Digest #5

14 October 2024

Online PC games: World of Warships

Usual morning WOWS grind with Sansonetti before I finished the morning off with a stint in Star Trek Resurgence. Haven't played the latter in a long while although I do enjoy the storyline. Very reminiscent of those old well written Star Trek tv episodes. SPOILER ALERT: the games features both Spock, now Ambassador Spock, and Captain Will Riker. 

Online PC Games: Star Trek Resurgence

Just who are the Scions of the Flame? Why is bioforming so different from Trill joined symbiosis? What's up with Captain Solano, the weakest character who is more a caricature than someone fleshed-out; will he really go reckless in his pursuit of a final chance at glory as the mission unfolds? He reminds me of someone who's been a Starfleet captain for too long and will never make Admiral, someone who should have retired long ago with his toy trains. Will the real Miranda please step forward!

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16 October 2024

Online PC Games: World of Snoreships

Decided to fast track Sansonetti's skill level as he was well over the 250k mark. Used both Elite Cmdr XP and Free XP to boost him to 20-pt level. Now it's turn of the Pan-Asian Unique commander Sa Zhenbing. Will be running him in the Tier V premium destroyer Anshan. Had to redistribute the skill points to take advantage of the destroyer's strengths and Zhenbing's skill level.

Paintings - Models or otherwise

More detailing work done on Sir Hardress Waller's regiment of Foote. Still trying to figure out the coat lining colour. Got two choices: white or blue? The latter is offered as a suggestion given that west country regiments wore blue; the former because it's a good contrast to the red coats and basic dark clothing I've chosen for this unit.

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17 October 2024

Online PC Games: World of Warships

Compared to the FR25, the Pan-Asia Tier VI premium destroyer Anshan is very light weight. It's an easy kill for just about anybody with good aim. It has enough 8km torps to do some damage but it's low HP (around 12k) makes it very susceptible to dev strikes from gunboats and cruisers. Having smoke helps when YOLO-ing but be prepared to die quick if cap being contested. 

So I switched to the Tier VI premium cruiser Huanghe whose long duration smoke compensates for its paltry two twin-tube torpedoes. Fared slightly better although like the Anshan, it's too lightweight to melee up close. Best farm from a distance. 

Online PC Games: What's Out There At The Moment

Last night saw a listing of the best naval games PC gaming for 2024. Highly recommended but pricey (AUD127) is Gary Grigsby's War in the Pacific: Admiral's edition. Available through Matrix Games online store. Got me interested because it's involved and complex.

As soon as I saw the hex map, I was virtually in (pun intended). But first I have save up for the purchase: the amount asked is too big an ask for this poor retiree. :(

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18 October 2024

Online PC Games: World of Warships

Playing the Huanghe these past few days has confirmed a few things. Firstly, it's slow and maneouvres sluggishly. She's slower than my fishing boat in Dredge which can go up to 52 knots whereas Huanghe struggles to make 32 knots! So planning is pretty much essential. It can play like a big big destroyer but you need to keep angled in and always use the long-duration smoke in combination with hydro to close for the kill without getting killed yourself. 

The second Leyte Gulf mission chain began today. Similar to the first one. Just two more missions to complete in this chain of five missions. The reward crate (one per mission completed) are like the first mission with a small quantity of economic bonuses. The third mission commences around the end of this month.  

I am ignoring the Red October event because it just like another scam to get you to spend money for no good reason.

Also foregoing the second access level of the upcoming Black Friday event pass (Update 13.10) which again is offering meagre rewards. Normally I fork out the doubloons because I am always XP poor but not this time. Seems the solitary ship reward is one I already have (Dunkerque B). Lots of camo and crates and even a mod that harks back to an earlier trial of some shell effect; cannot remember exactly when that occurred but if that's it, well... The allure of a quantity of Black Friday crates is misleading insofar as you have a chance of winning something other than the original prize offered. Much like their current trend. 

No interest in the Star Trek event either. Why bother when I can simply play Star Trek games instead?

Online PC Games: Dredge - The Iron Rig DLC

Started playing this again last night just to see what's on offer with the DLC bundle purchased recently. Quickly forgot the time and before I knew it dawn was arising. 

I have not played The Pale Reach and Blackstone Key missions yet although I expect they're incorporated into the base game, as you'd anticipate. Skipping the original storyline this time round as I played it already to its dramatic conclusion last time. However I am still chasing up the items desired by the Collector on Blackstone Island. New characters on the Iron Rig as well as different deviant creatures from the deep...and beyond...or beneath!

Above shows a similar setup to the smaller Travelling Merchant floating stores but with new "improvements" like the Factory that boast new improved fishing equipment. Or the Tech Lab that uses its modern technological advancements to improve the operations of your boat such as lights, telescope and so on. Then there's the Generator that uses biomatter to power the rig, so you can sell your catch of the day. And the Undermarket is like your machine shop that fixes broken equipment. The Scientist is like many of the characters in that he's a bit strange and fond of talking evasively. Withholding information is very much a trait in these waters.

He tasks you with fetching samples for his observation and experiments much like the Researcher based at the Old Fortress west of Stellar Reach. 

The rig itself is in several levels of construction. I began last night so still am at Tier 1. Managed to pick loads of the corporation cargo; seems ships like to sink in these waters. Mind you, you see some strange stuff like ghost ships with lights on all the time that somehow disappear all of a sudden then pop up somewhere else. 

Also the first drilling ruptured the surface below and caused spillages to occur mostly around the Marrows. What these are is a mystery but they pose are obstacles as far as I'm concerned therefore worth avoiding although I did get caught in it by accident late at night and had an encounter with the monster of the deep (similar to the one at Stellar Reach and Gale Cliffs) casuing considerable damage to my boat. 

One more thing: I'm pacing this game on very slow mode. No need to rush and finish in 100 days like some streamers do. It's casual fun where I'm well aware of what lurks deep below so am in no mood to antagonise. So no late night fishing jaunts or cruises in the open ocean waters, not with all those lurking eyes, twisters, and almost animated mists that follow you like paranoia. 

Tonight I will venture further south to the ice and see what The Pale Reach reveals. Cheers.

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19 October 2024

Online PC Gaming: Dredge - The Pale Reach

Yeah, not as many options with The Pale Reach as with The Iron Rig (levels of development) but it's interesting enough upon playing last night and into the wee hours. Met the Photographer first visit and she soon vamoosed after realising her much-sought after photo op wasn't being cooperative or playing cutesy. I wonder why. Dealing with a mutated murderous Narwal, finding the icebreaker parts so one can plough through the numerous icy barriers preventing you access to important clues, dealing with ominous warnings of a long-deceased captain frozen in ice, etc., and all that within the inhospitable southern reaches of the map makes for an adventure all its own.

Revisited Stellar Reach as I slowly ventured south. Painfully fond memories of the battles there. Met up again with the Research Scientist stranded at the Old Fortress. Noticed she's still single and still missing her sister who's connected to this story. Brave soul though for sticking it out on her own knowing of the terror lurking in those waters.

Learned the improved telescope allows you to mark spots of interest such as fishes, dredge locations (including what's there). But there is a limit on how many can be spotted otherwise the map will be so cluttered with markers and fishing and dredging locations that you might as well walk everywhere! So I've been marking those spots currently out of range of my fishing equipment or dredge spots of interest to keep it relatively decluttered.

Quickly maxxed out on upgrades. Dredging materials such as cloth, metal and wood are needed to fill the requirements for these upgrades. Research parts improves equipment - fishing rods, nets & crab pots, engines, and lumination; the better the quality, the more research parts needed. You can also tinker with engine combinations to max your speed although it depends on the allocated space (refer to upgrade). 

Remember that the Travelling Merchant who owns and operates the pontoons at each of the four main locations except the Iron Rig where the Foundry guy who runs the Undermarket and is your go-to mechanic and repair specialist. She sometimes has spare parts useful to your Research and Dredging operations - gunpowder (when you unlock that at the Cliffs), decent metal, and research parts - depending on location and quantity. She presents them regularly but it is random so always good to check when you can.

North of the Ironhaven Corporation Rig is a large open and vacant area of ocean. Usually you see the natural giants such as large whales and unnamed monsters and ghost ships. What is out there? Another DLC? Or is it part of Iron Rig DLC narrative? Will have to venture forth some time. Toward far horizons then!

Online PC Gaming: World of Snoreships

Usual captain upskill grind. Different character but same-old same-old stuff! The grind these days solely focuses on completing two requirements for the current Event Pass - firstly, earn 250 Base XP for 10 points, then follow up by earning 1500 Base XP for another 10 points. Amount is cumulative and carries over. The accumulation counts toward a running tally requirement of 25 points before you can receive the bonus rewards which are 1 signals crate full of 12 signals (4 of each) and 1 rare economic bonus crate (3 Blue randomly selected). Once this 25 points is reached, count resets. And the game continues until the Event Pass ends. 

Also within the grind, I am simultaneously completing the second mission chain for the Battle of Leyte Gulf event. Working through the fourth mission task of earning 8000 Base XP which is roughly around 13-14 games in Co-Op mode. About a third of the way through, but couldn't be bothered grinding all day. Still plenty of time left to finish it though which is handy, I suppose. Then it's on to the last mission task which is cause an absurd amount of HP damage. Reward once the mission chain is completed? 5 more Leyte Gulf tokens. WG did say the Tennessee was at the end of a very long and arduous rainbow.

In the background is the German Unification mission chain which is a global contribution effort. Each mission task requires earning well above a billion Base XP. Reward? A crate filled with a few items of supposed value. I received 1 Tile camo, 1 Tokyo Game Show camo, and 500 Free XP as my reward this morning for my contribution in helping to complete the current mission task. There are at least two more global mission tasks to go. The Base XP earned is taken from all the games Mode played. Reward? I don't recall precisely but did dismiss it as worthless in my initial response because it wasn't a ship as a reward.

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19/20 October 2024

World of Yawnships

Just one more mission task to go to complete the second mission chain in the Leyte Gulf event. Halfway there to reaching goal of inflicting 45k damage from starting fires. Then it's 5 more tokens. Yay! 😋

Dredge

Last night freed the four trapped souls in The Pale Reach. Task made easier after fitting the icebreaker to the bow of the fishing vessel. Opened the portal of the Southern Locus that provides direct access to Blackstone Island. Also unlocked the blocks of ice for cargo hold. 

Completed the Research Assistant task and unlocked access to the remaining two rods. 

One of the new characters, the Painter, also set tasks mainly for unlocking new colours to paint your fishing boat.

Another character, the Photographer, has her base on an island between Stellar Basin and Gale Cliffs. Returned her camera case and she rewarded me with a camera. Why? You already have access to screenshotting, but the camera offers more flexible and/or concentrated shots, as shown below, of specific locations. This is the lighthouse tower at Devil's Spine taken from the west as I sail from the Iron Rig.

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20 October 2024

Online PC Games: World of Oarships

Finished fourth mission task finally. Just the final fifth left to complete and that will do for this second Leyte Gulf mission chain. Next one starts at the end of the month. It was therefore a longer grind than usual because 800k Base XP is a lot, especially in Co-Op mode. 

Online PC Games: Dredge - The Iron Rig and the Pale Reach

Got the enchanted trawling net after finding the altar in icy south. Just one small task for the white robed nutter (as with the other four coloured robe nutters). But mostly spent time completing the various tasks at The Iron Rig although I did journey all over. 

Helped to construct to Tier 4  the Factory as well as Tier 2 level for both the Foundry (spare parts) and Tech Lab (mostly improvements to boat and equipment). 

Also set up both the Fleet Services and Defenses. The former yielded a fifth Hull upgrade (more cargo space basically) while the latter sets up a beacon that emits a deterrent signal to any foul creatures about. The Defenses task helps save the platform rig from being totally destroyed by the tentacled beast thanks to the intervention of an even more dangerous leviathan that scares off the tentacle beast before it could completely demolish the rig. 

In the process, however, the Scientist finally went bonkers after he finally turned into a horrible creature himself and then escaped the rig. The Executive too scooted back to his safe plush office shortly after he ordered the rig to resume drilling which eventually led to the sudden assault. 

TLDR: Iron Rig survived the beast attack and the scientist turned into a demon of the deep. 

The last image shows the ex-Scientist (bottom edge middle) joining his new environment after jumping out his lab. 

This IS really a fishing game. I believe the Iron Rig will be the last DLC for this game. As a horror fishing game though it has more meh moments than you'd expect where you're often wanting something more terrifying to happen. If you fish only during the day, it's fine. But at night, you run into all sorts and manners of weird and interesting events. Storyline is ok but nothing great. History plays a part in creating a backstory but it doesn't add much to what's happening. Avoided replaying the base game as I'd already done it. Like I said from the start I wanted to try out the DLCs. I've yet to engage myself fully with the Blackstone Key DLC as the other two have proven more interesting. 

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