War in the Pacific Admiral's Edition

[Torplexed]

Looks like WITP's bigger brother is finally available for purchase...if you have a year or so of your life to spare to play it. ;) Definitely a BIG game.

http://www.matrixgames.com/products/351/details/War.in.the.Pacific.-.Admiral%27s.Edition

[gusher699]

Well, it's available for those who downloaded it, but from reading between the lines of starry-eyed suction on the Matrix forums, it appears that those who ordered the physical product have a few more weeks to wait. As a stubborn fan of the flawed original, I have been laboring along with AE for a few days now, and it is clear that some major shortcuts were taken in development. As usual with Matrix, the paying customer is left to be the beta tester.

As for the overhauled AI, it is certainly agressive - playing the full campaign as the Allies, I watched the Pearl Harbor striking force loiter off Oahu for three straight days, pumping strike after strike into my devastated base area until my airfields were blasted to slag glass and not a single capital ship was left afloat. Problem is, I was playing on the "historical" AI setting, and historically, there was ZERO chance that Yamamoto would have risked all six of his fleet carriers in a protracted static action. Plus, it really pissed me off to watch :nope:

BTW, at EIGHTY BUCKS for the download version, the product is also largely inaccessible to the unemployed, who are pretty much the only population with adequate time to invest in this product for the long term.

[eddie]

Add in the price of WitP, even with the $20 discount for the owners of the original, that puts the whole thing way above $100, and that's too much for me.

[difool2]

They changed it so that you don't need the original any more. $80 bucks (mail-only edition) is about 30 smackers more than most games on release, but for what you get it may be worth it. Still on the fence here.

[Torplexed]

I haven't gone much further than the Coral Sea scenario. Even that seems more complicated than I remember. :D A lot of Zeros cutting out with mechanical problems.

[PeriscopeDepth]

I tried WitP and liked it. But people who've never played it before just can't begin to understand how time consuming/complex it is. It's ridiculous. Maybe I'll pick it up again when I retire some 40 years from now.

PD

[Laffertytig]

[quote=gusher699;1143401]

I have been laboring along with AE for a few days now, and it is clear that some major shortcuts were taken in development. As usual with Matrix, the paying customer is left to be the beta tester.

quote]

what do u mean by shortcuts have been taken? the matirx forums seems full of happy campers.

[Takeda Shingen]

I've purchased it recently, and am enjoying it. It is, however, very detailed and very complicated. I did experience the multiple raids on Pearl, but I'm really okay with it because they ended up sinking some assets that had survived, but should not have. Besides, there is an 8 December campaign that will start, naturally, on December 8th if you have a real beef with the way the game engine does it.

Overall, I am impressed. This is not your 'guts and glory' type of strategy sim. Playing as the Allies, you need to be prepared to have the snot kicked out of you for the first 200 [in-game] days. You get the distinct impression that this will be a war of attrition.

If you are new to this, like I am, be prepared to spend a lot of time with your manual, which comes as a 300-page printed version if you order the CD: A rarity in todays simulation market. :up:

[Torplexed]

Got my physical copy today. Time to hit the book. :D

Yeah...they sure have beefed up the AI's aggressiveness since the WITP days. Of course, nothing will ever match a human opponent in a micromanagement-fest like this game, but it's not too shabby. I haven't tried playing against the Allied AI yet, but I imagine playing a long-term campaign game as Japan will be especially challenging.

[KG_Jag]

I have some interest in this game--as I am retired, but still have many other interests.

Looking for more player feedback before shelling out the bucks. One of many questions: is this game a micro-management nightmare? How much of the routine/boring stuff can be delegated to the AI? How good is the AI?

[Torplexed]

I have some interest in this game--as I am retired, but still have many other interests.

Looking for more player feedback before shelling out the bucks. One of many questions: is this game a micro-management nightmare? How much of the routine/boring stuff can be delegated to the AI? How good is the AI?

Some of the smaller scenarios are manageable, But there is a vast amount of micro-management in the grand campaign scenario which covers the whole war. Some people claim to have spent 10 hours setting up their first turn. Unlike the previous WITP you can't put various 'dull' HQs like China under AI control, so you've get the messy front in China to contend with all those myriad units to watch after. The AI is not bad although it probably has a more than a few cheats to help it along. However, compared to the hopelessly muddled single script AI which came with WITP it's a big improvement.

[seaniam81]

I've been looking at this for a while now. But I have some questions.
It says it's stand alone. So do I get the original WitP included with the AE?

And do you guys think it's worth the 100 bucks?

[Torplexed]

I've been looking at this for a while now. But I have some questions.
It says it's stand alone. So do I get the original WitP included with the AE?

And do you guys think it's worth the 100 bucks?

No...you don't get the original WitP included.

Whether it's worth the 100 bucks probably depends on the depth of your interest in the subject. As a game it's not for everyone. It has a steep learning curve, it's not a graphically beautiful game and you spend most of your time staring at a map of the Pacific and eastern Asia. As a contest it's pretty one-sided as Japan is being buried by a deluge of Allied material by the end. However, I think most of it's fans enjoy the arcane level of detail and interaction of land, sea, and air. Might be worth it to buy just plain WitP now that it's cheaper and see if you enjoy that.

[KG_Jag]

No...you don't get the original WitP included.

Whether it's worth the 100 bucks probably depends on the depth of your interest in the subject. As a game it's not for everyone. It has a steep learning curve, it's not a graphically beautiful game and you spend most of your time staring at a map of the Pacific and eastern Asia. As a contest it's pretty one-sided as Japan is being buried by a deluge of Allied material by the end. However, I think most of it's fans enjoy the arcane level of detail and interaction of land, sea, and air. Might be worth it to buy just plain WitP now that it's cheaper and see if you enjoy that.

Thanks for the information in your last two posts. I'll continue to observe and absorb for a while longer.

For those new to this group of games, you might start with the even earlier released and cheaper Uncommon Valor--which covers the balanced periods of the Pacific War.