4 August 2024
World of Warships
Finally quit the clan today. Trigger was a very poor performance in clan battles. Spent the rest of the day session feeling miserable with myself and ended up playing the Venezia in Randoms. Suffered way more defeats than wins, but I didn't care. At least, I wasn't always dying within the first two minutes. Logged out but returned later in the evening to run the French token event - Personal Challenges. Bar reached earns 10 tokens which go towards obtaining the next reward in the Early Access French destroyers (second line). Got the Tier VI DUCHAFFAULT as a result. Thought about spending real cash to buy the bundles but then thought "Nah! Spent enough". So I logged back out and will wait for the new line to be released for free grind. Relieved I am no longer in the clan; aside from being useless and a liability in Clan Battles, I felt pressured to participate when I really didn't feel like it or wanted to. Now that pressure is off and I can relax and enjoy the remaining Premium days left to me (over 70 days). Cheers.
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5 August 2024
Writings
This blogsite is devoted to both hobby (wargaming) and writings (prose/poetry/paintings). This is the writing part which from time to time resurfaces for air then returns to the depth of my mind.
Found an old story that has its origins back in March '90. Found it sitting on my printer but didn't recognise it under a pile of awful poetry during the Night Owl session. It is MSS size. Reread parts of the "newer" version (opening chapters) and immediately got back into the story flow. Lots of revising but the essence remained as engaging as when I first conceived the notion of writing this fantasy opera-style melodrama. Lol. The characters I well recall now with fondness. Dare I return to it and complete it as part of my unfinished business bucket list? Have to wait and see.
World of Warships
Logged into WOWS today and played out the Personal Challenges for CVs to obtain more French DD tokens (event ends in two days). Proved a frustrating (but in a pleasant way) time as I failed to reach the first bar - earn 300 Base XP. Up-tiered to Tier VI. Still no success. Finally quit the session and logged out. Not really pushing it as the event ends soon anyway. Learning how to play CV and realising that commander skill is essential to even having a chance. Hosho (T4) has only one torp attack while Ryujo (T6) has two. Bombing was fun and managed to knock out a couple of ships with well-placed bombs.
Scourge of War: Remastered (the Waterloo edition)
Checked out Scourge of War Remastered after viewing the latest YT video from the dude that inspired me to buy the game. His game tag is DarkRob. He is a veteran of the game, well known for his intelligent play (will to win) and insights. Loads of tutorial play-throughs which he's updated recently. The mod is an improvement on the stock standard toolbar. Had to smile when he went through the attack column (by divisions) process using the Grog mod toolbar. Noticed that the stock standard version showed a brigade in mixed order, the standard attack formation. But the tutor showed his version that leaves smaller footprint and enables a concentrated attack. He then mentioned and showcased "the fortress" considered (within the game) the most impregnable defence. How much deviating from the real-life case arises from this confession? How much more is this a game therefore and not some milsim? Cheers.
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6 August 2024
PC Gaming - Scourge of War: Remastered
Spent a session learning how to use the Toolbar. Having already downloaded and installed the Grog mod toolbar I figured it would make using it easier. But it wasn't to be. I was too busy figuring out how to move the units around in the tutorial; I would follow the tutorial but it wouldn't work out as intended. In the end, I just ignored the tutorial instructions and played after it ended and kept at it until I'd had enough and logged out. Gradually became accustomed but still having problems selecting commanders and entire brigades. Not sure if I'm using the stock standard Toolbar or the Grog one. Will have to check out DarkRob's tutorial videos for clarification. Enjoyed it nonetheless because I felt I had progressed a little more than previously.
Map Making tools
Today I went searching for map making tool. This came about because in trying to locate the earlier sketches I did for my MSS characters, I located copies of several drafts (the original but out of sequence and several redrafts - earliest 1992, latest 2015). Among them were several sketches of geography and locales which got me interested in locating suitable map makers.
In the end, I found a listing of the top ten. And chose a couple of likely looking fantasy map makers and installed them. First one is free - Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator. Reminded me of Minecraft map seeding. Each map seed comes with fully labelled states and so on; it all depends on how full you want your map (check boxes everywhere). Type in your requirements and voila, a full map is created just for you. You can also start with a blank canvas and take it from there.
However it wasn't quite what I was hoping for so I ended up obtaining the second, Wonderdraft. It cost around USD30. A one-off payment but you could download three files (the original old file plus the latest version as well as extras in a zip file). This app is more map-looking than the other. When installing the icon to open the program will be in the Program folder. Why? I don't know. Tried moving it to the Desktop but it wouldn't open. Anyway, it allows you to create the map the way you want it. Which suits me as I already have much of my DR fantasy series mapped out (sketch maps mainly). But having proper-looking fantasy maps seems more appropriate. And it certainly helps with the storyline.
However the map maker will also prove useful drafting up batreps (presentation counts it seems these days) and proposed scenarios, not just fantasy but also historical. Below is a sketch of one of the locations within my story - a hidden city. Shades of The Silmarillion and the First Age? For sure.
The second app has several options depending on the scale being used. And it shouldn't be too hard to replicate the geography once the program has been mastered. Certainly an improvement on MS Paint.
But the map maker also comes with the option to generate overviews or close ups of habitable areas (villages, towns and cities), a very handy tool to have as a map maker. Above is a pencil and pen sketch plan view of the Hidden City sitting atop a mountain top.
And here is another graphical representation of the Hidden City and surrounding defensive walls (or Gates as I called them) done all those years ago.
Steam has a couple of map making programs available. Both are more geared towards D&D style gaming. I did download a demo of Fantasy Map Simulator. Full release in September of this year. Haven't really studied it properly but for now I will stay focus using Wonderdraft.
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7 August 2024
World of Warships
Noticing something odd regarding this game. Whenever you get a free premium day as a reward, it does not boost your total; in other words, it does not count because it's separate from your daily diminishing tally. Whatever you're existing total is (through purchasing), any bonus days earned does not improve your overall tally even though it may look so at a glance. So, the other day I got a free premium day that I thought would boost my current total from 74 to 75 days. But today when I logged in, my total days was 73!! And this has happened multiple times whenever this bonus is earned. Please explain WG!
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Wonderdraft
What's possible in Wonderdraft. Just started playing with the program. There are tutorials but nothing like simply jumping in and having a go, so to speak. I had already designed my landscape and needed a program able to replicate that original vision, which Wonderdraft is doing perfectly...for now.
Five Free Cities is reminiscent of the Hanseatic League and those independent cities in northern Germany historically. And such independent states existed throughout history; statehood was a concept that occurred after the existence of city-states.
Anyway, their example worked perfectly for my original story back in the early nineties. This example map is from my DR story and is replicated perfectly by this program . Bay of Winds from the story as are three of the Five Cities - Prodogg, Yrta, Urit.
I fluffed it when I saved this over the first maps of the Penelanor state (should have simply worked on it and then saved with new name upon exiting instead of during the process. The different coloured ground represent those states as originally conceived: FFC are puce while Lammoria, the central state in my story, is green. The yellow region is a state whose name I can't recall but it features in the second book of the series because of the ruler who is able to stand up to her foes instead of folding and fleeing into exile like many did in the story.
Next example is not quite there by any stretch. But it suffices as a memory jogger if I need to revisit the place. It is Calmar, capital of Lammoria and opening scene for my story. Cheers.
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A Possible New Campaign Based on my writings??
Thoughts of revisiting my story stirred the creative juices. Enough to contemplate doing something I have always wanted to do wargaming-wise. In the late Donald Featherstone's Wargames he devoted a chapter to a fantasy game based on Robert E. Howard's Conan. A fellow English wargamer (name escapes me now) was inspired to create a Hyperborean wargame campaign using 30mm(?) flats. You can see where this is going, right? Why not create a fantasy list of the armies and play the story? I already know the combatants and the landscape (well, mostly).
Lots and lots of room for being creative and painting minis according to your choices.
Sort of reminds me a great deal of Phil Olley and Wars of Vaubarian Succession games, set in an alternative 18th century European style landscape. Only this will be Dark Age era or thereabouts. Without too much sorcery and fantastic beasts. There are no historical accounts of anything other than humans killing one another so why deviate now? But mysticism or profound spiritual belief is not absent. There are those with deeper spiritual connections to their environment within the story; it's just not the most dominating feature of it.
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