Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

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paradigmblue
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by paradigmblue »

I'm ashamed for completely flaking out on everyone. There's absolutely no excuse for my actions - while my workload precluded me from working on the mod or playing, there is no reason I couldn't have dropped those I was corresponding with a note. All of you deserve better than that. BillBrown, General Patton and others have been great partners and friends on this mod, and my disappearance was disrespectful to them in the extreme.

I've waited too long to jump back into the WiTP:AE community because I was embarrassed and ashamed of how I disappeared. I know things can't go back to the way they were, but I hope I'll be able to contribute to this fantastic community again.


To contribute to the thread, I'm of the opinion now that to play a "balanced" game of Focus Pacific in its current state, you have to do so with the Soviets off. That change frees up a lot of Japanese AV for China, and more importantly, allows Japan to use all of that airpower that was slated for the Soviet theatre for its conquest of PI and DEI instead. Soviets Off also prevents the allied player from flooding Japan's home waters with effective subs from turn one, before Japan has the ASW to deal with it. Later versions of Focus Pacific also toned-down the French air groups at Kwangchowan and removed the American P-50 Skyrockets from Clark Field, which ensures that Japan has air superiority in that theater.

I should note that Kwangchowan is only formidable from the air - a couple of good naval bombardments will wreck the airfield there and destroy those valuable French planes. I would recommend any Japanese player sending a bombardment TF there on Dec. 7 as part of the surprise attack package. It turns what could be a thorn in the side for a Japanese player to an afterthought.

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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by btd64 »

Email sent......[:)]
I thought one of those Earth Quakes got ya....GP
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BillBrown
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by BillBrown »

Hi Bruce, glad to see you are OK. I didn't know what happened to you.

I have given some thought to a Focus Pacific Light, but it will take a good bit of work and my plate is pretty full
right now. Plus I always felt I should find some way to get your permission to do so.

email sent
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durnedwolf
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by durnedwolf »

So the files in post #17 by BillBrown are the latest rendition?

So if you start with the Russia off, can I still attack Russia at a later date and bring them into the war?

DW

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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by Cavalry Corp »

Dear all,

If need be we can send you files of a game in progress. We are in May 1942 two day turns I am playing Japan.

The game feels very lopsided in favour of the allies to me. I note the comments above from the author.. You are very welcome back please do not apologise...

Certainly Russia needs to be inactive or alternatively made active say at the end of 1944. In our game I had agreed to attack Russia at the end of 1942 and at the moment we are allowing reconnaissance flights from and into Russia as a sign of temporary aggression some of the flights of course are shot down by CAP - makes things feel quite tense.

In my game without Singapore and Manila having fallen as yet the allies are looking at auto victory at the end of 1942!!!!!!!

Other big issues.

Allied subs should not have effective torpedoes before the realistic date in my opinion. This is because Japan has very little ASW.
Japan has no good fighter in 1942, certainly nothing to take on Allied air power which looks more like 1943..
the allies have too many superior aircraft to make conquering the DEI impossible
too many allied bases make too much supply making them impenetrable to even siege.

Japanese units feel very weak against the vast Chinese units XXX . In fact Japanese army units feel very inferior to just about everything.
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BillBrown
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by BillBrown »

ORIGINAL: durnedwolf

So the files in post #17 by BillBrown are the latest rendition?

So if you start with the Russia off, can I still attack Russia at a later date and bring them into the war?

Yes, these are the files that Bruce and I were testing. You can set Russia to be inactive and if you attack latter they will then activate.
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btd64
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by btd64 »

ORIGINAL: cavalry

Dear all,

If need be we can send you files of a game in progress. We are in May 1942 two day turns I am playing Japan.

The game feels very lopsided in favour of the allies to me. I note the comments above from the author.. You are very welcome back please do not apologise...

Certainly Russia needs to be inactive or alternatively made active say at the end of 1944. In our game I had agreed to attack Russia at the end of 1942 and at the moment we are allowing reconnaissance flights from and into Russia as a sign of temporary aggression some of the flights of course are shot down by CAP - makes things feel quite tense.

In my game without Singapore and Manila having fallen as yet the allies are looking at auto victory at the end of 1942!!!!!!!

Other big issues.

Allied subs should not have effective torpedoes before the realistic date in my opinion. This is because Japan has very little ASW.
Japan has no good fighter in 1942, certainly nothing to take on Allied air power which looks more like 1943..
the allies have too many superior aircraft to make conquering the DEI impossible
too many allied bases make too much supply making them impenetrable to even siege.

Japanese units feel very weak against the vast Chinese units XXX . In fact Japanese army units feel very inferior to just about everything.

Michael, thanks for this post. I will add these items to my list....GP
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CaptBeefheart
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by CaptBeefheart »

ParadigmBlue: No need to apologize. Good to have you back. You did some good work which we can all appreciate.

Cheers,
CB
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by paradigmblue »

ORIGINAL: cavalry

Dear all,

If need be we can send you files of a game in progress. We are in May 1942 two day turns I am playing Japan.

The game feels very lopsided in favour of the allies to me. I note the comments above from the author.. You are very welcome back please do not apologise...

Certainly Russia needs to be inactive or alternatively made active say at the end of 1944. In our game I had agreed to attack Russia at the end of 1942 and at the moment we are allowing reconnaissance flights from and into Russia as a sign of temporary aggression some of the flights of course are shot down by CAP - makes things feel quite tense.

In my game without Singapore and Manila having fallen as yet the allies are looking at auto victory at the end of 1942!!!!!!!

Other big issues.

Allied subs should not have effective torpedoes before the realistic date in my opinion. This is because Japan has very little ASW.

The latest (unreleased) version of the mod provides some additional naval ASW assets to the Japanese player. I would also note that Japan starts with far more air assets that can be used for ASW, as well as training squadrons. I do think that using the KB-2 to strike Manilla on Dec. 7 is very important in this mod.
Japan has no good fighter in 1942, certainly nothing to take on Allied air power which looks more like 1943..
Allied air-power has been toned down a bit in the newest version, and I've found that Japanese air can be dominant if they ramp up their production early. Having the Tojo almost immediately helps.
the allies have too many superior aircraft to make conquering the DEI impossible
I don't know about "impossible", but yes, it makes it tougher than it should be. Allied aircraft in this theater, particularly Dutch aircraft, have been adjusted to arrive later and in smaller numbers. I've also added additional Japanese assault divisions to one of Japan's main staging bases for the conquest of the DEI or the Philippines, providing more easily accessible AV. The addition of this 1200 additional AV to either your Singapore or Manilla assault forces will tip the balance in your favor.
too many allied bases make too much supply making them impenetrable to even siege.

Japanese units feel very weak against the vast Chinese units XXX . In fact Japanese army units feel very inferior to just about everything.
See above, the additional assault divisions go a long way to address this.
The game feels very lopsided in favour of the allies to me. I note the comments above from the author.
I'll see if I can scrounge up my scen files and send my latest version to Gen. Patton, so that he had the changes listed above. It is doubtful that I'll release a new .exe version of the mod myself.
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btd64
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by btd64 »

Para, No need to send files. I have a set that I'm using to make the fixes. What I can't figure out is how you did the torpedoes upgrade so I can reverse it. That is one edge that people have been on. Well, I have something to do, later....GP
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by paradigmblue »

ORIGINAL: btd64

Para, No need to send files. I have a set that I'm using to make the fixes. What I can't figure out is how you did the torpedoes upgrade so I can reverse it. That is one edge that people have been on. Well, I have something to do, later....GP

So for the Torpedo change, what I did was create a new device - the Mk-14A Torpedo - with a lower dud rate than the regular Mk 14, but a higher dud-rate than all other torpedoes. If the player chooses, they can have their American subs spend a month in dry-dock to refit to carry the Mk 14A torpedo, with an upgrade line that mirrors the original sub-class until it rejoins the original sub class when the US gets reliable torpedoes in 1943.
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btd64
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by btd64 »

Ok, Thank you for that. It gives me a place to look....GP
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by Cavalry Corp »

Thanks for all the action... what version am I then playing? Its going to take more than a few adjustments....What about the MS Morane FR fighter - its stats seem impossible... they should have defeated Germany in 1940 with this - its better than any Jap fighter as far as I can see. I am losing about 8/1 even with my best pilots

Here are some other big issues

To many bases in DEI making too much supply
No Jap ship radar until 43???
Way overpowered Chinese Corps and it seems too much supply in China - This is now at standstill like WW1
DEI impossible to move into as allied air trashes all bases. Esp droves of B17...Nothing can tackle them. No Jap plane capable of taking on any allied bombers - I have stopped flying my planes almost everywhere in May 42 - I am getting shredded. But I see no sign of better planes. - Reduce effectiveness and volumes of allied planes until 43?
Missing FP on many jap ships
Too many allied land reinforcement early on its seems- My siege of Singapore has had to be called off there is no way to take it.
Let Japan have a run for all 42 - the scn is boring. But could be great.
Almost no Jap ASW - first decent upgrades Nov 42. Even they are not great.

Please understand the allies have auto victory pts already and its May 42 not May 44.








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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by Cavalry Corp »

Oh I see you have had some good ideas - please check out my additional comments above. Are Russian de activated in all versions now?

I do suggest someone looks at game files fro some players only they will really show you what is going wrong.
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by Cavalry Corp »

Oh I forgot... a few more points...

Japan strengths

Massive amount of PP fair enough as they are a dictatorship - Western democracies should still have few. This is good and fair.

They have amazing pilots but i have seen no real effect as the allied planes are too good. Why not make better allied planes slower to arrive - I just cannot believe the stats on the French someone must have that wrong.

i built the LIZ its a good potential plane but I had to stop using it anywhere where there is allied fighters - it has no armour and dies in droves - unlike B17 ... but its a very interesting addition to the scn but what Japan needs id some early good fighters for the Army units.

BTW there is another allied plane that is deadly the two engined US fighter that also i think says carrier capable?? Impossible.

IJN have a massive navy fair enough ( the alles to have a big navy from what I see) but without the air there is no point in having this or a massive ground army either. You cannot deploy it and if you do it will get trashed. Japan also has plenty of the worst DD I have ever seen... not worth sailing.

Japan has a massive ground army but the quality is mostly pants - they have had trouble beating the PI army and Chinese let alone anything else.

How about some better AA upgrades for IJN - tiny uprades almost not worth doing just now and so few radars - CV wait until mid 43??? Really.

Sorry to moan I am sure its had a lot of time spent on it but it needs play testing.



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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by btd64 »

ORIGINAL: cavalry

Thanks for all the action... what version am I then playing? Its going to take more than a few adjustments....What about the MS Morane FR fighter - its stats seem impossible... they should have defeated Germany in 1940 with this - its better than any Jap fighter as far as I can see. I am losing about 8/1 even with my best pilots

Here are some other big issues

To many bases in DEI making too much supply
No Jap ship radar until 43???
Way overpowered Chinese Corps and it seems too much supply in China - This is now at standstill like WW1
DEI impossible to move into as allied air trashes all bases. Esp droves of B17...Nothing can tackle them. No Jap plane capable of taking on any allied bombers - I have stopped flying my planes almost everywhere in May 42 - I am getting shredded. But I see no sign of better planes. - Reduce effectiveness and volumes of allied planes until 43?
Missing FP on many jap ships
Too many allied land reinforcement early on its seems- My siege of Singapore has had to be called off there is no way to take it.
Let Japan have a run for all 42 - the scn is boring. But could be great.
Almost no Jap ASW - first decent upgrades Nov 42. Even they are not great.

Please understand the allies have auto victory pts already and its May 42 not May 44.


Michael,
I got it. I'm working on it. It will be Scenario 78. When I finish it, I will post the files for you to take a look at.

Think about this; What is the best target for the KB when you consider what the biggest problem is for Japan early in the war with Focus Pacific?....GP
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by durnedwolf »

Regarding KB first strike:

My two cents is that both the allies and Japan are already forward deployed on December 7th. Would Japan attack a target in the backwaters or would they attack something closer that gives Japan an opportunity to roll up the allied forces arrayed against them?

I think Para has noted several times that he recommends a first strike in the PI and Kwangchowan, near Hong Kong.

Russia has a LOT of oil/Resources that are VERY close to the home islands. While a turn-1 war with Russia looks tough, it might not be a bad option around turn 45-60 if Japan uses that time to prepare for war with Russia.

The primary reason Japan went after Pearl Harbor was to strike America's carriers and battleships. I'm not sure Pearl Harbor would still be a primary target in this mod.

DW

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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by btd64 »

Michael,
Which bases in the DEI are making to much supply?
IJN Ship radar is historical. Not sure I'm going to change it. But I will have Bruce look at it and see if we can add it to Capital ships earlier.
IJN ASW is historical. But I will add more DD's and "E" boats.
I'm taking a break from other stuff for about a few hours and I'm working on the scenario.
That's all for now....GP
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by Cavalry Corp »

Please note we have abandoned our game in May 42 by my agreement as Japan. I have given the iPlayer my password. There is just no way from Japan to progress in this game as it stands. They would never have attacked I cannot believe the historical context. In fact it could be the other way round. This mod feels more like 1950 in terms of the development of the bases and other general matters. That need not be a killer there are some good ideas that could be put in.



One thing that would be interesting in a new mod would be to have the jet fighters available earlier for both siides. I have never played the game where any jets have been available..

The other issues in this game are
Allied submarines are way too powerful at the beginning if Russia is active you are dead. We did have a house rule that Russia would only come into the game at the end of 42. Realistically with events on the Eastern front Russia would in theory not really have become active until late 1944

Japan basically has almost no antisubmarine warfare ships at all of any use and many of the destroyers have no antisubmarine at all. This means by mid 42 is risky to take the carriers out of port.

Allied four engine bombers are available in large quantities at the beginning of the war and Japan has nothing to stop them with.

Allied fighters at the beginning of the war are far superior to anything Japan has especially the French fighters and P38 . On the other hand Japan has the best quality pilots I've ever seen in a scenario but in the obsolete aircraft they are just dying in droves... By mid 42 I was not flying virtually any of my best pilots on any significant missions.Okay there are a lot of factories to crush in the DEI and it looks tempting to try and do but I made no progress into the DTI at all. Once the bases have garrisons and they generate their own supply the sieges become like World War I.

Singapore should have no supply generation the Japanese basically defeated it by turning off the water supply which came from the mainland. Both Singapore and Manila in this game are almost impossible to take if the allies have any significant forces available. I had to take around 10 divisions out of China et cetera just to try and besiege Manila

The Japanese four engine bomber is interesting and adds some new dimensions to the game but as it has no armour it cannot be used anywhere where it will meet fighters. The game designer sure that this, would have had a armour rating of zero. The second version in 43 does have armour but that's no good. I managed to build around 100 of these by mid 42 but they could only be used against rear area bases under siege.

Japan has a lot of land units but the quality of them seems terrible. They are incapable of taking on even the low grade allied units. What is interesting is all the extra little units that come on once you capture a base et cetera. That is a very good point of this game.

The Japanese navy is very large and interesting to use but without any antisubmarine capability it will suffer (And has in our game)enormous attrition quickly. I cannot believe in the world shown by this scenario that Japan would not have prepared more for the large number of submarines present.

Allied reinforcements need to be delayed around six months in general. This would tempt Japan to attack in real-life I suppose.

It is true that Russia has a large volume of oil and could be an alternative to the DEI and maybe I would have tried that but the problem is I do not believe the Japanese land units are capable of offensive operations. I see just a large number of sieges developing. I'm not sure I really want to play a game based around land sieges anyway. Especially as this game system has an odd and fickle way of handling land combat.

In this game in general Russian land units are overrated anyway. They should have very low morale and experience all the way through until mid-1943 I would have thought. Pilots are also overrated and should be lowered in experience. This is just my personal opinion on historical reading and other games. Including those designed by matrix wite.

Those are some of my key points. I would suggest that designers consider looking at some of the replays from other games in progress to really get the feel of the problems.

We are awaiting the outcome of a revised scenario before deciding whether or not to restart.

I would say in the meantime that my game of RA, feels realistic and very interesting though we do have an issue in that game with the high availability of advanced Japanese fighters early on. That said it is still making for a very interesting scenario.
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RE: Focus pacific mod anyone playing?

Post by dcaflak »

Excuse me, I played Focus Pacific but I had to re-install WITP AE, and now my gameis quite...buggy (planes models are invisible in combat animations, I don't get combat reports for Aifield or Ground attack mission, this type of stuff) so I was wondering: is there a way to make Focus Pacific run on the most recent version of the game, the v.1.01.26a (1 NOV 2016? like is there a new version of Focus Pacific?

I really like this mod, and even if this save is doomed I might start another grand campaign.
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