Fleet Commander: Pacific

[h3]RANKING:[/h3] [table] [tr] [td] [h3][strike]AVOID | LACKING[/strike] | [b]MAYBE[/b] | [strike]WORTHWHILE | COMPELLING | UNMISSABLE [/strike] [/h3] [/td] [/tr] [/table] [h3]SYNOPSIS:[/h3] [table] [tr] [th][b]WHAT TO EXPECT:[/b][/th] [/tr] [tr] [td] Fleet Commander: Pacific (FC:P) is a grand strategy simulation of naval warfare set during World War II. It possesses an IGOUGO design, with mechanics that provide a streamlined boardgame style. The objective is to seize and keep control of 12+ sea zones to score victory points. Players take control of either Allied or Japanese naval forces to fight a campaign of 10 turns of four months each or several shorter scenarios. Gameplay focuses on surface warfare with supporting air combat, amphibious assaults and limited submarine warfare possible. It has single-player, online and hot-seat multi-player modes. Build 1.1, 221014 & 221020_64 reviewed [/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [td][b]STATUS:[/b][/td] [td]Currently in early access, where it needs to remain for a good while [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b]AUDIENCE:[/b][/td] [td]For fans of grand strategy lite, naval warfare themed boardgames [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b]VALUE FOR MONEY:[/b][/td] [td]Overpriced for current content and quality. Will rise in price three months after EA release [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b]REVIEWED USING:[/b][/td] [td][b][/b]Intel i5 6600 3.3GHz, 8GB RAM, GTX970 @ 1GB 1920x1080 windowed, EVO850 SSD [/td] [/tr] [/table] [i]More info below....[/i] [quote]Follow our Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41449676/] Summit Reviews [/url] , to see more high-quality reviews regularly.[/quote] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2879552877 [h3]BREAKDOWN:[/h3] [table] [tr] [td][b]THE GOOD:[/b] [/td] [td] + [b]Easy to get into:[/b] Uncomplicated gameplay, with a shallow learning curve + [b]WWII era naval warfare:[/b] Simulates all primary forms of naval and amphibious combat + [b]Abstracted battle mechanics:[/b] Models damage types, ship positioning and; ship reinforcement and reassignment + [b]Logical game flow:[/b] Long turns of multiple phases that make gameplay feel extensive + [b]Historical capitol ships:[/b] All carriers, battleships, battle-cruisers and cruisers from the era are included [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b]THE BAD:[/b][/td] [td] - [b]Too simplistic:[/b] Focuses completely on warfare. There is no diplomacy, economy or resource management - [b]Mechanics lack scope:[/b] No theatre logistics, leaders not represented, no conventional warfare, range or time at sea is not entirely modelled - [b]Lack of info:[/b] Tooltips look good, but are wasted as not shown in their own window/panel - [b]No outside factors:[/b] Doesn't possess dynamic factors or optional rule variants, to randomise gameplay experience enough - [b]Needs polish and QoL:[/b] Game state is akin to between a beta and alpha release - [b]Not enough starting content:[/b] 1x campaign and 3x short scenarios. Needs more non-historical what-if scenarios - [b]Unrefined elements of GUI:[/b] Streamlined, but organisation and format needs work to make it more accessible. Combat exchanges are truncated - [b]Icons need work:[/b] Fleet icons are too small, symbols used for destroyed air units are the same as ships sunk - [b]No land warfare:[/b] Garrisons, sieges and jungle warfare are not represented likely due to the scale of turns - [b]There is no PBEM multiplayer:[/b] Due to its design this isn't possible - [b]Bugs & stability: [/b] Two crashes experienced during battles and a number of other minor to medium bugs reported [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b]AND THE REST:[/b][/td] [td] * [b]VitP boardgame style map:[/b] Has 13x sea zones and 4x strategic zones, and over 20x major regional bases * [b]Basic AI:[/b] Capable against a novice, but needs more work to make it challenging by not sending out its assets illogically. better target prioritisation and late game ability needs work * [b]Detailed tutorial:[/b] Covers all aspects of gameplay to a fairly informative degree * [b]Unit selection bar and filter system:[/b] Is well designed and shows all units by location. 18x filters aid unit selection * [b]Steam integration includes:[/b] Overlay that allows screenshot capture and it has a tiny number of achievements which are expected to grow [/td] [/tr] [/table] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2877685945 [h3]OBSERVATIONS:[/h3] [table] [tr] [td][b]GAMEPLAY[/b][/td] [/tr] ► Looks a lot like the physical boardgame called Victory in the Pacific made by Avalon Hill. Haven't played it so can't tell if it plays exactly likely it. ► The game may appear to deliver a rather short-lived experience, but the phases contained in each '4 month' turn cycle offer a surprising amount of weighty gameplay and flexibility in strategy. ► The abstracted level of scale means that a lot of what made the Pacific theatre interesting is discounted for a streamlined experience. This makes gameplay simpler, but at a cost of depth. ► Combat captures the naval aspect of this war quite well and gives some leeway in tactics, but is simplistic. The number of operational choices make it quite interesting if somewhat repetitive. ► Engagements feel weighty, if slim-lined and include: carrier-borne air attacks, surface exchanges, limited submarine warfare and amphibious landings, retreat and pursuit, and day/night engagements. ► Mechanics are plenty inc. damaged, disabled and sunk targets, automated repairs, historical reinforcements and reassignments, frontline and reserve fleet positioning ► The AI managed to beat me in my GC as Japan and almost trounced me as the Allies only losing to me in the last turn. It capable but fairly predictable when not making illogical moves. [tr] [td][b]QUALITY vs ISSUES[/b][/td] [/tr] ► Currently it feels like its between a beta and alpha and needs QoL in some areas and a little polish all round. ► Main campaign is playable and basically feature complete barring bug fixes and tweaks to game rules. Found and reported a few low/medium bugs. ► On the whole the GUI presents information well but could do with the reserve placed behind the frontline, screening positions shown and unit tooltips get their own fixed window/panels. ► Music and supporting audio suits the ambience despite feeling generic and rather expected, but one or both of these resets to zero on a restart. [tr] [td][b]WHATS MISSING?[/b][/td] [/tr] ► As noted in its EA release, a fully integrated scripting system for the AI that aims to make it as reactive as possible to player moves. AI definitely needs more work. ► A few variant rules would increase the longevity of the game. Suggestions include: no turn limit, no point cap, German allies, increased allied or equalised reinforcements. ► A lack of other grand strategy factors give it a boardgame feel. Including more of these [non-naval] aspects would beef up gameplay, but change its nature. [table][tr] [td]For more info on [b]BREAKDOWNS & OBSERVATIONS[/b] check out this link:[/td] [td][h3][url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/TheIrregularGamer/discussions/0/3493130872652371237/]Full Review[/url][/h3][/td] [/tr][/table] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2876567600 [h3]VERDICT:[/h3] Fleet Commander: Pacific offers some decent WWII-themed boardgame strategy, even if the 'grand' part of it proved to be lite in nature. While its design and combat are basically good, its has bugs to iron out, needs some QoL and could do with more content, dynamics and variant rules to make it less repetitive. After a hard fought battle for my appreciation the game doesn't feel quite complete enough and [b]MAYBE[/b] only worthy of consideration by strategy fans of naval focused games willing to wait for the final product. It will be worth revisiting the game after its had more development. [quote=]Thank you for reading. | Follow my curator[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40556040-The-Irregular-Gamer/] here[/url].[/quote]

Dev has been AWOL since Dec 2022. Dont look for any updates, fixes, patches, anything.

Game is in Early Access , still needs a lot of refining & apparently going nowhere. No hint of a response from developers for too long now so probably dead in the water. Developer/s please respond ! Tell me I'm wrong. I'd be more than happy to hear that I am.

Takes awhile to understand the flow of turns and UI, but very enjoyable game so far. Thanks for bringing board games to the computer. Very nice trip down memory lane and so much better to have an AI opponent than solo. Want to add, the more I play the more I'm impressed for how many decisions the player needs to make. The seemingly small map has many key characteristics, particularly bases and placement of land based air. Even deciding where to repair ships, should I send back to the West Coast or Pearl which might be at repair capacity. Japanese land based air has 3 attach whereas Allies two but Allies get more units toward end of game. I cannot stop thinking about strategies, even when away from the game. That might be the hallmark of a true Classic.

It needs a bit more work. Task Forces W, X, Y and Z are not in the game. In the rules you cannot attack a carrier in a surface action until you have attacked all other surface ships, or the carrier is firing it's guns. Is multi-player working yet? The method of sending off ships is a bit clumsy. Several times I have sent an entire group when I only intended to send one. Make the icons BIGGER and over obscured by overlays. Love the repair of ships routine and combat plays well. The game is a winner and with a bit more work a true stunner. An expanded ship to ship version down the track with individual Great Naval Battles, aka Gary Grigsby, would be excellent.

Very good recreation of VitP board game! Would like to see some of the other Avalon Hill classics reproduced. Some minor issues: In the battle round screen the front line ships are sometimes partially obscured by the "choose air/surface, bonus" box. Would it be possible to move the icon/counters upwards, so they won't be obscured? Would also like to see some of the other optional rules implemented. Task Force (searching, hiding, landing); Damage control of some Allied/IJN carriers; Gunnery radar on turn 7 for US ships; Doolittle raid; etc. CV/CVL screening during surface actions needs to be addressed. Major issue. Also, in the original AH VitP players had the choice of surface/air action, even if they didn't have those type units in an area, in order to force a roll, thus giving players a chance to retreat before action. In a recent game an IJN BB received an initial "disabled" result, which should have sent it to port, but a secondary attack was allowed to sink the BB. Per the original rules disabled results stopped any subsequent attacks. USS Minneapolis and Bay of Bengal are misspelled.

Another conversion of an Avalon Hill boardgame by Avalon Digital. The good: It's always nice to see computer versions of old boardgames. The bad: Again, AD seem to have abandoned the game - no updates, no new scenarios. This is a recurring theme with AD. The ugly: A full price game that hasn't had any developer input for 2.5 years. 'Early Access' is starting to look like a con.

It is very fun to play and just like VITP from Avalon Hill.

This game is a virtual replica of the 1977 Avalon Hill Title Victory in the Pacific. Great Art, rules very simple to follow. Unfortunately, the mechanics are very skewed in favor of the AI. Every battle I have played regardless of side played, the AI gets hits in every round while my forces miss a great deal. The last game I played I kept a running score of shots, hits, and misses. The AI was hitting roughly 36-40% of the time. While mine was between 22-32%. It takes a lot away from the game. I enjoyed playing as the Allied player much more than the Japanese since the sheer numbers of Allied ships make winning for the Japanese AI near impossible, but with much greater Allied losses than historically. It's near impossible to win the Grand Campaign as the Japanese against the Allied AI. I have beaten the AI in the two one turn games as the Japanese though. Overall I am recommending the game, but with lots of consideration that AH dev's will fix the AI. I am reversing my opinion on this game. I do not recommend it as I had done earlier. The issue with the AI scoring so many hits is really getting tiresome. I have played the game several times against a human opponent and the percentage of hits by my human opponent is drastically lower. I have also emailed the developer on their web page as well as critiqued this game in the discussion threads. I have noted several of the upgrades promised back in June 22 ASW and AA to name a few. No response in all cases. If you are buying this game to play against friends, it's a good game, but if you are buying to play solo, don't waste your cash.

Lovely recreation of the old Avalon Hill Victory in the Pacific. Some rough edges but mechanics are basically solid. However, the AI is dreadful. I know any computer opponent is a beast to program and none will ever be as regularly good as an experienced human, but I beat the game solidly the first time out as both the Allies and Japanese. So I'm not really eager to play it again soon. Multiplayer will be the only option unless the AI can be improved. And I'm an anti-social curmudgeon. :)