August Digest #4

Vietnam War slow-grow campaign

Riverine Operations Part 1

Backstory

While the ANZACs at Dong Lam are conducting their sweep Operation Black Bottle is beginning - a riverine sweep up the Song Hoa river as far as the Hong Lee bridge. For this phase three companies from the 54th U.S. Infantry (A, B, D), 9th Division, would make their way upriver to secure the bridge and road from Ap Trang as well as the eastern bank opposite to where the Suoi Trang creek emerged into the Song Hoa (see map below). 

The grey areas denote cleared cultivation or clusters of huts; everything else unless stated is natural vegetation and mostly uninhabited. I've also given them names for ease of identification. And bear no relations to actual or historical locations. 

The old colonial plantation is a functioning rubber tree estate that covers a greater extent than the grey footprint shows. This footprint is a collection of buildings and structures. The plantation borders the Hong Le bridge road to the east, as far north as the two locations Ca Khoc and Co Lac to the north and to the map edges west and south. To the locals it's simply known as the plantation or Don Dien. The plantation owners are absentee French who've returned to France back in the fifties and left caretakers in charge. The estate is now run by a descendant who has assimilated into Vietnamese society with a Vietnamese wife and offspring. 

Hugging the waterways on both sides are various local fishing communities who sell their catch either at Ca Bong or in Vuon Hoa itself. 

The hamlet of Ap Mo straddles the main highway. Ap Mo itself consists of just three old colonial-style buildings of which one is a mercantile store owned by a French-Vietnamese relative of the plantation overseer. There is also a small hotel often busy with locals and travellers. The last structure is an old warehouse. 

Subsidiary roads and tracks commonly used is shown. These connect the various communities. There is also a ferry boat (of sorts) operating on the Suoi Trang stream used mainly by those in and around Noi Buon. 

Beyond the fishing areas, on the northern banks heading toward Thuoc Toi, is mostly overgrown secondary growth interspersed with thick stands of ever plentiful bamboo. West of Thuoc Toi are small holdings, usually family owned rice fields with a few orchard trees. The eastern third of the above map from the river north and inclusive of Ap Mo is largely undulating and hilly jungle.

Battle Plan overview

This overview takes into account that multiple actions will take place en route to the battle group's main objective. For now however these inevitable engagements will be treated separately to this main mission. For the sake of this narrative let's accept that the river journey was uneventful and without incident up until their deployment.

This mission will be broken into three separate sub-mission (one per company). 

U.S. Forces listing

Note: I don't have the full amount of figures to cover all three companies at one go so I'm going to run this scenario in several stages as I expect there will be several engagements happening all at once upon deployment. 

Here's the full listing of those that will take part in this next mission. Names have been ficitionalised to protect the past. I've also listed four rifle platoons because that fourth one is either optional or support weapons. 

• A Company
  
• OC - Major Donald
• 21C - Captain Eissen
• 1st Platoon - Lt Castillas
• 2nd Platoon - Lt Byrd
• 3rd Platoon - Lt Seldwayer
• 4th Platoon - Lt Rowley
• B Company
• OC - Major Schuler
• 2IC - Captain Morales
• 1st Platoon - Lt Camsolea
• 2nd Platoon - Lt Burnside
• 3rd Platoon - Lt Carson
• 4th Platoon - Lt Myers
• D Company
• OC - Major Zollerfeldt
• 2IC - Captain Clarke
• 1st Platoon - Lt Dawes
• 2nd Platoon - Lt Schaeffer
• 3rd Platoon - Lt Smith
• 4th Platoon - Lt Cyzinksi
• Team 1 River force
• Commander - Lt Petersen (naval)
• Monitor
• Tango
• Tango
• Tango
• Monitor
• Team 2 River force
• Commander - Lt Delweere (naval)
• Monitor
• Tango
• Tango
• Command
• Monitor

Battle Plan Company-level

A Company's main mission is twofold: (1) to land then sweep through and secure Ca Bong and (2) conduct patrols south to the river crossing to Noi Buon. HQ in Ca Bong. Team 2 (Delweere) will initially support the landing of A Company before moving  on to the bridge to provide fire support for B Company. 

D Company's mission is mainly to secure control of Hong Lee bridge. Once A Company has secured control of Ca Bong, B Company will land and push through to the bridge. Aim is to secure control of the bridge and the road south of it. Establish headquarters at the Plantation. Patrol as far north as Ca Khoc. D Company will air support available to them as well as artillery on-call. Fire zones have been prepared and authorisation given. 

B Company's mission will be to land at Diem Xanh and make for Thuoc Toi establishing a headquarters there. In support initially will be Team 1 under Lt Petersen. Once B Company are moving on to Thuoc Toi Petersen's team will restation themselves with A Company as fire support and as a reserve to Team 2. B Company have on-call both artillery and air support that have been duly authorised. 

Key Objectives pertaining to the main Battle Plan

• establish and secure control of Ca Bong
• secure control of Hong Lee bridge
• establish and secure control of Thuoc Toi

Key objectives are worth 2 points each. Secondary objectives are worth 1 point apiece. Scoring less that six points is a loss. Any score between six and eight points is a minor win. Scoring nine or more points is a major win for the Free World. 

Secondary Objectives (1 pt each)

• VC losing over thirty percent of their total force committed to this mission by way of combat
• Finding five or more caches of any kind
• Discovering and destroying any tunnel system
• Discovering any enemy encampment
• Finding valuable military documentation
• Capturing any enemy VC alive
• Destroying any enemy armour (APCs and tanks) and soft-skin transports

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Mission Three: The SAS operations around Lang Bac

This mission revolves around a ANZAC Special Forces squad with the backstory inspired from several actual Special Forces events and stories I've heard in my travels combined into one imaginative extract. For now, this is all I have created. More to follow for sure. 

Backstory

This is a work of fiction...

"...It's been several days now since their night insertion and long walk-in. The smell of the jungle was becoming acceptable to Trooper B, lead scout for the ANZAC SAS team. Captain R had briefed them on the ambush and they had quietly but quickly moved into position. Trooper B and Trooper K were at the one end of the linear ambush. Paired together, barely inches apart, they lay on the ground ignoring the warm dampness of the humid night and the growing night sounds. Trooper B checked the clacker once more knowing that it was ready. He checked the safety was off. It was. He imagined the wires carefully leading to the triplet of claymores positioned just yards from the track. 

The rest of the team were off to the right in similar readiness. He carefully rubbed the sweat with his camo scarf. He ignored the growing stiffness in his body. The sound of the jungle was a familiar song to him now. The luminescent glow of the fungus speckled the darkness which seemed to him utterly amazing. 

Suddenly he felt a soft but distinct tap-tap-tap on his left side. He quickly shook the pleasant thoughts of a moment ago and immediately concentrated on the firing arc he had chosen before it fell dark. Then he heard it. The slight scuffle of footsteps distant, off to his left. Faint at first but drawing closer. Something was on the track. He could not see at all: it was too dark. He tried to discern the step patterns instead but couldn't make them out amidst the night symphony of insect sounds. 

The steps became clearer however. He turned his head slightly in the direction he guessed them to be. Whoever was making those steps was pretty good at moving around in this inky darkness. Then it stopped. He waited. He was immediately tempted to trigger the claymores. 

Another tap-tap. 

A signal by Trooper K to wait. So he did. The steps began again moving slowly off to their right. Moving down the track. He listened. No other steps were heard. 

Suddenly a trip wire flare went off.

Automatically he squeezed his clacker. The explosions were as sudden as they were loud. The illumination was blinding. Trooper K was already firing. Trooper B joined him. 

Both quickly expended magazine and had fresh ones already loaded. Rounds chambered. They waited amid the sudden deafness. Then there was a hand on his shoulder. He understood immediately and quickly rose to a knee, turned around and reached out for the vine line that lay not far away, stood up and slowly but surely followed it into the darkness. 

At the predetermined RV spot they waited for the rest of the team. A quick count. Then the team moved off. Back into the jungle. Back into the darkness..."

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Hobby

Did some more Blinds and support fire blast squares today. Tried another approach to gluing the two halves of the Blind by first taping the back with sellotape before applying the wood glue to the front and using a spatula to work the glue into the gaps between the two halves. Once dried will prime then paint in their respective faction colours - red for VC/NVA, yellow for ARVN, green for Free World. 

For the 6" blast squares I did something similar using the end off-cuts as braces on the corners before gluing. Once dried, I trimmed the braces then applied a black primer coat. Base coat will either be grey or some other neutral colour.  

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World of Warships

Took a break from the normal skipper grind and played instead those ships with new or switched commanders. Fair few and it was fun to play ships I haven't played either in a while or only once. Highlights would have to be delight in playing Gambia and Nanning. 

While my teammates raced after the enemy I was left to defend our base in the Gambia against three enemy ships, Dallas, Duncan and Sinop. I had less than 1/4 HP left. Lucky for me these were bot-driven. Still, I could have done with some assistance especially from the a*hole who kept pressing "Defend the base" whilst chasing after the enemy carrier at the other end of the map. In a moment of relief, I typed "nz". At the time I was also remembering what Rommel claimed to have said about the ANZACs during WW2, how he would attack with Australians and defend with New Zealanders. I guess I was living the dream. Lol. 

Pleasantly surprised by the Nanning and its two five-torpedo tubes armament and range. This Legacy event reward has smoke while its guns deals useful damage especially after torping the target. Like putting someone out of their misery. 

Also forgot I had plonked my Santa commanders from past Christmas events on most of the Tier One ships. Forgot also how slow they are. But it did help me to focus dealing damage when confronting an opponent. Aiming below the gunwale might be standard at higher tiers (because of the citadel location) but at Tier One aiming for the superstructure is the best way to deal damage and earns kills quicker. No matter which cruiser, the results are the same. 

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August Digest #3

World of Warships

Yeah...tonight I bought the remaining four superships - Ushakov, Novobisirsk, Piemonte and Darlana listed in the current tech tree line. Of course, there are other "superships"/OP ships out there but they're behind the Steel or Research Bureau pay wall which for now are outside of my skinflint reach. 

Thought to bring in my own commanders for these acquisitions but the cost in Elite Commander XP was too much and so it was a no. The option of acquiring a new commander with the ship would have cost several million credits which seemed excessive. I can accept the ship cost but not the commander when the skill level is the same across the board whether he's Tier I or he's a Supership skipper. I might feel generous at times but not to that extent; and I was only ever after the ships to begin with. It was unnecessary expense anyway given I hardly ever play superships except on that very very rare occasions: and you can play any ship without a commander. Finally, I am, and remain, a collector at heart. 

After that expenditure I still have more than enough credits to start earning Research Bureau points through a tech tree line reset. Standard procedure, from others who've done this previously, is to go for the cheapest reset which happens to be the Harugumo line. 

But for now though I'm holding off. Whenever I dither or hesitate, it's usually for a reason. Not sure why although I suspect after being skint for much of my early WOWS experience, I now want a comfortable buffer (credits, Free XP, Elite Cmdr XP and so on) so that any expenditure is not going to leave me a pauper to the game. The irony is not lost on me either having on numerous occasions whaled my way when I coveted something so much I had to have it. Lol. 

Anyway, spur-of-the-moment decisions (such as tonight's four ship acquisition) only ever happen after much mulling over. Which can last for day, weeks, even months. 

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Late afternoon session turned out a bit different from the usual grind. 

Wanted the buy a steel ship but was torn between Shikishima (forever a long time goal) and Svea (a recent addition to the steel ships collection). It was a toss up but eventual settled on the latter. But the way I acquired it was the "fun" aspect for me. 

Exchanged what voyage tokens I had recently accumulated (4000 so far) for steel in order to increase my current accumulation (around 23k). I also wanted to take advantage of a specific 25% discount coupon. But I was short just under 500 steel. So I bought phases in the current Event Pass in order to obtain 600 steel. And so I was able to obtain the Svea after all. 

Last night I happened across a new (to me) YouTube WOWS streamer who went into great detail on how to be more efficient using the Research Bureau. While he waffled on at times (voice making me sleepy), he did cover the essentials and explained the advanced techniques used. As such, I've since had to revise the amount of Free XP I will need. The video inspired me to do a triple double reset. Hence the need to have enough Free XP to cover this new requirement (I was planning to do just a double double reset).

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New chapter in the Operations - Tokyo Express - commenced today. As such different ships and different style of mission play. Managed again to prove fortunate with teammates who both understood and played to the mission. And thus managed - again - to complete all the chapters in the one day. Started out on the Anchorage but wasn't having much success so switched to the San Diego (yes, the same ship that's offered as reward for completing this series of new Op missions). And then finished the last few chapters on the Massachussetts and North Carolina CLR.

To top out what appeared to be a "glorious day" for me I also completed the six tasks in the second mission of the Dockyard Event and collected the rewards. In doing so I passed the point-of-no-return by completing the sixth phase meaning the 6-phase discount bundle is no longer available. From here on out to the final end it's grind, grind, grind. Fortunately the mission tasks don't seem all that difficult, just time consuming. Especially ginding out the BASE XP ones.

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I've learned to play and am mastering interior lines, a well-known military concept. Especially in slower or weaker ships. Instead of being static and hiding behind an island (still useful when engaging multiple enemies aka farming) I will move along with the flow but hang back far enough to not get focused. The advantage of playing interior lines is the shorter distance to travel from Point A and Point B while still targeting the enemy with those travelling from Point C and Point D. 

Think of it as two circles, one within the other. I'm riding the circumference of the inner circle whereas my teammates will be riding the outer circle circumference. They travel further than me but we're both engaging the enemy beyond. And in a slow battleship with 18" guns, your reach compensates for your slower speed. 

Napoleon used it throughout his career. It has been around since the ancient times. I've simply adapted it to a developing WOWS play style by someone who's mediocre to average as a player. 

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Advantage of having a spreadsheet is being able to see emerging patterns and thus plan ahead. 

Noticed some ships have either not been played or played just once. Those unplayed unclude recent additions to the port fleet like Svea (steel ship) and Nanning (earned from a previous Update event). Others however have been around for a while such as some of the superships: I've used placeholders for the time been thus going cheap (retraining for free requiring obtaining a certain amount of commander XP - usually 12,500). Of course, I haven't found time to play these expensive additions. And the cost in credits and economic bonuses is usually very high unless you have an abundant amount.  

Coupled with that, some ships have also not advanced their captain skill level beyond 6% commander XP. Tomorrow and thereafter, when there's a lull or I don't feel like doing my captain upskill grind, I will switch over to playing those captains. 

Once the current crop of ship captains are upskilled to 21 point (probably around 2026 at the rate I'm travelling), I will begin with the next crew. Mainly those that are 15- and 16-pt level. 

Today I also re-assigned ship captains from the Reserve. I know some advocate having few captains and I tried following that system for a while but in the end I decided to go my own way. Began shuffling around ship captains around too to best combine both ship and captain accordingly, especially the Seasoned ones.

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Star Wars

After yesterday's surprise encounter with X-Wing (thanks Simon), I did a quick search and discovered the game is considered dead officially. I had already known that the original designers, FFG, had ceased production but I didn't know that others had bought a license to continue producing. There have been updates and new stuff but as far as new developments or upgrades, that's no longer happening. Not that it's such a bad thing although it is sad. 

If something works and you enjoy it as-is, why try to improve on it? And that's how I see my small dedicated collection. All version 1 stuff with core sets and expansion waves. 

Playing it again got me excited again. Or maybe it was the playing against a live opponent once again that excited me rather than the game. I suspect this is more the case than I care to openly admit.  

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Vietnam War slow-grow campaign

Finish the condensed rule writeup. Proof read and then printed out. Still to redo version 2 of the cards but for now happy with my first draft cards.

To recap, at the end of Turn 8, the following outcomes had been decided:

• All the ANZAC APCs have been unlucky and immobilised with one (Kneiper) actually knocked out by an RPG. Patterson's and Delaney's turret guns are still operable and helping to keep the enemy VC pinned down to the north of the village.
• ANZAC KIA so far: 2 troopies (1 each from 1 and 2 sections) and 1 tankie (unfortunate driver of Cpl Kneiper's APC)
• Information sought from the villagers proves fruitless upon first encounter by the platoon commander, Lt Mike Sommers.
• As such no objectives achieved thus far.

For the VC, the situation isn't exactly as planned either...

• The traps laid enjoyed mixed success. The AT mine struck its intended target, the lead APC. But claymores were less effective with half detonating but causing no casualties. 
• VC KIA: 3 to the north, 2 to the south due to fire and combat with the ANZACs
• Partial success in neutralising the mounted threat (APCs) but lost the south sector. But they still have the mortars and command squad (still hidden). Remaining infantry squad barely hanging on. 

Engagement at Dong Lam - Part Two

This proved short and sweet. And, in the end, a great letdown.

The only turn (Turn 9) saw the ANZAC platoon activate early this time round. The armoured carrier personnel under Delaney's Big Man card eventually took part, but when they did they did so decisively. For it was the APC gunner with the .50 cal that blasted the remnants of the VC squad pinning down the ANZACs there into oblivion. It was a total wipeout.

Too late to help the squad, the VC commander decision was made up when the Di Di Mau card turned up. 

While the VC infantry squad in the north was being blasted into oblivion, the VC mortar team on the south side tried to get involved. They spotted the retiring ANZAC infantry squad still in the open. However, like their previous efforts, their aim was way off. And that's when they too decided to skoot away on the Di Di Mau card reveal.

This left the ANZAC force now in command of an empty combat zone. 

During the firefight Lt Sommers and his headquarters team sheltering in the hooch suddenly discovered a weapons cache. The occupant pleaded innocence but the platoon commander was unconvinced. 

After the battle he resumed his sweep of led now by 3 Section. He detailed 2 Section to watch the south as well as backup to 3 Section. Meanwhile 1 Section were despatched to collect the dead of both sides and search for anything else of useful value. 

The other villagers proved reluctant or ignorant upon questioning. And nothing was found - no cache, no tunnel. 

1 Section recovery mission proved eventful and productive. They found what bodies were there and searched them. They also found a food cache not far from 2 Section's melee. Surprisingly they also came across a local villager imprisoned by the VC in the same location. He turned out to be the headman of the village. He was grateful upon release and showed them where the fleeing VC had left a stash of military-looking papers. 

Unfortunately as they were making their way back to the platoon one of their own set off a booby trap while carting a dead body and died instantly.

The dismounted APC crews salvaged what they could after realising they needed a recovery team. One of the .50 cal was kept on the APC as overwatch toward the north. 

Meanwhile Lt Delaney and the remainder of the tankies found themselves foot patrolling the northern village road as far as the crossroads located northwest of the village. There they discovered the second AT mine, marked it for the peons (assault pioneers) to neutralise, and then returned to the village by the southern bypass road where they happened upon 1 section and helped them out with the dead bodies. 

The mopping up operation took the rest of that day by which time the rest of the company showed up and both officers made their respective reports. Sommers was praised while Delaney was questioned about losing all his troop. 

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Post-battle analysis and commentary

1. Ideally I should have played the game right through from start to end. No break in the middle. 
2. Some tactical errors were made on my part as the ANZAC player in that:
1. I should never have split the command the way I did with Two section (and APC) on their own; at least one other APC should have gone along as backup/support.
2. perhaps left the questioning and hoochie searching until after the area was secured, NOT while a firefight was happening where Lt Sommer's command presence was needed. 
3. One and Three sections should have conducted the village sweep together. One section's APC and Delaney's APC would have provided support. 
3. The CDS rules in its basic form is still not working for me. The condensed version I created still needs further editing and reorganising. 

When is a Blind not a Blind? And the obvious answer is obvious. The issue I now realise is that Blinds as a concept has been designed by someone who is catering to live players. And probably not the approach a solo gamer might take. Although you can never really know with wargamers. 

Interpreting that concept as a way to describe "fog of war" can be misleading because one then associates Blinds with "fog of war". And I struggled to understand that intent for a while. Until now.  

The concept of Blinds itself is nothing new; it's just another approach clothed in different wording. But it's no different to a solo player using pre-set conditions to govern actions in a game. In fact you might say solo wargamers have been using "Blinds" ever since solo gaming has been around. 

With that confusion cleared up in my head, Blinds now no longer bother me for I will treat them now from a solo gamer's perspective. 

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Last night whilst doing research for the next mission, I happened across an interesting source reference. It covered the "brown water" navy well enough for me to gain ideas for the next mission. It's a book by John Darrell SHERWOOD, War In The Shallows: U.S. Naval, Coastal and Riverine Warfare In Vietnam 1965-1968. The title is in public domain (meaning you can download the PDF copy online for free if so inclined). 

It covers that important period from 1965 up to the 1968 Tet Offensive. I found it interesting if slanted heavily regarding how well American fighting forces are or were in those times. The author seemed critical of the Vietnamese naval personnel especially after the murder of one of their most brightest leaders during the coup of 1963. He believes the quality of the naval leaders and the VNN thereafter suffered after the coup with replacements being young and of lower quality despite the training provided by the Americans.

The book concentrates on the riverine operations (notably around the Mekong Delta). The vital role performed by the oft-outnumbered Navy SEALs showed how elite they were and the impact they had wherever they operated. I want to replicate in one of the future missions. 

The index while short is useful. The titles listed favoured more the "blue (open water)" and "green water (coastal)" operations with riverine (or "brown water") operations generally consigned as a footnote to the overall conduct of U.S. naval operations in Vietnam. 

Yet the river rats saw much action and suffered sizeable losses; their contribution proved valuable and appreciated at the higher levels as well as with the locals they were trying to win over. Why else would the U.S. invest so much manpower and resources during this period. The same couldn't be said for the Vietnamese equivalent who lacked both resources and equipment as well as a general malaise with their command structure. 

Seeing the pictures in the book got me interested even more in the period. And it has even inspired me to try to construct (scratchbuild) some APBs needed for my riverine force. Hunting for blueprints and deciding on what to build them out of are my current concern. 

I do have a few hardcopy reference materials of my own pertaining to the period which should also contribute to generating further ideas for other future missions. But for now, I'm working on the next three missions of which the next one will be riverine. Cheers.

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August digest #2

World of Warships

As arduous and tedious the grind may be, I will hold off on a final decision to fork out the 17,500 doubloons for both discounted phases bundles for the Dockyard Event. 

There are seven weekly missions in total with this Dockyard event. Already completed two phases of the first week's mission set. Should finish another two tomorrow leaving me just two to grind  through to next Wednesday.

The first of the new Operation missions began today. Arctic Convoy consists of twelve stages with a 10-point commander as final reward. Advancing through the stages costs stars earned (usually six per stage). Victory or Defeat is really irrelevant as it's the stars that matter most: get enough to complete the stage and advance on to the next one. Once you've completed all twelve stages, if you want to continue playing, there is a bonus round where the prize are couple of signal crates. 

The next phase - Tokyo Express - begins next week. Managed to finish the Arctic Convoy stage pretty quickly (almost too easily I think but maybe it's because I was playing with those who understood the mission brief). And now I can return to my regular commander upskill grind. 

A new collection is also unlocked that is running in conjunction with these new Operation missions. The new collection consists of sixteen tiles divided up into four pages. These tiles are earned as rewards through playing the Operations missions. Completing a page of four tiles rewards with one free Premium day. Completing the collection rewards you with three Premium days. Wow!

Also got my 500 Voyager and 2 GQ Johnny tokens for today's participation as mentioned in the News notification and WOWS Development blog. Going to hold on to the Voyager tokens earned for now because I'm unsure whether to go for all-doubloons or all-steel or a combination of both. Liking the latter idea at the moment but it depends on what tickles my fancy down the track. 

Another new Event Pass began today. Only one ship reward (have it already so expecting a massive credit compensation) is being offered at the mid-point of the event. Sadly there is no ship as the final reward, a trend I hope doesn't become the norm but this is WG after all. Will likely unlock the second level in a few days because I'm happy to spend and collect the extra steel and Elite Commander XP on offer for now. Every little bit helps this particular small-time gambler. 

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After the hectic action of the start of Update 14.7 yesterday, it's back to the usual grinding routine although I did include added battleships in order to complete the last task in the Dockyard Event first week's missions. 

Did decide to buy the 2 phases bundle pack for 5,000 dubs. It was kind of forced on me because the event rules stipulate that you cannot acquire the final reward (Laffey) without paying for two phases with doubloons. In fact, it's any two phases. Figured therefore to do it by buying the discounted bundle instead of spending 6,000 normally (one phase costs 3,000 dubs). A saving of 1,000 dubs is worth it for this skintflint.

Not now going with the six phase bundle; why throw 12,500 dubs away needlessly when you can hoard for other spending opportunities? Happy to grind the remaining six weeks. Having done multiple all-nighters and sometimes even all-nighters and most of the next day over the past six years, I am now accustomed to such long grinding sessions.   

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Today (Sunday), for a lark and as a bonus from today's short grind, I took the San Diego out for a quick run to blow off any cobwebs. No desire other than to re-familiarise myself with this ship ever since I got her in December 2022 as part of the Santa crates. She has a bit of mileage on her since that time, 88,000 plus ship XP. She also happens to be one of the reward for one of the events (compensation is several thousand dubs if you already have her) active throughout this current Update.

In the games I forgot how squishy she is. First game ran into the Duncan. It had fired its torp; too late to evade, I took it. And died. Kaboom.

After that episode I decided to play her cautiously, ie hiding behind island and spamming when I could. She's got hydro, firing boost, AA, torps, and air strike. But at only around 27,000 HP she is very vulnerable. HE is really SAP. Got lots of guns - ten - so her firepower is nothing to sneeze at. But the 11,000 dubs as compensation will come in handy down the track. 

Ended up splurging (reluctantly) buying ten War is Ended premium crates and then traded in Victory tokens (from the premium crates) for another seven normal War is Ended crates. 

Boosted my Free XP stash so that now I can reset a line via the Research Bureau (will be my first time ever). And the Elite Cmdr XP got some healthy infusion. Loads of Blues and Greens economic bonuses. And permanent camo. I guess the prize though was obtaining the Tier VII Royal Sovereign. Saw a couple earlier in the Arctic Convoy Operations.  

Ship-wise, looking at the Svea as potentially my next steel ship. Just need another 6000 Voyage tokens. Also contemplating spending credits to obtain the two Russian superships Ushakov and Novosibirsk as well as the Italian supercruiser Piemonte. Maybe even the European Dalarma. But I await the outcome of my first Research Bureau line reset. 

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Vietnam War slow-grow campaign

Still working on rewriting out an abridged version of the core ruleset. Hope to have something more condensed by the end of this weekend. I'll need a couple of extra days to do the proofing, editing and then final print out. A further incentive (for me) will be updating the current card set (version 2). Size and material are the main reasons why. 

Once satisfied, only then will I return to finish off the first scenario. 

All the while, and at the same time, I am continually generating news ideas and scenarios for this campaign. Already planning to involve my small riverine fleet in the next mission. It will likely involve dropping off an advance party ahead of a main follow up force and seeing what happens.  

The troops aboard the Tango boats will either be US or ARVN Marines. Leaning towards playing US because of their strong firepower and greater support available. But I won't rule out playing the ARVN as I don't want to ignore them or treat them as subordinate to the other Free World nations. 

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Star Wars: X Wing

A gaming buddy texted me for a game this weekend. His choice and call. My place and toys. Have not touched or played this game in a very very long time. Had to rely much on the Force for motivation although the hot chocolate maybe helped with the memory jogging. Anyway, this is how it went. 

We chose to play it simple. First game was three on three: TIE (me) vs X-wing (opponent).

My two best (higher skilled) pilots took on the lone X-wing ace while my remaining pilot tackled the two Rebellion rookies. Things didn't go as well as intended as the X-wings proved more sturdy under fire. Plus the dice rolls favoured my opponent. Although I have to admit my opponent's superior playing tactics helped him win the first game. My lone TIE fighter tried his best but was unable to defeat the remaining two X-Wings. 

Game 2 saw us swap ships and replay same mission, such as it was. My X-Wings this time chose to fly in formation. Got a lucky start when one of the TIE fighters chose to use the obstacle field as a way to sneak around. Unfortunately he snuck right into my firing LOS and died.

The remaining two TIE fighters chose to barrel roll their way around the formation flying. It was a moderately successful tactic but the rookies weren't buying it as they stayed tight throughout. However their flight leader somehow chose to ignore his own instruction and soon became isolated which suited the remaining TIE ace who took multiple opportunities to whittle down the X wing defences until it exploded. 

But in that moment of success for the Imperium, the rookies struck for the Rebellion and exacted fatal retribution on the TIE fighter. 

Honours even therefore. Fun afternoon. Thanks to my opponent for showing up and providing a break from solo wargaming.

Next meetup (whenever that might be) will be a game of Eldritch Horror. Can we co-op our way to success and defeat the Old Gods? Or will Time run out and we perish in a nightmare hell of our own devising?

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August digest #1

New month. New hopes. Same old dreams...

World of Warships

Watched a well-known WOWS player & streamer from Germany on YT yesterday. It was a hilarious game where he was in the A. Nevsky, a Tier X Russian cruiser with awesome AP. Anyway, he went up one flank and before he knew it he was only one of three left. He managed to sink two enemy before the game was over.

A. Nevsky is one of the first Tier Xs I ever earned back in 2020. Played it back then and it was indeed impressive. Overshadowed nowadays by the release of Moskva and Stalingrad. But it's not to be sneezed with its deadly AP and radar. Park her behind an island and watch her do her stuff. Squishy like all cruisers. Bypassed much these days by newer more powerful ships but still one of my favourites. However sitting in port gathering rust and barnacles. And often banned from certain competitive modes.

Tempted to take out some of my potent Tier X port princesses after watching the above. Having completed every tech tree line surface ship a few year back.

Avoiding the Blue Archive event like the flu. Done  as far as I want with the new US destroyer line in Early Access. Will wait to pick up the last two ships Christoper and Burrows when they unlock them from EA. By then people will have figured them out. And moved on to the next "best thing". 

Just waiting on the release of Update 14.7 in a couple of weeks. Until then, I will grind my skippers as best I can unless something new comes along to entice my interest. Which WG will no doubt be planning. 

Heard from another YT gamer-streamer that the game is finally getting a new map. Not sure what he mean by new though unless he means it's been a while since the release of both Seychelles (2023) and Faroes Islands (2021). Two years might seem a long time ago to many especially given the short attention that is modern times? I don't know how to respond to this news to be honest. Numb? Don't care?

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Logged in yesterday afternoon to find a new mission under Common Mission. Entitled Journey to the West, this is WG recycling Pan-Asian premium ships behind a paywall which is available through the Armoury. But the Common Mission event enables one to earn those JTTW crates for free by undertaking seven mission tasks. Completing each mission task rewards you with one standard JTTW crate. The end reward however is choice of one Premium JTTW crate or ten standard JTTW crates. Not too hard to figure out what I'd be gunning for. 

I wasn't expecting to play the entire mission out in one single straight grind however. Yet that's what happened after I had finished the fourth mission task.

 

If I was gambling on the odds being in my favour, I was disappointed. For upon opening the seventeen crates there was no ship reward. Got needed and appreciated resources - economic bonuses, Free XP and so on. But no ship. Was hoping to get the Wukong specifically but no go. Oh well, there's always the snowflake/Santa crates event in December.  

Some of the mission tasks are quite easy. For the 6000 ribbons task, I just played the Groningen with auto cannons. This Little Lucifer fire starter averages between 150-300 ribbons per game. And it wasn't long before I had completed the task. 

For the 16 spotted ribbons task, I simply jumped on a carrier which is an excellent vessel for spotting. I was averaging four-five spottings per game. 

With the citadel mission task I did not read it correctly as the task involved scoring citadel hits and/or torpedo strikes. Played the Yahagi on that one however so it was okay. 

For the win X number of games quota mission task, I almost lost one game because my teammates were dying and I was left with just two players in very slow battleships - the New York and the New Mexico - both of whom were seemingly running away from the fight. At the time I was too busy trying to evade a pursuing battlecruiser Renown slowly whittling down my already-low health. There were three of us versus three of them. At this point I felt like tossing it in and respawning into a new game, but I stayed the course and kept weaving and zig-zagging while returning fire. Then I checked again and suddenly saw that only the enemy Renown was left; apparently my two teammates actually contributed. And we won out eventually. Close run thing there. Have faith in your teammates, I guess. And, never say die.

The 60,000 commander XP mission task simply required using the Blue Economic bonuses. Quickly reached the goal. 

Finished the grind around 6 am this morning. Word of caution: if you desperately want any of the Pan-Asian premium ships on offer (Bajie, Wujing, Wukong, Sanzang), go for it. Spend your dosh. Otherwise, if you don't want to spend money you can play the JTTW mission for free and pray the dice rolls your way. Failing that you can always wait for Christmas. 

Upshot is I'm closer to resetting a Research Bureau line but may wait until before Christmas...see how much Free XP I can accumulate between now and December. Two million does not seem such a tough ask. Three million at a stretch, perhaps? Wait and see down the track. 

Looking forward the start of the events in Update 14.7. Free steel or doubloons is nothing to sneer at. Planning on going for the doubloons to improve my chances with the Santa crates. Small-time gambler here signing off for now. Smooth sailing and calm waters.

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Logged in this evening after resting up from all-nighter binge to find WG recognising my six years of devotion with a small reward: 3 White permanent explosion effect, 140 grey Economic bonuses, and a 6-year patch. They also provided a special discount coupon which I couldn't distinguish from the others in the Armoury so didn't care too much.

Also remembered to start stocking up on doubloons for the Upcoming Dockyard event with the US historical destroyer Laffey as final reward. Saw a YT CC (Community Contributor) and streamer post the process for obtaining the Laffey on his CC press account. Anyway, you need at least 18,000 doubloons to fast-track several phases. Also noticed on his video there is no halfway reward which is usually a ship. Laffey is the one and only reward. But the price for the phases has increased. Is it worth obtaining though? Close to AUD80 for the prize; you still have to grind the remaining twelve phases however! 

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Update 14.7 happening tomorrow (Wednesday as I write this entry). Planning on purchasing the discounted phases bundles (there are two of them) in order to fast track the Dockyard event to obtain the Laffey. Going to cost 17,500 doubloons in total. 

Still debating whether to follow through on the plan though as it's still possible to complete the long grind without purchasing the discounted 8 phases, thus saving the doubloons for Christmas. 

In Operations, there is a new event - In the Name of Tomorrow. Reward is the Tier VIII US cruiser San Diego. If you already have it, as I do, you receive a tasty 11,000 doubloons as compensation. Anyway, the event comprises three new Operations conducted over three weeks. Week Four will see all three events rotate over the week. 

Linked to the Operations event is a new Collection: '39-'45 Chronicles. Reward is a historical 10-pt commander, Robert Evans. As well some other usual rewards - patches, permanent camo, enemy destruction effect. 

Three new Italian ships are supposed to make their debut - Tier VII Optio (F. Ferruccio clone), Tier IX Pilus Posterior (clone of Guiseppe Verdi) and Pilus Prior (Marco Polo clone). If they do debut, cool. Otherwise, not on my interest radar. 

As a part of the WG's 10th Anniversary celebration 32,000 doubloons OR steel (in total) will be on offer. FOR FREE. Starts August 6 (US time). Two main ways of earning these valued rewards: (1) playing the Welcome Bonus event (6 Aug - 30 Nov) and (2) through Daily Rewards (6 Aug - 31 Dec). 

If you missed out on the Tier IX US GQ Johnny destroyer, you can still earn it through the 10th Anniversary period by earning GQ tokens. You need 180 to obtain the ship. 

WG are being quite generous for once at least on the surface. 

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Vietnam War Campaign

Still playing the first scenario in my slow-grow campaign. Some pieces still need tuning or refining. But nevertheless I have started. Pausing for now because I have yet to fully work out the ending: tying it in with the growing narrative is the concern, not the actual completing the game. I may play through to the end either tonight or tomorrow (it's Sunday at the moment). 

Carrying the large ring binder folder around is not working for me. Pissing me off actually. There is no QRS (Quick Reference Sheet) that I can access so I've begun creating my own but with a twist. It's more a condensed version of the full ruleset. More a memory jogger than anything else. 

There is a complexity with these rules which has always been attractive to me from the start. Yes, there is that simplicity if you treat with it on the surface. But there are more appealing subtletites that go deeper and enables one to diverge from the straight path of the core rules. And that's the current challenge to me in generating this solo campaign.  

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Still working on writing out a condensed summary of the CDS rules. And a working QR sheet. Original ruleset was poorly edited and organised, eg in one of the firing phases, it asks to refer to another sub-section; however, that sub-section named no longer exists; instead, it's been moved to another section. And some of the explanations are lacking or missing. Redoing it therefore to suit my preference.

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The Gaming Community

One of the perpetual joys of this hobby, for me as a solo gamer, is that whenever you're feeling down or losing focus, the community will always be there to provide encouragement or pick you up just by existing.

Tonight I saw a batrep from another fellow historical gamer who still uses Oz Tabletop Gamer forum like me. It was an ECW game in 28mm. Seeing that excellent report reminds me ever more to get back and finish my ECW Royalist list. 

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