I'm new and I come bearing questions

[Anachro]

Hello everyone,

I just discovered WitP:AE about 2 weeks ago, with Hearts of Iron previously being my mainstay game of choice and primary means of getting my fill of WW2 strategy gaming. All I can say is, wow! This seems to be the game I've been searching for and now hopefully I'll have a home for quite some time. I'm a bit of a history buff and have started really delving into the history (just finished Kaigun), but am hoping to get some further deep knowledge throughout my stay.

The goal right now is to learn and then hopefully dive into PBEM.

A few questions:

1. What are suggested settings for the game? Should I have auto base building, upgrades, etc. all turned off?

2. What are tools that are considered absolutely necessary? Currently, I've just got CombatTracker and WitP tracker setup, but still have yet to figure out how to actually use them.

3. What are the preferred scenarios, especially for multiplayer? I kind've prefer the historical Scenario 1 with a historical first turn, but do most people prefer a non-historical first turn?

4. Related to a historical first turn, does it still produce variability? In other words, will the same number of BB sink every time in PH, or does this change slightly depending on chance?

5. I have already gotten into using additional artwork. Currently, I have installed the stock version of the Yamato Damashii map, which I really like. I've noticed that a lot of people use DaBigBabes, which requires an extended version of the base map (with additions). Yamato Damashii, as well as other map mods, have extended versions, but are they compatible with DaBigBabes (DBB states that it uses the extended map with additional alterations)? Would I be able to use the Yamato Damashii extended version with, say, DaBigBabes-B and C?

6. What are the changes in DaBigBabes? It seems to add a lot more boats?

Most importantly

7. What's the best way for one to go about learning all the crap in the game? I'd like to eventually figure out Japan, but production seems complicated (and WitP tracker is hard to use).[:D]

Thanks for your answers. Maybe I'll play some of you in the future in PBEM.

[jwolf]

Quick answer to #4: historical first turn just means the same orders are given, but results will vary according to die rolls. For example, Pearl Harbor will probably take a severe beating but the exact details will vary. Also the setting "Allied surprise" or whatever it's called is critical to the calculations.

[atheory]

With regards to #1 - I'm pretty sure most people have auto upgrade/replacements turned off to start. This way resources and pools aren't used up right away in areas you don't want them. When you start the game, you can manually adjust the units/bases you wish to allow for these options.

And #7 - I spent much time combing through the war room and these forums in general. There are excellent guides/topics of discussion on Japan and the game overall.

[GetAssista]

#7. The game is huge, there lots and lots of details/tactics/strategies you can learn, especialy in multiplayer. Expect to still discover new things after years in the game.
Start with newbie thread in the War room tm.asp?m=2260137. To progress in terms of difficulty play scenarios like Coral Sea & Guadacanal (AI then PBEM) to get tactical aspects, then move to Allies grand campaign gainst AI, only then try Japan GC.
Then there are dozens of quality AARs on this forum dating back several years, with forumites discussing stuff in detail. You can start with newbie tutorial AAR tm.asp?m=2940156 and then move to real ones. Many AARs are also fun to read!

[Lokasenna]

1. That depends on what you want. I recommend turning auto base building off, as well as upgrades. Leaving automatic upgrades on will have your pools in a poor state many times, whereas turning them off will have you paying attention to upgrades and learning how to do them. Once you know how, it's really not that much more work to manage most of your upgrades. The exception is a few land units, due to terrible device production rates in some cases.

2. Tracker, especially as the Allies. Yeah, yeah, it's handy for Japanese production, but it's even more handy for the Allied Logistics Train.

3. Scen 1 and Scen 2 get a lot of play. As well as DBB, which is a mod. They are almost always based off of Scen 1 and 2. You should get the database upgrades from AndyMac if you are playing stock. This actually gets you a lot of things that DBB has (flak, ASW changes mostly).

4. Answered above.

5. Don't know. Maybe. I think all extended maps used have the same hex mapping to them, so you should be alright. But take that with a boulder of salt from me.

6. Lots of little boats. In some of the scenarios, there are changes to LCU makeup. Much more granularity in Engineer-type units, for example. In some, the Australians never combine to divisions. It can affect the TOE upgrades of other divisions (some USA 1941 divisions don't upgrade, for example). There is also the change to Refinery production: instead of producing 9 Fuel and 1 Supply, they just produce 9 Fuel. To compensate for this for Japan, there is additional Light Industry (I think). Then there are changes to flak and ASW, most (all?) of which you can get via the AndyMac scenario updates. A big change here is that Allied shipborne flak is awful in stock and more historically good in DBB, and low altitude flak in general seems much more dangerous. Also, device changes to lots of ASW means that subs don't get killed as often.

7. Just do stuff. For Japan, production isn't actually that complicated. Do stuff, and when you have a question, do as comprehensive of a search of the forums as you can do. Most likely your question has already been answered. Alternatively (or additionally), start an AAR and post your progress and questions in there. Your readers may give you answers as well as context-specific advice, and that way you don't have to create a new thread every time you can't find an answer to a question.

[Anachro]

Guys. Thank you for the responses so far. GetAssista, that AAR link you provided is interesting; I'll take a look at it (and it explains DBB a bit).

I guess my question regarding DBB mod is: Can you use DBB extended map scenarios with other versions of the Extended Map mod, or must you use the DBB extended map version with the base map extension art work?

[pontiouspilot]

Start with AI and a scenario like Guadalcanal. Ideally try both sides. You may want to ignore China or play a Quiet China until you are well versed in ships and planes. I suggest 1 day turns because almost all PBEM will be 1 day turns.

For further adventures I recommend the DBB hybrids.

[btd64]

In regards to #4, I have seen 7 BB's sunk. and only 4 BB's hit with med to low damage. Depends on the die roll. And the mod. Map wise, Their are only two flavors; stock map and extended. But each of them come in several types. If you look in the Design and Modding part of this forum, At the top is a section for Additional scenarios. Look in that post. At the bottom are all kinds of art mods including chemkids World Famous Map Mods....GP

[Anachro]

Lokasenna

Thank you for making me aware of the database upgrades by AndyMac. I'll check that out. Can probably utilize it with stock for now to get my feet wet before diving into DBB.

One additional question

Do people leave their subs on computer control or tend to control them themselves?

[crsutton]

Find a novice human opponent and start with a small scenario. No better way to lean than by losing some ships....

[Anachro]

Yah, I'm thinking of asking around to do a Guadalcanal campaign PBEM with another novice once I grasp the basics.

I tried that Scenario earlier this weekend as the Allies. Managed to sink a good number Japanese surface ships (the rush of successful engagements is awesome), but left my carrier task force out too audaciously long with not enough replenishment for planes, suffering a bad setback against the Japanese carrier fleet when it arrived. And I still am trying to grasp supply, replenishment, etc, with Noumea, etc. constantly low on supply.

Guess I should be focusing on protecting convoys from Australia early on to ensure supply before focusing entirely on the invasion force.

[zuluhour]

....small bites......enjoy.[:)]

[Zigurat666]

Best thing you can learn about Japan is losing but having fun doing it. Also most house rules are usually from crying AFB's since a competant allied player can already clean the bathroom floor with your face and you will find that there is little benefit in said proposed rules and that its all done for the sake of realism wink-wink.

[Anachro]

That's my goal. I understand that Japan has the deck stacked against it.

Ideally, I'd like to find an opponent to RP with me, making decisions that are divergent, but plausible. There are many strategies which might have been militarily sound for both Japan and the Allies, which were also political unpalatable, such as completely abandoning the Philippines.

I'd like to eventually write a narrative AAR, time willing.

One cool idea I thought of: 2v2 match, but with 1 person from each team representing the political leadership and 1 person the military strategists/generals/admirals. Then, instead of purchasing CoC moves with PP, the military player has to advocate his position to the president/prime minister, who then makes a decision while considering the situation and potential political ramifications. For the presidents, this would be the public. For the prime minister, this would be a mixture of the military clique (navy/military rivalry), populace, and military industrialists. It might be cool to write out this dynamic in an AAR, with lots of flavor added in.

Just an idea. [:)]

[Shark7]

Ok, I can answer from the perspective of a fairly experienced JFB.

1. Initially, I'd start the game with all base building turned off. Building up backwater bases just burns through supply that you don't have enough of to start with. My suggestion is to build up the bases in the Home Islands (but put this off for a bit), and in Indonesia when you capture it. Other than that, any base that you want to use a 'point of the spear' for later attacks. Definately do not build up every base there is, because when the Allied player starts rolling you later in game (he should) you are just giving him/her free built up bases for his heavy bombers. In other words, be selective and only build up bases in places you want to defend, or where you can get several bases close enough to help each other.

2. I honestly just use pen and paper to take notes when needed to play the game. Tracker is nice, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't call anything necessary.

3. My advice here is start small. Trying to tackle a grand campaign out of the box might be over-whelming.

4. Each game is variable. The historical first turn simply makes all the opening moves play to the historical reality...results will vary.

5 & 6 I can't answer well since I don't use either, but I'm sure some one else can.

7. Well, the only real way to learn is to start a game and play. Then start another one and play again, correcting all the mistakes you made the first time. I advise at least a few start/stop games against the AI until you get a hang of how everything works.

[witpaemail]

You will get a lot of various answers about everything. My personal take is this: I was a long time player of WitP, and I was a playtester for AE. My answers to your questions for what its worth.

1) Settings.
A) Realism. Fog of War, Advanced weather, Allied damage control, PDU (player defined upgrades), ect. I would suggest you mess around with. See what YOU like. Not everyone here will agree on everything, so frankly, dont listen to them. Mess around with it to see what YOU like. The only suggestion I would make here is that if you play historical first turn, you also play with 1st turn surprise.
B) Game options. Combat reports and air/TF move radius are there as player aids. I turn off combat reports at times (these settings can be changed in the game from turn to turn) to speed up processing of the turn, no other reason, and I dont do it often. It has no effect on game play. The other option in the top section is auto sub ops. Im gunshy on letting the computer control any of my units, so I as most others Im sure, leave this off. But by all means try it once to see if YOU like it. The bottom section is usually better left off, unless you are playing one of the smaller scenarios. The reason being is you get precious few resources/replacements (at start for the allies, and the whole game as Japan) and you really need to have control over this, at least in a campaign game.
C) Prefs. Purely display and changeable in game. Play with it. See what YOU like.

2) You dont need any extra tools. Everything that the tools do is mostly already in the game. The ONLY things "tracker" does that isnt in the game is tells you when a ground unit has arrived at its destination and how much supply/resources a base gained or lost. My experience has always been if you are worried about a base gaining or losing supply, you are probably already watching the levels and know if its going up or down. This is probably the biggest hot-button on the forum as there are people that swear the game cant be played without it. Poppycock. It isnt worth the trouble in AE where as it was moderately useful in WitP. But again, try it and see what YOU like. Dont let someone elses opinion (including mine) get in the way of seeing what YOU like.

3) You can find people willing to play any scenario, including a ton that arent in the game. That isnt a problem.

4) Historical first turn. I have seen every result from hardly a scratch, to 8 BBs sunk. Most common is 3-4 in my experience.

5) I cant answer that. Never used Babes.

6) Again, never used it. I (personally) dont like a lot of meaningless boats. By all means try it and see what YOU like.

7) best way to learn is to play the way you intend to play. If you plan to play mostly against the AI, then play the AI. If you plan on matching wits with a human, then learn against a human. I (personally) cant play against the AI. Personal taste. Should probably play a game or 2 vs the AI at start just to get a handle on hos things are done.

Couple of helpful hints: the < and > keys step through your TFs 1 at a time and + and - step through your bases (except dots) 1 at a time. I usually > > > through my TFs and then + + + through my bases, every turn. This way I dont over look anything.

[DanSez]

ORIGINAL: Anachro
Hello everyone,

I just discovered WitP:AE about 2 weeks ago, with Hearts of Iron previously being my mainstay game of choice and primary means of getting my fill of WW2 strategy gaming. All I can say is, wow!

Me too. Was a big big fan of Hearts of Iron 1,2 and 3. Since dipping into this deep pool, I haven't played any other game the past 3 years. Pack your bags and kiss your former gaming life good-bye.

ORIGINAL: Anachro
2. What are tools that are considered absolutely necessary? Currently, I've just got CombatTracker and WitP tracker setup, but still have yet to figure out how to actually use them.

Three main tools are Tracker, Combate Reporter and Intel Monkey. Very little instruction exist on how best to use those tools. From Tracker you can create excel spreadsheets to make your own custom work files. I discover something 'new' about once a month using Tracker in my PBEM Campaign game. The most important tools you will have are those you develop on your own (spreadsheets or notebooks).

ORIGINAL: Anachro
7. What's the best way for one to go about learning all the crap in the game? I'd like to eventually figure out Japan, but production seems complicated (and WitP tracker is hard to use).[:D]

Play a couple of the shorter scenarios against the AI (both sides) to get a feel of the game like Coral Sea or 1000 Mile.
Find someone who will play a couple of short scenarios and see how you interact with them.

This is a LONG term game and the most 'important' rule would be to find someone whom you can learn from and work with. It helps you keep interested thru the tough lessons and the steep learning curve. If the relationship doesn't work out while playing a short campaign, then you can move on sooner to find a more appropriate game partner in level and temperament. You might want to play 3-4 people in short scenarios to find someone to take on the full campaign, but that process will take 18 months or so...

I played short scenarios for about that length of time and found myself poorly prepared for taking on the task of running Japan. The short scenarios don't help you with the economic management, nor do any of them approach the vast scale of the full map campaign. It takes sooooo long to get your forces where you want them to be - you have to be thinking 2 weeks to a month ahead in logistics planning. If you are anxious to get into the 'big show', you might want to consider staying on the Allied side.

You can also do some research in the AAR section and participate in their threads (reading, asking occasional questions) and maybe even recruit someone from there as an opponent.

Good luck.

[Bullwinkle58]

ORIGINAL: witpaemail


2) You dont need any extra tools. Everything that the tools do is mostly already in the game. The ONLY things "tracker" does that isn't in the game is tells you when a ground unit has arrived at its destination and how much supply/resources a base gained or lost.

This is far from true. Tracker does many things the game cannot. Two I use extensively are time series data on ship repairs and side-by-side stat comparisons of aircraft.

Don't use it if you don't want to, but don't misrepresent the work that went into it.

[Anachro]

I guess it's good to ask:

What are the best ways to use the WitP tracker? Is there a tutorial somewhere?

Moreover, do most people play with two monitors, one to keep the trackers, etc. on and what to keep the game screen on? It's a bit of a hassle to minimize and look at the tracker.

[Yaab]

I use one monitor. I use WITP:AE and Tracker separately. I first ran a turn in WITP:AE, save it, and export the save file to Tracker. I close WITP:AE. I load the file in Tracker, choose Alerts, untick all Alert flags except LCU, Ctrl+C the Unit arrived list and paste it into Word. I analyse some data in Tracker (Chinese supply, device used in China, mine pools etc), and then load WITP:AE again, and play another turn.