% of PBEM players use the beta these days. "Beta" here is deceptive. It's very stable, fixes hundreds of known bugs, and is still (miraculously) regularly supported and updated. I remember you from the WitP forum. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra few minutes installing the beta - it's worth it.

[Anthropoid]

Okay thanks for all the responses guys.

Finally got the Beta patch running and the game booting up like I want it (fullscreen 1024 x 768 resolution), so I think I'm off to the races for real now!