Taking a break from all things Tank today, so enjoy these Holidays with friends, family or whatever puts a smile on you face and some warmth into your heart!
Friday 25 December 2015
Thursday 24 December 2015
The choice was made, the father and son fun was had
On this night, Christmas Eve, my son asked me to play a game with him. I gave him three choices, World of Tanks, War Thunder or Armored Warfare. After a brief consideration, his answer was....
....was AW. He hadn't played much, collecting a T-62 Veteran last month and just received a Type 59 today, with maybe a dozen games in between. After seeing what I had in my garage, he thought playing until he got a Leopard 1 of his own, would be enough time to platoon with the old man.
Starting from tier I, our journey began with the M113. I was rather surprised with some of those early performance results....
....okay, kid has some talent here. Perhaps, it was just beginners luck, yeah, that's it....
....or not. We blew through the M113 and moved up to the tier II LAV-150 in no time. Next thing I knew....
....we were rocking the battlefield by switching over to Patton 48's. My own son, was making me sweat, the battles kept coming, the victories seeming so easy, being out-skilled by my own offspring....
.... and his prize was earned in much less time than I thought it would. However, I did have the last laugh....
....it took the very first game with his new tier III Leopard 1 for me to finally best him in all scores. Suffice it to say, it was all over, the games came to an end and he wanted to do other things on his own.
However, the laughs, the frustrations and the time together, the best Christmas present I got this year.
Thanks son.
....was AW. He hadn't played much, collecting a T-62 Veteran last month and just received a Type 59 today, with maybe a dozen games in between. After seeing what I had in my garage, he thought playing until he got a Leopard 1 of his own, would be enough time to platoon with the old man.
Starting from tier I, our journey began with the M113. I was rather surprised with some of those early performance results....
....okay, kid has some talent here. Perhaps, it was just beginners luck, yeah, that's it....
....or not. We blew through the M113 and moved up to the tier II LAV-150 in no time. Next thing I knew....
....we were rocking the battlefield by switching over to Patton 48's. My own son, was making me sweat, the battles kept coming, the victories seeming so easy, being out-skilled by my own offspring....
.... and his prize was earned in much less time than I thought it would. However, I did have the last laugh....
....it took the very first game with his new tier III Leopard 1 for me to finally best him in all scores. Suffice it to say, it was all over, the games came to an end and he wanted to do other things on his own.
However, the laughs, the frustrations and the time together, the best Christmas present I got this year.
Thanks son.
Christmas comes to War Thunder
Coming in last to the party, War Thunder has finally put out the Holiday decorations....
First, a little dress-up with the roulette login rewards. The gift wrapping is a nice touch to the predictable rewards.
The Christmas hangar is, um.....er....interesting. The core plane theme of the game shines through with this plowed runway treatment, so the tank, in my opinion, does look a little out of place here. Nevertheless, it is what it is and it's finally here, Christmas in Ground Forces.
Also included, a series of Christmas missions....
....which appear to renew on a daily basis, or can be changed by spending a few Silver Lions to something different. Through these Missions, I could collect up a small cache of Warbonds....
....and pick up the top prize of a recently added premium Rank II German captured Churchill tank.
Hmmmm, three tank games, now in the full on Christmas spirit, which one to cash in on during this Holiday season?
First, a little dress-up with the roulette login rewards. The gift wrapping is a nice touch to the predictable rewards.
The Christmas hangar is, um.....er....interesting. The core plane theme of the game shines through with this plowed runway treatment, so the tank, in my opinion, does look a little out of place here. Nevertheless, it is what it is and it's finally here, Christmas in Ground Forces.
Also included, a series of Christmas missions....
....which appear to renew on a daily basis, or can be changed by spending a few Silver Lions to something different. Through these Missions, I could collect up a small cache of Warbonds....
....and pick up the top prize of a recently added premium Rank II German captured Churchill tank.
Hmmmm, three tank games, now in the full on Christmas spirit, which one to cash in on during this Holiday season?
Tuesday 22 December 2015
Running the gauntlet
Currently, in Armored Warfare, I have two tanks in succession within the Leopard line of the Wölfli dealer tree and a ICE version Leopard 2AV to serve as a trainer and credit maker.
Starting with the grind tank and selecting a Medium PvE Mission, my tier IV OF-40 is greeted with a blackscreen bug. I have encountered this before, so I just Alt-F4 to close the client down, then relaunch from the desktop, praying there is still a battle to take part in, when I get back to it.
Considering the minute and thirty seconds reload back into the game, I finish up at the bottom of the list. However, I still contributed something, despite coming to the party a little late.
Although I have graduated from the tier III Leopard 1, doesn't mean it still doesn't have it's uses.
Slipping into a slot in a Easy PvE Mission, there is still a Daily bonus and reward from each difficulty level to collect. Also, I am keeping a causal eye on how many Christmas Type 59's I see on my team, out of curiosity.
A decent game, overall. I still could have done much better and I am looking on improving this and future situations through....
....the use of retrofits. As I progress up through the different tank lines, between both current dealer trees, I am unlocking either new retrofits or improved versions of those already available. Based on some advice I have read on the AW forums and a few other websites, I am applying some of these tips to gain minor to moderate advantages. However, I am also customizing these advantages to better suit my personal playstyle with a give tank too.
A new habit I have picked up and going forward with is moving up the difficulty ladder concerning PvE Missions. Reaping the rewards by taking the risk of using my tier VI assets in Hard mode will be a test, in a sense, if I am making the right choices with using my tanks properly, installing the right equipment and trained my crews correctly. All of this, to be better prepared for future forays into the realm of PvP.
Seems to be a fairly even team, only one tank is below the tier average....
....facing off against tougher, more aggressive artificial opponents. Bold and crafty, underestimating them, just because there are not free-thinking human players....
....doesn't mean they can't kill you just as dead. Thanks in part to developing a little tunnel vision and taking for granted that I had one teammate in close proximity that might be covering me, my battle comes to an end.
Bottom of the list and one of two on my team to die. It seems my ingame experiments will continue, as they should.
Starting with the grind tank and selecting a Medium PvE Mission, my tier IV OF-40 is greeted with a blackscreen bug. I have encountered this before, so I just Alt-F4 to close the client down, then relaunch from the desktop, praying there is still a battle to take part in, when I get back to it.
Considering the minute and thirty seconds reload back into the game, I finish up at the bottom of the list. However, I still contributed something, despite coming to the party a little late.
Although I have graduated from the tier III Leopard 1, doesn't mean it still doesn't have it's uses.
Slipping into a slot in a Easy PvE Mission, there is still a Daily bonus and reward from each difficulty level to collect. Also, I am keeping a causal eye on how many Christmas Type 59's I see on my team, out of curiosity.
A decent game, overall. I still could have done much better and I am looking on improving this and future situations through....
....the use of retrofits. As I progress up through the different tank lines, between both current dealer trees, I am unlocking either new retrofits or improved versions of those already available. Based on some advice I have read on the AW forums and a few other websites, I am applying some of these tips to gain minor to moderate advantages. However, I am also customizing these advantages to better suit my personal playstyle with a give tank too.
A new habit I have picked up and going forward with is moving up the difficulty ladder concerning PvE Missions. Reaping the rewards by taking the risk of using my tier VI assets in Hard mode will be a test, in a sense, if I am making the right choices with using my tanks properly, installing the right equipment and trained my crews correctly. All of this, to be better prepared for future forays into the realm of PvP.
Seems to be a fairly even team, only one tank is below the tier average....
....facing off against tougher, more aggressive artificial opponents. Bold and crafty, underestimating them, just because there are not free-thinking human players....
....doesn't mean they can't kill you just as dead. Thanks in part to developing a little tunnel vision and taking for granted that I had one teammate in close proximity that might be covering me, my battle comes to an end.
In a town called Bastogne
On the 20 December 1944, General Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz, commanding the XLVII Panzer Corps, had encircled a Belgium town named Bastogne, trapping the garrison of 18,000 troops of the American 101st Airborne Division. Under the acting command of Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, in the place of General Maxwell Taylor, who was in Washington D.C., realized continuing situation was getting worse.
With unfavorable weather conditions and facing a force of 45,000 Germans in three divisions, General McAuliffe knew he was out-manned, outgunned and running out of operational supplies. Holding Bastogne was critical, since it was a very important road junction for both the Allies defense and German push to the port city of Antwerp, splitting the Allied advance to Germany itself.
However, before launching a planned assault against Bastogne on 22 December 1944, General Lüttwitz sent an written ultimatum to the American front lines. Delivered by a major, a lieutenant, and two enlisted men, this German delegation approached the Americans under a flag of truce.
Popular account from those who were present at the time say, when General McAuliffe read the German ultimatum, he crumpled it into a ball and threw it in a wastepaper basket, muttering, "Nuts!" The officers in McAuliffe's command post were desperately trying to come up with an official reply to this ultimatum, but were not able to find the right words. Under the suggestion of Lt. Col. Harry Kinnard, a response was crafted around the first response General McAuliffe had uttered after reading the ultimatum. The official reply was typed, approved and delivered by Colonel Joseph Harper, commanding the 327th Glider Infantry, to the German delegation.
The German major was confused after reading the reply, not entirely sure what this short message meant. Harper said, "In plain English? Go to hell."
Starting the next day, 23 December 1944, through a combination of the weather clearing up, Allied air superiority resuming, aerial supply drops. Despite the change in luck for the Americans, the German assaults would go on and Allied casualties would continue to mount. On 26 December 1944, with the quick arrival of General George S. Patton's Third Army, who sped north in 48 hours from their original positions in south-central France, Bastogne received much needed reinforcements.
With unfavorable weather conditions and facing a force of 45,000 Germans in three divisions, General McAuliffe knew he was out-manned, outgunned and running out of operational supplies. Holding Bastogne was critical, since it was a very important road junction for both the Allies defense and German push to the port city of Antwerp, splitting the Allied advance to Germany itself.
However, before launching a planned assault against Bastogne on 22 December 1944, General Lüttwitz sent an written ultimatum to the American front lines. Delivered by a major, a lieutenant, and two enlisted men, this German delegation approached the Americans under a flag of truce.
Popular account from those who were present at the time say, when General McAuliffe read the German ultimatum, he crumpled it into a ball and threw it in a wastepaper basket, muttering, "Nuts!" The officers in McAuliffe's command post were desperately trying to come up with an official reply to this ultimatum, but were not able to find the right words. Under the suggestion of Lt. Col. Harry Kinnard, a response was crafted around the first response General McAuliffe had uttered after reading the ultimatum. The official reply was typed, approved and delivered by Colonel Joseph Harper, commanding the 327th Glider Infantry, to the German delegation.
The German major was confused after reading the reply, not entirely sure what this short message meant. Harper said, "In plain English? Go to hell."
Starting the next day, 23 December 1944, through a combination of the weather clearing up, Allied air superiority resuming, aerial supply drops. Despite the change in luck for the Americans, the German assaults would go on and Allied casualties would continue to mount. On 26 December 1944, with the quick arrival of General George S. Patton's Third Army, who sped north in 48 hours from their original positions in south-central France, Bastogne received much needed reinforcements.
Monday 21 December 2015
That next step forward
Progression is the real name of the game, be it in World of Tanks, War Thunder Ground Forces and Armored Warfare. The battles to collect on the grind. Wins payout more, but defeats still give a little something.
In Armored Warfare, I have completed my first steps in my German adventure. After thirteen battles in PvE, none in PvP, I have moved on from...
Before I get to my first battle with my Italian detour, a look at the last conflicts before I crossed the threshold.
I unlocked it with the results of a glorious defeat. Bet you didn't see that one coming? Bottom of the list and I fought with everything I had, but lived to tell the tale.
To help with the bankroll, I took my tier VI Leopard 2AV ICE out for a Medium level PvE mission, with some disapproval from a teammate, despite offering up the upside of MatchMaker putting me being there, bad spelling and all.
Although I couldn't capture the screenshot of one them calling me a baddy because we lost, it was all my fault for the non-win. Seems they still ended the game at the top of the list for this honor roll. Odd, I get the impression they were holding back.... However, I did take their positive, well intended advice and selected Hard mode for the next battle with my snow cat....
Excellent suggestion, I am glad I took it, at face value too! As for my new tier IV Main Battle Tank, OF-40's first battle?
I hope the winning trend continues, while the whole dying part can come to a sudden stop.
In Armored Warfare, I have completed my first steps in my German adventure. After thirteen battles in PvE, none in PvP, I have moved on from...
...to this....
Before I get to my first battle with my Italian detour, a look at the last conflicts before I crossed the threshold.
I unlocked it with the results of a glorious defeat. Bet you didn't see that one coming? Bottom of the list and I fought with everything I had, but lived to tell the tale.
To help with the bankroll, I took my tier VI Leopard 2AV ICE out for a Medium level PvE mission, with some disapproval from a teammate, despite offering up the upside of MatchMaker putting me being there, bad spelling and all.
Although I couldn't capture the screenshot of one them calling me a baddy because we lost, it was all my fault for the non-win. Seems they still ended the game at the top of the list for this honor roll. Odd, I get the impression they were holding back.... However, I did take their positive, well intended advice and selected Hard mode for the next battle with my snow cat....
Excellent suggestion, I am glad I took it, at face value too! As for my new tier IV Main Battle Tank, OF-40's first battle?
I hope the winning trend continues, while the whole dying part can come to a sudden stop.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)