Digest January #6

Starcom Nexus

Now upgraded to an Invincible class vessel with its potent laser. Added Havoc flak batteries amidships to create an Invincible variant #1. Aim, of course, is to upgrade all the way up to the Leviathan class monster. This current configuration has a crew of 80.

Still prefer my Cruiser (variant #3) however with its Havoc flak batteries, missile launchers, and particle beam cannon. It has been modified extensively (hence why it's a variant of the basic model) with a short jump option too for getting out of sticky situations real quick. It's more a Battlecruiser because it's more than capable of tackling any hostiles.

The Havoc flak module is useful for space mining. 

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Starcom Nexus

There are quests still to be completed in this game so I will persevere because I suspect they're tied in with the regions already explored. Example: located the Octahedron requested by some furry sentient species. Trouble is I've forgotten the location of those furry creatures even though I've labelled nearly all the explored regions. Lol. 

Also currently mapping the empty regions of space around what's being explored already. Doing so in a grid pattern roughly 20 AU by 15 AU and placing Markers of recognition. That signifies to me which regions of space have been covered. A variant of what we use to do in the Army when searching for an enemy in the bush. I doubt the grid pattern will disclose new regions for exploration. However, with each grid created, it breaks down regions of unexplored space into more manageable areas.

Slow for sure but a simple approach to a vast problem. 

Bought Starcom Unknown Space today. Going cheap (around AUD20) thanks to a Steam discount. However I won't commence that game until I've finished Starcom Nexus. Cheers.

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Peterbilt WIP

Just had a brain fart. The cab interior colouring will now transfer to the outside because I'm finally going with striping. Motivation is to finish this model as quickly as possible. The display, however, will take longer. Anyway, so now the exterior colour scheme will match the interior - mahogany and light yellow striping. Simple solution really now that I consider it. Realism over artistic expression. It's not like it's a Scania anyway. 

Two options drafted using MS Paint. Top one is the obvious choice. Bottom one also works but needs thicker mahogany stripes. I actually like the colour scheme now that I see it visual which seems a conscious acknowledgement of an intuition that has since become blatantly obvious.

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World of Warships

The "create account" notification was not activated so this was a normal grinding day. Last day for the 200% bonus on playing Le Havre. Paid 2500 dubs to unlock Level 2 on the Event Pass. Got a few goodies unlocking the second level including credit compensation for already possessing the Tier VI crusier Elli. 

A couple of screenshots of games from today's short session. These screenshots typify a grinding day for me. Most times, it's pot luck with "teammates". Sometimes you get BOT players. Also after playing so many years you get to recognise several familiar "faces". 

Game above shows me (white arrow) in the Le Havre on the Estuary map. I had just taken out the enemy cruiser (grid E3). My accompanying teammates were dead leaving me to confront the remaining two enemy battleships alone. My decision was simple: hang back and await the enemy to attack me using the island to protect my port flank. As thought, so it happened. My remaining teammates were able to combine their firepower to take on the Sinop while I took down the Pommern using my secondaries and aiming for the superstructure on the German brawler. 

This scene is from the Haven map. I had just died around the C cap unsupported but stayed in-game to watch because of a couple of interesting things:

• the Valparaiso sailed south to the D cap doing what could be considered "fighting withdrawal". Odd behaviour I thought given the Val is such a potent brawler. The decision to sail AWAY from the fight seemed questionable to me, but perhaps validated when the Val managed to sink the Hawke helped by support fire from the other three friendlies. 
• the Knesebeck player is already on my blacklist because the player does what a BOT player does. And it was confirmed when it simply sailed northward while traversing C cap without participating in the brawl happening therein.   
• I was particularly intrigued by the play of Valparaiso and Knesebeck as both bothered me. The Val spawned with me in grid G7. While I sailed into C and fought the losing fight, Val turned at the top of the island (bottom of E7) and began sailing south to our base (D cap). Having played the Valparaiso many times now in Asymmetrics, I know it's a very strong brawler with multiple heals and decent secondaries. It would have dominated the C cap without too much trouble. And Knesebeck has torps that would have been very useful in the melee taking place in the C cap. But the German cruiser simply chose to sail on by without participating in any way. BOTs tend to do a lot more than BOT players.

Wow. WG are being real stingy this time round. In the past, a Tier VI ship compensation in credit was 8,250,000. Now it's 4,500,000. A massive drop! Surprised me when I consulted my diary and saw this decrease when I reviewed the Elli compensation. Yes, I've maintained a pretty accurate gaming diary for the past five years. Expenditures, acquisitions, costs, etc. Only way to go given how WG cheats and rorts whenever it can.

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World of Warships

The latest scuttlebutt or buzz doing the YT rounds is how WG's Discord got hacked. All their mods got locked out. Couldn't have happened to a nicer company. 

Why they ever dropped the forums in the first place still remains a mystery to me. It was a wealth of information with much open discussion on the game. As someone in the comments pointed out, WG declared forums old and insecure. And another chimed in how WG wants compliance and happy to ignore criticism or dissension of any kind. Sounds familiar. 

Single ship grind today (commander upskill). Had interesting day playing the Tier VII American cruiser Flint. Not as good as Atlanta but decent enough. Aim throughout the session was to avoid presenting broadside (nearly got blatted out of existence by a Sovetsky Soyuz whilst playing the Hotspot map). Didn't stay long, just long enough to grab another reward from the Event Pass. 

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Modelling

Pulled out these two paper building kits I've had for over a decade or so. Primarily for model railroads, I bought them however for my wargaming. Finally decided to assemble them. Good luck I said to myself.

These buildings are meant to go with my 20mm WW2 stuff but as that's never going to happen nowadays I just want to finish the build started all those years ago. Gave up at the time. Lack of skill and frustration was my excuse then. And then laziness set in and I conveniently forgot about it. But now it's just time to finish it properly as with many hobby interests started. 

What was begun assembling were two of the three components - the tower and the nave. Will return to them eventually. But first I began assembling the smaller chancery (attached to the main church or nave). 

Looking good enough, by my standard of construction. I had properly assembled the doors and ornate windows as well as the chancery roof. Even attached the roof ridging strip. But then....

Forgot the missing stained glass window. Thinking I'd misplaced it, I went searching. But it was nowhere to be found among all the assorted pieces. So now I will need to download an image from the interweb as replacement. 

The other kit acquired all those years ago was a Market House. As yet it remains unopened.

But it doesn't end there...as always! Putting together other paper/card buildings. The item below was part of a series acquired through Wargame Vault (online US retailer of anything wargaming and hobby related). It is of a European style residence, probably a townhouse or it could be a farmhouse. Scale is uncertain. It's much bigger than the country church so I suspect I was experimenting with the scale at time of printing. 

It's low-res due to the printer used at the time. I have a laser printer now and will probably reprint a few to higher-res quality. One hopes. 

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