July Digest #2

6mm Figurines

So I went searching for STL files for my 3D printer. Much has changed since last I downloaded any STL files back in the early 2000s unfortunately. The AI when I did a quick online search informed me that while they're still freely available for download, the vast majority have gone the commercial route which is pay to buy. Wargames Vault advertises STL files at a price, and their range is fairly expansive.

Seeing that this avenue was no longer an option for me I went instead looking for the traditional 6mm figurines. Found two familiar sites. Both UK. One is the well-known Baccus. Their SYW range is quite well organised though restricted to the main four nations - Prussia, Austria, France, and England. All the teeth arms are represented so buying them will be straightforward. My Battle of Hastenbeck project minis are all Baccus. 

The other is Irregular Miniatures. Unfortunately, they've temporarily suspended their 6mm catalogue due to issues. When they will restart is up to them. Sad to hear but time does moves on.

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

WOWS

Short Sunday grind with just three ships - Kamikaze, Leipzig, Narai. Today's goals included the daily coal crates and a few Dawn of a Nation Collection tiles credit compensation. In and then out as quickly as possible.

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

Monday and another short grind, this time featuring just Cossack. Played for the daily coal loot. Then logged out.

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

Learned that New Jersey is coming soon though in what manner of release is speculation for now. Mostly desired by the NA player base, I know nothing about her apart from her historical significance, i.e. that she existed. Unless it becomes available as a play to win reward (unlikely), I have real interest in her. 

There are lots of other ships that are still available and of more interest even if officially WG cite between 320 to 400. Steam reckon between 600 to 800. Steam's Community believe just over 800. Mind you, as is repeated throughout, many are reskins or clones.

For example, I have three versions of the Scharnhorst in my fleet - Scharnhorst, Scharnhorst B, Scharnhorst '43.

The tech tree Japanese heavy cruiser Myoko has three variants: ARP Myoko, Eastern Dragon, Southern Dragon. I have just one variant, Eastern Dragon. 

So this Christmas should be interesting in terms of likely goodies coming my way. But I'm not expecting the New Jersey to be among the presents opened.

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

A productive and rewarding session today (Tuesday). 

Played Cossack again in Co-Op. In one game, I spawned with two other players. Lost both players fairly early in the game. Left alone with just a BOT Nebraska (the other friendly BOTS were also eliminated) for teammate, we had to take on the remaining enemy ships including a Jean Bart, a Bungo, a Bismarck and two cruisers - Edinburgh and Albemarle. 

The enemy had also captured two caps while we had one. I began by helping recapture the two enemy caps and the middle one while evading the gunfire from the battleships. At the same time, I began whittling away with HP. Thanks to its accuracy, and my torpedoes, as well as assistance from the Nebraska, we turned the tide in our favour by recapturing all the enemy caps and sinking all the enemy ships. 

Then I received a pleasant and unexpected surprise as I was opening the earned coal crates. Among the trio was a Supercrate. It was the Tier VIII German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. Last time I got a ship from a supercrate was probably two or three years ago. It has been that long in-between, especially when you consider the frequency of these supercrates appearing (every hundred crate). And the fact I've played almost EVERY DAY since 2020.

Funny that this is one of the ships being removed from the Armoury come Update 15.6 (in a couple of weeks). It's a doubloon premium costing over 11,000 doubloons. 

Regarding the Cossack, its accuracy is awesome. It allows grinding to upskill my captain (whose at 19-point level) that much more bearable. Against other DDs, it more than holds its own. And against cruisers its AP is an additional and useful bonus (just have to aim right). As for battleships, I always aim at the superstructure (bridge mainly) and burn them down while hiding in smoke. So I'm able to tackle a powerful battleship like a Pommern without fearing the consequences (and its deadly secondaries) too much. Mind you, this is in Co-Op. Of course, it will be a completely different story in PvP scenarios like Randoms or Ranked where its stealth, smoke, and hydro are important for survival as well as keeping one's distance. And boldness only works if you are skilled enough. And I'm not that skilled; just a casual player who's slow-witted.

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

Thursday saw the last chapter in the Dawn of a Nation event activated. Played through to the end and received all the rewards, including the 11,000 doubloons compensation for already having Congress the final ship reward in the event. 

Played my usual commander grind group with three in Co-Op and then one in Asymmetric. Finished off the grind in Asymmetric with my go-to Karl XIV Johan. 

Another new ship event entitled French Republic. Ships being offered are already in my port fleet. 1,250 dubs per bundle. Four premium ships - Le Terrible, Gascogne, Champagne, Flandre. And then there's camo for other ships from the French nation, among other rewards. 

Forgot to showcase the Fort Worth admiral pack still available for sale. Like the Baotou I will wait for Christmas Santa crates for them to drop. 

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

SurrounDead

Lab revisit today (Sunday) after WOWS session. Lab entry closed so had to repeat the steps to make it to the bottom. This time I skipped the first room on the left and went to the second room. No loop but it snaked left that ended at a door that opened to another descending flight of stairs. 

This second descending stairwell ended at a single door that opened into a corridor with an intersection. A flood of zombies and dogs had to be taken out before I could enter. 

Went straight through the intersection and followed the corridor that led to what appeared to be a control room with a large yellow generator. Switched it on. Full lighting restored. Then began looting the room. 

Found a Decontamination Shower in that same room and decided it was enough for me. Chose to leave the other rooms for another time. Why? Because I've looted just about everything I need in terms of weapons - with a couple of exceptions - , vehicles, and gear. What else was there to loot of value? A nuclear bomb detonator? An excavator so I can dig up the bomb and then transport to wherever Coyote are based and blow them up? Silly really. 

Earlier I ran into a large Bandit group (eight) looting a military truck. After taking them out, I discovered one of them had a Large Black Military Back Pack. Something I haven't collected yet so put dibs on it. Basically, I'm just playing the game at my pace, collecting items and equipment and vehicles I don't have. Some things never change really.

One thing worthy of note while clearing the lab. The zombies will sometimes pop through the walls, as in the case before the second room when several zombie dogs' heads began appearing. So I shot at them and was surprised when they began taking damage and even died. Thus by accident I learned an easy and safe way to kill without entering the room. No doubt a glitch that can be worked to my advantage.

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

Recycling or crafting is an integral part of this game, and can be interesting. For instance, recycling empty tin cans into scrap metal and further refined them into high quality metal is learned early on in the game. But what else can be reused I wondered? 

Charcoal is useful for replenishing mask filters attachments. Likewise, a battery charger comes in handy for recharging used or depleted batteries. 

But what of other items that are considered junk in the game. What use can be found for pencils or post-it notes. The former might be used a la John Wick style although a pencil as a melee weapon is perhaps too fantastic an idea when it's zombies who probably wouldn't even notice a pencil protruding from an eye socket or earhole. 

As for post-notes, unless you can utilise them for note-taking, all I can think of is something akin to tossing sheets at a zombie in the hope it will weigh them down enough to slow their movements? Nah, not likely because you'd need several boxes to even have an effect. 

Not sure why the developer included cigarettes. Maybe marijuana ciggies might have more of an impact if consumed by the player as in slowing down reflexes down like Dredd's slo-mo where the world becomes more vividly visually? Nah, too far-fetched and perhaps more wishful thinking.

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

Monday saw me wander about and I eventually ended up back at the airfield. Spent time looting the various areas inside the zone - control tower, barracks, the various broken aircraft, as well as take care of the many zombies. Thought about detonating the bombs just for laughs. May end up attempting it eventually but make sure I'm some distance away. 

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

Wednesday saw me wander the valley looting and shooting. Spent first part collecting some of my vehicles has somehow spawned all over the place. But it was just those parked beyond my front fence of my base. 

Ran into a couple of Bandit large groupings - one was at their base encampment and one was looting a military truck. Took them out without too much trouble. 

Some scenic images of various locations. 

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

The Guitar in Music

Last night I chanced upon Kazuhito Yamashita while surfing YouTube. He is a little-known tour-de-force in the classical guitar world. Passed away earlier this year. But what a spirit! Saw a performance review by a YT streamer and I too was blown away by his arrangement. A prolific recording artist, I am looking forward to reviewing the many albums especially his interpretations of the compositions of  Ferdinando Sor, a favoured Spanish guitarist and composer. 

Always thought the late great Paco de Lucia was my epitome of great guitarists, and I still believe this especially in regards to Spanish flamenco and Spanish guitar. But Paco was a composer as much as a performer. Remarkably, he believed he was mediocre which says much of his humility and understanding that it's never about being great but doing your best at something, and that it's a continuous process - this self-improvement. 

Saw his live performance with Al di Meola, another great and still living guitarist. Their rendition of Mediterranean Sundance is brilliant as they played off one another with rapport and skill. 

What my guitar heroes have in common is that they all started learning the guitar at a very early age and continued to develop that skill all their lives. It's awesome when you know early on what you're going to do with your life. 

Of course my first exposure to classical/spanish guitarist as a wide-eyed youngster was the great maestro himself Andre Segovia. He was my inspiration as I fumbled my way through learning the guitar. Then along came the English virtuoso John Williams. 

The late great Sabicas burst into my awareness decades ago and my love for the guitar was reinvigorated and broadened even further. 

You might say I became a fan of the most publicly popular (to the general global audience) Spanish and Classical guitarists thanks to YouTube. 

I've been introduced to other talents like the South Korean musician Sungha Jung. He joins my electric guitar heroes Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Carlos Santana. 

We, as a species, are spoiled for guitar music without any doubt. 

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