Matrix Games Forums

Hey,

I’ll start with the question to make the rest more clear:

How do I not lose myself in the game and learn to enjoy it for what it is?

I’m a relatively inexperienced player who went through a US PBEM campaign until July 43’, against a very good Japanese player with whom I had a lot of fun until I got lost in the game and lost the will to play, then I felt it was better to stop and surrender the PBEM that I was also loosing because I didn’t want to disrespect my opponent by not putting my 100% into the game, many turns had been spent half-heartedly.

I’ll start with what drew me to WITP:
- obviously the depth of simulation and player agency
- the logistics and infrastructure of the pacific
- the era of warfare
- naval operations on both oceanic and very localized levels
- the kind of “roleplay” you can have by micro managing and giving character to ships, task forces etc…

But now in 43’ and to be honest even before but it wasn’t obvious, I have everything bottle necked everywhere, I decided to move things forward in safe hubs in proximity of hot areas but that only moved the bottleneck ahead for a new one to appear where it previously was. Bottle neck of transports/cargo, LCU, the sheer size of work that is tracking and replacing every pilots during their training, that I should then put on other training to give them multiple skills.

My philosophy was to push everything forward but that I just couldn’t keep track of what asset ended up where and for what purpose, every couple of turn ended up feeling like I was re-discovering things and counter ordering myself from the past.
At some point I considered making an excel database of “assets” to keep track but I found myself at the foot of a massive wall.

I’m not asking for any specific in-game advice relating to the situation in 42-43, I think the problem is more of mindset, approaching the game, the right tools for the job, probably playing against AI to not be rushed by the rhythm of PBEM turns, etc…

The complexity that I liked took over my enjoyment of the game I think.

Open for discussion anyways!
Thank you for bearing through all this. I hope it makes sense.

Loosing or losing?

Take it easy. As Allies, in the middle of 1943 you are just starting to get your big hammer. It will hit hard in 1944. Just build up supplies to the maximum that you can in the forward areas, dump a lot into Australia, India, and the Hawaii group of islands, build up your infrastructure everywhere you think you need it and elsewhere as well. Have divisional sized units with artillery and armour preparing for invasions in the Pacific. Prepare to bypass central Burma and invade farther down the coast. Prepare to jump into the DEI, from the east you will have Australia as your base. Your SEAC command can plan for the western DEI. But if you can cut the shipping lanes in the Pacific then that can be easier to cut the oil and fuel flow to the Home Islands.

Don't worry about doing all of your pilot training every turn, once a month might be enough.

If needed, name your supply convoys to indicate where they are going. A convoy of escorts and merchantmen (of the same type/speed) up to 100 in number can carry a lot of supplies to Australia. Or any other place with a large enough port and unlimited supply storage.

You’re right, “losing”

I don’t really have any issues with not beating my opponent, regardless of the year it is because that’s I think a second step in my progression as a player.

The first step I’m really not getting together is placing the foundation of a victory or even an enjoyable game that goes forward and not sideways or back.
Having methods for handling pilot pool and their training with all the squads I have, the LCUs, squadrons, task forces and ships around, keeping track of supply and fuel movement. My logistics are all over the place, I have pushed LCUs forward from their spawning areas but now they are massing in some islands with crushing stacking limits, and so on.

I hope it’s not too shallow of an explanation, because in my mind this is a fundamental step I’m not getting through to then play a competitive game of WITP.

Well, it is a monster game and the number of ships, air units and ground units to manage and keep track of is mind-boggling.

Splitting the map in sub-theatres and then treating each sub-theatre one by one may help.

It is a pity that changing of HQs consumes political points even for unrestricted units, otherwise it would be easier to keep a clean ORBAT and HQ allocation, which would help with tracking and management.

You need to learn about the map, the bases sizes and stacking limits to find the "good locations" for hubs and staging areas. Japan cannot defend them all in strength - hit them where they ain't.

Historically, the major operations of the US starting in 1943 in the CentPac and SWPAc areas required multiple staging areas due to the size of the forces involved and the limited infrastructure available.

And no worries about SNAFUS in the game, the happened in real life as well. For example, I have read somewhere that the Navy base at Fall River, Massachusetts once received a shipment of supplies and materials it had not requested. Turned out the stuff should have been delivered to Milne Bay, New Guinea. The code name of Milne Bay was "Fall River"

I should have like a record book/journal of what I’m doing and what’s in progress.

Can’t imagine any other game where I’d need it but I probably can’t survive without something like that to back me up.

Maybe you should have regimental units with support units forward for defense while your divisions are defending your major bases with larger stacking limits. These divisions can be preparing for offensive operations so when the time is right, then you can attack. Remember that early in the game, when the cat (KB) is away then the mice (the Allies) can play!

Vixel wrote: Wed Sep 09, 2026 5:04 pm I should have like a record book/journal of what I’m doing and what’s in progress.

Can’t imagine any other game where I’d need it but I probably can’t survive without something like that to back me up.

I use a notebook....GP

I use a flip-page spiral for running notes. My on-off success with tracker has forced me to explore the in-game menu. What a wonderful bunch of rabbit holes! Sometimes I use my notebook to note beforehand what I am seeking because I'm often sucked on down the hole in distraction or impulse. It's all there though and learning how to sort for what you seek or to exclude is big. Oddly, playing other Grigsby monsters broke down some phobia I had with the menus in this game - perhaps the small size...

btd64 wrote: Wed Sep 09, 2026 10:18 pm

Vixel wrote: Wed Sep 09, 2026 5:04 pm I should have like a record book/journal of what I’m doing and what’s in progress.

Can’t imagine any other game where I’d need it but I probably can’t survive without something like that to back me up.

I use a notebook....GP

Most of us use some form of log book ... I can't see how otherwise. Maybe not necessarily a paper bound one, but you need to have a log of what you have done and what your intentions/plans are.

Lately, I've gone to a dual system.

I keep a paper log book of what I have done, outcomes, etc. Not the combat details, those are in Tracker for me. But more broad outcomes, things I did, forgot to do, plan to do , etc. This is a date log, every day (pretty much) has an entry. New game, new book. Gotta a lot of books ... some full, some not so full. Lotta ink ...

Then in a Word doc sorted first by Air/Land/Sea unit and then within each unit date notes of things that I oopsed or need to remember to do for the next game (assuming the same strategy). Things that worked, and the ones that didn't with the why and the how to fix it included. Since I am also the author of my mod, it includes errors/fixes that need to be done in the mod.

There is a lot to handle in game. Currently I am playing 3 games all at the same time and I dont use notes. How do I keep it all under control. I dont... But I keep most of it moving in the right direction.

If you want to keep it orderly you can assign CS missions for your supply routes. Put together a number of ships of approximately the same speed and maybe the same cargo size from a source port (like San Diego) and then pick a destination. Once that is set up you can change it from human control to CS. That means the convoy will continuously pick up supplies from (san diego) and deliver them to the destination port. This should be done between safe ports at least 20 hexes from the front lines to ensure you are safe from air bombardment. You can get as detailed as possible streamlining the size of convoys to the port for maximum efficiency if you want to and it is great for the major routes such as capetown and the west coast to Australia. The important thing for you is that it can reduce the need to move hundreds of ships and group then into a manageable amount of convoys.

For your amphibious transports, pick a safe port near places where you are going to embark them and store groups of them in those ports ready to move forward as necessary. If I plan on using Townsville as an amphibious port I can use bowen or rockhampton as staging ports for my ships. That keeps them off the front lines and generally safe from bombardment or air assault. You may want to put a few fighter squadrons above them for additional safety and keep an eye out for air searches to warn you to move them if necessary.

I keep LCU's organized by training them for the location I plan to assault with them. If you are doing an amphibious assault you are going to need HQ's, Port and AF support, LCU's and other assist units like artillery and engineers. By planning each assault individually and assigning training as a group helps keep them organized. When new LCU's become available I assign them to targets as well. If units get scattered you can always look them up on the LCU list at the top and figure out where they are and how to consolidate them from there.

Plan staging areas for the LCU's you have in the forward areas of the map (within 20 hexes of there objectve) in open terrain and possibly on rail lines so they can be strat moved quickly when you plan on deploying them to the front lines.

When I start the game I decide which air groups will be used for training of aircraft. Then I will grab the most untrained pilots from the bottom of the reserve list and train them while moving the trained pilots to the reserve ready for deployment when I need them. This way I dont have to worry about micro-managing them and moving them this way usually means there is no delay for them to be placed into training and/or service. Otherwise you can decide to go through your lists weekly or monthly in game. In addition you can set replacements to automatic and the computer will fill the roles as needed from the pool picking the best pilots for the job from the reserve pool. Then you just have to worry about training and not assignment to the combat units.

When I feel like things are out of control I get a piece of paper and go through the map writing down what I am doing and the number of days before I need to check and/or change something and keep going back to it until I feel back in control. My notes look something like (loading 112th EAB onto transports @ Adak Island, move to Pearl harbor ETA 2 days for loading check back December 14, 1942)

Finally, dont worry about having everything figured out all the time. There is too much for any one person to handle and if you are keeping most of it moving in the right direction then that should be good enough.

Remember to have fun ;]

It's a long war and the game turns are 1 day. If you miss something, the loss of one day is not going to be game changing. How many times has an overall commander had a subordinate not understand his orders and do something never envisioned by the commander?

Of course, it is never the commander's fault, so have your mind go through the chewing out session for the miscreant or maybe even mentally place him in charge of the Bear Abatement Squad on Kodiak and arm him with a pocketknife.

The CS convoys is an outstanding time saver. Limit the size to 15 ships {unless completely off-map movement like England to Cape Town}. This will reduce the chance of collisions. I prefer to have all the merchants in these to be the same size capacity though it is not necessary. Asa stated, do not use this near the front unless you are sending single ship transports. The loss of an xAKL or small xAK every few months is minor but the loss of 14 TKs to torp tossing Bettys would be disastrous.

I do not run CS convoys from one Off-map base to another off-map base. I had one that unloaded then loaded again at Cape Town. It was probably caused by a loose nut behind the keyboard but I just don't do it. The only route I have is England to Cape Town for Supplies so it is easy to check England once every 3-4 weeks and playing allies, you will be swimming in supplies so I am not sure it is necessary.

The prepping LCU for a place early and changing the list by prep locations is a wonderful way of helping to keep things straight.

And remember, this is not just a game. It is a way of life!