ORIGINAL: Moltrey
Pavel01:
From one (relatively) new player to another - You really need to:
1). Check your expectations baggage at the WITP:AE "door". Tactical thinking and logic breakdowns in a Grand Strategic game rarely pan out like you think they should.
2). Remind yourself every time you sit down and start up the game that you are Admiral Nimitz (more or less). You have VERY little control over outcomes once the hounds of war are released. Which, I should add, is the way it SHOULD BE.
3). Learn to accept that even with AE being the "2nd Edition", the Devs still had to make many decisions as to how detailed and accurate the game could be. Compromises were made. Some things were never finished and never will be.
4). Yes, it stinks, but realize that with all the warts it has, WITP:AE is still by far the best simulation of the Pacific War available.
5). While there are a lot of things in AE I would like to see added or completed, there is no other competition at this level of detail and immersion.
I find it a very rewarding game that requires a hefty sacrifice in time and mindset in order to appreciate fully. You can get there too, just don't let your preconceived notions ruin it for you.
This is some of the best advice you could ever get.
As I guy who started wargaming on board games in the 70's it took me years to understand the structure and nuance of land combat. I had HUGE expectations regarding Combat Odds. After all, just about every wargame I had ever played had relied upon the odds to determine the combat results.
In this game, the combat results (meaning casualties taken) are determined by the organic devices of the LCUs firing back and forth at each other. The ODDS shown in the Combat Report are only calculated AFTER the firing is done and casualties are taken and is are only used to determine if forts are reduced and if retreats are forced.
Took years and years for me to fully accept.
Now, I simply love the nuances of land combat. The need to monitor and judge morale, disruption and fatigue, when to attack, when to rest. How and where to recover disablements. How to plan and execute successful invasions, especially against atolls.
All things that are grasped and mastered through repeated experimentation. You can come here for all the advice you want, but there is no substitute for logging hours of gameplay.
