Matrix Games Forums

Compared to WitP, unitwise to start a given campaign. Larger or smaller or the same? Also, is there similar game mechanics such as supplying bases with fuel and building up facilities? How many planes can be on carriers and such.. so many questions I feel like a kid at christmas. Thanks for all the hard work Tanker and co. [:)]

Always happy to answer questions.

The game mechanics are the same, however few non mainland bases have airfields to start, so more of an emphasis should be placed on that. You still need to supply bases with supply and fuel, though ships generally need more fuel than in WitP (to represent bulkier coal).

Unit wise, On the whole, even at the end of a campaign, there will not be as many land units as in WitP. This represents the alck of mass production, and the fact it is considered a naval war. That said, a WPO division is roughly comparable in size to a reinforced division (remember, 4 regiments to 3), and usually the smallest independent unit is the Brigade. There are a number of individual regiments and battalions available. [Edit] I think counting Divisions and Brigades, total strength for both sides is about 40-45 Divisions, not counting Calvary units and independent regiments or battalions.

As to carriers, Hosho classes carry 26, usually in 2 13 plane squadrons. The Langley carries 33, in 1 squadron of 22 Fighters and 1 of 11 bombers (though players can swap out squadrons, and have three 11 plane squadrons). Yorktown class (merchant conversions) carry only 22 planes, but have a 21 knot speed versus Langley's 15. Furious carries 28 planes, while Argus and Vindictive each carry 20.

Any more questions and I will be happy to answer them.

I'd like to know about the scenarios. How many are offered, and what is their scope? Are they all "whole war" scens, or are there some shorter experiences?

There are 8 scenarios. 6 of which cover two campaigns.

The main one is the 1922 campaign (scenarios 1, 5, and 7). This covers a war from 1922-1926, covering the entire theater. Scenario 1 is for AI play, scenario 7 for PBEM, and Scenario 5 is a shortened version covering from 1922-1923, and ending before the British arrive (and hence forcing the US to come out and play).

The 1926 campaign is just as covered, with scenarios 2, 6, 8. Scenario 2 covers a war from 1926-1930, full theater, will realistic hypotheticals including the Tosa, Amagi, Lexington, South Dakota, and final 3 Hood class. It is designed for both AI and PBEM play. Scenarios 6 and 8 are the same basic campaign, but with the Kii class, G3 class, and 3 of the South Dakotas mount 8 18 inch guns in lieu of 16 inch guns. Scenario 6 is for AI play, 8 for PBEM.

Scenario 3, Pacific Jutland covers a 1 month British-Japanese action in the South China Sea, with the Philippines under Japanese control and the Japanese threatening to move into Indo China, Borneo, or Malaya.

Scenario 4, Clash of Titans, Covers the opening invasion of the Philippines in 1929, but there are enough troops present where the Japanese player (in PBEM) can disembark his ships, and players can game out an invasion of Formosa by the United States (or Eastern Japan, whichever).

In short, Scenarios 1,2,6,7 and 8 are full war scenarios, scenario 5 is a year and a half scenario, and scenarios 3 and 4 are quick combat learning or PBEM scenarios (though they have limited AI play).

Oh, I noticed the Manchuko rule and does that mean Russia can lock horns and get into the fracas? [:)]

Yep. You can invade Manchuria with no problems, but if you have less than 500 av in the area, or if you cross the border with Russia, war is declared. Unfortuneately, as the USSR is still coming down from the revolution, it won't put up much of a fight.

Can warships be used to transport in a pinch? What kinds of transports are available?

Warships in a fast transport TF can load supplies in a pinch. Standard Transports are Large, Medium, and Small APs, Large and Small AKs (with reduced capacity compared to WitP), and Q ships (which can still carry a small load of supplies/troops).

Another quick question: is the map more like Andrew Brown's improved WitP map, or is it the original official Matrix map?

It is a modified version of the original WitP map, correcting spelling errors, removing transport links that weren't there in the '20s, etc...

ORIGINAL: Tankerace

Always happy to answer questions.

The game mechanics are the same, however few non mainland bases have airfields to start, so more of an emphasis should be placed on that. You still need to supply bases with supply and fuel, though ships generally need more fuel than in WitP (to represent bulkier coal).

Any more questions and I will be happy to answer them.

I suppose it was too much of a Hassle to change all "fuel" references in wITP to "Coal"? [:D][:D]

"All" references would have been wong in any case - not all ships were purely coal-fired, iirc.

Steve.

i posted this earlier to another person interested in the game.

have been playing around with it. it's based on WitP with that scale. the game play is probably a little simpler, not because they changed the engine, but because air power and carriers are not the significant force they are in WitP. don't have as many and ranges, experience, and power are much less. AKs and APs seem to be pretty much the same. makes game turns faster BUT strategically and operationally it is a different thought process. carriers are not strike forces but scouts and submarines are also scouts for the fleet more than strike forces. and there are more big ships so you don't have to horde them as much as WitP. pretty much anything 4 or more hexes from land is not going to be found as quickly as in Witp because search is much shorter.

Can someone comment about how the Australians are modeled in the game? Do they have signifcant Naval forces and are their bases strong? I am so going to download this game soon but I can't wait.[:)]

There abses are somewhat smaller compared to WitP, and in 1922 they have only 2 Airfields. However, all major Aussie warships from Submarine up are modeled, from the Australian J class sub to HMAS Australia herself. And the same goes for the New Zealanders too.

Thanks for the information Tanker, I am downloading the game now, this is all your fault.[;)]

edit: while I am downloading, can you explain the Q ship, I understand they are armed ships that appear to be just merchant vessels. How is this modeled in game?

You convert them from Large AKs.

They are exactly like merchant ships, and the game treats them no different. However, as this is so, submarine will attack them on the surface as a regular ship. And as the ship is heavily armed, it fires back.

Also (during a submerged sub attack), all ships with depth charges are eligible to fire back, and this includes the Q ships. That said, after you convert them you need to train them, as they retain the low exp values of the AKs

Very cool, How about repairs? Do you get bonuses if you have repair ships and Fleet HQs or are there otther differences?

Both of those are the same. THe main differences re repairs are that during upgrades, battleships take an incredible amount of damage (about 20-25), because each refit is a time consuming process. ARs, Fleet HQs, etc all work normally.

I suppose it was too much of a Hassle to change all "fuel" references in wITP to "Coal"? [:D][:D]

All" references would have been wrong in any case - not all ships were purely coal-fired, iirc.

Steve.

as steve mentioned not all ships were coal fueled. one of the reasons arizona did not join the british grand fleet in 1917 was because she was an oil burner. we sent coal burning battleships because the british had "coal to carry to newcastle."

Captain, USS Arizona, WPO