Matrix Games Forums

Seems that AI script is one that is aggressive in SW Pacific.

Dereck wrote: Fri Oct 03, 2025 12:55 pm

PaxMondo wrote: Tue Sep 30, 2025 9:36 pm

Dereck wrote: Tue Sep 30, 2025 5:35 pm
Since the Japanese are able to advance their invasions 3-4 months ahead of historical timelines but I'm stuck with historical timelines for my reinforcements I really don't have a choice but to let the Japanese have Port Moresby.

This "advancement" only happens if the player allows it to. Not a criticism of your play or anything like it. But the AI is a script based AI, meaning, the PM script only fires when a bunch of others have completed ... so, if you use a Sir Robin defense initially, then the AI will get ahead of history. If you fight for every inch, you can get the AI to be behind history. IF you fight TOO good, then you can break the AI completely ... its a tight rope.

In general, playing as the allies against IJ AI, you want the AI to be able to run through its historical acquisition scripts without too much interference. Once those are done, then the AI is MUCH less susceptible to breaking. The defending scripts and counter-attack scripts are much more resilient.

When you plan as the IJ against the allied AI, you will find the AI to be very resilient ... it rarely breaks as the game starts with the AI on defense, and the offensive scripts don't start until much later. And when they do want to start, depending upon what you're done, the conditions may not exist for them to start. Keeping the momentum in IJ's favor keeps the AI working on defense ...

I don't want to sound unappreciative of your post but I don't buy it that it's my fault.

I keep notebooks of my moves (and even have the last two from 2012 and 2013) which I was following. The AI started it's interest in Port Moresby in mid-to-late December 1941 with their battleship task force hanging around it and even going into Cairns. I also had a Japanese cruiser force try to circumnavigate Australia (which I intercepted and, after some mauling, sunk all but a destroyer).

The only Sir Robin I was doing was with merchant shipping, especially from PI. Other than that I didn't have time to do anything but hunker down and wait for the assaults to come.

So, as far as I am aware I haven't changed anything different from the last time I played (in 2013) but a newer version of the exe. So maybe the AI chose a different AI script to follow it never has before. Either way it is making me scramble and makes for an interesting game.

Sorry, didn't mean to suggest "fault" to anyone, just letting you know how things work. That this is a custom mod using stock AI scripts changes everything. Not knowing what was changed, please ignore my entire response.


Enjoy your game.

PaxMondo wrote: Sat Oct 04, 2025 12:43 pm
Sorry, didn't mean to suggest "fault" to anyone, just letting you know how things work. That this is a custom mod using stock AI scripts changes everything. Not knowing what was changed, please ignore my entire response.


Enjoy your game.

No, I won't ignore your message. You had some very good insights that I would be wise to keep in mind so I thank you very much for that.

I made these changes wither back in 2012 for WITP:AE or most likely carried them over from the original WITP (which I researched about a year for before I even started playing). If I remember right I know I added ships (using Morrison's History of the US Navy in WW2 I found a number of ships he had listed which weren't in the game and I added some HQs - mostly US Naval Districts on the West Coast, Canal Zone and Hawaii). I also specifically split every division into their historical regiments since I hate saying A Regiment of some division.

I didn't touch the Japanese at all.

So, once again, thank you for your insights and I do apologize if I sounded like I didn't appreciate your insights.

About Regiments and Divisions:
Inf. Rgts are relatively lightly armed but when 3 are combined into a Division the TOE changes and the Division gets Artillery, AA, Combat Engineers and/or Engineers and a Divisional HQ that shows up as more Support. I think there could be more Motorized Support as well.
So when the Division is again split the Regiments get some of the extra TOE from the Division and that makes them the equivalent of Regimental Combat Teams (Brigades in other armies). Continuing to call them Regiments is misleading about their true firepower.

BBfanboy wrote: Sat Oct 04, 2025 5:52 pm About Regiments and Divisions:
Inf. Rgts are relatively lightly armed but when 3 are combined into a Division the TOE changes and the Division gets Artillery, AA, Combat Engineers and/or Engineers and a Divisional HQ that shows up as more Support. I think there could be more Motorized Support as well.
So when the Division is again split the Regiments get some of the extra TOE from the Division and that makes them the equivalent of Regimental Combat Teams (Brigades in other armies). Continuing to call them Regiments is misleading about their true firepower.

Divisions are composed of 3 regiments (which are composed of smaller units). You probably know this.

For example, the 37th Infantry Division was composed of the 129th Infantry, 145th Infantry, and 148th Infantry regiments. If you read history books about land combat they usually don't say the 37th Division but refer to the actual regiments that was doing the combat (at least the ebooks I've been reading).

I divided my divisions into the historical regiments just for grins and so it's easier for me to keep track when I move the regiments around until they get combined to do invasions or combat. It's easier for me to write in my notes that I moved the 148th Regiment somewhere instead of the B Regiment/37th Division. So for "my" purposes they are regiments though I will DEFINITELY remember what you mentioned about re-splitting the division since if not in combat that is probably how I will keep them.

By the way I used Wikipedia for determining the regiments except for the 37th Division. My mom's father (my Grandfather who died 2 years before I was born) was in the Ohio National Guard and she gave me his 1938 National Guard yearbook and it had all the units broken down. Very interesting to see photos of people like Rodger Young (who won the Medal of Honor in the Solomons (I believe), my Grandfather and a Great Uncle who was killed on Munda plus other relatives.

Dereck wrote: Sat Oct 04, 2025 12:53 pm

PaxMondo wrote: Sat Oct 04, 2025 12:43 pm
Sorry, didn't mean to suggest "fault" to anyone, just letting you know how things work. That this is a custom mod using stock AI scripts changes everything. Not knowing what was changed, please ignore my entire response.


Enjoy your game.

No, I won't ignore your message. You had some very good insights that I would be wise to keep in mind so I thank you very much for that.

I made these changes wither back in 2012 for WITP:AE or most likely carried them over from the original WITP (which I researched about a year for before I even started playing). If I remember right I know I added ships (using Morrison's History of the US Navy in WW2 I found a number of ships he had listed which weren't in the game and I added some HQs - mostly US Naval Districts on the West Coast, Canal Zone and Hawaii). I also specifically split every division into their historical regiments since I hate saying A Regiment of some division.

I didn't touch the Japanese at all.

So, once again, thank you for your insights and I do apologize if I sounded like I didn't appreciate your insights.

So modding is tricky. After you made your changes did you run: witpchkAE.exe and clear out the errors? I can tell you from painful personal experience that it is basically impossible to mod this game with errors, oopses, and omissions. This routine will catch errors in the data that will cause inconsistent behavior. It won't catch design errors like assigning the wrong device to a TOE, but it catches a lot of inadvertent errors. A lot of modders overlook this last step ... to their dismay when they play the game as they will get all kinds of weird behavior in the game and not know why ....

I posted sometime earlier this year about how to use this if you are new to it ... google the forum to find it. It is not a trial and error type of tool, you need to understand how to use it or you won't get what you want from it.

PaxMondo wrote: Sun Oct 05, 2025 2:15 am

Dereck wrote: Sat Oct 04, 2025 12:53 pm

PaxMondo wrote: Sat Oct 04, 2025 12:43 pm
Sorry, didn't mean to suggest "fault" to anyone, just letting you know how things work. That this is a custom mod using stock AI scripts changes everything. Not knowing what was changed, please ignore my entire response.


Enjoy your game.

No, I won't ignore your message. You had some very good insights that I would be wise to keep in mind so I thank you very much for that.

I made these changes wither back in 2012 for WITP:AE or most likely carried them over from the original WITP (which I researched about a year for before I even started playing). If I remember right I know I added ships (using Morrison's History of the US Navy in WW2 I found a number of ships he had listed which weren't in the game and I added some HQs - mostly US Naval Districts on the West Coast, Canal Zone and Hawaii). I also specifically split every division into their historical regiments since I hate saying A Regiment of some division.

I didn't touch the Japanese at all.

So, once again, thank you for your insights and I do apologize if I sounded like I didn't appreciate your insights.

So modding is tricky. After you made your changes did you run: witpchkAE.exe and clear out the errors? I can tell you from painful personal experience that it is basically impossible to mod this game withOUT errors, oopses, and omissions. This routine will catch errors in the data that will cause inconsistent behavior. It won't catch design errors like assigning the wrong device to a TOE, but it catches a lot of inadvertent errors. A lot of modders overlook this last step ... to their dismay when they play the game as they will get all kinds of weird behavior in the game and not know why ....

I posted sometime earlier this year about how to use this if you are new to it ... google the forum to find it. It is not a trial and error type of tool, you need to understand how to use it or you won't get what you want from it.

I hope that you won't mind my correction.

You are correct, it is so easy for errors to creep in. When a player adjusts one thing, it might cause an error. Then when trying to fix that error, other errors may show up. When I wrote "an error" I don't necessarily mean one error. That is what play testing is for and play testers who did not write the program because they might try to do things that the programmer(s) didn't think about. Oh what fun it is to find an HQ with no manpower to the squad devices, so then the rest of the army must have been commanded by women in the HQ!

RangerJoe wrote: Sun Oct 05, 2025 5:06 pm I hope that you won't mind my correction.

THANKS for catching my oops!!

PaxMondo wrote: Sun Oct 05, 2025 8:05 pm

RangerJoe wrote: Sun Oct 05, 2025 5:06 pm I hope that you won't mind my correction.

THANKS for catching my oops!!

Everybody makes mistakes. Some people name them!

RangerJoe wrote: Sun Oct 05, 2025 11:19 pm

PaxMondo wrote: Sun Oct 05, 2025 8:05 pm

RangerJoe wrote: Sun Oct 05, 2025 5:06 pm I hope that you won't mind my correction.

THANKS for catching my oops!!

Everybody makes mistakes. Some people name them!

OK, that took my a couple of reads to get, and then I almost blew my coffee through my nose. TOO FUNNY! Please take it easy on me, I'm old and I'm still laughing at that last quip. Brilliant!!!!

{where is that bowing smilie when you need it?}

PaxMondo wrote: Tue Oct 07, 2025 4:08 am

RangerJoe wrote: Sun Oct 05, 2025 11:19 pm

PaxMondo wrote: Sun Oct 05, 2025 8:05 pm

THANKS for catching my oops!!

Everybody makes mistakes. Some people name them!

OK, that took my a couple of reads to get, and then I almost blew my coffee through my nose. TOO FUNNY! Please take it easy on me, I'm old and I'm still laughing at that last quip. Brilliant!!!!

{where is that bowing smilie when you need it?}

Well then, if you are that old, don't mix up the Preparation H, the KY Jelly, and/or the Bengay . . .

Someone told me their grandfather did mix up two of those . . .

RangerJoe wrote: Tue Oct 07, 2025 2:51 pm
Well then, if you are that old, don't mix up the Preparation H, the KY Jelly, and/or the Bengay . . .

Someone told me their grandfather did mix up two of those . . .

{wiping up my tea}

I may be too late to the party but....

Use small xAKs in single ship task forces. They die if they meet a surface group but they are harder to spot than a large convoy.

Submarine supply will get some through but not much. I don't think it will be enough though. With the allied torps early in the war, you could make a case for it being the most use you can get out of allied subs before 1943.

Moving units into PM is a good idea. I don't think you will need much to hold it unless IJA invades the hex directly. Trying to march and feed an army over the Owen-Stanleys will be nearly impossible. Subs and DBs can make resupply of a PM invasion difficult.

PM is not required, but it is a strong position to knock back Rabaul when 4E bombers begin to show up. Once you knock it back a bit, an invasion of Kavieng can shut the door to Rabaul and turn it into a training area for future B-29 crews.

rockmedic109 wrote: Fri Nov 21, 2025 4:10 pm I may be too late to the party but....

Use small xAKs in single ship task forces. They die if they meet a surface group but they are harder to spot than a large convoy.

Submarine supply will get some through but not much. I don't think it will be enough though. With the allied torps early in the war, you could make a case for it being the most use you can get out of allied subs before 1943.

Moving units into PM is a good idea. I don't think you will need much to hold it unless IJA invades the hex directly. Trying to march and feed an army over the Owen-Stanleys will be nearly impossible. Subs and DBs can make resupply of a PM invasion difficult.

PM is not required, but it is a strong position to knock back Rabaul when 4E bombers begin to show up. Once you knock it back a bit, an invasion of Kavieng can shut the door to Rabaul and turn it into a training area for future B-29 crews.

The Japanese don't need to supply their troops over the Owen-Stanleys mountains.

They can invade but they will need to supply the invasion unless they bring enough supply with them to last. I am not sure the AI does this. To do this will require a significant force to protect them. Of course, if they park KB off PM, not much can be done but there are too many other places for KB.

And if they send enough transports it might be good in the long run. Attrition. The more destroyed in 42 means less your have to chase down in 43.

By them way. That is a Lovely Signature Box. My grandmother had alzheimers and I remember a few similar moments. Priceless memories

rockmedic109 wrote: Fri Nov 21, 2025 11:51 pm They can invade but they will need to supply the invasion unless they bring enough supply with them to last. I am not sure the AI does this. To do this will require a significant force to protect them. Of course, if they park KB off PM, not much can be done but there are too many other places for KB.

And if they send enough transports it might be good in the long run. Attrition. The more destroyed in 42 means less your have to chase down in 43.

By them way. That is a Lovely Signature Box. My grandmother had alzheimers and I remember a few similar moments. Priceless memories

Thank you, I knew people who also had memory issues.

AI tends to bring in BB Bombardment TFs regularly to harass PM.

Not much you can do about that, except submarines and dive bombers (torpedo bombers too, but then you'd need Air HQ there).