Notes from a Small Island

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HansBolter
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by HansBolter »

ORIGINAL: AcePylut

Ah yeah, I read all the books. The first trio when they were in "Ten Towns" (iirc) The Hafling's Gem, Crystal Shard, and something else then the trio about Do'urden when he was born in Menzoberranzan. Fun reading.

My first foray into fantasy novels was those ones from the mid eighties about Raistlin and Cameron, Tanis Half Elven - can't even remember the names of those books.

So I guess I do like fantasy - there was the Raistlin series, the Drizzt series, Game of Thrones, Wheel of Time, but sorry to say, I didn't care for the Hobbit series too much.


Funny thing about the books I do and don't like ... if I was forced to read it in high school, chances are I didn't like it. Couldn't, and never got into, all that Walden Woods type of crap. Give me ShoGun, All Quiet on the Western Front, Hara's "Destroyer Captain", Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, With the Old Breed, ... but blah, I don't give a damn about some flapper's story of life and love in the 20's, or some dude that found harmony in the woods (I lived rural, I know all about it) and wrote a boring ass book about it. I'll read Catch-22 for my kicks and insights on the human mind.

But far and away, James Clavell is my favorite author.


Dragonlance series by Margret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Loved them. Those two authors also wrote a great non-Dungeons and Dragons milieu series called Deathgate that was awesome.


I believe we have managed to thoroughly hijack CR's thread here.


Many apologies CR.



Drizzt Do'Urden is one of the most beloved characters in all of the fantasy genre ranking right up there with Bilbo and Frodo.
Hans

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JohnDillworth
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by JohnDillworth »


Drizzt Do'Urden is one of the most beloved characters in all of the fantasy genre ranking right up there with Bilbo and Frodo.
[/quote]
I believe we have managed to thoroughly hijack CR's thread here.


Many apologies CR.

Hijack his thread? You are an old timer here.......this is nothing. Used to drive JohnIII crazy. We would be going on for 6 pages about different types of oak tress (this actually happened).....John would see the AAR going crazy and think the Home Islands were going to be invaded and we were talking about walks in the woods while Dan moved a supply convoy 4 hexes.
Today I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. I repeat, do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. - Yasser Arafat Speech to UN General Assembly
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Canoerebel
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by Canoerebel »

John is right. The oak tree digression occurred one year ago, in late October, after a memorable hike on Horn Mountain on a raw Saturday afternoon.

Do any of you happen to recognize S'carn, S'dunna, and S'nerg? No Google allowed.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
T Rav
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by T Rav »

First laugh of the day! Thanks John D.

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Capt. Harlock
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by Capt. Harlock »

What's the line from Lord of the Rings: What can we do against such reckless hate?

Hope for Ops losses! [:D]
Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

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AcePylut
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by AcePylut »

YOu can crush your enemies, see them driven before you, hear the lamentations of their women (orc-women? ewww).
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Lovejoy
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by Lovejoy »

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock
What's the line from Lord of the Rings: What can we do against such reckless hate?

Hope for Ops losses! [:D]

and bring machine guns...plenty of them!

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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by Canoerebel »

2/11/45

Kushiro: A day of maneuver for both sides. Erik deploys his massive fighter forces again, but they (mostly) whiff - targeting a hex that I largely didn't target. Here's hoping the daily missions elevate fatigue levels.

Death Star and the Herd repositioned to cover new combat TFs inbound from Shikuka and to allow some empties to make a break for Shikuka, though I'm worried now about KB having an angle to raid. So I'll have to monitor things a bit.

The biggest event of the day was Kiwi armor attacking and eliminating the beat up IJA tank regiment that was in the interior clear hex. So the Allies currently control all three clear hexsides. I have units moving from them to Kushiro to open the hexsides - they are moving slow, even though they are armored. IE, the road network is poor. That is very encouraging, as it should take Erik's relief columns just as long.



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"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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Canoerebel
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by Canoerebel »

A bad-case scenario for the Allies would be a Japanese mega-sweep vs. Shikuka followed by a KB port strike. Erik's uber-fighters might be able to penetrate the Allied CAP, which is large but relies partly on smoke and mirrors. I have 450 ships disbanded in port. Most combat ships, carriers, and assault shipping is with DS, but there is still a lot of stuff there - especially empties and auxiliaries.

I implemented a radical plan that might counter such a gambit. That plan is complicated enough that some good ships might be exposed to attack with little or no protection, so things could get very messy. The plan also includes an offensive deployment that is about as likely to impale itself on a CAP trap as to succeed in ambushing KB. I think everything is novel enough that it'll catch Erik by surprise, but this is one of those cases where I might've outsmarted myself.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by jwolf »

I have some naive strategic questions. In a "normal" game, as I understand it, if the Allied player can gain a foothold on Hokkaido then that opens up massive strat bombing of Honshu and pretty much destroys the Japanese industry. So that is the primary motivation to land on Hokkaido. But in your game that does not appear to be possible (??) because of the super strong Japanese air force. So I am wondering what is the strategic benefit of the Hokkaido invasion, if you can't leverage that into a successful strat bombing campaign? Well, those bases are all worth points and that counts, but probably not in a game changing way. On the other hand, the one really major thing you have accomplished is to keep the overwhelming majority of Japanese power tightly reined in at the Home Islands. That should ... in theory ... open up opportunities for advances in SE Asia, Indonesia, Philippines etc and maybe that could be the key to ultimate victory.
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by Canoerebel »

Russia will activate in six months. My primary long-range objective is to make sure that Western Allied campaigns and Russian campaigns are synergistic.

I'm not yet sure how strong the Russian air force will be. Russian fighters may help significantly, or I may discover they are the equivalent of FM-2 Wildcats. If you readers know more, speak up.

At some point, the Allies will pivot to a new theater, primarily due to the Strategic Bombing difficulties, as you point out. I am somewhat optimistic that there will come a day when the Allies can succeed to some degree against Japanese air power. To reach that point, I think Erik will have to suffer a lot of losses first. I think proximity is a key component - getting Erik's big bases within good Army fighter and bomber range.

As you note, the Hokkaido bases are worth alot of points themselves. In addiition, Hokkaido industry is worth a fair amount. It is possible to target industry when an Allied army is sitting atop a base and Erik no longer posts fighters there.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by jwolf »

It is possible to target industry when an Allied army is sitting atop a base and Erik no longer posts fighters there.

This is during the siege but before conquest, right? That is, you don't get strat points for industry just by capturing a base, but only by actually bombing it?
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by Canoerebel »

Right.

Allied bombers long ago took out most Kushiro industry. There are about 151 Resource points left. Before the base falls, Allied bombers will target those. Erik no longer has fighters based at Kushiro and LRCAP is his achille's heel, so that should work.

If the Allies take Kushiro, they'll then move on Bihoro. I'm not yet sure if they'll then move on Sapporo and the rest of Hokkaido. I may instead focus on wrapping up the Kuriles and preparing for the activities elsewhere. At the moment, advancing to Sapporo seems like it would be sending a schooner into a hurricane.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by Canoerebel »

I don't know whether I can do a good job explaining the mounting hysteria I experienced last night, but here's a flow-chart of how what seemed to be a routine turn morphed into a frenzy.

1. Erik sent the turn at 7 a.m. I have church on Sunday mornings, so I did nothing more than scan over the written Combat Report. It was straightforward and indicated a decent day for the Allies - dodging major enemy blows and eradicating a tank regiment in a key hex.
2. The concept for the next turn played in the back of my mind until I finally had time to sit down with it, starting at 3 p.m. At its heart, the Allied turn was simple: DS to remain on station near Bihoro, replenishing from AEs and providing protection for combat vessels inbound from Shikuka and empties returning from the front to Shikuka. There would be some air activity vs. ground units at Bihoro and the airfield at Kushiro. Pretty simple turn.
3. Orders were entered before 6 p.m., when I had evening plans.
4. I sat down at the game again around 9 p.m., for a final review before sending the turn to Erik. Part of the review meant looking at Erik's carriers and what they might be capable of doing.
5. It seemed possible that Erik might send an all-out sweep vs. Shikuka, followed by a carrier strike against the host of shipping there (the plan would be very similar to what he tried on the 10th near Kushiro).
6. Ordinarily, that wouldn't bother me, because I've had 1,000 fighters at Shikuka. Erik knows it and has only tried the base once in the last six months. That was about two weeks back, and he got a bloody nose.
7. Since then, alot of my best Navy fighters have reported to Death Star. In their place are a legion of FM-2 Wildcats (plus a fair number of good Army and Marine fighters). From Erik's perspective, the base bristles as it always has. But that's alot of smoke and mirrors.
8. If he did send an all-out strike, I'd lose hundreds of sorry fighters with green pilots and he'd have a shot at my shipping.
9. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that this was possible, likely, really likely! It became a late-night mania, feeding on itself.
10. I came up with a plan to counter it. Now, in the light of day, I think I overreacted. I like the little strike ambush set up from Toyohara airfield. It might run into a CAP trap, but it's worth changing the look of things on occasion to keep Erik honest. What I don't like is that I sortied 300 ships from Shikuka's port, many of them ordered to flank speed to rendezvous with DS, eight hexes distant. That's going to be a rag-tag assemblage of ships, some not capable of making 8 hexes. So I'll have alot of vulnerable shipping in the open. Generally, Erik doesn't cover these waters, due to his concerns about Allied CAP traps. But that's no guarantee that he wasn't orchestrating something on his own. I think I'd have been better to leave the ships disbanded in port, protected by 300+ flak.
11. Things may get ugly tomorrow or they could turn out fine. I'm confident that DS and the main invasion forces are secure.
12. I'm anxious to see how the deliberate attack at Kushiro goes. If forts drop to 5, then the Allies may be on course to take the base before Erik can bring in reinforcements.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by RangerJoe »

That should ... in theory ... open up opportunities for advances in SE Asia, Indonesia, Philippines etc and maybe that could be the key to ultimate victory.
.
.
.
At some point, the Allies will pivot to a new theater, primarily due to the Strategic Bombing difficulties, as you point out. I am somewhat optimistic that there will come a day when the Allies can succeed to some degree against Japanese air power. To reach that point, I think Erik will have to suffer a lot of losses first. I think proximity is a key component - getting Erik's big bases within good Army fighter and bomber range.

That was what I meant about using the paratroopers. If you can do that with a few bases elsewhere, you might be able to capture some decent or potentially decent airfields where the threat of attack bombers against his shipping could hurt. Also, by interfering with his Naval Search and ASW missions, you could make it easier on the Silent Service and raiding destroyer task forces. This way you could potentially thin his fighter horde on the Home Islands or he would then concede air superiority over the newly conquered areas. A small LRCAP with drop tank equipped fighters over the destroyers could potentially take down a few of his search planes.
Seek peace but keep your gun handy.

I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing!

“Illegitemus non carborundum est (“Don’t let the bastards grind you down”).”
― Julia Child

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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by Canoerebel »

All the little points add up but pale in comparison to the big things.

The Allies cannot win the war unless they can engage in Strategic Bombing efficiently. That's a function of aircraft and pilot quality and quantity, plus proximity to enemy targets.

I have decent proximity at the moment, and the Hokkaido campaign should provide a boost. As for aircraft quality and quantity, Russian activation and later generation Western fighters may help.


"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by Lokasenna »

ORIGINAL: dave sindel

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I may be spending more time on this turn than any I've ever had. The turn is important, but it's not necessarily the most important ever. It's just that there are massive numbers of variables. If I make a call it requires 10,000 clicks. If I change my mind....

I'm playing with a hypothesis - not relying upon it but studying it. In most recent advances by Death Star, strike aircraft have been at limited range. In this instance, they're set to zero (the chance of an overwhelming CAP-trap debacle are far greater than a carrier battle). DS hasn't reacted when I've limited strike range, making me wonder if carriers won't react if doing so still won't bring them within range of launching a strike. But it seems to much to expect that the designers would have thought that deeply into strike mechanics, so I'm a bit skeptical. And I'm not sure there's been a time when a reaction has been possible. Right now, and enemy carrier TF is 10 hexes from DS, so Erik might be trying to coax one.

I've been playing under the assumption that DS can (and probably will have to) withstand at least one all-out, mega air strike. In the current turn, Erik lost 400 aircraft (I lost 200), which might've dampened his enthusiasm. But he may be trying for that reaction, hoping for an overwhelming attack. I think I'm going to keep DS in place, or move it one hex (to just SW of Kushiro) to allow more supplies to unload. Pucker time.




I am most interested in how your hypothesis on carrier reaction works out. In my 2 ongoing PBEM contests, carrier reactions in both games have caused me an extensive amount of trouble...

I'm back.

Availability of strike aircraft is considered as part of the carrier reaction. Presumably, if you have no strike craft available, the carriers won't react. I don't know if standing them down functions in basically the same way - one would think so, but who knows?

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I consider it a weak hypothesis (surely the developers didn't think this deeply into possible reaction scenarios), but it's worth testing.

I actually think this is precisely the kind of thing coders (who have ever had to deal with fixing any bugs/oversights) would think of.

ORIGINAL: JohnDillworth

indeed. After 40 years or so I have decided to reread the books. About halfway thorough. Truly a man can not cross the same river twice. It is now a different thing than it was in my younger days.
saddle up and carry on!

I re-read them a couple of months ago, for the first time. My first read of them was shortly before the movies came out. I found them even more enjoyable after having seen the movies a gazillion times.

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I re-read my favorite books regularly. Every few years or thereabouts. Either I don't have a great memory or I'm not paying careful attention while reading.

I didn't read Tolkien until after I saw the first Lord movie, solo, in a nearly empty theater, after it had been out awhile. The movie was so magnificient (IMO) that it prompted me to read all the books. I'm not a fan of "fantasy," but I love those books and the movies. Well done.
Tolkien started writing the book in 1937 as a commentary on the nature of war, after his experience in WWI. He did not complete the book until after WWII and he brought in some notions about what drives nations to that kind of evil.
Some claim that the "One Ring" represented Nazi philosophies as a whole and that the rings of power represented the individual elements (racism, suppression of truth, scapegoats, prosperity at the expense of moral turpitude) that drove a people to support their evil, mad ruler.

The quest for complete power over the world is the "One Ring". It took destruction of the Nazi regime and all its elements of power over the people to destroy the danger of one cruel leader running the world. But the notion is still out there, in several places around the world.

Tolkien always denied that he intended any kind of allegory, and I think even insisted in a foreword to the books (in my copy, at least) that he did his best to keep it out. But also acknowledged that in books that are, in essence, about mortality and "the Machine" (IIRC his term, meaning industry and progress)... of course it's going to be easy to compare to wars.

Of course, that doesn't mean that it can't be seen as allegory.

As for Dickens... I think David Copperfield was actually one of those that I enjoyed, even as an adolescent, and I think I read it twice. Hated Oliver Twist, though.

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Russia will activate in six months. My primary long-range objective is to make sure that Western Allied campaigns and Russian campaigns are synergistic.

I'm not yet sure how strong the Russian air force will be. Russian fighters may help significantly, or I may discover they are the equivalent of FM-2 Wildcats. If you readers know more, speak up.

Russian fighters are underwhelming. You will find them of minimal use, and of virtually no offensive use. You may be able to defend some important bases, but that's about it.

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel


The Allies cannot win the war unless they can engage in Strategic Bombing efficiently. That's a function of aircraft and pilot quality and quantity, plus proximity to enemy targets.

I've done it without engaging in any strategic bombing. But it requires a lot more territory than you have, and a lot more naval losses for Japan.
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by Mike Solli »

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I'm not yet sure how strong the Russian air force will be. Russian fighters may help significantly, or I may discover they are the equivalent of FM-2 Wildcats. If you readers know more, speak up.

Quantity is a quality all its own...
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by Canoerebel »

"I've done it without engaging in any strategic bombing. But it requires a lot more territory than you have, and a lot more naval losses for Japan."

I meant in this game. I don't foresee the Allies winning short of strategic bombing, given current force disposition and the time/resources/losses it would take to change the paradigm.

For better or worse, Strategic Bombing is the key.
"Rats set fire to Mr. Cooper’s store in Fort Valley. No damage done." Columbus (Ga) Enquirer-Sun, October 2, 1880.
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RE: Notes from a Small Island

Post by RangerJoe »

Quantity is a quality all its own...

That is what Joseph Stalin said and it is true. I haven't got that far against the computer since it always quits before the Soviet activation but I think that the best aircraft might be the IL-2/10 with its armor rating of 2. It is very short range but it should be very good for low level attacks.
Seek peace but keep your gun handy.

I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing!

“Illegitemus non carborundum est (“Don’t let the bastards grind you down”).”
― Julia Child

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