July Digest #3

Studio stocktake

Wasn't feel crash hot after the all-nighter so did some stocktaking. Pretty glad to find stuff that I has forgotten about. Some photos from tonight's effort.

Small force of Germans for Rapid Fire. Kubelwagen, half-track, armoured car, 88mm gun deployed as AT, HMG, LMG, Pak gun, mortars, infantry. I believe the infantry are Zvezda. Can't remember the makers of the vehicles or artillery. 

For a while I was into Rapid Fire. At the time, I concentrated on assembling the Allied side. Can't recall exactly all the tanks but there is a clear between one manufacturer's Shermans (painted) and another (unpainted). I think there's also a Grant and a Matilda variant (name escapes me) while another Sherman (bottom left) yet again shows the difference between model maker's interpretation of what a specific tank should be. 

A rifle company from the 28th (Maori) Bn, a famous unit particularly for a Kiwi such as myself. These guys are geared up for the Italian campaign. Also attached are two 25-pdrs and one 17-pdr AT gun. The usual rifle company weaponry - support weapons are mortars, Lewis HMG, Bren LMGs, mortars and so on. 

Last photo on show tonight are White Russian forces. One of the elite infantry units (Red caps), a small Czech legion detachment, a mortar team, and some cavalry (Napoleonic to be converted to Cossacks...eventually). 

Did some tidying up of my growing dice collection, Star Wars paraphenalia, American Civil (for the Red River campaign), loads of naval figures of varying scales (Ancients, Age of Sails, dreadnought era, World War 2).

Yet to tackle the bookcases, the Borodino project, the storage closet, and the en suite (shelving stacked with buildings and terrain). Still haven't completed half the stuff there. Should be fun.

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

Tricky Dice

Interesting YT video that popped up in my notifications tonight. Major US (eastern seaboard) 40K event too. Who'd thought someone would cheat to win. Lol. Had a chuckle. Reminds me of a similar controversy many aeons ago here in Oz. Why do this? I understand rage quitting but actively cheating and denying it thereafter and blaming everything else except accepting responsibility and quickly packing up and leaving the venue is always another level of stupidity? Link. Worse part is he's a former West Pointer and ex-officer. 

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

World of Warships

Logged in this morning and saw my doubloon stash had mysteriously depleted. Missing 72 doubloons. Raised a ticket with WG regarding this. The amount is an odd figure and I know I didn't spend any dubs. Yesterday I just logged in for the daily reward and did not play. Saturday was the last time and the amount showing then was 195. Today it was 123. Doubt I will get a reasonable response from WG. 

Noticed too that you can't raise a general query any more. Easy to circumvent: just select one of the standard query listed and insert your query. WG got back and were able to clear up the deduction: seems I sold a commander for doubloons to obtain Elite Commander XP compensation. Forgot I had dismissed the guy. Replied with a thank you. Homer moment on my part. 

Anyway fifty-five ships left to go of which there are plenty enough to obtain (mostly steel and research bureau ships). 700 remains the magic terminus goal. Giving the game until the end of the Christmas season (not Updates) to achieve that goal before logging off for good. 

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

Today (Friday) I continued the Personal Challenge to obtain 500 American tokens. But I needed 650 to obtain Osborne. So I spent some money to buy three random bundles that had the tokens. Unfortunately got three bundles that had 50 tokens each. Was hoping to get lucky and get at least one bundle with loads more tokens. Anyway, got Osborne. Dismissed the commander that came with it and transferred in the former commander of the Florida. He is 11-pt. Much better than 3-pt. In turn, assigned the commander specific to Florida, in this case, the Statue of Liberty, that had been sitting in the reserve since last Update. 

The next ship Christopher is 900 tokens away. The only way to achieve this is to buy more random bundles. In fact, it's the only way now that the Personal Challenges are done (500 per phase; two phases; one week apart). I was happy to spend for Osborne because it cost a few bucks. But I will now await the release from Early Access of the other two ships and them grind for them as per normal. 

Interesting game in the Belfast, British Tier VII cruiser. Has standard radar and smoke. No torps. But its guns are awesome. HP particularly. 

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

Sunday I logged in, looked about before logging back out. Collected daily login reward. Thought about playing for the Event Pass bonus (which is pathetic anyway) but wasn't prepared to game even for that. 

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

Studio tidy up (continued)

Decided to spend time doing more stocktaking because it's continuing to itch my consciousness. Found my sizeable collection of Star Wars X-Wing materiel (ship profiles, counters, tokens, measuring, turning arcs, game cards), and rechecked three large storage tubs containing some of my massive Borodino Project (including terrain and unopened kit boxes). There are more Borodino formations sitting on the shelving in the ensuite that need placement into storage cases that I need to purchase.

Loads of terrain items in multiple storage containers - hills, woodland stands, buildings, ruins, bridges, walls, hedge rows, unique structures (cenotaph, barrier arm gate, guard post, etc. Some need finishing off.

Also plenty of gaming accessories for other 'minor' games - measuring rules, turning circles, tokens, counters, etc. All have been gathered and placed into one of the cabinet drawers. 

Considering moving the large bookcase into the second room to free up more space in the main room. 

I have a double-door (opens out) display cabinet that just needs the hinges attached before installing the shelves. 

The closet is used for storage too and contains the really large gaming and display boards. Returned some large rolls of mats as well a couple of long folding tables to fill up the available space. 

Looking to drag out the Sauron temple display board for a game of Warhammer Fantasy (earlier rule edition). And the large modular piece is part of my massive Kelly's Heroes game board that I want to finish in 2026 so I can run several modern-era games. That's the dream. Lol. 

Nearly done in the second room. Just have to itemise the two 5-drawer cabinets. I have the Borodino OOB listings so don't need to repeat a count of these fellas. 

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

Vietnam War cards

Pissed with my old ones (crappy design and production method). So spent tonight redoing them. Unable to use the original font (couldn't recall it anyway) as I have changed PCs numerous times. And too lazy to go to the original PC in the studio and download it to an USB stick. The one I've download from the interweb (free) is sufficient. 

Anyway, made a few changes. Namely on how to improve on the original design and production. Found a couple of decent warry images and cropped them to suit my need as the photo below shows. Gone with mono image for the backing because it looks way more cool but stayed with the coloured font on the front with a light grey for background.

This time round I printed the sheets as a photo instead of my original previous method which was the wrong way to do it anyway. The alignment (front and back) took some time and required tweaking but got there eventually after a couple of false starts. Certainly much more efficient and quicker than my earlier dud method. Doing enough cards for the game only, the rest I will do at my leisure. I just need to laminate the cards and crop their corners. And then I'm good to go. No more excuses. Lol.  

PS: Corner cutter does not work well with single laminated paper sheets. Forgot this. Works fine when you double up though. But by the time I realised this I had changed to 10mm corner instead of the preferred 7mm corner cutter. Next series (different backing #2) will remember this.

Compulsory cards used in this game:

• Free World Blind (1)
• Communist Blind (1)
• Free World platoon (1)
• Communist platoon (1)
• Critical Wound (1)
• Fire support Free World (2)
• Fire support Communist (2)
• Fire Authorisation (1)
• Forward Observer Free World (2)
• Forward Observer Communist (1)
• Ammunition shortage (1)
• Di Di Mau (1)
• Time Out (1)
• Big Man - Free World (2)
• Big Man - Communist (1)

Additional cards:

• Medic (1)

Scenario specific cards:

• Civilians Move (1)
• Communist Ruse (1)
• Amoured Bonus Move (1)
• Track Breakdown (1)
• Dust Off (1)
• Mortar Bonus fire - Communist (1)
• Mortar Bonus fire - Free World (1)

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

Finally started the game. As expected, the lead ANZAC APC eventually ran over the buried AT mine. Vehicle was instantly immobilised but apart from that no injuries or casualties or damage were suffered by the crew. Collateral damage? 

Goal for the ANZAC platoon is twofold: make it to the second juncture while clearing the village of any potential VC presence or threat. Village to be base HQ for further and future battalion operations. Any information gained from the locals will be appreciated. 

Meanwhile the NVA goal is simple: cause as much damage to the Free World force before withdrawing back into the jungle (Big Man to decide).

Game began quietly. Initially made some changes to the cards. Removed a couple of cards that don't apply specifically to ANZAC lists like the Medic (only applies to US forces). 

Once the game began, what cards were left worked fine. Unfortunately for the ANZACs the Track Breakdown card kept appearing nearly every turn. In quick succession three of the APCs broke down while the fourth was hit by an RPG knocking it out for good. 

The infantry meanwhile tripped the claymores that were carefully sighted. Fortunately losses were light (although 2 Section lost their leader). Command was ineffective as Lt Sommers (platoon commander) was tied up with questioning one of the locals. This left the individual sections to deal with the situation to their front. 

1 Section got pinned down pretty quick by the AK47-armed VC squad north of the village. Patterson, taking the lead after Markham's APC was knocked out by the AT mine, tried to assist but as they slewed off the road, their vehicle got bogged down and the track fell off. This forced the crew to evacuate and take cover as they too soon came under heavy enemy fire. 

The leaderless 2 Section were also tied down at the start but somehow they got going again, especially after Kneipper's APC was destroyed. Somehow they managed to fire and maneouvre forward to the treeline where the VC were concentrating on the surviving crew sheltering by their destroyed APC. By the time the enemy reacted it was too late: the fired-up Aussies were in amongst them. The close quarter combat was short but brutal. By the end of it, four VC lay dead and the rest scatttered back into the jungle. The Aussies lost one. A relieved Kneipper thanked the infantry for saving them. 

3 Section, which was the reserve, finally got into action when the call came from their platoon commander who had taken cover in the hooch. He was still interrogating (he calls it questioning) the Vietnamese villager. Leading his men carefully, 3 Section moved to the rear of 1 Section and began adding their weight of fire to the ongoing conflict. Even the tankies somehow got their .50 cal operating.

Realising the situation would continue in a stalemate, Lt Delaney, commanding the APCs, advanced to the right of Patterson's disabled vehicle. As he drew level, he suddenly came to cranking halt. The same problem that had troubled Patterson now affected him. Frustrated he told both crews (Markham's crew were riding shotgun) to debus and take cover. 

With the situation indeed becoming a stalemate, Sommers called up air support. It quickly arrived in the form of a Huey gunship. a single Hog. It was directed to the firefight and joined in but not before swerving to avoid the fired RPG. The door gunner was busy in response keeping small-arms AA fire to a minimum. Anyway, the Hog's arrival quickly improved the ANZACs chances as they took out a few of the enemy with their rockets. 

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

Sam our "old man"

Unable to finish the game sooner than hoped because life keeps intruding. 

Our Sam is 16, blind and deaf, and pretty much on his last legs. There is no talk of putting him down as wife is completely devoted to him and his loss would hit her very hard as he's her boy. We're happy for him to go out when he's ready. Just have to make him as comfortable as possible until then. 

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

July Digest #2

Kato

Grandson came over for a short visit today before he heads back to the US to resume his football scholarship. Since the new (US) administration came into power, all visas are being reviewed, as I understand the present situation. And my grandson's initial visa is no exception - so he flew down to Sydney for an interview with the embassy. They asked of him a few questions, namely the reason for wanting to come to the US. He told them why and his response seemed to satisfy them enough for his visa application to be re-approved. I just wonder if it was a mere formality or, as most speculate, they are doing background checks on his social media to see if he's anti-American. Anyway, now he flies back to California but has to do so from Sydney this Friday. His student visa is for six years which I reckon is the remaining two years of high school and four years of college (university) should he get that far. Asked him what does he want to do with his future, and he replied, "Business management." Smart lad. Going to miss him. 

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

Eldritch Horror

Pulled out this boardgame to replay amid the growing recognition that I have so many games and hobby options quietly sitting neglected in my studio. And maybe it's time for another "spring clean of sorts". But more on that later. 

Eldritch Horror is a boardgame acquired back in 2016 when I was contracting out of Sydney. Heard of it through the hobby grapevine but hadn't really warmed to it until I actually purchased it from a store in Parramatta. Began playing it solo and immediately enjoyed the experience. After several playthroughs, I realised I had made a good impulsive buy. 

Tonight however was struggle: remembering how to play it. Reviving the setup was initially time-consuming because I forgot what certain pieces were and their purpose. However, once I found all the pieces (quite a few), and reread how they action, I was ready to go. But I did start playing immediately.

As I am playing it solo I have opted for two characters (for two heads are better than one, so they say) chosen randomly - Jim Oliver (musician) and Trish Scarborough (spy). 

Azathoth will be the Ancient god they will contend with. 

Footnote: Rediscovered an expansion set as well as the original Arkham Horror. All are unopened. Not sure what to do with them at the moment.

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

World of Warship

Currently into Update 14.6 (July). 

Playing out the Bastille Day event (Common missions) - event using only French ships. As well grinding through The Coalface mission tasks using specifed Experimental ships. Which makes for a nice break from the daily Commander upskill grind. 

The only restriction imposed on the Commander upskill grind is that I cannot spend any Free XP because that's needed for resetting the Research Bureau tech tree line. My target is a little over 1.5 million Free XP. Incidentally, the price for Research and Steel ships has just risen so maybe I will go for 2 million instead.

You can obtain Free XP by spending doubloons on excess ship XP. But it's very pricey and not recommended by most. Doubloons can be earned but it's usually pittance so you end up spending real money. Many agree that it's just not worth the effort. So I will keep grinding the slow yet methodical way.

As stated previous post, the new line of US destroyers opens into Early Access which is why Personal Challenge is happening. PC (Personal Challenge) is pretty common in clans. I expect however one will have to fork out money for more American tokens to buy some of these Early Access ships because there's a restriction of the amount of available American tokens through PC - set at 500 for Phase 1; Phase 2 commences in a few days, and what amount is available is unknown. Half interested only because new ships means my ultimate goal of 700+ ships is nearing closer to fruition.

There is also a new German heavy cruiser line coming out I believe though I know nothing of the details surrounding their eventual release. Don't really care to know to be honest; I expect it will be much the same as every other new tech tree line release. Again, half interested because they're new ships to add to the port fleet.

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

Finding these side events (under the Common Missions umbrella) that pop up now and then are a good distraction from the oft-laborious grinds I set myself. For example, played the Bastille Day event, and one of the tasks was to help your team score damage through spotting. Tried a couple of lower tier DDs at first - Aigle and Duchaffault. But I wasn't getting the results expected quick enough. So I switched up to Le Terrible which is a pretty good premium DD. Results immediately improved, and I was able to achieve the goal set pretty quick. 

One of the most difficult grinds in WOWS is for Base XP. It often requires being more aggressive (ie brawling) and taking on enemy ships of a higher ship type (ie DD taking on a BB). In Co-Op battle mode the range and results are consistently low, usually up to 350. Rarely do you go above that figure but you probably need to be carrying the team. You can try other Battle modes such as Operations (although only the max allowed is half your total)

In PC this is easily noticeable when you realise you're never going to get above the first level base set (eg in the present PC, the first level Base XP requirement is 300). The next level of difficulty is 600 which is more likely possible through the other game modes but more tricky in Co-Op because the reward are set low. Forget going beyond Level 1 because it's really difficult unless you play aggressively or else play a more rewarding Battle mode. 

WG like to torment its player base and believe that slow and arduous is the way to go (think salt mines). Plus they set such high amounts required to complete any such task. 

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

Base XP is that figure found in the left column (non-Premium) as shown below. It used to be openly displayed but is now hidden unnoticed among the glitter of your results. The value is normally low when playing Co-Op battle mode.

Yesterday I skipped the routine Commander upskill grind because I wanted to finish off two side missions - Bastille Day and The Coalface. The final tasks required a quantity of Base XP to advance/finish. So I jumped into Operations to speed up the process. Took my time but it was still a long grind - all day, all night, and now closing in on the witching hour (3 am). 

Glad it's done because the Early Access US destroyers starts later on today. Don't want any distractions or loose ends.

The above image shows the disparity between Base XP earned in Co-Op and what's possible in Operations battle mode. That difference increases even more when playing any of the PvP modes - Brawls, Randoms, Ranked, Unbreakable Line.

I did not realise the Tier X Italian cruiser Varese - part of the Experimental ships - has its main guns central instead of the standard fore and aft configuration. Learn something new every day, I suppose. Also, in Operations mode, the bot accuracy increases considerably. Found that out a few times to my detriment. 

Struggled playing the Bourgogne but did okay in the Republique. 

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

New US destroyer line commenced today. They're in Early Access with the final Tier X ship Burrows costing 20,000 doubloons (or @AUD90+). Yeah, easy pass on getting that one. But the other three can be earned using special American event tokens. For instance, the current Battle Pass has a total of 400 on offer. Or you can purchase increments (50 to 100) through Bundles in the Armoury. Which I happily did and outlayed a small amount of cash to top up my current American token stash (that was sitting at 700) so I could obtain the first of the Early Access ships, the Hughes. Played it once: seems okay with its long-range torps and SAP shells. Aiming for the Osborne next but will wait for Phase Two of Personal Challenge to unlock to see what's on offer. Otherwise, it's buy the random bundles to cover the shortfall as a last resort. 

Like most sensible players I will avoid spending that amount of doubloons for Burrows. Only whales will buy Burrows outright. 

Rest of the session (split in two because of life duties) taken up with the daily Commander upskill grind. The more unpleasant part of the session. Luckily I got interrupted by life duties part way through the day.

The evening session resumed yucky. Decided to finish off another phase in Battle Pass in order to grab the coal so I could acquire another Seasoned commander. Needed another 5,000. 9,000 was on offer but the last 3,000 Base XP of the mission task forced me to switch to Operations. Got the amount in three games. And finally got my Seasoned commander. 

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

Today I gambled and won. Got the reward I was aiming for, the Tier VIII French premium battleship Champagne from the French squadron bundles (acquired five). Missed out on it last Christmas (snowflake and Santa crate event) but pleased to have it now. 

The French squadron listed premium ships on offer through these crates I have already except for the Champagne. Figured the odds might fall in my favour. And they did...this time.

Immediately used it for the daily commander upskill grind (formerly ran Honore on Dunkerque B), and it performed better than expected with its 406mm guns, engine boost, and standard main guns configuration of fore and aft. 

Its arrival also allowed me complete the daily Experimental ships grind - obtain a total of 120 Action reports - spread out over the three mission tasks. Previously, I only had two ships available for that task - Seasoned commander George Doe on Anchorage (Tier VIII) and Seasoned commander Michiel de Ruyter on Groningen (Tier IX). With three now it becomes easier. At the same time I also realised not bother with Economic Bonus Ship XP on those ships lower than Tier VII (there are eight in total) primarily to speed up obtaining the three daily loot boxes because I'm running low. 

Did some shuffling those in the reserve - mostly allocating seasoned commanders to significant vessels. Ships like the Mecklenburg now have a Seasoned commander with his special talents. Just need to play it again and grind the commander up to 21 points.   

Next new priority will be to obtain all the remaining Seasoned commanders. Done it already for those costing coal. Those that remain require doubloon outlay - 1500 per commander. 

Seasoned commanders have special skills that rate below that of the few select Legendary or Unique commanders (like Halsey, Lutjens, and others). Seasoned commanders rate above those deemed Special who are thrown up with most special events. These people have no special skills or talents whatsoever. All three, of course, rate above your standard tech line commanders who are only able to be promoted according to the captain skill rating. All tech tree line commanders start at 0 and grind their way up to 21. As they rise in skill, so does their rank. Every now and then, events or rewards will feature a skilled captain higher than 0, ie 3 or 6 or 10 being the more common skill level. 

Getting close to having the required amount to reset a tech tree line (Research Bureau). But with the recent hike in Research points prices, my choices are now more focused. So I am foregoing the Paolo Emilio and aiming instead for either Vampire II (Aussie ship) or Colbert (French cruiser useful for farming). And the Slava (Soviet battleship) which are now all the same price - 62,000 Research points. Depending on how I'm travelling amassing Free XP, I may wait until the end of the year before resetting a line. 

Research Bureau points are difficult to come by in the game. And the only Research Bureau ship I have in six years of this game is the excellent and favoured Tier X US battleship Ohio which cost 62,000 Bureau points. Currently sitting at around 26,000 Bureau points. Needing therefore another 36,000 points before I can go shopping. 

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

Vietnam War - CDS scenario 1

Contemplating adding a twist to this campaign which helps with motivation. Currently doing some research on the Asian lion statues. Learned they are best displayed as a pair - the male on the right with his paw on a ball (dominating the world) and the female on the left with her paw on a cub on its back. 

Well, the two lions I bought are both male. Interesting...

Haven't yet played the scenario because I've been distracted by other life issues. Also lacking motivation even though everything is set up and ready to go. May start tomorrow but you know what they say about tomorrow. 

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

Studio stocktake

Started an inventory stocktake on the studio the other day. Began in the second room. Made a start but only managed to itemise around a third of what's there already. Expect this to take me at till the end of the year. No worries. No pressure. 

Art stuff. Loads of paints and brushes. And painting materials - tools, easels, etc. Several various organiser drawers, containers, boxes. Large storage crates. Bookshelves. Musical equipment. Plenty to keep me occupied albeit pleasantly to be honest because I don't mind doing art cards. 

Will post progress reports as soon as I can. 

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

Paper Models

Starting to get into paper models. Whether it's just a passing interest or something more serious remains to be seen. I will post a few novice beginnings although I have made a few in the past. Problem, as always, is storage. Where and how.

Seen a recent YT video regarding Tom Greenfelder from the US who has been collecting paper models for over 20 years. He has a collection of over 7000 models of all kinds and types. Not a military enthusiast but very inspirational. 

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

Eldritch Horror - solo play

Set this up some a few days back on the formal dinner table, scene of so many large project displays (Borodino project comes to mind). Kept passing it many times since. In the end, I finally sat down last and played to finish through the night. Went to bed around six am. 

As stated in previous posts, setting up took some time as I hadn't played the game in a very long time. Reacquainting myself with the game mechanics took time. But after some lost-look moments in the beginning, I soon got back into the swing of things.

Background: Chose the easiest of the four Ancient gods - Azithoth. Chose to go with two Investigators - Jim Culver (musician) and Trish Scarborough (spy). Set up Jim in the deep south of the US while Trish spawned in eastern Europe (close to Russia).

As the game unfolded, Trish gathered a team of allies around her - a PA (Personal Assistant), a PI (Private Investigator), and Hired Muscle. And she obtained a Lightning Gun that along with .45 automatic pistol meant she wasn't going to have problems combatting monsters. 

Her Influence shot sky-high which was a plus in certain situations but her other skills (Lore especially) were, and stayed, low. She also suffered sanity issues many times when conducting tests. She also experienced problems closing gates (failing tests). 

Gates activated: Arkham (closed by Jum). London (closed by Jim). Istanbul (closed by Trish). Sydney, Shanghai, Buenos Aires, and Tokyo remain open by game's end. 

Rumor tokens played: 2

Rumor tokens solved: 2.

Monsters spawned: 11 or 12 (forget now)

Monsters defeated: 7

Jim's forte proved to be his ability to accumulate clue tokens. At one point he had eight. This proved useful when dealing with certain Mythos cards. And he drew a Blessed condition early on which was a boon when rolling dice (pass on 4,5,6). He also drew a couple of Incantation spells which were never used and eventually lost.

Doom track reached: 1

Mysteries solved: 3. Investigators win the game in a very tight contest. The wins (mystery solved) happened in the last four turns.

Rounds played: 13. 

Moments of note: In Round 2, after drawing the Bermuda Triangle mythos card, both Investigators were plucked from their locations and plonked on the Bermuda space (8). Both Delayed and took a while to get back to their original locations to resume investigations.

In the last round, both reach Tunguska and complete the final mystery to win the game with the Doom track on 1. Nail biter finish.

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

July Digest #1

Grinds Are Often Long and Frustrating

Some days the gaming grind (especially online) can get frustrating, annoying, tedious, time-wasting, and a whole host of other negative emotions. That's why laughter, music, and good food are essential remedies. Along with the loyalty and love of your furkids who never disappoint.  

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

Charlie Don't Surf - Scenario One

The other day popped into a pet store and on the off-chance I found this statuette. Thought it would make a nice addition to my Buddha statuette acquired from a different pet store. Grabbed it without noticing that there was no price listed on the item. And I did not check the shelving to see if the price was shown there. My impulsive mistake. 

Later I went online to check the manufacturer to check what they list the cost of the item. Sadly, the website does not list prices: you must be logged in. Tried to register but found it's for businesses only. So, I have no idea what the true price of the item is. One last thing: the website claims it was made of high quality plastic. Just a quick scan of it refutes that claim as the miniature I now possess is NOT plastic. Be ware.

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

The Eastern Front - a WWII gallery

Came across this website through a random YT video. Quality modelling. Love it.

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

World of Warships

Taking a short break because the daily grind eventually does your head in. Anyway, still logging in and collecting the daily reward for sure. Everything else however is up in the air and dependent on how I'm feeling at the time. 

Next update will 14.6. New ships lines that I don't care about. 

Advance news is that WG's tenth anniversary is going to be a big celebration and possible benefit to the players. According to Sealord Mountbatten (head of the TF clan and noted YT WOW streamer), it's going to be a giveaway event. Several thousand doubloons or steel will be given away; all you have to do is participate. Celebration will commence in August and continue until November (for part) and end of the year (for the other parts). 

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

Avoid at all cost: the latest Wishing Well event. No interest whatsoever in this gambling event. You spend more than you receive in terms of rewards. Also running today is the Bastille Day mission - prize is a Revolutionary maid patch. Wow! The Coalface is a special mission utlising the Experimental ships in your port. No rush to complete as a priority however. Part way through completing.

Continued the commander upskill grind after I found out the Personal Challenge has a limit on the amount of American tokens one can earn - 500. Once you reach that tally, any further progress just rewards you with 10,000 credits. Part 2 commences in a few days though what the reward is I know not, and the Early Access for the new US destroyer line commences Wednesday. Expect to be able to acquire one or two of the Early Access ships first up; the rest, I will have to play for somehow though what form that takes remains unknown to me. And then two Updates later, they're released as tech tree line ships you can grind for free. Sigh.

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

More Naval Wargaming

Ostfront Publishing have just released War By Sails, a naval Age of Sails wargame, that covers the period 1563 to 1812. There is also a "generic" sail period between 1300-1550. 

Ruleset is available as a PDF format through Wargames Vault although you can also obtain either hardcover or softcover versions. 

The YT example game featured a run-through of the game mechanics. Looks promising, and got me interested enough to want to drag out my dust-gathering Napoleonic fleets and crank up the old Kiss Me Hardy game and cruise around some islands for a couple of hours like in those old Sunday matinees. 

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

30th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade, May 1940

Got email notifying me of the last days of the Summer Sale being run. Among the titles listed in the email I noticed one that caught my interest - 30th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade, May 1940. Ho, some of the Dominion troops were involved back then that I hadn't heard of, so I wondered. 

But I was quickly disappointed when consulting a recent source that the 30th was an English formation, a motorised brigade comprising the Queen Victoria's Rifles (a motorcycle Territorial scout unit), two Regular motorised units - the 2nd Battalion of the King's Royal Rifles Corps (the old 60th) and 1st Battalion of the Rifle Brigade. An armoured regiment (3rd Tank regiment) was drafted in to complete the force despatched hurriedly to France. 

This was the 30th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade of May 1940. 

Not the Commonwealth I was expecting. 

But there were Australian connections sprinkled throughout: the commanding officer of the QVR, for one, was Tasmanian-born; the parents of one officer from the Rifles were from Brisbane. And doubtless others, here and there, suggested colonial ties to the mother country.   

However, and it's a big one as far as I'm concerned, this initial dig into fact-finding has opened a whole new can of wormy interest for me. And the story of the sacrifice of the 30th Brigade is proving most intriguing. Maybe it's also worthy of gaming? We shall see. 

Funny sidenote: The use of the term "fog of war" as a euphemism to describe command incompetence is a novel way that's is hilarious yet painful. 

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

Charlie Don't Surf slow-burn campaign

Thus begins the long journey...

Stage One - Lang Dong Nam

For the first scenario I decided to make the scenario a small setup based on the district village of Lang Dong Nam. This meant designing the village itself which I worked out to be around 300 yards square. 

Next, for personal interest reasons, I designed the Firezone map. Each grid square was 1000 yards square and six figured. Why? For fire missions and air support call ups. Just guessing and not based on any historical reality apart from using the old grid square coordinate system I learnt in the Army. 

Once done, I've now created the fictional village of Lang Dong Nam. I had already classified the habitations of my original campaign map (see below) into the following sizes:

• Village/hamlet/hovel - 2000 yds x 2000 yds OR 4 Grid Squares in total
• District village - 3000 yds x 3000 yds OR 9 Grid Squares in total 
  
• District town - 6000 yds x 9000 yds OR 54 Grid Squares in total
• Note: The dimensions represent the limitation of a habitation's total size (area-wise), but NOT the configuration so that district village for example can be two 4-Grid squares and one single Grid square in size. Also, any terrain item (especially dwellings) can be placed outside the habitation zone and does not count as part of that habitation.

Restrictions on buildings per habitation zone

For the purpose of this campaign, I've placed a limit on the number of buildings per habitation zone.

• Level 1 village or hamlet: 1-4 structures (any covered structure)
• Level 2 village: Up to 8 structures
• District town: 9+ structures

What I eventually came up with, after dicing for terrain, is this sketch map done in MS Paint:

The main road north-west passes by the village which consists of just three liveable buildings (hooches), some paddy fields and a few bamboo thickets. The surrounding jungle is typically dense and uncultivated jungle.

At the current scale, this will be played on a 4' x 3' table. 

I'm still going with my fictional ANZAC platoon tasked with sweeping through the village; I have yet to decide which platoon. 

Once the platoon has successfully cleared the village of any perceived hostile threat or intent, the rest of the company will move in and secure the village as the forward base for the upcoming operations. 

The simple question is why take it so slowly or cautiously? Simple answer is narrative. 

Several factors contribute in creating this narrative: 

• (1) the area might appear to be peacefully neutral but it's apparent (from Intel) that many locals sympathise with the VC cause. By making a strong show of force it may dissuade such sentiments from becoming more overt and therefore problematic, 
• (2) little Intel is available on any VC activity in the area. A clearer picture of what are gaps in the Intel overview is essential to better appreciating and understanding the VC,
• (3) the future intention is to set up a major presence in the area politically as well as militarily given the strategic location of the region, 
• (4) the higher ups fear the that the Ho Chi Min trail may spread its invasive tentacles into the region. They may already be infiltrating both arms and personnel but Intel have no idea how, where or who. This operation may go some way to answering those questions. Or so the higher ups believe. 

And so on...

I may be overstating the obvious but a narrative campaign such as the one undertaken requires connection between battles or engagements. Starting from nothing but one's fertile imagination is part of the fun and the ultimate satisfaction derived stems from the links between the first and last battle. 

Reproduced this particular CDS post into the other forum page. Cheers. 

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

Set out village on the table then worked on improving some of the helos.

Working on providing a narrative for the AI enemy - VC. Once done, will set up and play the game. 

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

Scenario development continued

The Overview

Gave some thought as to what would the VC be doing while the Free World are making all these preparation to enter the region. Even though they're largely AI in this campaign, still they needed some direction rather than randomly popping up

Came up with the inital notion that the VC are operating in the area in three distinct "pockets", either disguised (mild mannered peasants by day, super-sneaky VC by night), or hidden within impenetrable terrain only coming out at times to conduct their winning-the-local-population campaign and eliminating those pro-Free World. 

Scenario One

The VC group responsible for this region (south-east on the overview map) already knew where the FF would be arriving and raced to the area with a welcome committee.

Their forces include:

• 1 mortar team 
• 2 full-strength sections armed with RPGs and AK-47s
• 1 command team including 1 Big Man (3), 1 Radio op, 1 sapper, rest are rifle squaddies armed with RPGs and bolt-action rifles

The road itself is quickly AT mined (ingress and egress) although this information is unknown to the FF. Claymores also set up. 

For the FF, I'm selecting 2 Platoon from A Company. Big Man is Lt. Mike Sommers (AUS) = 3. Unit will be mounted on APCs led by Lt Mike Delaney (AUS) = 3. The troops will debus at the the road junction and sweep through on foot. 1 section will lead the way into the village while 2 section will sweep south of the bypass road. 3 section will follow 1 section. Platoon HQ will be between 1 and 3 sections. 

One APC will take the bypass route in support of 2 section while one APC will follow the sweep through the village. Delaney and the remaining APC will be the reserve. 

On-call will artillery support (4 Fire Zones nominated) and a solitary Huey from Flight B, 65 Squadron will be on standby as dustoff and air cover. 

Intel expects nothing more than surprised glances from the villagers as recent reports state the area is clear of enemy and is neutral. 

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

More Ornaments

So my wife and I visited the local pet store and somehow I ended buying these...

Buy 1, get 1 for half price. Too good to pass up. Some repainting required I suppose...or not.

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