Production questions; and beaches.

[Grotius]

I've returned to the game after a break, and I'm enjoying it. But I have some questions about production and the economy.

1. On the production screen, some fields are separated by a | . E.g., I see for the UK "Production 64 | 1". Or Manpower x | y %. Or Oil 162 | 55%. What do the second numbers mean? The manual does not explain this, or if did, I missed it.

2. The manual mentions a maximum number of oil silos. Where do I find this? Is this the 55% I mentioned in my first question?

3. How is a country's production calculated? I tried to figure this out looking at a small country, New Zealand. It has an Iron Ore that produces 5 production, and a city with 1 production, I think. For a total of 6. I see on the convoy screen that NZ sends 2 production to the UK, I think -- though the mouseover on the destination "flags"says "allied." (Which allies? How do I tell? Can I somehow follow its route on the map?) So that would seem like a net of 4 production -- 6 on the map minus 2 sent to the UK. But the Production Screen says NZ produces 3 units -- and that's after its economy multiplier of 1.31. Shouldn't it be 4 times the production multiplier of 1.3, or 5 total production?

4. Why does Japan start with so little oil? Historically they had a six-month stockpile. Is WPP's 3-turn stockpile designed to put more pressure on the Japanese player? I see AARs where Japan attacks the Dutch East Indies all-out to get that oil by turn 3. But this means diverting resources from the Philippines and other historical targets. (Also, the US oil stockpile seems low too.)

5. I like the idea of "beach" hexes. (They're the hexes with little green landing craft depicted on them, right?) This gives you a spot to unload, rather than right on top of the island or target. Can you do both? Land on the beach and directly on top of the target island? Which is a better spot to land on -- a beach or an enemy coastline?

Thanks in advance!

[AlvaroSousa]

#1 PP/SR (strategic resources), Oil is the stockpile and how close it is to maximum.

#2 Oil Silos—Each country has a limited amount of oil they can refine into fuel and store based on the total
of a base of 200 plus (production + base oil production) X economic multiple. A country has a minimum
of 200 oil silos

#3 Total PP in X economic multiple X (# of SRs X 1%). PP lend leased doesn't count toward this calculation. That is given off the stockpile of the lending country. If your reseources is not connected via main supply you need to transport it. It automatically happens using MMs (merchant marines). Minor countries give a portion of their resources to the major controller and keep some for themselves. Minor countries that also generate oil keep enough to supply their units when they need to. Everything is automated. What you just have to do is make sure the major power has enough MMs to supply it all. On the main production screen to the right it tells you how many MMs are in use of how many you have total. You want the green MM count to be higher than the "in use" count. This way if you get convoy attacked you have extra. Keep building till you have a health amount that can withstand convoy attacks. Also build escorts. The whole system has been tested and debugged over 2 years. It works.

#4 In naval warfare you can't do everything all at once. While they had 18m of oil this didn't mean all ships moving all the time every where. This was for planned operations they laid out. As the Japanese player you need to manage your oil the first turn. You can land in the DEI, Borneo, and the Phillipines at the same time. There are posts on how to do it if you don't want to figure it out yourself. But it is the strategy process of playing the game. If you get Borneo it should help a lot.

#5 Landing on a coast (invadable land tile) is better than a beach. Beaches and landing zones, which are basically beaches, are the only place you can land and attack a single hex island. Realize that some islands, like in the Solomons, can be invaded but there is no way off of them.

These games are simulations based on history. They are not historical simulations. It allows a lot of flexibility and some "what ifs" that are beyong realism making some intelligent assumptions due to hindsight. They are meant to have fun not recreate history. So look at the game that way. If you play the A.I. it is better to play as the Allies. The Allied planning is increibly complex and the A.I. scripts have a hard time with it. Even in WitP the human player has to make some house rules not to mess up the Allied A.I.

[Grotius]

Alvaro, thanks for that helpful reply, and thanks for making such a cool game! I appreciate the advice on merchant marine. And I'm following your advice, playing the Allies against the Japanese AI. The AI is doing quite well so far. Also, I like your philosophy about making the game interesting and fun. I think it's an excellent idea to put oil pressure on both Japan and the US. It makes the game more challenging and interesting to play.

Your comments on minor-country production help me understand their numbers: I guess some of the production sources I see on-map are being sent to the Allies. The manual, on p. 25, says this is 50% of the minor's resources and all its oil, and that helps me understand New Zealand's numbers.

But can you help me understand the production numbers for China, which has a production of 63? I'm near the start of the game, and I see five Chinese cities that produce a total of 55 production (Changsha, Chengtu, Chungking, Lanchow, Kunming). I see an iron ore location, for another 3 production, for a total of 58. China also has a biofuel field with 4 oil production, but the chart on page 56 says biofuel doesn't count as production -- just oil. China has an Agriculture that adds 1% to its Production. If the biofuel *does* count toward production, then that makes some sense -- 62 production, plus 1% for the agriculture, or a total of 63. But even then I'm confused, because the econ modifier for China is 1.32. Whether China's base production is 58 or 62, once we multiply by 1.32 and add the 1% for agriculture, shouldn't the final production be much more than 63?

Incidentally, a city with a green circle that says "5" but has no production, like Urmuchi, produces only morale and manpower, right? Wellington is another example.

I know I'm being too fussy about this. My apologies. I didn't play the first WarPlan, so I'm new. Understanding the numbers helps me understand the relative importance of various production centers and resources. Thanks again for giving us such a great game.

[AlvaroSousa]

Oil does not count as production and isn't influenced by economic multiple. It is a raw production

Let's go over with the 1941 start game China Production.

China gets 48 from it's resources X (1.31 + .01) = 62.
Communist China gets 10 of the resources in China. They are a minor power. But they have no way to transport it to China by the normal rules so they keep it for themselves. That is how I got the work around for that country.

You were adding Nationalist and Communist China together for production.

Yes green #s are only moral/manpower

Glad you like the game. WP2 will be even better.

[Grotius]

Thanks, your answer clears up all my questions! Doh, I forgot that Lanchow is in Communist China. And yes, 48 * (1.31 + .01) is 63, which is the number I see on the Production screen. It all adds up. Great!

My error on Communist China reminds me: I do sometimes have trouble discerning ownership with the ownership toggle on, especially as between Japan and the UK. In WP2, would you consider making Japanese-controlled hexes red? (I'm used to red-Japan from World in Flames and WITP/AE, lol.) Right now Japan's yellow looks very close to the UK khaki. If red doesn't work, maybe the UK could be blue and the USA bright green or something?

And yes, I'm loving the game. Last night I had a long play session and I felt like I was making big decisions, not trivial ones. Just the feeling I want. I look forward to WP2!

[AlvaroSousa]

Originally I tried red. It clashes with the USSR. I went through a lot of color schemes for the game.

I play WiF also.

[Grotius]

Yes, I noticed that you've talked about doing WiF-style sea zones for WP2, but with a Patrol box, Bombardment box, etc. A terrific idea! One of WiF's greatest innovations is its sea boxes.

Will you be releasing the fantasy-style game you're doing to road-test WP2's engine, or is it for your internal playtesting purposes only?

[AlvaroSousa]

There will be a beta test for it likely later this year.

WP2 is going to use hexes again with abstract sea zones like WP1. I found ways to improve it.

I found the sea zones too difficult to work with the current model and I don't want to reinvent the wheel.

[Grotius]

Sounds great! Good luck with the fantasy game; I will certainly check it out. WP2 will be an insta-buy for me.