July Digest #7

WOWS

Saw another YT WOWS streamer talking about the latest WG offering - Battle Pass. Streamer said it was basically a con designed to get more game play for pitiful rewards. Which is how I first saw it. Even though I've since participated, I still believe it's a waste of time. More grinding for less rewards is his summary of it. 

Return of a favourite WOWS streamer. He's recovering from cancer. What I like about him is his skill plus the fact he explains play at top tier level. Like tonight I saw him in the latest Pan-American Tier X battleship Sete de Setembro, the same tier but a next step up from Libertad. I enjoyed his video because he took time to examine those playing with him and discussing their behaviour in-game. Easy to dismiss your fellow teammates especially they appear to be playing badly. The streamer examined their motivation and background and clarified why they appeared to be playing badly. I like that from someone skilled enough to take the time and make the effort. 

He brought up a valid point about new players jumping straight into top tier PvP game with ships gifted to them but with little to no practical in-game experience to justify playing such gifts. Like the Izumo player who was a veteran of just three games who chose to sail away from the fight from the start! Or the Montana player who learned all his skill in lower tiers and suddenly made the jump to top tier yet performed ineffectively by hanging back when his build implied he could take the fight to the enemy. 

Noticed the WOWS wiki has now been updated to bring it in line with WG's current outlook publicly. Which is about time given it's never been given a makeover since I joined back in 2019 apart from occasional updates if at all.

Continuing to play real badly in Le Terrible. No idea why I am terrible in this ship. Its 8 km detection range certainly doesn't help. Not having smoke or hydro also is a bummer. Its gun boost is meant to assist but it's short-timed and doesn't impact that well. I tend to die pretty early on whenever I try to push in as I get focus fired upon by everyone on the enemy side. I've played quite a few terrible ships but I have to confess this is the worst ship I play. I suck at it big time. 

I am planning to switch the commander whose skill level I am upgrading to another ship, either another DD or maybe a cruiser.

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Accumulated Battle Pass points do carry over. Should have a little accumulation by Thursday. 

The Italian subs are now available for upgrading if you have the Free XP and credits to do so. 

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Continued my commander upskilling today. Fortunately I did enough to collect the daily coal loot crates and thus avoid playing Le Terrible. Leaning towards playing either Siroco or La Galissoniere. Or I could restore the commander to his assigned ship - Jean Bart - and run him in Asymmetrics or Operations. 

Affondatore is available soon as part of the Salvage event. Seen a couple of YT WOWS streamer previewing the ship. But if you don't want to fork out when the Salvage event comes around, you can wait until Update 15.9 (October) when it will be released as a Tech tree line ship. It's a supership so the price may be steep for some.

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Thursday saw me play for the Daily coal crates and all the Battle Pass points on offer. Bought a Festival package (AUD3) to dip in the Wishing Wharf. The new Salvage event kicked off today but did not examine it closely dismissing it out of hand as you do when burned often enough by WG and its fake claims. 

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Friday saw me take a closer look at the Salvage event. Initially dismissed it as a waste of time believing WG was up to their usual sneaky ways of extorting money from its playerbase. Well, was I wrong (not unusual for me, i.e. quick to condemn on hearsay) because upon closer examination I soon realised I could obtain this supership by exchanging a quantity of coal and credits (image below).

Exchanged a total of 250,000 coal and 100,000,000 credits and scored Affondatore. I could have waited till its release later on this year. But I had spare coal and credit sitting there accumulating. Weak justification is I only have twenty-six ships to go before reaching my terminal goal. 

Played it to obtain the daily coal loot crates. Yeah, it does okay at long range most times. Certainly destroys ships with less than half health or even two-thirds healthy with one salvo from its sixteen guns. 

I like the exhaust smoke (which masks you from enemy ships) and SAP ammo (instead of HP). Unfortunately I'm a sap at using SAP which makes this ship so OP. D'oh!

Slow to move when stationary. Air defence is okay. Bow and stern turrets fire independently of one another. Eight forward and eight stern guns give good coverage. Slow enough reload but manageable. 

How did this fortuitous circumstance arise?

Initially I was checking out the Personal challenges, part of the Salvage event. I was wondering why it was now exclusive for in the past Personal Challenges was open to most or all Battle Modes. But here in this event only participation in Random, Operations, and Ranked counted. In exchange for scoring 500 BASE XP (increments in difficulty each time you reach the target), you scored 1 Salvage token plus coal. And you need 100 such tokens to earn the ship. Or at least 100 games which is an effen hard grind if taking this arduous route to the reward!!

This then led me to examine more closely the Salvage event and that's when I made my happy discovery. Certainly enjoyed the short and different grind from per usual upon playing this vessel. 

Glad too not be grinding in Personal Challenges for Salvage tokens. Grateful to have had the necessary resources for exchange. A good Friday. Now on to Master of Command and the final battle. 

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Master of Command

Played the Thuringia campaign today (Tuesday). Slowly getting the hang of the controls.

Securing the campaign objectives is easy enough. Once done, then it's time to face the enemy HQ which will outnumber your forces and contain all three teeth arms. So having artillery is a handy assist but not necessarily critical. I do like that this game teaches you how to support one another as when launching a cavalry assault you should always have infantry/artillery backing up. And vice versa. 

It pays to upgrade your units as quickly as possible to max their potential. 

You can change the appearance of your commanders - hair, face, clothes, etc. The same applies to units including uniform facings and flags. If that's your thing, go for it.

Campaign objectives are really side shows between the real purpose which are the battles. 

Terrain plays no part other than visual eye candy during battles. Terrain does not impede, hinder or penalise movement. Which is both ridiculous and bizarre.

Viewpoint is omniscient so sneaking about is not a thing in this game. But that's to be expected. 

I would like to see what the full game offers.

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Today (Wednesday) I jumped into the demo game to run another campaign. Still liking the game. But wondering if the full game increases the maximum number of units per brigade. Demo only allows four units per brigade. You can have as many brigades as you want though it will cost you. 

Campaign terrains are seeded which implies lots of different terrains available. Currently playing a Russian campaign where I am opposed by Russians everywhere!

Earlier I finished the Pommeranian campaign and I squeaked home in the final face-off with the enemy HQ in the Battle of Tornow. For a while there I thought I would lose it as I was outnumbered. And I lost a few good men too as the score progress shows (units/commanders with white flags signify lost/routed/killed). Won it with four units and my first brigade commander Moritz Anhalt-Dessau leading. Two lifeguard infantry units, a grenadier and a canton volunteer unit. 

Prior to the final show-down I had been slowly building up my force's strength and potency. Made sure they were kitted out correctly in terms of weaponry and essential equipment - ammo pouches, footwear, gaiters, bayonets, etc. Realised the "extras" like tobacco, crosses, bibles, doctrines, haversacks, ramrods, etc., are fine when starting out. But they're not essential as you upgrade your units into their specialisations. But if you do want them because they do add bonuses, you can always buy more inventory space in the particular unit's profile (bottom left in image above). Default when you start is three inventory spaces per unit.  

Presently begun another campaign after the victory at Tornow. However it's at the next skill level up which is Colonel-grade. Been playing the demo at Major level (beginner) since I started. Each increase in playing level is meant to be more difficult than the previous one. There are two higher-up levels past Colonel as well as one for complete customisation. 

Always keep your victuals well stocked. As they say, an army marches on its stomach. And everywhere you go on the map you expend food. 

Match the horseflesh to the cavalry type. Not too hard to figure out. 

Don't know if it only applies to this demo game, but the enemy will always attack you. So barriers like stakes or cheval-de-frise or having an entrenching tool seem irrelevant or a waste of time. But it might be different in the game proper. 

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So I logged into the Demo game today (Thursday) to play out the current campaign. Trouble is I forgot to increase my troops while traipsing the countryside completing the side missions. And now because the timer's run out, I'm about to face the full force of the enemy main army (part of whom is shown below prior to battle commencement).

For this final confrontation I will be facing four enemy brigades comprising nine infantry, one cavalry, and three artillery units. 

I have three artillery, three infantry, and two cavalry units in two full brigades. Not sure how I am going to deal with this apart from placing my cavalry on the flanks and concentrate my artillery against where the enemy will advance. 

Earlier I had been taking on the enemy smaller forces wherever and whenever I could in order to boost my loot tally. Below shows my last victory before the final battle.

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Friday. Played the final battle. Unfortunately for my Prussians, I lost. 

And I lost twice. Because I started a new campaign in a new theatre of operations and new foe. But once again, I failed to get enough manpower in time to be able to face off against the enemy HQ army who moved real fast to contact me.

Playing at the Colonel level at the moment. Major level is basic and fairly easy but designed to get you familiar with the game system. As stated previously, there are several levels and one custom level. 

Came close to winning, and seemed to be doing great, in my latest defeat but my guys got exhausted and eventually broke of their own accord which quickly spread to the rest of the army. Only unbroken unit by the end was my supply wagon! Lol.  

The more I play, the more I am likely to buy the game.

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July Digest #6

WOWS

Update 15.6 kicked in yesterday (Thursday). New Battle Pass instead of the usual Event Pass. Loads of events such as Summer Sale, Wishing Wharf, new ships, etc. Event tokens galore. Spoken on some of these happenings. Overall, I'm just going to continue my commander upskill grind against this backdrop of "exciting events".  

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Some images from what I am currently seeing upon logging in today. Loads of events and ships on offer. It's funny because I still remember when I first started I had acquired twenty-three ships. The significance of that start has stayed with me all that time. Six years later, I've increased that tally by seven hundred.

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July Digest #5

WOWS

Glitchy session today with repeated server disconnections (four in total). Sure enough when it finally "stabilized" I noticed the "new notification" to sign up for a WOWS game account. This situation happens perhaps once a month now. Thing is I joined the game via Steam back in 2019 and it was never an issue. But when WOWS forced everyone to just the one account a couple of years back when I responded with the option to do so by linking my Steam account through WG, nothing happened apart from receiving these repeated notifications to create a new WOWS account. 

Anyway I just cut my session short and logged out because being disconnected would continue until I created a new WOWS account as WG wanted. 

But during the brief "stabilisation" moment I did managed to run Le Terrible in a couple of Operations games primarily for the 10-token reward (Dawn of a Nation event still got two days left). First game I died early so missed out. Second game I lasted to the end and got my 30,000 credit compensation reward. Then I logged out. 

Still adjusting to the French destroyer play style on Le Terrible. She can go toe-to-toe with most DDs but she has weak armour. No smoke. No hydro. Engine boost to her speed helps when at top speed but useless when stationary as she takes a while to get going (unlike the Cossack which has a fast take-off). Gun boost is useful but short timed. Poor rudder shift. Importantly she has poor stealth for a DD - 8 km detection range - which makes her easy target for focus fire. I guess that's why she got the engine boost. Torps are okay but in an odd configuration with two sets one side and one set the other. 8 km range.

I will slug it out though because of the 200% economic bonus boost. And I need to improve playing the French DD line if I am to get the full benefit from them. 

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Same as yesterday only this time no "new notification" to create a WOWS account. Fortunately. Keys kept sticking during game but I persevered and finished getting the daily trio of coal loot crates before getting disconnected. 

Yes, played the Le Terrible or as I now call it, Le Awful. A bit harsh but still adapting to its particular play style which is bold and more hit-and-run than I'm accustomed to or prefer. Guess that discounts me from grinding for Paolo Emilio. 

To be honest, I'm more interested in the Vampire II than the OP "Yolo" Emilio. For one thing, Vamp Deuce is a Commonwealth ship and I am chasing any and all ships from this nation. And playing her requires a different set of skills. 

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So they're changing the regular Event Pass with Battle Pass just for the Update (15.6)

The Battle Pass will run through Update 15.6 and will temporarily replace the standard Event Pass. Instead of unlocking rewards one after another in a linear progression, you will navigate a single strategic map made up of three areas that each contain individual sectors. You will be able to choose your own path of progression and find the quickest way to the rewards you most desire. 

The starter area will be available immediately with the release of Update 15.6, the second area will unlock after one week, and the third area will unlock two weeks after the start of the Update. Once an area becomes available, it will remain accessible until the end of the Battle Pass. This means that even if you start your journey later, you will still begin from the first area and be able to progress normally.

All players start from the same sector. By completing daily and weekly missions, you earn Battle Pass Points, which can be used to claim sectors on the map. Only sectors adjacent to already captured sectors can be claimed, unless additional conditions apply.

Each claimed sector grants a free reward. You can upgrade each of the three areas separately with Doubloons, thus unlocking additional rewards for every sector of a selected area. You will get these additional rewards for sectors you already captured, as well as any new ones you claim in that area. Once you upgrade an area, you can spend Doubloons to instantly claim adjacent sectors, as long as no other conditions apply.

The cost to upgrade the first, second, and third areas will be 2000, 750, and 750 Doubloons, respectively.

Rewards for all three areas will be visible from the launch of Update 15.6, so that you can plan your journey accordingly. This Battle Pass will offer a slightly increased number of rewards over what you would usually expect from Event Passes.

We have also renewed the Battle Pass UI, which will help with onboarding and information.

 

 

What exactly does "slightly increased number" signify? And why are they changing this basic format around? That last question is rhetorical. Junk rewards are listed in the devblog. No ship rewards. Therefore no incentive to bother. This seems the way of the future for WOWS; Battle Pass is the norm in WOTS so why should it be any different for WOWS. Glad I'm finishing as soon as I reach seven hundred and fifty ships. 

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Update 15.6 kicked in today. Loads of new events listed in the Armoury. And loads of ships for purchase or earning from those events. 

Of special interest though for me was the new temporary Battle Pass event. Realised that the start point is not randomised but pre-determined (the coloured polygon on the map below). Instantly put me off from committing. 

Now there are 81 sectors instead of the old 20 or 30 phases. More work for bugger all reward was my initial reaction. 

The usual Event Pass included a daily (250 and 1500 BASE XP) and weekly missions (every Thur earn five 3000 BASE XP). These remain the same for the new Battle Pass event. But a new weekly mission (earn 8000 BASE XP once) has been added. 

Today I simply played for the daily and part of the weekly mission points (see below). But I won't commit just yet.

Still experiencing problems playing Le Terrible. In contrast, Cossack was fine. 

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Contrast between new Battle Pass and current existing Event Pass that I've noticed straight off the bat.

(1) Event Pass is a linear progression system; Battle Pass is non-linear (but start point determined by WG. However which way you go is up to you).

(2) Event Pass phases - usually between 20-30; thereafter once final reward received, bonus reward is offered as daily reward. Battle Pass has 81 sectors in total. Both Event and Battle Pass last 23 days.

(3) Event Pass rewards divided into two phases - one free, the other behind paywall. Once unlocked, all subsequent phases of that level are free to earn. Battle Pass rewards in each sector consists of two rewards accessible. 

(4) WG is testing the waters with Battle Pass. But knowing WG well enough, this format will eventually replace Event Pass. Initial concern (by myself) is that Battle Pass is a more "grinding" system for small rewards. No ship mentioned in this BP introduction.  

(5) Rewards with BP is "slightly more" than EP, so the propaganda claims. There is the promise of ships with BP (sectors marked with ships) but this might be fake. 

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So today (Friday), I finally jumped into the Battle Pass. First I upgraded the Area to obtain the improved rewards (shown below). 

Then I spent the points accumulated from today and yesterday (over 240) to claim the sectors in blue (so far 23 claimed). Still some more to go.

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New ship Conte Verde is overpriced. About AUD300 overpriced. Available through Wishing Wharf or as Admiral Pack (costing slightly more). 

Above image shows doubloons prices. Sight the 50,000 doubloons one. Nearly AUD300. So, Conte Verde is definitely not worth it. Especially when they will eventually nerf it down the track.

Easier accepting BP is here to stay when spending accumulated points as I did today. It seemed like I got lots of loot in the exchange. But when you consider that there are plenty of good premium ships available, it seems paltry that what's released are common enough, i.e., Canarias. Camo means nothing nowadays to hardcore players. Likewise decals are just ornamentation. Economic bonuses (blue and green) are okay and appreciated. Steel, yes please. Coal, okay but if you have lots already...well...! Credits, fair enough. Sigs are always appreciated if playing PvP modes. 

81 sectors is a lot of sectors though. If you have loads of doubloons, upgrading areas is a thing. 

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SurrounDead

Went back to the oil rig today after my shortened WOWS session. Failed to pick the locks on two gun cabinets that required them because the lockpicks I had with me kept breaking. Despite being an easy skill to pick up any other time, for some reason these two cabinets proved stubborn. Even though I took twenty lock picks with me they broke and I failed to open the cabinets. So, I really can't verify if there is a Barret rifle there or not.

I'm wondering if either of the nearby half sunken vessels might have this legendary weapon? 

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Spent the past two days just driving about looting and shooting. In other words, a relaxing session after the annoyance of playing WOWS. No rush going anywhere. 

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Other PC games

Downloaded the Master of Command demo tonight (Wednesday) as I'm keen to play some SYW however it's presented. 

Interesting game. More about logistics than anything else. But then isn't that a fundamental rule in warfare - good logistics being essential to any military enterprise? Anyway, I had fun playing the campaigns. 

You get three campaign maps. I chose the Silesian region. Default army is Prussian (of course). Came up against the Austrians mainly in small brigade engagements. You get additional brigades according to your battlefield successes (loot) and abilities to extract supplies and manpower from the various towns and cities visited. And there are outposts, slums, forts - all either friendly or hostile. And additional "rewards" like finding and adopting a bear mascot. And so on. 

The battles are small affairs (brigade size). Game mechanics are interesting. Make sure your units have full ammo otherwise they just stand there and get kilt.  

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Had another go at Master of Command. Liking it more and more. Finished the demo game. Chose the Silesian campaign. Requirement was control five battlefields and four outposts. Then in battle defeat the enemy HQ army. Of course, you're outnumbered although the quality of your opponents tends to be worse than yours at times. Lucky, by this time, I had three brigades - a mix of artillery, cavalry and  veteran infantry. Faced off against four enemy brigades with artillery, infantry and cavalry.

Had my cuirassiers and Freikorps grenadiers on the left flank. Command HQ (Frederick and escort) was in the centre with two musketeer units, two artillery units and one cavalry regiment. My right was occupied by one musketeer and cavalry regiment. 

Enemy advanced. I pushed my right flank cavalry out wide to disrupt the enemy's advance. Only diverted one infantry unit. Meanwhile their centre advanced on mine. Furious firing and melees broke out as I countercharged. Lots of back and forth with enemy initially winning the centre. Meanwhile my left managed to roll up their front without too much difficulty, and then they advanced on the centre from the flank. My left flank assault broke up the enemy's gains in the centre. And that was it. We won. 

Between completing the requirements, you have to contend with patrolling enemy forces whom you engage in encounter battles. Lots of familiar names regarding battles.

Will I buy the game? Not right now. There are some issues with game controls but that's simply a lack of familiarity. No doubt it will come right eventually if I persevere. I do like it however for the uniform references. I will likely redo the demo again but in the other two theatre of operations - Hannover and one other whose name escapes me at the moment. 

But there's another game I've downloaded the demo: Kriegsspiel - 7 Years War. Will review that. 

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Yeah. Kriegsspiel is a work in progress in Early Access as a Demo. Not impressed because it appears to be unfinished still. So I will forego getting it.

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July Digest #4

WOWS

Noticed today (Sunday) with the French Republic event that the first bundle being offered was the Tier VIII premium destroyer Le Terrible. I hadn't even bothered to pay close attention when the event was pronounced Thursday dismissing it outright as another waste of time. Dumb me for not paying close attention.

Le Terrible is a ship I already have so I was contemplating what the compensation might be upon reviewing the event more closely. My initial thought was that I would be receiving credit compensation which seemed a fairly easy tradeoff. 

But I was surprised when upon spending the 1250 doubloons to purchase the bundle I received 2500 doubloons instead as compensation.

It was a good gamble then. Also got the same economic bonus mission as I had with the Cossack. So I get 200% economic bonus for another 29 days just playing Le Terrible. Unfortunately for me I am not that good with the tech tree line French destroyers. Am really awful playing both Kleber and Marceau.  

Nonetheless, you can't look a gift horse in the mouth, as they say. So today I played the French destroyer as best as I could several times. 

Also earned 60,000 credits in exchange for earning 4 Dawn of a Nation collection crates. Three days left to go with this event. 

Tonight I read the latest Development blog. WG are introducing the long-duration Holiday Convoy event which kicks off on Update 15.7 (August). It will run till end of January 2027. A total of 173 days. 

On offer are eleven ships of which seven are existing - Bismarck '41, Yimeng, Messina, Independencia, Prins van Oranje, G. Hoffman, Kitakami. The remaining four are new ones which yet to be named. I have three of those identified so am keen to take part for at least three (not interested in the CV). 

Basically you play several times (once, thrice, or five times) to earn Holiday Convoy tokens. You can also exchange resources (steel, research points, and coal) for said tokens. Note: there are limits placed on total holiday tokens earned and coal that can be exchanged for tokens; but no limits on steel or research points exchanged.

The ships being offered cost a quantity of holiday tokens with certain ships costing a fair amount like the Kitakami which costs a whopping 540,000 tokens. WG have designed it so that exchanging resources is part of the price.

Is it worth it? It depends. I guess it comes down to how much of a grind are you prepared to commit to over that long period, and what rewards are you really after. I will wait-and-see for now. Update 15.6 (July) is still to happen.

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July Digest #3

SurrounDead

Saw a comment in Jingles continuing playthrough of SurrounDead the other day. The commenter stated they had found the Barret rifle on the Oil Rig. So tonight I went there. First attempt was a failure though as I thought to drive around the headland and approach from the south (short swim). Unfortunately as I stepped out of the RV, it sort of sprung itself into the deep water. And I mean deep: I would use up all my oxygen just reaching it! Wish they would add dive tanks as a mod.

I tried a couple of attempts to reach the RV but it was beyond my reach. So I returned to the shore and returned to my start point near Richlands, the city opposite the oil rig, nearly drowning in the process. After milling about taking my frustration out on the local zombie population as well as a randomly spawned bandit group, I decided to forego recovering the RV.  Lost some laptops and a gun case with two machine guns, some food, fuel, and sleep out gear. Nothing that can't be replaced.

I decided then to swim the long way out to the oil rig from where I was at the beach near Richlands. And from my location, the oil rig appeared clear as the image above shows.

But looks can be deceiving. For the rig is shrouded in a heavy fog as soon as you enter the zone. And for a moment I could not find a way to get up as I approached it from the north until I spotted the ladder in the northwest corner of one of the platforms (near the half-sunken ship as shown in below's image).

Lucky for visibility I had my night vision goggles on (plus plenty of batteries). Contamination level was highest (level 3) so I wore my gas mask (with plenty of charcoal filters) as I climbed on to the rig. 

Once on board, I secured my position then moved to a suitable high vantage point (top of the crane) and slowly began taking out the zombies below and sighted. Did this as I moved from location to location and platform to platform (top of the container stack is another nice possie for spotting and shooting). Access in some parts was down between platforms in certain places so had to be careful moving from location to location. 

For example, you can connect to platform 2 from platform 1 by jumping down. But not in reverse apart from jumping back into the water and swimming back to the climb-up ladder.

Eventually took out the zombie bosses - there's the Scientist and one other (John). Unable to reach to loot the Scientist even though I kilt him because the access to him was gone or I failed to find it. I did loot the other zombie boss though. Initially thought they were one and the same but the Scientist is dressed in a white lab coat while Joe is not so I learned on my subsequent visit.

No Barret unfortunately. Mind you, I did not find the Special loot box associated with this location. Maybe it's in that crate?

Will have to return again for sure to search for that Special Container (as indicated above) properly. 

The images above show the location of the ladder to board the rig and where the other zombie Boss is situated (between those two building structures). Below shows the two main parts of the rig with the working drill and crane on the right and labs and control rooms on the left platform. A couple of helo pads exist as well.  

To the right of the rig is a partially submerged vessel whose bridge is just visible above the waterline. Radiation level at this spot is at its highest (level 3). I could not find a way on board but I only skirted around the vessel before moving on.

There is also another submerged ship to the right of that partially submerged vessel mentioned above. And somewhere in-between both submerged vessels is where the RV finally came to rest on the bottom after it flung itself to its watery grave. 

All around and within that area is a permanent shrouding fog - oil rig, sunken ships and headland - making visibility difficult. But from the shore, there is no visible sign of fog which is misleading. 

Yes, you can swim out to the rig. Just make sure your cursor is above your figure upon entering the water. It will look odd while you're swimming out there. And don't forget to use the compass to keep you on course. 

You will know if you're doing it right because for much of the way you will be viewing yourself from underneath doing the breaststroke. And your health energy bar will remain full, a sure sign you are actually swimming. As soon as you submerge though, the light blue oxygen bar will appear and begin depleting quickly. That will tell you you're underwater and potentially drowning. Lol. 

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Went back the next day to the oil rig. Swam out....

Once on board, I went searching for the Barret. But did not find the special crate where it might be. 

There is a locked room which needed a 4-digit PIN. Found it on a table note a couple of levels above on the same platform. Note: PIN number resets whenever you reload a saved game. Anyway, I finally went in and searched thoroughly but no success on finding either the Barret or the Special Container. Will return once more but there is no rush now that I know what to expect. 

Of course, each visit sees the zombie bosses respawn but as they're on the second platform and the climb-up ladder is at the first platform it gives you time to prepare.  

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July Digest #2

6mm Figurines

So I went searching for STL files for my 3D printer. Much has changed since last I downloaded any STL files back in the early 2000s unfortunately. The AI when I did a quick online search informed me that while they're still freely available for download, the vast majority have gone the commercial route which is pay to buy. Wargames Vault advertises STL files at a price, and their range is fairly expansive.

Seeing that this avenue was no longer an option for me I went instead looking for the traditional 6mm figurines. Found two familiar sites. Both UK. One is the well-known Baccus. Their SYW range is quite well organised though restricted to the main four nations - Prussia, Austria, France, and England. All the teeth arms are represented so buying them will be straightforward. My Battle of Hastenbeck project minis are all Baccus. 

The other is Irregular Miniatures. Unfortunately, they've temporarily suspended their 6mm catalogue due to issues. When they will restart is up to them. Sad to hear but time does moves on.

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WOWS

Short Sunday grind with just three ships - Kamikaze, Leipzig, Narai. Today's goals included the daily coal crates and a few Dawn of a Nation Collection tiles credit compensation. In and then out as quickly as possible.

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Monday and another short grind, this time featuring just Cossack. Played for the daily coal loot. Then logged out.

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Learned that New Jersey is coming soon though in what manner of release is speculation for now. Mostly desired by the NA player base, I know nothing about her apart from her historical significance, i.e. that she existed. Unless it becomes available as a play to win reward (unlikely), I have real interest in her. 

There are lots of other ships that are still available and of more interest even if officially WG cite between 320 to 400. Steam reckon between 600 to 800. Steam's Community believe just over 800. Mind you, as is repeated throughout, many are reskins or clones.

For example, I have three versions of the Scharnhorst in my fleet - Scharnhorst, Scharnhorst B, Scharnhorst '43.

The tech tree Japanese heavy cruiser Myoko has three variants: ARP Myoko, Eastern Dragon, Southern Dragon. I have just one variant, Eastern Dragon. 

So this Christmas should be interesting in terms of likely goodies coming my way. But I'm not expecting the New Jersey to be among the presents opened.

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A productive and rewarding session today (Tuesday). 

Played Cossack again in Co-Op. In one game, I spawned with two other players. Lost both players fairly early in the game. Left alone with just a BOT Nebraska (the other friendly BOTS were also eliminated) for teammate, we had to take on the remaining enemy ships including a Jean Bart, a Bungo, a Bismarck and two cruisers - Edinburgh and Albemarle. 

The enemy had also captured two caps while we had one. I began by helping recapture the two enemy caps and the middle one while evading the gunfire from the battleships. At the same time, I began whittling away with HP. Thanks to its accuracy, and my torpedoes, as well as assistance from the Nebraska, we turned the tide in our favour by recapturing all the enemy caps and sinking all the enemy ships. 

Then I received a pleasant and unexpected surprise as I was opening the earned coal crates. Among the trio was a Supercrate. It was the Tier VIII German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. Last time I got a ship from a supercrate was probably two or three years ago. It has been that long in-between, especially when you consider the frequency of these supercrates appearing (every hundred crate). And the fact I've played almost EVERY DAY since 2020.

Funny that this is one of the ships being removed from the Armoury come Update 15.6 (in a couple of weeks). It's a doubloon premium costing over 11,000 doubloons. 

Regarding the Cossack, its accuracy is awesome. It allows grinding to upskill my captain (whose at 19-point level) that much more bearable. Against other DDs, it more than holds its own. And against cruisers its AP is an additional and useful bonus (just have to aim right). As for battleships, I always aim at the superstructure (bridge mainly) and burn them down while hiding in smoke. So I'm able to tackle a powerful battleship like a Pommern without fearing the consequences (and its deadly secondaries) too much. Mind you, this is in Co-Op. Of course, it will be a completely different story in PvP scenarios like Randoms or Ranked where its stealth, smoke, and hydro are important for survival as well as keeping one's distance. And boldness only works if you are skilled enough. And I'm not that skilled; just a casual player who's slow-witted.

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Thursday saw the last chapter in the Dawn of a Nation event activated. Played through to the end and received all the rewards, including the 11,000 doubloons compensation for already having Congress, the final ship reward in the event. 

Played my usual commander grind group with three in Co-Op and then one in Asymmetric. Finished off the grind in Asymmetric with my go-to Karl XIV Johan. 

Another new ship event entitled French Republic. Ships being offered are already in my port fleet. 1,250 dubs per bundle. Four premium ships - Le Terrible, Gascogne, Champagne, Flandre. And then there's camo for other ships from the French nation. 

Forgot to showcase the Fort Worth admiral pack that is still available for sale. Like the Baotou I will wait for Christmas Santa crates for either vessel to drop without having to fork out real money for them. 

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SurrounDead

Lab revisit today (Sunday) after WOWS session. Lab entry closed so had to repeat the steps to make it to the bottom. This time I skipped the first room on the left and went to the second room. No loop but it snaked left that ended at a door that opened to another descending flight of stairs. 

This second descending stairwell ended at a single door that opened into a corridor with an intersection. A flood of zombies and dogs had to be taken out before I could enter. 

Went straight through the intersection and followed the corridor that led to what appeared to be a control room with a large yellow generator. Switched it on. Full lighting restored. Then began looting the room. 

Found a Decontamination Shower in that same room and decided it was enough for me. Chose to leave the other rooms for another time. Why? Because I've looted just about everything I need in terms of weapons - with a couple of exceptions - , vehicles, and gear. What else was there to loot of value? A nuclear bomb detonator? An excavator so I can dig up the bomb and then transport to wherever Coyote are based and blow them up? Silly really. 

Earlier I ran into a large Bandit group (eight) looting a military truck. After taking them out, I discovered one of them had a Large Black Military Back Pack. Something I haven't collected yet so put dibs on it. Basically, I'm just playing the game at my pace, collecting items and equipment and vehicles I don't have. Some things never change really.

One thing worthy of note while clearing the lab. The zombies will sometimes pop through the walls, as in the case before the second room when several zombie dogs' heads began appearing. So I shot at them and was surprised when they began taking damage and even died. Thus by accident I learned an easy and safe way to kill without entering the room. No doubt a glitch that can be worked to my advantage.

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Recycling or crafting is an integral part of this game, and can be interesting. For instance, recycling empty tin cans into scrap metal and further refined them into high quality metal is learned early on in the game. But what else can be reused I wondered? 

Charcoal is useful for replenishing mask filters attachments. Likewise, a battery charger comes in handy for recharging used or depleted batteries. 

But what of other items that are considered junk in the game. What use can be found for pencils or post-it notes. The former might be used a la John Wick style although a pencil as a melee weapon is perhaps too fantastic an idea when it's zombies who probably wouldn't even notice a pencil protruding from an eye socket or earhole. 

As for post-notes, unless you can utilise them for note-taking, all I can think of is something akin to tossing sheets at a zombie in the hope it will weigh them down enough to slow their movements? Nah, not likely because you'd need several boxes to even have an effect. 

Not sure why the developer included cigarettes. Maybe marijuana ciggies might have more of an impact if consumed by the player as in slowing down reflexes down like Dredd's slo-mo where the world becomes more vividly visually? Nah, too far-fetched and perhaps more wishful thinking.

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Monday saw me wander about and I eventually ended up back at the airfield. Spent time looting the various areas inside the zone - control tower, barracks, the various broken aircraft, as well as take care of the many zombies. Thought about detonating the bombs just for laughs. May end up attempting it eventually but make sure I'm some distance away. 

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Wednesday saw me roam the valley randomly looting and shooting. Spent first part collecting some of my vehicles has somehow spawned all over the place upon first logging in. But it was just those parked beyond my front fence of my base: those within the compound were still in their original parking spot. 

Among my wanderings I ran into a couple of Bandit large groupings (more than the four you sometimes run into in your travels). One was a base encampment (normally near the river opposite one of the towns) and one that was looting a military truck up at Gladeville when I was chasing up an abandoned vehicle. Took both groups out without too much trouble. 

Some scenic images of various locations taken on my travels this session. 

Bottom two was when I was trying to find a suitable location to shoot at the unexploded nuclear bomb. Bored.

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The Guitar in Music

Last night I chanced upon Kazuhito Yamashita while surfing YouTube. He is a "little-known" (to the wider public audience) tour-de-force in the classical guitar world. Passed away earlier this year. But what a spirit! Saw a performance review by a YT streamer and I too was blown away by his performance. A prolific recording artist, I am looking forward to reviewing the many albums especially his interpretations of the compositions of  Ferdinando Sor, a favoured Spanish guitarist and composer. 

Always thought the late great Paco de Lucia was my epitome of great guitarists, and I still believe this especially in regards to Spanish flamenco and Spanish guitar. Paco was a composer as much as a performer. Remarkably, he believed he was mediocre which says much about his humility and understanding that it's never about being great but doing your best at something, and that it's a continuous process - this self-improvement. 

Saw his live performance with Al di Meola, another great and still living guitarist. Their rendition of Mediterranean Sundance is brilliant as they played off one another with rapport and skill. 

What my guitar heroes have in common is that they all started learning the guitar at a very early age and continued to develop that skill all their lives. It's awesome when you know early on what you're going to do with your life. 

Of course my first exposure to classical/spanish guitarist as a wide-eyed noob youngster was the great maestro himself Andre Segovia. He was my inspiration as I fumbled my way through learning the guitar. Then along came the English virtuoso John Williams. And then was Julian Bream. And many more since.

The late great Sabicas exploded into my awareness around a decade ago and my love for the guitar was further expanded. 

You might say I became a fan of the most publicly popular (to the general global audience) Spanish and Classical guitarists thanks to YouTube. And I've been introduced to other talents like the South Korean musician Sungha Jung. Then there are my electric guitar heroes Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Carlos Santana. 

We, as a species, are spoiled for guitar music without any doubt. 

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