Matrix Games Forums

Widow maker. My playing partner is a retired French fighter pilot. Yesterday he said He and his pretty wife were going to the Beach for the weekend(french riviera). Ok so I will watch some football games.

730am I get a turn from Harry. I guess he is tired of looking at the movie stars at the Casino.

LOL

Really you get to meet players all over the planet. And we all share our life history and personal stories w/ each other.

I live in Alabama and I like to play europeans because of the time difference.. they sleep while I make a turn and I sleep while they make a turn. 7hour time differential. Harder to play someone near to your location.

Also you need to think about 2 day turns which will speed the game.

WITP/AE is very time consuming at the beginning: I needed 6 months just to understand the basics of the game. Usually, first turn of PBEM, for larger scenarios, takes hours to set up properly.
Next turns take lesser time, usually I spend 15-30 min for "standard" turns, more if I had to plan a major operation.

Thanks everyone for the help... pushing me towards buying. Question though about screen resolution - my monitor is 1920 x 1200 - does WITPAE open at that native resolution or just 1024 x 768? I fired up UV again and it looks very 'blocky' at 1024 x 768 on my monitor. Wouldn't want to get WITPAE if it doesn't look good at higher resolutions.

Thanks

Don't be pushed! JUMP! JUMP! [:D]

ORIGINAL: b whittle

Thanks everyone for the help... pushing me towards buying. Question though about screen resolution - my monitor is 1920 x 1200 - does WITPAE open at that native resolution or just 1024 x 768? I fired up UV again and it looks very 'blocky' at 1024 x 768 on my monitor. Wouldn't want to get WITPAE if it doesn't look good at higher resolutions.

Thanks

Not 100% sure about 1920x1200, but there are switches for different resolutions. I've got it at 1600x900, there are some slight issues with the combat replay (a part of the screen jumps up and down a bit), but no real problems.

The native resolution is 1024X768, but there are command line switches to change the resolution to anything your monitor can handle.  The switches were added in a patch, so you will need to patch up to the latest version to get the capability.

If you have a dual (or more) core processor, there are some bugs in DirectX that may cause the computer to run the game slowly.  From the first patch on there are some command line switches to speed the game back up. 

Bill

ORIGINAL: b whittle

Thanks everyone for the help... pushing me towards buying. Question though about screen resolution - my monitor is 1920 x 1200 - does WITPAE open at that native resolution or just 1024 x 768? I fired up UV again and it looks very 'blocky' at 1024 x 768 on my monitor. Wouldn't want to get WITPAE if it doesn't look good at higher resolutions.

Thanks

I'm running at that resolution.

WITP has support for modern resolutions.

The regulars of this forum have now seen maybe 30-50 good folks like yourself who "had to be sold"..


Look around this forum. The rare commodity would be a post from somebody who did not like the game, and considering half of us are cantankerous historical grognards and self-appointed critics, that is saying a lot.
(For us, they threw in the game editor to shut us up.)[8D]

I do turns in about 15-20 minutes and I usually do something else during the five minutes or so the turn is being resolved (I have all animations off and messages set to minimum). Of course, once in a while I'll take care of things like pilot training or setting up an invasion fleet which boost the time required. If you're a perfectionist and need to optimize your assets 100% every turn, then you wouldn't want to get this game unless you are retired.

Cheers,
CC

Slightly OT but are you any relation to Sir Frank Whittle ?

b whittle -

I bought UV and then WiTP when they first came out. Was really excited about WiTP, but overwhelmed (to put it mildly) by the mass of detail on map. I am a detailed kind of guy, and would spend hours going over the map, checking each base and task force one at a time. Read the rules several times, but still did not have a very firm grasp on how to play. This was tough - I wanted to play and go forward so badly that I could taste it; but was not sure what to do with, or where to send all the forces.

Fortunately I had enough sense to peruse the forums and read what others had learned and how they played or delt with each aspect of the game. This was critical, because it kept my interest up and wanting to learn more. It is not possible to over emphasize how important it is to at least read the forums on a regular basis; and to ask for help when needed. The men and women (Gräfin Zeppelin; Tone Class Fangirl!) on the AE forum have been, in my experience, very knowledgeable, willing to help and patiently answer all of my questions. As time went on I began to play the smaller scenarios, which, as other posters have mentioned, are faster paced and require significantly less time to play.

What really helped me make the breakthrough the mass of detail and move on to playing WiTP was a utility called WiTP Tracker. Tracker is an outstanding tool that tells you practically anything about everything in an easy to use, logical format. If I wanted to know which bases were low on supplies or if my Japanese engine production matched airframe production - it was there at my fingertips. Tracker - for me - gave me the ability to know who was where and doing what. This enabled me to focus on playing the game instead of spending time looking all over the map, trying to figure out where everybody was. Since that point there has been no looking back.

AE is a major quantum leap and improvement over the original WiTP. As outstanding as AE is, the quality and flexibility of the game design gives a good basis for the Modding community to work with; there are a number of excellent modifications that enhance and / or give a different flavor to the stock game.

Time: I play weekends only; it may take multiple weekends to set up (as the Japanese) for the campaign game - but this is unimportant as I love every minute of it. AE offers a level of detail and historical immersion that is second to none; not to mention being highly addictive. If you are not interested in spending significant time on each turn, take heart in the fact that there are many other players who can turn out multiple turns in one day - it's all a matter of personal style and preference. No matter your style of play, help is at hand on the forum.

As for cost - I respectfully submit that what most of us spend on food, drink or entertainment in a week will exceed the cost of AE. AE has a much higher return in playing enjoyment and the sheer thrill of spreading peace and good will across the pacific - my way<grin>

Hope you will join us,

AE loyalist Mac

I've purchased many, many computer games. None have given me the hours of enjoyment as this one. And that includes several Matrix ones.

AW1Steve,
&nbsp;
I agree.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
I'll tell you how good AE is, I was not even interested in the Pacific War, till I played this game.&nbsp; Have always been more of a European Theater wargamer, but this game is like a drug, the more you play, the more you learn, the more you want to play.&nbsp; It is has a lot of hidden depth.

ORIGINAL: b whittle

Been lurking for ages & very seriously interested in buying.... but it's a huge amount for a 'game' and need some persuading.

My big worry is that you can't enjoy this game without giving up half (or more) of your life to it, which I can't afford.

So a question - can you start small and truly enjoy WITPAE without having to give 3 hours to one turn? I haven't got the space in my life for hours of micromanagement and worry my £70 would be wasted. I enjoy serious war games & chess & learning new things & history, so there's hope. But I bought UV and never really clicked with it.....

Must say that part of my problem is that this forum makes me think I must be missing something great. Am I?

Thanks....

BW

BW , your post sounds similar to my experience when I first purchased UV. I bought the game and played it for a few days and thought this game doesn't do it for me and sold it. A short few months later I realized I didn't put the proper time in to getting to know the tools and inteface so I could enjoy it. I bought UV again learned everything I needed to know to enjoy it and Uncommon Valor became my go to game for years. The game was so must have I still have two copies as I bought the game 3 times. [:)] For me nothing on the market is even close to Admirals Edition but if you've put time in to UV and it isn't your cup of tea I'd be surprised if you'd like AE even as good a purchase as it is for most buyers.

Titles like AE, WITP, UV and WPO, the more time you put into it the better the gaming experience, IMO.


Good luck on your next purchase!

Hi All - very many thanks for your kind, generous and encouraging responses. This is a special forum.

After all the fond praise for this game I jumped and am now at the foot hills of Everest. (Looks cool - if rather intimidating - on a wide screen with the alt font!) Even if it doesn't turn out to be my cup of tea, I had to try. I think I had the same experience as SulSea with UV - didn't give it enough time and didn't get used to the terminology and UI. The UI is really different from any other game I've played and clearly needs time.

So, I've discovered the tutorial thread and am getting started. If there are any hints how to digest this mammoth slowly in small chunks without the indigestion then I'm all ears.

Thanks again ........much appreciated...

PS - no I'm not a relative of Frank Whittle, but as a Brit engineer with an interest in aero-engines I am a fan...

Congratulations on the purchase. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

1000 mile war is an excellent scenario to learn the controls w/ a low unit density.
Guadacanal in an excellent scenario to learn how to develop a campaign w/i a theatre.
AE is about x8 Guadacanal.

Enjoy the game b Whittle, dont expect everything to work out from the start. Expect to loose a lot at start - and enjoy the learning process.

ORIGINAL: b whittle
So, I've discovered the tutorial thread and am getting started. If there are any hints how to digest this mammoth slowly in small chunks without the indigestion then I'm all ears.

I'm a newbie, too, having just purchased the game several weeks ago, so what do I know? None the less...

After a quick run through of the Coral Sea scenario, where I didn't know at all what the heck I was doing, I am now slowly playing through the Aleutians scenario. I try this, I try that, I read a little of the manual here, a little there, then go back to playing.

I'll be tinkering and experimenting with the small scenarios for a good while longer, I figure.

I let all the combat animations play out. It's both fun and enlightening.

I have tried skimming through the printed manual, skipping over the sections (like production) that don't apply to me yet (playing the scenarios as I now do).

I am about to read (not skim) through the manual, making a real effort to digest and reflect on all the material. Having played with the game the past week or two, I will understand better the reading matter. I figure on reading through the manual several times before I digest it all.

So, back and forth, game to manual, manual back to game. Little by little, step by step.

In many ways, this is like learning a new programming language. It will be months before I feel comfortable with it. Patience and persistence are my bywords.

I'll get around to using the game aids (like the Tracker program) sooner or later.

Very important to me, both to deepen my understanding of the game mechanics, also to motivate my interest over the long haul: My bedtime reading is about the Pacific War, in all aspects, but especially areas (like air combat) I have glossed over before. (I already know a good deal about Pacific War land combat.) After my current read, "Bombers Over Japan," next up on my reading list is Eric Bergerud's "Fire in the Sky."

So far, I'm having a blast. My only regret is that, as expected, WITP:AE is leaving me no time to play HPS American Civil War (and Musket & Pike). In a way, it feels like bigamy, and I'm cheating on my wife #1!

Way back in the days of Avalon Hill, I read an article in the General about the philosophy of game design.&nbsp; There are a number of factors to balance: look and feel, ease of learning, re-playability, etc.&nbsp; AE is not easy to learn, and the look and feel is a bit different from other games, but it is extremely high in re-playability.&nbsp; Especially the longer scenarios/campaigns.

Bill