Ship Withdrawl and PP's

[gap23518]

I know! I know...this has been answered before im sure and I should have known better.
I remember reading where some of the veteran posters/players here have notes and remember chuckling to myself thinking
"why do you need notes in a computer game?" but they turned out to know best!

Im playing the campaign game and into it for about 60 turns. I have been ignoring the withdraw schedule (notes dang it! I forgot to check withdraw schedule) and I
have the first ship stuck to go out for its withdraw in a repair yard. Its going to be a few days before it gets to its home or off map and the
pp penalty rack up quick.

QUESTION ONE:
Will this impact the future of the game or can I recover? I mean I have been careless and lost a few ships and feel
I can recover but this isn't a game breaker mistake im thinking?

QUESTION TWO++:
it seems possible to fight the triangle of Manilla, Baatan and Clark and stand/hold out and maybe never loose it?
It seems I have actually fought (Manilla) a large IJN force to a defeat and have another one on the ropes in Clark.
Am I living in a WiTP fools dream where I got really lucky on my defense or will I lose it anyway? Will fighting
so hard on PI draw troops away from China?


I sure enjoy the game! I want to hit the campaign before online play. Amazing how a game
this old can capture your attention for so many hours even w/ its "minor flaws". (ps...what I think may be flaws
probably are not flaws but game design or not seeing it in the manual)

Thanks for your time!

[pontiouspilot]

Ignoring the withdrawals can get very expensive in Pol Pts. It will make it hard to get much needed extras to the theatre. Can it be overcome??....it depends on other things. I have never ignored it myself so I am not the one to answer.

Manila: it can be held but I doubt all 3 can be held. I like Manila because it has a large port. The key is to stockpile enough supplies as quick as possible. Also the LCUs need to be quickly consolidated back into the site chosen for the fortress. The success at stockpiling supplies depends on how tight your opponent squeezes your shipping gonads/routes. Unless your opponent is very diligent a sneaky Allied player can run the blockade. I have snuck single ships in from Seattle. For this pipeline from DEI I choose the innumerable tramp steamers the Allies have kicking around. They are expendable. Use single or smallish TFs as they seem to be harder to detect. If you are trying a run from west coast you obviously need much more endurance than a tramp.

What is enough supplies?...I have heard the great ones say that 100K should be enough. If you have half that you can make it tough on the IJA. I personally don't think I could have ever have got 100K into Phillipines. In 3/4 of the PBEM I have kept Manila. In the 4th the jury is still out...my opponent has very successfully squeezed supplies but he also has very few troops on doorstep. It is March 4th and both Manila and Bataan are at 3.5 forts so it will be interesting.

[dcpollay]

My thoughts....Losing Political Points can certainly affect the game, but you can certainly recover from it, especially playing against the AI. In my first campaign game against the AI (first game ever), I've accumulated over 5000 PP by March 1943. I simply don't need to use a lot of them, as the AI is not so challenging that I am buying out a lot of units, or assigning many special TF commanders. It may be a little tougher against a human opponent, but shouldn't be a game breaker in any case.

2) Playing against the AI, it is possible to hold some far-flung bases in some cases. I know players have reported holding Manila, Bataan, Singapore, Palenbang, all of Java, etc. If you play aggressively, the computer just can't keep up with a human strategist. Again, much tougher against a human opponent.

3) There is a lot happening in the game at any given time, and things can take many turns to sort out. Personally, I take pages of notes on "outstanding" items and cross them off the list when they are finally done.

4) Welcome to the game!

[Chris21wen]

ORIGINAL: gap23518


QUESTION ONE:
Will this impact the future of the game or can I recover? I mean I have been careless and lost a few ships and feel
I can recover but this isn't a game breaker mistake im thinking?

QUESTION TWO++:
it seems possible to fight the triangle of Manilla, Baatan and Clark and stand/hold out and maybe never loose it?
It seems I have actually fought (Manilla) a large IJN force to a defeat and have another one on the ropes in Clark.
Am I living in a WiTP fools dream where I got really lucky on my defense or will I lose it anyway? Will fighting
so hard on PI draw troops away from China?

1. Yes and its happened to all of use.
2. Again yes but if you want a better game from the AI don't or at least don't try.

[jmalter]

PPs are your most valuable resource, missing a required withdrawal date is (sorry if I'm harsh) bad play. 'S true that damage to a ship can prevent its timely withdrawal, most everyone here has had that happen, put it down to 'the cost of doing business'.

Hopefully you've learned your lesson - keep a weather eye on your hotkey I screen for ship & airgroup withdrawals, get the ships moving to withdrawal-capable ports, transfer the airgroups to withdrawal-capable airfields - in timely advance of their withdraw dates.

Losing PPs in this way is recoverable, but think of all the things you could have done w/ those PP, had they not been expended (wasted) if you'd been on top of that action beforehand. WitP can school you, in terms of 'lessons learned'!

wrt the Iron Triangle in the Phillipines, a solid defense here can slow the IJ attack, but is unlikely to succeed. Bringing in supply is key to a protracted defense - supply-runs by USN subs can help.