Just got Naval Campaigns: Midway. Impressed!!

apoll1

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Hi. I saw NC:M and decided to get it after checking it out as best I could. I really like it! The graphics are really basic and there are not many bells or whistles...and I frankly took one look at the pictures of the game, and almost dismissed it out of hand in this modern era of gaming. I'm glad I didn't; its the gamplay that gets me...and the juggling of the deck loads of planes, and the decisions on who to spot...when to fling up a CAP...that really works IMHO. Even the sound, pretty basic at first glance, grows on you and somehow adds to the atmosphere. And that is what this game has: lots and lots of atmosphere. I like the fact that it takes time to get things done,...which forces one to think ahead like a chess player. I am finding myself trying to put myself in the shoes of my opposition and make calls about what they would be doing and trying to counter that. To any of you thinking about this game, and perhaps put off by the simple graphics, let me say to you: don't be put off. You will be drawn into the tactics and decision making, and this adds a tension to the game which overcomes any issue of basic graphics and really has you waiting on the edge of your seat seeing if your staregy ios going to be rewarded.

I have one question: I don't have any notice that I have been spotted so far in the games I've tried (and to be honest, that has only been two...). I guess this is realistic: many times you might not notice that your TF has been spotted by thesearch plane hiding in the cloud or on the horizon... But can I expect, at times, to se a small red dot near my task force that indocates an enemy serarch plane has spotted me? Grateful any perspective on this.

And on more question if I may: I am also looking at the game Defending the Reich. This also looks interesting. Has anyone played it and can someone give me an idea how it is in their opinion? (I can't fnd a review of it anywhere...) Thank you.

apoll
 

Wodin

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I found Defending the Reich to be a little to sparse in gameplay and chrome for my liking. Would have preferred them to use the Modern Air engine instead. I'd say Bombming the Reich and Eagle day over at matrix is alot more in depth but then again that is a little to far the other way. We really need a game that falls in between those two and it would e perfect.

So DtR is a risky purchase.

The Squad Battle series (best played PBEM) and the PZCampaign series (the most popular HPS series) are superb games though, as I believe are the Civil War and Ancient series. I'm currently sat here twiddling ym thumns for the release of Tigers Unleashed which is due out today and if I was an ancient fan I'd be very excited over the Roman Civil War release due today aswell.
 
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Yes, there will be a chance to see an enemy spotter. It will depend on the circumstances. It goes without saying that it's alot easier to see a 30,000 ton aircraft carrier than it is a single scoutplane up in the air. Likewise, the radar detection of a single plane is lower than it is for a large strike coming in. That said, you'll likely get a chance to see (and deal with) any lurking spotters.

Thanks for the kind words :) It's always nice to see someone enjoying the game.
 

ivanmoe

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I have one question: I don't have any notice that I have been spotted so far in the games I've tried (and to be honest, that has only been two...). I guess this is realistic: many times you might not notice that your TF has been spotted by thesearch plane hiding in the cloud or on the horizon... But can I expect, at times, to se a small red dot near my task force that indocates an enemy serarch plane has spotted me? Grateful any perspective on this.
Search aircraft are typically hard to spot in the game. And even when you detect one there's a chance that they can escape before CAP gives up the chase, unless, of course, the lurker is a PBY or Maivs! A counter-move that works fairly well is to deploy several destroyers on the axis between your task force and where you believe the opposing force to be. Assign a fighter to CAP each of the destroyers and they have a decent shot at neutralizing the lurker before it spots your TF. This is completely ahistorical. Because of that, you may want to talk the practice over with anyone who you might play a game with, as they might consider it excessively "gamey." Late in the war, notably at Okinawa, the USN did use radar-equipped destroyers as early-warning picket ships, BTW.
 
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For that matter, the Japanese tended to extend their surface screen out to serve as "eyes" for enemy aircraft. That said, most fighters didn't have radios, so their ability to vector the CAP out to where any enemy aircraft were spotted was iffy. There were times the surface ships fired their guns simply to get the pilots attention.
 

trauth116

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As an FYI, since it came up in here, Defending the Reich was developed independently of the Naval Campaigns by Jim Lunsford; it won't play the same as the NC series (developed by Tiller). I don't have DtR so I don't have any further info at this point.
 

bdward1969

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Up front I have to deeply apologize for bumping this thread. I have several John Tiller titles and just recently purchased Midway because I was disappointed in my ancient copy of UV and well honestly was not ready to make the huge jump to WiTP-AE. I was hoping someone could point my to some recent or at least applicable forums for this game so that I can get my PacWar fix without getting so bogged down with something as intimidating as WiTP-AE. I also want to put out there that I am not flaming WiTP-AE, I actually own WiTE and love it, however I have several problems with the AI in that game and really I think once you get the mechanics down of throwing up defense in every other hex, that game starts to play like a game of checkers. But I do love the detail, which has me looking at other products like WiTP-AE. Just not sure I am ready to jump that deep is all, so I welcome any input the forum gods may have.

Thanks,

Brian
 

Herman Hum

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In direct response to a request from:
ORIGINAL: gogol1st

Hi i' m looking for players to play HPS Midway

http://www.wargamer.com/forums/posts.asp?t=588512
A new video for [Midway Naval Campaigns] Wake Island has been added the YouTube Harpoon for Dummies channel.

You can watch [MNC] Wake Island

[video=youtube;4dWKP7GWkuo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dWKP7GWkuo[/video]

"Harpoon for Dummies" channel * FAQ * Facebook * HarPlonkHQ

Harpoon3.6.3 users can get the Complete PlayersDB Harpoon 3.6.3 Library
Harpoon ANW users can get the Complete PlayersDB Harpoon ANW Library
Harpoon HUE users can get the Complete PlayersDB Harpoon HUE Library
 

ivanmoe

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The video that was produced is very nice, and the "director" deserves a lot of credit for taking the time and effort to put it together. However, its easy to come away from viewing it with the impression that the game is somewhat unmanageable. Well, IMO, the reason that the human player was struggling at times was because he really didn't have the UI down. Properly used, it allows for considerable automation that makes the game easier to play. The routines built into the UI are particularly critical when the time compression feature is accelerated past 1:1.

In watching the video, I noticed that the player fouled up his aircraft launch cycle by spotting some aircraft before a separate mission was finished taking flight. When he did that, a mission was left half launched and half spotted. A carrier can't spot planes and conduct takeoff/landings at the same time. Not realizing why his strike didn't leave the TF and head to its target, it appeared as though the player became frustrated and sent the individual flights on their way individually.

Another little bit of weirdness occurred when the human player engaged an incoming strike with his CAP. Not realizing that CAP elements will abandon the intercept under certain circumstances (like when they are out of ammo), the player continued ordering them to engage the incoming strike. I could sense that he was frustrated, but it was perfectly obvious that the intercepting Wildcats ammo was at "0." This is just part of learning the game, BTW.

The player also didn't realize that it's possible to cancel a search mission and then reassign the same flight to a new search. All that's needed is to select "assign new mission" from the "Commands" menu. This procedure is very similar to the one that's followed when setting up any other search mission, excepting that it's done once the flight is already airborne. I'd also note that any large scale aircraft searches almost have to be automated. Failing to exploit the search features of the UI will lead to the searchers either wandering into an enemy and getting shot down or running out of fuel when they end up too far from home.

Please don't think that It's my intention to be critical of someone who OBVIOUSLY went to a lot of work to illuminate some of the fine points of the game. Rather, this situation presented an opportunity for me to explain a truly critical aspect of playing NCM. The fact of the matter is that the UI is very unforgiving of player input errors (like spotting additional air units while a previous flight has yet to finish launching). Used properly, the UI is very powerful and keeps a lot of headaches from rearing up and spoiling a carefully laid plan. As has been mentioned in the past, playing the game well involves some practice, training if you will. Develop a good doctrine for handling your ships and aircraft, and the game can be very satisfying. Let the UI get away from you, and it can/will be very frustrating.

My two cents on the video and the "learning curve" associated with Naval Campaigns Midway,

-Moe
 
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Herman Hum

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Thanks for your comments and feedback. Hopefully, they will help create better videos in the future. :toast:
 
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