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 Well 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 battle enemy HQ army. Of course, you're outnumbered. Lucky, by this time, I had three brigades - a mix of artillery, cavalry and 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 their front and then they advanced on the centre from the rear nullifying their advantage there. 

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

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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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July Digest #1

WOWS

Thursday has seen the release of Chapter 3 in the Dawn of a Nation event. Completed all bar two mission tasks using four ships - Kamikaze, Cossack, Leipzig, Narai. The first three ships were played in Asymmetrics while the last ran in Co-Op. 

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Friday's session saw the arrival of a new event bundle - Dragon Fleet - in the Armoury. 

What's noticeable is that there are forty elements in totals of which two are ships (including the new cruiser Baotou. Element chance costs you 1,500 dubs. Not interested.

The new Pan-Asian Tier IX cruiser Baotou can be bought outright as an Admiral pack. 

There are twenty-eight elements in total with the purchase, including a 10-pt commander. But at AUD 223.81 for a bunch of pixels, it's not worth bothering. 

Had an interesting session today. Started off playing Asymmetrics with Cossack. Unfortunately, there were more defeats than wins. Managed to get the requisite 30 tokens needed to receive the next reward from the Dawn of a Nation: Alliance Forged chapter. However it took me seven games in total (three wins and four defeats).

Once done I next switched to Leipzig to chase the last reward. Started off with a loss but from then onwards, all victories. 

Best score in Leipzig was on the Estuary map where I spawned in the middle. Easy location to defend with this ship. Had help from the De Grasse who was guarding the right side but then joined me when the enemy began pushing up the middle. The Akatsuki and Nagato were on the other flank and managed to contain then defeat their opponents. Then they began pushing around the flank into the enemy rear while myself and De Grasse held our front. The Skane which was on the same flank as De Grasse chose to push into the middle and died early on unsupported, unfortunately. The map lends itself to being a defensive game at the start.

Played the final two ships of my daily commander grind, Kamikaze and Narai in Co-Op. Three games apiece.

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Saturday grind was uneventful apart from a moment when I was losing too much in Asymmetrics in the Cossack that I switched up to the Karl XIV Johan for two game to restore some balance before continuing on with my planned grind. Also played Kamikaze (proxying for the Kitakaze), Leipzig (subbing for Preussen) and Narai. Played both Co-Op (Kamikaze & Narai) and Asymmetrics (Cossack & Leipzig). Earned Collection tiles duplicates and received 120,000 credits in compensation. 

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SurrounDead

Glitchy game last night (Wednesday) that included a pleasant surprise. Was leaving the main Safe Zone after trading when I spotted a Modified Utility on the opposite bank of the river. Could it be, I wondered. Not ignoring a gift horse in the mouth, I towed it back to my base camp. Bit crowded now. 

Went looking for an abandoned convoy marked on the map. Turned down the wrong road though and encountered a Coyote encampment instead. Took it out fairly easily thanks to my ever reliant grenade launcher. Failed to locate the body of the Coyote Lieutenant who was one of the last to die. No mind. Looted their base then went looking for the abandoned convoy which was the next road over.

Infestations do return. They start small however. Getting to them early is a thing then thanks to the map.

Had to step away from the game for a while to cook dinner. Forgot to pause the game. Came back to find I had died from starvation. Lucky I was at my base camp when I stepped away from the game. Quickly respawned and noticed one of the parked vehicles had moved. I was nowhere near it to begin with. Another glitch?

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A thoroughly enjoyable Friday session. Continuing my collecting exploration. This time I'm on the hunt for a rocket launcher (rare item) which is the only weapon I don't have. Wondering if it's available through the military trader or ice cream guy. So far nothing has turned up in their inventory. Next option to consider is in places as yet explored like labs or Coyote arsenals? Have to wait-and-explore.

Did pick up a P90 which I don't have in my personal armoury.

Note to self: don't forget to don your helmet. Easy to forget whilst scavenging. 

For example I had just left the city of Ellwood after two days whilst searching for the special container therein when I stumbled by accident upon a bandit encampment along the track that led south-east from the city. The base was on the other side of a collapse power pylon. I started attacking after spotting them using my grenade launcher. Their response was swift and took me by surprise especially when they started scoring hits on me. I quickly retreated. That's when I realised I didn't have my head protection on. Dummy! So I waited all night. In the morning, in a different location but still able to sight the enemy, I attacked again. This time I used my Lechie sniper rifle. At 700 metres, they never knew what hit them. Played the patient sniper role until I was sure there was no one about. I approached from a different location and bombed the base camp. When I got no response, I entered and looted. As I was leaving though, the bandit boss popped out from close to where the others had fallen and attacked me as I was driving along the track back to Ellwood. I simply ran him down, and then looted his body. Got his laptop. 

Drove off back to base, still wearing my helmet. Perhaps the days of just wearing a beanie are over? 

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Saturday. After stumbling by accident upon a Coyote outpost in the south and taking them out I was making for Trader Bob's location when I happened on the Radio Tower. And that's when I found the Lab entrance. What a surprising find. Lucky I was travelling in the RV because I had a feeling I would be here for a while.  

Straightaway it was helmet and mask on, weapons cleaned, repaired and loaded, fully fed and 100% health, and then off I went into that gloomy hole. Night vision goggles turned on (and spare batteries).

I had to use a keycard to access the lobby (above image) where all the screening takes place. The generator was in the room that my character is facing. The stairs are out the picture on the right (as shown below). Of course, the lifts are not operating. 

Lurking behind the door with the stairwell was a zombie. Portend of things to come. Bang bang bang was used a lot of times. Descended several flight of stairs before hitting the bottom and opened the door into an open lobby with several rooms. 

First room entered after dealing to the numerous undead in that lobby was on my immediate left. It was really a corridor that looped upon itself. But first I had to deal with the Undead Boss who came charging out the room. Of course, it also triggered the zombies to come after me, including the zombie dogs. 

After dealing to the boss I returned and began zombie clearing before looting. Took a while. After that I then went back up and shut the lab entrance behind me but left all the rooms open in preparation for my next foray. Four more rooms (I believe but going off visual memory) still to explore. 

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June Digest #4

WOWS

Unfortunately the 10-token DoaN mission is exclusive to Asymmetrics while the 5-token mission applies only in Co-Op. This is for the new Collection which, as mentioned, activates after completing each chapter. 

Aim will be to play between 12-15 games in Asymmetrics per day while opportunity is there. Got twenty-four days left to me (and three days till the next chapter unlocks), if playing daily like I do. So, guess-timating and projecting (badly I might add), that's between 288 and 360 games in total that I am likely to play. Or 192-240 possible tiles collected. 

Only need 49 however. There will be duplicates scattered throughout, and increase as more tiles are collected. 

But it's more than enough time left. However, that depends on whether the double DoaN crates run right through to the end of the event. Taking the infinity symbol to mean you can play for it however many times you want. 

After playing the Cossack for my daily coal loot, I tried out Des Moines with Halsey in command in Asymmetrics. Took a few games to get the hang of the ship but it was an enjoyable experience. 

Often spawned on my own in the middle. Had help from time to time which I appreciated. We even turned the tables in one game and won out when it seemed we would lose. 

Lost a couple of games however as I was adjusting to the ship's play style, so to speak. Definitely will be replaying her over the coming weeks in that mode. As stated, playing cruisers or destroyers means you will get into Asymmetrics quicker than playing a battleship. Well, that's what I've found in the past. It seems to have improved a bit lately. Wonder why?

Will also take out the Big Whiskey (Wisconsin) out from time to time into an Asymmetrics match. It is, after all, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence event, and nothing like big guns for a lark. But more likely during the day, and definitely in the weekends. 

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Spent more time in Asymmetric today (Monday) because it's more enjoyable than Co-Op. Ran Cossack in Co-Op first then jumped in Des Moines, Wisconsin, Zao, and Karl XIV Johan for the remainder of the session in Asymmetrics. 

Des Moines is a really good ship. Have not played it as much as I should but then I avoid Tier X because it's expensive to play in terms of ship servicing costs. Plus, I tend to grind more in the lower tiers. To me, Tier X is the end of the long grind, the end of the journey rather than the journey (grind) itself.

Zao I really like a lot but it's just made of explodium which can get discouraging when you get zapped in like a few seconds. Your impact on the game is often more from the back of the map rather than at the front and pointy end. Which is where I like to play. 

Which is why I went back to Karl XIV Johan because it's more tanky and has the long-range torps. It can do what Zao cannot do, which is play aggressively and brawl and survive! I did play Wisconsin a couple of times but then went with Karl XIV Johan because I was waiting too long to get a game. Once in the game though its performance by me was lacklustre to say the least. Most likely I was too rusty having not played The Big Whiskey ever since earning her long ago. But it's costly taking out the old gal so such a happening tends to be occasional and rarity at that.

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Tuesday. Sobering day of defeats in Asymmetrics. More losses than wins today. EDIT: cannot recall what ship I took out but it was no different to what I'd been taking out previously.

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Wednesday. After completing Co-Op games with Cossack for the daily coal crates, I finished out the session in Asymmetrics playing Leipzig, Karl XIV Johan, Des Moines. 

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Thursday. Next chapter in the Dawn of a Nation event. Finished it. Played mix of Co-Op and Asymmetrics with only Cossack. It handled itself well although early in the session when I experienced two defeats in a row in Asymmetrics. With the chapter completed, got six days of Collection tiles to earn. Will aim to complete this as quickly as possible so one less concern. NOTE: once the Collection is completed, every subsequent tile earned compensates you with credit at 15,000 credits per tile. A good credit earning moment then. 

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If you expect others to read your mind, then don't. That's not this game if you don't belong to a clan or are playing with mates. If solo, expect no help; that's just the way it is regardless of the game mode. If you somehow survive and even win, well done. But if not, don't go blaming everyone else as some do in-game, even in Co-Op! 

Saying this because in one game of Asymmetric, we lost because a teammate died too quickly. And he/she/it/them/they/those started blaming everyone for his quick and early demise, especially at whomever he was spawning with (note: I was on the other flank reading the chat in surprise). Then calling all your teammates names and tarring them derogatorily is not exactly an endearing experience while battling against odds. 

At least my boy Oliver does not indulge in such petty childish behaviour. He sits there watching me quietly waiting for a cuddle. Sometimes, he will come right up till his face is right in front of mine so much so one cannot avoid noticing him. He's funny that way. Breaks my concentration for sure but I love him nonetheless. Animals tend to be more grounded and even tempered than humans. 

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Only ten more Collection tiles to go. Today (Saturday not Sunday) I played Cossack exclusively in Co-Op and Karl XIV Johan in Asymmetrics. Tomorrow last day for the Cossack bonus missions. Got the commander up to 19 point which is not bad given he was originally a 10 point captain. I could promote him to 21 point but I need the Free XP for when I eventually make my Research Bureau ship attempt.

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Sunday. Finished my Cossack special mission today as well as the Dawn of a Nation Collection. Reward was a ship-specific permanent camo for the Maine. Will plonk John Paul Jones on Maine who will be available to claim when the next chapter unlocks on Wednesday.

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Surprise today (Monday). Still had hours on my Cossack mission so played it to the end. Tomorrow it's the normal commander upskill grind. So will be running those commanders at 19- and 20-pt on Kamikaze, Cossack, Leipzig, Narai. 

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SurrounDead

Today, after the WOWS session, I jumped into SurrounDead for a "relaxing no-brainer fun session". 

Firstly, noticed that logging in first time, if you double click the J key the time will appear throughout your session. This perk disappears once you log out and log back in. Or die. Possible glitch?

Went into the northwest part of the Valley, to the Police Headquarters. Purpose was to grab a Police SWAT van because it has a larger storage space than the RV I'm currently using. But its downside is that it doesn't allow for overnight camping which the RV is the only vehicle to allow this.

Got there and began clearing the location of zombies, then began looting. The SWAT van was located in the basement. Accessing it was straightforward but exiting was not. Because you need this...

... a key to switch on the generator that operates the basement roller door. But finding that key was the problem because its in a police briefcase that spawns randomly in the building. And I searched high and low for about four days before I found it stashed under some shelving in one of the rooms I had searched multiple times.

To my surprise there were four SWAT vans in the basement on my visit. So I took two that were easiest to access and remove. Left two behind (those shown in the screenshot below). 

After that delay I continued on to the nearby Gladewater Military Camp and cleared that. Then on to Gladewater itself where I picked up a Scar-H rifle from the loot crate.

Just north of Gladewater I found another vehicle that I didn't have in my current motor pool, a zippy little Buggy (right of the Big Rig in the screenshot below). Just the Charger and the Military Humvee left to collect. Lol.

My main three go-to vehicles for now are shown in the screenshot above - the SWAT van, the RV, and the modified Utility. 

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