Matrix Games Forums

Does anyone still play? I have redownloaded it after many years away. I printed the manual - big mistake took loads of ink!! Anyway just dropping in to see if there is a community??

WitP has pretty much supplanted by WitP AE

I note the forum content has been archived or removed.

There are a number of us that still play WITP, declining to play AE. AE adds a lot of questionable complexity but players still find ways to defeat the simulation/program and play a vastly non-historical game. Opponent selection remains a key point. I have two campaigns going (vs people), both in their 3rd year of play (one at 11/18/44 other is sluggish, at 8/20/42). when the more advanced one finishes, I may consider another campaign game else play the earlier DOS Pacific War instead (turns are a week and game can be completed in less than a year with the right opponent.

Most did migrate to AE but I think the majority play AI and work to defeat the program. How many spend hundreds of hour to complete a campaign vs AI is likely few and a huge waste of time/life. if there was to be a sequel to AE, you may be required to plan the menus at each base, schedule haircuts, etc in the name of realism.

I know people still play Pacific War and likely Uncommon Valor (prototype of WITE, limited to mid 43-12/43, SW Pacific only), and WITP.
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The advantage of the Pacific Games (Pacific War, Uncommon Valor, WITP, AE) is turn resolution is between player turns and players cannot manipulate the results. I have a few WITE games going but combat is conducted during a turn (similar to Windows War in the East, WITE, WITW, etc), which a player can erase a bad result (for defeat fog of war) by returning to save and optimize and do it again [the opponent is ignorant of the opponents methods, known as cheating by my generation). If one is going to play a campaign that may take multiple years, the WITP system is more integrity secure. However a campaign takes years to play, with a house rule the first player to die loses.

Time spend with Uncommon Valor may be a good start before jumping into WITP. I would be willing to help.

In almost any game, playing AI is almost of waste of time as the AI opponent is poor, predictable, and does not learn.

My fast game opponent has 4 games going. There is a 14 hour time lag between us so we each typically do 1 turn each a day, up to five turns a day in the early game. My other opponent sends me 1 turn every 7-15 days so I may not live to see P38s (each game turn is a day; 3 months of game may take 3 years at 12 days a turn).

The campaign in WITP is a game in two halves. In the first 500 turns, the Allies are impotent as cannot successfully contest/defend anything; the last 500 turns the Japanese defends in place. IN some ways a Eastern front game is similar. Often those that like to play Axis, do not wish to play a strategic defense in the midgame or end game.

bill@wargameacademy.org

ORIGINAL: wga
I note the forum content has been archived or removed.

Not removed, just not shown by default. The forums show only the last 365 days posts by default. As the forum becomes inactive fewer posts appear, but by changing the filter you can still show over 2000 posts in this sub-forum alone.

Where do I find the filter to change it? I have had this come up in a few forums of old games that I try to play, cannot see much of a forum.

I have two games in, both in their 4th year of play. Turnaround speed of my opponents varies. One was several turns per day (I was the weak link at once a day) other is 10-20 days between turns. Hence in the four years, one had multiple restarts and is now in 1/15/45. Other moved from mid March 1942 to mid September 1942 (I will not get to start my USN offensive until the year 2027, assuming I live that one. Slow game is a study if the IJN can win the game by capturing all of India and ignore the Pacific (I only have Karachi, Amadabad, Milar, and Delphi left).

Although I ahve AE, its gets into far too much unnecessary detail for my tastes. Also although I now know how to play the USN (debatable if proficiently), making a 5 year committment to start another game is problematic. The whoever dies first loses default rule is a valid concern.

I find the DOS Pacific War, with its one week turns, to be a better investment of time.

As someone else stated, the forum contents have been removed (if archived, I d not know how to access).

Similar to most Squad Leader Series players moving to Advanced Squad Leader, I move back to Squad Leader Series as found ASL far too cumbersome to be enjoyable and the high degree of interactivity makes pbem almost impossible. Adding new layers of detail do not make it a more realistic game, it still just a game.

The strenght of WITP vs War in the East/Axis & Allies/War in Europe, and may other computer games where combat is resolved during a player turn, is players cannot cheat by returning to save and erasign bad results. WITP combat results are resolved between player tursn.

Even saying all that, I can be talked into playing another campaign game of Pacific War, Uncommon Valor, WITP, or AE. I am admittedly a proficient player, not a high tier, or one who seeks to break the program and play an entirely non-historical game. I only play USN, no interest in playing IJN, as always played the opposition in my gaem play since the 1970s.