Pacific Storm: Allies

[Xypher]

This game reminds me a lot of a old super nentendo game, PTO 2 i think it was called. but with bigger real time booms.

PSA is pretty damn cool, but there is a lot of managment to do, A LOT and it takes some getting used to all the ins and outs for supply and demand of troops,fuel and ammo.

The only thing i would really want to see done diffrently is the ship customization. kind of like... Navy ops? just being able to make my own steel monsters from scratch would have me NEVER putting this game down.

[Travis Reed]

You should try the PS2 version of PTO (it's called PTO4). I was hoping to find something like it for PC and haven't yet, but PS and PSA are the closest I've found so far... And yes, I hate the micromanagement. I usually leave all my bases on AI control to keep from having to deal with the day to day stuff.

Just not enough options for creating my own ships (no one can top my battleships in PTO4 for sheer firepower and durability, and my carriers aren't bad either)

[Xypher]

PTO 4 was a good game in some respects. the customability was good, but there was horrible pathfinding issues. the planes look like flying soap boxes. And for some reason subs are the most godlike weapon out there. At least the german ones are, all i needed was 5 subs to every base and they could sink any fleet. but being able to fight over the whole map of the war was pretty cool.


Navy ops is funner, but the whole teching up to lasers and missles stuff ruins it for me. but being able to put whatever the hell you please on a ship is awesome. Three 3 turrets with 3X 18' on bow and stern firing broadside all at once. that ship should tip its self over! that games one flaw was its missions and the whole sailing it alone thing.

[Galanti]

What's the deal with PS:A? From what I can gather, it was released in Europe earlier this year, to somewhat mixed reviews. Is it being re-released in North America this month? Is this a patched-up version, or was the European one more of a beta?

I'm actually looking forward to this one. I played the original Grigsby WITP years ago, eagerly purched the Matrix revamp when it was released, and then realized that at an average of ten minutes per 1 day turn, factoring in job, wife and maniacal 17-month-old son, I could perhaps finish it sometime between 2015 and 2025. At the expense of SH4. So I'm looking for a somewhat simpler fix for my Pacific theater strategy cravings.

For all the complaints I read about micromanagement, it can't possibly top WITP!

[Sonarman]

PTO IV and the entire "Naval Ops" line were actually released on the PC but only in Japan, so if your Japanese is good your in luck! I'm surprised that they actually translated the PS2 game and not the PC version as you'd think that it was by far the more profitable platform for strategy games, in the West at least.

AS far as PS Allies goes yes it is a patched version of the Euro release the UK release was screwed by the publisher's last minute decision to change the copy protection on the DVDs. A patch for the UK edition should be out any time now.

[rtheriaque]

Trying to find a comprehensive list of units added to Allies is proving quite frustrating...

[GlobalExplorer]

Couldnt this be an alternative?

http://www.matrixgames.com/games/game.asp?gid=351

Admirals (Addon) is still in development but the first version got very good reviews.

Gameplay seems to be what PS promised but not delivers and screenshots look good too imo though max resolution 1024*768 sucks a bit.

ftp://ftp.matrixgames.com/pub/WarInThePacifc-AdmiralsEdition/WITPAEPreview13.jpg

ftp://ftp.matrixgames.com/pub/WarInThePacifc-AdmiralsEdition/WITPAEPreview7.jpg

[timetraveller]

Trying to find a comprehensive list of units added to Allies is proving quite frustrating...

I wrote the 3rd party mission editor for Allies. I'm into PS for the tactical aspect of it. With the editor you can set up any WW2 scenario you want, and play it out in 3D.

Here is the comprehensive list of all units available in Allies:

[USA_SHIP]
Baltimor CA
Benson DD
Casablanca CVE
Clivlend CL
Colorado BB
Elco Torpedo Boat
Essex CV
Evarts DE
Fletcher DD
Gato Submarine
Iowa BB
LCT5 Transport
Lexington CV
Liberty Transport
Simarron Tanker

[USA_AIR]
A-20 Medium Bomber
B-17 Heavy Bomber
B-24 Heavy Bomber
B-24-T Air Transport
B-25-AT Medium Bomber (attack)
B-25-BM Medium Bomber
B-29 Heavy Bomber
F2A2 SB Fighter
F2A3 SB Fighter
F4F SB Fighter
F4U SB Fighter
F5U SB Fighter
F6F SB Fighter
F8F SB Fighter
F8F2 SB Fighter
OS2U Catapult Scout
P-38 Fighter
P-39 Fighter
P-40 Fighter
P-47 Fighter
P-51 Fighter
P-80 Fighter
PBY Scout Hydroplane
PBY-T Transport Hydroplane
SB2C SB Dive Bomber
SBD SB Dive Bomber
TBD SB Torpedo Bomber
TBF SB Torpedo Bomber
Ventura Medium Bomber (PV-1)

[JAP_SHIP]
Agano CL
Akagi CV
Akizuki DD
Daihatsu Transport
Hokoku Transport
I58 Submarine
I400 Submarine
Kagero DD
Kaiten Manned Torpedo
Kazahaia Tanker
Mogami CA
Myoko CA
Nagato BB
Otsu-Gata Torpedo Boat
Shimushu DE
Taiho CV
Yamato BB
Zuikaku CV

[JAP_AIR]
A5M4 Fighter Claude
A6M Fighter Zeke (Zero)
A7M SB Fighter Sam
B5N SB Torpedo Bomber Kate
B7A SB Torpedo Bomber Grace
D3A SB Dive Bomber Val
D4Y SB Dive Bomber Judy
F1M Catapult Scout Pete
G4M Medium Bomber Betty
G4M-T Air Transport Betty
G8N Heavy Bomber Rita
G10N Heavy Bomber
H8K Scout Hydroplane Emily
H8K2B Transport Hydroplane Emily
J7WJ Fighter
J7WP Fighter
Ki-21 Medium Bomber Sally
Ki-43 Fighter Oscar
Ki-61 Fighter Tony
Ki-67 Medium Bomber Peggy
Ki-84 Fighter Frank
Ki-96 Fighter
Ki-100 Fighter
Ki-100-1 Fighter
M6A Sub-based Seaplane (I400)
N1K-J Fighter George
P1Y Medium Bomber Frances
P1YS Fighter Frances

[BRITAIN_SHIP]
Canonesa Transport
Dorsetshire CA
Eclipse DD
Fiji CL
Hood BB
Hunt DE
Illustrious CV
KingGeorgV BB
MTB Torpedo Boat
Tempest Submarine
Tribal DD
Sildra Tanker

[BRITAIN_AIR]
Barracuda2 SB Dive Bomber
Beaufighter Medium Bomber
Blenheim4 Medium Bomber
F2A2_ENG SB Fighter
Huric2c Fighter
LancasterB1 Heavy Bomber
Lancaster-T Air Transport
PBY_ENG Scout Hydroplane
PBY_ENG-T Transport Hydroplane
SeaFire SB Fighter
SeaFuryFB11 SB Fighter
SeaHuric2c SB Fighter
Spit5c Fighter
Swordfish2 SB Torpedo Bomber
TBF_ENG SB Torpedo Bomber
VampirFB9 Fighter
Ventura_ENG Medium Bomber (PV-1)
Walrus Catapult Scout

[GERMANY_SHIP]
Bismarck BB (Battlecruiser)
Kormoran Transport
Narvick DD
Nordmark Tanker
S1939_40C Torpedo Boat
U-Boat7 Submarine

[GERMANY_AIR]
Ar196 Catapult Scout
Ar234 Medium Bomber
Bf109G10 Fighter
FW190A3 Fighter
Ju87D Dive Bomber
Ju88A4 Medium Bomber

[NETHERLANDS_SHIP]
Amsterdam Tanker
DeReutar CL
TM Torpedo Boat
Zaandam Transport

[NETHERLANDS_AIR]
F2A2_HL SB Fighter
FokkerD21 Fighter
OS2U_HL Catapult Scout

[USSR_SHIP]
Cruiser26bis CA Kirov Maxim Gorky
Komsomol Transport
Krasnodar Tanker Azerbaijan
PikeV Sch Type Submarine
TK Torpedo Boat

[USSR_AIR]
A-20_USSR Medium Bomber
I16t24 Fighter
Il2 Medium Bomber
Il4 Heavy Bomber
La5FN Fighter
OS2U_USSR Catapult Scout
PBY_USSR Scout Hydroplane
Spit5b Fighter
Yak3 Fighter
Yak9T Fighter

[NiclDoe]

:o *drools* OMG this is going to be great becuase im getting it becuase of all these new units. Must get:88)

[timetraveller]

:o *drools* OMG this is going to be great becuase im getting it becuase of all these new units. Must get:88)
I've been into PS and PS Allies (I have the UK version) since they came out. All I ever do is the 3D tactical end of it. Some day I might get into the strategic part....

With the game editor or my editor (particularly my editor), you can set up scenarios as you wish, with whatever units you wish, then play out the battle. Can't say the AI in game is always the greatest, but the battles are a sight to behold, with all the activity and fireworks.. The game is highly moddable too if you're in to that. You can control all units too. Remember the game Fighting Steel? With the editors, the tactical part of this game is Fighting Steel x10 in fun, modernized.

TT

[NiclDoe]

Ya i remember that game. I now must get PSA and now your editor for Bismarck killing sprees. :lol: i will kill the US and UK with my undeafeatbale Jap Navy with the Russians, Germany, and Netherlands at my side.:smug:

[Xypher]

I have played both Pacific Storm: Allies and Battlestaions Midway recently and while i was bouncing in between them both. After playing them both for a week, Pacific Storm needs some serious work in some areas.

What Pacific Storm has done with overall scale of combat is fantastic, there is no game out there that lets me send 100 planes and 50 ships out to fight against the exact same in a 3-d slug fest. Theres tons of scenarios that you can play out that never happened in the real pacific war. The damage system can make or break some fights with one good shot. Free Camaign is wicked to fool around in.

But were Pacific Storm fails at is the overall speed of combat that i get when im playing Battlestations it feels like everything is moving at a snails pace. divebombing or torpedo runs in both games are compleatly diffrent, Battlestations makes it far more hair raising while Pacific Storm just has me using compression so i can finally release my bombs. Heck i was expecting a little more realisim from Pacific Storm with how the Guns fire. But what i got was BB's firing straight lines at maximum range. I cant even fire the guns myself, and that was extermely dissapointing. Sound is another thing that just dosent quite make the cut the guns sound more like im hearing them from a submarine 300 feet below the ship most of the time. Engine noises cut out on me and sometimes i dont even hear my planes machineguns fire.

Lets not forget Navy Ops and its awesome ship builder!

I wish i could take all three games a fuse them togeather to make Navy Pacific Ops: Battlestations Midway so i can get all the goodness of three games and have them fix all the badness that they have.

[NiclDoe]

PSA is a more Real time game becuase it takes time to get to the enemy and attack while Midway is just an arcade game becuase i never seen 18 in guns move on a dime with 5 second reload times and have shorter range. i am going to get PSA this weekend and does it need a Pixel Sahder to play at the bare min?

[Galanti]

Agreed, I loved the gritty post-processing effects in Battlestations Midway, but the gameplay was just ridiculously gamey. And linear. Zzzzzzzzz.

I can see there's a lot of potential for modding PS:A, and the fact that it includes a full strategic mode is vey exciting too. I know it's not going to appeal to the grognards much, because from what I've read, historical accuracy goes out the window when you can research SAMs and bioweapons in 1942. But still, think of it as a tricked-out modern 1942:Pacific Air War, with all the bangles and beads of 21st century gaming technology.

I'd like to see a fleshier ship-set, too, but the models they do have look pretty detailed.

[timetraveller]

Yeah, PSA sound definitely needs some improvement. I've done a little work at it, a lot of the problem is there are too many units generating too many sounds and it swamps the sound card. They have the sound radius set to 2600 meters for each unit. I've managed to lower the sound radius to under 1000 which has helped immensely with sounds cutting out. Swamping is greatly reduced. Again, lots of room for modding adjustments.

Yes, it's a shame that you can't control the big guns on the ships. I think the devs had plans for this, but it hasn't happened yet. The good thing is you can drive all units, including ships, and at least man the AA, torpedos, on all. The devs have been working on the AI, and with the North American version of PSA coming and the UK patch for the UK version coming in the next few days should bring some good changes and also bring the two games in sync.

BSM and Enigma were the last two games I remember where you could man all ship units. Don't know about Navy Field, haven't tried it (maybe it's just MMO?). BSM had great graphics and ideas, but I found it too arcadish. The game has no mission editor, a major drawback, and it is locked up tighter than a drum. After almost a year, I have managed to crack the game files but have not written an unpacker because I'm not real serious about BSM, and it would be a lot of work.

Enigma is getting pretty old at this point, though I hear they are working on a sequel. My great disappointment is Silent Hunter 4. Great game otherwise, but I had hoped they would allow at least the ability to drive the ship units, but they didn't. My hopes are they make a Destroyer Command like game out of SH4, like they did SH2. SH4 is spectacular, and you can set up amazing ship battles in the mission editor. The trouble is that you can't control anything but the submarine and watch (or torpedo).

TT

Edit: Pixel shaders. PSA requires DirectX9c. It does make use of pixel shaders.

[Galanti]

Timetraveller, maybe you could answer a couple of questions I can't find on the boards.

What are the ship sinking times like, ie is it like BM where they go down rapidly as soon as I suppose their hitpoints are exhausted?

What is sub combat like in a strategic and tactical sense? My concern is that the game can't really model the element of the surprise if the human player is ambushed on the high seas, as if there are no surface / air contacts about then you as the player will immediately know it's a submarine.

Can subs be used in the strategic sense to interdict sea lanes and strangle the AI by cutting supply routes?

[Galanti]

Here's a thread to some fairly recent PS:A screenshots:

http://www.pacificstorm.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2103

[timetraveller]

Timetraveller, maybe you could answer a couple of questions I can't find on the boards.

What are the ship sinking times like, ie is it like BM where they go down rapidly as soon as I suppose their hitpoints are exhausted?

Sinking times seem to be better (longer) than BSM, and somewhat more realistic....nothing like in SH4 though. I find SH4 to be very realistic. I pounded away at a heavy cruiser for 30 minutes one time and it was just starting to roll over after that. It should be possible to alter the hit point files and increase the sinking time for PSA, though it might be tedious work.


What is sub combat like in a strategic and tactical sense? My concern is that the game can't really model the element of the surprise if the human player is ambushed on the high seas, as if there are no surface / air contacts about then you as the player will immediately know it's a submarine.

Wow, I'm not really the best person to answer this one. KiloAlpha4 over at the www.pacificstorm.net forums could easily answer this one. I have spent all my time programming for this game and hardly any time with sub combat. In any event, don't expect too much with the sub effort in this game. It is no SH4 for sure.


Can subs be used in the strategic sense to interdict sea lanes and strangle the AI by cutting supply routes?

In the strategic part, I don't know. KiloAlpha4 would have a better answer for this one too. Tactically, in the 3D action part of the game, subs will indeed interfere.

Sorry to appear such a dunce....unfortunately, I am one of these guys who buys a game and tears it apart trying to figure out how it works and can be modded. hehe

Hope this helps some anyway.

TT

[timetraveller]

PSA Missions

Just F.Y.I. If anybody wants my 3rd party mission editor for this game (PSA), you can get it here:

http://timetraveller.byethost13.com/

This editor has been a huge effort over the last 18 months and I estimate I have more than 1000 hours in it.

Some details:

PSA Missions is a 2D graphical mission editor/creator for Pacific Storm Allies. It can create complicated missions using all unit combinations for the game. Unit AI pathing can be drawn or specified, carrier air groups created, map points, and much more. It also has its own scripting engine which will allow you to code detailed mission commands, generating the Lesta game scripting code for you.

CHANGES WITH ALLIES
Much of PSA Missions has been rewritten and a lot of code clean up has been done. All new units in Allies are available in the editor. Maps up to 200km square may be built. Camera and AI pathing leg nodes can now be moved at each individual node for fine-tuning. A new Formation Builder window will allow you to easily make unit formations. A new Environment Editor window will allow you to create your own ocean and sky environments. A new Data Converter window will allow you to calculate map distances and transit times, and show you actual gun ranges in meters. A new File Explorer window will allow you to examine .XML-like game files for variables, and will also unpack compressed game files (attribute convert) in a window interface. Finally, the mission editor scripting package had been entirely rewritten and greatly expanded, using a new table driven command system allowing you to write your own command macros.

TT

Designing the Battle of Savo Island (Guadalcanal), August 9, 1942

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/5265/psamissionsgq8.th.gif (http://img258.imageshack.us/my.php?image=psamissionsgq8.gif)

[The Bandit]

Well this sure takes me back. I still have the origional PTO for the SNES. I remember having the first pacific storm in my HAND, reading the back of it, and not liking the talk about 1948 BIO weapons and missiles, and getting Battlestations Midway instead. Looks like I made the wrong decision. Rightnow I am considering getting PSA from EBGames in the states for $55+ duty. Noone has it up here yet and I really liked the Demo. Hopefully we can get some mods on the go,m would love to get some old 4 pipers and Sboats on the go, fight the early battles in the west pacific, that was my favourite period in SH4. Hope this game really takes off.

[Galanti]

Well this sure takes me back. I still have the origional PTO for the SNES. I remember having the first pacific storm in my HAND, reading the back of it, and not liking the talk about 1948 BIO weapons and missiles, and getting Battlestations Midway instead. Looks like I made the wrong decision. Rightnow I am considering getting PSA from EBGames in the states for $55+ duty. Noone has it up here yet and I really liked the Demo. Hopefully we can get some mods on the go,m would love to get some old 4 pipers and Sboats on the go, fight the early battles in the west pacific, that was my favourite period in SH4. Hope this game really takes off.

Don't know where in Canda you're at, but EBGames in Ottawa is getting afew copies in tomorrow.

I'd love to see enough interest build to see a larger community of modders spring up and expand the ship and planeset. Most of the modding work is being done right now by this KiloAlpha guy, hopefully with the NA release he can get some company.

[Apeboy]

I'm gonna wait a while before picking this up, if I buy it at all. I got the original which for the most part was just thrown together. Historical campaign was so out of whack it wasn't funny. Dozens of CVs in one fleet for the US in 1939 is one of the best examples. Another is Japan declared war on me in Guam with 2 cruisers. By default I had something like 23 CVs, 14 BBs and countless other units.

Noticed on te official boards a complaint the many major bases weren't even availiable in PSA historical campaign this go around, Brisbane, Syndney etc etc. Hopefully they will sort this out. I'm all for some mods to fine tune some things or give some options but without decent foundation it's not worth the hassle.

PS and PSA is one of those games that could be outstanding but it really needs a good, polished campaign to work with.

[The Bandit]

yeah my prolem is that EBgames.ca is garbage. Go there yourself and look at their PC GAMES section.
http://www.ebgames.ca/pcgames/


I am either going to have to wait until someone in canada is carrying it so I can order online, or wait until hell freezes over and some place around here starts carrying it.

[Hunter76]

why not just hit amazon for it? I just got my copy yesterday from them :)

[The Bandit]

http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/701-8461112-2749117?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=pacific+storm+allies&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

thats why, and Amazon.com dosn't ship to canada. Really starting to think about EBGames.com but its $55.

[nikimcbee]

I still can't find my original disk, it's driving me crazy.

[Doomgiver]

does PSA require PS to install or is it a seperate game and sorry for the noob question and i prefer Warship Gunner 2 over Naval Ops just because it has a better system my super battle carrier can destroyer anything with its 2 80 cm guns and a wave gun

[Raptor1]

You don't need PS to install PSA :p

[Laffertytig]

so how are people here finding the game now that the patch is out? are there any must have mods that people use?

and does anyone here play it online?

[Doomgiver]

how do i land troops during a battle

[ajime]

love the game.. quite a number of bugs. Can't use the pixel shader. keeps crashing my PALIT 7300 GT AGP 128 Bit. Anyone knows of official support forum for it?

[timetraveller]

love the game.. quite a number of bugs. Can't use the pixel shader. keeps crashing my PALIT 7300 GT AGP 128 Bit. Anyone knows of official support forum for it?

Try here:

http://www.pacificstorm.net/forum/index.php?c=1

[CaptHawkeye]

PTO 4 was a good game in some respects. the customability was good, but there was horrible pathfinding issues. the planes look like flying soap boxes. And for some reason subs are the most godlike weapon out there. At least the german ones are, all i needed was 5 subs to every base and they could sink any fleet. but being able to fight over the whole map of the war was pretty cool.



It might have been that torpedoes were just overpowered weapons. Two Japanese light cruisers were able to kill two of my Colorado Class BBs in a slug out with torpedoes. Which are somehow amazingly accurate and have massive spamability.

I thought PS's strategic mode was pretty good if somewhat annoying and unintuitive. PTO's strategy map was better generally. But both games had ****ty tactical combat. And PS's direct unit control is absolutely worthless. I had to take a break and stop playing when I saw they treated ship control. They don't turn on the stern, they turn via an arbitrary point in the center of the hull. So you've got battleships that can parrallel park. :dead:

I might not mind this stuff as much if it wasn't badly broken and bug ridden.

[ajime]

PTO 4 was a good game in some respects. the customability was good, but there was horrible pathfinding issues. the planes look like flying soap boxes. And for some reason subs are the most godlike weapon out there. At least the german ones are, all i needed was 5 subs to every base and they could sink any fleet. but being able to fight over the whole map of the war was pretty cool.


It might have been that torpedoes were just overpowered weapons. Two Japanese light cruisers were able to kill two of my Colorado Class BBs in a slug out with torpedoes. Which are somehow amazingly accurate and have massive spamability.

I thought PS's strategic mode was pretty good if somewhat annoying and unintuitive. PTO's strategy map was better generally. But both games had ****ty tactical combat. And PS's direct unit control is absolutely worthless. I had to take a break and stop playing when I saw they treated ship control. They don't turn on the stern, they turn via an arbitrary point in the center of the hull. So you've got battleships that can parrallel park. :dead:

I might not mind this stuff as much if it wasn't badly broken and bug ridden.
I could care less about the parallel parking. The concept is great and much have been done to enhance its functionality but there is a serious game stability problems which I think is much worse then its previous PS. I could easily win and avoid known bugs on the original PS but its almost impossible to analyze the CTD's on PSA. I guess I'll just have to wait another year before they make a fix for it...shame for a good game.