Potential newbie

[charlesmc]

With two engineering degrees and an MBA plus a life-long interest in WW2, I've got my fingers crossed that I will be able to hopefully, maybe, with a lot of manual reading, muddle through a turn or two [:)]

[rroberson]

ORIGINAL: charlesmc

With two engineering degrees and an MBA plus a life-long interest in WW2, I've got my fingers crossed that I will be able to hopefully, maybe, with a lot of manual reading, muddle through a turn or two [:)]

I'll make an admission here that I'm sure most of my opponents past and present realize. A lot of times... I will just throw ops together just to make things go boom. You don't need to understand every rule to plan bombing missions or send your warships into the fray. I was clueless about japanese production and mucked it up good my first few games...even now I have only a basic grasp of it. I soldier on because the game is that much fun.

[Sardaukar]

ORIGINAL: Kwik E Mart

ORIGINAL: che200

Charlesmc or u can do what i did play the grand campaign against the ai as your first game and get your ass kicked a few times.(With a hard copy of the manual on my lap). U will get the hang of it when u start planning offensives when u are in some boring meeting.

two posters from Malta? that place must be getting crowded... [;)]

Malta is always crowded. [8D]

[TheElf]

ORIGINAL: RSGodfrey

Hi terminus, I have little familiarity with the game engine. Does it offer the flexibility for a turn to simulate 1 day of reality, 1 week or 1 month etc.?


Richard

RS,
This game is about the journey, not the destination. Think of it as that on-going chess game that you look forward to having your opponent call you at 2am and say Knight to K4....and then hang up...

There's no rush.

[Graymane]

ORIGINAL: RSGodfrey

WitP has long intrigued me, but reading reports I was deterred by the time investment (planning to submit my PhD Thesis this year).

Can you advise if WitP:AE will have the flexibility to play with a reduced time investment?

I know that this may be an anathema to the grogs. out there, but some of us have a life!

Richard

Hi Richard,

This is a game with a LOT of units that you can order individually. If you play PBEM games, it can easily consume hours per day. If you have a reduced time committment and being that you are new to the game, I'd suggest just playing against the AI. The game is turn-based. That means you can order a few units, save the game, work on your PhD, rinse and repeat.

Thanks,
Dan

[jhdeerslayer]

[/quote]
Hi Richard,

This is a game with a LOT of units that you can order individually. If you play PBEM games, it can easily consume hours per day. If you have a reduced time committment and being that you are new to the game, I'd suggest just playing against the AI. The game is turn-based. That means you can order a few units, save the game, work on your PhD, rinse and repeat.

Thanks,
Dan
[/quote]

Well put sir.

[chesmart]

Guys Malta is the third most populated country by density per sq m after singapore and hongkong. Been lurking around here for a few years playing Witp. Was mostly in the scenario and mod forums lol. The charge of the Maltese light brigade.

[Lomri]

To the folks thinking of starting this game:

I got WitP when it came out and played until Feb 1943 against the AI. I then took a LONG break, like 4 years. I always knew I'd pick it back up - and sure enough I'm now in a game going into December 1943. I play slow, sometimes going a week without playing. Sometimes I have to write a note or two to make sure I don't totally forget what I'm doing. But I don't find that it sucks up all my time. Against the AI if you aren't coordinating everything perfectly or island hoping as rapidly as you could if you had every i dotted and t crossed - who cares? It's just the AI.

But the game is a joy to play. It really doesn't even matter if you ever finish a game, I haven't! Tactical successes and strategic goals are really the core of the fun. Especially as the allies there is a point in the game where you start to gain the momentum, and winning is just a matter of time. (I haven't played as Japan yet, learning cliff is really tough there, but maybe in AE I'll give it a shot, you know - for my second game, in 2015).

I've also walked away and played other games like HoI2 and stuff, but WitP is such a big game, and so fun to play that I'll keep coming back until I play a game through both the Allies and Japan, and I'm happy to say that will take a REALLY long time. It's like finding a new author you really love and discovering he has 50 published books - entertainment in the bank!

So even if the game is too much for you right now, pick it up and noodle with it. Don't think of it as a game you just play through and then shelve. Heck, last month I took a few weeks off to read Fire in the Sky since I saw so many people talking about it. Well worth the break!

[Xargun]

ORIGINAL: charlesmc

With two engineering degrees and an MBA plus a life-long interest in WW2, I've got my fingers crossed that I will be able to hopefully, maybe, with a lot of manual reading, muddle through a turn or two [:)]

I only have half your education and I figured it out [:D] The love for the WW2 era and the desire to see how well I can run Japan has kept me playing the Japanese every game I play. I know I will lose, but like someone else said, its not the destination - that is known - but the journey there.. and the delight I get when I see torps striking the side of Allied Capital ships just gives me insane pleasure [:D] Even without playing the game for 2-3 years, my value per hour of playtime is like $0.01 or less...

ORIGINAL: rroberson

I'll make an admission here that I'm sure most of my opponents past and present realize. A lot of times... I will just throw ops together just to make things go boom. You don't need to understand every rule to plan bombing missions or send your warships into the fray. I was clueless about japanese production and mucked it up good my first few games...even now I have only a basic grasp of it. I soldier on because the game is that much fun.

As for this statement... I doubt anyone who has played PBeM hasn't done this. Some days you just don't feel like spending 2 hours organizing the best op you can and just 'wing' it. That's part of the fun - does your opponent realize which ops are carefully laid out with traps and supporting forces, or the ones that if he breathed on them that would fall apart [:)]

Xargun

[RSGodfrey]

ORIGINAL: rroberson

ORIGINAL: charlesmc

With two engineering degrees and an MBA plus a life-long interest in WW2, I've got my fingers crossed that I will be able to hopefully, maybe, with a lot of manual reading, muddle through a turn or two [:)]

I'll make an admission here that I'm sure most of my opponents past and present realize. A lot of times... I will just throw ops together just to make things go boom. You don't need to understand every rule to plan bombing missions or send your warships into the fray. I was clueless about japanese production and mucked it up good my first few games...even now I have only a basic grasp of it. I soldier on because the game is that much fun.

I'm beginning to wonder if a higher education is a drawback in wargaming. Subjects like engineering and economics train us to think in a particular way that may not be consistent with appraising and responding to the tactical and strategic demands to achieve winning, but as someone eloquently put it - it's the journey that's important

Many thanks to all who have contributed - I am sold and will be joining you on this journey.

Richard

[chesmart]

Welcome aboard to the best strategy game ever and goodluck with your personal life !!!!

[Wirraway_Ace]

ORIGINAL: rroberson

...if you have any interest in the Pacific War then this game is for you...Just put down the money and buy it...it will be cents per hour by the time you put it down.

After playing it, all other WW2 games will seem boring and other Theaters less interesting. I was a European Theater of Operations/Russian Front guy for my whole life until I started playing Uncommon Valor and WiTP. Now maneuvering a bunch of infantry and armored corps on the Russian Steppes seems boring by comparison. The sleepless nights spent worrying about whether your irreplaceable Japanese carrier strike force will be caught at a disadvantage by Allied carriers as it supports a major invasion is like no other game. The slow, grinding attrition of the air war provides constant interest and a roller-coaster of ups and downs. The diversity of the ground campaigns from China to Burma, the Dutch East Indies to the Southern Solomons, not to mention the Philippines or even Northern Australia. The amphibious invasions, the submarine war, the battle to maintain adequate supplies and fuel…
There is nothing else like it. If you didn’t have a deep interest in the Pacific Theater of Operations, you will…

[Don Bowen]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

And one that I somehow find the reason to use continually in this place. Wonder why?

No

[byron13]

One nice thing about even WitP is that you can play the AI. It sounds like you may not have all that much time to devote to the game, which will mean that you can stretch that enjoyment out. I've left a WitP game for six months or longer and then come back to it and I can pick up where I left off. As everyone has indicated, it can take a long time to actually complete a game but, if you play the AI, you can take as long as you like.

[TheElf]

ORIGINAL: Kwik E Mart

ORIGINAL: che200

Charlesmc or u can do what i did play the grand campaign against the ai as your first game and get your ass kicked a few times.(With a hard copy of the manual on my lap). U will get the hang of it when u start planning offensives when u are in some boring meeting.

two posters from Malta? that place must be getting crowded... [;)]

Hah...my last job had me in Malta all the time. I visited the Malta aviation museum with friends from the Armed Forces of Malta. Got to sit in the Hurricane and Spitfire. Had tea with Ray Polidano...a great day.

One of my favorite places....

[chesmart]

Elf if you come back to Malta PM me and we can go have a couple of beers and I will show you around some places which are not open to the public, Ray Polidano and his team are making an excellent job with the museum and their limited funding.
I use your pinup screens and your artwork in WITP and they make the game a lot more interesting hope they work with AE !

[Terminus]

They will. Same file format.

[Sarganto]

ORIGINAL: Flying Tiger
Of course the full campaign is expected to take far longer than stock WitP - but that is the way we like it!!

cheers

So people will finish even LESS games than in WitP? [:D]

[TheElf]

ORIGINAL: che200

Elf if you come back to Malta PM me and we can go have a couple of beers and I will show you around some places which are not open to the public, Ray Polidano and his team are making an excellent job with the museum and their limited funding.
I use your pinup screens and your artwork in WITP and they make the game a lot more interesting hope they work with AE !

I only drink Cisk lager when I am in Malta, will that be a problem?[;)] Last time I was in Valletta I got to tour Fort St. Angelo the and meet the resident Knight of Malta...very cool.

[chesmart]

                           For all the work you did in AE the Cisk is on me ! And to all AE Team members the offer is valid to you all as a thank you for all the wonderful work you guys did.