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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