The tutorial posed a curious challenge. Approaching it purely as a learning experience would have been simple. Playing it purely as a stepping stone for the U.S. Pacific campaign would also have been simple. My predicament is that I tried to do both at the same time and I'm not quite sure I succeeded.
In any case this tutorial should never be approached as a one and done affair by someone who never played the game before. I think I demonstrated that there's enough depth in the Order of Battle: World War II tutorial campaign to merit multiple plays if one is serious about learning the game. I believe the designers were of the same opinion (and not only about the tutorial): the "Replay" button in the final Turn Overview of every mission has the same emphasis as the "Exit" button.
I think the tutorial does a decent job gradually introducing the new player to new units, tactical options and concepts. It also gradually gifts valuable units to build up a core. It doesn't play the game for you, you'll have to think and experiment and get things wrong before you get them right. Playing blind as a one-and-done prelude to the U.S. Pacific campaign you'll get a rude shock with the abrupt increase in difficulty.
There's one option I did not explore for obvious reasons. I think it is perfectly acceptable to experiment with console commands (a.k.a. cheats) if one is not going to proceed into the U.S. Pacific campaign. Adding money, command points and turns to e.g. approach Fleet Command with two extra carriers (or more) and an aircraft-heavy force is an interesting alternative. The designers even included some console commands as an Easter egg in the credits.
I've alluded to the game's manual in the very first post of this blog. I'd like to reinforce that aspect. Designers in general and game designers in particular have a duty to introduce and explain concepts, mechanics, etc. when those can't be considered as general knowledge, evident and/or unequivocal. Game designers have (at least) two avenues to impart that information, in-game tutorials and stand-alone manuals. The choice in using one or the other or both depends on the resources and abilities available to those designers. When they choose to go to the trouble of producing a manual the intelligent player's course of action is to RTFM. It may turn out to be an absolute piece of garbage. It may turn out to be invaluable. If one ignores it one loses any credibility to criticize it or the perceived lack of information provided in-game.
I have been teasing about the "Tutorial Messages" all through this presentation of the campaign. My primary motivation to publish a playthrough of the combined Boot Camp and U.S. Pacific campaigns is to give a counterpoint to the negative opinion The Edmon advanced in his review of his playthrough (this link takes you to the last video of the campaign on Youtube, look for his reply to my comment Youtube - TheEdmon's OOB Playthrough - Episode 65). About the tutorial itself he claims that "(...) the tutorial system is poor (...)". As it happens he had the tutorial messages button turned off for the entirety of the playthrough. I don't know how important said tutorial messages would have been if he had read them as they popped up.
The tutorial messages can be found in the various "english.txt" files in one of the game's folders. I took the trouble to import those files into a Microsoft Access database and examine them. There's still a number of messages that I didn't trigger. You may find them below.
1772 tutorial_transportation_title Motorised Transportation
1773 tutorial_transportation Towed Artillery, Anti-Tank and Anti-Air units move very slowly without motorised transportation. You can assign a transport vehicle to these units through the Upgrade menu, accessible through the Upgrade button in the lower left corner if the screen.
1780 tutorial_engineer_title Engineers
1781 tutorial_engineer Engineers are particularly effective against fortified enemy units. In addition to these offensive capabilities they also have a number of unique abilities: They can lay mines, destroy roads and bridges and construct Pontoon Bridges at river crossings.
1822 tutorial_strategic_attacks_title Strategic Bombardments
1823 tutorial_strategic_attacks Strategic Bombers have the ability to target enemy supply sources directly to decrease the amount of supply it provides.||Sustained strategic bombardments will eventually decrease the number of units the enemy can maintain in the field.
1828 tutorial_marines_title Marines
1829 tutorial_marines Marines are specialised naval attack units which suffer less efficiency loss when disembarking from naval transportation.||Use these elite units in the first wave of any naval invasion to establish a secure beachhead for the standard Infantry to reinforce.
1832 tutorial_minelaying_title Minelaying
1833 tutorial_minelaying Minefields will make a position inaccessible to both sides until the mines are destroyed or removed.||You must choose the hex the unit should move to after placing the minefield on its current position.
1838 tutorial_commandos_title Commandos
1839 tutorial_commandos Commandos are unique units specialised in harassment behind enemy lines. They do not capture territory, can only be spotted by adjacent enemy infantry and can attack targets without taking any damage in return.||Use them against fragile, unprotected targets or to deal damage to enemy supply sources and infrastructure.
1846 tutorial_ambush_title Ambush
1847 tutorial_ambush When a unit runs into an enemy unit that was invisible or hidden in the Fog of War an ambush attack will be launched. Being caught by surprise, the moving unit will suffer combat penalties in the attack.
1860 tutorial_floatplane_title Float Planes
1861 tutorial_floatplane Float Planes and Flying Boat reconnaissance aircraft do not require refuelling. This ability to stay airborne makes them ideal for long range reconnaissance missions.
1878 tutorial_naval_efficiency_title Naval Firing Efficiency
1879 tutorial_naval_efficiency When a warship moves, it loses efficiency based on the distance of the moved compared to its maximum movement range.||This efficiency penalty affect its firepower during the current turn and lasts until the player's next turn.
1880 tutorial_terrain_disruption_title Unit Move Disruption
1881 tutorial_terrain_disruption Moving through certain terrain types cause unit disruption and decrease its efficiency. This efficiency loss is displayed on the movement path indicator.||A dirt road running through the terrain reduces the penalty taken, while a paved road negates it altogether.
1884 tutorial_explosives_title Demolition Explosives
1885 tutorial_explosives This unit can use explosives to destroy bridges and/or damage supply output on its current position. This ability can be used to slow down an enemy advance or to adopt "Scorched Earth" tactics.
1896 tutorial_artillery_bombardment_title Bombardment
1897 tutorial_artillery_bombardment Artillery units have the ability to bombard any hex within their range - provided it is not occupied by a friendly unit. While this ability costs some Resources, it allows you to target enemy units even when they are hidden in the Fog of War.
1900 tutorial_challenge_hosted_title Challenge Hosted
1901 tutorial_challenge_hosted Your challenge is now available for other players to join. As soon as the required number of players for this scenario have joined, the game will because available as an active match and the first player will be able to play his/her turn.
1910 tutorial_carrier_purchase_title Aircraft Carriers
1911 tutorial_carrier_purchase Aircraft Carriers can store, supply, repair and refuel aircraft. A newly purchased Carrier does not come with any aircraft however. It is up to you to choose which air units to deploy on it.
1912 tutorial_reserve_resources_title Resources Reserves
1913 tutorial_reserve_resources It is best not to invest all of your resources into new units, repairs or upgrades during the start of a scenario. Instead, try to keep some resources in reserve to make critical repairs or other important investments during the first turns.
1916 tutorial_long_distance_refuel_title Refuelling Task
1917 tutorial_long_distance_refuel When an aircraft has to move several turns to reach a carrier or airfield for refuelling, it can be useful to set up a long distance move.||Hold down the <CTRL> key and left-click on the destination and the unit will fly there automatically over the next couple of turns.
1918 tutorial_long_distance_move_title Long-distance Moves
1919 tutorial_long_distance_move You have just set a long-distance move for the currently selected unit. Starting from the next turn, it will move in this direction automatically whenever you end your turn.
1920 tutorial_long_distance_cancel_title Long-distance Moves
1921 tutorial_long_distance_cancel To remove a long-distance destination: Hold the <CTRL> key, the click on the destination hex again OR click on the unit's current hex.||Whenever you give any other order to a unit, its long-distance destination will also be removed.
1922 tutorial_automatic_sonar_title Sonar Sweeps
1923 tutorial_automatic_sonar When ending your turn, all ships with the "Sonar Sweep" ability which have not yet moved or attacked will automatically use that ability.||If it reveals an enemy submarine, the End Turn cycle will be aborted.
1934 tutorial_torpedo_moving_target_title Torpedo Evasion
1935 tutorial_torpedo_moving_target Torpedo volleys are less effective against targets which have moved (indicated by a yellow/orange/red strength number). This represents that the target ship is moving and maneuvering, thus making it more difficult to hit.
1940 tutorial_deployment_supply_deficiency_title Supply Deficiency
1941 tutorial_deployment_supply_deficiency Land units can only be deployed in a region which has enough of a supply surplus to maintain the unit. If it has insufficient supply reserves, the deployment hexes will be coloured orange.
1942 tutorial_deployment_air_supply_deficiency_title Air Supply Deficiency
1943 tutorial_deployment_air_supply_deficiency Aircraft carriers provide supply for carrier-based aircraft while airfields provide supply for all air unit types. You can only deploy additional aircraft if there is enough air supply surplus available to support them.
1952 tutorial_campaign_scenario_selected_title Scenario Selected
1953 tutorial_campaign_scenario_selected The scenario you clicked on is already selected. To launch this scenario, click the "Launch" button in the bottom right corner of the screen.
2152 tutorial_player_not_found_title Player Not Found
2153 tutorial_player_not_found The player name you entered could not be found in the active player database. Note that a player must have logged into multiplayer at least once in order to appear in this database.||Player names are not case sensitive.
2164 tutorial_pbem_lobby_title PBEM Lobby
2165 tutorial_pbem_lobby Welcome to the PBEM++ Multiplayer lobby. Here you can find a list of all open challenges and all matches you are involved in. The four tabs at the top of the panel act as filters for the games list.
2166 tutorial_pbem_lobby_2_title Host or Join
2167 tutorial_pbem_lobby_2 You can choose to join an existing open challenge - if there are any - or host your own challenge. To join a challenge, select it in the list and click "Join" button in the bottom right corner of the panel. The host your own, simply click the "Host Challenge" button.
3525 tutorial_core_import_title Core Force Importing
3526 tutorial_core_import Previously exported core forces from specific campaigns can be imported at the start of this campaign. This allows you to carry over your full unit list between consecutive campaigns.
3527 tutorial_core_import_2_title Imported Core Force
3528 tutorial_core_import_2 These imported units are now displayed under the "Destroyed and former core units" tab in the unit list.||Former core units need to be reformed at full cost, but keep their combat history and a percentage of their experience.
3801 tutorial_seaplane_tender_title Air Supply Types
3802 tutorial_seaplane_tender Seaplane tenders can only provide supply for seaplanes, while aircraft carriers supply both seaplanes and carrier-based planes. Airfields can supply any type of aircraft.||Without a valid source of supply, aircraft cannot be deployed on the map.
4153 tutorial_revert_vp_capture_title Capture reverted
4154 tutorial_revert_vp_capture If a victory point is not yet fully captured while completely cut off from supply, it requires a friendly unit on or adjacent to it. Without such a garrison to continue the capturing process, the point will automatically be reclaimed by its previous owner.
4579 tutorial_transportation_console Towed Artillery, Anti-Tank and Anti-Air units move very slowly without motorised transportation. You can assign a transport vehicle to these units through the Upgrade menu, accessible through the Upgrade button in the unit abilities panel.
4598 tutorial_campaign_scenario_selected_console The scenario you selected on is already highlighted. To launch this scenario, press <A>.
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