25 June 2024: English Civil War

Been in touch with the owner of Lancashire Games, Allan Lumley, the other day. Querying the discount sale of his Hinchliffe 25mm range. He informed me it's on now and will end early August. 

Happy because I will now be obtaining a Royalist army to go up against my New Model Army (not yet finished). Using the Battle of Naseby as the basis for new Royalist army. Unsurprisingly it will be half the size of the Roundheads. 

This may well end up being a project similar to the Borodino refight. At least that's the dread. Ugh! Cheers.

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19 July 2024

Currently having our roof replaced due to storm damage. Insurance paid out but we've gone with our preferred roofer. Spoke to the foreman yesterday and learned he's into RC vehicles. Mainly 1/5 scale ocean racing power boats. He's won a few local (state comps) and national events with his racing. Interesting who you meet in passing from the hobby. He was commenting on my Borodino project still sprawled on the table in the studio/mancave.

23 June 2024: Weekly Digest

17 June 2024

Bluey & Bingo

Question: Does one dispense with the 350 pennies concept when determining  the size of a warband? For those wanting to jumping straight into the game, the simple answer is "yes". If the game is the defining outcome sought, by all means. What you are likely to get though is a game where both parties run strong and powerful warbands. It's a mindset that is acceptable as well as understandable.

Using the recommended 350 pennies as your start point however far suits campaigning more because it promotes growth and expansion as well as change for a warband. It encourages those wanting to join in where the campaign is the perfect opportunity for this to happen. 

And it definitely provides a narrative for those wanting more than just a quick bash at any given moment. I personally prefer this slow-grow approach and will put to this idea to my gaming buddy. It's a slightly different mindset and approach. 

The rulebook offers eight scenarios for campaigning. But gamers being the creative individuals they are, for sure there will be more additions when diving into this game.

Campaign Ideas - Design

Each warband is given a region in which they control. All warbands are located within a defined area whereby they have their den.  Below is a simple map showing a rectangle broken up into four evenly size locations or regions. Each region is controlled by a warband. What is situated within a region can be up to those involved in the campaign. Or someone can be the determined as the controller or umpire who determines the size as well as complexity of the regions. All the player has to do is either choose or be allocated the region impartially by the umpire. 

Of course, the map does not have to be rectangular or square in shape. It can also be circular with the various regions overlapping (as in a Venn diagram) with the areas overlapping providing the incentive for the campaigning.

Or isolated from one another with neutral territory buffeting the parties involved. 

Or it can be free-form in shape and size (like a geographical area) but again with either overlapping or adjacent areas of interest to those warbands with eyes on territorial gain.

Campaign Ideas - Objective

With a campaign, there has to be an objective. The ultimate goal or reward. It might an agreed-upon reward external to the game, such as a physical prize. Or it can a bonus awarded to the winning warband, such as improvements to the den or increased recruiting power. Anything.

Campaign Ideas - Duration

How long should a campaign last? An obvious choice would be to run all eight listed scenarios at least once with the winner determined at the end. If more than two players involved in the campaign, it's for the umpire to schedule games and opponents. After a while, if the campaigning proves successful, a staleness might creep in. In order to keep it fresh and lively, this is where the creativity of the gamers steps in. Modifying existing scenarios or creating new ones based on old ones. Anything is possible with gamers. 

As for the scenarios themselves, they should be, at the very least, played once. The Open Battle scenario features several times when rolling the d12 and as such will probably be played several times although perhaps tempered at the umpire's discretion. 

Campaign Ideas - Umpiring

Umpire? Yes, if more than three players are involved. Otherwise, the players can determine their own scheduling between themselves. 

Owl-Bear

How does one classify an Owl-Bear for B&B? It's obviously a two-in-one, hybrid, creature. However one of those component creatures exists within the game; the other does not - too exotic for the region perhaps. The idea will be to take the best elements of either creature, as shown on the model itself, and create a new attribute table as follows:

Owl: Am using the Raptor (medium) attribute
Cost       M    S    B    R    N    C    A    F    P     Skills
42p        d6    d8  d6   d4  d8   d6   d8  d6  d6    Flight, Unarmed Fighter, Strong (1), Natural Hunter

Bear: Nothing shown on the list of beasts in the rulebook. So am going to use the Hounds attribute.
Cost       M    S      B   R    N    C   A    F    P     Skills
65p        d6    d10  d6  d4  d6   d6  d6  d6  d6    Flight, Unarmed Fighter, Strong (1), Natural Hunter

Owl-Bear: Firstly, it's Rare. Secondly, it's Massive. And thirdly, it's extremely expensive.
Cost       M   S      B    R    N    C    A    F    P      Skills
100p      d8   d12  d6   d4  d8   d6   d4  d8  d10   Unarmed Fighter, Strong (3), Tough (3), Fearsome,                                                                                     Natural Hunter

The Owl-Bear strike ability has to be top-tier so its gets the d12 roll for its strike capability. Does it improve over time (ie through campaigning)? Not sure. The best after d12 is probably not advisable otherwise the game loses its unique quality. And Rare is just that. 

By making it 100 pennies in cost deters perhaps further expansion into the ridiculous realm of fantasy anthromorphic creatures although they were noted back in Medieval times - a la Basilisk, etc. I only bought it at the last Briscon event because I liked the look of the model and thought it would be a fun addition to B&B.

Not sure about giving it a d12 Presence just yet. The d4 Awareness attribute makes sense though; it's just a big dumb lunk that's happy to stomp anywhere and anyplace without a care in the world. After all, who's going to openly attack it? 

Second Warband

By using the 350 pennies limit, I can create a second warband. This will likely be a Freebeast or Wildbeast outfit. They provide a nice contrast to my more conventional Royalist warband. It will contain my Owl-Bear whose name, for now, will be Brutus. A tentative composition might look as follows:

Adder - Hessel. Mage spell caster. 

Owl-Bear - Brutus. Savage beast.

Weasel - Weslek. Veteran Crossbow.

This lot might indulge in highway robbery and thefts. Murder not uncommon. Kidnappings. Anything that will turn a profit, this trio of opportunists are trying to eke out an existence in the wildlands not far from the royal road. 

First Warband

Is this my finalised listing for my first warband whose loyalty is firstly to King Redwulf Othyr and not Prince Reinert? Not a power play outfit by any means. More like your average outpost unit somehow forgotten from the normal everyday politics and shenanigans goings-ons by their location and isolation. Guarding a part near the royal road.

Hare knight - Sir Jasper Yomps. Leader. Names changed to protect the innocent.

Mouse knight - Sir Longshins. Deputy. 

Squirrel - Wanda Witchazel. Spell caster. 

Mouse shield-maiden - Ada, wife to Longshins.

Mouse - Dods. Scout/thief.

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20 June 2024

PC Gaming: Chants of Sennaar

"And now for something completely different...." Monty Python

Taking a break from the usual PC games and modelling and trying something more relaxing - a linguistic puzzle game set in the mythical Tower of Babel-like structure. 

Deciphering the five different languages to reunite the communities living in this tower is the main goal of our protagonist.

Starts off easy enough. You encounter the first person and have to navigate the water locks to advance further. So far, so good. Pay attention to the clues. Lovely game design. Clean lines, Interesting colours.

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22 June 2024

More Chants of Sennaar

Made a bit more progress last night playing the game. Deciphered enough to learn that the Preacher character is missing from the Abbey. The Preacher character is an important person in the Abbey. And the Preacher is essential for you to complete a few tasks. 

Entry to the Abbey is restricted to Devotees, who are worshippers of their God. Outsiders are not welcome into the Abbey. But you interact with a young child outside the Abbey, befriend that individual and eventually show a secret way in. You follow but have to avoid the gatekeeper who will throw you out. Watching how the child deals with this situation enables you to slip past but you need to find a way into the inner sanctum of the Abbey. Once achieved, you part ways and you are left to explore and interact with the various characters. Doing so provides more clues to deciphering their language. Doing so furthers the narrative and expands your understanding of the language which is in glyphs.

For example, the image above is made up of three glyps which transliterates: You open door.

Before this happens though, after making you way through the various water barriers, you pass several monuments documenting the history of these people. More glyphs to decipher. Once done (or as best as you can attempt) you enter a main square where you encounter more devotees who wish to advance to the next level but the gate is locked and guarded by a trio of Warriors armed with nasty looking blades. The guards speak a different "language" of glyphs (clue is that journal you keep opens up a new tab devoted to the Warrior group) and they are ready to attack you if you persist. I figure that completing the tasks surrounding the apparent disappearance of the Preacher from the Abbey is important if you wish to progress further.

In the square, as if to reinforce the "class" of this level, there is a dude who is like those street card hustler. Only the cards he deals depict the four classes: the individual, the devotee, the warrior, God.  Beating the hustler earns nothing other than praise for winning.

Note: there are locations (or booths) that are like transporters and/or communicators. As yet I have not worked out how to use them properly. But they are useful for getting in and out of the Abbey without negotiating the gate keeper.

There are various clues at times when interacting with the game. So far, I've earned a coin to give to the beggar outside the church area. The beggar directs you to where the Preacher is normally located. 

The Abbey is divided into three distinct areas - the temple, the graveyard, and the garden. There are other areas of interest. One such is where the Devotees offer skills and/or items to those within the Abbey. There is an instrument maker (music), a potter, a locksmith, and an alchemist.

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Historical Gaming

Interesting commentary by an English YouTuber. 

https://youtu.be/SA4YEKs6Exk

I like how he is commenting on why 40K has such a massive global appeal whereas historical gaming has become so niche and loses out on that global connection because it is so niche. Funny that he mentions the popularity of Black Powder and Valour and Fortitude whose creators worked for GW back in the day. They, it seems, understand what makes a game globally appealing and have applied it to historical gaming insofar as the historical element has been reduced to the level of cosplay - dressed up historical but not historical. If that makes any sense. 

People understand and can connect to historical in the way that it is very much a part of human history whereas the universe of 40K is made up; it is not real and therefore anything virtually goes. But not history. He describes how there are limits imposed by timeline. For example he cites the problems a 1798 Napoleonic army encounters when coming up against an 1809 or 1814 army. The two are so different in so many ways it's not funny. Tactics, formation, dress are just part of it.

And the number of Napoleonic rules are so vast as to make it virtually impossible to have a standardised set of rules that everyone will agree upon. Unlike 40K. 

Yes, there is complexity. But all one has to do is show up with a basic understanding of how 40K to easily field their own niche army. And it does not matter if the Space Marine force you bring is 2nd edition or 10th edition, the core rules remains the same. Not so with historical because of the technological advances made over time historically. So, for example, an Early Way Fokker EIII just cannot compete with a Late War SPAD XIIIC. And it would be totally inept against a modern day jet fighter. 

Not so 40K. A Rhino from 40K universe is a Rhino whether it's from the first century or third century. Time is an abstract concept whereas in history it's for real. Hence why you will never ever have a universally acceptable standardised Nap ruleset. Ever.

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PC Gaming

Bought Little Kitty, Big City tonight. And I finally installed a few others that have been on my Wishlist on Steam for some time now. Games like OpenTTD, Crusader Kings II, Cloud Climber (very short game), The Alters (demo), Solaris, Plant Therapy, and Sheep A Short Adventure. Some are free while those that do cost are low priced (or cheap). Doubt I will ever play all of them over the coming days or weeks, especially the free ones. 

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Air Wargaming

SPAD A2 (SPAD S.A - Wikipedia) had a very brief operational life in French military aviation in 1915 although it was much prolonged in Imperial Russia who acquired a quantity of the A2 and A4 types and maintained them due to aircraft shortage during the First World War. Served in both roles as fighter and reconnaissance. 

Gaming buddy found the above kit locally and currently seeking purchase of it. Looks dangerous if the wiki is to be believed. Model is historically accurate and based on the real thing below.

Image: SDASM Archives - https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/8519597778/in/photostream/

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12 June 2024: Weekly Digest

12-16 June 2024

Bloody & Billions

Planned to take the week off from gaming and/or modelling. But the brain always remains active so I've pulled out some notes I made regarding Bitumen & Blowholes while incapacitated in hospital. 

1. Rules state that for every Spell chosen/employed, the Magic User must also take the Delicate (1) and Weak (1) skill. 

2. Every Spell costs five pennies. 

3. Spells taken must be from the same Magic school. One cannot mix different school spells. 

4. Spell ingredients do make it easier to cast the spell or enhance the potency of the spell. Or both. But they cost pingas. 

5. Every spell within a magic school are available for use. 

5. A warband starts out with 350 pennies. This covers the cost for characters, their equipment, and any items they might use. Also, items selected must be shown on the mini so WYSIWYG. You cannot claim a claymore if your model only has a knife.

5. Every warband must have a LEADER and DEPUTY LEADER. Leaders receive a 1 Skill bonus plus 1 die level increase of their choosing. Deputies/2IC get only the 1 Skill enhancement. The wording of this option permits exploitation (Mouse deputy with Strong (2) skill.  

6. No stat can be over d12. All others in the warband start without any skill apart from their own race's natural skill.

Routing

Spent time absorbing this important part of the rules. 

Routing Roll-Off occur whenever:

• 50% or more models have been taken Out Of Action with side conducting Routing Roll-Off using their leader's Fortitude stat against the enemy leader's Presence stat.
• If either leader is taken out, use the deputy/21C. 
• If both leader and deputy/2IC are taken out then the warband automatically routes.
• If the warband passes the Roll-Off, game continues. 
• If the warband fails, game ends. 
• If both parties have to Roll-Off and both fail, loss is recorded to both sides. 
• A side may Voluntarily Rout but only after 3 Turns have been played and no experience points are gained for surviving but applies for any other reasons such as completing secondary objectives or scenario condition. 

Dens

Not a section of the rules that interests me at the moment as it relates more to campaigning than single games.

Warband

Now that I know how much to spend, how does that translate to what was purchased originally. Originally I purchased a starter pack with one additional extra model. Using the 350 pennies limit from the rulebook to calculate the cost using what's on the actual model, here's my breakdown. The enhancements are in italics.

Hare knight
Large Beast - Leader - Base cost: 53p - Skills (base): Leap, Strong (1)
Additional Skills (afforded by Equipment and/or Items): TBA
Bonus (Command): 1 Skill and 1 die level
M        S        B         R        N        C        A        F        P
d8       d10     d8       d6       d6       d6      d6       d8      d8
Equipment: One-handed weapon = 8p; Heavy armour = 25p; Heavy shield = 20p
Total cost = 106p !!

NOTE: Already spent nearly a third of my allocation and I still have five others to go. 

Mouse knight
Small Beast - Deputy/2IC - Base cost: 24p - Skills (base): none
Additional Skills (afforded by Equipment and/or Items): TBA
Bonus (Command): 1 Skill
M        S        B        R        N        C        A        F        P
d6       d6       d4      d6       d6       d6      d6       d6      d6
Equipment: One-handed weapon = 8p; Heavy armour = 25p; Heavy shield = 20p
Total cost = 87p

Mouse Shield Maiden 
Small Beast - Base cost: 24p - Skills (base): none
Additional Skills (afforded by Equipment and/or Items): TBA
M        S        B        R        N        C        A        F        P
d6       d6       d4      d6       d6       d6      d6       d6      d6
Equipment: One-handed weapon = 8p; Heavy armour = 25p; Heavy shield = 20p
Total cost = 87p

Weasel/Stoat
Medium Beast - Base cost: 36p - Skills (base): Fearless
Additional Skills (afforded by Equipment and/or Items): TBA
M        S        B        R        N        C        A        F        P
d8       d8       d6      d6       d8       d6      d6       d6      d6
Equipment: Crossbow = 20p; Light armour = 25p; 
Total cost = 61p

Squirrel
Medium Beast - Base cost: 34p - Skills (base): none
Additional Skills (afforded by Equipment and/or Items): TBA
M        S        B        R        N        C        A        F        P
d8       d8       d6      d6       d8       d6      d6       d6      d6
Equipment: Mage's Focus (staff) = 15p; Mage's Pouch = 10p; 
Total cost = 59p

Adder
Medium Beast - Base cost: 36p - Skills (base): Poison (Pain), Unarmed Fighters, cannot use any Weapons
Additional Skills (afforded by Equipment and/or Items): TBA
M        S        B        R        N        C        A        F        P
d6       d6       d4      d4       d4       d8      d8       d8      d8
Equipment: Mage's Focus (staff) = 15p; Mage's Pouch = 10p; 
Total cost = 59p

Mouse scout/thief
Small Beast - Base cost: 24p - Skills (base): none
Additional Skills (afforded by Equipment and/or Items): +3 Concealment
M        S        B        R        N        C        A        F        P
d6       d6       d4      d6       d6       d6      d6       d6      d6
Equipment: One-handed weapon = 8p; Concealment cloak = 15p
Total cost = 47p

Calculating the total cost is as follows: 106 + 87 + 87 + 61 + 59 + 47 = 450 !!! I am therefore 100 points over and this tally is based just on what's shown on the models. I haven't factored in the impact equipment and items bestow nor the costs for Magic Spells and/or their ingredients. It does mean some trimming down is required. 

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14 June 2024

Budget & Bogan

So how does one trim down a warband of seven figures to conform to the 350 pennies limit? You either up the pennies ante to accommodate all the minis in your warband, or else you trim down the warband numbers to fit the pennies limit.

There are several permutations available although it is restrictive because what's available is not wide-ranging or extensive.

Option 1: Power Player

This seems obvious given two of the figures are knights while a third is a shield maiden type character. Then there is the weasel crossbow. All four have some degree of armour protection. This combinations therefore reeks of heavy hitting potency. Add a magic user to round out the complement.

Typical grouping: Hare knight, Mouse knight, Mouse Shield Maiden, Weasel Crossbow, Adder/Squirrel.

Allegiance that might best fit this grouping are Royalist, Rogues, and Freebeast.

Option 2: Size Matters

Another option that is more suited to specialty tasking such as sneak thievery. At its core is the need to have at least one character of undertaking the speciality task, so you might go for a Mouse Scout/Thief or a the Adder Mage. The rest of the warband - depending on expenditure - can be any combinatioin that has to operate both fast and stealthily, 

Allegiance can be any of the four listed in the rulebook although the Wildbeast faction conjures up more of a single species kind of warband. 

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15 June 2024

PC Gaming: World of Warships - D-Day Part 2

Part Two began yesterday but didn't feel up to a long grind. Felt slightly better today so jumped right into it. Was lost for the first three games as I adjusted to the requirements. It is harder (at first) than Part One but once briefing was properly understood and implemented, it's became a matter of playing to your team's strengths and weaknesses. And the stars were harder to get as a result, at first.

Part Two has you dealing with D-Day from the Axis perspective. You are part of a destroyer flotilla comprising six destroyers (all players). You have the minelaying module (press the '9' key calls up aircraft who will deploy mines at your behest) to assist in your defence,. There is long cooldown (around 2 minutes) though once you deploy first time followed by a short lock out before you can call up again. By that time, if you're not dead, you will be busy dealing to the Allied ships targeting you.

The primary mission requires the laying of nine minefields. So some of your flotilla will have to lay twice. I soon learned to lay my minefield early to facilitate the primary mission.

To assist in this mission, the game loans you a few slightly more potent DDs (Z-32, Z-34, Z-38 are three I remember) for the duration of this phase. Instead I chose to run my own German DDs (Tier V to VII) - initially the premium K. Schonberg, and two tech tree ships, the Maass and the Z-31 - mainly to upskill my captains as once this phase is over, the loan ships are gone and so are the captains. Maximize your gain where possible.

My eventual tactic was to stay central in the map - sort of like chess where you try to control the centre board in order to gain better leverage over your opponent)  - and hang back. Let them come to you. Others chose a more aggressive stance and attacked deep which also worked because you could deal to the enemy ships quicker. But it came at a risk to your own team. 

Losing a team mate added a buff to the remaining team members. I forget what that buff was, whether it was restoration of HP or something else beneficial to your potency. 

Initially the Allied side runs trios and duos of destroyers at you from several directions, all at once. Once you manage to overcome this initial threat, then a pair of cruisers with DD escort show up. This is then followed up by a pair of battleships also with DD escort. Finally there is an aircraft carrier with DD escort lurking at the back to complete the Allied vessel threatening your position. 

Trick I found with minefields is not put them in the one spot such as when the enemy DD pop up. Firstly, it dilutes your defensive capabilities and secondly it smacks of panic. Yes, place your minefield in the approach path of the Allied vessels and hope the mines cause enough damage for your group to sink with torpedoes. But don't all overlay minefields one on top of the other as it does not cover the threat spread. Mines laid cause no damage to your ship but does alert your presence to the enemy. You also have a limited minefield laying range whereby the centre of the minefield must be inside that laying circle. A good option, if teammates are working together, is to lay the minefield in depth so that the chances of causing damage imcreases. 

Hydro and smoke are pretty much essential for this series of missions which is why I stayed with the Z-31 throughout after settling into the routine. Bought all the modules and improvements to make Z-31 contestable. Using the secret documents mods earned in the game also helps your battle performance is certain ways - buffing your damage prospects whilst decreasing enemy damage chances. 

The two Allied cruisers showing up are the Dido and Baltimore. They appear at different times and never together. The two battleships that appear are the Nelson and Queen Elizabeth. The Allied destroyers you will face include such historical ships as the Jervis, Icarus, Benson, Stord, Huron, to name those that I recall. The carrier varies although I recall seeing the Audacious.

I managed to complete all the mission phases for this Part. Subsequent rewards is a drop of a D-Day container. These include among the usual nothing rewards a chance to obtain new ships, such as the Rodney. Not that fussed about them to be honest as the chances are slim. 

====================

Clan Naval Battles are happening this weekend. New clan members are jumping right in and proving their worth already. I will see how the clan is faring against our latest opponent to see if it's worth mu while bothering to join in. Noticing new members and winrate improving for many so I may have to "put in the effort" or else look elsewhere for another clan. Or simply go solo. Probably the last option as I am getting really bored with this game. 

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PC Gaming: New Games

Saw a new Jingles video on YouTube today and am keen to try out a couple of the new games he's recommending. Downloaded The Alters demo game on his recommendation. But am also keen to try out Little Kitty Big City, a fun casual cat game that's not as involved as Stray which, incidentally, I've not touched since my old PC crashed just starting necessitating buying a new gaming PC. Also wanting to try out the classic Days Gone game because I enjoy a game with a good narrative. 

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Canvas Eagles

Gaming buddy caught up with several others for an evening game of Canvas Eagles today. The thought of mult-plane games is enticing to me but it's just a casual thing with these guys so any serious consideration of a league or competition depends on several factors, all outside my control or concern. Nice thought though. He sent through a few pics of tonight's engagement. 

Recognise the DH-2 push plane (left middle), the Fokker Eindecker (E-3), and the French Morane single wing (bottom right). Not sure about the other two planes - think the multi-patterned camo is either a Haberstadt or LFG Roland CII. The top left plane is French, possibly a Nieuport 11. So guessing this is likely an Early War period game. 

Mate later informed me he shot down the Eindecker in the above game. Expected that of the DH2 as it's firing arc is its greatest advantage whereas the Eindecker is fixed forward and therefore limited.

Two games were played between four players. Know my gaming buddy took his DH2 and black Fokker Drei from the photos supplied. 

Noticed the bases of the other planes looked similar to mine although thinner rods are used with determining elevation done using dice. Dissimilar to the rods I use which are telescopic and therefore give a 3D view. You could tell my gaming buddy's base went that little bit extra though because he's decorated it to resemble churned-up battleground a la World War One. Very realistic as well as eye-catching. 

Another scene from the second game. Mate is flying his distinctive black Fokker Dr-1. He looks to be chasing a French Niueport 28 aided by his companion who looks to be in Fokker D VII but can't too sure. 

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Boris & Bevin - A couple of power play warbands

Mate also sent through a couple of pics of warbands. Not sure if they're from the same group he gamed with tonight although he did say that one of the lads is keen to get into B&B. If so, and these are his warbands, then he's heavily invested in the game.

That badger in plate armour looks menacing, ready to dong someone into oblivion. Thinking he is part of a Rogue warband. Or even a Wildbeast lot. Not sure until it's revealed.

Another tough looking warband with a couple of hare knights and a massive bulldog knight in the background. Thinking this might be a Royalist warband just going off the knight figures. Nice colour scheme. Basing is perfect.  

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16 June 2024

World of Warships

D-Day: Part Two - The German perspective

Another session play the D-Day event game. Enjoying it more so because it's relatively stress-free and fairly mechanical insofar as I don't have to think much - if at all. It does foster team work and team play because the AI (bots) are more accurate and relentless. Perhaps more so than Co-Op mode although not as much as Operations mode. And the rewards are okay if nothing spectacular; not expecting any new free ships from the D-Day crates whatsoever. 

Spent some money to unlock the second level of the Battle Pass event; price keeps rising so I noticed. But I don't mind the expenditure because it's okay value for the rewards. Fair exchange I guess.

Had a quick look at how the clan is performing in Naval Battles. They are doing good. I believe they are moving up the clan battles as last time I look they're now at Level 1 whereas before they were at the lower Level 3. So I am guessing. It seems the clan now has access to clan battles on the NA server as well as our own ASIA server. Interesting.

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9 June 2024: Weekly Digest - mostly PC gaming

2 June 2024

Slow day in WOWS. Grinding for the last rewards in the Dockyard Event. Played my usual credit earning premium, the German Tier IX premium battleship Pommern exclusively in this session in Co-Op. 

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3 June 2024

Finished the Dockyard Event and received the last steel reward.  Long grind though completing it because it required earning tens of thousands of BASE XP. Especially arduous in Co-Op where there is a limit imposed in the range of around 300 maximum per match - irrespective of how well you do. Did this all session except for the last few when I jumped into the Utah Beach/D-Day event to fast-track the last few thousand damage requirement.

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4 June 2024

No grind today. Initially logged in to grab the daily reward but stayed to complete the daily loot crate missions - three grabs at coal. Played the Tier III German destroyer G-101 and the finished the session by playing a favourite - ther Soviet Tier V premium destroyer, Okhotnik. Nothing more satisfying than sailing up to close an enemy battleship/battlecruiser like the Konig or Kongo and releasing three or four salvos of torps into their amidships. 

G-101. Has four torpedo launch locations - two singles one each side of bow facing forward and the usual midships launchers firing two torps each. That's six in total in one launch. 7 km range is handy so you don't need to commit harikari to send them on their way. Decent enough HP means you can contest other similar tiered DDs and maybe a light cruiser, although not for long. Weakness: 11,000 HP means it can be killed easily as I found out in one game when I failed to notice the torp that killed me by the Tier VII Japanese destroyer Akitsuki. One torpedo. Has smoke but no hydro. Can contest caps but needs to scoot when things get hot quick. 

Okhotnik. A war canoe as one YT streamer once described it which I like and agree. Odd gun arrangement though - one long line of eight guns down the spine of the ship. So they can easily deal to other DDs and a few light cruisers without too much hassle but you'll need to expose your broadside or much of it in return. However, it's low in the water. And you have smoke. Torpedoes are its main asset - four banks of three (total 12) amidships, firing arcs though are generally midship limited (unlike the G101 which is more like 180 degree). Range of those torps though is only 4.5 kms so you either need to get in close or hide in ambush. But they hit hard enough - over 13,000 damage done with one. So a bank of three torps will do close to 40,000 damage which is decent enough to sink even battleships at that tier. 

Latest Dockyard Event was slightly different this time round insofar as I already had the West Virginia '44 - the halfway mark reward - from an earlier Dockyard event. 

• There is usually a series of missions that require completion. Each mission is released weekly. 
• Each mission rewards with a special shipyard token to signify its completion as well as completing specific tasks. Only shipyard tokens can advance each phase level - one shipyard token per phase level. So, you need thirty ship tokens in total in theory but there is a certain condition once you reach Phase level 20 for this Dockyard Event. See below for explanation of that special condition. 
• Each misssion requires completion of at least 6 tasks. Complete them all if you want but not required.
• A certain number of these specific tasks reward with a shipyard token (initially set at three tokens for the first few missions but increasing right up to five for the last mission). 
• Each missions consists of up to ten indvidual tasks with some tasks assigned to specific ship classes. For example, the destroyer ship class, might have to earn 25,000 BASE XP to complete one such task. Other tasks are open to all ship classes.
• The event is restricted to Tier V and upwards for all ship classes.
• Missions stay "open" throughout the entire Dockyard Event timeframe or until fully completed. 
• Each phase level reward is supposedly worthwhile although in truth only the steel and red economic bonuses matter - besides the ships. But even these "real" rewards are small when compared to what is required to earn them, especially if playing only Co-Op. The grind does not match expectation in other words so be mindful of that. But any historical ship is worth it in my estimation. Not the paper or fantasy versions sometimes foisted on the community. 
• There is a "halfway point" where a ship is offered as reward and incentive to keep progressing. This event's halfway point is the West Virginia '44 at Phase level 20. If you already have her then you are rewarded by advancing three phases (skipping phases 21, 22, and 23) for free. In theory what the event is telling you is that can basically earn the Wisconsin for free simply by grinding all the phases. In theory. 
• You can get a head-start by purchasing several levels at the beginning of the Dockyard Event. There are two options but I can't recall how many phases in either although one advances more than the other; you can pay for both if you really want a great head-start. This is common to all Dockyard Events - a choice to advance quickly but you have to pay the price. This costs real money and this option is only available until you reach the fifth phase. Thereafter it is no longer available. Question though is the final reward worth the head-start? Quite often, going by past involvements, the Dockyard Event final rewards ships have generally been between nothing extraordinary to so-so - Puerto Rico, Lushun, Michelangelo, Schroder - to name the few I've been involved with personally I have never played since obtaining. 
• If the grind gets too much, you can pay to advance each phase by spending a quantity of doubloons (2000 for this event) which is about AUD12. So, in theory, to buy your way to the "Big Whiskey" is going to cost around AUD360! The choice is with you. Grind for nearly two months and get it for free, pay some of the way and grind the rest, or pay upfront and get the ship immediately. I tend to play the middle road lately because I'm getting lazier. 

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11 June 2024

Sorry for the absence. Health issues hit me last week necessitating hospital stay from Wednesday; only got out yesterday. Will resume next week as I will be taking the rest of this week off. Cheers.

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1 June 2024: Weekly Roundup

 26 April 2024

English Civil War

After a shitty day playing WOWS it was a change of pace to work on the English Civil War figurines. Advanced a little further than expected so it turned out good.

WIP - Fairfax's Foot (foreground) and Waller's Foot (background). 

Existing WIP (nothing done tonight) - Okey's Dragoons (foreground left), Skippon's Foot (foreground right), and Montagu's Foot who are behind Okey's dismounted dragoons. 

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27 April 2024

ECW WIP report

Going with slight colour variations between Foot units to aid distinguishing one from the other. Sort of like, "that's the green regiment" or "look at the blue regiment" approach. As units come together during this assembly part, these variations will show up more in the painting sessions. Will try to stay with uniformity because they are, after all, New Model, but still allow for some slight variations between units and even within, where possible. Cheers. 

Fairfax Foot. Going with red coats with inner veridian green lining (facing colour). Don't know if this is correct though not that it really matters at the moment because I've already committed to painting these now. Also giving them orange sashes, green plumes (where possible) for soldiers (officers bear red or whatever tickles their fancy feathers much like their distinctly civilian uniforms), white or orange stockings. Hat bands and leg ribbons are pretty much whatever I come up with at the time. Trousers are deep blue or violet. Majority in this unit wear helmets while a few musketeers wear varied coloured soft broad brimmed hats. Hat lining? Not sure yet: haven't considered it. Pikes throughout are 70 mm and the same colour for all foot units - yellow ochre. 

Unit Standard: green flag with yellow discs. Because the feather plumeRed flag pole (@ 65mm). Two standards per unit borne by ensigns is whatever civilian attire they choose. Some will have front breast and back armour while others might be wearing heavy buff or leather coats. 

Waller's Foot. Red coats with inner lining yet to be decided. Majority of soldiers are wearing either brown leather hats while all those with hats are adorned with black feathers. Hat band? Not sure yet but if so then some contrasting but appropriate colour like orange, red or sky blue. Brown trousers with white or pale blue stockings. Shoe colours vary ranging from black to brown in all shades and tones, and applicable across all the units. 

Unit Standard: black flag with yellow lozenges. Major's company flag (bottom) also included because it is unique compared to the normal company flags such as the third company flag depicted above it. And the wavy line is correct enough although I may extend it and thin it further.

Montagu's Foot. Red coats with white inner linging as facing. Dark coloured hats where shown or helmets. White feathers on hats. Initially toyed with the idea of making the red coat's lining the same colour as the flags but have since changed my mind. Toying with colours at the moment to get the best mix possible for each unit. Grey/Light blue trousers. Brown or tan footwear. Command stand is a world of colour all its own; trying to come up with suitable choices isn't always easy however.

Unit Standard: Going with the purple with white lozenges or flames. Below is a sample test sheet of the Major's company flag. The wavy line is an early attempt and will be revised to resemble more closely the wavy line in the Waller's Foot example. 

Skippon's Foot. Red coats with yellow inner lining. Pale blue sashes. Orange feathers on headwear where applicable. Trouser colour as yet undecided. 

Unit Standard: green with white stars in the variant I'm using. Below is shown the 3rd Captain's company standard but I will modify it eventually because the stars look too small for my liking and I've got one too many. This was because I was having trouble creating the wavy line for the Major's company flag so I simply swapped the wavy line for whatever device the other companys used and just added one more. Lazy, I know, but it is what it is...

Slowly coming together. Individually going over every figure to complete the areas missed with the paint before securing them to their bases. Probably paint the bases. Then begins the DETAILING phase.

Reminder to self to be careful handling white metal minis. They sometimes break if not careful as I have found out with a couple lately. Fortunately the damage is not noticeable or severe. 

Struggling with craft hobby paints on this paint project of late. Different density and low quality make for a lot of preparation (where possible) to even get close to the basic starting standard of typical modelling paints. Not advisable to any newcomer to the hobby. I still persevere because I love challenges where convenience gets very boring quickly. Hard to say from a lazy person but nonetheless so. 

Cheers.

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28-29 April 2024

New Model army list WIP

Night Owl session began after watching a playthrough of the Days Gone (PC) game. Over three hours long. Have to confess that it's way better than what's on tv these days. Only learnt of this YT streamer last night when I watched one of his three-hour plus long playthrough as a recommendation. Very engaging storyline and narrative by the streamer kept me totally engrossed throughout. Watched the next one then finished with the end story. Sad that tonight's the last. And sad that the game's sequel has proven to be a disaster. 

Not much done thereafter painting-wise other than further work on distinguishing between the Foot regiments with selected colouring. Starting to firm in my mind as to who is who and so forth. Learned something interesting regarding accenting colours. Painted the feather plumes on the soft hats for Skippon's Foot orange the other day (above post) and wanted to further accentuate the initial orange laid down. So I ran thinned down red to see what would happened and to my surprise, the orange colour came through brilliantly (seen below). The red will darken and blend in with the orange.

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29 April 2024

Flags printed and cut to size. Scaled down 45% to obtain the "right look". Will use gum glue to bind both sides together. Thought about hand painting but hand quite unsteady these days. Happy to allow technology take the lead on this one. Will post some pics tomorrow if I find time. Cheers.

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30 April 2024

New D-Day event began today on World of Warships. It's Operations mode with the historical D-Day twist. Limited in the range of Tiered ships one can play (Tier V - VII) with certain exclusions. Primary inclusion is that they must belong to a ship line (on the Allied side) that was involved in the Normandy invasions.

Entered the first game blind in the Atlanta. Glad I did as it proved useful taking out those torpedo boats that appeared out of nowhere, the pestering shore batteries, and all the while clearing minefields dropped by the enemy air force (hence why taking out the enemy aerodrome is important). Then taking on the enemy destroyers targeting the amphibious landing craft as they commenced their landing. Of course, while all this is happening minefields keep popping up so you have to clear them as well.

Also played a couple of times the US premium battleship West Virginia '44. Not as effective as the Atlanta however despite obtaining several secret documents (in-game enhancements). These secret documents are buffs for you to deal with the enemy defences. Oh, and the enemy DDs are tougher, accurate, much like the shore batteries. Keep your range and angled. AP for the fort guns, HE for AA batteries.  

You also get loan of the French light cruiser La Galissoniere for the duration of the event. The event also sees new bundles to purchase in the Armoury. These include a few good existing, hard to get, or long awaited premiums (such as the Rodney, brother to the Nelson) plus a new release (French cruiser whose name I forget). 

Played it for a while and did so to help me grind the last series of missions for the Dockyard Event steel. Five tokens on offer; that's 275 steel per token (clan bonus applied). 

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1 June 2024

Played out this session of WOWS in the D-Day event. Chasing that elusive 5-star reward which I thought was hard turned out to be a false claim but it does depend on your teammates and the ships they bring. Easily did it this session with team mates of random players, most of whom I suspect were familiar with this mission which probably explained the five-star rewards. Anyway, I managed it thrice. Here's the first time done today - happened in the third game.

Stars #2 and #3 need to be monitoried closely because the object of the enemy destroyers and schnellboots is to get in amongst the landing crafts - like foxes in the hen coop. Two groups are protected by one friendly destroyer apiece. And the LTCs tend to die quickly especially when focus-fired by the enemy destroyers who appear in two groups of four, one assigned per landing group who land west and south. 

And then there are the minefields that pop up suddenly in the path of the landing crafts. If the aerodromes aren't taken out add early on that adds further to your misery because planes will continue to drop mines. It's not a happy prospect especially if you are on your own, on low HP, and being pummelled by both enemy shore batteries as well the torpedo boats and targeted by occasional rocket/torpedo aerial attacks. Fun, eh?

Another 5-star game. Reward this time is a historical commander. Final 5-star was just a crate of signals. Useful because a character from the Azur Lane collection is among the prizes. The prizes once completing each phase can be earned any number of times until the next Part is released. The quality of the reward improves with each Part.

Action was fairly hectic mid-game; lots of things happening all at once. But the Atlanta handled it pretty well. Learned that the minefield marker indicates the centre of the minefield and that it's the best spot to drop your depth charges in order to clear the minefield. But you still have to weave your way through the mines to get to your mark. Might have to do it a few times however. And you are time-limited. 

West Virginia '44. Don't take it into Utah beach event. I was not good in the two times I played it. Its dispersion was awful and I was as useful at hitting fortress guns as a feather can stop a flood. For the torp boats (schnellboots) you're best bet remains either destroyers or cruisers. But be warned that the enemy destroyers do smack hard if you venture too close or present broadsides or are focus-fired. Stick mid map if possible and only venture in to fulfil parts of the primary and secondary objectives.

Atlanta. Definitely bring this into the event as it's the only radar cruiser available. Also useful are any cruiser with good HE dmg such as Dido, Helena, Boise, La Galisonniere, Perth. 

To enhance battle performance there are Classified Documents obtainable. Three levels - Classified, Confidental, and Top Secret. Each level boosts the enhancements for each specific capabilities such as damaging shore batteries (AA and fortress guns) for example. As Flamu pointed out last night, earning the Coastal Bty directive for examples improves the base destructive power of your guns - +250% HE and +100% for AP. 

There are two sets, one for both Axis and Allied. Not sure how that works given you normally spawn on the Allied side. Will find out soon enough as I play more primarily to finish my final Dockyard Event mission. 

Taking out the aerodromes (both - one in west and the other to the south) seriously helps your cause BUT only when they're spotted and activated; blind firing is pointless if they're not spotted or active. Taking the Eendracht is a valid option as its planes can aid the bombardment.

Remember: it's Tier V-VII ships. No CVs or subs. Just surface ships - destroyers, cruisers, and battleships. Ships with poor firepower are no good to you or your team. If you're lacking in ships, stay with cruisers. 

Mines might appear to move with you but that's just the minimap updating. Mini map handy but keep your eyes on the water. Mines will show up individually red once within, popping up randomly as you move through. Mine proximity is given in metres but once inside, all you get are the red dots. Clearing the minefield requires several depth charge drops before that happens. Shooting down aerodrome mine-dropping planes helps hence why you need to bring a cruiser with good AA suite. And lots of guns.

Event is divided into three parts. Part One is active at the moment and it will end in a few days. Each part has several levels for completion. Once done, and until the next Part is activated, you can play and earn rewards (in this case one crate of signals) for as long as you want to play the mission over and over.

SIDENOTE: Weirdest thing happened in-game today. A bug I think. It was the last game for the session. Sailed up to the edge of the minefield but only saw the leading mine too late off my port bow. I immediately hit the S key repeatedly with only metres (and a second) from detonation in a sudden and instant knee-jerk response. Normally, the ship would take time to slow down. To my amazement however, the ship stopped instantly. I thought I had lost connection or busted my keyboard But, no, as quickly I realised I was still in-game, I tapped the S key a couple more times and the vessel began to reverse. I sighed relief at this surprise but welcome reprieve and carried on as per usual. 

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