Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: LarryP

Gulp... [:o]

That is why it is so hard on the Japanese to defend. There are usually enough ground and air units that the Allies can attack in India/Burma on the ground while the Navies can be every else plus India/Burma. What got me interested in the game was when Greyjoy invaded Hokkaido in 1944!

Well, if the Japanese player proves cocky and empties the Home Islands...[:D]

Seriously, people underestimate or overestimate some distances. Some places are really much closer than many people think, and if the Japanese player doesn’t take the measure of the strategic depth he loses by refraining from attacking certain places (like the Aleutians, with Adak and its 8(5) Port), so be it.

That is also why so many Japanese players try to take out China. Too many Allied players don't like that theatre and may not provide enough aid and comfort there early on.

And too many of them hurry to send the corps that may be bought to Burma/India.

ORIGINAL: LarryP

After reading and experimenting a lot, my opinion of this spreadsheet is WOW and AMAZING! You spent how many hours creating this to the point it is currently at? [&:]

It seems to me that after creating a save game for turns 2 and 3 with all of these pending items created and set, a person could sell this for a good price. [;)] Might be a few spouses that would purchase this save game to gain their mate back.

Quite a few folks have suggested that, but in all honesty, there are some real pro-players out there (check out the PBEM forum) who could provide a much better starting set-up. But the idea here is "learning by doing". The strategy is nothing to write home about, but after going through all these steps, you will KNOW how to do things. If I gave you a save-game with the Turn-2 moves all completed, it would just shift your learning curve over to Turn 3!

Yes, I thought of that (not learning), but I was just kidding mostly. If a player does do these entries, they are serious about learning and enjoying this game. Nothing comes from easy as much as when it is hard. I tried to teach my son that while growing up, now my grandkids, and now me-again. [;)] Thank you for all the work you put into this spreadsheet. It's mind numbing, every time I see the 4653 entries, I think of mostly one thing. Lots of nights and maybe days dedicated to this and not doing other things that may be quite important. Thanks again! [&o]

ORIGINAL: LarryP
What I meant was that any advice for using this spreadsheet is very much appreciated.

I missed this part of your comment. The "Getting Started" tab is a good place to start, especially "Section V". In particular, filtering by region lets you work through it in "bite size chunks", so it's a tad less daunting. Also, be SURE to mark a cell in each row as you complete it - nothing worse than having to leave it (for something like, oh, sleep) and then forgetting where you were.[:(]

To that point, go to column "M" on the "Allies Setup" tab and filter on the words "No action" (just those two words, not the ones that have additional commentary). The count of rows will drop from 4653 to 1569. Now highlight every cell in column "B" and change the color to some shade of green. Voila - you just completed 1/3 of the spreadsheet and have visual proof! It might sound odd, but it is kind of a relief to arrive in each region and immediately see that a lot of those rows don't require you to do anything!

Excellent advice! This is what I was looking for, I will do this tomorrow, sleep is calling me now.

Hi all.
Does anyone have a save file with all the Allied spreadsheets data already added for the Dec 8 full campaign?
I am slowly going through it but I can already see it is going to take hours and hours to add it all.

ORIGINAL: VonWulfen

Hi all.
Does anyone have a save file with all the spreadsheets data already added for the Dec 8 full campaign?
I am slowly going through it but I can already see it is going to take hours and hours to add it all.

Your first turn should take some time. There's a lot to do....GP

If you do it yourself, that is the best way to learn. However, once you have done the turn you can save it and use it as many different times that you want to without having to reenter the orders.

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

If you do it yourself, that is the best way to learn. However, once you have done the turn you can save it and use it as many different times that you want to without having to reenter the orders.

The only downside is that the random AI choices and initial battle results (i.e., did Prince of Wales and Repulse survive?) are locked to the save. Which is fine... you just have to be happy with the Dec 8th A.M. status situation as your starting point, good, bad or mediocre.

Kull:
I wanted to show you a small Mod I put together on your exemplary Setup spreadsheet.

It adds a couple pieces of logistical info explained below from another thread.

I modified Kull's AE Allied Setup Spreadsheet last fall by adding my own cargo ship minimum port size in column K and a designation for what I call "Dual Cargo" ships (both supply and fuel capacity) in column G.
Here is a pic of the Tjilatjap, Java portion of it:




First, in column G you can see in the heading "Cargo: Supply & Fuel" and all I have done is use the common color of creme to highlight the Unit Model/Type data, such as Euro L Cargo, etc. You can quickly see that both of the Euro L Cargo ships in Tjilatjap, Java need a port of size 2 minimum to dock for loading and unloading.

Second, in column K, denoted by the creme color, where "n" is the size port+ the ship can be docked. This helps me quickly scan the spreadsheet page and determine which ships are best suited for certain jobs during my setup phase.

ORIGINAL: Moltrey

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

If you do it yourself, that is the best way to learn. However, once you have done the turn you can save it and use it as many different times that you want to without having to reenter the orders.

The only downside is that the random AI choices and initial battle results (i.e., did Prince of Wales and Repulse survive?) are locked to the save. Which is fine... you just have to be happy with the Dec 8th A.M. status situation as your starting point, good, bad or mediocre.

Not locked in really. The saved turn one can be called up when you start a new game and then changes made before you run the turn. Force Z can try a different plan.

ORIGINAL: Moltrey

First, in column G you can see in the heading "Cargo: Supply & Fuel" and all I have done is use the common color of creme to highlight the Unit Model/Type data, such as Euro L Cargo, etc. You can quickly see that both of the Euro L Cargo ships in Tjilatjap, Java need a port of size 2 minimum to dock for loading and unloading.

Second, in column K, denoted by the creme color, where "n" is the size port+ the ship can be docked. This helps me quickly scan the spreadsheet page and determine which ships are best suited for certain jobs during my setup phase.

Yes, very helpful! Feel free to post a link, should you so desire. I can then edit the first post and point to it.

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Not locked in really. The saved turn one can be called up when you start a new game and then changes made before you run the turn. Force Z can try a different plan.

Quite true. If you open any saved game and make changes to any unit orders, the "list of possible outcomes" for ALL units has altered. What IS locked is the AI variant (assuming more than one is present) - that can never be changed. This used to be a deal breaker for me, but all the newer AndyMac scenarios have only a single AI variant, so it's not an issue with those.

There may be a way to change the AI variant. If one knows which variant is being used and wants to go against another specific one, just switch them. Otherwise, just mix them up anyway to have a random but different AI script. Don't forget to save the originals in a different folder.

If you would wish to add to a script and have the AI hang around for a week bombing ships at Pearl Harbor and the vicinity . . . [X(]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

There may be a way to change the AI variant. If one knows which variant is being used and wants to go against another specific one, just switch them. Otherwise, just mix them up anyway to have a random but different AI script. Don't forget to save the originals in a different folder.

If you would wish to add to a script and have the AI hang around for a week bombing ships at Pearl Harbor and the vicinity . . . [X(]

Only when you start a new campaign. Once a game is saved, the AI variant is embedded within, and cannot be altered from that point forward.

ORIGINAL: Kull

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

There may be a way to change the AI variant. If one knows which variant is being used and wants to go against another specific one, just switch them. Otherwise, just mix them up anyway to have a random but different AI script. Don't forget to save the originals in a different folder.

If you would wish to add to a script and have the AI hang around for a week bombing ships at Pearl Harbor and the vicinity . . . [X(]

Only when you start a new campaign. Once a game is saved, the AI variant is embedded within, and cannot be altered from that point forward.

Thank you, I did not know that.

That means that the only way would be to get someone to edit the campaign file, if they had the ability, the means, and the desire to do so . . . [;)]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: Kull

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

There may be a way to change the AI variant. If one knows which variant is being used and wants to go against another specific one, just switch them. Otherwise, just mix them up anyway to have a random but different AI script. Don't forget to save the originals in a different folder.

If you would wish to add to a script and have the AI hang around for a week bombing ships at Pearl Harbor and the vicinity . . . [X(]

Only when you start a new campaign. Once a game is saved, the AI variant is embedded within, and cannot be altered from that point forward.

Thank you, I did not know that.

That means that the only way would be to get someone to edit the campaign file, if they had the ability, the means, and the desire to do so . . . [;)]

If you rename a variant AI file to the « default » file (the file the Editor loads is the file without any additional number)(just keep a copy of the original one somewhere else), you can check the scripts the AI would follow with this variant, and edit.

Using the same method of renaming a particular variant to the « default » file, and removing all other variants, you can ensure a particular file will be used.

Editing the AI files is really much harder than editing the rest of the scenario. I’m not sure anyone but AndyMac knows precisely what each field really means. Adding some bases to the conquest list, or removing them, is simple enough, but then you may have to tinker with the units involved, the other variables, the triggers for the scripts, etc.

Amongst the devs, Andy Mac is held in awa as far as writing a good script. However there is another dev, BigJ62, who most definitely knows the fields because he wrote the actual AI code and IIRC, the editor.

There is no doubt. Any change to the objective bases will require readdressing completely the script. Same with changing any unit slots.

It still remains the case that almost 12 years after release, there have still been no independent third party AI scripts publicly released.

Alfred

Hi,

Great spreadsheet, very informative. But I have a question, I am looking at the spreadsheet Rev E that I found here. There are items that I don't seem to be able to do in the version of WitP-AE that I have. I am using version 1 DOT 0 DOT 0 DOT 1079 that I got direct from the Matrix website. Is there a later version that I need to have or am I just missing out how to do some stuff?

Thanks

That's the 2009 basic version. On top of that you'll need: [PC] Update v1.01.26a

ORIGINAL: Kull

ORIGINAL: Moltrey

First, in column G you can see in the heading "Cargo: Supply & Fuel" and all I have done is use the common color of creme to highlight the Unit Model/Type data, such as Euro L Cargo, etc. You can quickly see that both of the Euro L Cargo ships in Tjilatjap, Java need a port of size 2 minimum to dock for loading and unloading.

Second, in column K, denoted by the creme color, where "n" is the size port+ the ship can be docked. This helps me quickly scan the spreadsheet page and determine which ships are best suited for certain jobs during my setup phase.

Yes, very helpful! Feel free to post a link, should you so desire. I can then edit the first post and point to it.

Kull, I would need to go back and re-enter the info, etc. into your raw spreadsheet file and save it as an alternate version. No big deal as right now I am at home convalescing from a left shoulder biceps tendon tear surgery.

Shouldn't take that long. The other reason is I have moved units around to fit AndyMac's modified Scenario 1, so things would not match up and my own planned moves are in there.
If I have the spreadsheet file, what is the best way to make it available on the forum, upload or a link to an external site?