Slitherine

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Each player takes half a year

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ORIGINAL: Trugrit

First I’ll take issue with you on this: WITP-AE is not a simulation it is a game.

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ORIGINAL: Big B



My rant here is about the enormity of the scope of the game.

From what I have observed, One player is just insufficient to play either side... there is so much going on that one player for a side will always get tunnel vision and not do the game justice....unless you are in a lull - there is too big of a map and too many units to keep focused on everything.

B

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One player is sufficient to play the Japanese,

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ORIGINAL: HansBolter

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ORIGINAL: Trugrit

First I’ll take issue with you on this: WITP-AE is not a simulation it is a game.

People really need to stop harping on this incorrect point.

All games ARE simulations. AE is both a game and a simulation.

Of course, no game will ever be a 100% accurate simulation, but it's still a simulation.

Even Chess is a simulation.


That necessary rant out of the way, I couldn't disagree more with the OPs point that only a team can do the game justice.

Design by committee always produces an abomination.

Decision making by committee always does the same.

The prosecution of a real war by committee is an unfortunate necessity, the handicaps of which can be easily avoided in a game by giving control to one person (something impossible in a real war).

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ORIGINAL: Trugrit

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ORIGINAL: HansBolter

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ORIGINAL: Trugrit

First I’ll take issue with you on this: WITP-AE is not a simulation it is a game.

People really need to stop harping on this incorrect point.

All games ARE simulations. AE is both a game and a simulation.

Of course, no game will ever be a 100% accurate simulation, but it's still a simulation.

Even Chess is a simulation.


That necessary rant out of the way, I couldn't disagree more with the OPs point that only a team can do the game justice.

Design by committee always produces an abomination.

Decision making by committee always does the same.

The prosecution of a real war by committee is an unfortunate necessity, the handicaps of which can be easily avoided in a game by giving control to one person (something impossible in a real war).

Hans,

A necessary rant?

Don’t feed me this crap, I’m not in the mood for it today.

WITP-AE is not a simulation of the Pacific War in any way shape or form.
It is a very good simulation of a Pacific War game.

As a hard rule for you, simulations don’t roll dice to get outcomes.

There are computer simulations of earth’s weather but they don’t roll dice to
determine what the weather will be like next week.

Chess may approach a type of game simulation but it is not a simulation of war.
Soldiers that can only move in one defined direction one player at a time?

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Unfortunately the game lacks some useful features to make teamplay great. First is independent orders setting among teammates - you have to do it in a succession, thus compounding all the timing, timezone and real life issues. Second is the command structure - it does require PPs to reshuffle even among unrestricted areas, hence depriving teams of a useful organizational and planning tool.

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A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them were aware of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said: "We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable". So, they sought it out, and when they found it they groped about it. In the case of the first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said "This being is like a thick snake". For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said the elephant, "is a wall". Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear.

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ORIGINAL: Kull

So what is AE, exactly?

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A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them were aware of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said: "We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable". So, they sought it out, and when they found it they groped about it. In the case of the first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said "This being is like a thick snake". For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said the elephant, "is a wall". Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear.

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ORIGINAL: Trugrit

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ORIGINAL: Kull

So what is AE, exactly?

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A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them were aware of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said: "We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable". So, they sought it out, and when they found it they groped about it. In the case of the first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said "This being is like a thick snake". For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said the elephant, "is a wall". Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear.

WITP-AE is a war game.

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ORIGINAL: spence

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One player is sufficient to play the Japanese,

I disagree. In any game that even attempts to simulate the war in the Pacific the Japanese should have two players: one in charge of the Army and the other in charge of the Navy. Either of those two players should have to ask the other for any of each other's planes or ships or troops: that is if the IJN player wants to invade some place with a division of IJA troops he needs to obtain their release from the IJA player (and pay a political point cost to release to a IJN Command).

(I haven't worked the following out completely but the ideas below constitute an approximation of the desired division of command among the Allies)

Depending on how many Allied Players there are something similar should pertain: there being a UK Player and a US Player at the very least. As other players are added I would first add a Chinese Player, then divide the US between SWPAC (MacArthur) and CENTPAC (Nimitz). The SWPAC player would have first call on Army troops in the West Coast/East Coast Commands and Far East troops/planes/ships. The CENTPAC player would command SOPAC troops as well as CENTPAC troops and all other ships. Political Points would need to be spent to reassign troops/planes/ships to another player.
The Chinese Player would command all units in China but be able to move troops into Burma (only) w/o spending PPs

I agree with geofflambert and think that the HQ thing would need to be worked out much more strictly as well as slow the game down considerably if it was.