Matrix Games Forums

First let me say this game is DEEP! I have only just scratched the surface of the "how and why" of this game. But, I have a question, for any Nippon fans, has anyone been able to stay on or ahead of the historical Japanese Conquest time line? For example Singapore fell 15 Feb 1941, and Rangoon fell on 10 March 1941, I cannot seem to make those deadlines against the AI, what am I doing wrong?

Just keep practicing.  As you make mistakes (we all did when we started) you'll learn the tactics and strategies.  You'll eventually learn how to beat the AI.  Then you can take on a human player and it'll be like starting over. [:D] Much more fun though.

Just keep practicing.  As you make mistakes (we all did when we started) you'll learn the tactics and strategies.  You'll eventually learn how to beat the AI.  Then you can take on a human player and it'll be like starting over. [:D] Much more fun though.

My Jap pilots seem to be dying at a rate that cannot be sustained.  Is there some way to prevent this?  I fear by Aug 42 I will have few experienced pilots left.  The exchange rates are in my favor as Japan, but the loses cannot be sustained over time, and at the current casualties rates my air units will be lucky to have an average of 50 exp on the high side.  I have tried to transfer pilot to the Training Command hoping that would help the new pilots, but it only seems to make my losses even higher because of the fewer high experienced pilots in the units.  Any suggestions?

I have found that its a pretty hard struggle to maintain the historical Japanese timeline. Some aspects are impossible due to hindsight and new limitations.


It is possible though to punish Allied players who try to do too much too quickly.

The key to Singapore seems to be your armor. Launch all available at Alor Star and just run it down the coast. Rail the Imperial Guards Div to Singora to follow your mobile units, smashing any road blocks. Use your various regiments to clean-up and secure flanks, leaving other units where they landed. Build your airpower in Kota Bharu ASAP. If the British retreat, you should reach Johore Bahru by the third week in January (22nd-23rd), which means your artillery will be needed. Bring your artillery-train up to Malacca and club your way into Singapore. The heavy guns from Hong Kong are very useful (don't forget 'sweepers). Siege guns alone will generate 900-1200 Allied casualties per turn. Singapore is a death-trap. When ready, assault.[:D]

Easy, right? These tactics work well against the computer. Against a human...

Historically, the Japanese were able to "bluff" the British, avoiding the seige.[&:]

Mersing? I've had no luck there. Excessive losses for minimal returns.[:-]

The port loading/unloading realism in AE has forced me to change a lot of my strategy as the Japanese player.  Also the torp availability for your CV's is limited (Truk can't re-supply torps in Dec 1941, for example).  Of course this realism is all for the best, but to maintain the Japanese timetable is a new challenge.
 
However, I will say the amphibious bonus at the beginning is still a crucial factor, and the japanese are incentivized to take as many DEI islands and what not early on as possible, while perhaps leaving Manila & Singapore for a little later. So, perhaps go fast in the DEI, slower on the large land targets...
 
I am still trying to figure out a good China strategy as the Japanese... any ideas how to revolutionize that timetable?

I am in a PBEM against an experienced and capably opponent, and I'm ahead of the historical timeline. I don't know if that's brilliance, luck, or opponent mistakes. Certainly, my oppponent has made a couple.

I will share some observations to keep things moving:

On MALAYA, it seems you can beat the historical timetable, ONLY if you commit more than the historical troops. You can get to Singapore in about the time it takes to walk there, which is about the beginning of January. If you brought 4+ divisions, you should be able to take it a couple weeks after that, or about Feb 1, 1942. It fell 1/24/42 in my game, but only because my opponent left Mersing unguarded, and a landing there cut off 1/3 of the Malaya army.

On LUZON, it appears you can close it by Feb 1 as well, IF you bring extra guys. I am thinking, besides 16th and 48th divisions, bring 4th Division from Japan, and 38th from Hong Kong when available. Land on both sides of Manila then.

JAVA is tougher; I landed there the end of January, but it takes much much longer than historically to actually clear the place; Dutch units have plenty of places to retreat to. The SRA cleanup is also problematic. It would be very difficult for Dutch resistance to end March 10, as it did historically; almost impossible I think.

In the PACIFIC, fuel and torpedos are a huge constraint. As you move, you move away from your only decent port (Truk), and closer to several good Allied ones. The Japanese were tardy in expanding in the SW Pacific, so you can beat the historical timetable here no problem. You should be able to land at Port Moresby in early January.

In BURMA, it takes a month just to cross into it in force from Thailand. After that, another month to clear lower Burma; I didn't get Rangoon until 3/10/42, though my opponent deliberately allowed a Brigade to be surrounded.

Overall, it is absolutely critical to plan ahead, and pipeline supplies, base forces, units, everything where you need it, and to think ahead on where you need ships. I have units sitting around far too much as it is waiting for transport, or waiting for sufficient air/base support/fuel whatever to move onto the next objective. Pipeline Management, more than almost anything else, determines the speed of your advance IMO.

EDIT: I will say too I made that timeline by a couple times deliberately putting ships in harms way for speed's sake, knowing I would have some losses. As a result, I have lost a number of ships, way more than Cuttlefish has, for example, in my other PBEM. So there is a price to pay sometimes for Speed, because you can't cover multiple invasions adequately. That might come back to bite me. Already, I am feeling the limitations.

In WITP, I turned off all AK/AP construction. I wouldn't recommend that in AE.

ORIGINAL: Zemke_4

My Jap pilots seem to be dying at a rate that cannot be sustained.  Is there some way to prevent this?  I fear by Aug 42 I will have few experienced pilots left.  The exchange rates are in my favor as Japan, but the loses cannot be sustained over time, and at the current casualties rates my air units will be lucky to have an average of 50 exp on the high side.  I have tried to transfer pilot to the Training Command hoping that would help the new pilots, but it only seems to make my losses even higher because of the fewer high experienced pilots in the units.  Any suggestions?

Wait for the Patch 2 when the pilot experience bug is supposed to be fixed. I decided to continue my current campaign vs. AI not waiting for the patch as a deliberate handicap. You still can keep the losses down by employing high-altitude sweeps and only sending bombers after the CAP is mostly demolished. Also, attacks against major airfields should be concentrated as much as possible, with 50+ medium bombers per turn. Fly at 11 thousands feet, that seems to be a reasonable compromise between accuracy and safety from flack. I don't know if it is AI bug, or if repairing airfields becomes harder if they are seriously damaged, but if you manage to bomb an airfield into red condition, AI won't be able to rebuild it for weeks.

Also, I found AI fairly inept tactically. It does not contest DEI invasions with forces heavier than destroyers. It does not mass forces. On Luzon I managed to cut off and destroy Philippine troops south of Manila, as Manila was weakly defended. Lots of units were kept on Bataan, so Clark Field also fell on the first week of January. It is January 12th, and I'm advancing on Bataan with a huge stack of fully-rested forces (including everything that is aimed at Luzon by default, 4th division and artillery from Hong Kong), so it is probably will be over by the end of January at the latest. In Malaya, AI evacuated most of its forces to Johor Baru, so the real fight is only about to begin. In DEI, I've taken Singkawang, Tarakan, Kendari and Ambon, with Singkawang and Kendari established as major airbases. In the Pacific, Rabaul has fallen and forced from Guam and Japan gather at Truk for the invasion of Port Moresby. Looks like I'm ahead of the schedule, although the offensive has slowed down in January - I'm only starting to arrange the third wave of landings (the first was the turn one attack, and the second was aimed at Tarakan, Kendari and Ambon). All in all, I found that the main problem is not the enemy resistance, but managing your logistics and economy - on the first try I forgot to do enough things to decide to restart after a few weeks of the game time. And the rate of recource drain still bothers me.

What is the current "pilot bug" that is being fixed?

Very good observations, thank you.
I am re-starting my campaign in the hopes of at least meeting the historical time line.  I will try to better manage my "pipe-line" as Q-Ball said, in the hopes of better results.  When this second patch comes out I will re-start again, just more practice before I dive into a PBEM game against a breathing thinking killing machine, a human.
 
If this game is that realistic, it only makes you appreciate what the Japanese military was able to accomplish is such a short time.  I am an Officer in the military, and the planning needed to pull off the Japan expansion blows my mind.  In the real world an operation of this scale and magnitude, and all the thousands of subordinate leaders down the chain of command who were responsible for ensuring units were staged and ready to ship, supplies ready to ship, air support ready to support and in position is unbelievable.  I have studied history all my adult life, WitP:AE has given me a perspective on the Pacific War I did not have.  IMHO, I now think the Japan post December 7 expansion is the most complex military operation of this size in history.  I would have seriously doubts "we", the US Military could pull off something like this today given the same equipment and communications systems, absolutely amazing!

PS:
I would like to offer my humble thanks to the people responsible for this creation. It is very evident a lot of love and care that has gone into this product. The detail alone tells me this was a work of passion and not profit.  True greatness in the long line of war games, IMO. (Although I do pray you make a nice profit also, so we can see more fine work in the future.)

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

What is the current "pilot bug" that is being fixed?

Under Patch 1, Allied pilots get improvements in skills from combat veeeeery slowly, and Japanese pilots do not improve skills from combat ever (or on the level of one-two pilots improving a skill by 1 for the entire month). As only skills really matter, this means that pilots do not get better in combat. On-map training is very slow too. This is supposed to be remedied in Patch 2.

ORIGINAL: FatR

ORIGINAL: PaxMondo

What is the current "pilot bug" that is being fixed?

Under Patch 1, Allied pilots get improvements in skills from combat veeeeery slowly, and Japanese pilots do not improve skills from combat ever (or on the level of one-two pilots improving a skill by 1 for the entire month). As only skills really matter, this means that pilots do not get better in combat. On-map training is very slow too. This is supposed to be remedied in Patch 2.

Oh, THAT bug. Been there so long already, I forgot it existed. [X(]

Zemke if you decide to try your hand at a PBEM game I would be glad to play the allies. I have alot of experience as Japan but very little as the allies in AE so I would probably be a good person to practice on[:D][:D]

What about sending ammunition boats to Truk like AS's and similar ammunition boats like AE's? Would this not give you the ability to re-load torps at Truk?

Wow, that kind of sucks in that pilots do not improve in skill after engaging in combat. Kind of unrealistic too. Grrrrrrrrr.

ORIGINAL: findmeifyoucan

What about sending ammunition boats to Truk like AS's and similar ammunition boats like AE's? Would this not give you the ability to re-load torps at Truk?

That's what I do until you build up the port at Truk to be able to do it on it's own.

Xargun

I would also like to comment on even though we seem to complain a lot about this game. It is the best game I have ever seen both on board, the old SPI simmulation games or computer depicting the Pacific War. Nothing even comes close. This game is so enourmous I am sure they will be working on little glitches and improvements on realism on this game for years to come.

Again good job WIPAE designers! It is no wonder it took 2 years to finally release the new game after WIP which I might add I got a lot of enjoyment out of for the past 3 years along with my friends!!