December Digest #7

Field of Glory II: Medieval

Game 6 and Game 7 played. 

Game 6. This was a civil war engagement with the English-supported Montfort's Bretons took on de Blois' Bretons and won out. Not much to say other than it was a short and swift battle. My flanks did all the hard yakka while my centre held the line. My flanks were able to thrash the enemy threats without too much trouble. Meanwhile the centre held firm before counterattacking and putting the enemy to flight. 

Losses on my side were light, only 7% or 183 were killed while the opposition lost 43% or 960 killed and 1195 wounded with the bulk of their losses suffered during the rout - over 3800. 

Game 7. King Henry V in an alternate history battle to Agincourt faced off against the French and won. This time I advanced to contact. The French eventually responded by moving up to meet. Just then I had the archers plant their defensive stakes and the battle was fought from there. And we were holding our own even though the French reinforcements arrived, thankfully too late.

I went with my usual three groupings. Added two light artillery with light javelin attachments. Increased my mounted knights from zero to four units split on both flanks. And then advanced to contact.

My left flank easily dealt to the force there and soon began to turn into my centre which was barely holding and started rolling up the enemy. Like knocking down dominoes. 

My right flank also dealt to the French in their sector and were about to roll up towards the centre when the game ended. The French reinforcement - all mounted knights - did not know which way to go because their disposition was a mess.

Lost one of my artillery and several archer units. All up I lost 11% of my total force while the French lost 45% of their total strength. 

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World of Warships

Bought the last Sequential bundle today and received the Tier VIII German cruiser Mainz. No complaints about the ship. Now I have the pair - the original and the Black version.

Interesting day. Continued playing the Defence. I'm not comfortable enough with it to play Asymmetrics because of its weak armour. So I've been grinding it in Co-Op with mixed results. 

Noticed the steel ship Vallejo is cheaper than Le Havre and can be had now with the steel I already have. But after checking its attributes I've decided to pass on the opportunity: it seems weaker comparred to the French cruiser. 

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Field of Glory II: Medieval

Played Game 8 last night for the win. Compressed deployment forcing the enemy to concentrate in a small area which I wanted.

Game 9. Used Autofill and Autodeploy functions for the first time in this hard-fought win. It gave me no mounted knights and only three dismounted Men-at-Arms units, a couple of crossbow units, a billhook unit, a couple of light skirmishers, and the rest longbows. 

Built earthworks around my main line. I should have done the same for the left flank line but did not think. I kept the crossbows and swordsmen in the forest on the right. The right flank held while the left flank which did not have earthen walls was battered a fair bit by the enemy mounted knights. But it managed to hold. The centre left was penetrated but the rest of the line held quite well. The archers took heavy toll on the enemy.

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World of Warships

Play the current list of commander upskill ships to grab the daily coal crates - Defence, Okhotnik, Guilio Cesare, K. Schonberg, P. E. Friedrich, Poltava, Z-39, Valparaiso, Zao, Worcester, Halland.

Highlights: Zao performing well on the Trap map. And playing Halland while paired with a Yamoto on the new Sunset Isles map. Watching Yama one-shot slap ships was a delight to behold. Yama did it several times making me smile. Complimented the player at the end. Got a thank you back. Made my day watching that performance.

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World of Warships

Interesting grind today (it's Thursday). Next mission in the Dockyard event began today. Slow progress as I played the same ships as yesterday (see above). Got as far as Z-39. Will resume at Valparaiso and strive to complete the rest of the mission tasks in the one session. 

The interesting part happened during the grind. First up, got praise from someone I did not know. Was not expecting good manners for doing something but it must have impressed the person giving the compliment. Maybe we encountered at some other time. Dunno.

Next, got the opposite reaction from a different stranger in the very next game. This time I endured friendly fire, torpedoes, even depth charges from my teammate as we raced to the same cap. I think I was too close to them or something. Puzzled by it as it continued all the way to the cap. So I reported this "friendly fire" because if they do this in a game, do you not think they would do it in real life? People to avoid in real life then.

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World of Warships

Lengthy grind because I wanted to finish the remaining missions tasks for the Dockyard event. Played the following according to the mission task requirements and commander skill upgrade grind: Valparaiso, Zao, Worcester, Halland, Defence, Mainz, Kitakaze, Tromp, Satsuma.

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World of Warships

Finished the Dockyard Event mission tasks for this week. Long grind. Ended up playing Valparaiso, Zao, Worcester, Halland, Defence, and Mainz. 

The last ship proved interesting as I played it as a firestarter because of a couple of Dockyard mission tasks required firebombing. Did well enough when charging into a fray, where its torpedoes proved a handy accompaniment on a couple of testy occasions. This was in Co-Op however so I got away with a lot unlike in Randoms or Ranked. 

Worcester is a good cruiser for learning to stay hidden or hanging back rather than charging into a contact. No smoke but hydro. No gimmicks. No radar. Tough ship to play under the current circumstances. 

I really do enjoy playing the Zao. Accurate guns. 12km torps. Weak armour, especially when showing broadside but her potency when fully playing to her strengths are undeniable and often contributory to your team's win.

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World of Warships

Just two ships played today: Mainz (fast becoming a favourite) and Satsuma. Daily playing priorites remain as always (1) earning the daily Voyage tokens (for later exchange as either doubloons or steel), and (2) daily coal rewards (three crates, not just coal). This is the abbreviated daily grind. It only extends whenever other priorities are involved such as commander upskill grind or ship grind.

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New Games

On the hunt for new games so last night I watched another wargamer on YT with his recommendations for PC wargames. Checked them out today. Nearly all are available through Steam for a reasonable price. Tempted to buy Jagged Alliance 2 (Classic) that is available as a bundle set. It is an old game whereby a group of mercs try to overthrow the legitimate government. The problem with this is that old games often get a reboot to appeal to modern audiences. It may, or may not, change the appeal of the original especially for those familiar with the original. 

Was considering Crusader Kings III but I just remembered I already have Crusader Kings II. A world building style game that is engaging if that's what you're into. If not, however, it can drag. 

Admittedly his selection shows an American bias when it comes to WW2 games although he did include Attack at Dawn: North Africa. Appreciate that he cared to acknowledge that WW2 was a global conflict and that others indeed played a part before the American war machine joined in. 

Some of his selections weren't strictly wargaming either - the popular sci-fi X Com series (XCom, XCom2, XCom1994), Shadow Empire, Twilight Struggle - but that's fine. The unifying theme for all his selection was "Turn-Based PC Games". And that's what these all have in common regardless of their appeal level. Many are PC versions of board games.  

A couple of games are not available through Steam - Lock and Load Tactical Digital and Sword and Siege Crusaders Book 1. The last looked interesting.

Of all these I ended up being interested in a Slitherine/Flashback Games title - Panzer Corps 2. It reminds me of another game I already possess - Unity of Command II. Both appeal to all three levels of command - strategic, operational, tactical. And the options to game large and small is a plus.

However, I've decided to give all these games a pass for now. Maybe in the new year.

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World of Warships

Just the one ship played today and only for the daily Voyage tokens: Worcester. If you play her like the fragile cruiser she is, then you will have no real problems. Her guns are useful for sure. Making use of cover is mandatory. Providing fire support is a given. Staying alive, for as long as possible, essential as your firepower and radar will be appreciated by teammates especially when supporting destroyers. 

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Field of Glory II: Medieval

Game 10. Finished the last game in the campaign. A hard-fought victory with my forces on the offensive for the second time in this campaign. 

Deployed and then marched right up to the enemy encampment before assaulting along the entire line. The only negative was the bombard being unable to cross the stream and was therefore stranded on the other side unable to bring any artillery fire to bear at all. 

My right was able to hold its own against the bulk of the French mounted knights. 

My left and centre encountered stronger opposition and made hard going against a determined defence by the French. But in the end the enemy lost more and it was a win.

Campaign summary. Interesting yet at times game dragged in parts especially when waiting for the game to compute the interactions. I much prefer being involved in that part (the dice-rolling) because it becomes more involved and not just some spectator to all that's going on. 

First campaign win  and therefore earned the achievement.

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Field of Glory II: Medieval

New campaign. Period is the First Crusade. Setting on the progressive Baron difficulty which is mid-range. Progressive means as the campaign progresses it increments difficulty-wise but not necessarily per game.

Game 1. I deployed against a Turkish mounted force (with small foot elements). I expected it to be difficult as I am familiar with the historical tactics employed by horse archers. Made slightly worse by the fact the bulk of my force (it was autofilled by the game) comprised a large force of peasants with a sprinkling of spearmen, some archers and crossbows. 

Setup in three lines - my dismounted serjeants and knights in the first line with a small force of mounted armoured on the flank. Second and third lines were the peasants and spearmen with the rest of my mounted centrally positioned. 

Start of the game fared well, so I thought. I advanced the entire force towards the Turks who simply waited for us to close the distance. I figured keeping the lines intact as I neared the objective would help both with cohesion and morale. Sort of panned out that way at first. 

The Turks probed the first line but were easily repelled. Any gap made by first line units charging the enemy was quickly filled by the second line. And that went on for a while.

But then it sort of fell apart as the enemy targetted those replacements from my second line. Turkish light cavalry against peasants is largely a one-sided affair as I quickly found out. Despite being in a continuous front line, the pressure applied by the dazzling Turks proved too much. Very soon gaps appeared throughout as my peasantry simply evaporated as soon as they came into prolonged contact. 

Gaps appeared. My front line began to disintegrate.

My left held well as did the centre. But on my right, the bulk of the Turkish cavalry were able to break through and cause havoc and panic among the peasants. The spearmen fared much the same. Losses grew and grew until I lost too many and the Turks claimed victory. 

First battle. First loss. Enjoyed it all the same. 

Losses were heaviest yet suffered by me playing this game. Over nine thousand lost in total (or half my army) with the bulk of those losses due to being captured or deserting. Enemy losses were light in comparison - less than one thousand. 

For many their first crusade would be their last. On to the next game as the bulk of the Europeans have now arrived and are about to confront a relief force sent to the aid of a beleagured siege (by us of course). Have to be careful as I have to deal with an enemy field army and the prospect of the enemy garrison sending out reinforcements. 

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December Digest #6

World of Warships

Played just the San Martin and Valparaiso today. Interestingly, I ran the vessel with a Red Ship XP economic bonus in my first game. When I checked the coal crate requirement immediately after the game, I found I shy 750 XP from getting all three coal crates. That meant I had earned 36,250 XP just in that one game of Asymmetrics! 

Valparaiso was played was just to earn its free 200% economic bonuses. 

As per the last post, I took the bait (temptation too great and I had analysed the purchase) and ended up buying the sequential bundle of crates. Twelve out of the fourteen on offer. I was hoping for a ship drop but it did not happen. Slightly disappointed. This meant no compensation. Expected. But I did get enough resources (the "OR" part) which is nothing to complain about.

I also learned that I may be able to acquire another steel ship with the resources I have and what I can potentially earn over the next few weeks. Limited choice to the cheapest one on offer which is the Tier IX French premium cruiser Le Havre costing 25,000 steel. Awaiting further developments.

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Field of Glory 2: Medieval

Game 4 of the campaign ended in my first defeat of the campaign. French mounted knights were too many and their large number of crossbow units proved an effective counter to my combination MAA and longbows behind hastily set up entrenchments. 

Started on the defensive and waited for the French advance. Once contact was made, we were able to hold firm against the first wave of attacks. But then the French knights began to make their numbers felt as they were able to move to key pinch points with ease, ably supported by crossbowmen. I had nothing really to counter such moves because most of my force was heavily engaged while my reserves (four units of knights) were already in the thick of it.

Losses quickly mounted as my line began to buckle and break. I committed ad hoc units that I could spare but they proved ineffective. My centre began to fracture and small gaps appeared as units began to break and rout. Or become embroiled in frantic melees. Those gaps widened and were soon fully exploited by the French knights who streamed through and began laying havoc into my poor foot. 

Meanwhile both my flanks, while pressed hard, were able to hold their position the centre simply folded as my losses proved too great.

Score one for the French. 

I lost both guns, a large number of longbowmen and dismounted men-at-arms. While half my small cavalry force survived they were too busy chasing enemy routed to realise their aid was urgently needed elsewhere.

The defeat was a real kick in the guts. Up until then, it seemed the English were having it easy with their three early victories. 

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World of Warships

Interesting Sunday session. 

Firstly bought 40 Gift crates for the resources. Faint hope that a random ship drop might occur but it was not to be. Then clocked into Asymmetrics for my usual San Martin commander skill upgrade grind.

Was reminded by a disgruntled teammate on the Shatter map that defending the base is important. I had spawned in our base but chose to join one of the flank sides. Unfortunately my teammates died very fast. Lost our Yamamoto on the right first, followed by the Pommern who had sailed into the middle. I was on the left supporting a Navarin and Kitakaze. Without any opposition therefore the enemy team made for our base. I got caught up pursuing a Kansas that was retiring. My remaining teammates quickly realised our base was undefended and raced back to prevent this. But they got zapped by the enemy. This left me all alone and too far away to prevent the enemy capping our base. That's when I got lambasted by the Kitakaze player in chat. And to make it worse, the Kansas I had been chasing recovered enough to zap me out of existence. It was a bitter defeat for sure. Not really. Just another day in the office.

Ended up playing the San Martin just the four times. Two defeats followed by two wins. That's when I decided to spend Elite Commander XP to upskill the remaining shortfall for my commander to 21 points.  

With him done there are now just a few more to go from my grinding list from a few months ago. Toss up between running my captain on Defence (assigned ship is Goliath) or Z-39 (Elbing). Both are on 18-points. I am running them on lower tiered ships because of cost. But I may decide to switch them back to their original ships just to see how they fare. Now that I have a large pool of suitable economic bonuses (green, blue, and red) I can now afford the cost of running a Tier X ship in-game. 

I decided a change was needed after upskilling the San Martin skipper. So I finished off the short session playing "the Brick" - Vermont. It's a favourite of a well-known Finnish YT WOWS streamer. And it's easy to see why. Its guns slap mighty. Deleted a Schlieffen and Libertad in the two games I played without too much trouble. Also wiped out an enemy carrier in one salvo (it was nearly full health) which is always pleasing from a surface ship player's POV. Remembered to stay angled in. Used AP to good effect. 

Paid for the thirteenth Sequential bundle. The two Mega crates yielded no ship but I welcomed the resources rewards nevertheless.

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Field of Glory II: Medieval

After the defeat in Game 4 I was given the opportunity to replay for a victory. This I did with the same force and deployment. This time I made full use of the terrain proper by placing some of my longbows under cover and behind temporary fortifications. This was on the right where they had a large forest for cover. 

On my more open left my dismounted MAA were intermingled with my archers giving them some boost defensively. I had a second defensive behind that front line to act as reserve because I expected the enemy to attack it in strength. The cavalry I kept some distance back with the bombard near the pond/lake.

The enemy began with their entire force advancing to contact. Their main line consisting of both crossbows supporting dismounted men-at-arms advanced on my left as expected. Meanwhile a large infantry force congregated in the centre awaiting developments from both flank attacks planned.

Initially I had pushed my archers forward to harass the French advance. Whittle them down as much as possible, maybe even break them. But rather than keep them forward I had them fall back continuing to pelt the enemy with arrows from a distance until they rejoined the defensive line.  

My line in the open held as the French advance made contact. I would counterattack but never pursue if they routed an enemy force; I just let them fall back and simply waited. Whenever a breach appeared or one of my units was forced back, I quickly plugged the gap with units from my second line. This strategy seemed to work because my line held and soon the enemy's losses began to climb. 

Meanwhile over at the forest, my combined force of archers and dismounted MAA weathered the mounted knights assaults pretty well. I even counterattacked with the MAA who were positioned further back whenever the enemy knights threatened to outflank and overwhelm my archers valiantly holding their position. 

The victory in Game 4 replay happened pretty quickly compared to my earlier losing game. It came as a surprise when it happened as I was expecting another long slog.

With that win, Game 5 transferred to the south of France where a Franco-Navarese force and a Free Company force led by a Gascon faced off against one another. I had the option to deploy by calling up reinforcements or sending a flanking force. I chose the former option because I've already tried the flanking one in Game 3 where it proved useless. 

This time I increased my mounted knight force. Which paid dividends. Again the French deployed with a slightly larger mounted force. I also had two bombards facing the enemy's two light guns. The bombards I kept together but back a bit. They had a unit of crossbows in support. I was not expecting them to be mobile but their artillery fire and the crossbow bolts were highly effective to their front. 

I chose to stay with the basic foot ratio of 2 dismounted MAA units to 5 longbows units (or thereabouts) as a grouping. As a result I was able to field three such units. And finally there was my expanded mounted knights force. 

For the first time I went on the offensive and simply advanced my entire force towards the Navarese who reciprocated. We met in the middle, so to speak. And from there on, it was just a matter of who would win the ensuing close quarter fight. As the image above and below shows, it was a free-for-all affair. No real organised melee. I was fortunate enough with my deployment to field a decent advantage against my opponent. 

The battle was quick. The enemy lost heavily at the contacts and it wasn't too long before they gave up.

My losses were light - only 9%. The winning mark is normally 40% in breaking an opponent. The Franco-Navarese lost 48%. 

The next battle (Game 6) sees the scene transferring to Brittany where the English-sponsored candidate is facing off against the French-nominated candidate for control of the Dukedom. 

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World of Warships

Finally reached my year-long goal of 700 ships today with the acquisition of the T10 Aki, the Yamato clone. Would have acquired the Le Havre too but mistakenly exchanged the Voyage tokens I had for doubloons instead of steel. Oh well...at least I got a good haul of resources. 

It was the turn of the Defence for my commander upskill grind. He's currently on 18 points. Decided to refamiliarise myself with this vessel by playing Co-Op first. Not really fruitful or beneficial as I had to contend with eleven others. Just going to have to jump into the deep end and sink or swim. 

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December Digest #5

World of Warship

Saw a regular YT WOW streamer comment tonight on the latest WG offering - an untitled sequential bundle going cheap. Supposedly. The streamer mentioned it was value for money given the average doubloon price for a premium ship is around 11,000+ doubloons. I thought that sounded interesting so I popped into the game afterwards to review it for myself.

Recognised it immediately as something I had dismissed out of hand after sighting upon release at the time. It was a cursory spontaneous decision then. This time upon further closer inspection my opinion confirmed my first impression especially when the price of the final container jumped from 940 doubloons to 3,599 doubloons. Why the big jump in price I asked myself?

I viewed the list of available ships in this last premium bundle, and saw that there were only three of interest that I don't have - Belfast '43, Mainz, and Vanguard. So is it worth the price jump just for the chance of getting one of those three ships? Not really I thought because I would be happy to wait. There will be plenty of opportunities to earn them somehow. 

The Black Friday container (#12 of the sequential bundle) has several Black ships that would be welcomed into my port fleet. However as I have all the originals Black versions really hold no interest other than to boost numbers.

Of the entire sequential bundle, if I was interested enough to buy into this, I would focus on just two - #7 War Is Over and #12 Journey to the West. 

#7 War Is Over costs 520 doubloons and offers the Tier IX premium Barfleur released earlier this year.

#12 Journey to the West features two Pan-Asian premiums I don't have: Wukong and Sanzang. Acquiring both would complete my Pan-Asian fleet for now. Cost is 800 doubloons. 

#8 Soviet Era bundle includes the Tier VIII Belfast '43. But the chances are diminshed by the inclusion of four Soviet Era camouflages, which I don't have and don't really interest me, in the ship drop mix. 

Of the remaining bundles I already the ships listed so I looked at the compensation value instead. I thought the steel was its usual miserly self except in one instance while I would never refuse the Free XP. Only one bundle offered credits.

Of course, these containers are presented in the EITHER/OR format meaning you EITHER get a ship OR you get resources from the entire range of available resources. It's a shame that it's never both but that would be asking too much of WG. 

Prices in doubloons start at 99 doubloons for bundle #1. Then it increments up as you progress through the sequence right through to #13 which will cost you 940 doubloons. Then it's the big jump to the final bundle - the Tier VIII premium ship crate - worth 3,599 doubloons. Overall, the whole exercise will cost you 10,358 doubloons. Or just under AUD63. 

Which sounds a bargain when you consider there are fourteen bundles each containing at least one container. And you are guaranteed one if a ship drops from the other bundle containers (#2, #3, #4, #6, #7, #8, #10, #11, #12, and #14).

In the case of the Santa crates there are a total of 5 Megas and 1 Gift shared out over three bundles - #1 (Gift), #5 (two Megas), #9 (one Mega), and #13 (two Megas). And the same drop rates for Santa crates apply here: Gift - 1 in 100 and Mega - one in 15. Remember that if you've already opened either elsewhere (Dockyard, Event Pass, Festive Rewards) then your progress there counts towards the drop rate.

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December Digest #4

FOG2: Medieval

Earned the Hero and Artillerist achievement in Game 2 of the HYW (English) campaign played tonight. 

Once again, the French deployed a large force - both mounted and foot - totally over 20,000. Against this I had a smaller force of mounted knights but high on foot troops - dismounted MAA, light skirmishers, bowmen and crossbowmen. In all, over 17,000. 

Also had three cannon which I split up: two guns on a hill in the centre behind my main line of infantry, and one on the right flank. The French had none which was interesting. 

The left  as seen above was largely wooded so I placed most of my Welsh spearmen, a single unit of javelins, and mounted swordsmen on the left among the woods. Not knowing what to expect, I kept them hidden until the enemy declared his intentions. 

The right (below) contained the lone cannon, three units of crossbowmen and two units of mounted knights. Protecting the cannon were two units of armoured spearmen. To assist the knights I had the other half of my mounted swordsmen there.

In the woods to the left of the right flank force I hid several units of foot troops. In front of the missile troops I deployed temporary barriers. 

The centre (above) was covered by my main infantry force - dismounted men-at-arms, longbows, crossbows, and armoured spearmen under king Edward III. The rest of the mounted knights were placed here as a reserve to the right of the high ground. 

The game started slow as our troops watched the full French force emerge. Facing our centre was the bulk of their foot troops. Our right faced off against the bulk of the mounted enemy knights. Our left faced another smaller cavalry force supported by foot troops. 

At first, it was going well for our side. But then the full weight of the French numbers began to tell. Our centre held good and actually pushed back. Our left was hit hard though and began to crumble. Keeping my spearmen in the woods worked up until the enemy foot, following up in support, struck. Then it began to head south as the line began to crumble and break as individual units were broken. The mounted swordsmen deployed on that flank broke fairly easily against the combined heavily-armoured knights and enemy foot. 

Our right fared better with the missile troops putting down withering fire on the enemy skirmishers and then the mounted MAA. Only when the enemy cavalry advanced to contact did I respond by sending forward the knights in echelon. It meant only one of my units was engaged while the other hung back in support. This seemed to work as soon the main enemy cavalry thrust was first blunted and then broken up as I despatched my armoured spearmen who defensive prowess assisted the lone knight unit holding off the enemy.

Losses soon began to rise on both sides although the enemy lost more. Eventually as the fighting broke any cohesion into isolated pockets of contact, the losses suffered by the French proved too much and they broke and fled. 

King Edward III emerged victor against King Phillip VI. Not sure what if this is a historical battle. 

On to the next battle in this enjoyable campaign then...

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World of Warships

Uneventful yet quiet "day at the office". Select mix of ships played today to complete the next unlocked Dockyard mission - San Martin, Blyskawica '44, Gulio Cesare, Valparaiso. For once, I finished the six dockyard tasks faster than usual. Bring on next Thursday.

Also scored nearly 55,000 in coal today thanks to the Festive Rewards exchange scheme. Just eighteen ships left to shake off the snowflakes and it's done for this year.

Also got the last ship on my list of to-get ships this Christmas - Tier X British cruiser Monmouth - when I bought the promised Mega crates. Heard of this ship but know nothing about it. May take her out tomorrow.

No new ships - Aki, Bremen, Hawaii and the like. Would have been nice but wasn't really expecting it. Got some nice resources - Elite Commander XP and Research Points - in the reveal. Even Red economic bonuses. I was tempted to go for a smaller Ultras bundle but decided to play the law of averages and went for quantity over quality. 

Interesting that the guaranteed drops apply specifically to the Santa crate purchase window. But individual Santa crates, as with the Event Pass bonus earning and the like, tends to be more of a random lottery. The other day, for instance, I got my Smaland via the Gathering by the Firelight drop of a single Gift crate. 

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Into the Dead

Update 6 just released today and it's an interesting read scrolling through the details. 

Saw that the complaint about the swinging door at the Ought Bar has seen the doors now removed to stop people jamming the opening. So many would have registered that complaint with the developers that it seemed obvious to remove them. 

Hao's combat window now gets to showcase his spinning kick. Can't wait to use it. Had a chuckle when I saw the change regarding Hao bringing grenades into his duel to death against Garret (really, someone used grenades! That's something to look forward to in real-life UFC fights - LMFAO)

Lots of new additions regarding Morale (new system being introduced) and Relationship changes (how characters interact and so on).  And now certain Shelter Events (like Nameless Grave) do indeed have consequences, not just little incidental bumps of little to no consequence in your journey. 

Critical Kills is now a thing. Looks interesting. 

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Field of Glory II: Medieval

Game Three of the current campaign was played today. I am still refamiliarising myself with the game mechanics, and basically relearning to play again after a very long absence.

Today's battle was fought in England itself when the Scottish king David II decided to invade the north of England to help out his allliance with France. As the blurb states, King Edward wisely chose not to mobilise his French campaign force from north of the Humber. This meant the Northern lords led by Ralph Neville were able to muster a large enough force to counter the Scottish invasion. 

No cavalry by the Scots but lots of foot troops. 

Interesting assembly by myself as I opted for the flanking maneouvre - a small force of light lancers and archers would appear in Turn 7. Where? I did not know. 

Also tried various unit types in order to get familiar with them. An experiment that has its pluses and minuses. A more wiser player would have seen the listed units already deployed and, more or less, followed that format. Lesson learned.

Anyway, as per usual, I deployed blind not knowing where the enemy would deploy in response.

Guessed right...

The Scots advanced en masse as I impatiently waited. My right flank was able to first stop the Scots advancing on that front before counterattacking, breaking the attack, and then cleaning up that flank without too much fuss. 

My left flank had a few more problems. For one, they were deployed on high ground overlooking woodlands. The Scots push a small force into the woods forcing my three unit force to advance down into the trees to confront them. It was hard-fought but my team prevailed even though I lost unit when it blundered out into the open straight into a forest of Scots spear. It held out for a while before it broke. But by that time, I had taken control of the centre. 

Speaking of the middle, I made sure that the line there was reinforced. Sure, a few units got isolated and were eventually routed. But some were also able to form defensive squares and hold out against greater numbers. While this was happening my dismounted foot, supported by my various missile units, were able to take on the bulk of the Scottish infantry and defeat them piecemeal. Until the Scots broke and fled. 

Victory was won. No achievements earned. 

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Game Four is back in France. This time it's the turn of the Black Prince as he confronts a large French force near Tours.

Having learned my lesson from the previous game, this time I concentrated mainly on dismounted men-at-arms and longbows. Added a couple of other units - mounted knights, artillery and crossbows - either for specific roles or to use up remaining points. 

Deploying blind, I took into account the terrain and what the map provided by way of likely enemy approaches.

Am happy with what Turn 1 has revealed once I had deployed my force. My right flank rests on the river while my left has woodlands for protection. I've deployed in two lines, and made sure to fortify the front line with temporary earthworks. Not yet convinced of their value but then I've always been impulsive and tended to rush across the fortifications anyway. 

As per usual, my cavalry force is small compared to the much larger French force and divided into two wings, one on the far left and the other centre right. My foot, when compared against the French foot, are of better quality. The French have brought along a bombard - first time seeing this artillery. 

My three defensive lines consist of dismounted men-at-arms with longbows on their flanks. I have two light artillery units: one on the left in front of the rough ground behind the foot with the second next to the river. This battery is protected by two units of archers. 

Facing my left, the French cavalry there consists of eight units. In the centre, the French have six units of mounted units of knights including the French king. And facing my right are four units of French knights under the Duc d'Orleans. 

Meanwhile, the French front line consists of one unbroken line of crossbows and swordsmen flanking a core group of dismounted men-at-arms. In front is the heavy artillery bombard. To the rear of this long line are several units of light troops deployed on the flanks. And leading the way are light crossbows. The quality of this mass of French is considered dubious according to the blurb. But you never know on the day. 

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World of Warships

Friday session has seen me grind just three ships - Blyskawica '44, San Martin, Monmouth.  

Images of four ships above obtained recently: Blyskawica '44, Graf Spee, Smaland, Monmouth. The last three were made available this Christmas Update and were the only ships I did not have yet. Mission now accomplished. 

Not played the historical Graf Spee yet. Will take it out in Asymmetric or Operations eventually. 

Monmouth was played twice in Co-Op today. Interesting ship. 9" guns, twelve of them - eight in the front, four in the back. Also has torps arranged the British way - fired singly or in salvos - on either side. I think it's got fairly good AA defensive capabilities. It has hydro which you can swap out for increased defensive AA. In the two games played there was no opposing CV however to test out the AA so hydro would have been ideal. 

On the Mountain Range map (second game), spawned in the centre. I simply ran her towards the enemy opposite - a Schroder, Valparaiso, and Veneto. During my advance I was fired upon from the portside by a Goliath so was a bit distracted as I replied and reduced her HP to less than one quarter in reply. Then as I closed with those to my front I managed to whittle down the Schroder to less than one third, good enough to slip by and allow my backup (C. Colombo and Valparaiso) to finish her off. 

Meanwhile I sped toward the two battleships who got tangled up. I managed to loose off torps on the Valparaiso depleting her from full health to one third HP. At the same time, my 9 inch shells hit the Veneto managing to take her down to half health as I sailed past. Before I could finish her off I got blatted by an Amagi on my port broadside. 

Smaland has been a target of desire for a long time. Relieved that I got her finally this year. Played it badly though when I tested her the other day. I wasn't playing it to its unique strengths as a stealth gunboat. It's definitely not a Blyskawica '44 which I like to risk YOLO-ing. You shouldn't do that with Smaland. Great concealment and strong guns makes it a real threat to other DDs and cruisers. And an annoyance to battleships.  

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December Digest #3

Into the Dead

Seb and Dianne's group has expanded greatly since yesterday. Besides Joe (the mule) and Barb (the gunsmith) they've now added Christine (green thumbs), Frank (culinary operations specialist), Aubrey (medical professional), and Isabel (token child). 

They're in the processing of opening the three vents. Nora sabotaged one but that's been repaired. She's not a likeable character. At least Otto is helpful. 

Upgraded nearly all the work stations. Now two scavengers can operate simultaneously. One will concentrate on the escape plan while the other will simply scrounge around for resources and materials. 

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Today I completed the third main escape plan - Chiefway's Spillway Zone - with Seb and Dianne's group. It was close call as Seb suffered deep wounds on two previous occasions. Thought I was going to lose him to the zombies the second time, but he pulled through. He did have to kill his old Army buddy and mentor after meeting up with him. 

It was appropriate that the escape was effected by Dianne after Joe did the preliminary clearing of most of the zombies. Dianne met up with Nora at the moment of their triumph with the young lass having to kill the deranged worker.

It's pretty obvious you're going to need firepower as you near your escape objective. The rifle and revolver and lots of ammo are essential when clearing out the Pit.

The eight members of this team left Walton City with nary a regret, well fed, rested, and in good spirits which is a small and appreciated achievement considering their earlier shaky start when there was just the three of them. 

Repairs were made to the damaged Operations room console prior to entering the Pit. Up to you whether you want to clear the bottom levels first before tackling the ground floors and above. I chose to clear the bottom level first, then left only to return later and began clearing one floor at a time. As there are three levels, that meant three visits before the place was completely cleared and I could move in. Taking on the front entrance is pointless as it is barred from the inside and you have to contend with the zombies guarding the door. 

Got to watch the state and condition of your hazmat suit, especially down in the pit. Any tear can develop into a major fault. And if not mindful that your suit is damaged and you spend too long in the pit while the suit is leaking, your character will suddenly die.

The thing that gets me is that you only have the one hazmat suit between eight. And it has to be returned to June once finished. But let's not worry about the details; you're free. Enjoy the moment.

With the three main escape plans now done, and the game still in Early Access, I am happy to await new and further developments. Interesting game. Can get drawn out if playing it casually or without a plan. 

Noticed that in the Ought Bar, characters kept getting stuck whenever moving through the swing doors especially at the same time. Reported it to the developers. 

Really hope they expand the number of districts. And Eva's parent used to have a boat so am keen to see if they expand around the coast. Zombie sharks perhaps?

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World of Warships

Played San Martin exclusively today in Asymmetrics. Finally got my revenge on the Kansas. Nearly always, whenever playing cruisers in Asymmetric I would get blasted out of existence if ever within the range of this US battleship. Today, it was tables turned however as I hunted a Kansas down to finish off after my teammate did her a sizeable amount of damage. Sure I was finishing off the wounded, but a kill is a kill. And it was the Kansas after all. Lol.

The other day I spent credits and Free XP to grab the German T10 premium submarine U-5401. With the planned acquisition of Roussillon and Lanzhou, I should now make my seven hundred. And I am still intending to grab those 20-odd Mega crates.

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Wednesday's session saw a new ship added, courtesy of the Gathering by the Fireplace event (paid). The single Gift crate opened with the Tier X Smaland. Been wanting this ship all year; now I finally have it. Only cost me 150 doubloons. My target of 700 ships will be reached once I've received both rewards from completing the Dockyard event and Chapter Two of the Event Pass. Hoping to grab the last of the available 143 ships - Monmouth - from the eight Mega crate bundle (guaranteed drop 7). 

Mix day of grinding the San Martin in Asymmetrics. Lose concentration and you're dead. Lose focus and you're dead. Lose interest and you're dead. 

Sometimes it pays to YOLO as it did when I spawned in the north in the centre on the Mountain Range map. Looked at what was facing us and decided to angle in and take out the two cruisers - Amalfi and New Orleans - first up. Then raced up to launch torps at close range at a retiring Yumihari while blatting a low-health Hipper. However my luck ran out when the remaining ship in my sector, a mid-health Bismarck, blasted me to a watery grave. 

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Field of Glory II: Medieval

Old game revisited. Starting a HYW (Hundred Years War) campaign, taking the English (and allies) side. First game was fought in the Low Counties. I believe it is the Battle of St Omer (26 July, 1340) fought between an overwhelming foot force under Robert III of Artois leading an English-Flemish army. 

I won but lost Robert and about 20% of my force. The French, under the commands of Eudes IV of Burgundy and Jean I of Armagnac, were largely mounted with peasant foot. The French losses amounted to over 60% with the majority suffered during the routs. Having horses contributed I suppose. Anyway, according to the Slitherine forums most who attempt this first game of the campaign find a French victory difficult to come by as opposed to playing the Anglo-Flemish where your numerical advantage helps weather the mounted assaults.

Winging it to victory didn't mean I did not have a battlefield plan however. I chose to maintain an unbroken line with the spearmen and halbediers up front supported by archers and crossbows interspersed at intervals. Used the terrain to best advantage with the marsh (left flank) and the woods (right flank) to slow down or disrupt the enemy mounted. Also had a form of artillery and kept it at the centre back where it provided minimal fire support.

My spearmen used the square formation to withstand the numerous cavalry charges coming at them from all angles. One unit got so far in advance of my main battle line after pursuing a routing foot unit that it got isolated but managed to last for while in square before eventually breaking. 

My commander, Robert, died during combat.

Meanwhile Eudes of Burgundy was also killed earning for me the Nemesis achievement which is kill an enemy commander in chief. 

Sets the campaign off on a good start. Here's hoping to keep it up. Next battle will be revealed in due course. Suspect it has something to with the town of Caen, as the preamble below explains. And my quick historical research seems to confirm that it may be the seige of Caen. But I can't confirm until I deploy. Good thing is that I get a new larger force.

Ten battles in total for this campaign so I believe.

I have this game because it can be played against live global opponents. As I mentioned long ago, there is a global event with international teams competing against one another for the title. This was back during COVID. Don't know if it's still active as it's been a couple of year since I played (El Cid era mainly) although it still is popular and maintains an active Steam community presence. And there are regular updates (latest just came out in September of this year).

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December Digest #2

World of Warships

Confirmed planned pickups from this Update/Santa bounty using current resources saved/earned: 

• Valparaiso (steel), 
• Roussillon (dockyard event), 
• Lanzhou (event pass), 
• Richthofen (credit and Free XP), 
• Nakimov (credit and Free XP)
• Vampire II (research bureau)

The remaining ships will be earned from whatever Mega and Gift crates I can acquire through the game. Expenditure? Up in the air at the moment. Would be nice to end the year reaching my goal without spending any money where possible. It just depends on what how the Festival Certificate exchange pans out plus earnings from game play. But if spending cash, I want to minimise the amount to what's needed to reach my seven hundred ship goal. 

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Long day session. Played long enough to grab all the Festive Certificates from my Tier X ships - 70+. Exchanged the stash for 14 Mega crates. And scored two new ships - Tier VII Arkhangelsk and Tier IX F. Gonzaga. It's better than nothing I suppose. The drop rate does work so not surprising. 

Now it's time to grab the steel from my Tier VIII and IX ships to purchase Valparaiso. Or Bremen. Nothing is confirmed until the day. 

Would love to do at least one Research Ship reset before year's end (more interested in Vampire II than Paolo Emilio because of the Australian connection).

Today I was reminded that GQ Johnny is not a CQB ship. Ran up against a "YOLO" Emilio in one game and then Kitakaze in another. Died fairly quick in both when choosing to take these elite gunboats up close. At a distance, GQ Johnny can easily cope by using her funny button, smoke, and torpedoes. Up close however unless you get the drop first it's going to be a quick return to port. 

No issues with Blyskawica '44 in contrast. Which is surprising given the Polish DD only has AP, torps, and hydro. No smoke. 

Brisbane performed as per usual in Asymmetrics. Will be upskilling her skipper to 21 point shortly. Remember it's not a leader. Avoid playing aggressively unless you know what you're doing; she's more a strong backup. 

In one game, on the Islands of Ice map myself and a Hindenburg were left to combat four battleships - an Amiga, two Ipirangas, and a Richelieu. A fifth enemy ship, a Hipper, was too far away. The immediate threat to both of us were the battleships. Yet we somehow managed to win out by carefully using island cover to farm the enemy and prolong our shortening lifespan while whittling down their HP to our advantage. 

Looks like I am going to have to buy some Santa crates after all; was hoping to get by for free. If I do end up buying crates, am going for the Gift ones. Cheaper and more crates for your money. Like in previous years. 

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So today I decided to splurge and settled on the 20 Ultra bundle, the most expensive bundle. It will be the one and only spend this Christmas. Got a good enough haul with six new ships - Musashi, Sibir, Suzuya, Hildebrand, Cambridge, Kozma Minin. The Golden crates only gave Red economic bonuses which are welcomed all the same. With the doubloons earned from the Ultras I exchanged them for another forty Gift crates. Someone mentioned a free Gift crate can be earned from playing the sock sequence game on the Santa crate page. That reward plus converting a few remaining snowflake certificates netted a total forty-eight Gift crates which yielded another two new ships - Taihang, La Pampa. 

Not the one I was hoping for - Smaland - but happy with the haul nonetheless.The gain does make grabbing the last few ships for my ultimate goal that little bit easier to reach. 

Usual ship grind - Brisbane, GQ Johnny, Blyskawicz '44, Okhotnik. Highlight, as is normal, was playing Brisbane in Asymmetrics. 

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Thursday. Second Dockyard mission unlocked. And the Event Pass updated. So plenty of rewards on offer. Played Brisbane, Libertad, Shimakaze, Zao. Earned enough steel to finally grab Valparaiso. Played it in Asymmetric. Obscene ship. Ran Lisboa as its captain and it was very brutal for the enemy. Was initially tempted to get Bremen but am happy with my final choice.  

Exchanged Festive Certificates to grab two Mega crates and was surprised to see the Tier X Smolensk. So two new ships - Valparaiso and Smolensk. 

Nine more to go.

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The great thing regarding the Santa crates is that the guaranteed drop reminder enables one to plan what and how many crates to get. Today it was a combination of this plus spending credits and Free XP to grab a total of four more new ships - three carriers M Richthofen, Nakhimov, Essex and one gift crate drop Incheon. Five more ships to go of which two are already locked in for acquisition - Lanzhou and Roussillon. May have to forego the Research Bureau reset however and miss out on Vampire II. You win some, you lose some. 

Finally upskilled my Brisbane captain to 21 points as well. 

Spent the Christmas tokens earned from the Ultra crates on perm camo for the following ships - Montana, Iowa, Rochester, Ostergotland, Constellation, New Orleans, and Hermes. Plenty of tokens remaining. Will likely spend them on more perm camos and explosive effects.

Ships played today: Blyskawica '44, Valparaiso, Brisbane. 

Guaranteed one more ship. Only three left from those that are available for drop: Monmouth, Smaland, Graf Spee. Would be nice to grab all three somehow. That would complete my seven hundred nice and neat. Oh, to dream... 

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Picked up Tier VI German premium pocket battleship Graf Spee. Nice to see a historical ship for once. Just leaves two left on the available list for either Gift or Mega crates. Ignoring the newer ships available through the Ultra/Golden crate system. Won't refuse them if they do drop but the focus will be on getting either the Monmouth or Smaland. Or both!

Played just the two destroyers today. Wasn't much in the mood to play but bothered all the same - Bylskawica '44 and Okhotnik. Both are potent in their own way. Did well on the new map Sunset Isles in the Polish gunboat destroyer where I scored 5 kills, nearly all torp kills. Don't know what my other teammates were doing: some just sailed around watching the sunset. Noticing that a lot lately. Are they BOT players, I wonder....

The famed 'war canoe' Okhotnik is a great torpedo boat. Fearless and lethal if able to close with the enemy. Battleships are especially prized targets. Her eight guns not to be sneezed at either. At Tier V though you're lucky most times to get kills because everyone else at this level are all keen as heck unlike the Sunset Isle map crowd. 

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First game today (Sunday). Began grinding my commander on Castilla, Tier X Spanish cruiser with the funny button. Had promoted him straight from 18-pt to 20-pt using accumulated Elite Commander XP which cost over 700,000 Elite Commander XP. Grinding wearing me down, as expected. 

I was so caught up in the moment of the promotion and gameplay that I forgot Castilla had torpedoes. Lol. After that successful test run in Co-Op, I then jumped straight into Asymmetric, got another lesson reminder - don't YOLO and stayed angled in. Got that reminder vividly when I got blatted out of existence by a Shimanto when I forgot to turn in thinking I could make the island cover in time. Wrong!

Anyway, after playing several games in the ship where it performed okay (remembered to turn off the funny button immediately after it fired its double salvo in order to speed up reload - from double the usual time of 11 secs), I suddenly realised I could promote the commander to 21 points straightaway using ECXP that I had leftover. So I did. 

And then logged out. But not before calculating exactly the amount of Mega crates I need in order to grab the last two ships on the list (see yesterday's post above). I need 24 Megas - nine before the next guaranteed drop, then fifteen thereafter. 

I can score one from the Event Pass; but the remaining 23 I will have to purchase. No way around it unfortunately. Chapter 2 of the Event Pass, like Chapter 1, only delivers 1 Mega crate. And there are no more available thereafter unless I grab some more Tier X ships. But I am now credit and Free XP poor after spending a boat load earlier on carriers. 

Gift crate drops (guaranteed on drop 100) are not worth bothering unless you get lucky. 

Ignoring Ultras; one 20-crate buy was pricey enough. The focus remains grabbing those last two ships from the list through Mega crates. At least, that's the plan. 

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Into the Dead

Having completed two of the main escape plans, focus this time round is completing the Chiefway pipeline escape plan. Almost got there with one pair from an earlier run-through but ran out of lives. 

It is, however, a question of spawning in the right location from the start. So far, each new pairing had ended up following one of the two already done escape plans. 

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Going with Darrel and Leo for my attempt at the Chiefway pipeline escape plan. Added three more crew - Joe, Frank, and Barb - which is good as it would have been many more. Went with Barb for her gunsmith skills, Joe for his larger backpack space, and Frank for his cooking talents. 

Have to remember what the Chiefway clues were and where to find them. For the lazy, you can simply go to the unofficial fan wiki page for a breakdown. Useful if time poor and wanting to tackle the game on hard mode. Or just plain lazy.

Luckily I have a short attention span so will have forgotten most of the clues after reading them all. 

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Staying with Darrel and Leo's group. Expanded to now include Christine and Isabel. They've found the clues regarding the Spill Zone escape plan. Got the hazmat suit from June in exchange for some chilli con carne. And I have now begun searching the fertilizer plant. Meeting up with Otto soon. 

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Joe turned after a nasty encounter pursuing the Network escape plan. Once the team went out on the Network escape plan, I deleted the group and began with a new pairing. Why? Because the game won't allow you to pursue more than one escape plan if one is already locked in as with Darrel and Leo's pairing.

So I am now going with Seb and Dianne again. Going to focus exclusively on the Spillway Zone escape plan clues. Picked up Barb who was crook for a long time for some reason. They've found the clues and are now searching for a hazmat suit. Making for the CDC Field Station which will unlock the three sites for a hazmat suit. 

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Barb was crook for a long time when she joined Dianne and Seb. Her recovery put a drain on the limited food supplies (she couldn't keep her food down). Eventually she's come right. In the meantime, the trio are now a quartet with the addition of Aubrey the veterinarian. Added her for her medical skills. Tried the first of the three hazmat suit locations several times but couldn't find one, at least not worn. Not bothering with the third location when I can visit June and woo hers in exchange for chilli con carne. But it requires a Level 3 food station. Which means scavenging for the materials. 

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Creative Expectations

Seen the new Syama Pedersen collaboration on the Menace trailer. I thought it was okay. Reading the comments, I had a chuckle. Like vultures picking at a corpse, the comments displayed the expectations people have from creators have risen well above the norm for creative content. 

To be fair, Syama did set the bar high when he released his loved project Astartes all those years ago. I was there when they released, one after the other. It was something unexpected and I was hooked. It was, as someone wrote and subsequently echoed by many others, "how I imagined the world of 40K to be". Astartes was brutal, in your face, relentless, detailed, and profoundly impactful.

Syama is a master of the film school of "show don't tell" animation. The fact he has little to no dialogue is a trait of his works. His involvement with other creators is clearly seen in the production's influence. On Episode 5 of the Secret Series, his fingerprints were all over the episode.

What cracks me up however is that many are thinking they've got Syama figured out because they're recognising the same shots in Menace. They are claiming he's simply rehashing elements from Astartes. Is there something new from this man? Well, I hope so. But if not, then no biggie. He came out of nowhere and set the entire 40K animation scene and devoted fanbase abuzz with his supreme creativity. 

He's done so much for the 40K universe, bringing in new fans that can be directly attributed to what he accomplished with Astartes. That's earned him a place in the lore and universe of 40K that can never be overlooked or understated. 

As for his creative abilities, you have to remember that creativity is like a deep pool from which one can draw from. Those who can access it will always be able to do so. If he's not showcasing something new to satisfy the vultures, then try to conjure up a masterpiece at will. I dare you. It's a lot of work; the inspiration is the spark, but it's just the beginning. 

The real mastery Syama displays is what and how he gets from that spark of inspiration to the final composed completion. There are lots of changes along the way. A lot of hard and often thankless work goes into creating what commenters see in a short span of time. Many hours. Many days. Many weeks sometimes. And sometimes, as with Astartes, years.

Comments reveal more about the person making them. 

I guess the real test will come when Astartes II finally airs at the end of 2026. Will he produce something new and different to what's gone on before? I don't know. 

The teaser for Astartes II hinted at that but then there's elements represented within that existed long before the trailer (poor Lamenters). Perhaps what some are alluding to might be true with Pedersen's creativity - that it has run dry. I believe not however mainly because accessing the well of creativity is not something that can be pay walled despite what corporations claim or assert. What bothers me more is that the period between start and finish is where Syama might have issues. The production.

Techniques and approaches to creating change over time yet the basic fundamentals remain the same. Methods can improved upon. Principles can't. And Syama is a master of principles.

His dedication to his art is well known and evidenced by the love he lavished on making Astartes the epitome. He will have work out ways to step around what are simply obstacles to be overcome yet can be major hurdles for the rest of  us. 

I hope that Astartes II tells a story first of all. How it delivers will matter next. And the episode has to be a decent length, not a minute long. And those three expectations will never judge the quality of delivery because what he delivers is always top quality. Roll on 2026.

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