From: "Elliott, Robert M." Subject: BOTSP review Me: > Have you heard of/seen/played the recent release (last fall I think) > from QQP "Battles of the South Pacific"? This is a terrific game, & a patch > has recently been issued which only improves it. Bob Rogers: >I got the impression for the ads that this wasn't an especially historical >game - in other words, the ads make it look like a game, not a simulation. >I'd appreciate some more details, thanks. Bob, I feel this was a case of QQP getting a lot more of a program than they expected, and not knowing how to handle it. This game is simply too detailed and historical for much of the crowd who may have enjoyed "The Perfect General". I'm not knocking that game, but BOTSP is a very detailed simulation. QQP did the manual for the game (as opposed to the designers) and this is evidence that they didn't know what they had. It is done in the "Perfect General" style, and was absolutely inadequate for a game of this depth. Fortunately, this and the other major problem in the initial release -an overly conservative AI- have both been corrected in the patch. There is a 30+ page text file included which should have been part of the original documentation. I'll see if i can give a quick overview: The graphics are comparable to CAW II. The area covered is from Fiji in the east over past Truk in the northwest, and down to the Australian coast. Ships are displayed as appropriate icons once spotted & identified (Surface TF's, CV TF's, Transport TF's, subs, etc.) Bases & armies are also displayed. The game runs in real time in one hour increments. Supports one or two player and modem play. Runs fine on my 386/40 PC. There are five basic "command" buttons used to control the action: -TF (Task Force)- Lets you cycle through all your Task Forces & any TF's of the enemy you have spotted. Here you issue orders such as: movement, refuel at sea, track & attack, patrol, etc. If in port, there are additional options such as: replenish (ammo & fuel), drydock (with an option to send ships back to Hawaii if damage is severe), load or unload (troops and/or supplies), combine/divide/create TF's, etc. Ship types included: CV, CVL, CVE, BB, CA, CL, CLAA,DD, SS, APA, AKA, AP, AK, AO, DMS, AV, etc.(Thats just off top of my head, there are others as well) All ships are named and appear when they did historically. Ships which do not start the campaign in theatre must be purchased with resource points, which are accumulated daily. Ships sent back to Hawaii must be "repurchased" after repair, but ships put into drydock in theatre are fixed for free, albeit at a slower rate. These in theatre repairs can be monitored, and the ship brought back when desired, even if only partially repaired (For those emergency situations) Damage comes in two types: permanent & fire/flood. Fire/flood in extreme cases must be stopped by drydocking. CV flight deck damage is monitored seperately from the above. For example, running around at full speed slowly causes ship damage, but never affects CV flight decks. OTOH, a bomb hit is not desireable on your flight deck ;) -AF (Airfield)- Lets you cycle through all your airfields and do things such as: transfer/combine/divide squadrons, assign missions such as search, CAP, long range CAP, target strike (AP, HE, or TORP), rest, patrol, etc. Squadrons have an experience and a morale level. All new planes enter at level 50, and can be trained to level 75 via non-combat missions. To gain exp over 75 takes actual combat/bombing missions. Morale is equal to exp when a squadron is fully rested. When it flies or takes losses, morale drops. Exp increases faster after successful missions. All plane types are included that were historically present, including seaplanes. Plane reinforcements appear daily, and are "free". Switching a squadron to a new plane type drastically decreases their exp level. Planes may be shot down or take various amounts of damage, affecting their repair time. -CV (Carrier)- Cycles thru your Carriers, giving equivalent options for CV based planes as stated above for AF. Also shows deck damage, max capacity, operations per hour allowed/used, etc. -Base- Cycle through all land bases, both sides. For friendly bases you are shown: Port size (0 to 250, affects ship repair rate, replenishment capabilities, etc), Airfield size (0 to 250, affects plane capacity, max plane size allowed, flak rating, etc), garrison (#troops present) and supplies (Tons of supplies present). Damage levels for port/airfield/base are also shown. This damage can be caused by Air strikes or shore bombardment. For enemy bases you are given estimates of the above based on your intelligence of the base. Options for friendly bases include: Expand airfield or port (takes supplies & time), create airfield or port (takes more supplies & time), create army, seaplane ops, etc. Supplies arrive daily at Fiji, and have to be shipped to the forward bases. Any new Transports purchased also come loaded with troops and supplies. -Inf (Infantry)- Cycles through all friendly and enemy armies. Armies are considered infantry, mechanized or armored based on the percentage of supplies included in the army. An amphibious invasion is an appropriately daunting proposition! VP's are earned for sinking ships and occupying operational bases. When a base takes 100% damage or drops below 10 supplies it is considered non-operational and is closed until repaired or resupplied. Airfields and ports are closed at 50% damage levels and may not conduct ops until repaired. There are smaller battle scenarios included as well (both historical & hypothetical) but the strength of the game lies in the campaign IMO. Well I hope this helps. There is even more to the game than I've gone into here, but this is already longer than I intended. If this doesn't stir up any interest on the list feel free to Email me with further questions. Or, hopefully with comments after you buy it! I have no affiliation with QQP or the designers, BTW. Mike Elliott Elliotro@pdc02.sch.ge.com