WitP 1001

[sheller]

Greetings everyone -

Call me Steve (would have used my 1st name for the forum, but it was taken, and I didn't feel like doing the Steve001, Steve002, etc. thing.) I recently purchased a download version of WitP and have been working my way through the tutorial for the last couple of days.
The subject of wargames came up on another, general discussion message board. There were a few of us on that thread who remember playing AH games in the 70s and 80s, have played Civilisation or Age of Empire, were curious about pbem. Anyway, that discussion led me to search out computer board games, found WitP and it looked pretty much exactly what I had in mind.
So I'm a green beginner. I've lurked on this board and checked out a number of pages of threads that might be of help to someone below the foothills of the learning curve - anyway, I've bookmarked these -
What ships are best used for what?
List of 'Must Read' Threads
WITP Unofficial Strategy Guide


I haven't found anything that addresses the questions I have. My hunch is my questions are so basic nobody who's familiar with the game sees any mystery in them anymore. Anyway, if anybody's able to address anything following it would be greatly appreciated.

1- PT Boats - Why does the tutorial give me 162 of 'em? I've tried to form PT boats into TFs and chase them out to Saipan, but their endurance goes down to zero before they leave port. The tutorial must have included them for some reason, but I can't for the life of me figure out what that reason is.

2- Replenishment at sea Like I've said, I'm a green newbie and it's taken me a loooong time to take Saipan (the tutorial's main objective. The Japanese are AI, and I'm following the tutorial instructions thru turn 4.) Consequently my 3-CV task force was sent back to Eniwetok, the TF was disbanded, and their Endurance are all deep red. I don't see that being replenished over the last few turns. The Lexington's endurance is holding steady at 1439, Yorktown at 2258. Would there have been a way to really replenish those endurance numbers at sea? When I've opted to Replenish at Sea a TF it seems that existing endurance, fuel, etc. were redistributed. Do you rotate a carrier TF in and out of a battle, or are the ships in Lexington task force pretty much out of this game?

I have other dumb questions, but I don't want to try your patience. Thanks in advance to all responders.

[Terminus]

Welcome to the Mad House...[:D]

I have no idea where all the PT boats are from, but I wouldn't worry about them. The tutorial is not about using them.

However, a few words all the same: PT boats are useful for two things, being friendly base defence and short-range raiding. You'll find most use for US PT boats in the historical places: the Philippines and the Solomons.

As for your other question, if you click "Replenish at Sea" for any normal TF, it checks to see if there's a Replenishment TF in the same hex. If there is, it takes fuel from said TF. If not, it is assumed that the smaller vessels in the TF refuel from the bigger ones. That's why the endurance redistributes itself.

If you want to refuel ships in port, form them into a TF and hit "Replenish in Port". They won't fuel automatically if you just disband a TF.

[AW1Steve]

Welcome Steve. We are al "newbies " here , just varying in degrees. Terminus is one of the "Old men of the Thread" (Figuratively , not litterly), and there's nothing I can add to his wise words. But as one of the afore mentioned Steve's. I just wanted to welcom you to the forum. Have fun. [:)]

[sheller]

ORIGINAL: Terminus


As for your other question, if you click "Replenish at Sea" for any normal TF, it checks to see if there's a Replenishment TF in the same hex. If there is, it takes fuel from said TF. If not, it is assumed that the smaller vessels in the TF refuel from the bigger ones. That's why the endurance redistributes itself.

Hiya Terminus - and thanks. What is a replenishment task force? Can I transport fuel to a task force, and if the answer is 'yes,' how - that is, what ships do I use to comprise the replenishment taskforce?
I'll try to keep the really dumb questions - like why my Marines haven't taken Saipan yet - questions to a minimum. That's something I can figure out by trial and error.

[sheller]

Hiya back atcha, Steve. Thanks for the welcome.

As someone with mixed memories of fifteen chit stacks in the old AH games I'm very impressed by this game. I haven't monitored the progress of computerized wargames, but this allows the player to do stuff we were never able to do before, and what I see of it so far I like. *Although I'd like it a lot more if I knew why I had a gross-plus fleet of PT boats....*

[AW1Steve]

ORIGINAL: sheller

Hiya back atcha, Steve. Thanks for the welcome.

As someone with mixed memories of fifteen chit stacks in the old AH games I'm very impressed by this game. I haven't monitored the progress of computerized wargames, but this allows the player to do stuff we were never able to do before, and what I see of it so far I like. *Although I'd like it a lot more if I knew why I had a gross-plus fleet of PT boats....*

Consider them to be an advantage , rather than a anoyannce. I like to use them as sentries at isolated islands. Set up in packs of 4 or 8 , put into a patrol at the harbor , they can break up a bombardment force, and are very usefull at damaging invasions. Send them to such bases with a AK ot TK , fueling from them on the way. In some situations , I've used them as pickets in a restricted water ways. Use them as they were used historically and you can't go wrong.

As a fellow old time AH fan I hear you. While this game may take a while to play , it doesn't take any time to set up. And you can leave it set up without worry that the dog will mess it up or grab a few of the peices. [:D]

[Terminus]

ORIGINAL: sheller

ORIGINAL: Terminus


As for your other question, if you click "Replenish at Sea" for any normal TF, it checks to see if there's a Replenishment TF in the same hex. If there is, it takes fuel from said TF. If not, it is assumed that the smaller vessels in the TF refuel from the bigger ones. That's why the endurance redistributes itself.

Hiya Terminus - and thanks. What is a replenishment task force? Can I transport fuel to a task force, and if the answer is 'yes,' how - that is, what ships do I use to comprise the replenishment taskforce?
I'll try to keep the really dumb questions - like why my Marines haven't taken Saipan yet - questions to a minimum. That's something I can figure out by trial and error.

A Replenishment TF is created by putting in fleet oilers (AO's) and escorts in a TF, loading them with fuel at a base, and then rendez-vous'ing with the TF that needs fueling. You can also put CVE's and AE's in, but that's another lesson. At the moment, concentrate on fueling, that's the easiest.

[sheller]

PLUS
- with pbem you can find someone to play with a whole lot easier than you could back when. It was great if you had someone in your inner circle who was a wargamer, a little less so if his favorite was Gettysburg & yours was Squad Leader.
- a lot of the tedious stuff (plotting out LOSs & range factors, for instance) have been taken over by the computer.
- if you're playing with an activated fog of war this handles it a LOT better than any board game ever did. I've exchanged more harsh words over fog of war issues (Hey! I should have seen your units two moves ago! No, you shouldn't have! Yes, I SHOULD have!...) than anything else.

The group of us from the other messageboard also dl'ed Battlefront's Strategic Command. I'm a lot less intrigued with that one than with this. After checking out a number of threads on this boards I'm happy to see this game doesn't seem to be one you outgrow, if you know what I mean.

[saj42]

As a majority of the regulars here will testify, you will not outgrow this game - if anything the game will outgrow the time you can afford to spare to play it. Say goodbye to a meaningful social life - except the one on this forum [:D]

[sheller]

ORIGINAL: Tallyho!

As a majority of the regulars here will testify, you will not outgrow this game - if anything the game will outgrow the time you can afford to spare to play it. Say goodbye to a meaningful social life - except the one on this forum [:D]

Thanks and pleased to meet you, Tallyho. I'll consider myself warned. Unfortunately I won't be able to give the game a whole lot of time in the foreseeable future - which makes a rookie like me doubly appreciative of this forum.

[hvymtl13]

ORIGINAL: sheller

Do you rotate a carrier TF in and out of a battle, or are the ships in Lexington task force pretty much out of this game?

Many TF's held the same Numerical designation throughout the war. Although the ships were rotated in and out as neccesary. I try and keep the TF designations throughout the war, even if I have to keep a MSW in it to keep it "alive" while doing repairs or whatever on the ships from that TF.