Matrix Games Forums

First of all I like the Pacific war .
I bought UV when it first came out being playing it pretty much ever since fine research , etc etc etc ( however its pretty pro allied ) . However after playing in three recent games I have had Cv TF annhilated ( 2 jap and one US ) on three separate opccasions mainly caused by failure to launch ( anything at all ) . So what am I doing wrong ? My opponents stell me they have 100 wildcat or so up , should that make any odds ??
I have found that leaving the micro management to the AI is flawed ( in UV ) it simply takes no consideration of any plan at all it sees to only look as far as the end of its nose or lets say about 12 hours . The same goes for LBA on two occasions Rabual has 100 ZEROS AND 120 BETTY all at morale 99 and exp 80 or more still will not attack a carrier TF ( even over several days ) and attack 2 AP or a DD TF instead in an adjacent hex . Not a mistaken attack ( which I can accept once or twice ) simply that they will not attack the CV TF .
Tell me when in 42 did the US send big wedges of CV in range of Rabual ??

Another player told me it may be to do with how many CV are in the TF ...old wives tales ??

On another note in UV the Jap bombers are just so fragile and can never be employed attacking over long ranges against bases , the carriers are too weak including in AC capacity , according to Janes Kaga and Akagi should be a fair bit higher.
The B17 is ridiculous for early 42 in its tanacity in attack ( bot mostly misses I accept ) .

I have bought witp and from first sight the AI seems better .

Or am I just a bad general , before I go any further please offer some advice [&o]

Also will I enjoy witp more ?
Sorry for any typos

Michael

Are you really going to play UV now that you have WitP? I have both and only play UV until I finish my PBEM game. As some people stated in WitP forum, we have to be realistic. We have the AI that we have [:)]

Your comment is noted , am I to assume that most players of WITP have given up UV ?
I really hope WITP will be as good as it looks and that the designers have seen how an AI can ruin an otherwise very sound game .

Michal

I am playing both UV and WITP and have just started two UV PBEM games
with Soon to be 4 WITP games, I have enjoyed UV for almost two years now
but have only gotten into PBEM play since december.
I now only play the AI to practice certain things and only in WITP and
consider human apponants to be much more of a challenge than any AI
can be. all that aside I will play UV as long as there are PBEM'RS to play
with and I believe it is a nice break from WITP.

as far as the CV issue goes you need to:

1: ensure that your carriers are not overcrowded you can't have more than
10% of aircraft over your capacity. ( they will not launch if overcrowded)

2:watch fatiuge closely as your pilots will get tired and fail to attack or escort,
no escorts and your attack craft will suffer heavy losses.

3:land based SQDRNS will not attack CV'S unless you base a few CV sqdrns
with them, then they will join in the fight, it is suicide for land based aircraft
to go up against Highly skilled carrier aircraft.

4:train up your level bombers especially your B25J's to over 60% and set them
to 100 feet and watch them rip up task forces, but watch fatuige closely as
they will tire quickly and you will suffer op losses.

5: when trying to bomb over long ranges you will carry smaller bombs and
start to suffer from fatuige and lose accuracy, especially if you fly on consecutive
days.

I have UV and WitP and have about 4 UV campaigns in progress. I almost always play scen 19 as I feel that a good Allied player can not lose any of the other campaings. I feel that scen 19 is very balanced and the Japanese have a very good chance of winning. I think they have to get an auto victory to do so. Too bad because the game gets more interesting after 1943. However, this is easily corrected by just giving the Japanese player a simple point handicap (not sure how much though).

I think the biggest problem is that you need to refine your tactics a bit. I do not have too much trouble playing the Japanese but have learned the hard way what not to do. For example, you complain about how fragile bettys are while attacking land bases. Well, in fact, the betty was totally unsuited to attack any well defended target, ship or base. It was a terrible aircraft who's only benefit was it long range and (and in UV it is a deadly torpedo bomber) Japanese bombers over Lunga only attacked at heights over 20,000 feet because the bettys were too easily shot down. This was a total waste as they rarely hit anything. So, In UV I almost never attack bases with bettys. It is a losing proposition. I only do it when it is absolutely necessary. There are better uses for bettys.

I have one campaign that I have been playing since the game was introduced! We are in April of 43 now and I am the Allies. I have lost five carriers but are on the attack. It may be a very close thing as my opponent has plenty of carriers.

There are many little things that drive me crazy in UV, but I still love the game and think that it mirrors the real situation in the South Pacific. I have also moaned when my bettys did not attack juicy carriers, or when my massed carriers send in planes piecemeal-or got surprized. I have had my carriers lauch masses of unescorted kates at long range against massive enemy cap. You can guess the results there.

However, I think for the most part the tactical AI works fine. I don't want to micromanage my games. You must remember that in 1942 carrier warfare was brand new and untested. Both sides were pretty bad at it and made many big mistakes. I want that flavor in my games. If I felt like I could manage every battle to my own benefit, then I would not enjoy the game so much. You have to expect the unexpected, and the occasional disaster justs serves to make us stronger [:D]

Now a comment on WITP. I have Witp but have yet to try an email game( I don't play the computer much). I think it needs another major patch and am worried the a restart of any campaign would be needed. That said, I wonder if WITP is playable at all. Knowing the time commitment it takes to play a UV game, I doubt very seriously that many WITP campaigns are going to go the distance. Remember, if you are playing a turn a day (realistic?) you are commiting to a possible four year commitment! I know that there is a lot of enthusasm for WITP right now but I question how many games started in the last few months will ever see completion. I am speaking as a 50 year old wargamer that goes all the way back to Tactics II and the square hexed Gettysburg. WITP is the Europa of computer games-beautiful simulation but not a great game due to its massive size. UV is less of a simulation but a much better game- Not because it is without its faults but because there really is a chance to finish it. Tell me as a computer game, will WITP be state of the art in four years? Will the software work on your new computer, with your new NVida 1.2 million meg video card that actually singes your eyebrows when you get flamed in Doom 5? Will your opponent get married, have kids, get sick, die, get bored, get frustrated, get angry, get newer cooler (Rome Total War)games that require more of his time in the next four years. I would say most probably.

I think you will see many WITP fans back on this board playing UV sooner or later. I hope Matrix will give it one more solid patch to fix a few quirks.

Don't forget that WITP has smaller scenarios broken down to different years
I have not played one as of yet but they look very interesting.

I have had UV on my drive for over two years now and I really only play it PBEM, or to up my tactics or fiendish plans. The game is great and I will always be there for me. The historical accuracy is spot-on, and it truly creates the atmosphere of what in some measure warfare is like ( yes I know I'm sitting at home in my room ), and lives up to the old maxim 'War is 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror.

I have just purchased WitP and until I've got my printer working so I can read the rules without going blind, its still UV all the way, although I think WitP will eventually supercede UV as my favourite game. Just playing it PBEM looks like a daunting LONG task[;)]