Back in 1992, a guy by the name of Gary Grigsby released a game called Gary Grigsby’s Pacific War. This was a grand strategy game that exceeded the scope of anything else besides board games at the time. As you can see though, it looked like 1992 and, with everything of the time measured in double digit megabytes, it was pretty ambitious.
Fast-forward about eight or ten years and he was wanting to do it better. He knew it was going to be a monster to develop so, he started with just a piece of it…let’s try doing just the Coral Sea area…
Nevertheless to say, Gary was successful. I spotted a PC game box on a shelf in the Hastings store in Nacogdoches, Texas for a game called Uncommon Valor: Campaign for the South Pacific some time in 2002.
Once I had been playing this game, I had some questions. I noticed on the box, that there was a web address to a forum at MatrixGames.com. I went to the forum and I was a fixture there after that.
Two things I found once I joined the forum. First, there were others wanting to have games against other flesh and blood people. You play this game via email. I ended up starting a game against a guy in Auckland, New Zealand! For real! I was playing a game with an opponent, literally, on the other side of the world! How cool was that?!
The other thing I learned was that there was a bigger, badder game on the way!
Now that he had the ‘how to do it’ thing figured out, he jumped into making of the whole Pacific his game map.
I was what we called a plank-owner for War in the Pacific: the Struggle Against Japan 1941-1945. It was a grand strategy game whose map covered from the west coast of the United States to the west coast of India…from the northern polar icecap down Australia and New Zealand.
It was released in 2004. It was a massive game! We were in hog heaven!…then folks started modding the game…lol.
A few of the guys formed Henderson Field Designs and pitched the idea to Matrix Games for making an ‘expansion’ of the game to include simulated off-map routes (Europe and Africa) and to augment some capabilities in regards to more detailed management of fleets and air groups…among a ton of other ideas…
Matrix Games agreed and they got started. Gary said during the WitP development that he was never trying anything of this scale ever again…lol. So these guys were on their own. They soon realized that this could not be done as a ‘add-on expansion’ type thing. They were going to need to overhaul most of the existing code. This meant that it was, in reality, a completely new game.
By summer of 2009, I was a plank-owner once again. A plank-owner was someone who had decided they wanted the game AND ponied up the money for a project before it was even finished. We were plank-owners to War in the Pacific: Admiral’s Edition. I think they sold 50 copies before they were even finished with it.
Here we are…almost 15 years later…and I still love this game.
Tomorrow, December 7th, I will begin a new game.
Setup
Settings
I will be playing against the computer. The computer will be the Japanese. This game can be played in the following ways:
– As the Allies against the computer Japanese forces.
– As the Japanese against the computer Allied forces.
– Versus a human opponent via email.
– Human versus human on the same computer.
– Let the computer play itself.
Realism Options
– Fog of war is on. This gives some uncertainty to reports coming in from the theater. Confusion during action can result in inaccurate reports being sent up through the chain of command.
– Advanced Weather Effects is on. Just randomizes the weather in the various parts of the Pacific more than the game would otherwise.
– Allied Damage Control is turned on. Historically, Allies had better damage control operations on their ships than the Japanese did.
– Player Defined Upgrades is turned off. This kind of hog-ties me a bit but would be more historical in as much as it will not allow me to dumb down units in CONUS to send the better equipment towards the front lines, etc.
– Historical First Turn is turned on. This has more to do with games being played human vs human as the Japanese player can choose to attack different locations than the Japanese did Historically.
– December 7th Surprise is turned on. In most places, that quiet Sunday morning, saw folks in the weekend mindset and not on their guard.
– Reliable USN Torpedoes is turned off. Historically, USN torpedoes had faulty magnetic detonators and had to be fixed during the early part of the war.
– Realistic R&D is turned on. This does not so much effect the Allies as it does the Japanese.
– No Unit Withdrawals is turned off. Some units, in the historical timeline, were moved from the Pacific theater to other operational theaters during the war. If the War Department says I have to send a unit to another command, I can pay political points to keep it or let it go. Political points are a premium.
– Reinforcements are set to fixed. This means the units that arrive in theater and those that come into being do so when they did in the historical timeline of the war.
Game Options
– Combat reports are turned on of course.
– Auto Sub Ops is turned off as I like to manage my submarines myself.
– TF Move Radius is on. It just gives a quick view of where they can travel in the given timeframes.
– Plane Move Radius is on also as it gives an easy reference of a given aircraft’s limitations.
– Facilities are set to not expand at the start. Alot of places are strapped on resources and don’t need to be throwing it all into everything at once. It would be historical as I would need to manage shipping to get supplies and such here and there anyway.
– Ship, ground unit and air unit upgrades are turned off also as I like to prioritize these things on a case by case basis.
– Air and ground replacements off because I want to decide who gets the manpower and material when.
– Turns are set to 1 day cycle. There is an AM and a PM phase in each turn cycle. Each turn is one calendar day.
– AI difficulty set to historical. The AI is not really an AI. It is a scripted set of parameters.
Preferences
– Map style is set to no hexes because it is just prettier.
– Hex side Details are off for the same reason.
– The delays are the defaults as I can change them inside the game as I choose.
– Combat Animations are on. You glean more information from watching the combat play out than you do just from the reports.
– Show Combat Summaries is on because I like to see the report from each engagement as I go. I could wait and see it all together in the combat reports if I wanted to.
– Volume settings can be adjusted in the game any time I like also.
Scenario Detail
I chose scenario 001 War in the Pacific: Full Campaign
In late November, 1941, negotiations with the Japanese regarding their “adventure” in China and the resultant boycott of raw materials to Japan had broken down. War had become inevitable. As early as November 27, 1941, war warnings were issued to all commands. VADM Halsey on “Enterprise” had actually gone a step further and issued a “shoot to kill” order for his Task Force on the 28th. For all intents and purposes, the USN was at war.
It was expected that the hammer would fall in Southeast Asia, perhaps the Philippines. Most disturbing, however, was the disappearance of the units of the Japanese First Air Fleet from radio intercepts. Where were they…?
As Supreme Allied Commander, Pacific, you must resist Japanese expansion. The Allied forces at your disposal are weak at the outset, as the war in Europe has been given strategic priority. Hitler must be defeated first. Until the manufacturing might of the United States can be harnessed and truly become the “arsenal of democracy”, you must pursue a defensive strategic policy on all fronts. In time, offensive operations can commence. The ultimate goal…the unconditional surrender of the Empire of Japan.
“Before we’re through with ’em, the Japanese language will be spoken only in Hell!” -VADM W.F. Halsey, December 8th, 1941
Historical Brief
The Japanese victory over Russia in 1905 established Japan as one of the world’s great powers. By 1910, Japan had annexed Korea as part of the growing Japanese Empire. The revolution in China that established a new Republic there offered Japan the opportunity to further enhance her military and economic influence in the region. Japanese imperialism was on the rise.
By 1931, China was becoming unified under the Nationalists led by Chiang Kai-Shek, with only a small portion of southeastern China dominated by Mao Tse-tung’s communists. This unification process was alarming to Japan, and a Chinese boycott of Japanese trade led to conflict between the two great Asian powers, with Manchuria being annexed by Japan as a condition for peace.
In 1937, however, Chiang and Mao agreed to end the civil war which had been raging during this period of unification and began to resist Japanese aggression and dominance in China. Japan recognized that it had failed to keep China weak and under foot and opted for war once again. In July, Japan instigated the “China Incident” between Chinese and Japanese troops at the Marco Polo bridge near Peking and a full blown invasion of China ensued with the conflict lasting through to the end of the Second World War.
International pressure for Japan to cease it’s aggression in Asia led to a complete trade embargo by the United States in July 1941. Japanese militarists, although having influenced policy throughout the thirties, were officially in power by October with Gen Hideki Tojo becoming Prime Minister. The Emperor failed to use his absolute authority to keep the militarists in check. Events were coming to a head and the need for Japan to achieve economic independence from foreign resources decided the issue. Japan would seize the “Southern Resources Area”, long held by Great Britain and The Netherlands, and not even the American President’s warnings would halt their plans for the future.
No Comments Yet