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Author Topic: WW2 PTO Operational / Strategic-level games  (Read 3845 times)

bayonetbrant

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on: September 29, 2020, 02:05:37 PM
collecting some thoughts from the podcast thread, so folks that want to talk WW2 PTO can continue the discussion here, where others will find it as a specific topic

https://www.armchairdragoons.com/podcast/mentioned-in-dispatches-season-5-episode-3-ww2-pto/



Here are links to the article, books, the painting, and many of the great games mentioned in this weeks podcast. I'm sure I missed a few games here and there, so if you see something missing, or if I linked to the wrong game, please tell me. I also added a couple games here and there. For example, Check Your 6! Guadalcanal: The Cactus Air Force wasn't specifically mentioned and it is about the Cactus Air Force, so I added it.

I'm gong to list the article first, followed by the books, then the painting and finally the games. The list of games is mostly in order of when they were discussed. There is a video bonus at the end.

Article written by Rocky Mountain Navy

Coral Sea to Wing Leader: Wargaming Lessons Learned

Books

A Country Made by War : from the Revolution to Vietnam : The Story of America's Rise to Power by Geoffrey Perret

The Fleet at Flood Tide : America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945 by James D. Hornfischer

Neptune's Inferno : The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal by James D. Hornfischer

Painting: At a Roadblock on the Road to Bataa

Source: The National Guard Heritage Paintings

The Games! - mostly in order as discussed

Advanced Squad Leader: Starter Kit #4 – Pacific Theater of Operations (2019)

Old School Tactical: Volume 3 – Pacific 1942/45

Victory in the Pacific

The Last Hundred Yards Volume 3: The Solomon Islands
Please note: This games is still in the P500 process at GMT - probably stuck somewhere behind Mystery Wizard.

Operations Olympic & Coronet (2012)

Beachhead: A Game of Island Invasions in the South Pacific (1980)

Operation Shoestring: The Guadalcanal Campaign, 1942 (1990)

Cactus Air Force

Cactus Air Force: Air War Over the Solomons (2012)

Check Your 6! Guadalcanal: The Cactus Air Force (2007)

Enemy Coast Ahead: The Doolittle Raid (2017)

Dauntless (1977)

Whistling Death (2003)

War Plan: Orange (2014)

Plan Orange: Pacific War 1930 – 1935 (2016)

Conflict of Heroes: Guadalcanal – The Pacific 1942 (2016)

Cataclysm: A Second World War (2018)

Absolute Victory: World Conflict 1939-1945 (2017)

Burma: The Campaign in Northern Burma (1999)

John Tiller Software - Japan 45

Empire of the Sun (2005)

USN Deluxe (2004)

Heros of the Pacific - computer game

Fleet Commander: Nimitz – The WWII Pacific Ocean Solitaire Strategy Game (2014)

Star Fleet Battles (1979)

Iron Bottom Sound III (2015)

Battlewagon (1981)

War in the Pacific - Admiral's Edition

Tokyo Express: The Guadalcanal Naval Campaign – 1942 (1988)

Battle Hymn (1986)

Flat Top (1977)

Carrier: The Southwest Pacific Campaign (1990)

Great Naval Battles - computer game

Picket Duty: Kamikaze Attacks against U.S. Destroyers – Okinawa, 1945 (2013)

Devil Boats: PT Boats in the Solomons (2018)

Command at Sea: 4th Edition – War at Sea 1926-1955 (2008)

Seekrieg 5 (2004)

Series: Second World War at Sea (Avalanche Press)

Battleship Captain (2007)

General Quarters (Third Edition) (2006)

Combat Commander: Pacific (2008)

The Pacific War: From Pearl Harbor to the Philippines (2016)

Pacific Fury: Guadalcanal, 1942 (2016)

Bonus Video

bbmike brings up the televesion program Baa Baa Black Sheep, aka Black Sheep Squadron. I hadn't thought of that program in ages and it brought back good memories. Here's the opening theme. Oh, and bbmike: There were 36 episodes produced.


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bayonetbrant

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Reply #1 on: September 29, 2020, 02:06:02 PM
As far as PTO games, with land, sea and air factors, I look back several years....

https://www.matrixgames.com/game/uncommon-valor

It is old, but it does require the player to manage combat and logistics.


Uncommon Valor is kind of a light version of the mentioned War in the Pacific - Admiral's Edition. And yes, I do own both.  8)
Another one is Strategic Command WWII - Pacific Theater. It also features land, sea, and air.

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Staggerwing

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Reply #2 on: September 29, 2020, 11:04:15 PM
I bought a physical copy of Uncommon Valor at the Electronics Boutique in my local mall around 2005 or so. It may, in fact, be the last war-game of any kind that I purchased in a brick-and-mortar store. All subsequent purchases were either internet orders of boxed items (cardboard or digital) or electronic downloads. Damn but how times have changed...  :-\

Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa


bbmike

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Reply #3 on: September 30, 2020, 08:45:26 AM
Did you like it?

"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplace of existence."
-Sherlock Holmes

My Own Worst Enemy


BanzaiCat

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Reply #4 on: September 30, 2020, 11:31:07 AM
I worked at an EB at a mall back in 1990-91 or so. That mall had just opened and was super slow; I was lucky to get two customers a shift in there.

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Staggerwing

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Reply #5 on: October 03, 2020, 08:24:23 AM
Did you like it?

It was alright, as far as I can remember. I have not played it in a long time. It was on the discount rack so I couldn't resist, $5.99 if I recall.

Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa


TTC

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Reply #6 on: October 05, 2020, 05:26:04 PM
Empire of the Sun gets my vote as the best operational/strategic level simulation of the Pacific War.

It is so very different from the European theater, with many of the operations (especially before late 1944) small in comparison to the European theater--and in discreet geographical areas.

You also mentioned the War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition computer game.  I would love nothing more than for someone to design a modern version of that game with a good UI and a friendly AI to help you plan and move your forces without the excruciating level of micromanagement required.  I don't have time to devote to the level of micromanagement required in WITP: AE.  But I've sent transport ships to pick up an Army regiment, found out that the transport ship was too big for the port level, or the ship didn't quite hold enough troops... so found another transport, moved it the forces, then ran into a problem because my bombers conducting a pre-invasion bombardment were bombing from too high...  So frustrating.

Wars are conducted by staffs, and a good friendly modern AI helps players focus on the important decisions and enjoy the game.  Just my 2 cents...



besilarius

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Reply #7 on: October 06, 2020, 10:10:22 AM
MacArthur felt that strategically New Guinea was a poor campaign choice.
He suggested to Marshal that going around through Celebes was a better choice, and a shorter path to the Philippines.
Does the game give this strategy a chance.
I recall that the JCS turned this down due to logistics and that the separation from the Central Pacific would not allow mutual support.

"These things must be done delicately-- or you hurt the spell."  - The Wicked Witch of the West.
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Germanmenace1

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Reply #8 on: October 08, 2020, 05:22:40 PM
Did you like it?

"Uncommon Valour" requires you to have a understanding of shipping, but it does a lot of details for you.    What was interesting, was that land combat took days (in game time) to finish.  It took days to move troops to attack, and days of attack to gain control of a hex.

The game also rewards the resting and rotation of combat units and ships.




bbmike

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Reply #9 on: October 08, 2020, 05:28:05 PM
I installed it a couple of days ago to see if it would still run on my modern hardware. It installed and ran fine but was laggy as hell. Unplayable. I haven't looked to see if anyone's found a cure for that so all may not be lost.

"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplace of existence."
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Germanmenace1

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Reply #10 on: October 09, 2020, 10:28:36 AM
I installed it a couple of days ago to see if it would still run on my modern hardware. It installed and ran fine but was laggy as hell. Unplayable. I haven't looked to see if anyone's found a cure for that so all may not be lost.

Check the matrix games forums.   There are work arounds to play “Uncommon Valour”.