UV or WitP?

Uncommon Valor: Campaign for the South Pacific covers the campaigns for New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland and the Solomon chain.

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undercovergeek
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UV or WitP?

Post by undercovergeek »

hi, have posted on WitP forums about which one to buy WitP or UV - WitP seems just MASSIVE for my first forray, but then again im trying to avoid the 'play UV for 2 minutes, love the theatre and wish id bought WitP' scenario. is WitP simply a bigger UV? and why, most importantly if WitP is out there are people still playing UV
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tocaff
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by tocaff »

I play UV because it's not so massive and time consuming, well it is addictive and consumes your time.  Once you're able to beat up the AI on it's harder settings you're ready for human opponents and getting beat.  Think of WITP as UV on steroids and you'll understand why some of us are just plain intimidated by it.  WITP uses the UV engine so it could help you in the long run by learning the game mechanics on the one before being overwhelmed by the other. 
Todd

I never thought that doing an AAR would be so time consuming and difficult.
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hbrsvl
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by hbrsvl »

Hi-"Is WITP a bigger UV"?-IMHO, yes & no. Yes in that it covers almost the same scenarios as UV for one thing. ( South Pacific only) No, in that WITP is much more complex, with lots of things to remember & do. In WITP if you play Japan, you have a whole new dimenson due to Production.

Also, WITP takes a LOT more time to play one day, due to air, land & sea aspects covering the whole of the world from India to West Coast US & from Alaska to below Australia.

To me the best feature of UV is the fast pace of the game- as I mentioned above, you can probably get 3-4 days of game time played in UV as you can in WITP for the same amount of your time.

However, I like WITP better. Good playing!! Hugh Browne

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btaft
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by btaft »

I have to agree with a lot of the above comments. I don't think you would end up in the position of playing UV for only 2 minutes and then wishing you had WITP. It will take much longer than that to learn the subtleties and mechanics of the UV engine. I have just finished my first full campaign in UV and i have been at it for a few months. In my opinion the UV game could be viewed as a necessary training ground for WITP, if for no other reason than to become skilled in these mechanics. Alot more can be learned in a shorter period of time using UV than WITP. Sure WITP offers some smaller scenarios but these typically deal with combat side of things and don't require the player to truely work at refining their logistics and base building which is the backbone for both titles. After learning UV you may decide to move up to the big leagues and enter into WITP or you may decide the handling of all the air groups which can be very tedious is alot of work in which case you may want to try WPO. Or you may decide that it is just right and want to stick with UV. I personally intend to give WPO an honest try and to use it as a potential stepping stone to get into WITP.

WITP does offer numerous features that are not available in UV, such as Japanese production, resourse logistics, and new task force types that seem to handle some things better than UV.

Another measure that can be used to determien the depth of the game is to look at the size of the manuals for the games:

UV - 70 pages
WPO - 165 pages
WITP - 220 pages

Hope this helps with your decision process
undercovergeek
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by undercovergeek »

hi, thanks for all replies.... am genuinely stuck here, one minute i read a UV AAR and think this is the one, and then read a WitP one and back to square one!! Again thanks for help, my chin scratching continues
canadaexile
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by canadaexile »

Just to throw another point of view, I have UV and WPO. I like both of them. It all depends on what you like. UV is a like pre-qualification for WiTP. Believe me I am still learning!
WPO is more for a surface fleet engagement, both good games in their own right but directed towards different styles of play. I would buy UV and play it for a while including a full campaign before moving onto the WiTP
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DEB
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by DEB »

ORIGINAL: canadaexile

I would buy UV and play it for a while including a full campaign before moving onto the WiTP

This I agree with. See below for details.

UV is quite complex, although you can get a feel for how to play it quite quickly. The nature of the tactics involved means however that as well you grasp the complexity of the game system, you will take even longer to work out how to win it.
It covers ( West to East ) Papua New Guinea to Santa Cruz Is. & ( North to South ) Truk Is. to Brisbane ( Australia).

WitP I do not have but I gather it is even more complex as you have more things to control ( like production ) as well units & nations for the whole Pacific campaign.
It covers ( West to East ) India-Burma-Malaysia-China-Mancuria-Eastern Siberia-Alaska-Canada-USA & (North to South) Bering Straits-Wake Is.-Marshall Is.-Santa Cruz Is.-New Caledonia-Tasman Sea.
I would have got this game but my current PC is not large enough for the game requirements.

You may find UV is too large & complex for you, or you may find it about right ( a good challege ). However it will be a good gauge of how you can cope with WitP. If you try WitP first and find it too large & complex it will put you off of UV.
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Tank Commander_MatrixForum
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by Tank Commander_MatrixForum »

I have the same dilemma as you.

I'm going to plump for UV and then get CAW when it comes out this year
3 write-offs but still a Tank Commander
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jwilkerson
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by jwilkerson »

Hi,

I've played both UV and WITP since they came out (and WPO too) and I'm not sure I agree with everyone else that UV is a 'training ground" for WITP. That characterization almost implies a hierarchy, in which WITP occupies the higher notch. I prefer to think of them as different versions of the same game. The main difference for me is the (obvious) hex scale. But this in turn implies number of things in terms of tactical nuances.

It is much easier to "count hexes" in WITP. For instance most convoys will be moving only 3 hexes in one day. This gives me two chances to intercept the convoy with a surface force, either in the second hex, or in the third hex. This type of "mid-ocean-intercept" is tougher in UV because ships move many more hexes.

But there is something to be said for the idea the WITP is "more". It has more hexes and more units and it is more difficult to "optimize" the use of each and every unit. For me at least, this is frustrating. I suppose I could spend hours doing each turn, but I guess I don't have the patience for that. Hence I find my play of UV and WPO to be more enjoyable, at least from this perspective. The ability to really know what every unit is doing.

On the other hand, WITP gives you a sense of being involved in something huge. Something (almost) unmanageable. And in this regard, perhaps it is a better simulation of a real war. No one human can control a real war and WITP brings that message home. So, I like WITP for this reason.

I guess, bottom line, for me. I like all of them. I play all of them. But I like them for different reasons. And I don't consider one to be a "training ground" for the others. They are all "training grounds" for each other!

So, hey, there is another option for you. Get all three of them! [:D] Then you can stop scratchin' and start playin' !

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tocaff
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by tocaff »

I now own all 3 games and I find I feel this way about them: 
WITP is a daunting undertaking that I feel overawed by.
WPO is a large scope that is approachable if for no other reason than fewer units involved due to lack of ac.  It's a whole different view of things too.
UV is still my favorite as it's smaller scope means that it doesn't take forever to give your commands.  I wish it had many of the features found in WITP though.
So based on the above feelings that I have it still boils down to comparing apples and oranges.  They're different games in their own right and I just wish the bugs were eliminated.
Todd

I never thought that doing an AAR would be so time consuming and difficult.
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undercovergeek
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by undercovergeek »

i plumped for WitP - couldnt resist the sale - have installed, patched and its ready to go, and the icon looks at me on the desk top, taunts me even - have just figured how to window it so i can switch from tutorial pdf to the game and am going to start it today!!!
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marky
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by marky »

ive played both, it took me 5 months to get it running, i had to get a new computer lolz

theyrte bnoth great games, and i was a bit overwhelmed at first with WITP but ive gotten used to it [:)]
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marky
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by marky »

i say get both to every1 [:D]
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Ike99
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by Ike99 »

I bought UV instead of WITP because WITP seemed very massive. As well, the 70 page rulebook seemed more digestible than a 220 page rulebook.

I have no complaints about buying UV.

In 6 months, a year, I'll get around to buying WITP. I do feel UV will always have a place though. I'm thinking it's more playable, especially in PBEM games.
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tocaff
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by tocaff »

How long have you been playing UV now?  
Todd

I never thought that doing an AAR would be so time consuming and difficult.
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Scurvodsky_slith
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by Scurvodsky_slith »

Excuse my ignorance but what is WPO?
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tocaff
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by tocaff »

War in the Pacific is a 1920's into 30s war.  No CVs or in their infancy.  It's the "Gun Club" boys heyday.  A long time can elapse before anything happens as it's easy to hide a fleet with very limited air patrols.  Your oponent can hit and disappear before you can react, if you're unlucky.  The ships also have a much shorter range than in WW2 so as usual supplies are the name of the game.
Todd

I never thought that doing an AAR would be so time consuming and difficult.
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DEB
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by DEB »

ORIGINAL: tocaff

War in the Pacific is a 1920's into 30s war. 

Not sure I follow this, did you mean this as a WitP comment?
It looks like a "Warplain : Orange" period comment to me !!
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Warfare1
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by Warfare1 »

I prefer UV - smaller, and I'm able to get through turns faster and thus complete scenarios quicker.

Drinking a cool brew; thinking about playing my next wargame....
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tocaff
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RE: UV or WitP?

Post by tocaff »

Sorry, I've got the flu and it's killing me.  I meant WPO and no WITP.
Todd

I never thought that doing an AAR would be so time consuming and difficult.
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