Pacific War: Matrix Edition

[Dgold]

Hi Folks,

If you are getting impatient for the Pacific War version of Warplan, may I suggest that you download the free PC game: Pacific War:Matrix Edition.

This was a DOS game from 1994, which I played a lot, but quit because it had serious bugs that were never fixed.
You can get the game at this Matrix forum: https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4644218

This game has weekly turns, with 100 mile hexes. It has a huge amount of detail and a decent AI. Both sides enter orders, then the game executes both sets of orders at the same time, so your plans often go wrong. The graphics are pixellated, but the map has been improved.

Some of the people who worked on the original design are currently working to fix the bugs and improve the game - Rich Dionne has created V 3.2.15 now, with more versions to come.

When you download the *.zip file, extract it to a directory. When you run the batch file to start the game, DOSBOX will be automatically loaded. It works fine on my Windows 10 setup. When the game starts, hit ALT+Enter to maximize the game window.

This game is quite a bit different from the planned Pacific version of Warplan, so it is not competition. I plan on buying the new Pacific Warplan.

Give it a go!

[AlvaroSousa]

I loved that game.

[sveint]

I used to play it quite a bit but it has really aged.

I don't think it's worth getting into if you've never played it before.

[RFalvo69]

ORIGINAL: sveint

I used to play it quite a bit but it has really aged.

I don't think it's worth getting into if you've never played it before.

I always felt that 1 week turns gave to the Pacific War a more realistic "tempo" than WitP:AE's 1 day turns. During the real war plans were debated, developed, discarded... orders were sent and had to be properly understood... In WitP:AE all of this happens in a sort of "non time" between days. 1 week, IMHO, still remains the best choice to represent this specific war's decision cycle.

[Jim D Burns]

ORIGINAL: RFalvo69
I always felt that 1 week turns gave to the Pacific War a more realistic "tempo" than WitP:AE's 1 day turns.

It all depends on how you try to simulate carrier warfare in game. A battle like Midway was intense on a minute by minute scale as search aircraft, fuel limits and equipment malfunctions left everyone on a knifes edge all afternoon. The battle could have gone either way had any small detail on either side leading up to the first sighting of ships by a strike group gone a different way. US planes were extremely short on fuel and could have turned back without a strike, the Japanese plane with a radio malfunction might have repaired their radio, etc. etc. An abstract game will never give you that kind of intensity for your carrier fights, so some want a more detailed combat system that requires shorter turn lengths.

I find WitP AE's 1 day turns too long in that if a morning strike misses your fleet, they keep sailing along their order route as if nothing just happened and must undergo an evening strike and a potential night intercept before they can change orders. I think a near real time hourly pulse system that the player can interrupt to inject orders when needed would be better suited to that game.

It's been so long since I played Pac War I no longer recall the details of its combat systems, so I can't comment on that game.