Matrix Games Forums

Hello, I have been playing WiTP for a few weeks and just decided to start a campaign.

I am playing as the Allies, but don't even know where to begin in regards to production. The manual is pretty clear in regards to the Japanese, but I can't get the allied factories to produce anything!

As an example, the factories on the east coast say that they are capable of producing X amount of aircraft, but are actually producing zero (as in 'no aircraft', not 'they are producing Zero's', which would be so bad)

I am sure I am missing something simple, so any advice, even if its seems silly to a veteran, would be appreciated!

Ignore production entirely as the allies. There is nothing you can do. Allied production is automatic. You don't need to do a thing.


Maybe send a little oil to Austrailia. You cannot change allied factories.[;)]

Some of Allied production comes from off-map, some from factories that are on-map.

It is as Moses said, all automatic for the Allies. The only things you can do to even remotely affect Allied production:

1) Protect your (on-map) factories from being bombed or captured by the Japanese. This is unlikely to say the least.

2) Make certain your factories have enough resources and oil. USA is self-sufficient. Australia will need oil shipped in (to Southeastern Australia). But don't cause a temporary shortage in USA to do it!

That's it - "Don't worry, be happy!"

Thanks moses and witpqs! I won't worry about it.

One more quick question, if Australia (the whole zone) is under the computers control, will it take care of shipping oil, or do I need to do that from the USA?

Don't put anything under computer control, EVER.

If you decline to follow this very important advice then you will still want to send oil from the US to Austrailia. The AI is not likely to send transports to the US to get it. But then again who knows, it might.

A WITP player who is not a micromanager is a contradiction. NO AI NO WAY. So get with the program and turn off that AI.[:D][:D][:D]

Good advice from you two!

I am jumping in with the question: can you turn off the AI for Auto-Convoys once the game has started? Do you just pull out the ships as they return to Osaka and institute your own convoy system at that point?

Okay, no AI zone of control.

Although, if I lost too quickly, I COULD blame it on the computer..."it wasn't my fault, lousy AI couldn't run Australia!"

So, back to the production for a second, does this mean I have no control over ship building as the Allies?

Thanks for the tips!

I'm sure you can but you may want to check your existing convoys as they probably don't automatically change back to human control.

I guess its OK to use auto-convoy between safe bases. BAH But not for a true WITP player!![:-]

You have attitude MISTER and since I just ambushed your CVs last turn in our campaign, you should be careful! [8D][8D]

It has worked reasonably well but I think it would be better to organize large Convoy TF then the little 2-4 ship TF the auto-convoy function uses.

Hmmm, good question, John 3rd (and good reply). Something I will keep in mind as I pull the plug on the AI convoys...

ORIGINAL: bigT74

Hmmm, good question, John 3rd (and good reply). Something I will keep in mind as I pull the plug on the AI convoys...

The best way to "automate" cargo/tanker convoys is to, for example, create a 10 ship AK convoy at San Francisco and set it's destination to Pearl Harbor. Once you have it loading supplies change it from Human Control to CS and it will keep running supplies between the two ports without you having to do much. Though I DO suggest you check it each time it pulls back into SF to see if there's any ships with high enough SYS damage to be replaced with other ships so you keep your ships repaired.

Also, someone mentioned once not to mix AK and TK ships in the same convoy since they would load faster if they were in separate convoys.

The above method works good if yu're like me and go with small hops between bases to form a supply pipeline instead of large convoys from the West Coast to distant bases.

Dereck,
I FORGOT about the CS option. Haven't used that since Uncommon Valor! That is good thinking. Have you used it in your campaigns? Does it work well?

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

Dereck,
I FORGOT about the CS option. Haven't used that since Uncommon Valor! That is good thinking. Have you used it in your campaigns? Does it work well?

I use it EXTENSIVELY since I'm not a big fan of the huge convoy and instead prefer a series of supply depots along a supply pipeline where I have supply moving all the time. In my last game I had West Cost->Pearl Harbor->Canton Island ... etc with the supply depots moving as I advanced.

I would have a 15 AK convoy (for example) moving from the West Coast to Pearl Harbor with 5 AKs as reserve on the West Coast and when the convoy got back to the West Coast I'd transfer out the 5 AKs with the highest SYS damage and put the reserve AKs in. I'd do the same for the convoys going out of Pearl Harbor and the other ports too.

I haven't had any problem at all with is since I'm the one who sets up the convoys and with my style of logistics it actually works perfectly. I'm still collecting all my cargo and tanker ships to distribute them right now (moving all the US ships and half the British ships from SEAC to Australia and then West Coast but won't have my logistics really in place until around February I don't think though I already have cargo and tanker convoys heading to Pearl Harbor.

I may just give that a try using my major Japanese bases as spokes on a wheel. THANKS!

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

I may just give that a try using my major Japanese bases as spokes on a wheel. THANKS!

From what I've read on the forum here it won't work automatically for Oil or Resources but it does work great for supply and fuel.

It does not work for oil or resources, but the hub-n-spoke method works perfectly for supply and fuel. Actually, it works fine for oil and resources, too, it just has to be done manually.

ORIGINAL: Mynok


It does not work for oil or resources, but the hub-n-spoke method works perfectly for supply and fuel. Actually, it works fine for oil and resources, too, it just has to be done manually.

We were talking about the CS option for the convoys. I don't think it will automatically load Oil and Resources like it will for supply and fuel so, like you said, those items must be transported manually.

bigT74

I recommend keeping everything on manual as you start out the game. There will be few places on the map that are safe enough to turn over to the computer. As the game progresses and the allies start to secure Island bases you can set some of your premade convoys on computer control, see dereck's notes above on how to do that. Now some of your supply lanes are automated, like San Fran to PH to Suva to Brisbane. YOu will still have to monitor the convoys pretty closely as well as the supply levels. Then as the game really progresses and you have beaten the Japanese back and have unquestioned controls over large areas of the sea to and from your bases you can start using the auto-convoy option.

I find auto-convoy to be hugely helpful for supplying all the really out of the way bases that you never want to think about because it will monitor supply levels for you and send them when supplies are low - although note, it will wait until supplies are really low. Example, who wants to monitor the supply levels at Juneau in 1943? But you have to unless the base is set on auto-convoy. Likewise, auto-convoy is ideal for supplying all those bases not being used in New Zealand, after you have secured the supply lines. Maybe you developed Christmas Island as a forward base in 1942, but now it is nothing more than a sub base or a place to repair DD, you can put it on auto-convoy and forget about it for long periods of time. The problem with auto-convoy is that the routine that plots the course for the TF is super dumb [8|]. Several times I had a TF sail from SF to Tasmania by going right through the heart of japanese controlled islands. [:-] So, save auto-convoy for the backwater spots late in the war.

Also, a note on letting the AI run a zone during the war, I did this in my first campaign, figuring that during the war I would turn off AI control and assume more and more responsibility as I learned the game. Two problems:
1. The AI is not very good and will put your forces in a bad spot.
2. Once a section has been put under AI control, I have had trouble assuming command. The AI kept putting my units back under computer control, even though computer control was turned off. This was particularly true in China for some reason.

ORIGINAL: bigT74

Okay, no AI zone of control.

Although, if I lost too quickly, I COULD blame it on the computer..."it wasn't my fault, lousy AI couldn't run Australia!"

So, back to the production for a second, does this mean I have no control over ship building as the Allies?

Thanks for the tips!

You have no control over any kind of production as the Allies. All reinforcements, (air, land and naval) will arrive on a set date regardless of anything you do.